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BISHOP WILSON'S 
 JOUKNAL LETTERS, 
 
 ADDRESSED TO HIS FAMILY, 
 DURING THE FIRST NINE YEARS OF HIS 
 
 INDIAN EPISCOPATE. 
 
 EDITED BY BIS SON, 
 
 DANIEL WILSON, M.A. 
 
 VICAR OF ISLINGTON, AND RTTRAL DEAN. 
 
 LONDON: 
 JAMES NISBET AND CO. 21 BERNERS STREET. 
 
 1863. 
 
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 ^o-'*" 
 
 i^S^ 
 
 ...^^^^ 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 Stranoewats and Walden, Printers, 
 28 Castle St. Leicester Sq. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 It is with some hesitation that I venture to pre- 
 sent to the public the following selection from my 
 father's Family Letters, written during his Indian 
 Episcopate. Copies of them were carefully made 
 at the time when they were received by one very 
 dear to myself, who has recently been called to 
 her heavenly rest. These copies were privately 
 circulated among friends, and a strong desire was 
 expressed that they should be put into a more 
 permanent form. This could not, with propriety, 
 be carried out during my father's lifetime. After 
 his death, the original letters, together with 
 other documents, were placed in the hands of 
 my brother-in-law, Mr. Bateman, in order to ftirnish 
 matter for the Biography. It then appeared to 
 be desirable to await the result of that publication 
 before attempting anything further. The favour- 
 able reception which it has met with encourages 
 me to hope that a brief selection from the Bishop's 
 
 513 io3 
 
IV PREFACE. 
 
 correspondence may also prove acceptable to the 
 public. 
 
 The abundant materials placed at Mr. Bate- 
 man's disposal rendered it impossible for him to 
 give more than occasional quotations from these 
 Letters. These quotations are omitted in the cor- 
 respondence now presented to the reader. The 
 same ground will necessarily be gone over as in 
 the Biography, but the aspect under which the 
 facts are presented is new. 
 
 The main interest of the Volume will consist 
 in the graphic picture which it presents of the 
 Bishop's feelings under circumstances of great 
 responsibility and difficulty, and in receiving from 
 his own pen his first impressions of India, when 
 all was new and fresh, described with that warmth 
 and energy so peculiar to him. The account of 
 his visits to the various Missionary Stations will 
 be interesting to the friends of Missions, while his 
 reception at the Native Courts will present a 
 curious exhibition of the barbaric pomp of these 
 ancient dynasties. The spiritual tone of the 
 Bishop's own mind is reflected in every page, and 
 will present a view of his character which will be 
 edifying to the devout reader. 
 
 In selecting the Letters which comprise the 
 
PREFACE. V 
 
 present Volume, I Lave thought it best not to 
 take the range of the entire series, extending 
 over a period of twenty -five years, but rather to 
 confine myself to the first nine years of the 
 Bishop's Episcopate; thus preserving the con- 
 tinuity of the narrative, and reserving the rest 
 of the correspondence for a future volume, should 
 it be called for. 
 
 In conclusion, may I be permitted to claim for 
 these pages that indulgence which is due to a 
 private correspondence thrown off rapidly as 
 events occurred, and the very charm of which 
 consists in its freedom of style and simplicity of 
 diction ? If it should prove in any degree a 
 stimulus to the cause of religion in India, and 
 exhibit the spirit which befits a Chief Pastor of the 
 Church in the midst of multiplied and arduous 
 duties, it will abundantly fulfil my most sanguine 
 expectations. 
 
 DANIEL WILSON. 
 
 Islington, Nov. 20th, 1863. 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2007 with funding from 
 
 IVIicrosoft Corporation 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/bishopwilsonsjouOOwilsrich 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Opening Duties — First Sermon to the Heathen — Lent Lectures — 
 India in its Reh'gious Aspect — Daily Employments — Divi- 
 sions in the Church — Infidelity — Steam Navigation — First 
 Infant School — Threatening Trials — Caste Question — Primary 
 Visitation — Reflections at Sea — Penang — Singapore — Ma- 
 lacca — Return to Penang — Moulmein — Letter of Mr. Wil- 
 berforce — Ceylon — Colombo — Point de Galle — Scenery — 
 Cotta — Kandy — Interesting Visit to Baddegamme — Sermon 
 to the Native Christians — Visit to the Schools — Trinco- 
 malee — Voyage to Madras — Storm at Sea — Imminent Peril 
 — Merciful Deliverance — Arrival at Madras . . . Page 1 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Sermon at Vepery — Mission Church — Engagements at Madras — 
 Journey to Palaveran — Encampment — Permacoil — The Road 
 lost — Address to Natives — Cuddalore — Mayaveram — Illus- 
 trations of Scripture — Combaconum — Arrival at Tanjore — 
 Visit from Dr. Kohloflf — Swartz's Grave — Caste Question — 
 Conference with, and Sermon to, the separated Christians — 
 Visit to the Rajah — Description of Dr. Kohlofif — Anecdotes of 
 Swartz — Rajah returns his Visit — Sermon in Swartz's Church 
 — State of Southern Missions — Encouragement at Motaputty 
 — Sacrament under Tent — Bishop Heber's Bath — Confirm- 
 ation — Ordination of Five Missionaries — Caste Question — 
 Missionary Charge — Affecting Parting — Mayaveram on return 
 — Further Illustrations of Scripture — Porto Novo — Pondi- 
 cherry — Interview with Governor — Return to Madras — Re- 
 flections on Eph. iii. 15 29 
 
Vm CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Voyage from Madras to Vizagapatam — Scripture Metaphors — 
 Landing at Porree — Visit to Juggernaut — Return to Calcutta 
 — Close of First Visitation — Reflections on the Past — Lent 
 Lectures — Hindoo College — Clerical Meeting — Visit to Gun- 
 geree — Heathen Festival — Titty ghur — Visits to Calcutta 
 Churches — Lord Bacon's Prayer — "Venn's Life" — Chinsurah 
 — Mrs. Wilson's Schools Page 66 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Commencement of Second Visitation — Reflections — Cape Comorin 
 — Malabar Coast — Quilon — Allepie — Cotyam — Visit of the 
 Metran — Syrian Churches — Sermon preached in Native Church 
 — Important Conferences with Metran — Cochin — Synagogue 
 of White and Black Jews — Confirmation — Visit to Syrian 
 Churches in the Interior — Difi"erences between the Syrian and 
 Romish Church — Proposals for Improvement — Goa — Au- 
 gustinian Monastery — Decayed State of Libraries — Tomb 
 of Xavier — Inquisition — Arrival at Bombay — Parsee Mar- 
 riage 87 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Poonah — Mahratta Captain and Escort — Kirkee — Travelling in 
 Tents — Ahmednugger — Nizam's Territories — Aurungabad — 
 Grand Procession — Splendid Tomb — Caves of Ellora — The 
 Impregnable Pass — AH Khan's Pleasure-house — Wild Scenery 
 — Perils of the Way — Boorhaunpoor — Paganism and Christ- 
 ianity contrasted — Mhow — The Newab of Jowrah — Ancient 
 Fort — Nusserabad — Openings of Usefulness — Ajmeer — 
 Splendid Ruins — Thugs — Jyepoor — Durbar of Queen- 
 mother Ill 
 
CONTENTS. IX 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Arrival at Delhi — Splendour and Dissipation of Court — Colonel 
 Skinner's New Church — Meerut — Temporary Illness — Sana- 
 tarium on the Hills — The Doon — Consecration of Burial- 
 ground — Mussooree — Life of Felix Nefif — Steep Ascent — First 
 View of Snows on the Himalayas — Description of the Hill 
 People — Anniversary of Consecration — Sublime Scenery — 
 Sites for Two New Churches — Descent to the Jumna — Pre- 
 valence of Infanticide — Levee under Tent — Colonel Young — 
 Peculiar Habits of the Inhabitants — Plurality of Husbands — 
 Local Court of Justice — Thunder Storm — Scripture Illustra- 
 tions — Difficulties of Road — Want of Missionaries — Arrival 
 at Simlah Page 148 
 
 CHAPTER VIL 
 
 Anund Messeeh — Family Trials — Labour stopped on Sunday 
 — Encouraging Services — A celebrated Faqueer — Study of 
 Sanscrit — Interesting Discussion between Dyce Messeeh and 
 a Vakeel — Quit Simlah — Sabathoo — Descent to Plains — 
 Heathen Sacrifice — Loodianah — The Koran — The Travellers' 
 Serai — Kumaul — Interesting Visit of Two Hindoos — Ordina- 
 tion of Anund Messeeh — Ruins of Paniput — Delhi — The 
 Great Mosque — Consecration of St. James's Church — Visit to 
 the King of Delhi — Mahometan Worship — Improvement 
 of Country — Arrival at Agra — Tomb of Ackbar — Abdool 
 Messeeh's House — Church Missionary Premises . . .182 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Leave Agra — Bareilly — Futtyghur — Consecration of New Church 
 — Lucknow — King of Oude — Magnificent Reception — Cawn- 
 pore — Laying First Stone of New Church — Allahabad — 
 Pilgrim Tax — Death of Bishop Corrie — Buxar — Benares — 
 Conversation with Pundits — Monghir — Missionary Schools 
 
JOUENAL LETTERS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Opening Duties — First Sermon to the Heathen — Lent Lectures — 
 India in its Eeligious Aspect — Daily Employments — Divi- 
 sions in the Church — Infidelity — Steam Navigation — First 
 Infant School — Threatening Trials — Caste Question — Primary 
 Visitation — Reflections at Sea — Penang — Singapore — Ma- 
 lacca — Return to Penang — Moulmein — Letter of Mr. Wil- 
 berforce — Ceylon — Colombo — Point de Galle — Scenery — 
 Cotta — Kandy — Interesting Visit to Baddegamme ■ — Sermon 
 to the Native Christians — Visit to the Schools — Trinco- 
 malee — Voyage to Madras — Storm at Sea — Imminent Peril 
 — Merciful Deliverance — Arrival at Madras. 
 
 Calcutta, Nov. 22, 1832. 
 The opening sphere here is immense. My time has 
 hitherto been distracted and absorbed beyond conception. 
 I have visited Bishop's College and the High School, 
 and have attended the committees of all the great societies. 
 I have preached twice, and am now going round to all the 
 Calcutta churches, and those in the immediate neighbour- 
 hood. The progress of true and vital Christianity is 
 rapid amongst the Europeans, and the spirit of inquiry is 
 spreading amongst the natives. 
 
JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 Feh. 1, 1833. 
 
 Yesterday I went twelve miles up a nullah, or small 
 streamlet, of the Ganges, with Dr. Mill and Professor 
 Withers, to visit Eussapugla, a missionary station of the 
 "Incorporated Society." A hundred heathen and native 
 converts were present. Sixty have been baptized in this 
 one station, and thirty are candidates for that sacrament. 
 I stayed two hours, examining, conversing through the 
 Missionary as an interpreter, and exhorting. I concluded 
 by making a discourse to the assembled crowd. These 
 were the first sentences delivered in my character as Mis- 
 sionary Bishop : — "I am your friend. I have come a 
 great way to do you good. The great God sent me to 
 put you in the way to be happy. The great God is very 
 good. Man is very wicked. The great God created the 
 first man, Adam. The great God put him in a beautiful 
 garden. Man sinned against the great God. Man was 
 driven out of Paradise. All men are now sinners. The 
 great God is angry with us. If we die as we are, we 
 perish. But God has so loved the world, that He has 
 given His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in 
 Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. We 
 must not worship false gods. Idols cannot save. The 
 great God has been made man, and died for our sins. 
 The conscience, or heart, of every one of you tells you 
 this is good. Go not on, then, to provoke God by idolatry 
 and image worship. Pray to God for His Holy Spirit. 
 The Holy Spirit makes us good." 
 
 Feh. 20, 1833. 
 
 I am now embarked in my delightful Lent catechism 
 
• CALCUTTA. 3 
 
 and lectures. This day sixteen weeks we readied Bengal. 
 We have had four months of charming weather. Now we 
 must expect a gradual heat to come on. I have taken a 
 house about fourteen miles from Calcutta, on the banks of 
 the river, for prayer, for retirement, for change of air, for 
 recovery of diminished strength. I do not wait till I am 
 ill, but act on the system of precaution. I am sending 
 home letters, proposing what appear to me important 
 schemes of good. Prayer is all I plead for from you and 
 my dear friends, that the Divine Saviour, who has the key 
 of David, may say, " I have set before thee an open door, 
 and no man can shut it.'' . 
 
 April 16, 1833. 
 Lent being over, and the hot weather begun, I am 
 much less pressed with current duties, and have time to 
 make a beginning of the vast survey which is to be taken 
 of India in its religious aspect. Oh, Lord! Thou alone 
 canst save men. Do thou work, and none can let it. Thy 
 grace, mighty and yet gradual and invisible, is what we 
 pray for. Be Thou glorified in the doctrine of Thy cross 
 and by the transforming operations of Thy Spirit ; and may 
 that universal power which is given Thee in heaven and in 
 earth order the events of the world, overrule the counsels 
 of princes, and open the door for the entrance of Thy 
 Gospel ! And oh, grant that we, Thy servants, may be so 
 humbled, emptied, purified, that we may lie in Thy hands 
 as clay in the hands of the potter, to be used as Thy in- 
 struments as Thou wilt, and when Thou wilt, ready and 
 prompt to obey Thy call, patient to endure accompanying 
 trials, working only by spiritual weapons, and ascribing all 
 
4 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 the glory, first and last, to Thy I^ame. I am aiming, as 
 much, as possible, at unity in the Church ; not, however, 
 unity of opinion in the bond of ignorance, nor unity of 
 profession in the bond of hypocrisy, but the "unity of 
 the Spirit in the bond of peace." 
 
 Apnl 20, 1833. 
 At this moment all my windows are open, north and 
 south; a beautiful breeze is playing through the room, 
 and I have all the feelings of enjoyment which a spring 
 morning at Northrepps or Earlham would inspire. Break- 
 fast and family prayers are over : Amos viii. was our 
 chapter. How delightful is the inspired word of Reve- 
 lation ! Distance, changes, novelty, new circumstances, 
 affect not the Holy Book. My bearer is seated on the 
 ground at one end of the study. The punkah is going, 
 and will go till he actually falls asleep, when the rope 
 attached to it will wake him, and he will pull again. At 
 breakfast our kitmaghurs, abdar, hurkarees, bearers, and 
 sircar, all appear in due costume. The first are footmen; 
 the second, a water-bearer ; the others, messengers, punkah- 
 pullers, and bedroom-servants. In about an hour my crany 
 will arrive and set to his business as my writer. He is a 
 Brahmin, with a salary of thirty rupees a month, and has 
 been all his life writing English, as a Chinese imitator, 
 not a word of which he imderstands. My family is truly 
 a happy one. My cup runneth over ; but you remember, 
 
 dearest , what I told you when you were so full of 
 
 blessings — ^the same I now tell my own heart — not to trust 
 to the fleeting shadows of human joy, but to prepare for 
 
CALCUTTA. 5 
 
 those providences wliich are on the way to us all, to dis- 
 cipline, to humble, to purify, to make us capable of better 
 service. 
 
 May 1, 1833. 
 This is a most cool, refreshing, delightful morning. 
 I rose at half-past four, after sleeping soundly upon a 
 Chinese mat under a mosquito tent, with a punkah 
 pulled by two bearers all night. The air on the course 
 during my early drive was, to my perceptions, charming : 
 just the fragrance of a fine May- day morning in England. 
 You would smile at the appearance of my carriage, with a 
 thick quilted holland mattrass thrown over the outer roof 
 to keep it cool, during the half-hour required in dri\dng 
 from church ; but we are obliged to neglect appearances in 
 India, where luxuries are necessaries, where indolence is 
 duty, where large houses and numerous servants are like 
 cottages and a single domestic in England, where all is 
 regulated by the cKmate and by the utter feebleness and 
 inertness of your native people. Names mean totally 
 different things, relatively, from what they signify in Eng- 
 land : as, for instance, houses, rooms, servants, furniture, 
 comforts, necessities, establishments. Yesterday and to 
 day we have thought and prayed for the Church Mis- 
 sionary Society, the Bible, the Prayer-book, and other 
 good institutions. Dear Archdeacon Corrie dined with 
 me, and we talked over the probable speeches which our 
 brethren at Exeter Hall might be then delivering. The 
 cause is great and holy, but it must be the Lord alone 
 who can extensively make it prosperous. "We have 
 400,000,000 in Asia, idolaters and Mahometans. What 
 
O JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 distresses a thoughtful mind is, that here also is that spirit 
 of party which you feel at home — divisions, controversies, 
 perverse resistance, and interference with each other's 
 fields of fairly appropriated labour. So it is ; there is no 
 remedy except prayer and patience. Thus God permits 
 His Church to be weakened, divided, and exposed to the 
 just reflections of the world. Oh, what a glorious time 
 will that be, when peace and love shall flourish under the 
 shadow and protection of Truth ! Probably severe per- 
 secutions will prepare for this. Christianity must be 
 deeply felt to be exemplified, and in order to be deeply felt 
 its want must be deeply understood. 
 
 May 21, 1833. 
 A delightful rain is now falling — the cJioota biirsdt, or 
 small rain ; which prevents, or at least delays my morning 
 ride, and enables me to say that last night, to my great 
 joy, your letters of December arrived. It is utterly im- 
 possible for friends at home to know the acuteness of 
 feeling which accompanies absence at a distance of 16,000 
 miles. All the points of information in your letter are 
 most interesting. Only remember how jealous a God is 
 our God, and let not man be praised; let not feeble, 
 sinful, wretched man be set up. Surely the tombs of four 
 Bishops in nine years are heaped up on purpose that 
 human glorying may be buried under the mound of death, 
 and especially the worst species of all, spiritual glorying. 
 Oh, how ready are religious persons to blame self-con- 
 fidence in a worldly sense ! but if the foe appears as an 
 angel of light, and it be a self-confidence in a minister or 
 missionary, who is supposed to know and preach the 
 
CALCUTTA. 7 
 
 Gospel, then tlie mischief is not discerned. But our gracious 
 Saviour will take care of this. He will send us trials, dis- 
 appointments, humiliations, sorrows, heart-breaking scenes, 
 in order that He may withdraw man from his purpose and 
 hide pride from man. If you could look into this heart of 
 mine you would wonder that God should bear with it a 
 single day, or allow such a sinner to sustain His Gospel. 
 
 It is a curious thing, that one of my chief objects here 
 is to repress infidelity. Our pubKc press abounds with it ; 
 our leading men, from coming out unestablished in the 
 faith, and being for a series of years without the means of 
 grace, fall into a species of unbelief. Objections then 
 gain force. Ignorance and vacuity of mind know not 
 how to answer them. The substance of the Evidences, as 
 a positive historical record, is not grasped. My study 
 of this wide subject has been, beyond all other preparation, 
 most valuable to me in my present station. I am put to 
 the full stretch, for here everything is called in question, 
 openly and arrogantly. My mild and, I hope, firm 
 churchmanship, which I have maintained all my life at 
 home, in the face of High Church principles and No 
 Church principles, is of infinite importance. 
 
 The work opening before me is immensely important ; 
 so important that I cannot describe my feelings. But I 
 fear to enter upon particulars, lest I should grieve the 
 blessed Comforter ; and, in fact, I cannot give particulars. 
 The day shall declare it. 
 
 June 10, 1833. 
 
 "We have had two meetings to-day; one for Infant 
 Schools. TeU dearest to look out for a master and 
 
8 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 mistress, humble, loveable, clever, well-trained, to begin the 
 first Central Infant School at Calcutta ! The other meeting 
 was about steam communication, which fills my whole mind. 
 A voyage to India of 70 days instead of 180 would be superb, 
 for morals, religion, commerce, science, missions, and the 
 hearts of separated relatives. The steam navigation touches 
 so immediately upon these points, and tends so to facilitate 
 the improvement of this vast continent, and awakens so 
 exquisitely aU our minds, depressed now by distance and 
 estrangement, that I have stepped in when it was sinking 
 through discussions, and restored it to hope. The art of 
 printing was scarcely a greater blessing in the fifteenth 
 century than steam, applied to the science of navigation, 
 may become in the nineteenth. It annihilates distance, as 
 the former annihilated the endless labour of transcription. 
 The art of printing made knowledge accessible ; the steam 
 navigation will carry that knowledge over the world. 
 There is an immense difierence, however, between the two. 
 The press is only one specific benefit, the communication of 
 knowledge. The steam- vessel carries letters on all topics, 
 men of all talents, inventors of all descriptions. It is the 
 imiversal agent and recipient ; the highway cast through 
 the wilderness of waters ; the entrance and forerunner of 
 all missions, education, commerce, agriculture, science, 
 literature, policy, legislation, everything. Now, our com- 
 munication is tardy, uncertain, unknown ; then, it will 
 be rapid, certain, notorious. 
 
 Our little evening service in the chapel in my palace 
 is quite delightful. I cannot find time to tell you one- 
 third part of the goodness and love of Christ to the most 
 
CALCUTTA. ' 9 
 
 unworthy of sinners. " My thoughts are not your thoughts, 
 neither are my ways your ways, saith the Lord." Oh, to 
 verify divine mercies by a corresponding conduct, and not 
 to abuse them by folly, pride, conceit, and departure from 
 God! 
 
 " Wrestling on in mighty prayer, 
 Lord, I would not let Thee go." 
 
 March 26, 1834. 
 
 Two years have elapsed, this very week, since my 
 nomination to this awful and responsible diocese. The 
 effects of climate are more depressing and visible than 
 at first. The novelty and surprise and distraction are 
 gone. Things no longer proceed as with strangers under 
 an extra excitement. The clergy in all the presidencies 
 gradually find me out. I am vastly behind-hand with my 
 ecclesiastical correspondence. The question of Caste is 
 very embarrassing. The hour of temptation and darkness 
 and penetrating sorrow is coming on like a tide. Now 
 will be the "faith and patience of the saints.'' Having 
 had a year of peace and introduction and forbearance, the 
 Lord is now gathering the clouds for the storm. Our souls 
 are cast down within us ; difficulties threaten ; human 
 helps fail ; every branch of our duties is beset with thorns. 
 Jesus, Master, have mercy upon us ! Eise and save, we 
 pray Thee ! All this is far from discouraging me for the 
 result, because it is the Lord's usual method to humble 
 and empty before He raises and fills, in order that He 
 may have all the glory. 
 
 May 15, 1834. 
 
 The new scene of trial which I intimated as coming 
 
10 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 on quickens its pace, and lowers as it approaclies ; but it 
 is good for us. Distraction, publicity, noise, intercourse 
 with mankind, seciilarities, station, novel circumstances, 
 authority, are all poison to the soul, and have been distil- 
 ling their venom secretly ever since we arrived. Now 
 come the compensating and humbling dispensations. It is 
 impossible to describe the difficult cases which arise when 
 ruling in the fear of God a vast diocese like this. To 
 distinguish what is the path of duty — where cowardice 
 begins and forbearance ends — how to keep down the old 
 man in one's self, whilst public order is not neglected in 
 the execution of official duty, — all this is difficult; but 
 it is nothing compared with the heart, which is to be kept 
 "with all diligence," as "out of it are the issues of life.'' All 
 other things would be as nothing, if they did not corrupt 
 the heart, weaken the hold on Christ, enfeeble love, and 
 damp holy joy and communion. There seems a universal 
 decay in this dissolving country, extending to everything. 
 We need your prayers for grace sufficient for our days of 
 weakness. 
 
 May 22, 1834. 
 The Caste question in the Southern Missions you wiU 
 have heard of. What it may please our Divine Saviour 
 to do with me, or by me, I know not. The numerous and 
 heavy difficulties about me are amongst the compensating 
 appointments whereby God balances things. They empty; 
 they dash the cup of prosperity from the lips, which might 
 have poisoned the soul ; they tend to that thorough and 
 habitual contrition of soul which is the inlet to all grace, 
 and makes room for Christ ; they disenchant the scenes of 
 
CALCUTTA. 11 
 
 novelty, external display, strangeness of country, public 
 duties, and secularity, of their magical power upon tlie 
 senses, and show them in their miserable littleness. Say 
 nothing about us; speak only to God. I endeavour to 
 preach as plainly, faithfully, and affectionately as I can. 
 I labour at my examinations and ordinations. I have 
 three candidates for next Sunday — Trinity. I entertain 
 them all the week, and give them six lectures in my little 
 chapel. They are all the day writing answers to questions 
 and essays. Thus I endeavour to form their habits of 
 thought. 
 
 Aug. 14, 1834. 
 
 Yesterday I delivered my Primary Visitation Charge. 
 There are sixty- six licensed clergy in Bengal. May God 
 help us and sanctify us ! I would raise my stone of memo- 
 rial, and say, " Hitherto hath God helped us." Marvel- 
 lous have been His ways — marvellous of late, in humbling 
 us as we entered the valley of humiliation ; and marvellous 
 since in vouchsafing spiritual aid and blessing. Swartz is 
 my model. How genuine is he in everything ! 
 
 In about a week we set off for Penang, Moulmein, 
 Singapore, Malacca, and Ceylon. Thence, either back to 
 Calcutta, for dear Corrie's consecration, or on to Madras, 
 to grapple in close combat with the Caste question. We 
 have had a most affecting meeting at my chapel ; prayers 
 with Archdeacon Corrie, and have meditated on Acts xx. 
 
 Aug. 24, 1834. 
 We are now preparing to depart on the morrow at 
 gun-fire. I desire to resign body and soul, time and 
 
12 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 opportunities, duties and results, to my Heavenly Father. 
 The Lord's will be done in us ! I send you all my bless- 
 ing. I sympathise in all your trials, private and public, 
 God will work good in and by them. Heaven is the 
 repose after toil of the wayworn traveller in his journey 
 of conflict. Many, many blessings has our Heavenly 
 Father vouchsafed to us, the greatest of rebels. Bear up 
 — 'bear on. Christ wiU carry us through. Oh for His 
 Spirit more and more! — His love — His cross — and at 
 last His crown! 
 
 At Sea, Sept. 18, 1834. 
 Conceive of us again, my beloved children, upon the 
 wide deep. After nearly two years' residence we are once 
 more prisoners in the narrow confines of a vessel. The 
 sea-air is deKcious. The last nine days have been most 
 refreshing to me. They have given time for meditation, 
 for prayer, for recollection, for humiliation. 
 
 This has been a most valuable month to me on board 
 ship. It has opposed a dyke to the influx of new busi- 
 ness, and has given me time to reflect on the old. I have 
 also been studying Mill's "British India" for the second 
 time. It fills me with matter for musing. This morning 
 the beautiful outline of the various islands of these Straits, 
 at a distance of about thirteen miles, contrasted so finely 
 with the briUiant clouds above and the dark blue sea at 
 their feet, as to excite our admiring gratitude, I trust, to 
 the great Author of every good. I have been expounding 
 in family prayers St. John's Gospel. We are in the 
 eighteenth chapter, and endeavoured this morning to enter 
 into our Lord's confession before Pilate, and the people's 
 
PENANG. 13 
 
 mad preference of Barabbas to Jesus. May the sufPerings 
 of Gethsemane and tbe Judgment-ball be ever near to 
 our bearts, and a source of joy and a spring of con- 
 solation under our ligbter sorrows ! 
 
 At Sea, Sept. 19, 1834. 
 Tbe beautiful island of Penang is raising its mountain 
 tops in our view, 2500 feet above tbe sea. Two boats, 
 witb fruits and fresb meat, are coming off to us. "We are 
 about twenty miles distant. Tbe bigb land of Queda, on 
 tbe Malaya peninsula, forms a giant guard to tbe entrance 
 of tbe barbour. Tbe island of Sumatra (wbicb, witb tbe 
 peninsula, forms the Straits) is too far off to be seen, but 
 numerous islands, like volcanic mountains, lift tbeir backs 
 above tbe dark blue waves. Tbe rising sun is sbedding 
 its glories over tbe wbole scene — but ob, tbe misery of 
 man ! Malay pirates, Cbinese idolaters, twenty- two na- 
 tions congregated, Mabometans, Siamese Bboodists, — 
 all is ignorance, pollution, enmity against God and boli- 
 ness. Tbey are strangers to tbemselves, to Cbrist, to 
 peace. Tbe prince of tbis world bere revels in tbe bKnd- 
 ness and woes of a fallen world. 
 
 5 P.M. 
 
 "We are now entering tbe port. Tbe panorama of tbe 
 Straits exceeds all tbat you can imagine. Tbe Bay of 
 Naples must yield to tbis oriental magnificence. On tbe 
 left, as we sit on tbe poop, tbe bigb land of Queda raises 
 itself in soft but magnificent grandeur, tbe outline varied 
 
14 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 and broken by tbe bills and valleys, and bere and tbere 
 tbe separate island interposing its solitude. As tbe eye 
 approacbes tbe moutb of tbe bay, tbe low grass meadows 
 on eitber side, witb tbe sbipping between tbe rocks, pre- 
 sent a new scene. Furtber on in tbe panorama to tbe 
 rigbt, tbe mountains of Penang form tbe full front pro- 
 spect, witb tbeir banging woods, tbe intervening meadows, 
 and reed-bouses running down to tbe water's edge. 'No- 
 tbing can be more beautiful. Even tbe Cape did not 
 strike me as so extensive and variegated, tbougb tbe sur- 
 prise and contrast were tben absolutely new, and tbere- 
 fore more striking. But two years in tbe mepbitic salt- 
 petre flats of Bengal bave been sufficient to create some 
 adequate deligbt in a more tban European verdure. 
 
 At Sea, Oct 3, 1834. 
 We sailed yesterday afternoon from Penang, and are 
 proceeding about seven miles an bour. To-morrow nigbt, 
 or Sunday morning, we bope to be at Singapore. Our 
 
 dearest is left bebind at Penang still ill. Tbis is a 
 
 beavy affliction, as you may imagine ; but it is tbe Lord, 
 and is, doubtless, one of tbe bumiliating dispensations I 
 alluded to in a former letter. "Well, beaven will soon be 
 bere, if we are but in earnest as to our own salvation. I 
 was reading last nigbt, in tbe usual way, tbe 119tb Psalm. 
 Wbat boliness is tbere breatbed ! May we bave some 
 rays of tbe glory reflected on us from tbe face of Jesus 
 Cbrist, wbilst tbe rigbteousness of tbat adorable Saviour 
 is ours for justification also ! 
 
SINGAPORE. 15 
 
 Singapore, Oct. 6, 1834. 
 Here we arrived on Saturday afternoon. The view as 
 we approached the island was enchanting ; the extreme 
 southern point of Asia was on our left, with a rim of low 
 country running along the boundary of the ocean ; whilst 
 on our right, as well as left, a variety of small islands, 
 with their mountain-tops and hanging woods, charmed 
 us ; the verdure reaching to the water's edge, the groups 
 of opening and receding lands, the lighter and darker 
 shades of the prominent and retired objects, the calmness 
 of the unruffled wave, the town of Singapore itself 
 stretching along the bottom of the harbour, the mass of 
 shipping from all nations, — American, Bornese, Japanese, 
 Celebes, Chinese, — formed a tout ensemble perhaps no- 
 where to be equalled. I preached yesterday morning, 
 and have set on foot the building of a church. Here, 
 again, the visit of a Bishop is of the utmost value. I 
 speak not of the individual, but of the office, of course. 
 The settlement has existed fifteen years, and this is the 
 first time a Bishop has been here. On Wednesday a Con- 
 firmation takes place, and I preach afterwards. Oh, what 
 grace is required for these visitation duties ! Lord, vouch- 
 safe thy sevenfold Spirit. Here, in Singapore, we are in 
 the midst of the gold and silver and tortoise-shell trade, 
 as well as nutmeg, pepper, and all the spices which ren- 
 der our European food fragrant. The Government House 
 stands on a beautiful hill, commanding a view of the bay 
 and shipping. As I went up the hill I stopped to see the 
 nutmeg. It is a bushy, shrub-like tree, and bears after 
 seven years ; the nutmeg is the kernel of a fruit like our 
 
16 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 chestnut. The shell opens when ripe and discloses the 
 red mace. 
 
 Malacca, Oct. 11, 1834. 
 
 I have ascended the Fort Hill this morning, near the 
 old Dutch Stadt-house, where I am received. I walked 
 about the ruined church of St. Xavier, which he erected 
 about 1540 : the roof is gone ; weeds and wild trees fill the 
 area between the external walls, which are standing. I could 
 trace no memorial of Xavier, who died in Japan and was 
 buried at Goa ; but many inscriptions on the Dutch tomb- 
 stones are legible : amongst them one of a Bishop of Java ; 
 for the Dutch held it from 1640 to 1795, and again from 
 1801 to 1807, and a third time from 1815 tiU 1825. It 
 then was exchanged with England for Bencoolen. It is 
 a most romantic spot, of about forty miles by thirty, in the 
 Malayan peninsula. The approach from the sea is exqui- 
 sitely beautiful from the studded islands, hanging woods, 
 distant mountains, and refreshing verdure down to the 
 water's edge. The loftiest mountain the Portuguese call 
 Mount Ophir. Here we are in the midst of sugar-canes, 
 pines, pepper, gold dust, betel-nuts, ivory — all the produc- 
 tions of the richest and most delicious spot in the East. 
 But "man is vile" here, as in aU Pagan countries. The 
 Dutch have left a church, and the London Missionary 
 Society have a school, and two pious excellent men as 
 missionaries. I am anxious to see what I can do to ^ 
 a clergyman, found schools, or open something like the 
 regular services of our Church. 
 
 At Sea, Oct.n, 1834. 
 
 I have spent two most busy days at Malacca, and I 
 
PENANG. 17 
 
 hmnbly trust more real good has been done, compared with 
 the extent of the station, than anywhere else. Oh, what 
 wisdom, grace, spirituality, are required at every place we 
 visit ! As a high tone of religion is set by us, Christ is 
 proportionably honoured. 
 
 Penang, Oct 16, 1834. 
 
 We arrived here again on Tuesday afternoon. Our 
 ship took ground about five miles from the shore, through 
 
 the neglect of not receiving a pilot. Our dear is 
 
 quite unable to proceed to Moulmein with us, but will 
 
 remain under the kind roof of Lady M , in the hope 
 
 that the hill air will do her good. Thus affliction, sepa- 
 ration, uncertainty, are still our dispensation. A pleasing 
 incident occurred last evening. A Chinese, whom we saw 
 
 at Mrs. D 's, a printer, not a Christian, but favourably 
 
 disposed, came in with a tray filled with difierent things, 
 as a present to me as a Teacher of Truth. 
 
 I have been reading Waddington's "History of the 
 Church." It wants the evangelical piety and judgment of 
 Milner, but it far surpasses Mosheim. Waddington is 
 candid, laborious, trustworthy : he is orthodox in senti- 
 ment, in the common sense of the word, but too indifferent 
 and uninterested. The whole is to me, at this juncture, 
 most instructive. Spirituality, simplicity, evangelical 
 doctrine, with a mild discipline and administration of the 
 sacraments, and a holy, mortified life — this is Christianity. 
 Secularity, tradition, justification by works, the opus ope^ 
 ratuniy tyranny over the conscience — this is not Christ- 
 ianity. The wisdom, moderation, and primitive purity of 
 
 c 
 
18 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 our own Churcli, when administered in her genuine spirit, 
 please me more and more. 
 
 Moulmein, Oct 24, 1834. 
 Thank God, we arrived last eyening, after a run of 700 
 miles in less than six days, at this romantic new settlement. 
 It contains about 14,000 natives, Burmese, 40 European 
 civil servants, 50 native mihtary, and 400 European sol- 
 diers. It stands on the river Martaban, opposite to the 
 Burmese town of the same name. It has only been inha- 
 bited for eight years, and is a military outpost in the Bur- 
 mese empire. The native simplicity of the wooden, un- 
 painted houses, the wild people all around, the fine river 
 and mountains, are quite different from anything we have 
 yet seen. Alas ! the Buddhist idolatry prevails. Pagodas 
 are on every eminence ; a heathen priesthood, in their long 
 yellow vests, is marching about in procession. my God, 
 look, we pray Thee, on the dark places of the earth, which 
 are full of the habitations of cruelty and lust ! for here is 
 no institution of marriage — none, not even the Hindoo or 
 Mahometan. Thank God, there is a clergyman here, 
 a church, a school. The Americans have missionaries. 
 Mr. Judson is one. May the sevenfold Spirit descend here ! 
 
 At Sea, Oct. SO, 1834. 
 We embarked on Tuesday for Ceylon — a voyage of 
 1360 nules. And now may praise fill my heart. "Ebenezer ! 
 Hitherto the Lord hath helped me." I sometimes read 
 over the letters I received in England before my departure. 
 Mr. "Wilberforce thus writes: — " A comfortable and safe 
 
AT SEA. 19 
 
 passage to tlie scene of your labours, a large measure of 
 peace in your own bosom, extensive usefulness, and tbat 
 you may be taken to your grave amidst tbe tears of thou- 
 sands of pagans turned from darkness unto light, and from 
 the power of Satan unto God." And Mr. John Scott 
 thus : — " May the Lord give you all that sail with you ! 
 May you impart the fulness of the blessing of the Gospel 
 of Christ, and commission other good men, full of the 
 Holy Ghost, to do the same." Prayers as suitable now as 
 in April 1832, when they were written to me. I have 
 journeyed now upwards of 3000 miles since I left Calcutta, 
 and have 2000 more to go. But God is faithful. Life or 
 death with Jesus is gain — infinite gain. 
 
 My heart sinks as I approach the difficult and delicate 
 duties awaiting me at Ceylon and Madras. Faith is often 
 called into exercise, I can assure you — faith in the will of 
 God, in the power of Christ, in the operations of His 
 grace and Spirit. May I be found faithful ! It is an 
 awful responsibility. I am now reading Bingham's "An- 
 tiquities," and thus am embuing my soul with the wise 
 lessons of the past. To discharge my appropriate duties to 
 the Church of Christ, and to the particular branch of it 
 intrusted to my jurisdiction; to be the simple, spiritual 
 minister of the Cross, and yet the diligent steward of my 
 Lord's talents ; to fill up my station ; to rise to its real 
 elevation, and not drag it down to my misery ; to main- 
 tain the holy, consistent, uniform tenor of doctrine which 
 I entered on in 1796, if I may humbly trust myself so to 
 speak ; to detect the errors of two years' residence here, 
 the false lights, the glare, the distractions, the novelties, 
 
20 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 and to establish a more spiritual, firm, exalted standard ; 
 to distinguish between what I really am in the sight of 
 God, and what men may, perhaps in charity or from 
 custom, think me to be ; to make Christ all in all; — these 
 are, I hope, my honest aims : but the difficulties, snares, 
 impediments, trials, obstacles, are incredible, and all the 
 little good that may be at last done will be wholly and 
 entirely the work of God and the fruit of His undeserved 
 grace. 
 
 Nov. 6, 1834. 
 A day of squalls, contrary winds, and swell on the sea, 
 haye retarded us much, whilst deluges of rain have forced 
 us to keep the cabin. "We are now sailing round the 
 broad south shores of Ceylon. Dondhra Head and Point 
 de Galle are now full in my view as I am sitting on 
 the poop ; and all the interior of the island presents 
 itself as a sea of clouds, with the lofty mountain-tops 
 peeping up, and thrusting their solid, rocky peaks above 
 them, not unlike the Isle of Wight. We are coasting up 
 to Colombo, and shall probably arrive after dark, which is 
 at six o'clock all the year round, and land in the morning, 
 so as to have two days for arranging for Sunday. 
 
 Off Colombo, Nov, 7, 1834. 
 'I We are anchored in the roads. We had a magnificent 
 scene before us all the day yesterday, as we were skirting 
 the south coast of Ceylon, for 120 miles. At three o'clock 
 we were off Galle and sent letters, but we only arrived 
 here at three this morning. The view at sunrise was most 
 superb. Imagine the town with the low land in front, then 
 
COLOMBO. Si 
 
 tiers of mountains behind, with all their variety of outline 
 stretching beyond the sight on either hand, whilst in the 
 farthest distance Adam's Peak, as it is called, 7000 feet 
 above the level of the sea, was lifting up itself like a giant 
 guard, all illustrated and projected by the rising sun from 
 behind, which gilded and defined, without obscuring by its 
 glare, every object ; and just enabled us to discern the groves 
 of cocoa and palm-trees which positively hedge in the 
 whole island, and form, with the cinnamon- gardens and 
 precious stones, the riches and ornament of the place. To 
 God be praise for all His goodness hitherto. He that hath 
 delivered and doth deliver, to Him we trust that He will 
 yet deliver. 
 
 Kandy, Nov, 15, 1834. 
 We returned from Cotta on Tuesday night, and on 
 Wednesday I held a Confirmation at Colombo : 108 were 
 confirmed. On Thursday I delivered my charge, and in- 
 vited all the clergy to dinner. Yesterday, at 5 a.m., we set 
 ofi" in the mail coach (for such is the fact), and came here 
 by the extraordinary road cut by Sir Edward Barnes for 
 military purposes. You cannot imagine at what labour and 
 expense this road was formed. It resembles the celebrated 
 Simplon of Bonaparte. The ascent is so gradual, though 
 we are now 1600 or 1700 feet above Colombo, that the 
 horses trot up almost the whole way; and as for the 
 scenery, it is quite impossible for me to describe it — the 
 wildest, most magnificent, and yet varied and picturesque, 
 that ever spake the creative goodness of the Almighty : 
 masses of rock behind rock; with hanging woods, rivers' 
 in the glens, waterfalls, rice-fields with their ascending 
 
22 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 trenches, the beautiful ebony-tree, cocoa-nut, taliput, and 
 bread-fruit, all cast into light and shade by the change of 
 intervening objects, and at intervals the most noble bridges 
 thrown over the mountain torrents. We arrived at about 
 six in the evening at Government House. Most refreshing 
 is the coolness. I am now preparing for my delightful 
 spiritual duties in concurrence with the Chaplain and the 
 
 Church Missionary, Mr. B , who has been fourteen 
 
 years here. Oh, what a change ! The King of Kandy 
 twenty years since, ruled all the interior of Ceylon with a 
 sceptre of cruelty and oppression, and there was no security 
 of life and property. An unanimous petition of the nobles 
 placed the kingdom under British law and dominion. We 
 have now the whole island, and I trust I may tomorrow 
 preach a crucified Saviour amidst the temples of Bhoodi 
 and the mosques of Mahomet. I hold a Confirmation this 
 morning, address the native converts on Monday, and re- 
 turn, please God, to Colombo on Tuesday. Oh, what a 
 grace to be permitted thus to take a share in the commu- 
 nication of the unsearchable riches of Christ to the 
 idolaters and savages of the kingdom of Kandy, the pro- 
 verbial seat of darkness and blood ! Even now a conspiracy 
 has just been detected for murdering the Government and 
 Council and driving out the English. It was absolute 
 madness, but such was the traitorous plan, and the trials 
 of the twenty-one natives seized are coming on next month. 
 It was detected in July. 
 
 May God lead and sanctify us all in our different lines 
 of duty. The di£B.culties which surround me at every step 
 are great. But God has helped, and will help, after He 
 
CEYLON. 23 
 
 has humbled and tried. Affliction with prosperity is the 
 lot of the militant, as joy with prosperity is of the 
 triumphant church. 
 
 Colombo, Nov. 21, 1834. 
 
 We returned on Tuesday from Kandy, and proceed 
 to-morrow to Point de Galle, where we propose stajdng 
 till the 25th. Trincomalee will be the last station in Ceylon 
 which I visit. It is the finest harbour in India. You 
 should have seen my levee at Kandy, when I received all 
 the native princes, termed Adigars, and all the Bhoodi 
 priests. I addressed them through an interpreter, con- 
 gratulated them on the British protection and law, on 
 their loyalty during the late conspiracy, and told them, 
 that as there was but one sun in the natural world, so 
 there was but one Sun of Righteousness, even Jesus Christ, 
 made known in the Holy Scriptures, in the spiritual 
 world. These Adigars wear immense folds of linen 
 round the waist, which double their natural size, and are 
 absurdly hot and unwieldy. The priests wear a mantle 
 of yellow cloth. 
 
 Trincomalee, Nov. 29, 1834. 
 
 "We landed at Point de Galle on Saturday morning, 
 amidst the firing of cannon, lines of soldiery, and native 
 authorities, and under a triumphal arch built to honour my 
 arrival. I preached on Sunday to a congregation of 300 
 from Luke iv. 18, 19. May God assist me in discharging 
 the duties of the close of life, so as to confirm those of each 
 preceding period. Christ is all. 
 
 On Tuesday, before we left Galle, we gave a day to 
 Baddegamme, a lovely spot belonging to the Church Mis^ 
 
24 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 sionary Society, about fourteen miles up the river of the 
 same name. The romantic journey, the admixture of 
 spiritual and natural beauties, the novelty of the whole 
 scene, have left an impression not soon to be effaced. 
 The Mission was founded about twenty years since by 
 
 the Rev. Mr. M , as I think, in a charming recess of 
 
 mountains and valleys, soft and delicious, something like 
 that around Richmond Hill. Here the pious Missionaries 
 have each their pretty abode, ample (for there is no 
 ground-rent to pay, and the houses are only one story 
 high, with jutting roofs like the Swiss cottages, and large 
 verandahs), neat, prettily furnished, with the modest 
 book-case at one end of the sitting-room. Each has 
 his own hill, with his out-offices and schools, and other 
 buildings, to which you ascend from the river by a steep, 
 winding, mountain track. 
 
 About four o'clock we re-embarked, and arrived at 
 Galle after sixteen hours' absence. The next morning, 
 Wednesday, we left for this, our last station in Ceylon. 
 Two and a-half tossing days were a contrast to preceding 
 scenes. Yesterday, at five in the afternoon, we opened on 
 this harbour, one of the finest in the world, and capable of 
 containing at once the whole navy of England. You enter 
 by a narrow rock-built passage of only a quarter of a mile 
 in width, crowned with Osnaburg Fort, commanding the 
 pass. A harbour like an inland lake, of six miles in circuit, 
 and deep water up to the very shores, thus stretches before 
 you, surrounded with mountains, and under the sway of 
 the principal fort, which renders the place impregnable. 
 On one of these mountain-guards the Admirars house 
 
CEYLON. 25 
 
 stands, wliere we now are. I am writing at seven in the 
 morning, with my four windows open — the steamer at 
 anchor in the harbour under my eye ; the chief fort raising 
 its height before me at the distance of a mile; the fishing- 
 boats dotting the waves ; the nearer rocks covered with 
 verdure to the water's edge, and backed behind with other 
 ranges in fainter outline ; the entrance of the harbour 
 hidden by the rude intervening mountains ; — nothing can 
 be finer : but man, man, fallen man, is vile ! All is idolatry, 
 vice, defilement, dishonour of God, misery, and turbulence 
 of passion — darkness that may be felt; and the few nominal 
 Christians are indifierent, cold, feeble, compromising. Oh, 
 my children, if ever Bishop was wanted, it is here ! God 
 help me ! 
 
 Dec. 1, 1834. 
 
 "We are detained here to-day by stress of weather. 
 Wonderfully does Providence watch over us. We had 
 scarcely turned a dangerous point on Friday, and entered 
 this superb harbour, when a stiff gale came on, which the 
 vessel could not possibly have faced; and there it lies in 
 perfect tranquillity, at anchor, in the inner harbour before 
 my eyes, whilst the gale has been blowing with incessant 
 torrents of rain ever since. 
 
 At Sea, Dec. 5, 1834. 
 
 Here have we been for four days, the sport of winds and 
 waves, with no immediate prospect of change. This is the 
 most trying period since I left Portsmouth, in June 1832. 
 On Monday night the captain thought that appearances 
 were favourable, and that on Tuesday we should be able to 
 sail. Tuesday came. All was calm. Wind in right quarter. 
 
26 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 We should be at Madras, I was told, on Wednesday night, 
 if all was well. I rejoiced. We set sail early on Tuesday 
 morning. ' Before evening, the wind and sea became 
 violent and directly adverse, and this is the fourth day 
 that we have been carried we scarcely know where, for the 
 clouds have prevented our making any observation of lati- 
 tude and longitude. In this state the engines have become 
 useless by the boilers' failing, and there is danger, of 
 course, every moment, of serious injury to the masts or 
 hull of the vessel. You may judge of our discomfort. 
 It has been a melancholy time of distraction, incapacity, 
 prostrated powers of body and mind. Yesterday I sum- 
 moned our passengers at the usual hour of prayer, and 
 after reading Ps. cvii. offered the two prayers which are 
 appointed to be used in storms at sea. This morning 
 we prayed again in the extreme confusion of the cuddy, 
 and when my voice could hardly be distinguished amidst 
 the roaring of the sea, the clatter of the furniture, and the 
 noise of the servants and seamen. We read Acts xxvii. 
 13-36, and I then poured out our cries to God in our 
 calamity. Now I have my writing-desk open for the first 
 time since I came on board, and am offering to my chil- 
 dren the picture of the first real distress we have met 
 with at sea since we left England. 
 
 Dec. 8, 1834. 
 
 Through God's great mercy the gale has gradually 
 
 abated, though the swell continues, as well as the contrary 
 
 state, though no longer violent, of the wind. At noon on 
 
 Friday we were obliged to let the ship drive, for the sake of 
 
AT SEA. 27 
 
 preserving her, as several feet of water were in the hold, 
 and she was strained in every part. Yesterday (Sunday), 
 we were twenty miles further from Madras than we were 
 on quitting Trincomalee the Tuesday preceding. This was 
 a fearful state of things, but when the captain " bore up " 
 and followed the wind on Friday, at noon, and the breeze 
 at midnight moderated, the danger was over. Instead of 
 four feet water in the well, and all pumps going, the boiler 
 is repaired and the steam again set on. We are now in 
 our right course, and, if God help us, hope to arrive at 
 Madras on Thursday, eight days later than we at first 
 expected. Yesterday the rolling continued so great, that 
 we could only have morning prayer without a sermon, 
 but at night I expounded Ps. xxix., written after a 
 storm extending both to land and sea, as it is supposed, in 
 which the voice of the Lord in thunder and lightning, and 
 the noise of many waters, prepares for the concluding con- 
 solation of His sitting as king upon His throne above the 
 water-floods, and administering strength to sustain under 
 the calamity, and peace as the sweet fruit of it to His 
 people. 
 
 Dec. 9, 1834. 
 Since I closed my letter yesterday the weather has 
 continued more and more delightful, and the wind more 
 and more favourable. We meditated last evening on 
 Ps. xl., God extracting our feet from the miry clay; 
 a new song put into our mouths; His countless mercies 
 declared, especially in Messiah, who came to do His will ; 
 our sins more than the hairs of our head, and only thus to 
 be expiated. God will put the wicked at length to shame. 
 
38 
 
 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 and cause the poor and needy to sing of His salvation. This 
 morning, Heb. xiii. gave us fresh topics for brotherly love ; 
 for freedom from care; for bold confession of Christ, "the 
 same yesterday, to-day, and for ever;" for standing fast 
 established in grace ; for going forth to Christ out of the 
 camp, bearing His reproach; for seeking a continuing 
 city above ; and for offering the sacrifice of ceaseless 
 praise. This evening we have been following David, Ps. 
 cxxxii., in his zeal for the house of God, in his prayer 
 for Messiah to arise and take possession of it, in his 
 prophecy of Messiah sitting on David's throne and of 
 his horn flourishing, in his intercessions that the Lord's 
 priests may be clothed with salvation, and his saints shout 
 aloud for joy. 
 
 Madras, Dec. 11,1834. 
 We landed yesterday. A heavy surf finished our 
 calamities with its own petty annoyance, making us all 
 wet through. But this was nothing, the preceding de- 
 liverance having been so great. All naval men now tell 
 us, the danger being past, that our peril when the water 
 was gaining on the pumps, and the whole vessel was 
 strained, on Friday, was very considerable. 
 
29 
 
 CHAPTEH II. 
 
 Sermon at Vepery — Mission Church — Engagements at Madras — 
 Journey to Palaveran — Encampment — Permacoil — The Road 
 lost — Address to Natives — Cuddalore — Mayaveram — Illus- 
 trations of Scripture — Combaconum — Arrival at Tanjore — 
 Visit from Dr. Kohloff — Swartz's Grave — Caste Question — 
 Conference with, and Sermon to, the separated Christians — 
 Visit to the Rajah — Description of Dr. Kohloff — Anecdotes of 
 Swartz — Rajah returns his Visit — Sermon in Swartz's Church 
 
 — State of Southern Missions' — Encouragement at Motaputty 
 
 — Sacrament under Tent — Bishop Heber's Bath — Confirm- 
 ation — Ordination of Five Missionaries — Caste Question — 
 Missionary Charge — Affecting Parting — Mayaveram on return 
 
 — Further Illustrations of Scripture — Porto Novo — Pondi- 
 cherry — Interview with Governor — Return to Madras — Re- 
 flections on Eph. iii. 15. 
 
 Madras, Dec. 12, 1834. 
 The mass of business which, opens upon us here, with 
 difficulties, discussions, delicate questions, is indescribable. 
 Thus God compensates outward blessings by preponder- 
 ating trials ; the glorious Gospel commission with the 
 thorn in the flesh ; success upon the whole with infinite 
 trials in the details ; the Church's general triumphs with 
 the Corinthian dissensions and divisions in particidar. 
 May grace sufficient vouchsafed, and Christ's power rest- 
 ing upon me, be manifest, and I trust I shall desire to 
 
30 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 glory in my infirmities after the example of St. Paul. 
 God's will be done ! 
 
 Dec. 29, 1834. 
 I had a blessed Sabbath yesterday. I preached twice, 
 and both times in the morning. At eight o'clock I 
 preached to the native Christians at Yepery, from Acts 
 xi. 26 : " And the disciples were called Christians first in 
 Antioch." I then administered the Holy Communion 
 to ninety-seven persons. Caste is here unknown. All 
 are one in Christ Jesus. SuQh a sight as this has not 
 been seen since Swartz's death. The beautiful Gothic 
 Yepery Mission-church, built chiefly by the munificence 
 of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, filled 
 with the humble disciples seated on the ground, after 
 their manner, writing down my sermon on their books 
 of leaves, the interpreter rendering clause by clause, pre- 
 sented a most striking spectacle. I asked them first. 
 What is a disciple ? and, secondly. Wherefore is he called 
 a Christian? I. A disciple is one taught of Christ. 
 The unity, glory, and majesty of God. The fall, de- 
 pravity, and guilt of man. The recovery of man by re- 
 demption. But this must be in the heart — felt — inwardly 
 and deeply imprinted — so that conversion, the birth of 
 the Holy Spirit, and new creation, takes place. II. He 
 was called a variety of names, taken from heathen gods, 
 sects, and castes. The wicked 7nay caU Him now by 
 names of reproach and contumely. But he calls himself 
 a Christian. Because Christ is his master and Saviour. 
 Because he desires to confess Christ before men. Because 
 he is willmg to bear anything, and carry any cross. 
 
MADRAS* ; 31 
 
 in confessing Clirist. Application. — Beware of dis- 
 honouring this high, and holy, and blessed Name, by a 
 life or conduct inconsistent with Christ's doctrine. Come 
 to the Holy Communion, that you may confess your- 
 selves Christians; love one another, and know no name 
 but Christ. 
 
 To-morrow, at one in the morning, we start. But the 
 future morrow who shall disclose ? It is, where it ought 
 to be, with God. 
 
 Madras, Dec. 26, 1834. 
 
 I have to-day confirmed seventy-seven native Christ- 
 ians, and attended a numerous meeting of the Madras Bible 
 Society. After the Tamul Confirmation I called on Dr. 
 E-ottler of Copenhagen, who is in his 85th year, and has been 
 sixty years in India. So excellent is his sight that he can 
 read the smallest print without spectacles, and his hearing 
 continues good. He was the intimate friend and brother 
 of Swartz — a fine, venerable, holy disciple. He received 
 his first religious impressions when seven years of age. 
 He is very fond of botany, and is rather celebrated among 
 the scientific of Europe and Asia. When I asked him to 
 relate some particulars of his earlier reKgious life he was 
 so overcome that he could not proceed, and I turned the 
 subject. 
 
 Carangooly, Dec. 30, 1834. 
 
 I am now treading the ground where the beloved 
 Heber died in 1826. The track is solemn and afiecting 
 indeed. This is our third encampment. Here we remain 
 till three to-morrow morning. I am seated in the sitting- 
 room of the bungalow. My servant is bringing in my 
 
32 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 books, boxes, and clothes, and arranging tbem. My 
 writing-desk and cboicest books go with me inside my 
 palanquin ; my fourteen bearers are taking out the things 
 and placing them under the verandah. Every evening 
 at sunset part of the tents and baggage go on, to be ready 
 for us the following morning. The rest accompany or 
 follow us. The confusion, clamour, delays, impositions, 
 difficulty of obtaining food enough, complaints, noise of 
 women and children, multitudes of whom follow the camp, 
 are indescribable. The Archdeacon is our Commander- 
 in-chief. He was chaplain to Bishop Heber in 1826. 
 
 Permacoil, Jan. 1, 1835. 
 A happy new year to my beloved children ! We 
 are still Kving in tents. It is well that we have 
 soldiers with us, for our baggage was attacked last 
 night by a band of one hundred men, who fled at the 
 firing of the native musketry. The village head-officer 
 declares they were only villagers sent on to learn when 
 we were coming, but the Archdeacon thinks it most 
 likely they were thieves, and the soldiers describe the 
 action in high style. We had ourselves a slight in- 
 convenience. About four o'clock, when it was very 
 dark, I heard an extraordinary chattering among the 
 bearers. In a moment my palanquin was lowered to the 
 ground. I jumped out ; all the palanquins were abreast, 
 and the sixty or seventy bearers in full and most rapid 
 talk. They had lost their track. It was in the jungle, 
 and the ruts of the carts, the usual guide, failed, through 
 the ground having been trodden up during the rains. 
 
CUDDALORE. 33 
 
 The bearers had all stopped for the purpose of con- 
 sulting. The Captain, who always accompanies us him- 
 self on horseback, was up in an instant. The torch- 
 bearers were sent out in all directions ; the lost track or 
 star (for they go very much by the observation of the stars) 
 was found, and we resumed our march. It is curious and 
 interesting to see the manner in which we are welcomed 
 in each village and station. The under-coUector and the 
 mayor, with innumerable peons or police officers, and 
 villagers, come out to meet our caravan. Sometimes they 
 come out several miles. Tom-toms, horns, and rude music 
 accompany them. At one place an elephant, gaily capa- 
 risoned, led the train. On our arrival at our station the 
 leading natives press in upon us. Each has a present of 
 flowers and fruit, sometimes fish and vegetables. I have 
 to address them through an interpreter. My speech is 
 much the same everywhere : — " I am the friend of India. 
 I wish to make you all happy. I bring you the true 
 wisdom. Read and consider for yourselves. As the Kght 
 of the sun shines in the heavens, so doth the light of 
 truth in the Holy Scriptures." I make them always 
 understand that we pay for everything furnished to 
 supply our wants, and give no countenance whatever to 
 idolatry. The profuse kindness of the European resident 
 gentry, civil and military, is quite affecting. At Madras 
 the whole community vied in affectionate and respectful 
 attentions, and now on our march it is just the same. 
 We spent last Sunday at Cuddalore, and were lodged in a 
 beautiful house which happened to be empty. Cuddalore 
 is one of the most charming spots in the south of India, 
 
 D 
 
84 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 and is on the sea-coast. These are the first native 
 
 cliurclies agitated with, the Caste question, or rather, with 
 
 the heathen customs connected with that ensnaring bond 
 
 of the whole system. I held a Confirmation during my 
 
 stay. 
 
 Chillumbrum^ Jan. 6, 1835. 
 
 We have been visiting the prodigious Pagoda for 
 which this place is celebrated, with its thousand pillars, 
 its splendid gateways, its interior courts, its mass of 
 buildings larger than Christ's Church, Oxford, its Brah- 
 mins without end, its rows of columns from the temple to 
 an external gate for holding festivals during the pro- 
 cessions of the idols. Oh, when shall this stupendous 
 accumulation of buildings become a Missionary College, 
 with its churches, its schools, its Christian establishment, 
 its dormitories and refectories ! 
 
 Sheally^ Jan. 7, 1835. 
 
 Our march was long, from the bad state of the road 
 and the rivers to be crossed, for these rivers often occur. 
 The palanquin is lowered in the twinkling of an eye ; 
 the ferrymen push, the bearers sit on the sides : all pro- 
 ceeds as a matter of course. We are now in the king- 
 dom of Tanjore. In the bungalow where I now am, 
 Bishop Heber spent March 22, 1826. The Missionary * 
 also spent twenty-five years very much in these spots. 
 May God give me wisdom, firmness, and grace in His 
 Gospel ! 
 
 Mayaveram^ Jan. 8, 1835. 
 
 Here I am, in a delightful chamber of Sir H. Mont- 
 * Swartz. — Editor. 
 
COMBACONUM. S5 
 
 gomery's, waiting for my early cup of tea, after a most 
 pleasant march of nearly three hours through a beautiful 
 country — the rice-fields waving with their green mass of 
 blade-grass, every field soaked and floated. Literally they 
 " sow amidst many waters," " cast their bread (corn) upon, 
 them," " water them with their foot," which removes the 
 petty embankment when they let in the stream; whilst 
 "the sending out thither the feet of the ox and the ass" 
 is perpetually seen. The language of Scripture is, in- 
 deed, continually illustrated here. The " taking ofi" the 
 shoe" when you enter a house, as a token of respect, is 
 the invariable practice. The long, ceremonious mode of 
 "salutation" — the women not carrying their children, but 
 "bearing them on their sides," for they all ride on the 
 mother's hip — the presents offered when any one ap- 
 proaches you — the sending on as Abigail did to David 
 food to refresh travellers on their march — the living in 
 tents — the patriarchal multitude accompanying any person 
 of station — the indispensable blessings of the former and 
 latter rains — the iron styles or pens, and the reed books, 
 — are only a few examples out of thousands. 
 
 Comhaconum, Jan. 9, 1835. 
 After a march of six hours, we arrived here about 
 seven o'clock. Sir H. and Lady Montgomery overwhelmed 
 us with kindness in their charming abode at Mayaveram. 
 We are here also received by the Collector, Mr. Freer, 
 with the greatest hospitality. This is the ancient seat of 
 the Rajahs of Tanjore, and indeed of the Chola race, one 
 of the most celebrated of the Hindoo dynasties. It ia 
 
36 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 accounted peculiarly holy, so tliat the old Brahmins come 
 here to die. It is twenty- three miles only from Tanjore, 
 and the Missionaries have come over to meet us. I have 
 been conferring with them the whole morning on the 
 important question of caste. We have altogether nearly 
 10,000 native Christians, and three or four thousand in 
 schools. May Grod be pleased to assist and direct ! Our 
 morning reading was Gen. xv. 1-6 — Abraham justified 
 by faith ; an innumerable seed promised, as the stars of 
 heaven; God his shield and exceeding great reward. 
 
 Tanjore^ Saturday^ Jan. 10, 1835. 
 After six hours' march we have just arrived. I am 
 now writing in the bungalow allotted me at the Presidency 
 by Col. Maclaine ; — a charming one, indeed, it is. As we 
 entered the suburbs of Tanjore, the venerable KohloflP, 
 ordained by Swartz in 1787, at which time the elder 
 Kohloff celebrated the jubilee of his own mission, and 
 retired from active duty, came to meet me, with hundreds 
 of his native priests, catechists, and school-children. They 
 chanted a sweet hymn in Tamul, crowds of heathen sur- 
 rounding us. I was almost overcome, though a sleepless, 
 tossing journey of six hours had already sufficiently ex- 
 hausted my spirits. Here we shall remain for ten days. 
 The most difficult duty awaits me that ever I had to per- 
 form. Seventeen hundred Christians have separated from 
 the Church in consequence of my letters about caste.* 
 
 « The Bishop had written to them from Calcutta. See " Memoir." 
 'Editor. 
 
TANJORE. 37 
 
 They are headed by two men of proud, artful, and violent 
 character — Diotrephes like. They have much to say, be- 
 cause they have never been instructed in the sinfulness of 
 caste ; because they cannot, and will not, distinguish be- 
 tween gradations in civil society and caste ; because they 
 have no conception of spiritual and vital Christianity ; 
 because they are almost all living in the vices of im- 
 purity and drunkenness ; because the uncivilised mind 
 cKngs to any petty distinctions with tenacious grasp. 
 
 Tanjore, Jan. 12, 1835. 
 I have stood on Swartz's grave ; I have visited his 
 house ; I have been in the room where he died ; I have 
 seen his garden, his burial-ground, and his mission- schools ; 
 I have preached twice in his church. Never can I bless 
 God enough for the honour of being permitted to speak of 
 the imsearchable riches of Christ in this seat of the great 
 Missionary's labours. From 1706 to 1835 the Grospel has 
 been proclaimed in the south. At Swartz's death there 
 had been made a large number of converts. Decays were 
 to be expected when faithful missionaries ceased to labour, 
 or could not be sent out in sufficient numbers. For 
 thirty-five years the flocks have been without many 
 true shepherds. Heathen customs have, during this time, 
 prevailed. Caste has gained ground; gross immoralities 
 have spread. The Christians are more than half-heathen 
 in ignorance and morals. To raise the prostrate Church 
 is my earnest desire. Caste in itself is nothing ; it is as 
 the inlet to heathenism that I oppose it. God give the 
 blessing ! 
 
38 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 On Saturday, at five, I had an lioiir and a half's 
 conference with the separated Christians. I treated them 
 with the utmost kindness ; heard all they had to say ; told 
 them I was going to stay three weeks in the south among 
 them ; begged them to come to church the next evening. 
 They then spoke one after another, being chiefly old 
 people who had been twenty, thirty, or forty years in the 
 service of the Mission, and had been dismissed by the 
 Missionaries for not submitting to my letter. I told them 
 I would soften things as much as I could, but that my 
 judgment was unalterable as to removing all heathen 
 customs of caste. They all sang a beautiful Tamul hymn 
 before they left me. They appear much disposed to 
 hearken to my words. Yesterday morning I preached a 
 missionary sermon to the English, and such as could 
 understand English. All the settlement, except one sick 
 lady, were present. In the evening the fine church was 
 crowded: — 700 native Christians, 320 Soodra Christian 
 separatists, 60 or 70 heathen, 50 Europeans : 1000 alto- 
 gether were present. I preached, by an interpreter, from 
 Eph. v. 2 : " Walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us.'' 
 I send you a sketch of the sermon : — 
 
 I. The love of Christ to us. He is God — the Eternal 
 Word. Man was a sinner — lost, ruined, blind, depraved, 
 condemned. Christ took on Him our nature to save us. 
 He died upon the cross. This was in our stead — for 
 us. All was done from His love to us. He sent His 
 Gospel to Tanjore by Father Swartz. Their fathers re- 
 ceived it from him in a penitent, believing heart. They 
 must do the same — receiving Christ's love, not as the 
 
TANJORE. 39. 
 
 Pharisee, but as the Publican. Then they would under- 
 stand and feel that love for themselves, would become new 
 creatures, and live to Him who loved them and gave 
 Himself for them. 
 
 Here I paused, and inquired if they understood 
 me ? if they saw something of Christ's love ? if they de- 
 sired to partake of its benefits ? To each question the 
 whole congregation answered, according to the Indian 
 custom. 
 
 II. Our love to our fellow- Christians : "Walk in love.'* 
 By nature, man walks in hatred, pride, lust, ignorance, 
 quarrels, separation. Like Jew and Gentile, Grreek and 
 Barbarian, Samaritan and Israelite. Now walk in love, as 
 united in Christ. This includes forgiveness of injuries, 
 help in trouble, mildness in reproof, reconciling of differ- 
 ences, governing the temper, and using authority with 
 tenderness. It does not alter differences of rank in civil 
 society — parents, masters, judges, rulers, officers, the aged, 
 the learned, the pious — but alters those impassable bar- 
 riers between man and man which heathenism erects; 
 alters the idea of defilement, degradation ; alters the au- 
 thority of Brahmins to judge about losing caste. They 
 must then walk in love, as the good Samaritan, who did 
 not pass by on the other side, like the Levite and Priest, 
 but went to the traveller, never dreaming of being defiled 
 thereby, and bound up his wounds. Love is the law of 
 Christ's religion, and whatever opposes that law in civil 
 usages must be renounced for Christ's sake. Would they 
 do so ? Did they wish for the love of Christ ? Would they 
 comply with the law of His kingdom ? They all answered 
 
,40 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 they would. I inquired if there was any one person pre- 
 sent who thought he did not need Christ's love for his 
 salvation : if there was, I begged him to stand up. 'Not 
 one stood up. I asked if any one objected to walk in love, 
 as Christ also loved them. J^ot one objected. " Then you 
 all submit to Christ ? " " Yes." I then pronounced the 
 Benediction in Tamul. Still, still, I fear whether the 
 impression will be permanent. There is no religious 
 character to go upon. Their objection is, they shall lose 
 consideration and rank among the heathen ; which ob- 
 jection proceeds on the false assumption that Christianity 
 allows intercourse and seeks honour with the heathen. 
 God only can work by His grace. My object is, to get 
 back these 1700 under the means of grace ; to obtain more 
 missionaries ; to form a new set of catechists and school- 
 masters; to make all new converts and candidates for 
 confirmation renounce caste at once and entirely : and 
 thus to hope for a revival of these fallen Churches. God 
 grant it ! 
 
 Tanjore, Jan. 13, 1835. 
 For two hours before breakfast, and four hours since, 
 have I been engaged in talking and hearing. I have had 
 150 of the natives with their leaders, who object to my letter. 
 The Archdeacon, the Missionaries and Catechist, and my 
 Chaplain, were present. I heard with patience all they had 
 to say. One entreated of me, that as Nineveh was spared 
 though it had been threatened, so I would spare them. 
 I made no replies, but said I would consider. They are to 
 come again to-morrow at half-past twelve. At the same 
 time I began by telling them my resolution was unalter- 
 
TANJORE. 41 
 
 able, and that all heathen customs contrary to the law of 
 Christ must be renounced. May God help us ! 
 
 Jan. 14, 1835. 
 
 I have had another three hours with the natives, hear- 
 ing their grievances. One said, that as Christ went away 
 and said to the disciples, " Sleep on, now, and take your 
 rest," so they wished I would do to them. Another man 
 used such language, that Mr. Cammerer would not inter- 
 pret it, and I was compelled to order him out of the 
 room. A third left the room in anger, determined to hear 
 nothing, good or bad. It is quite incredible what a state 
 of decline and death and immorality these poor people are 
 in. To allow such things to go on is to give up Christ- 
 ianity at once. To convince, however, and convert such 
 characters, is difficult indeed. God only can help. Better, 
 however, ten real Christians, than thousands of heathenish 
 nominal ones. 
 
 This morning I paid a visit of ceremony to the Rajah. 
 He sent his Prime Minister and Chief Secretary to conduct 
 me. They came in splendid palanquins, preceded by two 
 elephants richly caparisoned, and a body of soldiers. An 
 interpreter accompanied them. The Rajah sent me word 
 he longed exceedingly to see me, as a Padre had seated 
 his father on the Musnud (throne). We went in several 
 carriages, ten or twelve in number. As we entered 
 the fort the guns fired a salute. Crowds of soldiers 
 attended us, with about forty elephants and 3000 sol- 
 diers. On coming to the palace, which is an enormous 
 mass of ill-kept buildings, with courts, and squares, and 
 
42 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 gates without end, we came by degrees to tlie court which 
 opened on the presence-chamber. His Highness was on 
 the top of the stairs, most richly attired — covered with gold, 
 in fact — and came forward to meet us. Col. Maclaine 
 introduced me first, and then my company. The Rajah 
 took the Colonel and me by the hand, and placed us on 
 the riffht and left of the Musnud, which he ascended. I 
 began the conversation by saying I considered it a great 
 honour to be presented to the Rajah of the ancient king- 
 dom of Tanjore, whose father had been raised to the throne 
 by the venerable Swartz. I thanked his Highness for the 
 protection he afforded to the Christians, and the assistance 
 given to the schools. I said, India was the finest country 
 in the world for its extent, rivers, mountains, productions, 
 varieties of climate, and I hoped it would become equally 
 eminent for its knowledge of religion, civilisation, and 
 general prosperity. I told him I came from England for 
 love of India, and had for forty years been interested in its 
 welfare, and that my immediate object in coming to Tan- 
 jore was to make peace among the native Christians. The 
 poor Eajah speaks so little English, that I obtained very 
 few replies. We left, after receiving garlands, bouquets, 
 and otto of roses. But my heart is heavy for the poor 
 Christians. 
 
 Jan. 15, 1835. 
 Last evening the Missionaries dined here. The venerable 
 Kohloff was quite deKghtful. He has all the feelings and 
 manners of a gentleman, with a large and rather heavy 
 form, and a florid, healthy look : his hair is not yet nearly 
 so grey as Archdeacon Corrie's, and hangs long and loose 
 
TANJORE. 43 
 
 down his back. He soon lighted up in conversation, and 
 has a gentle turn for humour. His simplicity of character 
 and piety are extreme — very much like Swartz's. He gave 
 me many anecdotes about The Missionary. He was under 
 him thirty-five years. He never knew him angry or in- 
 dignant, except when any servants of the Lord were acting 
 inconsistently or timidly ; then he was all on fire. Once 
 Sattaiwaden threw dijB&culties in the way in undertaking 
 a journey. Swartz was most displeased, and despatched 
 him instantly with a sharp rebuke for dishonouring the 
 high calling of Christ. His management was extraordinary. 
 Mr. Chambers came to him to ask whether he might attend 
 a ball and supper at Col. Wood's (Swartz's great patron), 
 and began to urge that there could be no harm in dancing. 
 Swartz said, " Let us sit down ; I will give you no answer. 
 We will see what St. Paul says." He read ten verses. " Now, 
 what is the advice of St. Paul ? What does he consider 
 the comforts, blessings, joys of a Christian ? What does a 
 man do who receives these blessings into his heart ?" He 
 said no more. Mr. Chambers much ofPended Col. Wood 
 by not attending the ball. Swartz went of his own accord 
 the next morning, and put himself in the way of his dis- 
 pleased patrons. They were very sullen. Mrs. Wood said, 
 " Mr. Swartz, you spoiled our little party last night, by 
 depriving us of the company of Mr. Chambers." He replied, 
 " I assure you, dear madam, it was not my fault ; if there 
 was any fault, it was St. Paul's." His strength of body 
 for labour was wonderful. The whole Sunday he could go 
 on with a variety of public services. His influence was 
 supreme ; his word, law. His example and conduct con- 
 
44 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 sistent ; not so sweet and benignant, perhaps, as we liave 
 thought, but with firmness of purpose and sternness which 
 kept all around him in implicit subjection. He was very 
 
 much in this respect like dearest . Still, his general 
 
 demeanour must have been sweetness, frankness, good 
 humour. 
 
 Mr. Kohlo£P's mother used to send him a basket of 
 provisions when he first settled at Tanjore, in 1784. Swartz 
 used to open the basket, and taking the wine, put it up in 
 an almirah (cupboard), saying, "You don't want this." 
 He would then partake, perhaps, of the cakes. The wine 
 was put by, without asking Kohlofi'^s opinion, for the sick. 
 Swartz never touched wine, except one glass on the Sun- 
 day. He was complete master of every thing and every 
 body. He the father, all the other missionaries his family. 
 He perfectly understood the science of government of 
 mankind. 
 
 I have just been engaged in two opposite duties. The 
 one duty was preaching to the natives from Eev. iii. 2 : 
 "Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain 
 that are ready to die, for I have not foimd thy works per- 
 fect before God ;" the other was, receiving the Rajah. 
 He came in full state ; six elephants richly caparisoned, 
 six state camels, English band mounted, all his officers of 
 state on horseback, all his troops, his body of hunters, his 
 body-guard, — himself on a splendid horse surrounded with 
 guards, and a pavilion held over him. Col. Maclaine and 
 I received him, and conducted him to the drawing-room. 
 I told his Highness there would soon be only one religion 
 — the Christian. 
 
TANJORE. 45 
 
 Jan. 15, 1835. 
 Last evening tlie aged Koliloff drank tea liere with his 
 family, and most of the Missionaries. "We meditated at 
 family prayer on Ps. Ixxvii. Swartz was again our 
 subject of conversation. He was very affectionate in his 
 manners. He performed five duties every Sunday; one 
 being the whole English morning service. He read con- 
 stantly his Hebrew Bible and Greek Testament. I fancy 
 he never read the Scriptures but in the originals. Kohloff 
 presented me with his little well-worn Greek Testament. 
 Each week-day he assembled his catechists and native 
 priests to early prayers, and then sent them out. " You 
 go there. You visit such a circle. You see how such and 
 such families are going on.'' They returned about four, 
 and reported their proceedings. He went himself to the 
 schools and families in the neighbourhood, came in about 
 one, and remained at home studying or writing till four, 
 when the catechists returned. He then took them with 
 him and seated himself in the Mission churchyard, or in 
 his house, according to the season, and invited the heathen 
 to converse and hear him read the Bible. He was mild, 
 but very authoritative ; very acute also in answering their 
 objections, and never allowed himself to be embarrassed. 
 In the evening he called for his Persian Moonshee, and 
 heard him read the Persian poets or historians, to relieve 
 his spirits. He always inspired respect. No one dared 
 trifle with him. He had a good deal of policy and great 
 sagacity on emergencies. He was indefatigable in ac- 
 quiring languages whenever he changed his residence. 
 For instance, when he moved from Trichinopoly to Tan- 
 
46 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 jore he applied himself instantly to the Mahratta language, 
 and mastered it completely. He composed a compendium 
 of Christianity for the use of Tuljajee Mara Rajah, the 
 grandfather of the present king. He had it splendidly 
 bound in silk, presented it himself, and entreated the 
 Rajah to read the arguments with attention. Tuljajee gave 
 it to his prime minister as soon as Swartz was gone, who 
 took it up (he was a Brahmin), and, reading a page or 
 two, threw it indignantly on the ground, exclaiming, " It 
 was an infamous book." Swartz never heard more of the 
 work, and thought it must have been destroyed. When 
 Swartz was summoned to General Fullerton's head quar- 
 ters, the General requested previously of the officers to 
 respect the reverend Missionary, who was expected the 
 next day. It was unnecessary. Swartz first struck them 
 with reverence, and then inspired affection by his anec- 
 dotes and cheerfulness. 
 
 Jan. 18, 1835. 
 I enter upon these holy days here, in these Southern 
 Missions, with awe ; so few, so precious ! the ministration 
 of the Word so peculiarly important. blessed Jesus ! give 
 Thy servant grace, wisdom, success. How the great ques- 
 tion may turn out I know not. On Friday I confirmed 
 eighty-seven natives and eighteen English at the Fort 
 Church, which was literally crowded with natives, Christ- 
 ian and heathen. There, I saw the monument erected to 
 Swartz by Serfogee, the late E-ajah. There, I trod again 
 on the spot where the sainted feet of that extraordinary 
 man had been so often placed. There, I entered his 
 humble abode, which remains in the state in which he 
 
TANJORE. 47 
 
 left it. The death-like attention of the people is at all 
 events encouraging. 
 
 On Saturday I assembled the Missionaries for prayer 
 at half-past ten, and we considered Gen. xxxii., Jacob 
 wrestling with the angel, which was found very profitable. 
 We then consulted together for three hours on the affairs 
 of the Southern Missions. "We have a plan nearly pre- 
 pared for supplying them all with effective and holy mis- 
 sionaries, so as to lay the foundation of new native priests, 
 new seminaries, new catechists, new congregations. In 
 the meantime many are dropping in, and giving in their 
 submission. Their ignorance and immorality are extreme. 
 They have mingled amongst the heathen till they have 
 learned their works. 
 
 Jan. 19, 1835. 
 
 I preached twice yesterday from Swartz's pulpit, and 
 with the monument erected by Serfogee in my eye. Text 
 in morning, Matt. xi. 28-30. At the conclusion, I said I 
 had made the discourse from some notes of Swartz's found 
 the preceding day at the Mission-house, and which were 
 marked by him, "July 12, 1778," and that I came to 
 Tanjore to tread in Swartz's steps, and do that which, if 
 he were alive, he would himself do. In the evening the 
 sermon was to the native Christians, who crowded every 
 part of the church, nearly one thousand in number. 
 
 Motaputty, Jan. 22, 1835. 
 We have just encamped in this wild spot, to which no 
 roads conduct, and where Christian Bishop never pene- 
 trated before, but where 800 souls in a multitude of sur- 
 
48 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 rounding villages call for counsel and aid. They are 
 amongst our most interesting and simple flocks — least 
 bigoted to caste usages. They have no missionary, but 
 native priests and catechists. There is a small church. 
 It was deeply afiecting to me, after a wearisome night, to be 
 greeted, about seven this morning, with the sight of a de- 
 cently attired crowd of natives arranged on the side of the 
 path, who struck up a Tamid hymn as we approached. I 
 sprang out of my palanquin and saluted them through my 
 interpreter, and am about to preach as soon as breakfast is 
 over and I am a little refreshed. On Tuesday and yes- 
 terday I was examining the Mission-schools, premises, 
 and general affairs, conferring with missionaries, examin- 
 ing candidates, reconciling differences, and laying down 
 maxims for future conduct. On the Tuesday evening I 
 paid a private visit to the Rajah in his library, collected 
 by his father, Serfogee. Colonel Maclaine inquired after 
 Dean Pearson's life of Swartz, which the Eajah sent him 
 the next day. It is splendidly bound in red morocco ; 
 but the Rajah cannot read English. I think I must get 
 it translated into Tamul for the use of our ten thousand 
 native Christians. 
 
 Trichinopoly^ Jan. 23, 1835. 
 We arrived about an hour since. The mighty rock on 
 which the fort is built arose on our view seven miles 
 from the place, and deceived us as to distance, it seemed 
 so near : the bold pagoda, arising from the summit of the 
 accumulated masses of granite rock, overhangs the plain ; 
 the crested wall of the fortification, which crowns the 
 circle, gives a most imposing appearance, in contrast with 
 
TRICHINOPOLY. 49 
 
 the ricli, deep shade of the tamarind, cocoa-nut tree, and 
 banian. Here the Cauvery river flows and enriches the 
 plain. The harvest (paddy, like our corn) was begun. 
 That river and the Coleroon are the main blessings of 
 Southern India. Its bed, which is so shallow for six 
 months of the year that men go over it dry-shod, is filled 
 to its highest margin from the ghauts during the two mon- 
 soon rains, and then is carried off by conduits, and canals, 
 and tanks, to the thirsty corn-lands. May God bless us 
 here ! The death of the beloved and sainted Heber in 
 this very place is an affecting warning. My mind sinks 
 under the association. 
 
 Yesterday, at Motaputty, my whole soul was filled with 
 gratitude ! By half-past ten, many people being col- 
 lected, I sent the Catechist to inspect the church, and in- 
 quire if there were any old and infirm persons who wished 
 the Sacrament to be administered, as being unable to 
 travel to Tanjore, which was twenty-five miles off. The 
 church was a mud building, without windows, incapable 
 of holding half the congregation, and at the distance of a 
 mile from the tents. Many wished for the Communion, 
 and some children needed Baptism. I ordered, therefore, 
 the curtains of one of our large tents to be raised, had a 
 Communion-table prepared, carpets put down around, and 
 bid the people to be assembled. Above 500 crowded be- 
 yond the tent-roof, and even the expanded curtain- walls. 
 I never saw such a sight — men, women, and children. 
 Tamul prayers were read. I preached from Col. iii. 11, 
 "Christ is all, and in all," and then administered the 
 Sacrament to two hundred and forty-seven. We were three 
 
 E 
 
60 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 hours and a-half in the service. At &Ye o'clock above 
 100 were collected for the Sacrament of Baptism. Six- 
 teen infants were admitted into the Church, and I ad- 
 dressed the people from Matt. vii. 20, " By their fruits ye 
 shall know them." About 250 were present. Afterwards 
 we walked down to the village and saw the mud church, 
 where the schoolmaster assembles the Christians at five 
 and eight to daily prayers. At seven we sat down to our 
 dinner, and at nine resigned ourselves to our couches till 
 half-past three this morning. What a blessed day ! One 
 such day is worth years of common scenes ! These poor 
 people were idolatrous Papists, with their images and hea- 
 then rites of every kind. About seven years since Mr. 
 
 H distributed tracts amongst them, and soon after 
 
 visited them and preached the Gospel. Now the fruits 
 are thus abundant. I am going to send them a resident 
 Catechist immediately, and a Missionary as soon as I can. 
 They all submitted to my wishes about caste. 
 
 Trichinopoly^ Jan. 24, 1835. 
 This morning I opened my commission, as it were, 
 here, in this beautiful Mission Church, built by Swartz in 
 1766. It is a noble building, capable of seating on the 
 ground (for this is the Eastern manner) 1000 people. 
 There were 260 to-day out of the 800, which alone remain 
 now of so many labours in and about this place — the 
 usual congregation is about 100. The altar is very fine : 
 the Lord's Prayer in English, Portuguese, and Tamul. 
 The Mission-house I entered, erected by the same won- 
 derful man. Is it not astonishing that an unknown 
 
TRICHINOPOLY. 51 
 
 stranger should liave conciliated rajahs and princes, and 
 have built churclies in the heart of Hindoo forts, in the 
 most bigoted of all parts of India? for the Mahometans 
 never penetrated so far south to disturb the ancient 
 idolatry. 
 
 In the afternoon we drove to the house where Bishop 
 Heber died, April 3, 1826. I visited his chamber, his 
 
 sitting-room, the chamber where Mr. R was sick, 
 
 and where the dear Bishop walked about after Tamul ser- 
 vice at the fort, talking to him about the mission. I 
 walked through the very passage by which the Bishop 
 went. I entered the bath-room. It is a separate build- 
 ing, excavated within for a large swimming-bath, 20 feet 
 long, 12 wide, and certainly 6 or 8 feet deep. I went 
 down the marble steps and paced along the then empty 
 space. The walls were far above my head with my hat on. 
 I cannot describe my sensations. I then entered the very 
 room where his dear sacred body was laid out, and 
 where the Archdeacon sat up by him all the night. What 
 recollections ! The notion which has been entertained, 
 that the Bishop struck his head in leaping into the water, 
 is utterly absurd ; indeed, with 6 or 8 feet of water it was 
 impossible. The truth is, he was subject in England to 
 determination of blood to the head. He had been over- 
 worked all the time he was in India. He left Madras six 
 weeks too late in the season. He had been in an atmo- 
 sphere of 95° in a tent for a fortnight ; his frame had 
 been sinking rapidly under double and treble exertions ; 
 he had taken a cold bath the preceding morning. The 
 second trial proved fatal to his exhausted powers. Apo- 
 
52 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 plexy terminated his brilliant but most useful career. He 
 as mucb fell a victim to tbe duties of the Episcopate as 
 ever any martyr did at the stake. Bishop Middleton and 
 Turner the same. Bishop James is the only fair instance 
 of pre-existing disease. 
 
 Jan. 25, 1835. 
 
 On Saturday, before dinner, I ascended the rock of 
 Trichinopoly. The ascent is by a broad covered way, 
 built of stone, with occasional openings to the air, and 
 the last hundred feet have steps cut in the surface of the 
 granite, and are uncovered. At the extreme top is a small 
 pagoda. The immense fort, some miles in circuit, stretches 
 below. The Nabob^s palace and gardens — the rich paddy- 
 fields with their lovely green — the Cauvery river-bed, like 
 the Nile's, now dry, but the source of fertility when the 
 river overflows — were in prospect before me, together 
 with Swartz^s beautiful church and mission-house. I was 
 carried most of the way in a tonjon by ten bearers. The 
 view was extraordinary. 
 
 At half-past ten this morning I held my Confirmation. 
 The church was not full, but well attended. The station 
 here is the next in importance to that of Bangalore. I 
 have since visited the schools and hospital, and examined 
 the different classes. To-morrow, at nine, I hold the Con- 
 firmation at the fort. At 8 p.m. we start for Tanjore, halt- 
 ing at a village on our way. 
 
 Jan. 27, 1835. 
 
 A fine rain of two hours has been falling : but a more 
 gracious rain has also, as I trust, been descending. Such 
 a Confirmation and Sacrament at the Mission Church at 
 
TANJORE. 53 
 
 nine this morning ! Forty-eight candidates. Two came 
 forward at the time to renounce heathenism and Popish 
 Christianity, and receive the Gospel. There were 149 
 communicants, the chief civil and military personages 
 kneeling at the altar with Soodras and Pariahs without 
 distinction. The congregation consisted of upwards of 
 1000 persons, of whom at least 300 were heathen, crowd- 
 ing outside every door and window as far as the eye could 
 see. Seventy were European gentry, the rest were native 
 nominal Christians from twenty villages around. The 
 service lasted nearly four hours. I pronounced the Con- 
 firmation prayer, the Sentences on deKvering the elements, 
 and the Benediction, in Tamul. I told the congregation 
 that I aimed at no distinction of civil ranks ; that the 
 Europeans would naturally approach the altar first ; that 
 the respectable and educated natives, Soodras and Pariahs, 
 would naturally come next ; that servants and persons of 
 the humblest stations would follow ; but that there was to 
 be no inseparable barrier, no heathen dread of defilement, 
 only the natural gradations of society which prevailed in 
 Christian churches at home. However, the English gentry 
 voluntarily mixed themselves, on purpose to show the na- 
 tives there were no inseparable divisions in Christianity, 
 but all were one body. Positively, a Pariah kneeled be- 
 tween the Collector (the chief personage of the station) 
 and his lady, at the lady's request. Out of five hundred, 
 ten or twelve only left the church, and would not submit 
 to my demands. Such is God's goodness ! 
 
 * The Soodras are the high caste ; the Pariahs, the low caste of 
 India. — Editor. 
 
54 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 Tanjore, Jan. 28, ] 835. 
 
 Thank God I did not, like Bishop Heber, die at Tri- 
 chinopoly. Here I am in perfect health and strength. 
 God's holy name be praised ! At eight o'clock last even- 
 ing we set off in our palanquins for Boodlepoor, on the 
 Coleroon river, where 120 poor Christians, of the wildest 
 habits as to civilisation, were collected in their little 
 church. It was half-past six, a.m. when we arrived. We 
 had fifteen miles to go to reach Tanjore. We could not 
 wait. I went up into the pulpit in the dark, took out my 
 Bible, and exhorted them for half-an-hour from Acts xiv. 
 22 : " Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting 
 them to continue in the faith." We then resumed our 
 palanquins, and arrived here at ten. Happily it was cloudy, 
 and there was no sun. 
 
 Jan. 30, ] 835. 
 
 Weather beautiful. A fine rain for two days, drop- 
 ping fatness indeed. I have been preaching to the na- 
 tives ; there were five hundred present, of whom seventy 
 were of the revolting class. This morning I delivered an 
 exposition of the Epistle of Titus, in a lecture to my five 
 candidates for holy orders, together with four catechists. 
 I am now very busy in writing a Charge to these mis- 
 sionaries, to be delivered on Monday before I leave. 
 It is still quite uncertain what the revolters will do 
 on Sunday, when I administer the Holy Sacrament at 
 the Mission Church. God only knows what is, on the 
 whole, best. 
 
 Jan. 31, 1835. 
 
 First day of fourth month of third year, for thus I 
 
TANJORE. 55 
 
 reckon time minutely in this dying climate. Blessed be 
 God for this most remarkable day ! I have been permitted 
 to send forth five Missionaries, by imposition of hands and 
 prayer, to the work of the Lord. English prayers were 
 
 read by my chaplain, and Archdeacon R preached. 
 
 The Ordination then began. We were altogether twelve 
 clergymen at Tanjore, the metropolis of the Rajah's domi- 
 nions, and the most noted seat of Hindoo idolatry. Five 
 clergymen united with me in the laying on of hands, — 
 
 the Archdeacon ; my Chaplain, the Rev. Mr. D , 
 
 chaplain of Trichinopoly ; the honoured Mr. Kohlofi", in 
 the seventy-fourth year of his age ; the Rev. Mr. Mohl 
 of Tranquebar, a Danish clerg^Tiian ; and one native 
 priest, in his eighty-third year. There were the repre- 
 sentatives, so to speak, of all classes of clergy. The whole 
 of the English settlement were present, and an enor- 
 mous crowd of natives, to witness the ordination of their 
 Missionaries. The service lasted very nearly four hours. 
 Oh, Lord, accept, pardon, bless ! I asked the holy 
 Kohloff whether he was overfatigued with the service ? 
 He said, with energy, " 'No ; this is the day which the 
 Lord hath made, we will rejoice and be glad in it." 
 
 Feb. 1, 1835. 
 This is the most anxious day since I came to India, 
 for more depends on it, so far as man can judge. The 
 Holy Sacrament is announced. The European settlers 
 will attend with the natives. The leading native Christian 
 (oh, that he were really such !) is a magistrate, — a man of 
 character and influence. He has come to Tanjore by the 
 
56 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 request of Col. Maclaine ; but he has not yet made up his 
 mind to conform to my wishes. 
 
 Sunday Evening. 
 We have had a most impressive service. The church 
 was crowded from end to end, and about fifty of the dis- 
 obedient Soodras were present. At the Holy Communion 
 about 360 communicated, many Soodras, sixteen or twenty 
 newly subdued amongst the rest, and these mixed without 
 distinction with the Pariahs. Thus the strength of the 
 opposition is broken throughout the south. A nucleus of 
 obedient Soodras is formed at Yepery, Tanjore, Trichino- 
 poly, Muttaputty, and Cuddalore. Around them the 
 rest will gradually, I trust, gather. All the new converts, 
 and all the children before baptism and confirmation, will 
 altogether renounce caste, and the old congregations 
 wiU drop off by the lapse of time, even if they do not 
 submit to my wishes. Still it is a fearful combat to 
 meet an uncivilised and half-heathen population of 10,000, 
 scattered over a tract of 200 miles square, with scarcely a 
 notion of spiritual and vigorous piety amongst them. But 
 ages to come are interested. I stood firm as a rock, God 
 helping me. The thing is done, as to the principle, of a new 
 order of Christian habits and customs. But the details, 
 the permanency, the extension of the principle into all the 
 branches of vital Christianity, remain to be seen. God 
 give the Spirit, which alone can do it. My dear old native 
 priest's name is N^janaparagasm — "The Effulgence of 
 Glory." He has been sixty- seven years a preacher of 
 the Gospel, being made catechist by Swartz at the age of 
 seventeen. 
 
TANJORE. 57 
 
 Feh. 2, 1835. 
 I have composed and deKvered my Missionary Charge. 
 There were at least 100 native catechists and schoolmasters 
 present, whom I addressed through an interpreter. In the 
 evening I entertained the clergy and catechists at dinner, 
 in the very hall which formed a part of Swartz's house, the 
 main parts of which were rebuilt twenty years since and 
 enlarged. The dear, venerable Kohloff, immediately after 
 dinner, proposed my health, and begged of me to print my 
 Charge. His fine, benevolent figure, his benignant and 
 yet animated eye, the manly beauty of his furrowed coun- 
 tenance, with his long hair hanging down on his back, 
 and carefully turned aside behind each ear, was most 
 striking, I assure you. He said the Missionaries had 
 always been groaning under the miseries of caste, but had 
 not power to put it down. Mr. Joenicke said " it was the 
 grand battery of Satan." He rejoiced that I had come 
 and vanquished the formidable enemy. Nothing could be 
 so afiecting — the old man's heart was full of joy. 
 
 Feh. 3, 1835. 
 Never, never, my dearest children, shall I again address 
 you from this dear place of Tanjore. My heart is almost 
 broken at leaving it. I entered it January 10th, almost 
 four weeks since, and have found such blessings, such 
 answers to prayer, such kindness, such afiectionate and 
 faithful friendship, such immense prospects of usefulness, 
 as I cannot express. Now it is nearly half-past five, and 
 at six our bearers take us up in our palanquins for a 
 forty-six miles' run. God bless you and us! The un- 
 
58 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 known future I leave to Him to whom there is neither 
 past, present, nor to come, the self-existent now, the I am, 
 not I was, or shall be. 
 
 Mayaveram^ Feb. 4, 1835. 
 Here we arrived early this morning, after a twelve 
 hours' run. My mind is now at ease. The work of the 
 visitation is over. God's blessing alone can do the rest, 
 and much there is to do. There never was such a low, 
 heathenish state of things, under the guise of Protestant 
 Christianity, for Popish Christianity professes nothing but 
 to substitute the Yirgin Mary for Bramah. As the bearers 
 were changing at one this morning, the old usage of gird- 
 ing up the loins, so often spoken of in Scripture, struck 
 me. Before they start, each assists his fellow in binding 
 their long girdles as tight around the loins as they can 
 well do ; they then tuck up their long flowing garments 
 into the girdle, and are thus strengthened on the one hand 
 and unembarrassed on the other, to run what is really a race 
 — ^NQ miles the hour, with a heavy palanquin, six bearing 
 at once. The Scripture custom, again, of the females, 
 with their Water-pots on their heads, going forth in the 
 morning, is seen perpetually, only that the daughters of 
 kings and patriarchs now leave the toil to the humbler 
 classes. The painting the face like Jezebel is also com- 
 mon. It is a sort of yellow ochre, which is fairly daubed 
 over the whole face, and gives the appearance of a newly- 
 painted sign-post glistening in the sun. The covering 
 the mouth also, when addressing a superior, strikes you; 
 they constantly hold the end of their robes in one hand, 
 and as they speak, cover their mouths with their involved 
 
MAYAVERAM. 59 
 
 hand. Tbe bringing a present with them when they ap- 
 proach you is so universal as scarcely to excite your notice. 
 The immense wells, so deep that oxen are employed to 
 extract and let down the buckets, and the low parapet 
 walls around them, and the people sitting on the wells, 
 as Jesus at Jacob's well, and the women assembling at 
 these wells to converse together, are famiKar scenes. 
 Nothing also strikes me more than the perpetual dis- 
 putes and battles now, as of old, about these wells. 
 Again, most strange are the Oriental notions of marriage, 
 the utter disregard of the young people's choice, and 
 the purchase, or dowry, by which the bride is obtained. 
 The parents do most literally give their daughters without 
 asking their consent to the sons of their neighbours, and 
 take in return the daughters of their neighbours for their 
 sons. The Canticles in all its scenes, and Ps. xlv., are 
 acted over in the East every day. And, in truth, the 
 effeminacy of the East, the facility of procuring the means 
 of living, the exciting heat of the climate, the unclothed 
 person, especially of the men in lower life, the little ne- 
 cessity for houses, the fixed habits of polygamy which 
 defile Hindooism and Islamism alike, have produced a 
 state of intercourse very little above that of the irrational 
 animals. Runjeet Singh paraded ^ye hundred wives 
 before Lord William Bentinck, at Simlah. The young 
 E-ajah of Tanjore begins with only three wives, but 
 his father filled the palace with them. The conse- 
 quence is, that the purity of Christian domestic life is 
 the most difiiciJt thing to effect in the native Chris- 
 tians. 
 
60 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 Porto Novo, Feb. 6, 1835. 
 
 At Mayaveram I visited the Mission premises and 
 twenty- two schools — a lovely spot — much inquiry — tracts 
 and parts of the Bible eagerly sought, and as eagerly 
 read. The Book of Genesis and the history of the Creation 
 in six days strikes them prodigiously. I had all the cate- 
 chists, and as many heathen as would attend, and preached 
 to them in the afternoon, by the interpretation of Mr. 
 S of the C. Miss. Soc, from John xviL 3. 
 
 This Porto 'Noyo is rising rapidly into importance from 
 the discovery of iron mines, which produce the finest steel 
 that can be imagined. It is one of the first commence- 
 ments of opening the stores of the Indian soil and bring- 
 ing forth its hidden treasures. Copper, lead, silver, gold, 
 and abundant coal, are also found in difierent parts of this 
 wonderful country. 
 
 Permacoil, Feb. 10, 1835. 
 
 We reached the celebrated French settlement of Pon- 
 dicherry early yesterday morning. The place interested 
 me deeply. It presented quite a new scene, being some- 
 what like a French town — neat, gaudy, laid out in parallel 
 lines, but with little comfort, and bearing the kind of im- 
 portance which the French attach to trees, grandes i:tlaceSy 
 avenues, and streets perfectly straight. At eleven o'clock 
 we went to call on the Governor. My rusty French was 
 indispensable, for he spoke nothing else. I referred to my 
 repeated visits to France, to literature, benevolence, and 
 religion. In short, we became very animated, and the 
 conversation was prolonged tiU I rose to take my leave. 
 I next went to call on the French Bishop, whom Bishop 
 
PONDICHERRY. 61 
 
 Heber visited in 1826. He was a fine tall old man — had 
 been forty- two years in India; — a Jesuit, nominal Bisbop 
 of HaKcarnassus, with an expressive though pallid counte- 
 nance. His eyes still marked intelligence; his figure was 
 large and portly; he was attired in a simple dress or close 
 robe of silk, of a mulberry colour, with a gold cross sus- 
 pended from his breast. He came out to receive me, and 
 placed me next himself in his cell, a room in the cloister 
 of the Jesuits' church, neat but small, and plainly fur- 
 nished. We soon fell into conversation about Bossuet 
 and Quesnel. I endeavoured to attract him to St. Augus- 
 tine, but the Roman CathoKc clergy seldom like that emi- 
 nent father. He did not seem to have read him. I 
 inquired after the ancient library of the Jesuits' Col- 
 lege. He said it had been, during the last thirty years, 
 disfigured and destroyed, especially by insects. I ob- 
 served, " Ah, voild des etudians un peu malins. lis de- 
 vorent effectivement les livresJ^ The Bishop was amused, 
 and laughed much. He sent his missionary to fetch a 
 book for me. It was an "Evangile Meditre," and pre- 
 fixed was a letter of commendation from a Protestant 
 minister of Guernsey, about the year 1780. This he 
 pointed out with pleasure. When I rose to depart, I 
 entreated his prayers that we might mutually love our 
 Saviour more and more, and advance vital and practical 
 religion. I told him I had Thomas a Kempis always with 
 me on my travels. He would accompany me to my palan- 
 quin. The church itself contained nothing remarkable, 
 except as its magnitude reproached our miserable economy 
 in our purer Protestant establishment in India. On re- 
 
62 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 turning home I inquired when and where I could meet 
 the English Protestants, of whom there are forty-five at 
 Pondicherry, chiefly countryrborn, whom the Chaplain of 
 Cuddalore visits once a month or so. An empty house 
 was prepared as a church. I found nine candidates 
 for confirmation, whom I examined privately, and then 
 delivered my two usual confirmation addresses, mostly in 
 French, and confirmed them before the assembled congre- 
 gation. The service was most afiecting and interesting. 
 I gave them my opinion of Yoltaire and of the French 
 desecration of the Sabbath in France. I was delighted 
 with the day. 
 
 Chingleput, Feb. 12, 1835. 
 "We left Carangooly at four this morning. These 
 quiet interposed days are most precious. This is the 
 third. The first at Permacoil, in tents, was hot and 
 suffocating, but the bungalow of yesterday was quite 
 commodious, and to-day we are superbly lodged in a large 
 upper-roomed house of the old fort. As we crossed the 
 dilapidated glacis, the dry and half-choked ditch, the 
 buttresses demolished, the drawbridges in neglect — not 
 a soldier — not a gun — not a sentinel to be seen — the 
 incKned roads to the fortification overgrown with weeds — 
 as we rapidly crossed all this, the thought struck me of 
 the vanity of man, the poverty of his best doings, the 
 brief continuance of his strongest works. But the eternity 
 of truth, the enduring safety of those whom the Rock of 
 Ages surrounds, and the perfect peace of those that trust 
 in Him, are brought out into bolder relief by the contrast. 
 The Lord's will be wholly accomplished in us ! Grace, 
 
CHINGLEPUT. 63 
 
 grace, more grace, grace for grace ; this is what we want 
 — grace for suffering, grace for waiting, grace for bearing 
 reproach, grace for walking with God, grace for acting 
 and labouring whilst it is called to-day. 
 
 Walldhjahhad, Feb. 13, 1835. 
 We started this morning between three and four, and 
 have now reached our last post of duty till we enter 
 Madras again. I was meditating this morning when the 
 day broke on Ps. Ixviii. How the Inspired Word rises 
 upon the mind in its authority and consolation, as troubles 
 or duties perplex ! How glorious the ascension of Messiah 
 — how blessed the captivity led captive — how mighty the 
 strength and power He giveth unto His people — how 
 cheering the silvered wings of the Dove after the pots and 
 bondage — how heart- touching the benefits and gifts poured 
 out on the rebellious — how encouraging the assurance that 
 the Morian's land shall soon stretch out her hands unto 
 God ! Chingleput is an interesting place. I forget what 
 I told you of it as we passed through in December, but I 
 am sure I did not describe, for I had not seen, the en- 
 chanting view from the Registrar's house in the fort, 
 where we were received. It presented one of those 
 picturesque scenes which only occur now and then. Im- 
 mediately before us was our encampment — palanquins, 
 servants, and camels. On one side, the building called 
 Rye-Mahl, or palace of the former native prince, lifting 
 its four- storied tower towards heaven; on the other a 
 dilapidated round citadel, frowning over the opposite rock. 
 The outer walls running round the whole formed a 
 
64 JOTJRTs^AL LETTERS. 
 
 boundary-line to the near view; whilst beyond it the 
 celebrated lake stretched its fruitful and calm waters, 
 (waters of life in a temporal sense), beyond our sight, 
 but was relieved from behind by an amphitheatre of lofty 
 hills, where each mountain like a giant seemed guarding 
 the entire place. The oriental foliage, with its rich ex- 
 panse of leaf and prodigious bulk of branch, variegated 
 wonderfully the scenery. 
 
 Madras, Feh. 14, 1835. 
 
 Thank God we are here in safety again, having been 
 absent nearly seven weeks. 
 
 Sunday Morning, Feb. 22, 1835. 
 
 Thus Sabbath after Sabbath creeps on. I am now 
 going up to finish, as we say, by preaching twice this 
 morning ; at eight to the natives, at eleven to the Christ- 
 ians. First text : " Jesus stood in the midst and saith 
 unto them. Peace be unto you.'* John xx. 19. The second, 
 Eph. iii. 14-19, that fine prayer of the Apostle, the 
 finest, perhaps, altogether of all his sublime ejaculations — 
 the fulness of God — the love of Christ in its vast dimen- 
 sions — the in-dwelling of Christ — the fortifying Spirit — 
 the grounded and rooted charity — the knees bowed to the 
 God and Father of Him whose is the whole family in 
 HEAVEN AND EARTH. This family must include you, 
 dearest children, my grandchildren, my sainted wife, now 
 
 eight years gone from me ; my dear and and 
 
 and also Cecil, Forster, J. Newton, Robinson, Scott, 
 
 H. Martyn, Buchanan, Swartz, Gerick^, Cranmer, Luther, 
 Calvin, Jerome of Prague, Claudius of Turin, Bernard, 
 Augustine, Ignatius, St. John, St. Paul, and so back 
 
MADRAS. 65 
 
 through the prophets, kings, and patriarchs, to righteous 
 Abel. What a family ! Death only calls us from the 
 portion of it on earth to that which is in heaven. Death 
 separates, but does not divide. The dark creaking portal 
 opens and we pass into the brighter abodes of our 
 FAMILY MANSION, after having fulfilled the will of God 
 in these dark and murky tabernacles where we tarried 
 for a season. And what is separation, distance, removal, 
 in this view? We are still the family circle. 
 
66 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Voyage from Madras to Vizagapatam — Scripture Metaphors — 
 Landing at Porree — Visit to Juggernaut — Return to Calcutta 
 — Close of First Visitation — Reflections on the Past — Lent 
 Lectures — Hindoo College — Clerical Meeting — Visit to Gun- 
 geree — Heathen Festival — Tittyghur — Visits to Calcutta 
 Churches — Lord Bacon's Prayer — "Venn's Life" — Chinsurah 
 — Mrs. Wilson's Schools. 
 
 At Sea, Feb. 23, 1835. 
 We came on board at six o'clock on Monday morning, 
 and have had our first prayer in the cuddy after breakfast. 
 Our chapter was Deut. iii., in which Moses begs of the 
 Lord that he may enter Canaan, and is only allowed 
 a Pisgah view of the fair land. Even such views are no 
 small blessings. I have just passed the happiest six 
 months I ever spent, so much do I love missionary work. 
 
 Vizagapatam, Feb. 26, 1835. 
 This is a most romantic spot ; I think, almost the most 
 romantic we have seen, certainly the finest point on this 
 side of India. Lord Clive took it from the French about 
 the year 1760. The rocky undulations creep along the 
 shore for three or four miles, and as we descended from 
 Mr. Chester's yesterday morning to go down to the fort 
 the view was lovely, especially from the beds of so many 
 
VIZAGAPATAM. 67 
 
 cliaiiiiels by which, the monsoon rains rush to the sea, now 
 dry, but soon to present the appearance of mighty rivers. 
 They remind me of the passage of the Red Sea — nothing 
 is more usual than the sandy bed of a river crossed as a 
 common road when the stream has flowed by. At Com- 
 baconum they throw up a road once a-year for their use 
 during the eight dry months. The miracle of opening a 
 sea, of forcing back its prodigious bulk of waters, of doing 
 this at a moment, and with an immediate declaration pre- 
 ceding it ; all this remains the same. I may as well add 
 here, that the chief rivers in the south of India are never 
 allowed to reach the ocean at all. The whole mass of 
 water is drawn off by a thousand channels as rapidly 
 as it fills the bed of the stream. The Scripture metaphor 
 of the "Church's peace flowing as a river" is literally 
 seen here. So the rain being described as "dropping 
 fatness." Its falling "on one city and not falling on 
 another city," and the inhabitants of several places crowd- 
 ing to the fortunate spot, is seen every year. The 
 collectors, zemindars, ryots, watch for the falling blessing, 
 and envy the fields where the showers fall. The lands 
 here present the same aspect as Moses refers to 3500 years 
 since — every kind of grain is sown in the same field, in 
 the vain hope that if one fails another may succeed. Eu- 
 ropean skill is banishing this erroneous system ; but when 
 Moses forbids the practice, only a divine inspiration could 
 have carried him thirty centuries forward in agricultural 
 science. The religious and typical lessons couched under 
 his prohibition are a further proof of Divine prophecy. 
 The marks of caste on the forehead, alluded to in Ezek. ix., 
 
68 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 are entirely according to the practice now prevailing. 
 The devoted idolater carries the symbol of his horrid 
 deity on his front. Princes, also, write by their chief 
 scribe or recorder ; often because they cannot write them- 
 selves. The Rajah of Tanjore knew nothing of the 
 letter of Dr. Pearson to him, or of the reply sent in his 
 name. 
 
 Porree, Feb. 28, 1835. 
 A town of 50,000 souls is here held together by the 
 direst superstition — no trade but sin, no art but delusion 
 and lies, no bond of union but communion in idolatry. 
 iNTothing has yet been done to abolish these atrocities.* 
 The pilgrim-tax is still collected about a mile from the 
 town, and a ticket given to each wretched individual to 
 warrant his approach. The three cars of Juggernaut are 
 built anew every year ; the tributary villages furnish the 
 quota of unused wood; the cloths and mantles are still 
 furnished for the idol pageantry by British servants. All 
 must, however, fall. The horrors are unutterable. About 
 50,000 pilgrims pay the tax yearly, and 100,000 are let 
 through as unable to do so. There are 150,000 altoge- 
 ther, of whom about one-third, or 50,000, perish by hun- 
 ger, fatigue, and sickness yearly. They are collected from 
 all parts of India. I stopped to ask some stout persons at 
 one of the tanks whence they came. " From Bundlecund, 
 a two months' journey," replied one. " From Tirhoot, a 
 month's journey,'' replied another. "What is that small 
 
 * The worship of Juggernaut havS since been discountenanced, 
 and the tax abolished. — Editor. 
 
PORREE. 69 
 
 building ? " I inquired. " It belongs to Chandler Lale, 
 minister at Hyderabad ;" and so on all around. " These 
 pilgrims, how are they collected ? " By regular bodies of 
 men termed pilgrim-hunters, wbo travel all over India for 
 the purpose, and when they have gathered a troop, drive 
 them like sheep before them till they reach the scene of 
 plunder, cruelty, and lust. The larger number are women, 
 who concert the plan for undertaking the pilgrimage 
 unknown to their husbands and families, and start off at 
 a moment^s notice. When the caravans arrive, a perpetual 
 fight takes place amongst the Porree inhabitants as to 
 who shall receive them, so eager are the people to lodge 
 — in other words, to plunder — the helpless wretches ; and 
 plundered they are, not only of all they possess or can 
 procure, but of all they can borrow at immense interest. 
 About five days finish the process. The stripped multitude 
 then proceed on their return. The sick are uniformly left 
 behind, to whiten with their bones the accursed plains. 
 Those plains are barren sands thrown up from the beach 
 by the south-east monsoon. The seasons of festival are 
 chosen, as it were, to heighten the misery ; for instance, 
 June, when the extreme heat is suddenly succeeded by 
 the rains and the cholera amongst the undefended crowds. 
 The sick still sometimes throw themselves under the 
 wheels of the Belial car. Bands of music, troops of 
 dancers of the vilest order, noisy, intemperate debauchery, 
 with the most profane songs and unutterable pollutions 
 of every kind, make up the religious rites of Juggernaut. 
 The pagoda, or circuit itself of the enclosed temple, is a 
 mass of heavy buildings, not equal in extent or splendour 
 
70 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 to those at Chillumbrum, but more sacred in the estima- 
 tion of the Hindoos. One portion is sunk, by lapse of 
 time, into a sort of pit, down which, when you cast your 
 eye, you see the half-buried temple, with its grove. No 
 one is allowed to penetrate the interior of the pagodas, 
 because the cooking is perpetually going on in the inner 
 circuits, and the passing of a Christian would defile the 
 whole culinary establishment. If we had chosen to pay 
 2000 rs. for the re-cleansing of the sanctuary, we might 
 have been admitted. Such is Juggernaut ! Dr. Buchanan's 
 description is most true. Cruelty, lust, oppression, disease, 
 famine, death, follow in its train; as in the worship of 
 the true God and Saviour there follow light, mercy, 
 purity, justice, peace, diligence, domestic happiness, truth, 
 pardon, holiness, eternal life. Oh, how benevolent is 
 Christianity ! — how gracious, how profitable to man, even 
 in this world, to say nothing of its revelations of grace 
 as to another ! Never did the language of Scripture, as 
 to idolatry, appear to me so pregnant with inspiration as 
 since I have seen the dire efiects essential to heathen 
 worship, and the readiness with which the fallen heart of 
 men called Christians sinks into apologies and indif- 
 ference as to its true character. Put out the Bible, and 
 Greece and Rome, with all their horrid abominations, 
 would again fill the world. 
 
 Steamer Enterprise^ Feb. 28, 1835. 
 After breakfast at Porree we convened the few 
 Christians of the station, and had morning service. It 
 was very affecting. I especially urged them to a con- 
 
AT SEA. 71 
 
 sistent conduct in tlie sight of the heathen. At eleven we 
 re-embarked in the native boat, built without a nail, in 
 order to yield to the surf, the planks being sewn with 
 cocoa-nut strings, the bottom bilging up or sinking as 
 the waves propelled, and were presently on board the 
 '' Enterprise." The view of the shore is very picturesque ; 
 the taU sugar-loaf pagoda of Juggernaut rears its hideous 
 head in the distance. The value of land is so high all 
 around, that the miserable huts are divided into two or 
 three tenements, and human beings are packed into them. 
 The humanity of the British Government has raised an 
 hospital for the sick, and appointed a surgeon. The 
 assistant officer pointed out to me just now, as I stood 
 on the deck, some low pagodas on the beach. There is 
 the Gate of Heaven, as the Hindoos term it. The idols 
 are there said to come down at times from Juggernaut 
 during the night. All the rich Baboos are taken down 
 there to be burned after death ; and if they can purchase 
 some of the remains of a car of Juggernaut, which the 
 Brahmins sell at an immense price, they consider their 
 feKcity complete. I should have said that all the pilgrims, 
 on their arrival at Porree, eat of no food but what is 
 cooked within the pagoda itself. 
 
 At Sea, March 1, 1835. 
 We are now within thirty miles of the pilot whom, 
 on October 31st, 1832, I hailed with such exquisite trans- 
 port. He is now in sight, in fact. May the Heavenly 
 Pilot never leave me ! I shall need His gracious presence 
 and guidance on shore as much, yea more, than now. 
 
72 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 Oh, the rocks and shoals, the treacherous calms, the 
 quicksands, the storms, the piracies, to which I am about 
 to be exposed ! And at times Jesus will seem to be asleep 
 at the moment of greatest peril. May I awake Him by 
 the voice of importunate supplication ! Jesus may at 
 times tarry on the mountain after He has compelled us 
 to enter on a hazardous course, and not be in or near the 
 vessel. But then He is praying for us, and will come in 
 due time, walking on the sea, and say, "It is I ; be not 
 afraid." 
 
 We have had two services on board. I preached in 
 the evening, from Eph. vi. 11-18. I thought I could not 
 enter Calcutta in a better spirit than in meditating on 
 the kingdom of Christ, as set forth in that exquisite 
 passage of Holy Writ. I particularly dwelt on the armour 
 provided for the Christian soldier, and the grace and 
 power of his Captain. The temptations and peril of a 
 new station, the distraction, the secularities, the destitu- 
 tion of religious society, the influence of climate, are 
 indescribable. I expect a succession of chastisements and 
 trials of the most poignant kind. It is the way to the 
 Kingdom. Wo cross, no crown. Wor will you, my dear 
 children, be at all exempt from similar ones. There must 
 be a low estate, or God would never remember us in it, nor 
 cause His mercy, which endureth for ever, to be illustrated 
 thereby. 
 
 Calcutta^ March 9, 1835. 
 
 I enter to-day on the fortieth year of my pilgrimage 
 to the heavenly state, if, indeed, I am a pilgrim. I am 
 far from relying on express times of conversion. Nothing 
 
CALCUTTA. 73 
 
 can be more dangerous ; but to remember all tbe way 
 which, the Lord our God hath led us, to record like Jacob 
 at Peniel and Samuel between Mizpeh and Shen the 
 Divine goodness, is our privilege and duty. I have, there- 
 fore, never let March 9th pass since that day in the year 
 1796, when the first admonition of grace reached my feel- 
 ings and heart, and led me to personal prayer as a sinner. 
 But, oh, what a scene of humiliation presents itself when I 
 look back ! Oh what selfishness, inconstancy, backsliding, 
 decay ! But it is of little service uttering this to man. 
 It is to Thee, O my Lord and Saviour, that the desires of 
 the heart are to be made known, and it is from Thee the 
 healing remedies must proceed. Gratitude, however, should 
 and must be felt — gratitude that I have not been cast 
 away from God's presence, and that His Holy Spirit has 
 not been wholly taken from me — gratitude for having 
 been placed in such stations of important usefulness — 
 gratitude for all the blessings, temporal and spiritual, 
 which have been vouchsafed. Nor must new resolutions 
 of future duty be omitted — self-government, self-know- 
 ledge, self-abasement, self-denial, self-restraint, as to the 
 negative branch — activity, zeal, beneficence, promptitude, 
 courage, wisdom, as to the positive. The blessings I want 
 are all comprehended in one — Grace ! 
 
 Calcutta, Nov. 15, 1835. 
 
 I have been preaching at the famous Old or Mission 
 
 Church, on the occasion of opening it after repairs 
 
 and enlargements, a sermon for Mrs. Wilson's Orphan 
 
 Asylum which she has engrafted on her Native Schools, 
 
74 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 and where slie designs to train orphans as teachers.* She 
 has purchased a convenient piece of ground on the river 
 Hooghly, about eight miles on the way to Tittyghur. I 
 preached from Matt, xxviii. 20 : " Lo, I am with you al- 
 way, even unto the end of the world.'' I considered the 
 whole passage, and urged the importance of all things 
 necessary for upholding and preserving Christianity, where 
 it has been received, such as public worship, ministry of 
 the Word, circulation of the Scriptures, education, cate- 
 chetical instruction, and the care of the sick and poor, as 
 being in part involved in the commission. Mr. Bicker- 
 steth's Hymn-Book was used for the first time in India. 
 We sang that beautiful hymn : — 
 
 " Jesus, we Thy Promise claim ; 
 We are gathered in Thy name : 
 In the midst do Thou appear, 
 Manifest Thy presence here." 
 
 My soul is subsiding more and more into God. The ex- 
 citement of India is going by. The novelty has ceased. 
 I have now run through the first series of duties of all 
 kinds. Now, blessed Jesus, I turn to Thee. Do Thou, 
 and Thou only, work in me, and by me, and for me, and 
 through me. Be Thou only glorified. Display Thy grace 
 in Thy glorious Gospel upon the hearts of men. 
 
 Tittyghur, March 18, 1835. 
 I have now come again to this beautiful bungalow after 
 an absence of nearly eight months. Time, which is so 
 
 * The Mrs. Wilson here referred to is the widow of a Missionary 
 of that name. — Editor. 
 
CALCUTTA. 75 
 
 slow in its details from the languor of tlie cKmate, is more 
 rapid in the aggregate. Last evening I was alone, and 
 spent two or three hours after dinner in dehcious retire- 
 ment. I am taking Ps. li. for my Lent Lectures this 
 spring. Our congregations are good, but the higher 
 classes attend less than on former occasions. The novelty 
 is gone, and the homely doctrine remains. 
 
 Calcutta, Sunday^ March 22, 1835. 
 
 May I enter on the holy ground of the journey of life 
 with holy feelings, a holy unction from above — with much 
 of the influences of the Holy Spirit ! I intend delivering 
 my 225th Indian sermon from a part of the Epistle of the 
 day, Eph. v. 8-10, which I composed for dear IsKngton 
 this very Sunday four years. How obvious are the blessed 
 tendencies of Christianity ! Take this one text* out of ten 
 thousand, and let any one say what must have been the 
 origin of a religion which teaches such lessons, and how 
 credible are the mysteries of a Revelation which are in- 
 volved with these tendencies, and are employed to produce 
 such effects. 
 
 Ghingeree^ March 23, 1835. 
 
 I am now writing in the small neat bungalow set up 
 in this station by the Incorporated Society Missionaries. 
 We set off soon after five, and since breakfast have been 
 holding Divine service. I preached through an inter- 
 preter from Rom. vi. 3, 4. During the last six years there 
 have been three or four hundred converts gathered into 
 
 *^ " Ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the 
 Lord : walk as children of light." 
 
76 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 the fold of Clirist in this place, who are walking in the 
 faith and purity of the Gospel. We were about two hours 
 and a half at church. The bamboo building, with nave 
 and side-aisles diyided by unpeeled stems of the bamboo, 
 was crowded with people, whilst the heathen all around in 
 the verandahs were muttering consent or disapprobation 
 as I went on. I preached again in the afternoon, when 
 forty- six adidts and about forty children were baptized. 
 I attended, on Saturday, the annual examination of the 
 Hindoo College in the Town Hall at Calcutta. Our new 
 Governor- General was present. There is great industry, 
 curiosity, animation, in history, chronology, poetry, 
 mathematics, among the students — but no instruction in 
 Christianity. The Government will not, as a Government, 
 teach Christianity. 
 
 Sunday^ April 5, 1835. 
 Again has the blessed day been permitted to re- visit 
 me — the holy, sacred, peaceful, sanctified, and sanctifying 
 day. How life, duties, ministry, sermons, responsibility, 
 pass on ! I have nearly 3000 congregations to answer for 
 — 3000 opportunities of saving souls — and how few 
 ARE LEFT ! How soon wiU the last number be written 
 by some other hand in my registry of sermons ! 
 
 April 11, 1835. 
 We had a deKcious north-wester last evening, accom- 
 panied with a little rain. Our Clerical Meeting was 
 delightful. Sixteen clergy were present, and all was love, 
 piety, expansion of heart, and blessed communion with 
 each other. 
 
CALCUTTA. 77 
 
 One of the abominable festivals of tbe deluded Hindoos 
 takes place to-day. My horse was scared at the noise and 
 crowd as I went for my early ride, and now the noise of 
 the tom-toms and clamour are such that I can scarcely 
 write. It is called the " Churruck Poojah," or worship of 
 turning round. It is confined to the lower orders, and 
 attended with unutterable cruelty, debauchery and riot. 
 It is at this festival that some poor creatures are swung 
 with velocity on an erected pole, an iron stake being 
 driven through the fleshy part of the back. All Calcutta 
 is mad on these occasions upon their idols. They have 
 about eighteen of these festivals yearly, at irregular in- 
 tervals, some lasting eight days, and the whole occupying 
 thirty-four ; but there is not one religious service in our 
 sense of the word: no prayers, no teaching, no sermon — 
 all is open profligacy, vice, and impurity. The heathen 
 Sabbaths are the nucleus of their abominations, as the 
 Christian are of the spiritual and healing truths and 
 blessings of the Gospel. These Pagan feasts, too, are irre- 
 gular. Our Sabbath is regular, after every six days' 
 labour, and of one day only at a time, so as not to be 
 abused. Then, mount up a little higher. The Hindoo 
 feasts are similar in abomination to the deities they wor- 
 ship. Our Sabbaths spring from the command, and 
 partake of the holiness of the One Eternal and All-glorious 
 God. Thus all hangs together. But Paganism suits 
 fallen man, carnal man, fleshly man, brutish man, un- 
 civilised man. 
 
 One of the Missionaries from TaUygunge is just come 
 over. He says none of the Christians there have joined 
 
78 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 the festival, but the heathen villagers, from children to 
 those of the oldest age, are mad upon their idols. They 
 were drunken before daylight with toddy and arrack, 
 then infuriated by the unseemly processions, then driven 
 to the wretched self-torture of running spikes through 
 their tongues, noses, ears, lips, and shoulders, whilst a few 
 among them undertook the worship of turning or swing- 
 ing themselves. Oh, may the Lord look upon the cove- 
 nant, "for the dark places of the earth are full of the 
 habitations of cruelty ! '* 
 
 Good Friday, April 17, 1835. 
 
 May this third Good Friday passed in India be more 
 sanctified than the preceding ones ! It is a day for 
 penitence, for self-examination, for intercession for the 
 conversion of the world, for new resolutions for serving 
 Christ. My soul is exhausted and annihilated when I 
 reflect on the past and the future of my bishopric, which 
 another will so soon take ; and the account I shall have to 
 render to God of its administration. 
 
 Easter Day. 
 
 The Lord is risen indeed ! May we rise from the 
 grave of death and sin and live henceforth imto God. 
 This is that power of Christ's resurrection which the 
 Apostle exhorts us to know ; and I conceive it is in this 
 view that our Collect, after acknowledging that it is by 
 God's special grace preventing us (or His special pre- 
 venient grace). He puts into our minds good desires, 
 teaches us to pray for His continued help that we may 
 bring the same to effect. For what is this but rising with 
 Christ indeed — the new life — the soul inspired with 
 
CALCUTTA. 79 
 
 good desires, and the habits, principles, and conduct, 
 effectually governed thereby ? We were meditating last 
 night on Mark xvi., and then praying for you, my dear 
 children, for England, for all the countries of Christendom, 
 for India, for the world, that sin and idolatry might be 
 buried in the tomb of Christ, and that truth and holiness 
 might spring from His resurrection, ascension, session, 
 mission of the Spirit of grace. 
 
 Titty ghur, April 24, 1835. 
 Here I still am, with all nature blooming around me. 
 The morning is lovely. The fine flowing Hooghly, with 
 its native boats, stretches on my right ; my own garden 
 and pleasure-grounds surround the sweet flower-hut in 
 which I am now writing ; a double roof of bamboo covers 
 it ; walls, or rather an open lattice- work of the same mate- 
 rial, with four doors and an open verandah, form my protec- 
 tion from the rising sun ; the air is so cool as to make his 
 rays cheering ; a small white marble slab table, surmounted 
 with the writing-desk you knew so well at Islington, 
 stands before me ; four chairs hold my books ; not a voice 
 is to be heard but that of the distant boatmen, inter- 
 mingled with the chirping, singing, merry birds; and 
 here I am about to enjoy two hours of quiet before 
 prayers and breakfast call me. Well then, shall I not 
 begin by acknowledging God's mercies ? " Bless the 
 Lord, my soul, and forget not all Bis benefits." 
 
 Calcutta, Sunday, April 26, 1835. 
 May this holy season be blessed! I am to preach 
 to-day at St. James's. Text : " If by any means I might 
 
80 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 attain unto tlie resurrection of the dead." A glorious 
 resurrection to eternal life, the prize of our high calling. 
 May our Low Sunday terminate our Easter meditations 
 with a tenfold blessing ! The thought of the Divine fore- 
 knowledge, prescience, and purpose, seem to me capable 
 of illustration by what I intimated yesterday. You, on 
 the spot, know four months before myself what takes 
 place in England. Things that are learnt as they occur, 
 are in themselves of course matters of fact, matters not 
 of contingency but of history. But this does not alter 
 my feelings, my duties, my anxiety to learn events, my 
 prayers. As each event becomes known to me, and not 
 before, it is a subject of religious fear, awe, submission, 
 thankfulness. The moral law remains always my one 
 only rule of life, and not the supposed events occurrent in 
 England. The knowledge that the event passed four 
 months before does not prevent me, when it becomes 
 known to me, from rejoicing or grieving. Now expand 
 all this, and apply it to man's petty, narrow knowledge of 
 things in their successive development, and an Infinite 
 Being's all-comprehending omniscience and omnipresence. 
 Add to these natural attributes the moral ones, of Infinite 
 wisdom, goodness, mercy, love, righteousness ; and you 
 have reason for entire repose in your ignorance. 
 
 Flower-House in Titty ghur Garden^ May 22, 1835. 
 
 I had a very quiet day yesterday outwardly, though 
 
 much agitated inwardly with the state of my duties. I 
 
 was comforted this morning in reading a funeral sermon 
 
 for Dr. Carey, and a speech at a Bible meeting in Edin- 
 
BARRACKPORE. 81 
 
 burgh., at tlie anniversary of 1834. I rose up a little into 
 general truths, felt the immensity of the spiritual work 
 before me, and lost sight of the petty microscopic diffi- 
 culties of this lower world. I have found always through- 
 out life the great benefit of generalizing and abstracting 
 at times, and ascending into the heayens as it were with 
 Christ. These primary elementary feelings, connected 
 with the special duties and discipline of our several 
 churches, is the true way of avoiding bigotry on the one 
 hand and latitudinarianism on the other. You keep steady 
 and yet you mount. Oh, for the spirit of love, and of 
 power, and of a sound mind ! 
 
 May 24, 1835. 
 I am to-day about to officiate at Barrackpore, which is 
 next in the cycle of the churches which I have been 
 taking every Sunday since I returned, alternately with, 
 the Cathedi-al. I have been to the Old Church, St. 
 James's, the Free Church, Bishop's College, and the Fort. 
 Barrackpore, Howra, Kidderpore, Bum Bum, and Chin- 
 surah, yet remain. Is not this cycle itself a vast scene of 
 usefulness — to have ten large stations, besides the Cathe- 
 dral, where I may preach the everlasting Gospel, stir up 
 the clergy, give a public countenance to evangelical truth? 
 I hope to go round the cycle once again before I start on 
 my second tour of visitation in the winter, if I should be 
 permitted to start. O for thankfulness for such great and 
 effectual doors set open before me ! May we to-day, ac- 
 cording to our most beautiful Collect, " By God's holy 
 inspiration think those things that are good, and by His 
 merciful guiding perform the same." God demands the 
 
 G 
 
82 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 heart — the heart in a state of constant contrition, obe- 
 dience, love, subjection. 
 
 Whit Sunday, May 31, 1835. 
 may the sacred influences of the dove-like Spirit 
 descend upon India this day, in all the soft, gentle, pene- 
 trating, fructifying, illuminating powers of the Gospel ! 
 The work of the Holy Ghost is two-fold ; — Gifts and 
 graces, ecclesiastical guidance, inspiration of Scripture, 
 qualifications of ministers, power of ordination, courage 
 and fortitude in suflering, labours of missionaries and 
 support in their high calling. This is one branch under 
 which miraculous powers were ranged, whilst for the first 
 two or three centuries they accompanied the infant church. 
 We have specimens under the Old Testament of these 
 gifts in Aholiab and Bezaleel, filled with the Spirit for 
 building the tabernacle ; Saul, endued with kingly qualities 
 for government ; David, conducting himself wisely under 
 persecutions; and Solomon, blessed with wisdom and 
 imderstanding for going in and out before so great a 
 people as that of Israel. But the graces of the Spirit 
 are infinitely more precious, and these divide themselves 
 into two chief branches : — Conviction, or reproof for sin ; 
 and Consolation. The first unfolds the law; the second 
 glorifies Christ. The first illuminates, humbles, converts, 
 regenerates, new- creates the soul ; the second consoles, 
 calms, unites to Christ, aids in communion with God, 
 spiritualizes, fills with faith, hope, charity, separates from 
 the world, prepares for heaven, and fosters the anti- 
 cipations and pledges of its bliss. Oh, what a prayer is that 
 of Lord Bacon which is termed " the Student's Prayer :'' 
 
BARRACKPORE. 83 
 
 " To God the Father, God the Word, God the Spirit, we 
 put forth most humble and hearty supplications, that 
 human things may not prejudice divine; neither that 
 from the unlocking of the gates of sense, and the kindling 
 of a greater natural light, anything of incredulity or 
 intellectual might may arise in our minds towards divine 
 mysteries." 
 
 You cannot think how much I am charmed with 
 " Yenn's Life." There is such solid piety, such humility, 
 such self-knowledge, such good sense, such fine sagacious 
 remarks on men and things, such kind-heartedness, so 
 many detections of the windings of the great adversary, 
 that I read it with much advantage and pleasure. At 
 eleven o'clock on Friday night I was walking on the side 
 of the noble Hooghly ; the moon shone splendidly over 
 the water, the trees around my flower-house and bungalow 
 reflected and variegated its beams ; my soul was humbled 
 within me on the contemplation of the Divine majesty and 
 goodness, and man's apostasy and woe. Oh, what a heart 
 is man's, and what a heart is mine ! Oh, what misery has 
 sin difiused over this beautiful creation ! The heavens, 
 indeed, do still declare the glory of God ; the invisible 
 things of His being and sovereignty are clearly seen, being 
 understood by the things that are made : but in what a state 
 are Hindoostan, China, Arabia, Persia, Thibet ! In what 
 darkness lie the most of those nations whom this glorious 
 eastern moon illuminates ! What a contrast between the 
 Western and the Oriental hemisphere ! How few know the 
 only true God, and Jesus Christ whom He hath sent ! 
 May God be pleased to aid me, and all my brethren, to 
 
84 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 labour more in dissipating idolatry and sin, and in pro- 
 claiming the Gospel wherever the natural heavens preach 
 silently their Maker and Lord ! 
 
 Chinsurah, Sept. 10, 1835. 
 
 I am now making my fifth visit to this large station. 
 The town is an old Dutch settlement, with the former 
 Governor still residing as a private man. The old Calvinist 
 Church was given over to Bishop Heber in 1824. The 
 place stands on an exquisitely beautiful reach of the river 
 Hooghly. The native town contains 20,000 people. The 
 bazaar is enormous, and highly characteristic of India. 
 Its crowded narrow streets, its low houses, its teeming 
 population, its chatter of tongues, its concentration of all 
 kinds of articles of sale, its traders sitting on their shop- 
 tables in the midst of their corn, and sweetmeats, and 
 looking-glasses, and clothes, like monkeys ; the perpetual 
 smoke of the cigar rising on all hands, the stoppages of 
 vehicles of aU kinds, encountering each other in the 
 obstructed ways; all constitute a unique spectacle. The 
 frightful pagodas mark the idolatry and degradation of 
 the people, and tell you the mass of misery, and vice, and 
 female oppression, and brutal appetite, which the system 
 of Hindooism involves, and which this outward confusion 
 only suspends. 
 
 Sept. 13, 1835. 
 
 I enter to-day on the thirty-fifth year of my ministry. 
 How few, comparatively, have been permitted so long a 
 period of years for the exercise of it ! How little did I 
 foresee, when sitting at Mr. Cecil's and Mr. Scott's feet, 
 and drinking in their instructions, the way in which the 
 
CHINSURAH. 85 
 
 Lord would lead me ! India especially fills me with 
 wonder. The honour of bearing Christ's name in this 
 country, the honour of suffering something for Christ — 
 Kttle, indeed, and not to be mentioned, but still something 
 — the vast importance of the post assigned me ; the in- 
 fluence on 200 clergy, scattered over a region 1500 miles 
 by 1200 ; the correspondence with the Church at home ! 
 Oh for grace, simplicity, boldness, wisdom, faithfulness, 
 steadfastness, love to Christ, love for souls, zeal, patience ! 
 Lord, help ! 
 
 Sept. 14, 1835. 
 
 I am now in a bholeah, or large cabined boat, between 
 Chinsurah and Barrackpore, with the spire of the church 
 of Serampore in view ; the varied shores on either hand 
 crowded with fishing -huts, pagodas and bungalows on 
 each bank of the river; the sun just rising; the rich, 
 wide, calm bosom of the Hooghly river yielding to the 
 languid impulse of the Indian oar. Cantonments are 
 opening each moment, as we pass the seven regiments 
 stationed at Barrackpore. We are now just opposite the 
 great Missionary settlement, where the press is pouring 
 out its treasures ; whilst the Government House is coming 
 into view, and at the opposite sweep of the reach my 
 bungalow of Tittyghur closes the prospect. The splen- 
 dour of the morning sun, reflected on the glassy surface 
 of the stream, is what only an Eastern hemisphere can 
 exhibit. Yesterday I preached, both morning and evening, 
 to most attentive congregations. 
 
 Calcutta^ Sept 27, 1835. 
 
 I went this morning to see Mrs. Wilson's Christian 
 
86 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 scIlooIs. The new Orpliaii buildings are going on. There 
 are 116 orphan girls now under Mrs. Wilson's roof. Solid 
 good is done in this manner, as the children are domi- 
 ciliated and trained as Christians from their earliest 
 infancy, without counteracting influences from home. 
 Mrs. Wilson is an extraordinary person. I visited also 
 the Infant Schools, the European Orphan Schools, and 
 Mrs. Sandys' Orphan Schools on the Mission premises at 
 Mirzapore. 
 
87 
 
 CHAPTEE lY. 
 
 Commencement of Second Visitation — Reflections — Cape Comorin 
 
 — Malabar Coast — • Quilon — Allepie — Cotyam — Visit of the 
 Metran — Syrian Churches — Sermon preached in Native Church 
 
 — Important Conferences with Metran — Cochin — Synagogue 
 of White and Black Jews — Confirmation — Visit to Syrian 
 Churches in the Interior — Differences between the Syrian and 
 Romish Church — Proposals for Improvement — Goa — Augus- 
 tinian Monastery — Decayed State of Libraries — Tomb of 
 Xavier — Inquisition — Arrival at Bombay — Parsee Marriage. 
 
 The Hattrass, Oct. 4, 1835. 
 We embarked at six tliis moming. I am now entering 
 on a Visitation which may occupy nearly two years, 
 should life and health be continued, as it will comprehend 
 both South and North India. I felt thankful for the 
 blessed repose of the Sabbath just before my departure. 
 All Christianity is compressed into that holy season ; — 
 prayer, praise, gratitude, recollections and adoration of 
 the first and the second Creation, sympathy with the 
 Universal Church, public worship of God, the reading and 
 hearing of His word, the administration of the sacraments, 
 the conversion of souls, the quickening of drowsy and 
 consoling of afflicted Christians, the preparation for heaven. 
 May Islington and Calcutta, and all the places where the 
 Lord records His name, be visited with aU these blessings ! 
 
88 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 At Sea, Oct 15, 1835. 
 
 "We are now descending the Bay of Bengal, on its 
 eastern shore, and shall round Cape Comorin to reach 
 Quilon, on the Travancore coast. 
 
 I have suffered far less this voyage than in any 
 preceding one. After the first two days I could begin 
 to read and write. I have read through the first volume 
 of Gleig's "British India." The sketch of the Afghan 
 and Mogul Empires is the most fearful ever exhibited. 
 For seven centuries one fell swoop of tyranny passed 
 over India. Wars, endless in succession and execrable in 
 cruelty, followed each other. Oppression, insecurity of 
 person and property, invasion, famine, death, marched in 
 ghastly procession. If ever there was a contrast in the 
 state of nations, it is between India under the Mogul and 
 India under the British sceptre. Life and death are not 
 more contrary. The mind is refreshed with the equity, 
 the impartial jurisprudence, the inflexible punishment of 
 treachery in inferior agents, the new springs of agricul- 
 ture, medicine, commerce, art, science, education, and 
 morals given by England. The last of her rulers. Lord 
 W. Bentinck, first diffused for seven years the blessings 
 appropriate to peace in a copious and steady flood. JN^o 
 doubt we have committed, and do commit, a thousand 
 faults ; but I speak comparatively. Christianity must 
 crown the whole. She is doing this, though amidst much 
 difficulty, misapprehension, and division. She is making 
 her way. 
 
 Sunday, Oct. 18, 1835. 
 
 St. Luke's Day. Again Sundays of distraction, soli- 
 
AT SEA. 89 
 
 tude, and exile are allotted to me. But we are seven 
 English, and come within the promise ; and well does the 
 beautiful Collect of this day suit my state of mind. The 
 diseases of the soul, the wholesome medicines of St. Lul^e's 
 Gospel, the beloved Physician whose praise is in all the 
 churches, — these are my subjects of meditation. My 
 voyages are my times of spiritual examination and dis- 
 cipline. Seven or eight months of Calcutta duties have 
 brought many attendant maladies upon my heart. Exter- 
 nal hurry, bustle, conflict, correspondence, new emergen- 
 cies, intercourse in society, have led on Satan's forces, 
 whilst the tendency within to all evil has betrayed the 
 soul too much into his hands. Contemplation, thought, 
 interior meditation, are now my duty. The leisure of 
 this voyage is deKcioiis. I pray God I may profit by the 
 opportunity ! 
 
 Nov. 13, 1835. 
 Cape Comorin was full in view this morning. "We 
 are now passing through new scenes. So far as Colombo 
 we reached last year, but the Gulf of Malabar, Cape 
 omorin, and the Malabar coast, are entirely new to us. 
 e Cape is one of the noblest scenes which ofiers to the 
 trawUer. The extremity of the land itself is, indeed, a 
 low sandy point, scarcely visible at any distance ; but the 
 superb Ghauts, about twenty miles inland, and which to 
 the mariner's eye push themselves forth into the ocean 
 first of all, form a magnificent sight. They rise three 
 or four thousand feet, stretch on either coast so far as the 
 eye can reach, vary in their aspect and undulations, are 
 broken perpetually into new series, sometimes four or five 
 
90 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 ranges springing one over another, whilst overhanging 
 clouds hide the extreme tops. A pagoda here and there, 
 with houses and cultivated fields, enhance the beauty of 
 the entire picture. And now may God prepare me for 
 duties of another class ! What is before me I know not ; 
 but thirty-two days of privacy, like St. John Baptist's in 
 the wilderness, ought to have aided in sobering, hum- 
 bling, strengthening the soul, under the influences of the 
 Holy Spirit. The time, though now and then wearisome, 
 has been most salutary — a pause between Calcutta and 
 my renewed Visitation. Oh for the love of Christ, the 
 compassion for souls, the presiding wisdom, the fortitude, 
 the tenderness, the prudence of St. Paul, that " the care 
 of all the Churches," so far as they fall upon me, may 
 fill me with self-abasement, sense of weakness, and reliance 
 upon Christ ! His kingdom is not of this world. The real 
 work is H!is. Man is nothing ; Christ is all in all. to 
 unite Claudius Buchanan, Henry Martyn, Bishops Mid- 
 dleton and Heber, the beloved Corrie (now, as I trust. 
 Bishop of Madras), in one Christian course of superin- 
 tending love ! 
 
 Nov. 14, 1835. 
 "We hope to anchor about nine. The coast of Malabar 
 is exquisitely beautiful. The Ghauts, or range of moun- 
 tains some miles inland, are in fine contrast with the 
 cocoa-nut trees, the jungle, the meadows, and the sandy 
 beach in front. At noon we passed Trivandrum, where 
 the Residency stands, prominent on the beach. I sent in 
 a letter by a country boat. The most interesting objects, 
 however, were the neat Christian churches, planted at the 
 
QUILOI^. 91 
 
 distance of a few miles all along tlie shore — beautiful 
 buildings, like our EngKsb country cburcbes ; small, but 
 of ecclesiastical appearance, of white materials, with a 
 small tower and cupola, roofs of thatch, and white tomb- 
 stones adorning the churchyards. I fear they entirely 
 belong to the Roman Catholics, who are so little removed 
 from the heathen in habits, information, or morals, that 
 one laments the sad degradation of the Christian name. 
 Two or three hundred thousand of these Christians crowd 
 the south of India. 
 
 Quilon, Nov. 16, 1835. 
 "We are at the Residency, a noble building, where 
 we have every kindness shown us. The chief people of 
 the native village came to present me with fruits and 
 flowers, with a large cortege, yesterday. I spoke to them 
 of the Christian faith. The thasildar (head-man) ac- 
 knowledged it was a better religion than the Hindoo, and 
 would by degrees prevail over it ; but the Hindoo religion 
 was very old, and it could only be overcome gradually. 
 
 AUepie, Nov. 17, 1835. 
 We started at six this morning, in four boats, for 
 Cochin, about 150 miles, by what is termed the Back- 
 water, which is a series of lakes running parallel with the 
 sea-shore, and opening upon it from time to time, at a 
 distance of one, two, or three miles. The larger lakes are 
 connected with each other by intermediate rivulets or na- 
 tural canals. The scenery as we left Quilon was of the 
 softest and most luxuriant character, — the water smooth 
 as a mirror, the margin studded with cocoa-nut trees, the 
 
92 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 outline variegated on all hands with, infinite loveliness. 
 We rowed for three hours, and then disembarked at a 
 small Christian village, and had breakfast prepared in the 
 Parsonage-house adjoining the little village church. I 
 looked into the church : it was a Koman Catholic one, with 
 only the ground for a floor ; there were no seats, but an 
 attempt at the usual gaudy altar and image, which seem 
 characteristic of the Apostasy. A kind of quadrangle of 
 small buildings, in a room of which we breakfasted, marks 
 the perpetual attention of that Church for the provision 
 of its priesthood. The people and priests are very little 
 raised above the heathen. In fact, the Paganism which 
 Conyers Middleton proved to exist at Kome, has been 
 transferred just in the same manner to India, but with 
 grosser features. The main difference is, that in the car 
 and processions it is not Juggernaut, but the Yirgin Mary 
 that is worshipped. 
 
 After a voyage of thirteen hours we arrived late this 
 
 evening at the charming bungalow of Mr. N , at 
 
 Allepie, where we found two or three hundred native 
 Christians, Heathen, and Portuguese, collected for divine 
 worship. I preached to them through an interpreter, 
 from Eph. v. 2 ; " Walk in love, as Christ also hath 
 loved us." 
 
 Syrian College^ Cotyam, Nov. 19, 1835. 
 
 We arrived here yesterday. I have just received the 
 Syrian Metropolitan, and his attendant catanars and dea- 
 cons, in a first audience. He sent two priests this morn- 
 ing to me to know when he should call. He came at 
 half-past ten, attired in a red satin dress, with a white 
 
COTYAM. 93 
 
 surplice of muslin falling over it, and a kind of rich hood 
 or shoulder-piece of adorned work. A cross, apparently of 
 gold, hung from his breast. A large crozier was borne 
 before him, and a mitre was on his head. A long white 
 beard marked him to be between fifty and sixty, as it 
 flowed down almost to his waist. I received him in the 
 modest black silk gown, which is the ordinary vesture of 
 a Protestant Bishop. My Chaplain and the two Mission- 
 aries attended in their robes. As it was a visit of cere- 
 mony, I confined myself to general topics ; all directed, 
 however, to one point — the honour of the Lord Jesus 
 Christ, and the setting forth of His praise. I said I was 
 a stranger passing through his diocese to Bombay and 
 the upper provinces of Bengal and Agra, and could not 
 refrain from calling at Cotyam, to salute the Metropolitan 
 and ancient Church of Syrian Christians ; that I had no 
 authority except over my own people, but was desirous to 
 strengthen his hands in a heathen country ; that England 
 was the greatest nation in the world, and as God had 
 given her the supremacy in India, she was bound to hon- 
 our and protect the ancient Syrian Church of Malabar ; 
 that she had sufiered the same kind of oppression from 
 the Church of Rome which the Syrian Church had, and 
 could, therefore, sympathise with her; that she was an 
 Episcopal Church, and held the doctrines of the primitive 
 Christian Bishops in like manner as the Syrian did : 
 she reverenced also the first four General Councils, but 
 that the foundation of all her doctrines and discipline was 
 the Kew Testament of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ ; 
 that in order to convert the Heathens, the light must 
 
94 ^ JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 sliiiie brightly in the different Churches of Christ. I had 
 then the catanars and deacons introduced to me, and con- 
 ducted afterwards the Metropolitan to the door, where his 
 palanquin was waiting for him. 
 
 2 P.M. 
 
 I have been returning the Metran's visit. He re- 
 sides in the College which the English Goyernment built 
 about twenty years since, and which is a quadrangular 
 building, with cloisters and verandahs on each side, some- 
 thing like our old colleges in Oxford and Cambridge, 
 though much inferior in size and style of architecture, of 
 course. Nothing but general conversation took place. I 
 talked of Cyprian, Ambrose, St. Augustine, Athanasius. 
 The Metran knew nothing of their writings. He ap- 
 pears totally ignorant, but assents to what I say. I told 
 him that the Protestant Churches received the Fathers as 
 witnesses, and gave them all the weight they severally 
 deserved, but judged of them by the Bible, and not the 
 Bible by them. The personal character of the Metran 
 is very, very bad, which is a great obstacle to every 
 reform. The people would willingly receive such re- 
 form, but the priests are opposed, as their gains for 
 masses and prayers for the dead would be gone. It ap- 
 pears that much superstition has gradually clung even to 
 the pure Syrian Churches, and many Popish practices have 
 crept in. The Syrian Roman Churches have, of course, 
 entirely submitted to the Pope and his images and idol- 
 atries. But in the pure Syrian Churches, though there 
 is much decay and much of evil habits, error is not enacted 
 by law, nor enforced by the authority of councils. The 
 
PULLUPALI. 95 
 
 Syrian Churclies acknowledge and know the Scriptures. 
 They hold the three first councils, and they acknowledge 
 no other creed than we do. 
 
 Pullupali, Nov. 20, 1835., 
 I have been preaching in this pure Syrian Church by 
 the permission of the Metran. It is called " St. George." 
 There are seven priests and one deacon, and four or five 
 hundred famiKes. A ghaut with rough steps leads from 
 the river to the church steps, in front of which a cross, 
 with no figure of our Lord, but simply the two transverse 
 beams, of a large size, was erected on a raised pediment. 
 The western facade resembles all the other little churches 
 here, rising like the gable- end of a house in decreasing 
 stories. The nave was a mere room, without seats or 
 benches. Before the chancel was a septum, or rail. Five 
 large chandeliers hung from the ceiling, quite low. The 
 chancel was elevated by several steps, and the altar at the 
 back was simple — no Yirgin Mary, no crucifix, no gaudy 
 ornaments, no shrine for the host. Coarse daubings of 
 our Saviour on the plastered walls were very miserably 
 done, but nothing beyond our Protestant custom in Eng- 
 land. The Morning English Prayers were read in 
 Malayalim by the dear Missionary brethren. I then 
 preached from my chair in the chancel from John viii. 
 12, Christ the Light of the world. I was particularly 
 charmed with the primitive simplicity of everything. 
 Along one side of the nave ran a kind of gallery, 
 or long verandah, with an upper story leading into the 
 gallery of the church, like our singing- galleries in England. 
 Here two of the priests live ; a prophet's chamber indeed 
 
96 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 it was ! To this room, or gallery, we were conducted after 
 cliurcli, to partake of roilk and eggs provided for our re- 
 freshment. On regaining our boats, for we came by water, 
 tbe view of the entire building, the antiquity of every 
 object, with the church porch adding to the tout ensemble, 
 the majestic cross in front, the old palm-trees waving on 
 each side, the crowd of priests and Syrian laity saluting us, 
 brought to my mind the primitive Church at Antioch, 
 where the disciples were first called Christians. Their 
 poverty, their long persecutions, their ignorance, the su- 
 perstitions which these circumstances had produced, their 
 independence of the Church of Kome notwithstanding all, 
 made them an object of the deepest interest. 
 
 Cotyam, Nov. 22, 1835. 
 
 The Lord Jesus assist me to-day ! I have the most 
 difficidt and delicate task to perform — to meet the Metran 
 and propose measures of reformation. Thou, Lord, alone 
 canst direct and bless. Guide Thou, I pray ! 
 
 Under the present Metran everything has been going 
 back. He ordains boys for money. He purloins Church 
 property, and encourages superstition. Yesterday I had 
 two long conferences with him — one alone, the second 
 before fifteen or twenty of his clergy. I urged on him to 
 ordaui none but those who had passed through the Col- 
 lege; to let the clergy be supported, not by prayers for the 
 dead, as at present, but by fixed fees; to let all the 
 accounts of the Church property pass through the hands 
 of the Resident ; to establish schools all over the diocese ; 
 to let the Gospel be preached by every Priest every Sun- 
 
COTYAM. 97 
 
 day, and to let a Liturgy be taken from the numerous 
 ones now in use, in order to be translated into Malayalim, 
 with alterations and abridgments. The Metran assented 
 to everything, but said he must consult his clergy. 
 
 Nov. 23, 1835. 
 The church at which I preached yesterday was not so 
 simply adorned as that on Friday. The nave, porch, and 
 chancel were much the same. The adjacent buildings 
 were more numerous and convenient. The service was 
 very unsatisfactory; it was not social, but the Priest 
 in many parts of it performed it in silence alone, 
 whilst the use of bells and of incense partook of supersti- 
 tion. The language of some of the prayers was too much 
 like that of Rome, and must have been the remnant of 
 sixty years' subjection to that fierce Church. The solitary 
 Communion celebrated by the Priest was contrary to all 
 notions of social worship. Some of the prayers were in 
 Malayalim ; some in Syrian : the Epistle and Gospel in 
 Malayalim. The whole service was a mixture of admirable 
 and most spiritual prayers with superstitious language 
 about the Virgin Mary, Saints, and the Eucharist. I could 
 not help thanking God that our noble English Reformers 
 had swept away all these, and the yet worse superstitions 
 of Pome itself, and had formed such a pure and edifying 
 Liturgy. The chancel of this Cotyam church was filled 
 with crosses, which had figures of our Saviour painted on 
 them, not carved figures, and more tending to superstition. 
 
 Cochin, Nov. 24, 1835. 
 Here we are arrived, after a passage of seven hours. 
 
 H 
 
98 
 
 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 It is a most beautiful ancient town on tlie coast, long pos- 
 sessed by tbe Portuguese and Dutch, and only finally made 
 over to the English in 1814. The harbour is most striking. 
 We are at the Eesidency. Last evening we visited the 
 Synagogue of the White and Black Jews. The Elders of 
 the White Jews had waited upon us on our arrival, and 
 invited me there. They are as fair as Europeans, but with 
 the complete Jewish physiognomy ; highly respectable. 
 Two hundred are reported to have come from Jerusalem 
 after its destruction by Titus ; others have joined them 
 from different nations since. The Black Jews are swarthy 
 like Hindoos, and are considered of an inferior race. The 
 White Jews received us at Jews' Town, with an immense 
 crowd of people preceded with large wax candles. The 
 Synagogue was illuminated, as were all the houses on each 
 side the street through which we passed. After the usual 
 evening prayers by the Elders, the Jews came up to me 
 and begged of me to address an exhortation to the people. 
 I inquired of the clergy whether it would be improper, and 
 finding it would not, I rose and laid before them some 
 proofs of Jesus being the Messiah, urging two prophecies, 
 Daniel's Seventy Weeks and Haggai's Glory of the Second 
 Temple ; and then entreated them to read the Gospel, and 
 mark the divine holiness of Jesus with His stupendous 
 miracles. I then adverted to their actual state of disper- 
 sion for rejecting Christ, and told them of their future 
 conversion. I lastly quoted Zechariah on the Spirit of 
 grace and supplication, and begged them to implore of 
 God his Holy Spirit to open their eyes to perceive their 
 own sinfulness, and then they would look unto Him whom 
 
COCHIN. 99 
 
 they had pierced. They then made a prayer for me, men- 
 tioning me by name. When all was concluded they 
 undrew the veil, and showed us the copies of the Hebrew 
 Pentateuch which they possess. 
 
 Balghatty, Nov. 24, 1835. 
 
 I have just been preaching and holding a Confirmation 
 in the Protestant Church of this place, formerly a Por- 
 tuguese Church, but since the Dutch possession in 1663 
 purified, and now belonging to the Church of England. 
 The congregation consisted of 500 persons, of whom 150 
 had been Eoman Catholics, and 100 Listened from the 
 outside, being Eoman Catholics still. I confirmed 
 seventy-five, being the first Confirmation held here by a 
 Protestant Bishop. 
 
 Cochin, Nov, 26, 1835. 
 
 Yesterday we had a most exposed and fatiguing day. 
 We were misinformed of our route, and what was- to have 
 been done in five hours occupied ten or eleven. The 
 burning sun, the glaring sand, and the fatigue of palanquin 
 travelling, almost overcame me. But how shall I describe 
 the beauties and novelties of this first excursion into the 
 interior ? We visited five of the Syrian Churches. We 
 conversed with the Priests, and at the most remote, Can- 
 demaad, I contrived, thank God, to deliver my intended 
 sermon, exhausted as I was. We passed through the 
 Syrian villages. We went over the spot where Dr. Bu- 
 chanan and Bishop Middleton had been in 1806 and 1816. 
 We stood in the Church where the furious bigot Menezes, 
 in 1599, held his forced synod — a synod, the majority of 
 whose members he himself had violently ordained, on pur- 
 
100 
 
 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 pose to compass his ends. Yes ; I have been at Deampoor — 
 now a desolation, twenty houses only appertaining to it. 
 The Romish glitter, the Romish images, the Romish 
 crucifixes mark the place. The church where I preached 
 was Candemaad. The other churches were Tripoontorah, 
 Currinzereherry, and Deampoor, and one or two Roman- 
 Syrian besides. The difference of the Syro-Roman and 
 Syrian Churches in externals, is chiefly in the admission 
 or exclusion of images of the Yirgin, and of crucifixes, the 
 Syrians having only crosses. In doctrine and discipKne 
 the difference is immense, the one being under the Pope 
 with his Council of Trent, the other under its own Bishops 
 and Clergy, with a slight dependence on the Patriarch of 
 Antioch. The one denies, the other welcomes the free use 
 of the Scriptures. The one builds on Tradition, the other 
 on the Bible. The one excludes from salvation all out of 
 its pale, the other acknowledges all orthodox churches. 
 The first shuns all intercourse with the English Bishop 
 and Clergy, the second admits them to preach in their 
 churches and teach in their schools. The one prays 
 wholly in an unknown tongue, the other allows the Syrian 
 prayers to be translated or read in Malayalim, so as to be 
 understood by the people. The Roman-Syrian has little 
 or no preaching of God's Word, the pure Syrian admits 
 and encourages it. The Clergy of the first are educated at 
 Yerapoli or Goa, in all the tenets of Popery ; the second 
 educates her Priesthood at the Protestant College at Co- 
 tyam built by the English, and where the Church Mission- 
 aries are the tutors. The Priests of the first take on them 
 at their ordination all the vows of Popery, the Priests of 
 
COCHIN. 101 
 
 the second engage to observe the canons of the Council of 
 Mce. Finally, the Popish Syrians enforce the celibacy 
 of the Clergy, the Syrians allow of their marriage when 
 Deacons. It should be added that the Romish Syrians 
 avoid, whilst the pure Syrians invite, the English Resident's 
 protection and guidance. 
 
 The result is, that the Church of England has now a 
 glorious opportunity of aiding in the sound revival of these 
 ancient churches. She has no authority, nor does she 
 claim or want any, but she may advise, help, and strengthen. 
 The Church Missionaries have been in the field for nearly 
 eighteen years. The defects of the Syrian Churches spring 
 from ignorance, the general corruption of man, intercourse 
 with the heathen, and the remains of the Popish t}a-anny 
 of sixty years, from 1599 to 1663. They know not what 
 they hold. They deny all the peculiarities of Popery, and 
 yet they pay some worship to the Yirgin and Saiats ; they 
 believe something like Transubstantiation ; they pray for 
 the souls of the dead; they hold solitary communions; they 
 do not enough preach to the people ; they have no fixed 
 Liturgy ; they have no Confession of Faith ; they hold the 
 canons of the Council of Nice, but know not what those 
 canons are. Their civil and intellectual condition is low, 
 feeble, ignorant. You may judge from, this what a delicate 
 task I have had. 
 
 My proposals go to a sound, temperate, thorough re- 
 form. I have fully impregnated the Missionaries' minds 
 with my views, and have made, as it were, a pubHc con- 
 fession of Christ and primitive truth in the face of the 
 churches. I have declared the name of Jesus with the 
 
102 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 fimmess, and yet the deference, wMcli became me in 
 anotlier cliurcli, as a stranger with no authority. Already 
 the minds of many are in movement. Several priests in the 
 north and south are awakened and prepared for a better 
 state of things. 
 
 The sketch of the Syrian Churches in Dr. Pearson's 
 "Life of Dr. Buchanan," is the most accurate and fair we 
 have. The information in Bishop Middleton's Life is 
 curious and accurate, but Dr. Buchanan is the real man 
 to be praised. His researches and letters are inimitable. 
 His accounts are substantially correct. Some faults he 
 made, of course. His references to their early history 
 are crude and imperfect. His idea of the puiity of the 
 Syrian Churches, and the resemblance of their Liturgy 
 to ours, was too sanguine, and the language he used of 
 an union with the Church of England was unauthorised 
 and premature. But what of all this? the main state- 
 ments are beautifully picturesque and fully true. 
 
 Arabian Sea, Nov. 29, 1835. 
 The Syrian Church, my beloved children, fills my 
 heart, and, I trust, my prayers. O that an advent of the 
 Lord may be granted unto her! The general moral cha- 
 racter of the Syrians much surpasses that of the Roman 
 Syrians, of the Portuguese Eoman Catholics, and of the 
 heathen. And since the Bible has been permitted to be 
 read they are rising, as a people, daily in knowledge and 
 virtue. There is one very pleasing custom in their church 
 service. When the priest says, "Peace on earth, good 
 will towards men,'* the attendant priests take his right 
 
GOA. 103 
 
 hand between both of theirs, and pass the peace to the 
 congregation, each of whom takes his neighbour's right 
 hand and passes on the word. The civilisation, arts, 
 trades, commerce, sciences, houses, conveniences of the 
 Syrians, are at a very low ebb after an oppression of so 
 many centuries : but they work in the Mission Printing- 
 office and Foundry, they cultivate the land, and follow 
 small merchandise. The purity of Christian marriage is 
 the centre of all domestic and social excellency, and of 
 public spirit and enterprise. "What an honour to England 
 to raise this Church if she can, and make her a light to 
 lighten the surrounding heathen ! Their bitterest foes are 
 the Roman Catholics. Their villages are most primitive. 
 The cross at the entrance, the little church raising its 
 meek front, the huts covered with leaves of cajan, and the 
 long vistas of palm-trees, combine to touch the heart of 
 the Christian European. Each of the churches is im- 
 pressed on my memory as by a signet. At two of them I 
 conversed with the priests and a crowd of Syrian lay- 
 people in the side-gallery without the church walls, and 
 exhorted them to study the Scriptures and forsake super- 
 stitious customs. 
 
 Dec. 2, 1835. 
 In sight of the flagstaff of Goa. This coast of Malabar 
 and Canara is lovely. The Sunny Mountains in varied 
 figures are a perpetual object of pleasure ; the bays, the 
 indentations of the land, the multitude of brigs and 
 coasting- vessels, the ports and flagstaffs every twenty or 
 thirty miles, and the Christian Churches with their simple 
 and elegant forms, constitute, perhaps, the finest scenery 
 
104 JOURNAX LETTERS. 
 
 of the kind we have yet seen, not excepting that of 
 Ceylon. But, as Bishop Heber says, " only man is vile.'' 
 Alas ! alas ! heathenism is here even of a more degraded 
 character than in other parts of India. 
 
 New Goa, Dec. 2, 1835. 
 
 Nothing can exceed the beauty of this spot. A mag- 
 nificent sort of bay leads from the sea to the river of Pan- 
 juis, on which the town stands — a wide and noble stream, 
 crowned on either side with superb hanging woods of 
 cocoa-nut, and interspersed with churches and country- 
 houses, which conducts you to the town itself. We are now 
 in the Viceroy's palace, and I have been looking round 
 the immense rooms, surrounded with portraits of all the 
 Governors and Yiceroys, from Albroquerque in 1509 
 to the present time. The place has altogether fallen. 
 The weakness of Portugal at home has debilitated her 
 colony here. At present there is neither Viceroy nor 
 Archbishop. 
 
 Old Goa, Dec. 3, 1835. 
 
 Old Goa is about five miles from Panjuis, or New Goa. 
 We went in the Viacker's boat, with eighteen oars. The 
 view of the surrounding country as we advanced was in- 
 describable ; the Thames at Richmond is beggarly in the 
 comparison. We first visited the church of Cajatan, the 
 dome and centre aisles of which are feeble copies of those 
 of St. Peter's at Rome : the whole edifice does not, however, 
 resemble it, being in the form of a Grecian and not a Latin 
 cross. I saw nothing when I was on the Continent equal 
 to the splendour of the altar-piece. I ascended for a mo- 
 
GOA. 105 
 
 ment the Immense pulpit, adhering gallery- wise to one of 
 the pillars of the nave. The Convent of the Franciscans 
 adjoining is, like all the rest here, deserted ; the library is 
 literally mouldering from neglect. In thirty years more 
 these buildings will be in ruins, for there are no longer 
 any inhabitants. It is like Babylon in the prophecies of 
 Isaiah, the satyr calling to its fellow. The Archbishop's 
 palace is likewise deserted, and become a mere untenanted 
 and sinking mass ; but the remains of such comforts and 
 well- arranged apartments still exist as to show what it once 
 was. The Archbishop's private rooms consisted of a library 
 with a verandah, and an interior Kbrary, with the very 
 couch on which the Archbishop slept, with bath-room, and 
 exterior approach by separate steps. I took up a copy of 
 the Charge of a late Archbishop delivered in 1818, and 
 printed at Calcutta. 
 
 The chapel of the Augustinian Monastery is of the 
 most subdued solemnity, and consists of a narrow mass 
 of building, with the choir on the level with the upper 
 cloisters, and opening into it. The altar is less tinselled 
 than the Cathedral, or Cajatan Church, but I cannot enter 
 into more details. The high mass at St. Xavier's Church 
 was disgusting mummery, with neither devotion nor in- 
 struction. The Nunnery of Monica, the mother of Augus- 
 tine, we could only see in a smaU part, of course. Oh, 
 what do we owe to our Heformers in the sixteenth century ! 
 I could not help deeply lamenting the state of the libraries. 
 Probably a dozen considerable Libraries were rapidly perish- 
 ing by mere neglect. I looked over the titles of many 
 books, most of them Fathers, Councils, and old works oa 
 
106 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 geograpliy and history. The typography of the Bibles 
 and Prayer-books was superb. Those printed at Eome, 
 and Antwerp, and Yenice, were on paper like vellum, 
 and with a bold, clear, large type — quite charming. But 
 the impression of the whole of Goa upon my mind was 
 most painful. A city made up of churches and monas- 
 teries (private houses there were none), a toy-shop for 
 the Yirgin Mary, the manufactory of men from Hindoos 
 to Roman Catholics, and all Rome transplanted to India, 
 in short. And then, the fall! In one hour all has vanished 
 as to its real influence and power. 
 
 New Goa^ Fnday^ Dec. 4, 1835. 
 On reflecting on the magic scene of yesterday my 
 mind is overwhelmed. The Portuguese, for one hundred 
 and fifty years the great European power in India, is silent 
 in darkness, and the "Beast" which enjoyed her pro- 
 tection expiring. Instead of two thousand priests, whose 
 licentiousness was proverbial, there are now fifty, or even 
 fewer, stragglers. Immense masses of building, crumbling 
 daily, and some positively without a single monk. The 
 Nunnery alone remains, and that is to receive no more 
 inmates. The Abbess has never been without its walls 
 for forty-five years. One sweet-looking pupil attended 
 her at the grilky downcast as a flower doomed to fade. 
 The nuns we CQuld not see. I should have mentioned 
 that the tomb of St. Xavier is a great curiosity. It was 
 opened yesterday and illuminated. It is an enormous 
 pyramid of black marble, with the compartments filled 
 with exquisite alto-relievo sculptures on each side near 
 
GOA. 107 
 
 the base ; altars and images are around ; gilding and 
 ornamental work in profusion. The whole is surmounted 
 with the silver coffin of Xavier in most splendid guise. 
 The walls of the chapel are adorned with pictures by- 
 European masters. I said to Dr. Carr,* as we sat musing 
 on these and similar follies, "Well, they are right on 
 their principle. If man is to be bewitched and inebriated 
 with the wine of spiritual fornication, this is the way ; but 
 if our principle is the true one, that religion is an in- 
 telligent, retired, spiritual service of a God who is a spirit, 
 and who will be worshipped in spirit and in truth, then 
 this is not the way, but an imposture." Dr. Carr, in 1816 
 or 1817, saw Joseph a Doloribus, whom Dr. Buchanan 
 mentions, at the Inquisition. At that time the building 
 was entire, though the Inquisition itself was aboKshed. 
 Dr. Carr saw the room where torture was administered, 
 and the adjoining cell where a scribe sat unseen to note 
 down every groan of the prisoners. Oh, to tread, as I 
 did, on the ruined heaps of the horrid prison, to survey 
 the wild grass shooting amidst the masses, to cast my eye 
 all around on the confusion, and then to think of three 
 hundred years of tyranny, of two hundred prisoners at a 
 time being there, shut up from Kberty and hope ! I 
 cannot describe my feelings. I took the opportunity last 
 evening of urging the authorities of J^ew Goa, with whom 
 we dined, to adhere to the fundamentals of Christianity, 
 to establish schools, and to inculcate the Holy Scriptures. 
 
 * Afterwards Bishop of Bombay. — Editor. 
 
108 JOURNAJL LETTERS. 
 
 One of the judges interpreted. At two this afternoon we 
 go on to Belgaum, fifty miles. 
 
 Malabar Point, Bombay, Dec. 14, 1835. 
 The view of the harbour, of Bombay yesterday morn- 
 ing, when the dawn appeared, was ravishing. An ex- 
 tensive bay girt with mountains, the foreground broken 
 by Elephanta Island; the shipping sprinkled on the 
 smooth mirror of the water between us and the town of 
 Bombay itself ; the spire of the Christian church meekly 
 rising above the surrounding fortifications and houses ; the 
 extreme distance faintly marked by the lofty ghauts ; the 
 calm, beautiful sunrise in an Indian winter, shedding a 
 glory over the whole ! JSTothing can exceed the scene, 
 except perhaps that which stretches before my view at 
 this spot, Malabar Point, which is a tongue of land pro- 
 jecting into the sea by the side of the harbour of Bombay, 
 and commanding at an elevation of a few hundred feet 
 somewhat the same objects as the eye seizes at the entrance 
 of the bay. The kindness of Sir Robert Grant, the 
 Governor, whose guest I am, is, as you may imagine, 
 overwhelming. We drove up after church, about four 
 miles, to the series of bungalows and tents which are 
 planted on this little promontory for his use. I have a 
 bungalow to myself; in other words a spacious, airy, 
 charming cottage, with sitting-room, bed-room, dressing- 
 room, and bath adjoining. My chaplain has similar 
 apartments on the other side of the sitting-room. A wide 
 verandah surrounds the whole, and beyond that a pent- 
 
BOMBAY. 109 
 
 house, with mat roof shelving almost to the ground. The 
 roaring of the sea reminds me of Brighton, and the fine, 
 cold temperature of dear England. 
 
 Christmas Day. 
 
 May my fourth Christmas in India be blessed ! May 
 that Saviour whose nativity we celebrate be born in our 
 hearts ! 
 
 December 26, 1835. 
 
 The island of Bombay is about nine miles long and 
 three or four wide. The population about 170,000, of 
 whom 4000 are British. The Parsees are about 13,000 in 
 number. They were expelled by the Mahometans from 
 Persia. They still worship fire, but eat and drink like the 
 English. They possess nearly the whole property in the 
 island. Bombay is full of strangers of all descriptions. I 
 
 went this afternoon to see Col. B 's bungalow, as a 
 
 specimen of some hundreds which are run up on the sea- 
 shore every fine season for the sake of the sea-breeze, and 
 taken down and packed up for further use when the rains 
 fall. The whole space called the Esplanade is allotted in 
 
 this way — 180 feet by 240 was Col. B 's allotment of 
 
 ground. On this were stables, outhouses, servants' rooms, 
 and a dwelling-house. The whole is built up every 
 November and taken down in June. It consists of a 
 framework of wood with canvas walls, coloured ; a roof of 
 bamboo and cajan leaves ; rooms all opening into each 
 other, and bounded with rows of flower and fruit-trees. 
 In the rains the families flock into . the fort. It is like a 
 fairy ground, I assure you. From this place we pro- 
 ceeded to visit the gorgeous English house of the richest 
 
110 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 Parsee in Bombay, the roof of which, commands a most 
 beautiful prospect of the bay, with its town, ghauts, and 
 distant islands, forming a complete panorama. It was the 
 occasion of a marriage which led us there. One month it 
 is to last. The house and opposite ramparts are occupied 
 daily with guests. This illustrates the Scripture parable 
 of a king making a marriage of many days for his son. 
 The guests also appear in wedding garments of long 
 yellow silk, presented by the master of the feast. The 
 bride and bridegroom were of the ages of ten and twelve. 
 The little damsel came to us with her earrings and nose- 
 jewels, her ornaments on her arms and feet, covered with 
 jewels, and tinkling as she walked. Nothing could be so 
 exactly like Isaiah's description of the Jewish females. 
 
Ill 
 
 CHAPTER Y. 
 
 Poonah — Mahratta Captain and Escort — Kirkee — Travelling in 
 Tents — Ahmednugger — Nizam's Territories — Aurungabad — 
 Grand Procession — Splendid Tomb — Caves of Ellora — The 
 Impregnable Pass — Ali Khan's Pleasure-house — Wild Scenery 
 — Perils of the Way — Boorhaunpoor — Paganism and Christ- 
 ianity contrasted — Mhow — The Newab of Jowrah — Ancient 
 Fort — Nusserabad — Openings of Usefulness — Ajmeer — 
 Splendid Ruins — Thugs — Jyepoor — Durbar of Queen-mother. 
 
 Candala, Dec. 30, 1835. 
 "We are again, patriarch-like, in tents. We aKghted from 
 our palanquins in this romantic spot at five this morning. 
 May God be praised for the eighteen days of comfort, 
 mercy, blessing, and support under arduous duties which 
 we have enjoyed at Bombay! We had a most hurried 
 time, but I hope we accomplished all the main ends of a 
 Visitation, — in awakening ministers, testifying to truth, 
 confirming the young, consecrating churches, determining 
 ecclesiastical questions, holding reKgious anniversaries, 
 becoming acquainted with clergy and laity, lessening 
 prejudices against Christianity, the Church of England 
 and the Clergy, strengthening all that is going on of 
 good. 
 
112 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 Poonah, Jan. 1, 1836. 
 
 "We arrived at this ancient seat of the Mahratta 
 Empire at five yesterday morning. It is an inmense 
 cantonment, with 1800 Europeans. The fine old Mahratta 
 captain, who, with thirty horsemen, forms my escort, and 
 rides peaceably beside my palanquin, was a celebrated 
 officer under the native government, and fought most 
 fiercely against the English eighteen years since. The 
 tremendous character of these Mahrattas remains, though 
 they are subdued. The captain came to be introduced 
 to me this morning, bedizened with gold, with a dark 
 jutting countenance, look indignant, eyes fierce and pro- 
 minent, moustaches black as jet, sword by his side. This 
 place, Poonah, with Ahmedabad, was one of the scenes of 
 the acute negotiations of the Duke of Wellington in 1803. 
 Even at present no Mahratta is allowed to go to Bombay 
 without special licence. 
 
 Kirkee, 10 a.m. 
 
 We came on to this famous site of the battle of 1818 
 this morning, to breakfast. Here the power of the Mah- 
 ratta Empire sunk under the British arms. The Mah- 
 ratta Musnud was annihilated ; the supremacy of Britain 
 proclaimed ; and in the old royal palaces the natives are 
 now taught English learning, as I saw yesterday with 
 my own eyes ; and the last great branch of the Brah- 
 minical power was thus broken up. Poonah has 110,000 
 souls still. I went to inspect the site for a new church, 
 after I had visited the schools. A bishop has, in this 
 country, everything to do : all arts, all sciences, all lan- 
 guages, all business, all trades, must be his. 
 
SERROOR. 113 
 
 Kunderpoor^ Jan. 5, 1836. 
 
 We are now fairly off on our journey to Mhow, Delhi, 
 and Simlah. I am writing in the bungalow built for 
 travellers in this village. We passed the site of the battle 
 of Koreigaum in 1818. We contemplated the walls and 
 towers where the battle was fought. We dismounted and 
 read the inscription on the simple column raised to the 
 honour of the heroes who fell. It was by similar valour 
 and conduct to that displayed on this occasion that all 
 India was won, and chiefly in self-defence, as far as we 
 were concerned ; and now we have to make the fit use of 
 the Divine goodness. The supremacy of the British power 
 in India, which followed immediately upon the victories 
 of Kukee and Koreigaum in 1818, is the greatest trust 
 ever committed by Almighty God to a Protestant nation. 
 There is something very affecting, to my mind, in travel- 
 ling as a Christian Bishop for the first time over the 
 countries where, eighteen years before, all was hostility, 
 Hiudooism, and death. 
 
 Serroor, Jan. 6, 1836. 
 
 We were in motion at five this morning. The weather 
 is lovely, the road rough and stony. The Deccan is fine, 
 fruitful table-land, open and hilly; the soil rich, dark 
 black loam, like our most productive tracts in England. 
 The wheat is waving in the fields. All is well suited to 
 the Mahratta character, and their wild cavalry and ma- 
 rauding habits. The men are black, fine figures, strong, 
 fierce, warlike — all Hindoos. The view from the bunga- 
 low-window at Serroor is most beautiful, commanding the 
 whole cantonments, the straggliag native town, and our 
 
 I 
 
114 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 own encampment — in a sweeping semicircle of four or five 
 miles. We are now quite patriarchal. About sixty camels, 
 forty horses, forty bearers of palanquins, thirty surwars, 
 or native Mahratta cavalry, twenty-five sepoys, with tents 
 and tent-servants almost innumerable, constitute my escort. 
 The natives always bring their families with them. The 
 crowd collects a bazaar about us wherever we move, so 
 that we must be 300 or 400 altogether. 
 
 Ahmednuggerj Jan. 8, 1836. 
 
 We lost our road in coming here. My thirty horsemen 
 led me into a wild, hilly country, when they suddenly 
 stopped, saying they had lost their way. I was a little 
 ahead of the party. Nothing could be more picturesque 
 than to see them all dispersed around, looking for the 
 road — some mounting the adjoining hills, others gallop- 
 ing over the plains ; whilst the figures of those who had 
 reached the craggy summits were projected by the mild 
 rays of the sun rising behind. At last they found some 
 villagers, one of whom they drove before them like a 
 prisoner, and compelled to show us the road. By day- 
 light we were all right. 
 
 I have just been reading a comforting sentence in 
 Thomas a Kempis : "0 how wise was that holy soul 
 that said, * My mind is solidly fixed and founded on 
 Christ!'" 
 
 Yesterday Colonel Wallis drove me round the fine 
 cantonments and fort, and Pettah, or native town. I 
 alighted and walked up to the spot where the breach was 
 made in the wall by Lord Wellington in 1803, and which 
 
AHMEDNUGGER. 115 
 
 is marked by a tablet recording the names of the officers 
 who fell. In passing through the Pettah itself, misery, 
 decay, dirt, mud, ruin, told too truly the tale of Scin- 
 diah's rule. We dined with the Colonel in the evening, 
 and an officer told me, that when the Deccan was first 
 taken there were 400 Christians left without a chaplain 
 for fourteen years. Sunday was the regular day for 
 shooting and hunting-parties. This account led another 
 gentleman to declare that at Bombay, twenty years since, 
 there was only service once a Sunday by the single chap- 
 lain, Dr. B , who had been forty years in India, and 
 
 who, every hot season, shut up the church for white- 
 washing and cleaning, and went to the hills for two or 
 three months. Thank God, things are altered since that 
 time ! 
 
 There is something affecting to my mind in being in 
 the heart of the old Mahratta Empire. I tremble, I 
 tremble at the future ! A journey of 1300 miles to Simlah 
 is before me. I feel travelling, and one moment is enough 
 to dismiss me to the " City of the Silent.'' But hush, my 
 soul ! Cast thyself into the arms of the only wise God. 
 Hepose on Infinity. Trust the love of Him who died in 
 agony on the Cross. Be only like a wise virgin, with 
 thy lamp trimmed and oil in thy vessel, and waiting for 
 the midnight cry of the coming Bridegroom, and all will 
 be weU. Yes, my God ! I believe Thy word of faithful- 
 ness. Send unto me large effusions of Thy Spirit ! Pour 
 out the copious shower, and then will trust, joy, meekness, 
 long-suffering, faith, patience, abound in me ! 
 
116 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 Tohah, Jan. 13, 1836. 
 
 The travellers' bungalows now forsake us, and we spend 
 our days wholly in tents. We arrived here early this 
 morning. 
 
 We are now in the Nizam's territories, and an addi- 
 tional escort of 100 men has been sent me, making my 
 troops 100 infantry and 50 cavalry. Nor is the force 
 needless, as we are now subject to the invasions of the 
 Bheels — a marauding nation, like the Pindarries and 
 Mahrattas formerly — who infest the Nizam's country, 
 descending from their fastnesses in the mountains, and 
 attacking any object they think they can subdue. The 
 whole country continues one vast plain, rich with almost 
 ripened corn, and capable of the greatest improvement. 
 The people are a wretched and oppressed race, who can 
 only be raised by Christianity, with its handmaids, the 
 arts, sciences, commerce, and jurisprudence. The villages 
 — and we have passed through ten or twelve since we left 
 Ahmednugger — mark the savage character of the Mah- 
 ratta Empire. They are walled, barricaded, and inter- 
 sected with fortresses. The streets are narrow, so that 
 only one passenger can pass, and are faced by immense 
 walls without windows. The blessings of the British rule 
 are already prodigious, and will be more and more so as 
 Britons act more and more as Christians. 
 
 Aurungabad^ Jan. 15, 1836. 
 We are now at the seat of the old Mahometan Empire, 
 raised by Aurungzebe to be his favourite residence; then 
 made a metropolis by the Nizams when separated from the 
 
AURT7NGABAD. 117 
 
 empire, but now sinking fast every year into neglect and 
 ruin. Our noble Duke of Wellington was here in 1803, 
 immediately after the battle of Assaye. It is now the 
 capital of the province. There are seventy European 
 Protestant Christians here, with no chaplain. We had a 
 grand procession to receive us this morning — the Viceroy 
 or Subdar, with his elephant, his troopers, his infantry, and 
 his great guns. They came out ten miles from Aurunga- 
 bad to meet me. I had to aKght from my palanquin and 
 make a speech in Hindoostanee, and hold a little conver- 
 sation. The arrival of three ministers of religion with a 
 judge (for I have the Archdeacon as weU as my Chaplain 
 and Sir John Awdry, of Bombay, with me), has made a 
 great sensation, as the people think the English have no 
 religion of any sort. Frightful, of course, is this e£Pect of 
 our indifference. "No Bishop was ever at Aurungabad 
 before. The immense importance of these visitations none 
 can doubt who understand the case. Here I find, for ex- 
 ample, seventy Christians without chaplains, or observance 
 of the Sabbath, or means of religion ; thirteen children un- 
 baptized ; marriages celebrated by the Colonel ; funerals 
 performed by the clerk. I addressed a company of nearly 
 thirty last evening. Take, as another instance, Poonah, 
 with 2000 Protestants and two chaplains. Serroor is a 
 third case. 
 
 Captain T , with whom we are staying, drove 
 
 me yesterday to the city. The tomb of Aunmgzebe's 
 wife, Pabee Doorany, fulfils all the expectations which 
 the fame of a thousand writings excites. The mass of 
 white marble, the exquisite tracery, the domes towering 
 
118 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 aloft, the relief of the four smaller towers or minarets, the 
 surrounding gardens and water- works, are, or rather were, 
 when it was kept in order, magical. A mosque adjoining 
 was yery striking, being a kind of arched room with nu- 
 merous series of pillars, or separate rows of arches. But 
 when this magnificent decay, for it is not yet a ruin, is 
 contrasted with the total annihilation of the palace and 
 city of Aurungzebe itself, the heart sinks in dejection. 
 One yast desert now reigns oyer the city, once seyen miles 
 in circuit, the metropolis of an empire and the wonder of 
 this part of India. The aqueducts, howeyer, remain, for 
 the site is a hollow, and bless the few inhabitants, op- 
 pressed, miserable, impoyerished as they are, whom the 
 crash of the Nizam's tiger reign still allow to brood oyer 
 the spots where 60,000 souls once dwelt. 
 
 Dowlutahad, Jan. 18, 1836. 
 We haye been for two and a-half hours ascending, or 
 rather descending, this celebrated fortress, which, taking 
 adyantage of an enormous rock, has from the earliest ages 
 been esteemed impregnable in India. It rises 500 feet 
 from the plain, and goes on encircKng the huge natural 
 fortress. There is an external town or suburb enclosed 
 within the outward wall, and six other walls, with ditches, 
 parapets, and towers, without end, and at the extreme 
 summit a platform for a gun of extraordinary and useless 
 length. A coyered way of 100-feet ascent conducted us, 
 with the aid of torches, from the second or black fort, to 
 the interior and main one. It was first taken by the Ma- 
 hometans about the year 1300. A summer-house near 
 
ELLORA. 119 
 
 the top, built by Aurungzebe, commanded a fine view of 
 the surrounding country. 
 
 Yesterday, at Aurungabad, we had a most affecting day. 
 There were upwards of a hundred persons at divine service, 
 many of them Roman CathoKcs. Several were confirmed, 
 several were baptized, and more than thirty attended the 
 sacrament. There had been no minister for a twelvemonth, 
 and he merely passing through. A little flock of Malabar 
 
 Roman CathoKcs in the family of Major F came to the 
 
 Archdeacon, saying they had for some time left the Church 
 of Eome, convinced that its image- worship was idolatrous, 
 and had read amongst themselves the Liturgy of the 
 Church of England, and had edified one another as well as 
 they could. They had never seen a Protestant minister 
 till our arrival. They had been first taught by a Malabar 
 
 convert of the Eev. Mr. H , of Tanjore, an elderly 
 
 woman, who called on us in the evening, when they all 
 assembled at my tent for my blessing. They received the 
 Holy Communion at church. There were fourteen, in- 
 cluding children. When the Archdeacon asked them 
 whether the elements after consecration remained the 
 same, or were changed into the actual body and bones 
 of Christ's natural body, they hesitated, but at last said 
 they dared not say, but they thought the elements must 
 themselves remain the same. What an affecting incident 1 
 How widely may our Church Missionary Missions and Pro- 
 pagation Missions extend ! 
 
 Caves of Ellora^ Jan. 19, 1835. 
 
 Or rather at the mouth of them, for I am writing in 
 a tent pitched in front of the principal one, called Kylas, 
 
120 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 or Heaven, after having for four or ^\e hours been 
 scrambling over rocks and precipices to visit these far- 
 famed excavations. They are, in truth, a wonderful proof 
 of labour, and of skill in the arts, to a certain extent. 
 You are sure that there must be some ground for an 
 admiration, which has united all opinions of all classes of 
 Europeans for centuries. And so it is. The world has 
 nothing like it. They consist of a series of caves, temples, 
 pagodas, halls, and colonnades, cut out of the solid basalt 
 rocks. Dowlutabad is a fortress, indeed, rising up the 
 sides of one of these mountains ; but these caves, as they 
 are termed, though it is a very improper description, are 
 halls and temples, not erected upon the rock, like Dowlut- 
 abad, but cut out of it, with an interval of twenty or 
 thirty feet between the scarp, which is often 100 feet high, 
 and the rock-hewn walls of the building. Our rocks at 
 home would endure no such transformation, but these im- 
 mense basalt masses are like the hardest adamant, and re- 
 quire only labour and skill. What must have been the 
 art which could excavate the Temple of Kylas, for example, 
 where there is an entrance-court excavated, the rock being 
 cut out and the whole materials removed; then a portico 
 with roof, flooring, pillars, walls, and images, and figures 
 and groups within the appropriate recesses. In the court, 
 an elephant is left, as it were, standing, ^. e. is cut out, on 
 each side of the portico. Around the portico the entrance- 
 court stretches, with a space of thirty or forty feet between 
 it and the scarp. After the portico you ascend to the 
 Temple itself; the steps, the balustrade, the temple, the 
 pillars within, the images, the groups, the sanctuary, the 
 
ADJUNTAH. 121 
 
 ornaments of tlie pilasters were not appended or built 
 afterwards, but were cut out from the mass as the work 
 proceeded. The Temple is accompanied by two intro- 
 ductory chapels, and five are placed around, all being in 
 like manner with all the ornaments cut out, whilst the ex- 
 ternal walls are richly adorned with bas relievos. You 
 descend, after examining this profusion' of labour and 
 skill, and in the northern, eastern, and southern sides of 
 the rock, or scarp, are stories of three tiers, with mag- 
 nificent colonnades. On the walls, as in the other parts, 
 are sculptured groups, the whole being excavated or 
 chiseled out of the one parent basalt mountain, whose 
 natural ruggedness appears whenever you cast your eye 
 from the windows or galleries upon the face of the rocks 
 around. 
 
 Adjuntah, Jan. 21, 1836. 
 We are arrived at what is called the Impregnable Pass, 
 which is a celebrated spot in the Nizam's territories. It 
 is a large town, whose Pettah, as well as fortification, is 
 walled ; the whole being in ruins, like all places in India. 
 We have found out a most delightful Baradary, or summer- 
 house, where the low arches exclude the sun, whilst the 
 open spaces admit the wind on all hands. Behind the 
 building a deep natural ravine of basalt rock overhangs 
 the nullah, a petty river flowing below. An immense 
 court, or compound, in front, with its handsome gateway 
 and porters' lodges, and surrounded by a wall, marks the 
 whole as one of Aurungzebe's pleasure-houses, which, after 
 a century's desertion, has for the last few years been per- 
 mitted to be occupied by the European traveller. The 
 
122 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 terrace-roof will be our retreat when the sun is down. 
 The relief of such a building is great in this country of 
 extreme atmospheric change. There is not a Christian to 
 be found, but the seven of our own little party. In Ali 
 Khan's pleasure-house, for he built it under Aurungzebe, 
 we shall celebrate for the first time, Christian worship. 
 Eighteen years since, war, desolation, rapine raged. Up 
 this Adjuntah Ghaut, Scindiah rushed in 1803 on to 
 Jalnah, to fall at Assaye with his 30,000 horse, 20,000 
 infantry, and 100 guns, before Lord Wellington's handful 
 of heroes — 5000. Almighty God perfected at Kirkee, in 
 1818, what was commenced here, and the Mahometan and 
 Hindoo powers sunk before Christianity ; for such is the real 
 truth. The Nizam holds, indeed, his territories under a 
 treaty; but the E-esident is king, and England rules. The 
 false Prophet and Brahma have no power, no hold. Edu- 
 cation, science, commerce, civilization, are pioneering for 
 Christianity even now, though Missionaries are not allowed 
 to enter. At Poonah, however, we have actual possession; 
 the Peishwa Bajera being a prisoner at Delhi, and Mis- 
 sionaries are at work. 
 
 Idulalad, Jan. 27, 1836. 
 We have been travelling through a fine fertile country, 
 abounding with cotton, which is transported by a twenty- 
 five days' march to Surat, and so through Bombay to Eng- 
 land. The towns are wretched mud ruins still. The 
 Adjuntah Pass, which we crossed on Monday, was a most 
 tremendous descent of a mile down the sides of the moun- 
 tain, with a native pavement of masses of stones, over 
 which none but our Mzam cavalry could tread. A for- 
 
ELLICHAPOOR. 123 
 
 tress bristled on tlie summit. After coming down 500 
 feet we entered the jungle country, wliicli is full of tigers, 
 wolves, clieetas or leopards, and other wild animals, and 
 which is only passable at this exact season, the decayed 
 vegetable matter generating miasma in and after the rains. 
 The thought of Scindiah's 50,000 men and 100 cannons 
 coming up the pass, like lions, to swallow up Lord Wel- 
 lington, and spreading themselves all over the jungly 
 plains, was horrifying. Now all is peace, and the mud- 
 walled villages are opening to agriculture. 
 
 EUichapoor, Jan. 28, 1836. 
 Delightful country. "Wildest scenery. Landscapes 
 variegated as the sun climbed the hills on the horizon. 
 These Indian stages of eighteen or twenty miles seem 
 trifling to you, my dear children, when you think of your 
 English trips to Windsor and Tunbridge Wells ; but the 
 fatigue here is considerable. You are roused about three 
 in the morning with the clamour of three or four hundred 
 people. You are up at half-past four. You ride for an 
 hour and a-half in the dark along a stony road, upon a 
 stumbling horse, and with an insufficient guide. You get 
 into your palanquin as the sun becomes hot, and are tossed 
 about for three hours, sufibcated with dust. You arrive at 
 heated tents, and feel fatigued and unfitted for anything 
 serious. You are scarcely capable of anything during the 
 rest of the day but light work. But what is aU this to 
 " the journeyings oft" of the great Apostle of the Gentiles ? 
 Nor are our "perils of waters" probably at aU equal to his. 
 I mean exclusive of " the sea," and the " night and day on 
 
124 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 the deep ;" for tlie passing of the rivers is no light matter 
 here. You are sometimes elevated, palanquin and all, on 
 the heads of the bearers who are to carry you over. It 
 is literally for them a "passing through the waters." 
 Isa. xliii. 2. With respect to St. Paulas other "perils 
 of robbers," the heathen, and his countrymen, how grateful 
 should I feel to the Divine goodness for the British power, 
 otherwise the Mzam would instantly commit me to prison, 
 and perhaps death. Nor are we exposed here to " hunger 
 and thirst," " fastings often," " cold and nakedness." We 
 are like the Apostle, however, in some measure, "in weari- 
 ness and painfulness," and "in watchings often." And 
 in his " care of all the churches," I pray that I may more 
 and more endeavour to follow his steps. Oh to be able to 
 say with him, " Who is weak, and I am not weak ? who 
 is offended, and I bum not ?" 
 
 Boorhaunpoor, Jan. 29, 1836. 
 We are now in the ancient capital of Chandish. It 
 was once the best-built city in the Deccan, and is still full 
 of memorials of former grandeur — ruins of a palace cover- 
 ing a mile in area, streets of mud and misery, houses just 
 fallen, or in the act of demolition ; tombs and mosques 
 at every turn. It was taken by the Mahrattas under 
 Tippoo and Hyder in 1760, and came in 1803 into the 
 possession of the English. It was afterwards restored to 
 Scindiah, under whom it now remains. The river Taptee, 
 on which it stands, is a beautiful clear flood, opening 
 into the sea at Surat. We are lodged in the best 
 house in the town, but much dilapidated. It is a fair 
 specimen of oriental taste. There is, first, the gateway, 
 
ASSEERGHUR. 125 
 
 witli rooms over it (" He shall speak with his enemy in 
 the gate") ; then the court, or outer square. A second 
 gateway leads into the principal rooms, which form three 
 sides of the Kttle garden ; the beds remain ; and the 
 orange tree, I see, is loaded with fruit. Piazzas three deep 
 secure the divan, or large company's apartment, from 
 heat. I am now sitting in the interior piazza, through 
 the wall of which a small window or aperture opens on the 
 road. The ruined Mahometan buildings on either side, the 
 royal palace immediately on the right, the minarets and 
 mosques peeping above the trees, the circuit of the city hav- 
 ing been originally four miles — all, all mark the fall of 
 India till England shall raise her. 
 
 Asseerghur, Jan. 30, 1836. 
 We are in a charming bungalow, where we arrived 
 after five hours' journey from Boorhaunpoor. Never before 
 did I ascend such a mountain, 750 feet from the plain 
 below, with tremendous precipices on one side of the 
 narrow path, series of stone stairs here and there, and the 
 ruined walls remaining exactly as they were demolished 
 by Lord Wellington's army in 1803, and Sir J. Malcolm's 
 in 1819. The main fortifications, however, remain, brist- 
 ling on the long table-land of the hill. It difiers from 
 Dowlutabad, which is like a beehive, without table-land, 
 and rising up to a point, on which nothing but a summer- 
 house is erected. This fortress contains a whole town 
 with hospital and barracks, besides a Pettah of 7000 souls 
 in the plain. This is the land of tigers and wolves. 
 Pour or five tigers are often seen at a time crossing the 
 ravines and lower mountains, which stretch as far as the 
 
126 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 eye can see. I observed in the Pettah, as I passed, tlie 
 vastly superior character of the streets and houses. There 
 was neatness, good repair, some ornament : the whole 
 appearance as different from Scindiah's town, as Kght from 
 darkness. There are several causes of the misery of the 
 native princes' territories. There is no security of person 
 or property. Every town is let out to a subhar for so much, 
 and he exacts all he can. There is, for the same reason, 
 no commerce. Justice is bought and sold. The British 
 Residents are not allowed to interfere except when disturb- 
 ances arise. The bonds of government are so dissolved 
 that all is hastening to open anarchy. The army is often 
 eighteen months in arrears of pay, so that no reKance can 
 be placed upon it. 
 
 In the native populations, whether in British domi- 
 nions or not, the reasons of their misery are such as these : 
 There is no belief in the One self-existing, holy, righteous, 
 omnipresent Creator, Father, Benefactor, and Judge of 
 man. His accountable creature. There is no rule of morals 
 fixed and authoritative. There is no Sabbath for the 
 worship of God, and for spiritual and moral duties. There 
 is no Bible; there is no order of men for teaching and 
 comforting man ; there is no remedial dispensation known 
 — no Saviour, no Sanctifier, no incarnation, no atonement, 
 no regeneration and sanctification, no spiritual life, no 
 prayer, no sacraments, no grace, no hope. 
 
 Their domestic and social wretchedness springs from 
 the loss of the primitive institution of marriage. There is 
 no purity, no companionship, no conjugal love, no family 
 trained in parental obedience. Woman is a slave — an 
 
ASSEERGHUR. 127 
 
 animal. Chicane and cunning are the acknowledged in- 
 struments of conducting affairs, as is perfectly well known 
 and acknowledged. Tricks bring no discredit, as being in 
 the order of things. Truth, honesty, righteousness, are 
 words unknown : nothing is attempted by means of them. 
 The native does not understand what you mean by the 
 term. There is no connexion in his mind between what 
 he says he will do, and what he means to do. Their religion 
 teaches adultery, treachery, craft, in all their mythological 
 fables. Cruelty succeeds to deceit when their parents and 
 friends are old, and can no longer be of any use. Grati- 
 tude ! — the word exists not in their language any more 
 than humility. Indolence and quietism, sugar and sweet- 
 ness of diet, sleep and lust, savageness and fawning, fatness 
 of body and sordid avarice, servility and desperate deeds, — 
 these make up life. Classes of men — whole nations, rather, 
 as the Bheels and Thugs — live from age to age as robbers 
 and murderers. One race of Brahmins is allowed thirty or 
 forty wives each. Still, still, man is man. There is a con- 
 science, a faint notion of duty, an idea of accountableness, 
 a sense of difference between moral good and evil. No 
 one man in India considers benevolence a vice, or cruelty a 
 virtue, generally. They acknowledge generosity and truth 
 to be good, and avarice and lying to be evil. Thus Grod 
 leaves not Himself without witness. Rom. i. and Eph. ii. are 
 as true now in India as they were eighteen centuries since 
 in Asia Minor and Europe. The fragments of truth and 
 moral feeling are just enough to show that man was created 
 in a state from which he has fallen. There is nothing in 
 Heathenism or Mahometanism to restore man, to reveal 
 
128 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 the will of God or the way of forgiveness, to communicate 
 holiness or peace. Man lies dead in trespasses and sins. 
 
 Behingaum^ Feb. 3, 1836. 
 
 Yesterday we meditated on the presentation of our 
 Lord in the Temple ; on Simeon's joy and Anna's hope, 
 and Christ the fall and rising again of many; and we 
 prayed that we might be presented to God with pure and 
 clean hearts, and might grow in wisdom and have the 
 grace of God upon us. 
 
 These villages through which we are passing are, I 
 fear, unknown to fame. Idulabad, Serroor, EUichapoor, 
 Boodur, and Sirood may hereafter become celebrated, like 
 Assaye, Plassy, Kirkee, or our Eunnymede ; but now they 
 are names as little known to us as to yourselves. The rude, 
 untaught Hindoo, is what our Druidical ancestors of London 
 or York were when Augustine and his monks came over to 
 us from Pope Gregory. God grant that India may now 
 stretch out her hands to God! 
 
 We are now in the Nerbudda : the river is about 1000 
 yards across at this dry season, and winds most beautifully 
 in its course. The fearful jungle-country of Chandish is 
 passed, thank God ! Nothing can give a notion of the 
 ravines, rivers, high bushy grass, impervious masses of low 
 trees, and stony, rocky roads. We have been preserved 
 from beasts of prey ourselves, but on Thursday one of our 
 camel-drivers was missed, and, we fear, killed by a tiger. 
 At Sirood a bullock was carried off, and a letter from 
 Asseerghur informs us that aU the officers were going out 
 after a tiger which had seized a bullock the very night 
 
MHOW. 129 
 
 before we left. Thank God for protection ! The whole 
 number lessens yearly, as civilization advances. Some parts 
 of the jungle were damp, chilling, fearfully dangerous. 
 
 Mhow, Feb. 6, 1836. 
 
 Here would I raise my memorial to the Divine good- 
 ness. We have been preserved in perfect health during a 
 march of forty days, and have now passed the longest and 
 most difficult, and perhaps I may say dangerous, division of 
 my whole journey, except that the season of the year is, of 
 course, advancing. Our next grand halt is Neemuch, then 
 Nusserabad, and then Delhi. And shall I not trust my 
 blessed Master to take care of the future, as He has of 
 the past ? Yes : I will rejoice, love, obey, more simply 
 than ever, the Holy Inspirer of life and grace being with 
 me. 
 
 On crossing the noble Nerbudda, we entered into the 
 first Bengal station ceded to us in 1818 by Bajerac, the 
 Peishwa. Habits, language, houses, aspect, tone of feeling, 
 are changed in a moment — all are ftJl of Calcutta, and its 
 superiorities and dignities and power, as Bombay was before 
 the theme of admiration. This little rivalry pervades the 
 three Presidency stations. After breakfast at the Political 
 Agent's, we celebrated divine service for the seven Christian 
 inhabitants. Capt. Sandys was all kindness and attention 
 in showing us hospitality, which is a virtue most eminently 
 exercised all over India. At nine in the evening we entered 
 our palanquins for a dak run of ten hours, leaving our own 
 bearers and camels and camp to follow. By this means we 
 are here before Sunday, and I am not so much fatigued 
 
 K 
 
130 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 as by a long morning ride ; indeed I feel nothing tliat 
 deserves the name of weariness. 
 
 Ifhow, Feb. 10, 1836. 
 
 Service was held at the station -church at seven on 
 Sunday : the Archdeacon read prayers, and I preached from 
 Isa. Ivii. 15. All the soldiers and gentry that could crowd 
 in were present. There was great attention. May a blessing 
 descend ! I remain ten days at this place, that I. may do 
 all in my power for Christ my Lord. This is the first visit 
 of a Protestant Bishop. Oh for grace to use every means 
 of influence, while it lasts, to God's honour and the mag- 
 nifying of the name of Christ ! 
 
 Yesterday I consecrated the pretty cburcli bere. I 
 called it Christ's Churcb. I preached from Isa. ii. 2-4, to 
 a large and attentive congregation. Our camp arrived 
 from Mundleysir yesterday morning, three days after us. 
 You cannot imagine what fine oranges we found all the 
 way from Aurungabad to Mundleysir — large rich fruit of 
 the sweetest and most fragrant, and, indeed, delicious kind 
 — the skin, like a loose cloak, encircling the vast pulp, and 
 adheriQg to it only by its fibres ; and the instant you applied 
 the slightest force the whole peeled, or rather fell off" at 
 once. Really we walked in one garden, perfectly enchant- 
 ing. There were immense trees loaded with this fruit, and 
 limes, citrons, and mangoes ; whilst peas, cauliflowers, cab- 
 bages, salads, and celery abounded. I never before plucked 
 off" oranges from the tree itself, and ate them, walking in a 
 garden of Eden, as it were, but without a tempter. 
 
JOWRAH. 131 
 
 Joiorah, Feb. 19, 1836. 
 "We are in a charming bungalow in the jaghire of tlie 
 Newab of Jowrab. His highness sent his troops and 
 ministers to meet me six miles, and came himself four 
 miles. He is a boy ten years of age. He was attired in 
 scarlet robes, with a kind of crown on his head. I 
 alighted from the elephant which he sent for me at his ap- 
 proach, and after mutual salutations he placed me on my 
 elephant again and ascended another himself, his horsemen, 
 dogs, camels, elephants, and servants, forming a gay crowd 
 as we entered his town. This jaghire was a part of Hol- 
 car's territories, and was given to our young Newab's 
 father by Sir J. Malcolm, for having deserted Holcar and 
 come over with 2000 men to the British at the battle of 
 Mehidpoor. Like all the native countries, it groans under 
 an oppression which shocks one's feelings. No security of 
 life or property — lands a wilderness — not a word of truth 
 or honesty known — mutual distrust, with lust of gold, dis- 
 solving the bonds of society — no creature ever speaking 
 truth to another except by accident — the court a focus of 
 profligacy and extortion, where valour and honour and 
 long services pass for nothing, but the panderer to vice 
 amasses treasure. The Company's territories are like a 
 garden compared to those of the native princes, bad as our 
 government may be, and defective in many respects. The 
 supremacy of England is the salvation of India, both as to 
 temporal and spiritual things. Christianity makes us what 
 we are, and for this reason, that we know the One God of 
 truth and righteousness in his One only Son our Lord. 
 Hence spring justice, honour, mercy, forgiveness of injuries. 
 
132 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 Hence spring the rules of duty and the motives and strength 
 for performing them, and the means of pardon for past 
 offences. In Christianity is Life. All the rest is Death, 
 temporal, spiritual, eternal. Oh ! if Englishmen knew 
 their privileges and their responsibility ! Instead of over- 
 turning Christian institutions, they would uphold them as 
 the source of all good to man. But so it is. Perverse and 
 crooked human nature spurns at Christianity at home, 
 while India, and Asia, and Africa are crying out, " Come 
 over and help us." 
 
 Neemuch, Feb. 20, 1836. 
 
 Here I would again pause and say with the Apostle, 
 " Having obtained help of God I continue unto this day." 
 The coldness of the weather has rendered our early morning 
 dak a delightful trip. I was reminded of an English frost 
 on some severe January morning. A fortnight ago I was 
 dissolving in a heat of 92°. The perils of Indian travelling, 
 from these extreme atmospheric changes, are by no means 
 slight. Nor are other perils to be omitted. A few hours 
 before we arrived a party of banditti had been plundering 
 on the road, and the outer bazaar of this cantonment itself 
 had been attacked. We passed safely, however, thank 
 God, though our troopers had fallen in the rear and we 
 were wholly unprotected. And now may " our entrance 
 in " here, not be " in vain." 
 
 Sunday, Feb. 21, 1836. 
 
 My heart weeps over these distant stations. 'No 
 churches ; repairs of a room not done ; officers making 
 excuses for not attending ; almost all of them, young and 
 old, anything but moral; a young clergyman careless. 
 
NEEMUCH. , 133 
 
 procrastinating, uninfluential ; no Sacrament plate ; no 
 pulpit ; no notion of the Sabbath, of public worship, of 
 religion. O Lord, help by almighty power and grace. 
 Oh ! what caution, charity, prudence, forethought, hu- 
 mility, do I need ! My comfort is to turn to Thee, 
 dpng, rising Saviour, and to repose in Thy arms. Thou 
 art the Head over all things to the Church. Thy blessed 
 Apostles had to suffer from divisions, from false teachers, 
 from disorders of all kinds within the Church, as well as 
 from Jewish and heathen opposition from without. Let 
 me have grace to follow Christ, to love Christ, to preach 
 Christ, to live and die Christ, and all will be well. He, 
 even Jesus, will order, control, sustain, bless. Oh for a 
 heart spiritual, docile, child-like, cleaving to Christ on His 
 cross ! Oh ! to be willing to say with the great Apostle, 
 " Most gladly therefore do I glory in my infirmities, that 
 the power of Christ may rest upon me." " Though I be 
 NOTHING," that Christ may be all things in my deliver- 
 ance from trouble, in the success of my ministry, in my 
 present and final salvation. 
 
 Sanjaneer^ Tuesday, March 5, 1836. 
 We arrived here dak last night, at eleven, from Chit- 
 toor, and stayed four hours, examining this ancient 
 fort by the splendid torch of an Indian full moon. Its 
 light was resplendent and silvery. The shadows cast on 
 the vast fragments of arches and towers were Kterally like 
 witchcraft. The calm, soft coolness of the air, was in per- 
 fect contrast with the tropical heat we had endured in the 
 day-time. The Governor, with aU his myrmidons, was 
 
134 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 ready for us, the Rana having prepared them. Three 
 horses were provided for our ascent, and about midnight 
 we were on the march. The description of the place by 
 Hamilton and Bishop Heber in 1825 is no longer appli- 
 cable, so rapidly do the rain and sun dilapidate unrepaired 
 buildings, and the .Hindoo never repairs when not com- 
 pelled. The roads were clogged with loose stones, the walls 
 and palaces in the act of falling as it were ; the vast gates re- 
 maining with not a remnant of the former arch ; the bazaars 
 annihilated. Here and there a miserable creature was 
 watching the silent ox grinding in the oil-mills, or asleep 
 by his side. I slowly ascended on my enormously saddled 
 steed, meditating on my holy and honoured predecessor 
 treading the same path a few years before. How sunk the 
 place from the time (a.d. 1803) when the Mahometans 
 are first said to have taken it, or from 1680, when the son 
 of Aurungzebe subdued it ! It is now under its ancient 
 sovereign the Hana of Odjeypoor, and utterly neglected, 
 except as an object of historical recollection. The two 
 points which most attracted us were the Cow's Mouth and 
 the Jove's Temple, dedicated to Siva. To the first you 
 descend some hundred rock-hewn steps, with interposed 
 courts and temples, till you reach a low kind of building 
 under the shadowing protection of lofty trees, the moon- 
 Kght dancing amongst them ; where a perpetual stream of 
 fresh water, which once issued, I conclude, from the actual 
 mouth of a figure of a cow, of which there are some frag- 
 ments, now pours itself into a reservoir, and runs off into 
 one of the many tanks with overarching trees, which the 
 moon was rendering so solemn and mystic to our view. 
 
NUSSERABAD. 135 
 
 The temple is beyond my arcMtectural powers to describe, 
 I gazed, and gazed, and gazed at it- on all sides ; now with 
 the moon throwing her direct light, and now with the vast 
 column interposed between me and the illimiinating body. 
 The whole gave me the impression of a larger building, 
 far more imposing, with a greater mass of superincumbent 
 stories than Bishop Heber's picture, and not so high. I 
 guessed it to be 90 feet. Three or four of the nine stories 
 which I ascended were crowded with coarsely cut mytho- 
 logical figures. At three this morning we re-entered our 
 palanquins, and had to pay for our pleasure by a most ter- 
 rifying dak run of five hours, through a wild, uncultivated 
 country, where the noxious opium reared its variegated 
 head in profusion around the villages. 
 
 Nusserabad, March 7, 1836. 
 At Dabla, one of the places through which we passed 
 on our way hither, we walked to the town near the camp. 
 The Thakoor, or Commandant, came out with all his old 
 finery to meet us. He conducted us over his ruined ram- 
 parts. The ditch had been very noble ; the remains of the 
 bastions were not grand, but rather imposing ; his bhat, or 
 bard, preceded him, chanting the praises of hi* master. 
 The Thakoor complained bitterly of the oppressions of the 
 Rana of Odjeypoor, and said robberies occurred in the 
 neighbourhood of which he was innocent. Our Captain 
 says he has no doubt he is a leader of robbers himself. He 
 would accompany me back to our bungalow, and I begged 
 him to let the bard remain to chant some of his airs : the 
 man soon sent for his fiddle and tom-tom, and sung to us 
 
136 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 some songs, which, he made one of our servants interpret. 
 They are all Eajpoots now, and robbers by profession. The 
 opium trade is nearly over, being confined to Malwa and 
 Patna. It is an extraordinary curse to all the people where 
 it comes — a positive curse, especially throughout China. 
 
 This station of Nusserabad is nearer than any we 
 have yet visited to the disturbed country of Jyepoor, 
 Shekawattee, Jholdpoor, names you never heard of. A 
 large part of the force is out on duty. We are now 
 skirting the British territory, and proceeding through 
 the stations of the field force. Mhow, Neemuch, and 
 T^usserabad, are in the heart of the country of the un- 
 subdued chieftains, and hill robbers, whom the terror 
 of our name, and the known discipline of our encamp- 
 ments, overawe. Our high sense of justice and inter- 
 national equity imposes on us now the non-interference 
 system, which reflects the brightest credit on our Christ- 
 ian government. If any of the princes should act as 
 Tippoo, or Bajarac, or the Pindarries, or the Eajah 
 of Coorg, we should then act as Lord Wellesley and 
 Hastings did, and put them down with a strong hand. 
 Even now the inhabitants are infinite sufierers under the 
 extortions of their native rulers, but it is noble in the 
 greatest nation in the world thus to abstain from inter- 
 ference with states which are indeed provoking us con- 
 tinually, but have not compelled us as yet to absolutely 
 seize the executive and legislative functions. I preached 
 on Sunday, as strong a sermon as I could, from Eph. v. 2. 
 
 We have the hope of immense usefulness in this 
 station. Oh, for hearts cabn, reposed on God, spiritual. 
 
AJMEER, 137 
 
 tender, self-denpng, prepared for the cross ! To-morrow 
 I visit and examine the schools and hospital. We hope 
 to make the journey from this place to Delhi in nine days, 
 of which five will be daks at night. The object is to 
 avoid passing the heat of the day in the slender tents, 
 which are penetrated on all sides, and unavoidably op- 
 pressive, whatever precautions are taken. 
 
 AJmeer, Thursday, March 10, 1836. 
 We have reached this celebrated capital of the province 
 after a four hours' dak run. We were more and more 
 pleased with the appearance of things at INfusserabad, and 
 formed or renewed four societies there — one a branch of 
 the Christian Knowledge Society, a second for reKeving 
 the sick and poor, a third for church building, a fourth 
 for schools. We obtained efficient secretaries, and for the 
 
 last, several ladies as visitors. Captain B tells me, 
 
 that the improvement of the Ajmeer provinces, since the 
 commencement of our rule seventeen years since, is in- 
 conceivable. There is more land in cultivation, wealth 
 is beginning to be diffused, there is perfect security of 
 person and property. The town of Ajmeer is rapidly 
 increasing. It seems that the non-interference system is 
 disapproved by almost all the civil and miKtary gentlemen, 
 from the vacillation it betrays and the distrust the change 
 produced. The native chiefs also are incapable of govern- 
 ing their countries, and they know it, and prefer the English 
 rule. Still I am inclined towards this non-interference 
 system, on the broad grounds of reason and righteousness. 
 The dreadful state of society in this part of India, the low 
 
138 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 standard of morals, and the complicated miseries of idolatry 
 and imposture, are most deplorably shown in the tribes of 
 murderers who, from generation to generation, hand down 
 the habits and associations of open enemies to man. The 
 Thugs, the Bheels, the Grassiers, and five or six more, are 
 nations of men-killers, who live by nothing else but robbery 
 and blood, bring up their children to nothing else, have 
 their own internal laws and regulations founded on the 
 system, and when detected are accounted as saints and 
 martyrs by the survivors. The devil was, indeed, from 
 the beginning, and is still in all his worship, and the ten- 
 dency of his idolatries, a murderer, and the horrid figures 
 under which he is worshipped are but emblems of his real 
 character. Our God, on the contrary, is love ; our Saviour 
 and Master is love ; our law of morals is love ; and yet 
 England hesitates, is tardy, and full of doubts, in sending 
 out the heralds and messengers of love. Her sons are few 
 and uncertain in taking up the cross, and entering on this 
 only true crusade of mercy, purity, and truth. May the 
 Lord of the harvest raise up and send out the labourers ! 
 
 AJmeer, March 11, 1836. 
 The heats are stealing on : therm. 77°. Yesterday we 
 were for two hours exploring this delicious spot, which is a 
 city planted on the slope of a mountain, and surrounded on 
 the other sides almost entirely with the same barrier. 
 Sixteen years back there were scarcely 15,000- inhabitants. 
 Terror, extortion, want of good water, insecurity, de- 
 populated it more and more. There are now 60,000 souls. 
 A noble new tank has been formed in the heart of the 
 
AJMEER. 139 
 
 place, surrounded by a bazaar and dwelling-houses ; new 
 streets have been built ; fine, spacious houses, are erecting ; 
 commerce is rapidly increasing. It was delightful to see a 
 thriving large town rising up, like any of our new English 
 towns, where trade has suddenly poured in. The Company's 
 Superintendent is the father of the people — lays out plans 
 for building, collects workmen, gives land, lends money. 
 Such are the capabilities, even of the Hindoo, under good 
 government. The antiquities of the place have a double 
 charm when surrounding the vitalities of actual improve- 
 ment. The ruins of a Jain temple, which are described by 
 Todd, struck us with admiration, from the length of the 
 colonnades, the loftiness and grace of the pillars, and the 
 magnificence of the portals. The Mahometans had seized 
 it when they conquered the place, and had faced it with 
 inscriptions from the Koran. In Hke manner the celebrated 
 tomb where miracles are said to have been wrought, and to 
 which Ackbar came eleven times 230 miles on pilgrimage 
 from Agra, is equally visited by Hindoos and Mahometans. 
 I refused to enter, because the priests would have re- 
 quired me to take off my shoes, and I did not choose to 
 give even such a countenance to idolatry and imposture ; 
 but I obtained a good view of it from the margin of a 
 tank behind. It is a mass of buildings of white marble, 
 and is very richly endowed with the rents of twenty-two 
 villages. It was an imposing spectacle, and the more so 
 from the deep narrow tank excavated from the rock, and 
 with flights of steps in every direction descending to 
 it, by which its lofty minarets and domes were relieved. 
 It is this abundance of sweet water which is raising 
 
140 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 Ajmeer ; for a tliird reservoir forms a fine lake, of which the 
 mountains with dams, form the barriers : whilst the plea- 
 sure-houses and gardens of Shah Jehan, with walks de- 
 fended by white marble parapets on the edge of the deep- 
 walled sides, give an air of enchantment to the whole 
 scene. Education, morals, Christianity, are now beginning 
 to creep on. Commerce serves to soften caste distinctions. 
 Knowledge dissolves its chains. But the Gospel only can 
 give true Kberty of soul in their stead. 
 
 Nusseralad, March 12, 1836. 
 We had divine service before we left Ajmeer. There 
 had been no minister there for six years. Eight were 
 confirmed. I preached and visited some sick persons, and 
 then returned here to a late dinner ; but my time at this 
 place is drawing to a close, and I feel nervous lest I should 
 leave anything undone for the cause of Christ. 
 
 March 14, 1836. 
 Preparing for setting ofi" for Jyepoor. We had a most 
 solemn Confirmation here on Saturday. May God have 
 mercy on the Bishop, and on his presbyters and flocks ! 
 The task is immense ! Yesterday was a most affecting 
 day. I think I do not exaggerate when I say that every 
 creature not detained by necessity was present. My text 
 was John xiv. 18. At the Sacrament, fifty-five persons. I 
 have every cause for thankfulness and hope. 
 
 Jyepoor, March 17, 1836. 
 I have been taking my first drive with Major Alves, at 
 whose residency I am. A vast sandy plain encompasses 
 
JYEPOOR. 141 
 
 Jyepoor to tlie soutli and west ; mountain barriers de- 
 fend it behind. Tbe walled garden, of about 150 yards 
 square, in which the Residency stands, relieves the gran- 
 deur of the abode. It is the same as Bishop Heber visited 
 in 1825. 
 
 We were out for three hours this morning, visiting 
 what is emphatically termed " the Ghaut," a deep gloomy 
 ravine between the vast rocks, about four miles from Jye- 
 poor, which has been ornamented by a series of lovely 
 groves, fountains, pleasure-houses, terraced gardens de- 
 scending one below another, pavilions, paths, reservoirs, 
 amidst fine lofty trees and shrubs. Into this fairy scene 
 the ladies of the court frequently come and pass the heat 
 of the day. The high wall separating the pleasure-grounds 
 from the ravine, where the pubKc road passes, is crowned 
 with a chain of small pavilions and overhanging balus- 
 trades. Instead of stairs to the upper rooms, terraces on 
 an inclined plane are built, up which a small carriage 
 might, if necessary, pass. These slopes are not made wider 
 than ordinary flights of stairs ; they are within the build- 
 ings, and much surpass our European method of steps half 
 a foot high. In going and returning I had an opportunity 
 of viewing the coimtry, which is one vast world of sand, 
 and towards the ghaut the surface was varied like the 
 waves of the sea. In fact, a steady wind blows from March 
 to June from the westward, and when it rises into a storm, 
 roads and paths are effaced, new hillocks are accumulated, 
 and the scene is altogether changed. To guard against 
 these effects, the cultivated fields, consisting chiefly of 
 wheat and barley, are defended with mud-banks, like many 
 
142 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 of ours in England, a narrow road being left between. 
 Water is tbe great desideratum. Wbere wells are dis- 
 covered, they soon fertiKze the land, which consists of a 
 thick loamy clay under the external bed of sand. Wonderful 
 is the provision of Providence, in the cushioned feet of the 
 camel and elephant, under which the sand is the best basis. 
 Hard, firm ground, suits not these fine creatures at all, but 
 a shifting, yielding, dry soil is their natural ground for 
 travelling with comfort. 
 
 I began as soon as I arrived yesterday to lay out my 
 spiritual duties. Seven is the number of Christians here. 
 I expound daily in the family circle. This morning we 
 had Ps. Ixxxvii., and " Eahab, Tyre, Babylon, Philistia," 
 were generic terms, including Jyepoor and Ajmeer. 
 " This and that man born there,*' were the remarkable 
 converts whom we trust God will here raise up and " count 
 among His people." " His foundation in the holy moun- 
 tains," " the Lord's love to the gates of Zion," the Church's 
 song, "all my springs (of joy, strength, triumph, hope) are 
 in Thee," were easily applicable. It is delightful to see 
 the military ofiicer, after a separation of twenty or thirty 
 years from the means of grace, drinking in the words of 
 exhortation and life. Besides these seven, there are eighty 
 souls in the camp itself. 
 
 I have just been called out to see four Thugs, a caste of 
 murderers by profession, who have been now for seven 
 years hunted out by the Government in all parts of India 
 by military officers especially appointed, and brought to 
 trial. The system is almost suspended by this benevolent 
 vigilance, though it is far from being eradicated. They 
 
JYEPOOR. 143 
 
 live in villages of 700 or 800 inhabitants each. They are 
 brought up from generation to generation to the horrid 
 work. Each particular family has a sub-division of it, 
 and no other, allotted to it. The method is strangula- 
 tion, by a cloth thrown at a signal round the traveller's 
 neck. I examined these four men as to their motives, 
 notions of a Supreme Being, humanity, sense of right and 
 wrong. They said they were bom to it — had been Thugs 
 thirty or forty years — from boys — it was their fate — their 
 goddess and her priests favoured them, and received a 
 fourth of their spoils. They now knew it was wrong, they 
 said, but did not before — they followed their profession 
 as a soldier did his — that if they had been born agri- 
 culturists or leather-dressers they should have been glad ; 
 but what could they do against their fate? They did 
 not know before that there was a God in heaven ; they 
 went out three or four times a-year Thugging, sometimes 
 three or four himdred in company, disguised in different 
 dresses. Sometimes they murdered seventy persons at a 
 time, at other times forty or fifty. They buried the dead 
 bodies after plundering them. They always killed their 
 victims first, and then ran the chance of finding plunder or 
 not. They were sorry when it happened that they killed 
 any one for no purpose ; they used formerly to plunder 
 first and only to kill in case of necessity ; but this was not 
 found so quiet and comfortable as their present method. 
 Now that they knew right and wrong, they would never 
 return to their former courses if the Government would let 
 them go. What a picture of human depravity, callousness 
 of heart, obduracy, to say nothing of humanity ! Such is 
 
144 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 Hindooism ! Slie lias a goddess for murderers ; temples, 
 priests, offerings, caste privileges, bards, villages, fame, 
 all connected with murder. Each of the four wretches I 
 examined had murdered on an average three or four per- 
 sons annually, during thirty or forty years. One had killed 
 400 persons himself. 1100 of these monsters were taken up 
 between the Jumna and the Ganges alone. There are about 
 500 in Rajpootana. But the fearful system is suspended, 
 and will gradually be annihilated by British Christianity. 
 
 Jyepoor Palace^ March 18, 1836. 
 "We have had a most refreshing breakfast, in the very 
 same oriental fairy summer-house of which Bishop Heber 
 speaks. The cloistered court on one hand has a basin of 
 water, and that on the other the parterred gardens, with 
 the beautiful fountains throwing up rose-coloured water. 
 At the extremities, the eye rests on the four or five stories 
 of the palace, with open verandahs ; the fruit-trees, with 
 their verdant foliage, interposing a pleasing contrast with 
 the effects of human art. Musicians have just struck up 
 their national songs. The arched roof of the alcove in 
 which I am sitting reflects every object in a thousand shades 
 from its tall looking-glass panels. We are going to a grand 
 durbar presently. 
 
 Jyepoor Palace^ March 19, 1836. 
 The durbar at the palace, yesterday at noon, was very 
 interesting. Whilst we were at breakfast, the ladies, whose 
 apartments are arranged around the room where we were, 
 sent to beg the purdahs to be raised, that they might be 
 favoured with the sight of an English party at their meal. 
 
JYEPOOR. 145 
 
 A messenger soon made his way through the crowd — 
 for there were hundreds of officers and servants in attend- 
 ance — to call us to the durbar. We were conducted by 
 Rawull-Beree Sal's two sons and the state officers. A vast 
 vaulted hall, with wide verandahs, the walls and ceiling of 
 which were covered with quilted silk, presented a grand 
 and tasteful view as we entered. Not a creature was there. 
 The Rawull came in, and placed Major Alves and myself 
 near the purdahed wall of which I have spoken, and within 
 which we had been admitted before breakfast. The circular 
 holes caught my eye, the light behind rendering them the 
 more visible. Two or three eunuchs stood near the pur- 
 dahs, one of whom was the medium of conversation. I 
 heard distinctly the Ma-jee (Queen-mother's) voice, for the 
 Rajah is only two years old. It was clear and soft, and 
 every word was uttered in a whisper. If I had understood 
 the language, I should not have lost any one sentiment. 
 She expressed her joy at Major Alves' safety, and the 
 goodness of the British Government to her, by which the 
 confusion of the country had been prevented. She then 
 congratulated me on my arrival. A present of ten or 
 twelve trays of shawls, and one of jewels, was then placed 
 before me, by her orders ; and an elephant was said to be 
 waiting without. Major Alves explained that the custom 
 of the English did not allow me to accept presents. The 
 ceremony of investing the Rawull with his robes of office 
 now took place. He ;first retired at the Ma-jee's orders, 
 and soon returned adorned with a turban of rich gold lace 
 and long garments of scarlet cloth — not gaudy, but im- 
 posing and dignified. He advanced, bowing profoimdly to 
 
146 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 the unseen Princess-motlier, and wlien near the purdali 
 was girded with his scimitar, received his dagger and 
 hooked elephant-driver, the crowded durbar standing up 
 to witness the ceremony. The immense room was by this 
 time thronged, whilst the officers and attendants formed a 
 row on one side, and Major Alves and the English on the 
 other. All were seated on the ground, with our hats on. 
 The durbar soon after broke up, by the Ma-jee begging 
 Major Alves to take care of himself, as his life had been 
 once endangered in her service. All Hajpootana is now 
 tranquil. A platform, I trust, is laid for the gradual, 
 social, intellectual, and religious improvement of the 
 people. 
 
 Bhadra, March 21, 1836. 
 
 I had the hardest work yesterday that I remember for 
 these twenty years. I preached twice, and confirmed. The 
 incomparable importance of these services to our scattered 
 Christian brethren is more and more obvious to me. Their 
 attention is quite touching. Poor fellows ! some have not 
 seen a clergyman for ten years together. I tried to impress 
 upon the Major's mind, before I left, that all attempts at 
 civilization would fail if not connected with religious edu- 
 cation. Such temporal benefits would go on for a time, 
 but then roll back, unless Christianity gave the elements 
 and principles of moral and religious order. 
 
 We passed during the night the town of Ambeer, where, 
 on a series of mighty rocks, the old palace of Jyepoor stands, 
 more magnificent than Windsor itself in extent. The young 
 moon was just setting behind the castellated walls as we 
 passed, and projected in fine relief the outline of the towers 
 
BHADRA. 147 
 
 on tlie three vast mountain-tops. A lofty minaret or citadel 
 on the most distant reared itself above the rest, whilst the 
 descending valleys were just discernible. The fagade was, of 
 course, obscure in deep night. I did not wish to enter and 
 go over the place, as we had done at Chitton Ghur. It was 
 Jye Singh who removed the court and city to New Jyepoor. 
 It is considered to be by far the noblest castle, in point of 
 extent and position, of any in India — perhaps in the 
 world. 
 
 Shah Jehanpoor^ March 24, 1836. 
 Yesterday evening, as we were walking in the camp, 
 we met three travellers, one an elderly woman, carrying 
 four wicker baskets on bamboo staves across their shoulders. 
 They had come from Hurdwar with bottles of water from 
 the Granges, to apply to the dying. They were going to 
 Joudpore, about 450 miles off. The old woman was carrying 
 one basket, though she was ill, and one of the men the 
 other ; the third was a Brahmin, who would not touch the 
 load, though to save the woman's life. Hurdwar is a cele- 
 brated spot on the Granges, where hundreds of thousands 
 go on pilgrimage to bathe. Oh for the knowledge of that 
 only " water" of life which our Lord discoursed of to the 
 woman of Samaria, and which He died a sacrifice to bestow ! 
 This requires no wearisome months' journey to reach, being 
 nigh to us all. 
 
148 
 
 CHAPTEH YI. 
 
 Arrival at Delhi — Splendour and Dissipation of Court — Colonel 
 Skinner's New Church — Meerut — Temporary Illness — Sana- 
 tarium on the Hills — The Doon — Consecration of Burial- 
 ground — Mussooree — Life of Felix Neff — Steep Ascent — First 
 View of Snows on the Himalayas — Description of the Hill 
 People — Anniversary of Consecration — Sublime Scenery — 
 Sites for Two New Churches — Descent to the Jumna — Pre- 
 valence of Infanticide — Levee under Tent — Colonel Young — 
 Peculiar Habits of the Inhabitants — Plurality of Husbands — 
 Local Court of Justice — Thunder Storm — Scripture Illus- 
 trations — Difficulties of Koad — Want of Missionaries — ■ Ar- 
 rival at Simlah. 
 
 Delhi, March 26, 1836. 
 At length, we are at Delhi — the throne of the world — the 
 star of empires — the throne of Jhangere — the world's 
 conqueror of Shah Jehan — the lord of the world, of Allem- 
 gere or Aurungzebe, besides Timor, Baber, and Ackbar ! 
 Its former revenue, fifty- two millions sterling ; its army, 
 300,000 horse and as many foot ; its provinces, twenty- two, 
 each greater than most western kingdoms ; its luxury, 
 display, gorgeousness, fame, proverbial, both under its 
 Hindoo and Mogul emperors. It is impossible to approach 
 the fragments of all this mighty edifice without emotion. 
 God has given it all to English piety, talents, and courage, 
 as a trust. It was six o'clock, a.m., when we came within 
 
DELHI. 149 
 
 sight of the domes and minarets of Delhi. The distant 
 view very much resembled that of Oxford from the Ban- 
 bury road ; a nearer approach, however, dissipated the 
 delusion, as it displayed the lofty city walls, in excellent 
 repair, stretching as far as the eye could reach. We 
 entered the fortification at seven, after fifteen hours' dak ; 
 and most imposing was the grandeur of the mosques and 
 palaces and mansions of the ancient monarchy of the world. 
 The red stone of which many of the buildings are formed 
 is very beautiful; the wide streets; the ample bazaars; 
 the shops with every kind of elegance; the prodigious 
 elephants, used for every purpose ; the numerous native 
 carriages, with noble oxen ; the children bedizened with 
 finery ; the vast elevation of the mosques and fountains ; 
 and arcades for travellers ; the canals for water, raised in 
 the midst of the streets, — all gave me an impression of the 
 former magnificence of a city which was once twenty miles 
 square, and counted two millions of inhabitants. May God 
 bless our labours here, among the 130 Christians scattered 
 among the 120,000 Hindoos and Mussulmans who now 
 constitute the population. 
 
 Delhi, March 28, 1836. 
 The air is delicious, like a fine English April morning. 
 Yesterday we had two full services, excellently attended. 
 The evening one was at the Residency in the city. The 
 Residency was formerly a palace of Sultan Dava, a brother 
 of Aurungzebe. It contains an immense area walled round, 
 with gardens, stables, baths, offices — in short, a little 
 city kept up. No one is admitted to "the Presence," as 
 it is impiously termed, without taking ofi* his shoes and 
 
150 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 sssuming a turban, and bowing as a slave to " the King of 
 Kings ;'' another impiety. Then the Emperor, who is above 
 eighty, and has had fifty-two sons, is suddenly exhibited by a 
 curtain being withdrawn, and proclamation is made, "Behold 
 the Light of the World V* Bishop Heber went through all 
 this. My present impression is, that it would compromise 
 my station and character to do so. The inmiense palace 
 stretches a mile in extent on one side, and a quarter of a 
 mile on another. There are about 3000 female slaves, or 
 concubines, in the seraglio, according to the abominable li- 
 cence of the Mahometan imposture. The poor children are 
 stolen, bought, inveigled from all parts of India beyond 
 the Company's territories. In this way our pension of 
 twelve lacs is abused. These things cannot last. The light 
 must be poured in upon the prison-house, and the conniv- 
 ance of England cease. At present, the circuit of the 
 palace is an asylum which the Hesident dare not enter. 
 Most truly may I say, " my soul, come not thou into 
 their secret ; unto their assembly mine honour be not thou 
 united !" Every place impresses me more and more with 
 the value, the necessity, the purity, the benevolence, the 
 grace, the adaptation to man of the holy Gospel. 
 
 A most cheering circumstance here is the erection of a 
 beautiful Christian Church in the city by a Col. Skinner. 
 This fine soldier resolved to build a church to Almighty 
 God, in gratitude for His giving him Delhi. It has been 
 eight years in building, and will cost about 80,000 rs. I 
 trust I may consecrate it in the winter. It is a beautiful 
 edifice, the whole being coated with the most expensive 
 chunam, which gives the beauty and appearance of white 
 
MEERUT. 151 
 
 marble, and would be a splendid building in any Christian 
 country. Here it is unique, being the first temple raised 
 by individual piety in India. 
 
 Meerut, March 29, 1836. 
 
 We arrived about 10 a.m. at tbis vast station, wbere 
 tbere are two very diligent and pious chaplains. The fall 
 of rain on Sunday evening was repeated on Monday, and 
 made the nigbt charmingly cool. It exposed us, however, 
 to some danger from the swollen rivers and deluged roads. 
 One day's rain additional would have rendered the journey 
 impossible. As it was, we were delayed for three hours, 
 and the bottom of my palanquin was completely wet with 
 the deepness of the brooks we had to cross ; the least in- 
 crease would have floated me in my moving bed, raised 
 though I was on the heads of the bearers. Here, then, may 
 I raise my Ebenezer and say, " Hitherto God hath helped 
 me." 
 
 Meerut, April 12, 1836. 
 
 I have been detained one day beyond my time by an 
 indisposition, which, like that at Cochin last November, 
 scarcely deserved the name, but which is another warning, 
 for the smallest thing in India may become the greatest in 
 a moment, and I observe that most persons are carried off by 
 diseases so mild at first as to be unperceived. In truth, I 
 had been doing rather too much from the day I arrived in 
 this immense station. Instead of preaching once a- week, 
 as at Calcutta, I preached, or did what was equivalent, on 
 "Wednesday, Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Eve, Easter 
 Day, Easter Monday, Easter Tuesday, Wednesday, Thurs- 
 day, Friday, Saturday. On these two last days I felt a 
 
152 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 little failing. However, I got through. Sunday — a sermon 
 at seven to 1800 people — Hindoostanee chapel at four — Sa- 
 crament and fifty communicants, and a sermon — evening 
 church as a hearer, at half-past six. This was too much, I 
 admit ; but I have postponed my dak journey, have kept 
 entirely quiet, and am as well as ever this morning. I ought, 
 indeed, to be better in the highest respect, for every warning 
 has a voice, speaks a lesson, calls back to God, reminds of 
 eternity, arouses conscience, endears Christ, discovers secret 
 sins, puts out the glare of the world, calms the soul, breaks 
 off its projects, and casts it on God. 
 
 I have been conversing with Mr. Bacon, the judge of 
 this station, on the bearing of these hill stations in the 
 three Presidencies, Nilgherries, Mahabuleshur, and Sim- 
 lah, on the colonisation of India, in combination with the 
 steam communication. At present they are little known, 
 even here ; at home, not at all : but every season the plans of 
 European society are formed upon them more and more, as 
 the nucleus of health. There is nothing to prevent Euro- 
 peans settling in these lovely mountains, and bringing up 
 their families in the finest health. One school for English 
 children is already crowded with the sons of civil and mili- 
 tary officers. Capital laid out skilfully in farms, or in sugar- 
 plantations, would return an ample advantage. Thus the 
 grand impediment to colonisation and civilisation and 
 Christianisation would be overcome. India would be habit- 
 able to an English race, just like America ; and the certain 
 and rapid steam-post would bring her within 60 days of 
 Europe, instead of from 120 to 150 as at present. What 
 a cheering prospect for prostrate India, though distant 
 
THE DOON. 153 
 
 still ! Hindooism and Mahometanism are loosened in their 
 very foundations by the subtraction of the temporal power. 
 With the fall of the Mogul and Rajpoot sovereignties these 
 wretched delusions virtually fell also. Their hold now is 
 in the corruption of our nature, habit, and the interests of a 
 mercenary priesthood; strong, I allow, but nothing like the 
 heathenism of the Eoman Empire when entrenched in all 
 the powers of an ancient, dominant, military government. 
 The importance of the awful oflB.ce held by Bishop Corrie 
 and myself rises incalculably in this view, as contributing 
 to establish the truth of Christianity in its most primitive 
 and permanent form in the hearts and consciences of no- 
 minal Christians. But the work must be God's. Grace is 
 everything. My own petty troubles are nothing to me, if 
 God will but be pleased to use me for His glory in Indian 
 evangelization. 
 
 Deyrdh Doon, April 15, 1836. 
 We have entered this magic scene after twelve hours' 
 run, the road lying through the most romantic ravine ima- 
 ginable, with overhanging rocks of every form, the road 
 often one mass of loose stone and rock, from which the rains 
 have carried off the soil. As we approached the Doon, 
 or valley, itself, the prospect was most lovely, — cultiva- 
 tion Kke England, the finest trees, wheat-fields, verdure 
 fresh as from the hand of the Almighty; the scene bounded 
 by the Himalaya mountains in a most magnificent outline, 
 elevation about 1000 feet, charmingly watered with running 
 streams. The village of Deyrah forms the centre. It be- 
 longed to the Moguls, but had been seized by the Gharkes, 
 and was ceded to us in 1815. 
 
154 JOURJJ^AL LETTERS. 
 
 We had divine service at Muzufferunggur, the first 
 place after leaving Meerut, and again yesterday at Sehran- 
 poor. Some good, I trust, is done at both places. 
 
 Six o'Cloch^ P.M. 
 
 We have had divine service (twenty-five present), bap- 
 tized two infants, and consecrated a burial-ground. At 
 this latter the whole village poured out from curiosity ; 
 the Goork troop of 250 men were drawn out, and all the 
 society of the station. Mango-trees overshadowed the 
 pretty, neat ground ; the tombs of those who fell in the 
 Doon, in 1814, were now first enclosed in sacred walls. It 
 was evening ; the sun shed its softened beams ; the crowd 
 of mingled soldiers, natives and Europeans, filled the spot ; 
 whilst the enormous Himalaya ridges arose in giant 
 strength all around. Nothing in India has equalled the 
 beauty of this valley, which more resembles Switzerland, 
 from the contrast of fertile fields in the loveliest verdure, 
 with the rude rocks tipped with eternal snow, than any- 
 thing we have yet seen. The Doon is about 60 miles by 
 12, spreading at the foot of the Nepaul range. The sugar- 
 cane has been lately introduced with success. The inha- 
 bitants are increasing daily, from the security we afibrd 
 them, and the demand which the Company on the hills 
 creates. 
 
 Mussooree, April 16, 1836. 
 
 Here I arrived at 9 a.m., after three hours' ascent in a 
 species of chair with poles, borne by four men, along the 
 romantic path formed in the mountain between the Doon 
 and this lofty range of rocks, which constitutes a part of 
 
. MUSSOOREE. 155 
 
 the vast Himalaya, and rise to the height of from 6000 to 
 27,800 feet. The scenes we have passed through have 
 struck me with such awe, and almost confusion, that I 
 want a day or two to collect my thoughts. In the 
 meantime I would entreat my dearest children to bless 
 God on our behalf, that we have been preserved and kept 
 thus far after so long a voyage and march. 
 
 I must just tell you, fatigued as I am, that I have 
 been delighted with reading, as I mounted the preci- 
 pices, GiUy's "Life of Felix Neff," which I met with 
 at Sehranpoor, and borrowed. He was an extraordinary 
 person. These simple, devoted ministers, are most edi- 
 fying. What' love to Christ in Neff — what self-denial 
 — what zeal for the salvation of souls — what adherence 
 to Holy Scripture — what close communion with his 
 God and Saviour! — and with all this, such meekness, 
 such sobriety, such regard to Church order, such care of 
 the young catechumens, that the whole is most admirable ! 
 To speak of his labours, his neglect of comforts, his hardi- 
 ness in mountain journeys, his midnight toils in preaching, 
 is to say little. I feel put to shame before such grace and 
 heavenly -mindedness. And as the prodigious natural 
 beauties and sublimities of the winding track, which a good 
 deal resembles the Simplon in point of magnificence and 
 variation of prospect, rose before me, I closed my book, 
 and fancied I was with NeflP in his Alpine parish, though 
 in a very, very inferior sense ; for our hills have as yet 
 displayed none of the terrors, snow-storms, impending 
 masses of rock, gorges, winter -torrents, avalanches, by 
 which the hamlet of Dormilleuse was environed. His 
 
156 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 was peril, mine only tlie enjoyment of sublimity and 
 grandeur. 
 
 Mussooree^ April 17, 1836. 
 
 After seven hours' sleep, I rise this holy morning with 
 such feelings of health as ought to be accompanied with 
 gratitude to Almighty God, the Giver of all good. The 
 beautiful morning sun has just climbed over the rugged 
 mountain to the east, and is warming my chilly frame, 
 and we are preparing to ascend a neighbouring height, 
 of Landour, where about 150 invalids are stationed, for 
 morning service in the barracks. There is no chaplain 
 here. One of the officers at Degrah had not seen the face 
 of a clergyman for eight years ! My whole soul is filled 
 with desire to supply more ministers of Christ for these 
 desolate Christians. 
 
 Mussooree, April 18, 1836. 
 
 Little did I think yesterday what sort of mountain I 
 had to ascend to church. I was a whole hour threading 
 the serpentine path, with the most fearful precipices within 
 two inches of my chair, or jonpon, and sudden turns or 
 rather corners of the road, as the path took its difierent 
 steps of ascent, where my long poles exposed me, in making 
 the turn, to the peril of instant destruction. I was pre- 
 served. At nine o'clock I found myself at Major Mac- 
 donald's bungalow, where breakfast was ready. I had 
 ascended 1500 feet (7500 altogether) ; and as I was walk- 
 ing through the verandah I looked up and beheld a sub- 
 lime range of eternal snows, with an intervening awful- 
 looking valley, at which I quite shuddered from fear. 
 The snows were apparently within eight or ten miles ! 
 
MUSSOOREE. 157 
 
 I had seen notMng like it even in Switzerland. I re- 
 member the Jungfrau peak, as I was making one of my 
 Swiss excursions ; but that was a solitary head of rock : 
 here was a crest stretching on each side as far as the eye 
 could see. Though so near in appearance, it was, in fact, 
 six days' march, sixty or seventy miles off, and the imme- 
 diate contrast with the gardens and bungalows in which I 
 stood was overwhelming. In the winter, however, these 
 heights have their inconveniences. In February, the 
 Major's bungalow was almost buried in the snow. No 
 intercourse could be kept up with the plains, nor even 
 with Mussooree, except as the indefatigable dak men cut 
 their way through the mass and brought them news. At 
 breakfast I suffered greatly from cold. We descended 
 some hundreds of feet at ten to a barrack, where seventy 
 soldiers of the invalids, and perhaps fifty gentry from 
 Mussooree, were assembled. There had been no divine 
 service since October. I preached from my first text at 
 Bisley,* September 1801, John vi. 37 : " Him that cometh 
 unto me I will in no wise cast out." The eager listening 
 is extraordinary. May God make impressions permanent, 
 deep, and saving to the soul ! I had been reading, as I 
 went, my dear Felix Neff. I assure you I wept like a 
 child at the touching accounts of that incomparable man : 
 had his life been extended to seventy years, like Swartz's 
 and Oberlin's, instead of thirty-one, he would have been 
 one of the most remarkable persons of his age. I could 
 not lay down the book on my return, till I was so overcome 
 with my feelings that I feared I should not get through 
 
 I 
 
 * The Bishop's first curacy. — Editor. 
 
158 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 my afternoon duty. At four, we celebrated divine service 
 in the largest room wMcli Mussooree contains. About 
 seventy crowded in. The bungalow in which we are 
 lodged contains three very good rooms on the ground-floor, 
 and one perched on the roof. This upper room is allotted 
 to me. The house is like a bird's nest on the mountain 
 side, some hundred feet below the summit, and command- 
 ing a noble view of the valley of the Doon. Indeed all 
 the houses, which must be fifty or sixty in number, are 
 like white patches in the deep green of the hill foliage, 
 each one with its own winding path ; each with its little 
 artificial table-land, its outhouses, gardens, and fields. The 
 success of a residence here in point of recovered health is 
 so remarkable, that in one month the sick have English 
 countenances again, and the children become ruddy as the 
 rose. For eight months the climate is delicious. 
 
 Mussooree^ April 21, 1836. 
 I must give you, before I close this letter, some notion 
 of these Himalaya mountains. They run almost across the 
 whole of Asia, from the Caspian to China ; but the range, 
 properly speaking, extends from the Indus to the Burram- 
 pooter. The portion best known is that ceded to us from 
 the Sutledge to Almorah, where Bishop Heber was. The 
 belt is about eighty miles. Little Thibet and its vast 
 plateau is on the north ; the plains of Hindoostan on the 
 south. The loftiest known peak is in the longitude of 
 Benares, and is 27,750 feet. There are twenty peaks 
 higher than any in the Andes. The loftiest habitable spot 
 is 9700 feet, and of shrubs 1300. The Kne of perpetual 
 snow varies from 13,000 to 16,000. We are only on the 
 
MUSSOOREE. 159 
 
 entrance of the range at Mussooree, where the first bunga- 
 low was built in 1827. The ascent from the Doon is by 
 the slope of successive hills, on a road cut out with care on 
 a gentle rise, and presenting the most exquisite mountain 
 scenery, hanging woods, the Doon intersected with tor- 
 rents stretching below, valleys waving with com, flocks 
 of goats grazing in security, the native huts and Euro- 
 pean bungalows appearing from time to time. There 
 is no table-land here ; the houses, therefore, are perched 
 on the crests of the infinite multitude of summits of dif- 
 ferent elevations, which rise on all sides. The approaches 
 to the houses are by separate tracks cut in the moun- 
 tain sides, and winding sufficiently to render the descent 
 easy. The natives are a rude race, very dark, not healthy 
 in their looks, with a thick coarse clothing, living in vil- 
 lages of forty or fifty houses each. The men come up in 
 hundreds to carry the Europeans' luggage during the 
 season. They are said to be honest, but their domestic 
 miseries are inconceivable. Female infanticide prevails. 
 The women have a plurality of husbands. They usurp all 
 the commanding offices of life, and send their husbands 
 about to nurse children, fetch water, and perform all 
 meaner services. Such is the depravity of man in all 
 countries ! — varied, but uniform in cruelty and lust, except 
 as Christianity opens redemption. The features of ido- 
 latry never change. Its tendency is to ignorance, vice, 
 ferocity ; and, here, to the overthrow of the first moral 
 elements of society. In short, as a woman is a slave and 
 beast of burden in the plains ; so she is here, from the 
 paucity of the sex, the tyrant and imnatural lord of man. 
 
160 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 !N^otliing is yet done; there are no schools, and no mis- 
 sionaries. 
 
 Ifussooree, April 28, 1836. 
 The extreme cold is not at all relaxed. On Tuesday 
 the thermometer was 49° in the house. I was quite 
 glad to go to bed for a couple of hours in the after- 
 noon, to procure a warmth which clothes and fire and 
 sunshine would not give, and for the first time in India I 
 rejoiced to ride out in the full heat, such as it was, of the 
 sun. I observe the natives of these mountains have the 
 same goitered necks, perhaps one in every twenty, as in 
 some parts of the Alps. Faqueers also make their ap- 
 pearance — men smeared over from head to foot with chalk, 
 the face being plastered with cow-dung, with holes for the 
 eyes and mouth. These are extremely holy ; they are 
 beggars, idlers, liars, scoundrels. 'No matter: the esti- 
 mate of character amongst idolaters lifts them up on high. 
 I was reading, a day or two ago, Milner's " Thoughts on 
 Idolatry." They are worthy of that great divine and emi- 
 nent historian. Fallen man dislikes a spiritual, invisible 
 Being, of infinite knowledge, power, and holiness ; he is 
 uneasy; a molten calf suits him far better — an image of the 
 Virgin — the sun and moon — departed heroes. He finds 
 here something to lean upon, and he can go on in his sins. 
 Take two examples, which have been stated to me during 
 this last week. A holy, most holy Brahmin, will Hve with 
 a Mussulman woman, but so long as he does not eat with 
 her Brahma is not ofiended, no sin is committed ; it is no 
 more than his god, Krishna, did repeatedly. A Thug will 
 go on murdering the helpless traveller for forty years, but 
 
MTJSSOOREE. 161 
 
 if he neglects his offerings to the deity, if he goes out 
 on days declared unlucky by his priest, or touches the 
 food of an unclean person, his conscience is filled with 
 terror. Such is corrupt and blinded human nature. 
 But, on the other hand, I am well convinced that external 
 order, rule, the visible means of grace, the Sacraments, 
 written Liturgies and Articles, Church government, a mo- 
 derate regard to primitive antiquity, subjection to civil and 
 ecclesiastical rulers, a willing sacrifice of our private wishes, 
 on things indifferent, to the authority of the established 
 powers in the Church, are essential to the piety and morals 
 of Christian nations. A Church within such limits, and 
 with such formularies and such a polity as our own, abuses 
 being from time to time unsparingly exscinded, holds the 
 due medium between Idolatry and Popery. But I stop. 
 My mind is occupied with the religious, or rather irre- 
 ligious, state of India, and the best means to be pursued 
 for a" permanent, spiritual, enlightened, apostolical, evan- 
 gelical, Christ-like Christianity. My difficulty is, how to 
 aim at all this in that wise, gentle, tender-^hearted spirit 
 which becomes the Gospel. The difference between you 
 and myself is this. At home, all has been settled for nearly 
 three centuries, and you have only to faU into the existing 
 orders of things and imbibe the spirit of the Reformers. 
 Here, nothing is settled. All is to be begun from the be- 
 ginning, with almost every creature against you. " Jesus, 
 Master, Saviour, Head of Thy Body the Church ! guide 
 Thou us by Thy sanctifying Spirit, the Paraclete, the 
 Conductor, the Author and Griver of life, that we may 
 accomplish Thy will and glorify Thee only!" 
 
 M 
 
162 JOUHNAL LETTERS. 
 
 Mussooree, A/piil 30, 1836. 
 The 29tli day of April, 1832, is a day ever to be re- 
 membered by me — the solemn official dedication and 
 setting apart of a poor sinner for the higher degrees of 
 the Christian ministry — his diocese the Eastern world — 
 his flocks scattered, without shepherds almost, from the 
 Himalaya, where he now is, to Point de Galle and Singa- 
 pore, i. e, over thirty degrees of latitude, and from the 
 Straits of Malacca to the Persian Gulf, where 250 Christ- 
 ians are in the Bombay navy, being fifty degrees of lon- 
 gitude — his predecessors rapidly cut off, four in nine 
 years, himself fifty-four years of age, a private clergy- 
 man during the thirty-one years of his ministry at 
 Chobham, Oxford, St. John's, and Islington. Under 
 such external circumstances consecrated to the work and 
 labour of a superintendent watchman and bishop of 
 souls ! those awful recollections ! that grave and mild 
 Archbishop, with his paternal carriage — those sur- 
 rounding Bishops and Clergy — those dear, dear relatives 
 and friends — and then the solemn procession through those 
 religious passages, with their ancient arched roofs, and the 
 beautiful archiepiscopal chapel ! * But, my soul, call to 
 thy mind the divine sublimity, the evangelical truth of the 
 prayers and sermon, and above all, the examination of thy 
 motives, thy replies, the charge, the investment with thy 
 decent attire of office, the imposition of hands, the collation 
 of the Holy Ghost, the awful eucharistic mysteries closing 
 the whole service! Pemember now, also, in connexion 
 with all this — four years of mercies, health, safety, grace, 
 * At Lambeth. — Editor, 
 
MUSSOOREE. 163 
 
 support, deliverance; 423 sermons, exhortations, charges, 
 permitted to be spoken in the name of Jesus. Call to 
 mind again this day, when thou enteredst the fifth year 
 of thine ofiice, the trials domestic, ministerial, episcopal, 
 social, personal, with which He that loveth thee has seen 
 fit to purify and purge thee: not one trial too many, not 
 one too severe, not one but what was, and is, indispensable 
 to thy soul's health. For, remember thy sins as they 
 appear in the eye of thy God, thy Eedeemer, thy Saviour. 
 Be more and more jealous of thyself, more self-denying, 
 more tender in conscience, more spiritually-minded, meek, 
 easy to be entreated, diligent, thankful ! Begin thy fifth 
 year of Indian service with more of Christ and His grace, 
 and sacrifice and love; mth more of heavenly wisdom; with 
 more of the calm, presiding, superintending mind; with 
 more readiness to detect and amend faults ; with a sweeter 
 temper of forgiveness of injuries and calumnies ; and bear 
 in mind how soon thy bishopric will another take. Death, 
 incapacity, are before the door. Christ be magnified; Christ 
 only be exalted, and extolled, and glorified. 
 
 Mussooree, May 3, 1836. 
 May the great Church Missionary Anniversary this day 
 (I think, its thirty- seventh) be largely blessed with in- 
 fluences from above! It is astonishing the loss I feel in 
 this respect in India; the stirring, awakening, consoling, 
 spirituaKsing efiects of those public meetings, the colKsion 
 of various minds ; the high tone of piety given by some, 
 the courage infused by others, the charity breathed 
 by all, were means of grace to me. I can truly say. 
 
164 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 many a time liave I entered sucli meetings depressed, 
 reluctant, timid, distrustful, and have left them with 
 an enlarged love, faith, joy, peace, resignation, triumph 
 in Christ. You should make great allowances for us poor, 
 banished, and isolated Christian brethren, and help us 
 on as well as you can by your prayers. It was this day 
 four years that I took my leave of the Church Missionary 
 Society, and to-morrow four years of the British and 
 Foreign Bible Society, and I have never ceased a single 
 moment to love them and pray for them with the same 
 warmth as ever. 
 
 Mussooree, Mai/ 4:, 1836. 
 Yesterday it happened that I had no ride of busi- 
 ness to take, as I generally have, and Captain B 
 
 took me round one of the most sublime scenes that 
 nature ever presented — the winding of the hill- track was 
 so lovely, the panorama of mountains thrown into shade 
 by the declining sun so magnificent, the hanging woods 
 partly concealing the dells, and glens, and ravines, and 
 partly opening the gaping depths to the eye, were so 
 fearful — then the patches of bungalows, stuck here and 
 there like birds' nests, reminded one of the Prophet's 
 descriptions of Idimiaea and Babylon. I am quite en- 
 chanted. We shall have a church here presently. J 's 
 
 beautiful plan was entirely approved by the meeting on 
 Monday. I hope before we leave to have a solemn cele- 
 bration at laying the first stone. This is the Brighton, or 
 rather Malvern or Dovedale, of India. I have just been 
 preaching for the second time to about twenty-four poor 
 fellows in the hospital at Landour, 
 
MUSSOOREE. 165 
 
 Mussooree, May 7, 1836. 
 
 One great advantage of a pause is that it gives time for 
 prayer, for reading the Holy Scriptures, for examining the 
 heart, for seeing how the "works and armour of light" 
 go on. Here a page or two daily of Thomas a Kempis 
 comes in, and Cecil's " E-emains," and dear Bickersteth's 
 "Psalms," and Walker of Truro, and Milner. But oh, the 
 depths of evil, the waywardness, the lusts, the tardiness to 
 real spirituality, the corrupt motives, the propensity to 
 sensible things, the impenitence, the self-conceit and self- 
 importance of the human heart ! How true the sentence 
 of the Prophet, " The heart is deceitful above all things, 
 and desperately wicked : who can know it ?" Then the 
 tempers, words, actions of each day, what a fund and 
 treasury of evil! And when all this mass of defectiveness 
 and provocation is compared with the holiness of our Grod, 
 the spirituality of His law, the example of Jesus, the pro- 
 fessions we make, and the responsible office we bear, I feel 
 that nothing but a revelation of grace suits such a sinner 
 as I am. Nothing but Christ — nothing but Christ! May 
 I be found at the last day, and may all my children and 
 grandchildren be found in Him, relying on His obedience 
 unto death, sanctified by His Spirit, and following, though 
 faintly, His steps. my dearest ones, keep close to Christ. 
 Draw very nigh to Him. Adore, love, repose on, glorify 
 Him only. 
 
 We have dined with four small companies in a friendly 
 manner during these last few days. We see much good dis- 
 position, piety, readiness for church building, interest in 
 missions, and improvement in moral habits ; but there wants 
 
166 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 knowledge of the Gospel, decision, steadiness, spirituality. 
 Things, however, are marvellously better than they were 
 thirty years ago. The natives, too, are rising generally by 
 little and little. They regard their Brahmins less. They 
 acknowledge the integrity and purity of the British rule. 
 They long for English education. Commerce pushes itself 
 wider. Caste is less thought of. They live more comfort- 
 ably. Their dress, food, houses, gardens, farms, manners, 
 all improve as they come under British government. We 
 start, D.V., for Simlah by the mountain-road, on Monday 
 next. May 16th. We hope to arrive June 4th, and to 
 descend again for Loodianah, Kurnaul, Delhi, Agra, and 
 Cawnpore, in October. 
 
 Mussooree, May 11, 1836. 
 You must smile at my descanting on a debate* ten 
 months after its occurrence, and three months after your 
 perfect acquaintance with the proceedings of the present 
 session ; but so it must be till you join the two countries by 
 steam. Did you ever think of the prophetical expression, 
 " And there shall be no more sea ?" ^. e. with its separations, 
 its interposed distances, its uncertainty, its perils. 'No 
 wearisome voyages then, no storms, no banishment, no vast 
 and inaccessible barriers between the family of man ; but 
 " a highway," as it were, from Egypt to Assyria, and from 
 Assyria to Egypt : " whilst Israel," the Church, " shall be 
 the third with Egypt and Assyria, even a blessing in the 
 midst of the land." I suppose the mariner's compass and 
 the art of printing will be allowed to have prodigiously 
 
 *' Debates in English Parliament. — Editor. 
 
MUSSOOREE. 167 
 
 and incredibly tended to unite the most remote people. 
 Steam may, therefore, be another stride in the same course. 
 
 llussooree, May 12, 1836. 
 A rejoicing day to me was yesterday, in laying as it 
 were the foundation of two churches. One, the site 
 measured and staked out ; the other rather less substantial, 
 being in the form of a letter to the Governor General to 
 beg for one at Landour. At five I held my second Con- 
 firmation, and preached from Eom. xii. 1. It is one of my 
 projects to transcribe about twenty Indian sermons during 
 my five months' captivity at Simlah for private publication. 
 There is no one way in which I hope good has been more 
 decidedly done than by my difierent little works distri- 
 buted on the visitation. They are received as a favour, 
 and read and circulated, when the parties would never 
 have dreamed of purchasing them. I only wish I had 
 brought with me ten times the number I did. God be 
 praised in, and for, and by aU ! 
 
 Mussooree, May 14, 1836. 
 The other morning I was walking on my favourite roof, 
 soon now to be quitted, with my honoured father Cecil's 
 "Eemains" in my hand. I read letters 6, 7, and 8, (pp. 
 92-94), with inexpressible sympathy. His remarks on the 
 idolatry of the heart and on secret prayer, "the door being 
 shut," went through me. " Shut the door," means much, 
 says he : "it means, not only shut out nonsense, but 
 business ; not only the company abroad, but the com- 
 pany at home. It means, let thy poor soul have a Little 
 
168 . JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 rest and refresliineiit, and God have opportunity to speak 
 to tliee in a still small voice, or He will speak in thunder." 
 It was in 1798 I was first personally introduced to Mr. 
 Cecil, but I remember hearing him ten years before that 
 time in the noble church in Spitalfields. He died in 1810, 
 aged only 62 — a period which I am now so rapidly ap- 
 proaching. May his mantle repose more on me ! 
 
 Kussena, May 16, 1836. 
 
 We had a charming conclusion yesterday to our visit at 
 Mussooree, a larger proportion of the congregation remain- 
 ing to partake of the Holy Sacrament than I have witnessed 
 since I have been in the ministry. We set off at six this 
 morning, and have descended 7000 feet, through scenery 
 still more varied and beautiful than any I had before seen, 
 to this romantic village on the mysterious Jumna, with its 
 winding streams pouring along in the ravines of the moun- 
 tains. The journey was oppressive till the sun was happily 
 shrouded by the western hills. More than once we had to 
 alight and make our way through rocks and stones, and 
 sometimes, the descending path being in the form of steps 
 rudely cut in the rock, it was with the utmost diflB.culty my 
 bearers could carry the jonpon in safety. We are now 
 again in tents, after an interval of seven weeks. May God 
 preserve us ! 
 
 Luchvara, Tuesday, May 17, 1836. 
 
 Our descent this stage to the Jumna was the most pre- 
 cipitous I have yet accomplished. The river seemed about 
 400 feet below the camp, but we were forty minutes reach- 
 ing the stony bed of the stream. As we ascended the face 
 
NUGTATH. 169 
 
 of the mountain opposite to the camp, after crossing the 
 Jiunna on a bamboo bridge, the view of the rocky valley 
 through which it forced its way was most picturesque. 
 The surrounding hills, as I mentioned yesterday, formed a 
 vast bed for the torrent. I counted five ranges of different 
 heights, and all variety of tints, in sight at once, and I could 
 fancy four rivers rushing along from difierent rocks, so 
 completely were they hidden as they whirled round the base 
 of the mountains. The village consists of about 200 in- 
 habitants, who live in wretched abodes tiled with coarse 
 slates. They carry about fifty or sixty pounds weight, eight 
 or ten miles a- day, in a most awkward manner on their 
 backs. Mussooree and Simlah have enriched these villagers, 
 but to the untutored heathen money brings no habits of 
 care, forethought, or comfort ; they live on as they did, and 
 throw away in a marriage festival the savings of a year. 
 Christianity has promise of the life which now is, as well 
 as of that which is to come. 
 
 Nugtath, May 18, 1836. 
 As we travelled over the crests of the hills this morning 
 we observed some exquisitely beautiful villages perched on 
 their sides, with the cultivation pushed by shelves or steppes 
 from the extreme valley to the summit. Every spot has 
 been turned to account here, as in Switzerland, ever since 
 the British conquests began to give them security of person 
 and property in 1816-18. Their health and comfort have 
 equally advanced. Nothing can exceed the frightful state 
 in which the British found them. Slavery was prevalent. 
 Female infanticide was common. Colonel Young, who is 
 king here, took me in the evening to see the female children, 
 
170 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 a practice lie always pursues when he goes through the 
 hills. The children are numbered in his presence. Imagine, 
 ye tender Christian mothers in England, the state of your 
 heathen fellow-creatures on these hills, where the chief 
 officers go round to count the female children, lest they 
 should have been destroyed by their own mothers that bare 
 them ! This joins on with the abomination of four or five 
 husbands living with one wife, to sustain the pride of 
 which latter, the females must be kept few in niunber. 
 You may now ask a great lord who is his father, and he 
 will tell you he has four fathers. Perpetual feuds and 
 bloodshed were another feature. What would you think, 
 
 dearest L , of the dance we witnessed last night at 
 
 Luckwara, in which three drawn swords were in the hands 
 of females, whose skill consisted in conducting a sham fight 
 without wounding their companions, male or female, all 
 their sword exercise being regulated by the rude music of 
 the village band, till at the last a single combat was danced 
 between a woman and a man, each with a drawn scimitar 
 and iron shield. I assure you the glittering weapons were 
 not a little terrible. The distinction, not of caste but of 
 miasters and slaves, remains, though the sale of human flesh 
 and bones is abolished in the English territories. At Luck- 
 wara there are two towns, the one of free men, the other of 
 descendants of slaves, who cultivate the lands and have 
 wages in corn, not in money — one of those anti-social 
 practices which must give way to civilization. The lands 
 were never cultivated under the heathen rule ; no tradesmen 
 visited them ; their hill stockades and Goorka troops with- 
 stood all attempts to penetrate their country, through 
 
SHANMA POKEER. 171 
 
 wMcli no roads were formed. Now, aU is cliangmg by 
 degrees. 
 
 I had a Idnd of levee last evening at my tent-door, 
 wliere Abraham sat in the cool of the day, and through. 
 Colonel Young gave them the best advice I could. I sup- 
 pose fifty of the officers of the village were present with 
 their people. They replied much as the Thugs at Jyepoor : 
 " We did not know it was wrong till the EngKsh told us. 
 Now we no longer do this or that." They complained, 
 however, that all the children born in their villages were 
 females. Of course I did not, and do not, beKeve them ; but 
 the Sennaha, or head-man, told us gravely that there were 
 seven or eight girls born to one boy. I take such a state- 
 ment as a proof of a lurking inclination still to female 
 murder. 
 
 Shanma Pokeer, May 20, 1836. 
 
 Our course to-day has been extremely pleasant. We 
 are encamped, like Israel at Elim, near the waters. From 
 our hill we have the view of a circle of mountains skirting 
 the valley towards the north, dotted over with villages. It 
 is a great advantage to have the nominal king. Col. Young, 
 with us ; for at each encampment all the native officers 
 collect, all petty suits are adjudged, and I have an inter- 
 preter near at hand. I visit the villages ; I inquire into 
 manners and customs ; I trace the moral tendency of 
 heathenism in a mountainous country. Last night, after 
 dinner, I sat for two hours with Col. Young whilst he was 
 hearing complaints. Nothing could be more patriarchal : 
 he was seated at tiis tent-door ; his chief officer from the 
 Doon was with him ; the Punchazet of five elders, as a kind 
 
172 JOimNAL LETTERS. 
 
 of jury, accompanied him from Luckwara. The village- 
 writer was there, to draw up summonses and take deposi- 
 tions. A crowd of friends of the parties surrounded us. 
 The first complaint was made by a lad who had been robbed 
 as he was travelling on the hills. Deposition taken. How 
 many fathers had he? — Two. Were they living? — 'No ; 
 dead. What relations ? — An uncle : upon whose appear- 
 ance the thieves were ordered to be summoned to this place 
 by the Punchazet. The next case was that of an elderly 
 woman, whose land had been seized, and herself driven out 
 from her home as a witch. How many husbands had she ? 
 — Fourteen voices claimed her. Which did she choose to 
 maintain her cause ? — She pointed out one. The Puncha- 
 zet was directed to inquire and report also to-day. Third 
 case, a widow, complaining that she was driven from home 
 and refused any food by her son. He also complained that 
 his mother had poisoned his father. How many fathers 
 had he ? — Two : one living, one dead. How had his father 
 been poisoned? — By witchcraft. What proof? — His father 
 died. Sentence : Punchazet to inquire into facts, and 
 report. I begged the Colonel to tell them that in one 
 evening three cases of cruelty and inhumanity had been 
 brought forward, all springing from the unlawful practice 
 of more than one husband : hence jealousies, feuds, absence 
 of domestic happiness, disobedience and rebellion of child- 
 ren, uncertainty of inheritance, charges of witchcraft, neg- 
 lect and cruelty to the aged. I told them that God was 
 very angry with them ; that female infanticide being now 
 prohibited, plurality of husbands must cease also ; and that 
 I hoped they would consider the Christian people's religion. 
 
DEOBUND. 173 
 
 In what a fearful state is corrupt man ! Tliey appear to 
 have few priests, and few notions of religion. Each hill 
 has its deity. Daughters are disposed of for a dowry of 
 fifteen or twenty rupees.. Suttees used to prevail, till Lord 
 William Bentinck^s noble prohibition. Charges of witch- 
 craft are now dismissed by Col. Young. There is a water- 
 fall four miles from this place, where witches used to be 
 thrown down. If they were innocent, it was believed 
 they would escape ; if not, perish. But the fall was so tre- 
 mendous that few, if any, ever escaped. Lord, send out 
 Thy light ! 
 
 Deohund, May 21, 1836. 
 
 I find many difiiculties, but God is my help ! to Him I 
 make known all my cause ; to Him I look to undertake 
 for me. I am ignorant, feeble, subject to passions like 
 other men, blind to my real faults, insensibly afiected by 
 the new and strange circumstances in which I have been 
 and am placed ; in danger where I perhaps least suspect ; 
 entrusted with a superintendence which must be perilous 
 to my own soul. I desire, therefore, to " fall into the 
 hands of the Lord, and not into the hands of man." I 
 have found all through my ministry that things soon get 
 right if I can but keep myself calm and wait for God. They 
 only become irreparable when obstinacy and pride, and by- 
 ends and worldliness, and self and departures in heart from 
 Christ, lie at the bottom of the wound and fester there. 
 Who ever reached the crown of glory without the cross 
 which leads to it? Not one. 
 
 Deohund, May 22, 1836. 
 
 I rise after a stormy night, with tremendous lightning 
 
174 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 and mucli rain, to calm my mind in the holy, dove-like 
 influences and comforts of the Great Teacher. How sin- 
 gular that I should spend a Whitsunday 8000 feet above 
 the level of my ordinary travels, with the first fearful and 
 even dangerous storm that I have encountered since I have 
 been in India ! for deaths by lightning and the conflagra- 
 tion of houses and tents on these extreme summits are very 
 common. Three or four bungalows have been destroyed. 
 Thank God, we are all safe ! though I scarcely closed my 
 eyes all night, the howling storm made my fragile abode 
 quiver in so fearful a mamier. I did what I hope I shall 
 always be enabled to do in such circumstances — commend 
 my soul, body, camp, family at home and here, brethren, 
 country, to the One Almighty Potentate in Jesus Christ. 
 
 "We shall meet six to-day in public service, instead of 
 the 1800 at Meerut ; but more good may possibly be done, 
 and we are within the promise. God goes a way by Himself. 
 Christ's presence is all. 
 
 Kuttanah, May 23, 1836. 
 
 I am seated now on the side of a hill, with a vast valley 
 stretching 600 feet below, bounded on the right and left by 
 lofty rocks, which shut up the ravine. The sun has climbed 
 over the eastern mountains, but its rays are innoxious ; 
 the thermometer on my writing-desk, which is supported 
 by a small jutting step of the rock on which I am sitting, 
 is 64°. The face of the opposite mountains, with their 
 shelving sides descending into the valley till they are in- 
 tercepted from my view by the trees in the extreme bottom, 
 is exquisite. The Captain, with his gun, is perched on a 
 knoll half-way down, shooting ; the bearers are going off 
 
KUTTAXAH. 175 
 
 in different parties down the Mil to tlie Tillages, which 
 stud the whole beautiful amphitheatre : three or four are 
 in my eye at once, the first directly under my feet, on a 
 little table-land green and blooming like Devonshire ; the 
 little slate -roofed huts, like those of Switzerland, seem 
 built to resist the winter -torrents. The eye follows this 
 village and its surrounding small corn-fields till it fixes 
 on the second small village of the prospect, half-way up 
 the face of the opposite mountain, the winding footpath 
 between them assists this discovery ; whilst on the summit 
 of the path a third large village crowns the scene in that 
 quarter. On the left of all this, a division of fir and cedar- 
 clad hills climbs up to the heavens; the line of shadow 
 is retreating as the sun mounts higher, and has just fixed 
 my notice on a fourth intervening hamlet, lower than all 
 the preceding. But the bugle has now sounded, to note 
 that breakfast will be ready in an hour. How glorious is 
 our Grod in the works of His providence ! Oh that we. His 
 rational creation, were obeying His will as ^Nature doth ! 
 Why should our God have strewed such beauties over His 
 works ? Why caused that exquisite green to clothe the 
 meadows and hills all around ? Why adapted Nature to 
 create pleasure in almost all her aspects ? Why have pro- 
 vided remedies for incidental evils? Why have placed 
 man in a position where his reason and foresight are per- 
 petually demanded to avert those evils by preparing for 
 them? And what an analogy is there between all this 
 and the system of remedies in revelation by the Son and 
 Spirit of Grod ? And what infinitely higher beauties are 
 the moral ones of a Divine Redeemer and His work! 
 
176 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 Grace teaches what nature fails to do, since the fall of 
 Adam. 
 
 Our ascent, or rather climb, on Saturday, to Deobund, 
 was tremendously sublime and awful. At one pass I had 
 two men holding me as I clambered up, one under each 
 arm ; two pulling before me with a rope thrown round my 
 waist ; and a fifth sustaining me behind. A few weeks ago 
 the snow lay so thick here that two officers turned back : 
 it was as high as their chests. The villagers bring us up 
 masses of snow every day, but we have not yet regained 
 the sight of the sun's range in its brilliancy, as we saw it 
 at Mussooree and Landour. A musk-deer was brought up, 
 a very delicate animal ; we gave eight rupees for it : the 
 musk-bag, a wonderful provision of nature, the tusks and 
 the skin, are much sought after. The rocks are now chiefly 
 of limestone formation ; the trees, firs, larches, and cedars, 
 emitting a charming fragrance. We are too high for 
 agriculture or grazing. Lower down the rocks are of a 
 clayey slate and exfoliated gypsum. Cultivation there 
 abounds : every patch is made the most of in a rude way. 
 My mind is much affected with the state of the poor people 
 who inhabit these high regions. I think one or two mis- 
 sionaries here, with God's blessing, would do much good. 
 Satan has overdone himself. The profligacy of the Hindoos 
 of the plain is bad enoiigh, but here it is still worse. It 
 would fall before the least instruction ; their small villages, 
 their agricultural occupations, their simplicity, the absence 
 of Brahmins and temples, would afford singular advantages 
 for schools and other missionary labour. Their numbers 
 are considerable. 
 
BUSSOURAH. 177 
 
 Bussourah, May 27, 1836. 
 "We have been hitherto much favoured in our journey. 
 Providence has been most kind to us. Kain has fallen 
 every afternoon since it began on Saturday at Deobund — 
 what we call the " small rains," in opposition to " the 
 rains" which come down for three months in torrents. 
 The refreshing coolness is delightful. We arrived here 
 this morning, after passing through an exquisitely beau- 
 tiful country. The Rajah has sent his head-officer, with 
 hurkurus and bunjians (messengers and tradesmen with 
 a market) to attend us ; and a hundred coolies (labourers) 
 to " prepare our way," level roughnesses, smooth spots for 
 our tents, repair roads and bridges. In fact, this is one 
 amongst a thousand illustrations of scriptural imagery, 
 Isa. xl. 4 ; but the reference in this case is almost too 
 sacred for me to apply it. But the oxen treading out the 
 corn in an area or corn-floor meets us at every turn. The 
 use of mules and asses for travelling in the hilly country 
 of Palestine, where, as here, no carriages could make their 
 way, is too obvious to be remarked ; as well as the couches 
 (dhoolies) and simple rugs on which the people sleep, and 
 which they carry with them wherever they move, John 
 V. 11, as a matter of course, forming, as they commonly 
 do, a part of their clothing. The constant need of guides 
 from village to village, where there are no public roads, is 
 more striking than in countries like England. The living 
 in tents, strangers and pilgrims— not only as passing 
 through, but as persons unknown in the land — and the 
 taking down these frail tabernacles, so that in five minutes 
 after we have quitted them they are removed, are very 
 
 N 
 
178 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 instructive ; for sucli are our feeble bodies, and sucb life 
 itself. 2 Pet. i. 14. Then tbe messenger, or dak carrier, 
 known at a distance by his swift running and his being 
 alone, daily rejoices us. 2 Sam. xviii. 24-26. The 
 periodical rains, twice each year, with no intervening 
 showers, are as much looked for here as in Palestine. 
 Hos. vi. 3. The beasts of the field carrying ofi" a sheep 
 from the fold, and even children from the hovel, are so 
 common in India, that five rupees are given by Govern- 
 ment for every tiger's skin. The presents with which 
 you are approached continue as in Old Testament times. 
 I was obliged to take four rupees yesterday from the 
 Eajah's son, which he brought in his hand as a matter of 
 course, and placed in mine before he saluted me. The long 
 and ceremonious nature of the salutations, with three pro- 
 found bows and the hands closed, and a silent waiting till 
 you invite the stranger to speak, illustrates such passages 
 as Luke x. 4. The gods of the valleys, and those of the 
 hills, is an idolatrous distinction in full vigour. There is 
 a wretched temple, like a Chinese pagoda, on the crest of 
 the village mountain here : whilst on our way daily, " the 
 shadow of a great rock in a weary land" makes an im- 
 mense difierence in the fatigue of the whole camp. And 
 to conclude what now occurs to me, as I have fallen on 
 
 the topic, I was much afiected as J read Neh. v. in 
 
 morning prayer this very day, with the " bondsmen'' 
 which fill these hills. Pray tell Mr. Buxton that India 
 is replete with a sort of slavery or tyranny in such a 
 state of society as this. Christianity alone brings true 
 liberty. 
 
CHEPUL. 179 
 
 Chepul, May 28, 1836. 
 
 We have again ascended 8000 feet, after a fearful 
 marcli yesterday afternoon in the " deadly valley," as it 
 is termed, of Peontra, the heat in which was so excessive 
 that I scarcely remember a fiercer conflagration. In the 
 evening we deplorably missed Colonel Young. The head- 
 men came, some of them very fine figures ; but I could 
 make Kttle out, — no cutcherry, no development of habits, 
 no ready interpreter, no friendly influence. " My heart is 
 fixed on devising some means for the instruction of Col. 
 Young's people, many of whom, notwithstanding their 
 simpKcity and ignorance, appreciate the immense benefits 
 already accruing from British rule. If a leading man in 
 a village were to welcome the blessed Gospel, probably all 
 the little community would do the same, as " Lydia and 
 her house," "the jailor and all his ;" whereas at Calcutta, 
 and in all large towns, however much the people are con- 
 vinced of Christianity, they fear to profess it because of 
 their priests, and sisters and wives, and female relatives : 
 for the stronghold of superstition is in the female mind. 
 AYhat fine powerful missionaries also would these strong- 
 minded mountaineers make ! whereas the Hindoos of the 
 plain are feeble, efieminate, childish, nothing, without 
 European guidance. Possibly a native ministry might 
 begin in the Himalayas, God being our helper. 
 
 How full of instruction has been our tour ! How full 
 of delight ! What new discoveries have we made of the 
 wonders of Providence, and of the majesty,, power, and 
 goodness of God ! Then, the information I have obtained 
 
 I 
 
180 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 about the moral and social state of 20,000 or 30,000 fel- 
 low-creatures is invaluable, and will, as I hope, lead to 
 some plan for their gradual illumination with the light of 
 Christ. Nor is it a small thing to have seen the Eefuge 
 for the European constitution which Providence has, by 
 the arms of Lord Hastings, placed within our reach. The 
 Church now actually rising at Mussooree, and the impres- 
 sion made by Divine grace on 300 or 400 souls, as I trust, 
 is another topic of gratitude. I can truly say for myself 
 also, that human life resembles these mountain journeys. 
 It is a series of efforts for overcoming difficulties. You 
 think all accomplished when the first summits are gained, 
 but these only open hills upon hills. Then, the doubling 
 of the tracks round the recesses of the mountain-sides re- 
 minds one of the long, deceitful, weary way of the Christ- 
 ian's life, in which objects seem far nearer than they 
 really are, and the path to excellence doubles round the 
 intervening obstacles. The safety, however, obtained by 
 the circuitous path, whereas the immediate one would be 
 precipitous and fatal, teaches us how our Saviour may be 
 leading us by " a right way to a city of habitation." The 
 Pisgah views, also, which open at some lovely spots, when 
 the heavens are serene and the soft light gilds the distant 
 objects, may remind us of Moses viewing the promised 
 land ; whilst the fine views unknown to fame, which rise 
 and terminate within these mountains, content to augment 
 the celebrate floods of the Jimina and the Ganges, are em- 
 blems of the humble Christians' course, which passes on 
 in silence, and is satisfied with increasing unknown the 
 
CHEPUL. .181 
 
 peace and salvation of all around them. Oh for this 
 shrinking, meek spirit, to walk silently with our God 
 more and more ! 
 
 We are now going on to Simlah for a five months' re- 
 sidence, or nearly so. 'New scenes of duty will open upon 
 me from all quarters when I reach this place, and am 
 known to be stationary. May I be prepared, by true 
 annihilation of soul and tender faith, to meet them in a 
 right spirit ! 
 
182 
 
 CHAPTER YII. 
 
 Anund Messeeh — Family Trials — Labour stopped on Sunday^ 
 Encouraging Services — A celebrated Faqueer — Study of San- 
 scrit — Interesting Discussion between Dyce Messeeh and a 
 Vakeel — Quit Simlah — Sabathoo — Descent to Plains — Hea- 
 then Sacrifice — Loodiana — The Koran — The Travellers' 
 Serai — Kurnaul — Interesting Visit of Two Hindoos — Ordina- 
 tion of Anund Messeeh — Ruins of Paniput — Delhi — The 
 Great Mosque — Consecration of St. James's Church — Visit 
 to the King of Delhi — Mahometan Worship — Improvement 
 of Country — Arrival at Agra — Tomb of Ackbar — Abdoul 
 Messeeh's House — Church Missionary Premises. 
 
 Simlah, June 21, 1836. 
 I HAD yesterday the peculiar pleasure of seeing Anund 
 Messeeh,* the first native Christian in India. He showed 
 me a testimonial given him by Bishop Heber in 1824, 
 which very much affected me. It closes by recommending 
 him, " in case of my death, to any one who may succeed me 
 as Bishop of Calcutta." He is a catechist of the Church 
 Missionary Society, and a very superior man ; able, power- 
 ful, simple in his love to Christ, well instructed in the 
 Bible, humble. He has stood his ground twenty-two 
 years. I look forward to him as an instrument of good. I 
 have written to the Church Missionary Committee at Cal- 
 
 * This convert afterwards somewhat disappointed these ex- 
 pectations. — Editor. 
 
SIMLAH. 183 
 
 cutta to give him a title for orders, and hope to ordain 
 
 him before I leave. 
 
 Simlah, July 3, 1836. 
 
 I have been walking in my verandah with dear Bicker- 
 steth's Hymn Book in my hand. No. 127, by C. Wesley, 
 beginning with — 
 
 " Full of trembling expectation, 
 Feeling much and fearing more," 
 
 is one of the finest hymns I know, and has been my medi- 
 tation this morning, as the dark thick clouds and pouring 
 rain were surrounding these noble hills ; which, however, 
 remain unmoved, for the succeeding days of sunshine and 
 fertility. And so the soul, fixed on the Eternal Rock, 
 should view undisturbed these changes of sin and sorrow, 
 waiting for the returning beams and fruitful influence of 
 
 grace. The health of is one of the trials to which 
 
 my Heavenly Father calls me. Her face can no longer 
 cheer me ; but Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, to-day, 
 and for ever, is enough. I may myself be sent home by 
 failure of health any day. But so long as India can re- 
 store me, I shall never, never, never quit the scene of my 
 joy, India ; and I hope to live to receive some of my dear 
 grand- children on this glorious field of labour. Oh, may 
 God direct ! Here I am in my Patmos, my retirement, 
 my spot for meditation and prayer, full of business, over- 
 whelmed with correspondence, sermons, preparations for 
 work. Oh for more grace to vanquish Satan, to glorify 
 Christ, and to act with wisdom, meekness, humility, courage ! 
 
 Simlah, July 10, 1836. . 
 Thank God, we begin hopefully this morning. Instead 
 
184 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 of clouds and rain, and mountains of fog, the glorious sun 
 illumines the sides of the distant rocks, lights on the bun- 
 galows of Sabathoo, shines full on the gable-end of our 
 little church, and throws into strong relief the bazaar and 
 bungalows around it. May the Sun of Righteousness thus 
 also arise with His healing beams ! I have just dismissed 
 all the poor coolies, whom I found entering on their heavy 
 work of fetching earth in baskets from the valley to repair 
 my mud roof. I called up the head-man, told him it was 
 Sunday, day of rest — no work ; poor men must go home 
 and be in peace ; to-morrow return and finish roof. They 
 looked full of astonishment. Oh, how much more tender 
 is God Almighty than man, the slave of idolatry and lust ! 
 We have but little opportunity now of making remarks 
 on the native character. The hill labourers and bazaar 
 people are bad specimens of the mountaineers, and the 
 crowds of our domestic servants still worse. The multi- 
 tude of nautch girls, as they are termed, is very offensive 
 as you pass through the close narrow bazaar. There is no 
 shame, as in Christian countries. They sit about all day in 
 the shops or upper apartments. The indolence of the na- 
 tive character obtrudes itself on every eye. They lie about 
 sleeping, even from the earliest morning, without any notion 
 of having anything to do, except when roused for some 
 special service. Repose is their element ; work is strange. 
 And when they do begin, they perch themselves first on 
 their heels and gently move their arms and tools. Repose, 
 sugar, sweetmeats, sleep, indulgence of animal appetites, 
 constitute their ideas of felicity. A Baboo is a mass of 
 ghee and sugar. Such is man in the nineteenth century, 
 
SIMLAH. 185 
 
 after 3000 years of a certain class of civilization. I say 
 nothing of their lies, impurity, cruelty, malicious passions, 
 and idolatry. 
 
 I received on Monday a most delightful letter from 
 dear Corrie, Bishop of Madras. The caste is nearly abolished 
 at Tanjore and Trichinopoly. Of 10,000 people, there are 
 not more than 200 who resist my regulations, and these 
 are persons who never thought of coming to church till 
 the question of caste was to be fought about. The success, 
 therefore, of this step has been more general, and quite as 
 speedy, as I could have expected. The Syrian Christians 
 in the neighbourhood of Cochin, to the number of about 
 300, have renounced their superstitions and invited the 
 
 labours of Mr. R , our Church Missionary. At 
 
 Cotyam, also, things are moving on. 
 
 Simlah, August 27, 1836. 
 Nature blooms and luxuriates on these fine hills, flowers 
 of all species are bursting forth on the mountain-tops from 
 Nature's own garden. The air is soft and salubrious. Here 
 let the sick Missionary retreat, instead of losing three years 
 in voyages home, with immense expense to the Society and 
 vast intervals in his missionary and spiritual duties. The 
 rides are now exquisite. As I was turning one of the 
 mountain-sides this evening, I was struck with the appear- 
 ance of a magnificent rainbow on the broad face of the 
 mountain unmediately before me, thrown out in the clearest 
 outline, every one of the colours glorious, and the entire 
 span of the semicircle defined till its feet were lost in the 
 deep valley. The arched bow was as high as the lofty rock 
 
186 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 itself. How well do I remember the joy dear took, 
 
 in the sight of the bow of God, and the remembrance of 
 the blessed covenant of which it was, and is, the seal ! 
 
 Sept. 5, 1836. 
 
 We had a charming day yesterday. Every creature 
 upon whom the drawing and attracting power of truth 
 could work, crowded to our little bungalow church. The 
 attention, both morning and afternoon, was most profound ; 
 really they seem as if they would devour the words as you 
 deliver them. May God grant the effectual blessing by 
 His Spirit ! I went up the other day to the extreme sum- 
 mit of OUT mountain, to visit a celebrated faqueer, who has 
 lived there for many years in absolute solitude and almost 
 total nakedness. I never saw such an unnatural effect of a 
 dark idolatry. He has a miserable hovel filled with idols, 
 and a kind of garden with a rude enclosure. He professes 
 that he shall never die, and that lightning will never fall 
 on him. The poor hill natives maintaiu him, and indeed 
 supply him with food and little luxuries. He has a crafty, 
 diabolical look, and when we saw him he was cooking his 
 dinner. And this poor creature is the object of veneration ! 
 "What must the standard of holiness and devotion be, to 
 admit of it ? and how earnestly should we labour and 
 pray that the light of Christ may soon dissipate all this 
 darkness ! 
 
 Animd Messeeh's eldest son came up here on Saturday. 
 He has neither the force of character nor prepossessing ap- 
 pearance of his father, but I hope to train him for a Mis- 
 sionary if God grant him grace. He comes to me every 
 
SIMLAH. 187 
 
 morning to prayers. Then I read and talk to him for three 
 hours in my oriental studies. I have begun to look into 
 the fabulous and ancient Sanscrit. Dr. Mill's " History 
 of Christ" is what I read. I shall not pretend to make 
 any proficiency, but it becomes me, if I can, not to be 
 wholly ignorant of the learned tongue of India. The fol- 
 lowing is a very pleasing prayer Dyce Messeeh (for such is 
 his name) made on Tuesday in Sanscrit : " I worship Thee, 
 Lord, who art the everlasting Lord, made up of know- 
 ledge. Cause Thou my mind to4)e right in understanding 
 the wisdom of Thy holy Scriptures. I pray only unto Thee, 
 because I see not another except Thee who art the increaser 
 of wisdom, and benefactor, and Saviour." This is entirely 
 his own, composed in Sanscrit, and translated also by him- 
 self. Sanscrit is a most elegant and copious tongue, but 
 infinitely difficult. 
 
 We received on Friday a most beautiful present of fine 
 grapes, brought from the interior of the hills beyond the 
 Berendah Pass, on the other bank of the Sutledge river. 
 No rains fall in that district, the intervening rocks fonning 
 the barrier between the climate of Hindoostan and that of 
 Thibet and Tartary, where the Chinese Empire meets ours. 
 The vineyard is on the eastern face of a mountain, covered 
 for five months of the year with snow. The heat during 
 the summer matures as fine grapes as any in the world, 
 except those in our EngKsh hothouses : the soil is poor, as 
 in most grape countries the trees run along the ground. 
 At the proper seasons a dak is laid to bring them in baskets, 
 every three or four days. The Sutledge is a superb river, 
 rising in Chinese Tartary, running through Cashmere and 
 
188 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 falling into tlie Indus, and forming the boundary between 
 the British, possessions and those of Runjeet Singh. At 
 a place called Kotghur a bridge is thrown across, composed 
 of ten single ropes, merely affixed to trees on the opposite 
 banks, and not even united by any transverse cords. The 
 passengers are placed in a sort of basket of cords, and tied 
 firmly around the waist in case of giddiness, and then, at a 
 signal, pulled across the bed of the river at a height of 
 sixty feet. 
 
 Sept. 28, 1836. 
 My young convert, Dyce Messeeh, goes on very well. I 
 spend all my mornings from breakfast till my time for 
 exercise with him, dividing myself between Sanscrit and 
 Hindoostanee. On Saturday the Yakeel of a hill E-ajah, a 
 considerable person, came to him, to know what religion 
 the Christian was. My young man told him. He an- 
 swered, " The Hindoo religion is the best, and unless the 
 Christian doctrine is in the Hindoo books I cannot believe 
 it." My convert said, very smartly, "That is unfair. 
 Every religion must be learned from its own books. If 
 you do not compare different books, and the evidences they 
 rest on, you cannot come to the truth. If you will let me 
 read the history of Christ to you, you will know what 
 Christians believe, and then you will be prepared to examine 
 the evidences we have to offer. The Yakeel agreed. Dyce 
 read the three first chapters of St. Luke, the 1st of St. John, 
 the 26th and 27th of St. Matthew. The Yakeel said, " All 
 was very good ; but how came the Christians not to act 
 according to it ?" Dyce distinguished those who were real 
 from those who were nominal Christians. Two hours had 
 
SABATHOO. 189 
 
 passed ; it was evening, and the Hindoo retired. Now, was 
 not this very good — capitally prompt and skilful? If 
 Grod is pleased to bless the Yakeel will come again. I 
 hope Zaccheus's curiosity will appear. 
 
 We are now beginning all the misery of packing. On 
 Monday week, please God, we descend to Sabathoo, after 
 four months' delicious retreat on these mountains. 
 
 Seyric, Monday, Oct. 10, 1836. 
 
 At length, through God's goodness, we have made our 
 first move. This morning, soon after six, many of my Httle 
 congregation would accompany me a few miles on our way, 
 and one kind lady had prepared coffee and rusks at the last 
 house in the station, about three miles on the road. Here 
 we alighted. There was quite a congregation ; amongst 
 the rest Col. Hamilton, who had received Bp. Heber near 
 Neemuch in 1825. As we parted I begged them to pause 
 a moment. All stood uncovered whilst I offered one or 
 two petitions to Almighty God, and pronounced a blessing. 
 We then parted. 
 
 Sahdthoo, Thursday, Oct. 13, 1836. 
 
 This moimtain station was taken from the Goorkas in 
 1816. You cannot imagine a more lovely spot. A steep 
 valley surrounds it, beyond which the rocks of Simlah rise 
 in magnificent prospect. We are now in a beautiful 
 bungalow, built on a wall on the margin of the parade. 
 Immediately out of the three windows of the room where 
 I am now sitting the valley descends on all sides, so pre- 
 cipitously that it makes one giddy to look down. The road 
 on Monday, as we approached Sabathoo, was very pictur- 
 
190 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 esque, especially at a narrow pass between two jutting 
 rocks, through which the small Gumber river, clear as 
 crystal, forces its way, leaving a dubious path for the 
 traveller. In the rains a suspended bridge is opened for 
 the passage. "We forded the stream without danger, and 
 then ascended perhaps 1000 feet, as we had previously 
 descended, in a fine road cut on the sides of the mountain, 
 and commanding the fruitful valley or ravine, with the 
 face of the opposite rocks covered with vegetation. There 
 are about 800 Goorka troops, who are as faithful and brave 
 now as when they defended these mountains. We rode 
 for an hour and a half before dinner yesterday with the 
 Adjutant, through an enchanting valley filled with rice- 
 fields, five times deluged each year with water by channels 
 — "blessed are ye that sow beside many waters" — with 
 ginger plantations and gardens, whilst in the extreme 
 depth the Gumber was making its way to the Sutledge. 
 The 800 Goorkas give a liveliness also to the place ; per- 
 petual drumming, and fifing, and marching, with enormous 
 bazaars running up the sides of the hills surrounding the 
 parade, and intermixed with the soldiers' lines, and forming 
 with the white bungalows the most delightful scenery 
 imaginable. But, oh, the interior misery of a heathen 
 population ! When you ride through the bazaar, and look 
 into their shops and houses, and see the ruinous, filthy, 
 disordered state of their abodes, with their wretched wives 
 and children, or when you inquire into their habits and 
 learn that they are at this moment devoting ten days to 
 the particular worship of Kalee, a murderous female deity, 
 who delights in blood and has a necklace of human heads, 
 
TAJOUR. 191 
 
 you shudder at tlie horrible disgrace and shame of our 
 apostate nature. During these ten days as many animal 
 \dctims as possible are offered, and on the last day there is 
 a great festival, during which the head of a buffalo is 
 struck off by a Brahmin, in solemn sacrifice to the goddess. 
 
 Tajour, Oct. 17, 1836. 
 Having had a week to accustom ourselves to the heat 
 of the plains, we have now recommenced our journey. We 
 have marched several hours through an exquisitely lovely 
 valley, or rather series of valleys, wide, fruitful, smiling. 
 It is impossible to describe the goodness of God in the 
 variety of the wonders of creation, and how the labour of 
 man overcomes the diflB.culties of climate and situation. 
 The men also are fine, tall, strong, vigorous. But oh, the 
 miserable superstition which binds them as in chains of 
 iron ! Yesterday afternoon, as we were passing to dinner, 
 we were attracted by the parade of the military, who were 
 celebrating an annual sacrifice ; all the natives from the 
 bazaar were crowding around in their best attire, drums 
 beating, trumpets blowing, standards and flags displayed. 
 A circle was at last formed. Brahmins advanced. Fires 
 were Kghted. Offerings of rice and flowers were prepared. 
 A child dressed up in gaudy clothes was brought forward, 
 and a dhooly, a kind of palky borne by two men, was 
 placed in the midst. The victim, a goat, was next placed 
 near the centre, and various sprinklings and Anointings 
 were performed. A Brahmin lastly advanced with a 
 crooked knife, large as a sickle, and with a single stroke 
 cut off the head of the goat. All the implements of hus- 
 
 I 
 
192 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 bandry and of cooking were placed around. I was much, 
 distressed and agitated. It was the first sacrifice I had 
 seen. It was ofiered to the bloody Kalee. I could not 
 learn the particular design, and I had not my books with 
 me. Eevelry, drunkenness, and debauchery, dancing men 
 and dancing women, close the hideous festival. Such is 
 the degeneracy of fallen man ; such the offerings of right- 
 eous Abel and faithful Abraham, corrupted in the lapse of 
 ages. Oh, when will the Lord vouchsafe to look upon us 
 in India ! 
 
 Nulla Ghur, Oct. 18, 1836. 
 The Eajah of this place has kindly afforded me the use 
 of a bungalow. There are no windows, but four doors in 
 it. We have had an affecting lesson this morning of our 
 continual dependence on Providence. Our captain of escort 
 was thrown violently from his horse at a sudden turn of 
 the road, and taken up senseless. We trust no serious 
 consequences may follow, but the event is doubtful. We 
 are now in the country lying between the Jumna and the 
 Sutledge, having passed through the valley of Pinjor. We 
 are now in the plains. The country belongs to a variety 
 of petty rajahs, some of whom came to meet me this morn- 
 ing. Rice-fields abound, but no inclosures, no pasturage, 
 no cultivated farms ; a wild disorder stunts the prodigious 
 exuberance of the soil. There is no security of person or 
 property, no openings of commerce, no possibility of rising 
 
 from the *aste where fate has placed you. J was 
 
 refused water for our sick captain at an adjoining village, 
 and was compelled, under such circumstances, to take 
 it by force. Hindooism would leave a sick stranger to 
 
ROOPOOR. 193 
 
 perish. Oli, what a monster is man when infuriated 
 by Idolatry ! 
 
 Eoopoor, Oct. 19, 1836. 
 
 We came thirteen miles this morning over a very diffi- 
 cult country, the whole of which has been inundated 
 within the last month ; so that watercourses, streams, stony 
 beds of torrents, deep sand, jungle, the grass of which is 
 seven or eight feet high, rendered our way a little perilous. 
 Captain Wade, the political agent, came to meet us with 
 boats and tents, and servants and food. He is a most 
 well-informed and pious person, and has been many years 
 in India. We have had a long conversation on the Seik, 
 the Sutledge, the Indus, the Punjaub, education, native 
 rule, and Christianity. The Seiks are a sect of Hindoos, 
 founded about 350 years since by Baboo Namuch. They 
 have priests and temples, but worship no idols. They are, 
 indeed, supposed to be pure Deists. Their government 
 is detestable from negligence, bribery, caprice, oppression,, 
 the insecurity of person and property. It never enters 
 into a prince's thoughts to seek the welfare of his people. 
 His object is the largest amount of revenue, and the most 
 complete effeminacy, luxury, and self-indulgence, with im- 
 purities incredible. what a blessing is Christianity, 
 even in a temporal point of view ! One single principle of 
 Christian morals is worth the whole mass of superstitious 
 commandments. WeU, things are moving on, as I humbly 
 trust. 
 
 Loodianah, Oct. 21, 1836. 
 
 We arrived here last evening, having crossed the Sut- 
 ledge river, in ten hours ; which, considering our boats, 
 
 I 
 
194 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 and men, and oars, and the shallows which frequently im- 
 peded our progress, was excellent travelling. There are 
 about sixty-five Christians here, of whom twenty are ready 
 for confirmation. My little Hindoostanee and Sanscrit are 
 daily coming into play. I am sending off my convert, 
 Dyce, to read to them the Confirmation Service. 
 
 We drove round the cantonments and native town last 
 evening, before dinner. I never saw such an immensely 
 spacious town, built of mud houses, with wide bazaars, and 
 increased fourfold since we were in possession, from the 
 security of person and property which is instantly diffused. 
 Thousands of Cashmere inhabitants, driven by famine and 
 oppression from their lovely valley, fled here two years 
 since, and brought their wonderful shawl manufactories 
 with them. A few wealthy merchants are building brick 
 bazaars. A fine silver thread is made here, which English 
 artists, it is said, cannot produce. The shawl- weavers and 
 silver- workers have been all day in this portico displaying 
 their skill. 
 
 Oct 4, 1836. 
 
 We performed divine service yesterday in the large 
 room of a vacant house. I preached as strong and awaken- 
 ing a sermon as I could. This morning I have held a 
 durbar, and visited the native school under the American 
 Missionary. Youths from Lahore, Caubul, Cashmere, and 
 the Punjaub, are assembled to learn English. Most 
 affecting was it to see England the centre of attraction to 
 this extreme verge of civilization on the Sutledge. To- 
 morrow I hold a Confirmation and consecrate the church- 
 yard. 
 
LOODIANAH. 195 
 
 We are in sight of the snowy ridges of the Himalaya. 
 The land is jungly, with very little cultivation ; but the 
 soil is, just as in England, fine mould, and would be capa- 
 ble of infinite fruitfulness, if there were good laws, a just 
 government, and a spring of industry in the religion and 
 morals of the people. India is one of the most fertile 
 countries in the universe, with fine rivers, harbours, mines, 
 cities, sea-coasts, but Satan rules. At Jesselmere, lately, 
 a Hindoo devotee buried himself alive for thirty days, in 
 order to obtain an heir for the Rajah, who was childless, and 
 who ofiered a lac for this meritorious service ; the devotee 
 was regularly bricked up and taken out after thirty days. 
 He affirms he was in a trance the whole time. Our Doctor 
 says it is a collusion. But such is Hindooism. 
 
 I looked the other day into Sale's " Koran," to refresh 
 my memory with the main points in the Mahometan con- 
 troversy, which now meets me at every turn. Namuch, the 
 Seik founder, was a benevolent enthusiast, who attempted 
 to unite Hindoos and Mussulmans on the footing of natural 
 religion. His tenth successor, Goorud, turned them into war- 
 riors in the year 1700. They are now sunk again into all the 
 idolatry and abominations of Hindooism, like those around 
 them. So impotent is natural light to preserve itself or 
 convert others ! Even Islamism sinks before idolatry. 
 The Mahometans of Hindoostan are half idolaters. There 
 never was such a bare imposture as this pretended reli- 
 gion. You cannot read a chapter without seeing its folly, 
 its pollution, its cruelty, its inconsistency. The founda- 
 tions of both superstitions are giving way as education 
 spreads ; but God only can substitute Christianity. 
 
 I 
 
196 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 Shahahad, Oct 21, 1836. 
 "We are now on tlie main road of the Mogul Emperors, 
 from Agra and Delhi to Lahore. At every coss (two miles 
 and a-half), a pillar is erected, like our milestones, only 
 far larger. At every five coss, a serai is built for travellers. 
 That at Eajpoor is superb ; or rather was, for it is now a 
 prison. It consists of a square, containing, perhaps, a 
 himdred alcoves, each capable of accommodating a dozen 
 travellers, with a recess for sleeping. Towers for defence 
 are built at each angle, and two forts at the main gates. 
 Near it is a well, with a Baradary, or pleasure-house. The 
 well is itself circular, built round with bricks, and a broad 
 stone parapet at the top. One face of it opens on a flight 
 of steps, for descending to the level of the water, of easy 
 descent, and wide enough for ten women abreast ; side 
 landing-places conduct to stories in the circular brick- 
 work, with arched entrances for approach, according to the 
 height of the water at different seasons. These buildings 
 were chiefly erected by Ackbar, but are now, like all the 
 old Indian towns, one mass of ruins. Hindoostan is a 
 great ruin. From the fall of the Mogul Empire all has 
 been flowing in the channel of British power, habits, 
 abodes, and ways of travelling; and blessed is our rule. 
 The new towns where we settle, like Loodianah and Um- 
 balah, are increasing beyond all imagination. Even the 
 towns which are expected to come into our hands are 
 crowded with new merchants. The steam navigation is 
 here valued as it ought to be. It is considered the king 
 of civilization. 
 
AZINADAH. 197 
 
 AzinadaJi, Nov. 2, 1836. 
 
 I rode yesterday morning for an liour with Mr. Edge- 
 wortli, brother of the celebrated Miss Edgeworth, our kind 
 host at TJmbalah. He tells me the native Seik chiefs, 
 who overran all these provinces about eighty or ninety 
 years since, and who are now under the British protection, 
 mostly die in early life, without children, from their pre- 
 mature dissoluteness of manners. The first condition of 
 the conquest is, that the British power inherits the lands 
 where there is no heir; the estates are all dropping in. 
 Our dominions thus insensibly extend, and with them 
 Kght, and equity, and distributive justice. Yillage wars 
 abound — forages, as they may be called — sometimes with 
 much loss of life. Thanassur is a vast ruin, once amongst 
 the oldest cities in India, and the seat of Hindoo venera- 
 tion before the Mahometan invasion. The fabled river 
 Seraswati flows by it, and it was once the scene of the 
 war. Everywhere are exhibited the same features of 
 misery, neglect of their people, oppression, and ignorance 
 of the very first springs of national prosperity. Every- 
 where they seem to say to Britain, who is deaf to the 
 cry, " Come over to India and help iis." For what is 
 England doing, comparatively, in so great a cause ? 
 
 We are now encamped in a mangoe tope, or orchard, 
 as we were also yesterday. We mean to run into Kur- 
 
 naul this evening. Good Mr. P , like Barzillai, has sent 
 
 out to meet us with bread, butter, and vegetables. The 
 country we have passed is of the same nature as before, 
 wild jungle along the roads, wretched agriculture beyond, 
 man in his lowest depression. The munificence of the 
 
 I 
 
198 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 Mogul Emperors, in their fine serais and bridges, is con- 
 spicuous, though all is now in ruins. 
 
 Kumaul, Nov. 5, 1836. 
 
 We arrived in this large station on Thursday evening. 
 We have now passed the first difficult portion of our jour- 
 ney. Thank God for protection thus far ! I have been 
 consecrating one of the finest churches in India. I must 
 see if I cannot raise a tower upon it. 
 
 Nov. 6, 1836. 
 
 blessed Jesus, shine Thou into our hearts this blessed 
 day ! It was the first Sunday in November, 1832, that I 
 preached my first sermon in the cathedral at Calcutta, and 
 how soon my last may be delivered God only knows. Oh, 
 to stand with my loins girded and my lamp burning ! Oh, 
 to finish well ! I hope I am desiring to have no will but 
 God's. I hope I desire to say, " For me to live is Christ." 
 India wants the Gospel, sighs for the Gospel, waits for 
 the salvation of God. May God's time of grace soon 
 arrive ! 
 
 Nov. 12, 1836. 
 
 An interesting event occurred last week as we were 
 passing through Thanassur. Two Hindoos came to my 
 tent to ask me to hear them read the Gospel. They had 
 been Anund Messeeh's scholars. I put a good face on the 
 matter and followed them, reading, with Dyce's help, as 
 well as I could. About 9 p.m. five Brahmins went to 
 Dyce's tent, and sat down. They wanted to know who he 
 was, and what he was doing in my suite. He said he was 
 teaching me Sanscrit. "What book did I read ? '' Dr. Mill's 
 
KURNAUL. 199 
 
 " History of Christ," which he showed them. They were 
 surprised, and began to read it. " Very good, excellent 
 style, no grammatical faults. Who was Dr. Mill ? " "An 
 Englishman.'* " Impossible ! no EngKshman could write 
 Sanscrit so." He assured them of the truth. "How much 
 had the Bishop read ?" Twenty pages or so. " How long 
 had he been learning?" Two months, almost. "What 
 grammar did he learn ?" Wilkin's. " How much did he 
 read a day?" Sometimes forty pages. "Did he under- 
 stand what he read in the Sanscrit?" Yes. "He must 
 be an angel, then ; not a man. E-ead us now from the 
 book." Dyce sat and read the book. They listened with 
 eager attention till the night was far adyanced. 
 
 The Ordination of Anund, yesterday morning, was most 
 affecting, as he is the first Brahmin who has been ordained 
 in our Church. He is a fine, noble creature, spiritually- 
 minded, well read in Scripture, full of simplicity and love 
 to Christ, and bold as a lion. He has as little of the native 
 
 faults of conceit and mysticism as I ever saw. Mr. F 
 
 of Meerut was his father in the Gospel, and baptized him 
 and his infant child some years since. During his exami- 
 nation this last week, I have been deKghted and edified 
 with his "understanding and answers." As I had the Thirty- 
 nine Articles translated to him, and asked him closely on 
 each, he laid his hand upon his heart, and said Jesus had 
 taught him these things. A large congregation was as- 
 sembled. It was the first Ordination in the upper pro- 
 vinces. It is the first time, indeed, that a Bishop has 
 been able to come so far. Dear Bishop Heber did not 
 go up higher than Delhi. 
 
500 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 Sumalka, Nov. 15, 1836. 
 
 The country here is notorious for thieves. A whole 
 <}lass, or tribe, of Gookurs, are dedicated from father to son 
 to this roguery. They do not generally murder. Thus 
 they differ from the Thugs, but thieving is their profes- 
 sion and birthright. There are about 2000 of them round 
 Paniput, whom England is labouring to civilize and raise 
 into men. It is, and must be, a very slow work, instru- 
 ments are so much wanting : fitting instruments, I mean ; 
 men of piety, sense, talents, experience, influence. In the 
 mean time things are going on. The abolition of transit 
 duties, the equalisation of sugar duties, the freedom of the 
 press, and steam, are all working together with education, 
 catechetical instruction, and Missionary labours, to raise 
 prostrate India. The British are getting forward as a 
 government. Every encouragement is afforded to the 
 native gentry to improve their lands. Every practicable 
 improvement is being made in the administration of jus- 
 tice, agriculture, and medicine. The revenue is prosper- 
 ing, which always disposes a Government to tenderness 
 and kindness. 
 
 Suniput, Nov. 16, 1836. 
 
 We spent an hour and a half in visiting the vast ruins 
 of Paniput on Monday evening. It is classic ground. 
 Twice was the fate of India decided on its plains, and on 
 each occasion armies of incredible numbers were engaged. 
 Britain is the first conqueror which has blessed the whole 
 of Hindoostan with peace, and which has established so 
 firm a sovereignty, and so righteous a one, that the length 
 and breadth of the land is open to Christian labours. I 
 
DELHI. 201 
 
 was struck to the heart, as I climbed over the ruined 
 l^alaces and serais of Paniput, with reflecting how soon 
 England might be laid low, and all her glory overwhelmed 
 with silence, if she fulfilled not the high duties of her Pro- 
 testant light and power, and of her position in the heart of 
 Asia. 
 
 Delhi, Nov. 18, 1836. 
 
 Thank God we have arrived! We again set up our 
 Ebenezer, and say, "Hitherto Grod hath helped us." I 
 am the guest of a noble old Mahratta soldier. Colonel 
 Skinner, who, having been thirty-three years in the 
 British service, and having built at his own cost a beau- 
 tiful church, has a claim to all my attention. It will be 
 solemnly consecrated on Monday. 
 
 We visited on Saturday the Jumma Musjid, which 
 is the most simple and sublime Mahometan mosque in 
 India. It rises abruptly to the view from all parts of the 
 city ; flights of noble steps on the four sides conduct you 
 to the platform on which the mosque itself is erected. On 
 gaining the top of the steps you are struck with the mas- 
 sive brass portals, with the elegance and Kghtness of the 
 cloistered quadrangle, with the superb musjid and its 
 three domes before you, flanked with two fijie minarets. 
 The stone is a red granite, which contrasts exceedingly 
 well with the white ingrained marble. Next to this 
 building in beauty, and superior to it in elegance, is our 
 new St. James's Church. Anund told me, after the con- 
 secration yesterday, " Delhi has to-day been baptized ;" 
 and truly astonishing is it that a Mahratta soldier, on 
 entering the city with Lord Lake, in 1803, should have 
 
 I 
 
302 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 made a kind of vow, that if he ever had the means, he 
 would build a Christian church in gratitude to God for His 
 mercies. Bishop Heber notes, in 1824, that he had de- 
 voted 20,000 rupees to the pious design. He has lived to 
 complete it, and was himself confirmed this morning, with 
 two of his sons, in his own church. Its elevation is par- 
 ticularly appropriate for this imperial city, not receding 
 unnecessarily from the taste for domes which prevails, and 
 yet marking the Christian edifice by the superb gilded 
 cross which surmounts the whole. It is visible as you ap- 
 proach the city from the cantonments, and forms a sacred 
 commanding object. 
 
 The trade of Delhi is in cotton, jewellery, and sugar; 
 but the more elegant artificers have removed to Lucknow, 
 where there is a native court in its own power. The 
 gentry of Delhi have sunk with the court. The venerable 
 old king, whom we visited this morning, is the same as 
 Eishop Heber saw in 1824. Twelve years have carried 
 him on from seventy to eighty-two, and have dissipated 
 all intellectual efibrts. He is now' almost childish, and 
 said not a word to me at the durbar; and when he lost a 
 favourite son some weeks since, cried himself to sleep at 
 the news, and awoke to his usual gaiety the next morning. 
 The palace is a scene of idleness, debauchery, and crime ; 
 an asylum for very desperate characters. His children 
 and great-grandchildren stood around him this morning, 
 and princes of the royal blood to the most remote degrees. 
 I visited him at Colonel Skinner's instance, having ascer- 
 tained that nothing degrading or partaking of Maho- 
 metanism would be required. I succeeded in not taking 
 
CUTTAH. 203 
 
 off my siioes nor putting on tlie turban. I received 
 a splendid dress and shawl, and chain of jewels for my 
 neck; all of which, together with a horse, the Hon. 
 Company seized, in order to sell against the 1500 rs. in 
 money (for so much did the greedy courtiers make by our 
 visit) which the said Hon. Company had the goodness to 
 pay for me. It was affecting to see the descendant of 
 Baber and Ackbar and Aurungzebe, in extreme age, 
 setting forth, as it were, in his own person, the feebleness 
 of an exhausted empire. 
 
 Cuttah, Nov. 28, 1836. 
 I was very much struck on Friday with witnessing, for 
 the first time, the forms of the Mahometan worship. We 
 went up into a verandah of one of the gates of the Jumma 
 Musjid. The mosque itself was crowded as closely as pos- 
 sible, and ten or twelve lines of persons, who could not 
 gain admission, were ranged outside the whole length of 
 the side of the square. A sort of pulpit was placed in the 
 centre, which the principal Mohuwee ascended. The no- 
 tice was no sooner given of the hour of prayer by the 
 loud cry of the Uzzah, than the most awful silence pre- 
 vailed ; every creature stood in the most exact order, like 
 a battalion on parade : not a breath stirred. At the in- 
 stant the name of God was pronounced, the whole multi- 
 tude of four or five thousand bowed their heads almost to 
 the earth. At another part of the office they all as one 
 man prostrated themselves on the ground, covering their 
 faces with their hands. They rose at a signal given with 
 the same reverence. Nothing could be so fine as the 
 waving heads of such a multitude, and nothing so great 
 
204 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 a reproach to our carelessness in the solemn worship of 
 Almighty God ! When the prayers had concluded, an- 
 other kind of scene presented itself. The retiring crowds 
 filled the whole area of the cloistered square, and their 
 varied dresses, their different ages, the beautiful rose and 
 purple robes, which many wore over their snow-white body- 
 clothes, were so new, so perfectly oriental, so picturesque, 
 that we were filled with admiration. The square could 
 hold, I should think, 40,000 persons ; but o\ the wretched 
 imposture which all this outward show conceals ! I ad- 
 monished, however, my audience yesterday of this reverence 
 of the Mussulmans. We had a glorious day, the whole 
 interior crowded, and seventy at the Holy Communion, 
 and the church again crowded in the evening. 
 
 I am now sitting in the centre of a large dome, the 
 tomb of Udan Kihan, a Patau vizier. It is a prodigious 
 circular room, and the tomb, a sarcophagus of white mar- 
 ble, like all those of the Mahometans, has been rudely 
 removed to a side of the room, to allow the English to oc- 
 cupy the centre. We came here in one of the carriages 
 of the royal family. The place is near the small town of 
 Cuttah, and is chiefly remarkable for the Kootub Minar ; 
 a lofty pillar, infinitely superior to the monument in Lon- 
 don in beauty, and workmanship, and elegant proportions. 
 I suppose it may be the finest column in the world, not 
 excepting those at Eome : the whole is in excellent pre- 
 servation. It seems to have been built only yesterday, 
 though it is in reality 600 years old. It is the pillar of 
 an universal fame, because its taste is simple and elegant, 
 and without any peculiarity beyond the verses from the 
 
FURZAH. 205 
 
 Koran, cut in massive stone, wHch. surround tlie pillars 
 of each gallery. 
 
 Camp, Nov. 29, 1836. 
 After writing the above at Cuttah, I started in my 
 palky for Tuglickabad, where we passed two hours in 
 scrambling over the gigantic ruins of that once prodigious 
 fortress, or rather line of fortresses, erected by the Patan 
 Emperor, TugKck Shah, on the crest of a circular range 
 of rocky elevations. Five hundred years have not de- 
 stroyed the remains of walls and bastions, and palaces 
 and tanks, and wells and subterraneous apartments, and 
 causeways. Delhi was in view from the citadel, though 
 twenty miles distant. The contrast between the perfect 
 preservation of the Cuttah and the utter ruin of Tughck's 
 fortresses ; the elegance of the one and the enormous 
 strength of the other ; the exquisite proportions of the 
 pillar and the rude masses of the ancient towers ; the re- 
 pairs which completed lately the civil, and the neglect 
 which still reigns in the military edifice, were very in- 
 structive. We have now taken leave of Delhi. 
 
 Furzah, Dec. 7, 1836. 
 The general impression on my mind of the state of the 
 country, as compared with what it was twelve years since, 
 when Bishop Heber passed through the same place, is 
 decidedly that an improvement has been and is taking 
 place. Agriculture, commerce, medicine, education, are 
 advancing, and rather rapidly. The abolition of transit 
 duties, the use of vernacular languages in courts, the 
 rising piety of the civil and military services, are evi- 
 
 I 
 
206 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 dently at work. Already tlie new sugar duties are in- 
 viting the skill and enterprise of the natives. The Indus 
 will ere long be opened. The revenue is improving yearly, 
 and will lead to an alleviation of the burden upon the 
 people. We want only to have Christianity unfettered, 
 in order to impregnate with life the mass of secular aids 
 and appliances. If I could but see double the number of 
 Chaplains, all would be most encouraging for the future. 
 In the meantime, the profound peace throughout India, 
 the security of person and property, and the high cha- 
 racter of the British Government, are preparing for glorious 
 days. The external pomp lessens — so much the better. 
 The glare of Bishop Heber's reception is gone by — so 
 much the better. But the solid foundations of knowledge, 
 industry, talent, education, the inter- community of civil- 
 ized society, are being laid, and are assuredly superseding 
 the ignorance, idleness, folly, selfishness of the native 
 idolatries and superstitions. Hindooism and Islamism 
 cannot endure the light ; but Christianity courts it ; she 
 stands on higher ground, and can only be effectually 
 propagated by grace. 
 
 Agra, Dec. 8, 1836. 
 Muttra is one of the most sacred of Hindoo towns, the 
 fabled birthplace of Krishna. It stands on the Jumna, 
 and the view of the town from the opposite bank is par- 
 ticularly striking. Masses of buildings, ghauts, the old 
 ruined fort, the Jumma Musjid, and the private houses, 
 form a most picturesque scene. On riding through its 
 narrow winding streets, I saw for the first time the 
 crowds of Brahmin bulls which are turned loose by 
 
AGRA. 207 
 
 devotees as sacred objects. They wander at liberty, and 
 feed themselves as they Kst in the bazaars. The Mundul, 
 of which Bishop Heber speaks, is now completed. An idol 
 enriched with jewels is seated in the interior recess ; 200 
 persons are maintained as priests, 10 as singers, besides 
 pimkah-pullers, kitmntgars, bearers, and khaunsamahs 
 innumerable. The whole temple is supposed to have cost 
 50,000/. It is one of the latest erections in India, and the 
 best maintained. We saw the ghaut where Krishna is 
 said to have first bathed. Thousands crowd hither from 
 Calcutta, as they do to Gyah, and Juggernaut, and Alla- 
 habad, and Benares. Oh, for 4000 holy Missionaries to 
 preach a crucified Saviour to these victims of Satan's op- 
 pression, of whom there are 40,000 in this place. You will 
 observe that the darkness here is so profound that the idol 
 is fed, bathed, and waited upon by punkah-bearers, as if 
 endowed with life. He had not on many of his jewels on 
 Tuesday, on account of the cold weather ! Two fine milch 
 cows, allotted for his food, were in the adjoining compound. 
 It is stupidity beneath man, fallen as he is. 
 
 Agra, Dec. 10, 1836. 
 The approach to this ancient city of Ackbar on Thursday 
 was very striking ; seven miles of perpetual ruins — a mau- 
 soleum ; a mosque, or the remains of one, there ; a fine arch- 
 way in another direction ; then an old serai, the walls 
 massive, the interposed granite- work fresh as if it had been 
 finished to-day. The whole scene surpassed anything we 
 saw in the environs of Delhi. But the object of greatest 
 admiration was the tomb of the great Ackbar himself, in 
 
 I 
 
208 JOURNAL. LETTERS. 
 
 the midst of an immense garden. The first portal is su- 
 perb, with, a lofty dome between the external and interior 
 gates. After entering the garden, the paved approach to 
 the mausoleum itself, which rises to view amidst the dis- 
 tant trees, is most imposing. On entering the tomb, you 
 ascend to a square or platform of about 360 feet, in the 
 centre of which the mausoleum, with its three stories, its 
 minarets, and pavilions, and cloisters, is erected. The 
 upper story is of white marble of the finest kind, the very 
 stairs, the floor, the cloisters, being of the same material, 
 resembling in this respect the Cathedral of Milan. Pa- 
 vilions, still of the same rich material, crown each comer 
 The sarcophagus supposed to contain the body of the Em- 
 peror himself is simple, like all those of Mussulmans. The 
 inscription is " Grlory to God.'' It is much to the honour 
 of the E. I. Company that they have lately repaired this 
 wonderful monument of the greatest of the Moguls. 
 
 Dec. 17, 1836. 
 On Tuesday I visited Abdool Messeeh's house, and the 
 Church Missionary premises connected with it. Alas ! 
 nine years have sufficed to dissipate the spiritual good 
 begun by that celebrated convert of the dear Bishop Corrie, 
 then chaplain here. The grounds are ample, and the chapel 
 and schools adequate for every purpose. I addressed the 
 few aged native Christians who still live in the Mission- 
 huts, and the children of the Mission-school. The situa- 
 tion is most advantageous, in the very heart of the city of 
 Agra. I have driven through the narrow, crowded streets, 
 with the lofty houses on either side, and I have fancied I 
 
AGRA. 209 
 
 could see the very balconies from which the people used to 
 hear Abdool read the Gospel. 
 
 A short time will obliterate the glories of Agra and 
 Delhi. Such are the works of man ! All public edifices, 
 except those which Government keeps in repair, are yearly 
 falling into decay. 
 
 I 
 
210 
 
 CHAPTER YIII. 
 
 Leave Agra — Bareilly — Futtyghur — Consecration of New Church 
 — Lucknow — King of Oude — Magnificent Reception — Cawn- 
 pore — Laying First Stone of New Church — Allahabad — Pil- 
 grim Tax — Death of Bishop Con-ie — Buxar — Benares — Con- 
 versation with Pundits — Monghir — Missionary Schools — 
 Character of Missionaries — Reflections — Return to Calcutta — 
 Lectures in Passion-week — Funeral Sermon for Bishop- Corrie 
 
 — Clerical Meeting — Government Grant for New Churches — 
 Ordination — Visit to Orphan Refuge — Visitation resumed — 
 Death of King of Oude — Nuddea — Worship of Kalee — Kulna 
 
 — Missionary Schools — Burdwan — Indigo Plant — Visit of 
 Rajah — Benares — Meeting of Clergy — Illness — Visit to the 
 Church Missions. 
 
 Bareilly, Dec. 31, 1836. 
 We are now at our extreme north spot, as we descend 
 rapidly to the south-east in going to Cawnpore. Thank 
 God for preservation to the close of another year ! Let us 
 praise Him with redoubled humility and gratitude. We 
 had a most interesting and affecting scene at Alyghur on 
 Tuesday. The scattered flock came in from the country 
 round, and a little church was also set on foot. 
 
 New-year's Day, 1837. 
 Being my fifth in India, and my fifty-ninth in this 
 world of sin and darkness. Oh, what thoughts crowd into 
 
rUTTYGHUR. 211 
 
 my mind this New-year's Day ! The AU-seeing Eye, 
 what does it discern in the depths of the heart ? Mercy, 
 mercy, is all I can rely upon ; mercy to the chief of sinners, 
 mercy through the Great Propitiation, mercy through 
 the Prince of Peace! My dear children, believe your 
 father's testimony on entering the year 1837 : he has no 
 hope but in Christ ; his sins appear to him more numerous 
 and aggravated than ever, heightened as they are by supe- 
 rior obligations, advanced age, and long profession of the 
 Gospel. May mercy assist for the future by internal grace, 
 as it pardons the past through imputation and transfer ! 
 Oh, to spend a better year, more simple, humble, devoted, 
 spiritual, broken in heart ! Especially may I have a will 
 sweetly resigned and composed in God ! no will, no object, 
 no end, but the service of my Divine Master ! 
 
 Futtyghur, Jan. 10, 1837. 
 We are now just leaving this sweet, retired station, 
 with its 300 Christians. We arrived on Friday, consecrated 
 the church on Saturday, held two services on Sunday, 
 confirmed on Monday, and consecrated two churchyards. 
 The country, all the way from Bareilly to Futtyghur, is 
 threatened with famine : no rain has fallen since Septem- 
 ber. Grain is at an enormous price. Wells are opened in 
 every field for raising water. We are now on the fabled 
 Ganges : the fort stands on its bank. At some parts of its 
 course the reaches are, Kke those of the Rhine, of the width 
 of five or six miles, and tranquil like a lake, not a ripple 
 disturbing the glassy surface. Cultivation flourishes here. 
 The twenty years' settlement is now first coming into play. 
 
 I 
 
212 
 
 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 and encourages zemindars to commence improvements. Tlie 
 system of rotation of crops is well understood here. There 
 are sometimes seven crops in a year. Fallows are never 
 needful. The agricultural implements are considered to 
 be well adapted to the nature of the soil. But all im- 
 provements are paralyzed by the state of society, which is 
 corrupt to the very core. Oppression, art, finesse, cruelty, 
 selfishness, penetrate to the lowest grades. All waits for 
 Christianity to relay the foundations of society in truth, 
 righteousness, and the fear of God and man. 
 
 Luchiow, Jan. 20, 1837. 
 
 We arrived here this morning, and have just been 
 received by the King of • Oude, and have taken a public 
 breakfast with him, his court, and all the European society. 
 Nothing so superb has been seen by us during our visita- 
 tion, as to outward display. Eiches flow as the waters of 
 the Ganges in this kingdom. Like as in the reign of 
 Solomon, silver is nothing thought of. The native Ma- 
 hometan king is in great disfavour with the Govern- 
 ment for his bad administration of his dominions, which 
 are about the size of Ireland, and possessing every kind 
 of capability. 
 
 The Resident consulted the Government how far it 
 might be expedient for me to visit my Christian flock and 
 Chaplain here. However, as a Bishop who is not a member 
 of Government, it was considered improper to interfere 
 with me, and therefore here I am ! This sort of hesitation 
 induced his Oude Majesty to put forth his most splendid 
 appearance, that his subjects might be impressed with the 
 
LUCKNOW. 213 
 
 friendly position he was in with the Government ; and I 
 am told nothing so magnificent has been witnessed for 
 many years. We were received in the King's country 
 palace, about three miles from the city, called Dil Khoosha 
 — "Pleasant to the Heart." Here the Eesident, Col. 
 Lowe, met us, and at about half-past nine we ascended our 
 elephants to meet the King, who proceeded about a mile 
 out of the city for that purpose. On coming within a few 
 paces of the royal elephant I took off my hat, and inquired 
 after the King's health. The cortege then advanced three 
 abreast, the Resident and myself being each on our ele- 
 phant on either side of the King's. An infinity of elephants, 
 camels, horsemen, infantry, gentlemen's carriages, foot- 
 passengers of all classes, presented the most picturesque 
 and imposing sight I ever beheld. We thus proceeded to 
 the palace, where the public breakfast was prepared in an 
 immense room, with tables from end to end, where, per- 
 haps, sixty ladies and gentlemen sat down to the superb 
 breakfast, with its enormously rich plateau, which distin- 
 guishes Lucknow. I should have said that the King's state 
 palanquin and ton-jon were carried by numerous bearers 
 before him during the procession. I was placed,, during 
 breakfast, on the King's left hand, the right being occupied 
 with the Resident, who in all things takes the same rank 
 as the sovereign. The conversation was not vivacious, but 
 I assure you I obtained considerable credit by my Hindoo- 
 stance. I told the King that I had been at Jyepore, Agra, 
 and Delhi, but had seen nothing so splendid as his ma- 
 jesty's court. I added, I hoped the internal happiness of 
 his government equalled the external magnificence. This I 
 
214 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 meant for a home-tlinist. Of course it would have no per- 
 manent effect on a profligate tyrant, but it was my duty. 
 After breakfast I was offered a bookab, a prodigious com- 
 pliment, for no one but tbe Resident smokes in his presence. 
 As, however, I had never put a hookah into my mouth, I 
 thought it prudent to decline it. Presents of silver-tinsel 
 garments followed, with otto ; and then the King, after 
 conducting the Resident and myself to the top of the stairs, 
 retired. "We once more mounted our elephants, and came to 
 the Residency. The view from my chamber- verandah over 
 the city is enchanting : the rich verdure of the trees and 
 gardens contrasts so beautifully with the magnificent roofs 
 of the public buildings. The river Goomty winds in the 
 midst, and appears here and there with great splendour. 
 Still the heart sinks, amidst all this glitter, to think of the 
 misery of the people, the corruptions of the palace, the 
 misgovernment of the minister, the disorder of the finances. 
 Absolute power is not adapted for man, any more than 
 absolute democracy ; and, alas ! what have mere riches 
 done for Oude, or Spain, or Delhi, or any other country ? 
 Man wants freedom, good laws, security of person and pro- 
 perty, encouragement given to arts, science, commerce, 
 medicine, and entire religious toleration, to say nothing of 
 Christianity itself. "Without these, treasures, rupees, jewels, 
 palaces, shows, are of no avail. 
 
 Cawnpore^ Jan 24, 1837. 
 
 The change of scene here is indescribable : a Christian 
 
 population of 3000, a cantonment of seven miles in extent, 
 
 four burial-grounds, four hospitals, five schools, a Christian 
 
 Mission, an Orphan Asylum, a Relief Society. Large dinner- 
 
CAWNPORE. 215 
 
 parties and incessant calls had left us not a moment. Here 
 a Christian society of only 80 or 100 leaves us a sweet re- 
 tirement. Thus God tempers things for us. Blessed be His 
 holy Name, we have made a hopeful beginning during 
 our first five days' work at Cawnpore. Two churches are 
 to be built, or, rather, a church and chapel. 
 
 Cavmpore, Feb. 5, 1837. 
 I have been closing my message. A crowded church — 
 above 100 at the sacrament — and a second confirmation. 
 It was past three before we reached home, for there was a 
 collection for the new churches, which took some time. 
 The amount was 1000 rs., which, with our preceding sub- 
 scriptions, will make 26,000 rs. May God be praised ! 
 
 Feb. 6, 1837. 
 
 I wish you coidd have seen the ceremony yesterday of 
 laying the first stone of our two new Gothic churches, or, 
 rather, a church and chapel — the immense throng of people, 
 all the soldiers drawn out, all the officers, all the gentry, 
 thousands of natives ! A numerous Masonic Lodge assisted. 
 The Senior Civil Servant laid the stone at the church, and 
 the Brigadier at the chapel. I was much overdone with 
 the exertion of addressing perhaps 3000 people in the open 
 air, whom I contrived to make hear. To God only be 
 glory, in Christ Jesus ! 
 
 Allahabad, Feb. 12, 1837. 
 
 I have been meditating this calm, sweet morning, on 
 the ways of the Lord towards me, on the position in which 
 I now am, on my prospects, dangers, duties, fears. I hope 
 
216 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 on this day four weeks to be in Calcutta, after an absence 
 of one year and five months. Two passages of Scripture 
 are on my mind ; 2 Cor. vi. and Ps. xlvi. : " By honour and 
 dishonour, by evil report and good report : as deceivers, and 
 yet true ; as unknown, and yet well known ; as dying, and, 
 behold, we live ; as chastened, and not killed ; as sorrow- 
 ful, yet alway rejoicing ; as poor, yet making many rich ; 
 as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.'' Such is 
 the Minister's lot, always remembering the immense inter- 
 val between Apostolic inspiration and power, and our ordi- 
 nary duties and qualifications. But can we expect any 
 great spiritual blessings without compensating trials of one 
 sort or another ? Lord, Thy will, and not mine, be done ! 
 Enable me to sacrifice my will in all things to Thee, and 
 to take up daily my allotted cross and follow Thee ! 
 
 Allahabad, Feb. 14, 1837. 
 The cold weather has returned, to our amazing relief. 
 But you must not wonder that we feel such transitions. 
 We are now in the famous city where the Ganges and the 
 Jumna unite. It was founded by the great Ackbar. The 
 fort, where we are received by the pious, amiable Chaplain, 
 was taken as early as 1765. It is conjectured to be the 
 ancient Palibothra. The grand annual fair, or mela, is 
 just over, when thousands came on pilgrimage from all 
 parts of India to shave themselves, to bathe, and many of 
 them to die, at the confluence of the sacred rivers. Each 
 one carries back with him a small vessel of the water to his 
 own country, however distant. that the waters of life, 
 which flow from the throne of God and of the Lamb, were 
 
ALLAHABAD. 217 
 
 equally prized and sought after ! Alas ! alas ! Satan here 
 reigns supreme. 
 
 Allahabad, Feb. 16, 1837. 
 I have been to the fearful scene : I have spent nearly 
 two hours at the confluence : I have examined with curious 
 eyes the proceedings. I have watched the Brahmin, the 
 pilgrim, the faqueer. I have entered the Christian Go- 
 vernment's Tax-ofiB.ce, with the contrivances for collecting 
 from the crowd the destined ofifering. I have in my pos- 
 session a copy of the printed certificate given to the pilgrim 
 by the Christian collector, to ensure his being admitted to 
 the stream with its untold beatitudes. Never was I so 
 afifected, except when, this very month two years, I was at 
 Juggernaut. What a tremendous responsibiKty has our 
 Indian Government, accumulating every hour that we con- 
 tinue our connexion with such a system ! 
 
 Allahabad, Feb. 18, 1837. 
 I have seen more than once the celebrated Allahabad 
 Pillar, the inscription on which Dr. Mill so successfully 
 developed in 1834. It is, probably, the commemoration 
 of a Hindoo prince about 300 years before Christ. The 
 pillar is of a hard kind of red sandstone. It has, appa- 
 rently, been once in an erect position ; but it now lies 
 neglected at the fort gate, and is an object of worship to 
 the poor pilgrims, who walk around it a certain number of 
 times, and make ofiPerings of flowers with small pieces of 
 money. Dr. MiU's profound learning comes in admirably 
 on such curious occasions. 
 
218 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 Steamer, Feb. 20, 1837. 
 At length, we are on board for our river trip. We 
 quitted our pilot-boat at Bombay, December 13, 1835. 
 Since tbat time we have travelled by land about 2500 miles 
 in the fourteen months. May God be ever praised for His 
 innumerable blessings ! May we be prepared for the new 
 duties and trials of Calcutta ! Yesterday I preached twice 
 to the whole assembled station, of wbom fifty received the 
 Sacrament. On Saturd^j^ sixteen were confirmed. 
 
 Mirzapore, Feb. 28, 1837. 
 
 Oh, my children, bow can I describe my desolation 
 of heart at tbe present events !* But — but — " Jesus 
 Christ, the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever,'' (my text 
 at Chunar on Thursday, and bere yesterday, being a funeral 
 sermon for dearest Corrie), is enough. I am now to go 
 down into tbe valley of humiliation, indeed. I am now to 
 know the rod and Wbo hath appointed it. I am now 
 to be nothing, that Christ may be all in all. I am to 
 descend to Calcutta in weakness, and fear, and much trem- 
 bling, that the excellency of the power may be of God, 
 and not of man. Oh ! for grace to believe, to wait, to hope, 
 to involve myself, and hide myself in God ; to be still and 
 know His glorious power, love, right over us and in us, 
 His mysterious ways, unsearchable wisdom, infinite designs 
 in redemption and grace ! 
 
 Buxar, March 1, 183T. 
 
 I must endeavour to pluck up heart and tell you what 
 we have been doing. Chunar we left on Friday morning. 
 
 * Death of Bishop Corrie. — Editor. 
 
BUXAR. 219 
 
 Bishop Heber's description of it is perfect and most lively, 
 as well as Ms succeeding one of Benares. He was tlien new 
 to such scenes. They met him early. His whole imagination 
 was filled. We come to them after a year and four months' 
 journey, with minds and bodies exhausted with sights. 
 Still, the bold promontory of Chunar, crowned with its an- 
 cient fortifications, and the beautifully soft view of the 
 houses and gardens in the civil station, were not lost upon 
 us. The black stone of unknown reverence had lost its 
 charm. A storm had destroyed its peepul-tree. The rude 
 and impious English had removed it into a verandah. No 
 access without a pass has since been granted, and it has 
 happily fallen into neglect. This is one incidental blessing 
 of our rule. I could not walk through the rooms of Warren 
 Hastings' mansion in the fort without a sensible emotion, 
 they are now converted into a state prison. The Coorg 
 Eajah is at present, however, not at Chunar, but at Be- 
 nares. He is but lately arrived, after a march of eleven 
 months. You may remember his fierce and barbarous 
 cruelties, his impudent proclamations, his surrender, the 
 ample prize-money distributed. This was about the last 
 act of the late Government. 
 
 We were most exceedingly delighted with Benares. The 
 river view, as it burst upon us when we entered the reach, 
 on the mountain-banks of which it stretches for a length 
 of four miles, fills the eye with an indescribable assem- 
 blage of oriental buildings. I had forgotten this position 
 of the holy city, and was perfectly astonished, first, at the 
 silvery sweep of the Ganges with its widening banks, then 
 at the infinite variety of splendid edifices which crowned 
 
 I 
 
220 
 
 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 the lofty shores of the convex side. A succession of ghauts 
 or river stairs, filled with pilgrims, in all their varied cos- 
 tumes, next attracted my notice. Then the sumptuousness 
 and endless number of the sacred buildings. Lastly, the 
 elegant and lofty minarets of the Musjid, which Aurung- 
 zebe founded on the site of a Hindoo temple. When I 
 ascended one of these and beheld the city, my Saviour's 
 tears over Jerusalem might have been mine. I had wit- 
 nessed some of the chief scenes of idolatrous worship — a 
 thousand temples, 8000 houses occupied by Brahmins, 
 200,000 souls held in midnight darkness, 200,000 more 
 daily entering the sacred enclosure, either as pilgrims or 
 merchants. My eye wandered over the scene stretching 
 before me. I was involuntarily seized with sadness at a 
 mass of 400,000 immortal beings, in whose misery the god 
 of this world seems to revel, guided as they are by a De- 
 metrius-like body of heathen priests, who again are them- 
 selves headed by the learned pundits. Twelve or fifteen of 
 these last, waited on me at the Chaplain's house, as the heat 
 would not allow of my going to the College. I asked each 
 in succession the nature of his studies, the books he read, 
 his views of a Supreme Being, his ideas of the difference 
 between moral good and evil, his doctrine of salvation, 
 and of a future state of rewards and punishments. One 
 told me he studied the life of Krishna, a second was an 
 astronomer, a third a logician, a fourth a librarian. They 
 were all Sanscrit scholars, deeply versed in the Yeda. 
 After patiently hearing each of them, I briefly opened the 
 glorious scheme of the Gospel of Christ, and assured them 
 that when the historical evidences of Christianity could 
 
MONGHIR. 221 
 
 be appreciated aright, they would at once see the irrefrag- 
 able proofs of its divine and exclusive authority, and that 
 in the meantime, if any of them would simply read the 
 Gospel, and pray to God for illumination, he would see its 
 internal evidences, as meeting and supplying the state and 
 wants of man, just as the sun in the heavens meets his 
 natural senses. My heart mourns and weeps at human 
 darkness and sorrow. 
 
 Monghir^ March 3, 1837. 
 Amongst my bright spots is the Church Missionary 
 Station, which I have just passed. The Missionaries are 
 holy and devoted, and superior men. The praise of Mr. 
 
 B is in all the churches. Twenty years of disinterested 
 
 labour at Chunar, and the blessed success which has at- 
 tended and is attending his labours, stamp him as a most 
 valuable missionary. We spent three days there. The 
 Mission-house, built by dearest Corrie, is, like that at Bad- 
 degamme in Ceylon, an honour to India. It was under that 
 
 holy Bishop, then a chaplain at Chunar, that Mr. B 
 
 was first called out into the field of labour. I preached to 
 his native flock last Wednesday. It consists of more than 
 200, of whom 120 are the wives and families of drummers 
 and other professed Christians, understanding only the 
 Hindoostanee, and 80 are his own converts from heathen 
 idolatry. It was an afiecting sight. I afterwards ex- 
 amined his numerous schools, in which are several 
 hundred heathen children, training in the heavenly doc- 
 trine. I had the happiness of confirming between 70 and 
 80 of the baptized converts, and of baptizing also, with 
 my own hand, four. One of the latter had been a Pundit, 
 
222 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 deeply versed in his Sanscrit abstractions. He seemed 
 about thirty . Mr. B bad met him in one of bis ex- 
 cursions, for this good man makes four or five circuits to 
 large melas (a kind of fair), witbin fifty or sixty miles 
 of Cbunar, and tbere talks and preaches, and distributes 
 Gospels and tracts, to all who will listen to him. His 
 knowledge of the language is that of a native ; his talents 
 penetrating ; bis faculty of arguing with the Sophist, 
 Pundit, or Mahometan, is very superior. He seemed to 
 m.e one of those quiet, silent, sagacious, acute, devoted 
 men, who fill a most important niche in the general circle 
 of missionary labourers. But to pursue my tale. This 
 
 learned Pimdit encountered Mr. B , at first, with the 
 
 utmost craft and pertinacity ; be listened towards the close, 
 however, of the conference, " the Lord opening his heart," 
 
 as we trust. He followed B to bis boats, renouncing 
 
 his idolatry and pantheism, and casting in his lot with 
 him. He had been a steady catechumen for many months, 
 and was baptized by myself, as I have stated, last Wed- 
 nesday. He will be sent out, after a due period, as a reader 
 in the neighbouring villages. About fifteen or twenty 
 converts are thus each year added to the Lord ; and when 
 they are established they are planted out in any stations 
 
 where Christian native families are required. Mr. B 
 
 is attempting the establishment of a native village, for the 
 regular employment in agriculture of the Christian set- 
 tlers ; but he is sadly cramped by the narrow supplies 
 which the general purposes of the Calcutta Committee are 
 compelled to impose. This is the case also at Benares. 
 Scenes of usefulness are widening, but means are wanting 
 
MONGHIR. 223 
 
 for occupying them. I made a coUection on Sunday 
 morning, after the sermon, and we collected 400 or 500 
 rupees. Benares is a most interesting and hopeful sta- 
 tion. Mr. K 's cast of talent seems chiefly to qualify 
 
 him for conference and preaching in the bazaars and small 
 local chapels, two of which latter I visited; two more 
 are instantly to be added. Here, each evening, this pious 
 man holds conversations, delivers instruction, and preaches 
 to the crowded audience who fill the place. His gentle 
 spirit has won much esteem. He is known over all the 
 city ; he has silenced the objecting Brahmin ; he has gra- 
 dually produced the conviction that the Christian reKgion 
 is from God, and preferable on all account^ to the Brah- 
 minical. Thus all is preparing for an outburst of Kght 
 and truth, whenever the Divine Saviour shall be pleased 
 to command the blessing. !Nor is Mr. L less success- 
 ful in his own department, which is that of schools. I 
 examined 400 or 500 children in his several little estab- 
 lishments on Monday, and I also heard him instruct them 
 in his usual way. It was admirable. He has a gift for 
 communicating knowledge to the youthful mind, and for 
 attaching them to him by love, which is very remarkable. 
 
 In these several departments K and L perhaps 
 
 surpass B , allowing for difference in experience and 
 
 facility in the use of Hindoostanee. Thus God tempers 
 
 the difierent members of His mystical body. Mr. S 
 
 seems hot vigorous in health, but mild, thoughtful, able, 
 and devoted. The compound where they all reside has a 
 
 fine female school of sixty children, under Mrs. S . 
 
 Under her husband the beautiful native chapel in canton- 
 
 I 
 
224 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 ments is placed, where he perforins divine service two or 
 three times a-week. This was dear Corrie's work also. 
 
 Mr. S takes a part, both in the labours of the school 
 
 generally and the bazaars. Scarcely any converts have 
 
 as yet been made. In this respect Mr. B , who has 
 
 during his twenty years' labour been the means of con- 
 verting several hundreds, has the advantage greatly ; but 
 preparation- work is rapidly and hopefully going on. The 
 rest is with God. 
 
 Boglipoor, March 9, 1837. 
 I never pass over this season, my dearest children, 
 without some remembrance of God's especial mercies in 
 March, 1796. I can now look back on all the way which 
 the Lord my God hath led me these forty-one years, to 
 humble me and to prove me, and to know all that was in 
 my heart. How humiliating, how very humiliating, is 
 the reflection ! Lord, be merciful to me a sinner, and grant 
 me more grace to feel, and act, and live in all respects as 
 becometh my high and holy calling in Christ Jesus. 
 Soon must the last anniversary of these spiritual blessings 
 come. Oh for preparation, anticipation, readiness, fore- 
 taste ! I have been much impressed lately in reading 
 Yenn ; Cecil's " Remains ;" Cowper's " Letters and Life," 
 by Southey; and Thomas a Kempis. Yenn and Cecil 
 rise upon the mind more and more, like all profoundly 
 deep and solid works. Cowper's playfulness, capital sense, 
 fine remarks, exquisite facility, charm me. Kempis is 
 precious, indeed. Take the last sentence I have read as a 
 specimen: — "Beware of much talking. Abide in secret, 
 and enjoy thy God ; for thou hast Him whom the whole 
 
CALCUTTA. 225 
 
 world cannot take away from thee. I am He to whom 
 thou shouldst give thj^self entirely ; so that thou mayst 
 live no longer in thyself, but in Me, without any anxious 
 care." 
 
 Calcutta, March 13, 1837. 
 
 Safely arrived, through God's great goodness. Dr. Mill 
 and the Archdeacon came to meet us yesterday, in excellent 
 spirits. I have begun my lectures for Passion-week at 
 the Cathedral. I confine myself to a quarter of an hour 
 of devotional remark on some part of our Lord's Passion. 
 God refreshes both body and mind. He sends rain upon 
 His inheritance naturally, and man revives ; He sends 
 rain spiritually, and the heart is renewed. After a most 
 oppressive fortnight, we had copious rain on Saturday and 
 Sunday nights. The thunder was indeed tremendous, I 
 really thought that one crash must have shivered some of 
 the pillars of the verandah. The atmosphere in the morn- 
 ing, for the rain fell during the night, was cool and re- 
 freshing. This was Sunday. The storm fell again the 
 following night. 
 
 I am actually in the sixth volume of " Southey." The 
 new letters are very numerous, and inimitable. I read 
 two or three a-day. I see that Homer is to form a part, 
 which I rejoice at : it will vindicate the merit of that ex- 
 traordinary translation against the natural preference for 
 Pope's most un-Homeric, but elegant and poetical, version 
 in rhyme. But the Bible, the Bible, the Bible is the 
 wonderful book I fall back upon : a taste for the divine 
 sublimity and simplicity of the Scriptures is the true proof 
 of spiritual health and appetite. 
 
 I 
 
226 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 Shalimar, April 14, 1837. 
 
 Here is my retreat, my cMldren, this summer. I have 
 taken this sweet spot for six months. There never was so 
 exquisitely beautiful a place. Here I shall retire one or 
 two days a- week, as I did at Tittyghur, and I shall thus 
 be near the College — half a mile — and render any little 
 aid to this institution. 
 
 Calcutta, April 23, 1837. 
 
 I have delivered my funeral discourse for Bishop Corrie. 
 It was at the Old Church, and the Governor- General and 
 his family were present. Subject : — the animating motive to 
 be wise and earnest in turning many to righteousness, from 
 the glorious recompense which awaits us. I took all the 
 pains I could with it during the very few days for pre- 
 paration and the lack of materials. My notion of his 
 character was, an ardent mind subdued by heavenly wis- 
 dom, and intently fixed on turning souls to God. May we, 
 my dearest ones, imitate the excellent parts of his eminent 
 character. He was an exalted Christian indeed — his 
 prayers exquisite — his biblical tone of theology sound — 
 his care in preparing his sermons admirable — his steadi- 
 ness in his pursuit unwearied — his disinterestedness trans- 
 parent — his consistency beautiful — his end blessed — all 
 his work seemed accomplished. 
 
 Calcutta, May 2, 1837. 
 
 Last evening two delightful events occurred. The one 
 was a most glorious shower to refresh our burning soil. The 
 harvest will be saved in many parts of the country. The 
 frequent conflagrations are stopped, for hundreds of houses 
 are burnt almost every night, from the extreme dryness of 
 
CALCUTTA. 227 
 
 the thatclied materials. Man and beast are revived and 
 consoled. Never did I feel the Psalmist's language more 
 appropriate, " Thou sentest a gracious rain upon thine in- 
 heritance, and refreshedst it when it was weary." The 
 other event was, a pleasing and edifying clerical meeting : 
 eight were absent from the storm, but we were fifteen, and 
 did not separate till nearly eleven, meeting at a quarter- 
 past seven to dinner, and going into our discussion room 
 at half-past eight. Our subject ^Thanksgiving. All was 
 love, frankness, spiritual warmth. Just the old Eclectic* 
 feelings, after an interval of a year and a half. At our 
 concluding prayer, which is always in the palace chapel, 
 we most especially supplicated for the great religious 
 meetings — for the Church Missionary sermon, then being 
 delivered — for the Anniversary Meeting this day — for the 
 Bible Society to-morrow — the Prayer-book, Tract, and 
 Jews, on the succeeding days. These meetings once 
 a-month are great blessings to us : they harmonise, ele- 
 vate, unite, bless. 
 
 I have received from the Governor- Greneral an answer 
 to an application for aid to build churches in Landour, 
 Bareilly, Lucknow, Hazeerabagh, and Chittagong. He 
 has granted me 21,000 rupees. We shall now have almost 
 all the churches we want. In addition to these we are 
 building two at Cawnpore, and one at Simlah, Loodianah, 
 Mussooree, Allyghur, Allahabad, Singapore, Saugor, and 
 are adding towers to those of Agra and Kurnaul ; fourteen 
 churches, and two steeples or towers. Delhi should also be 
 
 I 
 
 The name given to a clerical meeting in London. — Editor. 
 
228 
 
 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 added, and Benares, and Buxar, and Juanpore, and Chunar, 
 and Barrackpore, which, have been erected by private 
 munificence. Surely this is a source of gratitude to our 
 Saviour and Lord, twenty-two in all. Perhaps it is unfair 
 to include Benares, Buxar, and Chunar, as they were built 
 so many years since by dearest Corrie. Still, they were 
 erected by private bounty. Say, however, nineteen in four 
 years, and in India, and at such fearful distances, and with 
 such a fluctuating population. And a Malacca Church is 
 at all events to be added, to make twenty, which the Dutch 
 
 have given me, and for which I ordained Mr. H last 
 
 Sunday. 
 
 Shalimar, June 16, 1837. 
 
 Last night I preached a serm"bn at the Cathedral, pre- 
 paratory to the Confirmation. We had 529 present. Text, 
 Acts xi. 26 : " The disciples were called Christians first 
 at Antioch." After church we came over here, in one of 
 the most splendid moonlight evenings you ever saw. The 
 full brilliancy of the glassy, unruffled waves, reflecting the 
 moon's rays, was bewitching ; a fine breeze from the sea 
 cooled our heated frames. The turns in Garden Reach, 
 the houses, the scattered lights, flitted before us as our ten 
 dandies, rowers, were tugging against the adverse tide. 
 After landing we strolled along our beautiful grounds till 
 we retired to rest. 
 
 Calcutta, June 18, 1837. 
 
 I enter to day on the sixth year since I left my abode, 
 and parish, and country, for the voyage to India, where I 
 arrived the 31st of October, " not knowing the things,'' I 
 may truly say, "which should befall me there." But, 
 
 i 
 
CALCUTTA. 229 
 
 "having obtained help of God," I "continue unto this 
 day," and enter the sixth year of my Indian course. Oh, 
 that I may finish that course well ! That is the great thing, 
 to finish well ; for soon must my " bishopric another take." 
 Blessed Jesus ! shine Thou upon Thy servant ; magnify in 
 him Thy power, cause him to know and do Thy only will, 
 and accept Thou his thanksgivings for five years of pre- 
 servation, guidance, comfort, deliverance, light. 
 
 Calcutta, June 2b,l^Zl. 
 Our sixteenth Ordination took place yesterday, at 
 Bishop's College. It was an afiectiug scene ; there were 
 twenty- one clergy there altogether: the largest number 
 ever seen within its walls. Only five absent within thirty 
 miles, and two of those by ill-health. Congregation seventy. 
 The whole service deeply solemn. The fine organ played 
 the alternate lines of the "Yeni, Creator," the clergy join- 
 ing. My text was from Acts ix. 16. The service lasted 
 three hours and a-half. I gave a breakfast immediately 
 after, in the dining-hall, to the clergy. 
 
 Calcutta, July 2, 1837. 
 Another anniversary of my birth brings me, my dearest 
 children, to the commencement of my sixtieth year. Won- 
 derful indeed is it to me, that this should be the sixth 
 July 2nd that I have passed since I quitted my native 
 shores. But so it is. God's ways are past finding out. Oh ! 
 what gratitude do I owe to my Lord and Saviour for 513 
 sermons permitted to be delivered, 16 ordinations held, 
 1218 young persons confirmed in Calcutta, 20 churches 
 
 I 
 
230 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 building, three charges to my reverend brethren pronounced, 
 a volume of visitation discourses published, journeys and 
 voyages amounting to 13,500 miles accomplished, and 
 health preserved throughout the whole time. To Thee, 
 my God, be all the praise ascribed for the past. To Thee 
 would I commit the unknown future. Only vouchsafe me 
 grace, fidelity, faith, zeal, love, humiliation of soul, pa- 
 tience ! Only enable Thy servant to end well. Only 
 " strengthen in him the things that remain that are ready 
 to die." Only revive in his heart the "first love" to Thee. 
 Only "work in him" all Thy will, use him for Thine 
 honour, and prepare him for Thy cross and crown ! 
 
 July 10, 1837. 
 
 As I returned from Barrackpore on Monday, I break- 
 fasted with Mrs. Wilson, at her new Refuge, ten miles 
 from Calcutta. It was like a fairy scene. In a few 
 months a village of 10,000 heathen planted with the 
 Gospel I A beautiful house and chambers are erected — 
 a small ghaut — a compound — servants' houses, and about 
 100 orphan children " sitting clothed, and in their right 
 mind" — children saved from death and famine — children 
 with no families to obstruct their reception of the Christian 
 faith, and wholly trained in the " nurture and admonition of 
 the Lord." There the pious woman, now twenty years in 
 India, and " widow indeed," is carrying on the greatest 
 undertaking India has yet witnessed, which, having 
 already succeeded in a marvellous degree, she is endea- 
 vouring to render permanent. 
 
 The thirteenth anniversary of the system has taken 
 
AT SEA. 231 
 
 place. StabiKty is tlius given it. Immortality will be 
 added by the Lord of all. Ob, if you could have seen, as I 
 did on Monday, some of tbe destined human sacrifices of 
 the Goonsur country safely seated in this Refuge, de- 
 cently clad, with their Bengalee New Testaments before 
 them, and made now, or about to be made, " living sacri- 
 fices, holy, acceptable to God in Christ Jesus," how 
 would you have sprung forth with delight to rescue other 
 human victims from the knife of the priest-assassin, and 
 transfer them to the arms of a mother in Christ, and the 
 tender love of Jesus, the orphan's friend ! You should 
 have heard us ask one of these rescued victims, " What is 
 your name?" Answer: ''Lucy Wilson" — for such was 
 the baptized child's new appellation, after my dear daugh- 
 ter. I looked, and looked again, at the dark visage, the 
 benevolent eye, the happy countenance of the girl : she 
 smiled at me in her innocence, as much as to say, " Thank 
 good English Christians that I was not made an actual 
 sacrifice to the Earth in my native town, with my veins 
 opened to die the most lingering possible death, but was 
 raised as from the dead to live to learn the name and grace 
 and pity of Jesus, the Eternal Son of God and Saviour of 
 the lost." 
 
 Steamer, July 21, 1837. 
 We resumed our Visitation yesterday. We go to Krish- 
 nagur, Burdwan, Bancoora, and Chinsurah, by an inter- 
 mediate trip of three weeks ; and then, after returning to 
 Calcutta for four Sundays, proceed to Benares ; and thence 
 visit, in descending the river, the places omitted last 
 spring as far as Dacca — if the Lord will. 
 
 I 
 
232 
 
 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 There has been a disturbance at Lucknow, the Oude 
 capital. The King fell a martyr to debauchery on July 
 6th. It was night. The Eesident, Colonel Lowe, has- 
 tened to the palace with the legitimate successor, long re- 
 cognised by the British Government, in opposition to two 
 supposititious sons of the late King. He had scarcely seated 
 him on the Musnud when one of the queens approached, 
 with an armed mob of 1500 men from a neighbouring 
 palace, to place a favourite son on the throne. Colonel 
 Lowe was mthout troops, the cantonment being four or 
 five miles distant. The outer gates of the palace being 
 forced, the insurgents rushed in, enthroned the usurper in 
 the Baradary, and saluted him as their new monarch. In 
 a few days Lucknow would have been deluged with blood : 
 already the city was in a tumult. The Colonel made his 
 way, as by a miracle, out of the mob within the palace, and 
 found that the troops had arrived. He sent in instantly 
 a summons to the Queen and her protege to desist from 
 their mad attempt. A quarter of an hour was given them. 
 Then the great guns opened with a tremendous power — 
 every soul fled, the riot was suppressed, the Queen and 
 usurper were arrested, tranquillity was restored. Such is 
 the magnanimity and firmness of Britain. It was no in- 
 terest of hers, but the good of India, the happiness of 
 millions of people, were motive enough. Gratitude from 
 the new King, who is a personage advanced in life, will 
 naturally lead him to repose in the British advice, and one 
 of the finest kingdoms in India may be rescued gradually 
 from its present disorganised state, and made like Behar 
 or Bundlecund. The proverbial confusion and wars of 
 
NUDDEA. 233 
 
 succession in oriental nations, both Mussulman and Hindoo, 
 would have been enacted here, but for British honour, 
 prudence, courage, promptitude. Nor will the instant 
 murder of the usurper and all his supporters now follow. 
 
 Nuddea^ July 22, 1837. 
 
 We anchored last night off this famous seat of Brah- 
 minical learning, now much fallen to decay. There was 
 one horrible idol, Kalee, fitly called " the Destroyer," who 
 was seated in the recess of an open temple. It was a huge 
 figure of black shining materials ; some common wood, 
 perhaps, lacquered over; her four hands were extended, 
 the one with a cup of poison, the others stained with blood. 
 Oh, consider in what a state the thousands and ten thou- 
 sands of immortal souls at Nuddea must be, when they 
 worship this personification of cruelty and lust ! Baskets 
 of flowers were placed before her ; and sacrifices, formerly 
 human ones, at times, are continually offered. A vast 
 crowd gathered round us ; but my Bengalee was far too 
 slight to enable me to converse, and their Hindoostanee 
 was equally feeble, and we had no interpreter. We made 
 our way, however, to the Church Mission School, and I 
 had all the classes drawn up, and heard them read their 
 Bengalee Testament. Here is a beginning, at least. The 
 Missionaries come over from Krishnagur once a-month or 
 so. May the gracious, tender-hearted S^our, soon dis- 
 place Kalee ! 
 
 Kulna^ July 25, 1837. 
 
 After labouring incessantly for three days, in all sorts 
 of respects, at Krishnagur, we embarked last evening for 
 
234 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 Kulna, which, is a large trading village between Calcutta 
 and the indigo estates. Here a most pious and excellent 
 catechist of the Church Missionary Society has raised a 
 school of three hundred children. I never was more 
 delighted than in the two hours I spent in examining 
 
 them, especially one of eighty girls. Mr. A is a most 
 
 energetic, devoted creature ; and the scriptural knowledge 
 he communicates is astonishing. You must remember 
 that all these schools at Nuddea, Krishnagur, and Kulna, 
 are of heathens, remaining such if they please, and coming 
 for the secular advantages of Western learning ; but they 
 make no objection to reading the Bible and learning cate- 
 chisms ; and the more advanced are put into English 
 classes, the rest being in Bengalee. No doubt the greater 
 part are caught again at the time of marriage by the 
 Brahmins, and never embrace Christianity ; but conscience 
 is awakened, prejudices lessened, inquiry excited, know- 
 ledge diffused, and in many cases permanent good done. 
 Then the books they carry home are a perpetual spring of 
 light and truth. 
 
 Burdwan^ Aug. 3, 1837. 
 "We were travelling seventeen hours dak on Tuesday 
 night, the roads were so difficult from the rains ; but 
 blessed to India are these showers — famine was threaten- 
 ing the teeming population — for six or eight months not a 
 drop of rain — lands untilled. But now, God. hath filled 
 men's hearts with food and gladness. The fields are lite- 
 rally pools of water; the small mud-banks mark ofi" the 
 enclosures, and form a kind of footpath for the agricul- 
 turists to tread. They are now "sowing beside all 
 
BURDWAN. 235 
 
 waters.'' Tlie paddy, or bread-corn, is " cast" loose on the 
 surface of the wide-spread inundation, and " comes up 
 after many days." The slow oxen tread out the moist- 
 ened soil, and open it with the narrow plough. The 
 farmer waters one land after another " with his foot," 
 which easily divides the mud embankment. The very 
 deluge, which in our colder climate of England would kill 
 everything, here revives and blesses. Two crops, indeed, 
 of the ordinary year have already been lost ; but the third 
 promises to repair that loss : so good is our God to man. 
 Nowhere doth He " leave Himself without witness." So 
 the indigo factor is " made also glad by His works." This 
 astonishing plant is now cultivated more widely than ever. 
 It is a small shrub with a very ordinary look. It requires 
 the richest soils — large culture — copious rains — gleaming 
 suns. The whole plant is plucked — leaves, stalks, and all, 
 when ripe, and washed in immense reservoirs. The pre- 
 cious dye is gradually expressed, dried, cut into cakes, and 
 sent home to make the beautiful deep colour of your broad- 
 cloths, and to enter into the composition of every other 
 colour except white. The lakh dye is another of our 
 oriental products which I saw at Burdwan, where Dr. 
 Cheek has twenty-five factories of indigo and lakh dye, 
 and employs three or four thousand men. As colonisation 
 proceeds, and the climate becomes the only impediment, all 
 these, and a thousand other productions of the East, will 
 more and more be exported to Europe, in return for your 
 Western blessings, natural, commercial, judicial, literary, 
 educational, moral, religious. Thus the inter- community 
 of the family of man will be cemented ; and if Christ our 
 
236 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 Lord crown all tlds knowledge with His heavenly light, 
 the earth will be filled with His glory. 
 
 Burdwan, Aug. 6, 1837. 
 
 May we have a blessed Sabbath in India and England, 
 and in all parts of Christ's Catholic Church ! On our 
 arrival here on Wednesday we attended the Bengalee 
 
 service at Mr. W 's Mission premises ; a fine estate, 
 
 bought through dear Bishop Corrie for the Church 
 Missionary Society. I was called on at the moment to 
 address about sixty children and forty adults. They sang 
 
 the Bengalee hymns beautifully, and Mr. W readily 
 
 interpreted for me. On Thursday I preached the ordinary 
 evening lecture. The station consists of about forty persons, 
 
 and having Mr. W , and also a Rev. Mr. Gr , 
 
 who is tutor to the Rajah, it is particularly well ordered. 
 There is a little church, also built through Bishop Corrie, 
 very neat and appropriate. On Friday I had a visit from 
 the Rajah, who is a lad of about sixteen, with an immense 
 income of perhaps forty lacs (40,000/.) — a Hindoo, stupid, 
 indolent, weak, surrounded by Brahmins. I said what I 
 could to encourage him to diligence in learning. His 
 tutor is not admitted to give him lessons above once in ten 
 days or so. On Saturday we spent four or five hours at 
 the Mission-house, which is about a mile from the town, 
 and I examined about 150 native scholars from the villages 
 around. 
 
 Chinsurah, Aug. 12, 1837. 
 
 We arrived here yesterday morning, after twelve hours' 
 dak, from Burdwan. We remain a week. To-day we 
 
CHINSURAH. 237 
 
 examine the Hooghly College of 1100 boys. To-morrow we 
 have two full services. Tuesday, confirmation. Thursday, 
 divine service. Intervals filled with visiting regimental 
 schools, English hospital, native schools, infant school, and 
 paying visits to the gentry. The Bishop's office is employed 
 in one of its purest and most advantageous exercises in these 
 visitations. JECis full influence comes into play. The raisiag 
 his clergy in their proper tone and feeling, and preaching 
 and labouring, are amongst the most important of his duties. 
 But oh, what grace is necessary to all this ! How easy to 
 sink one's self instead of raising others ! I was much afiected 
 lately with a remark of M. Henry, in his comment on 
 Judges ix. 9-13, on the parable of the trees choosing a 
 king : " Those who are preferred to places of public trust 
 and power must resolve to forego aU their private interests 
 and advantages, and sacrifice them to the good of the 
 community. The fig-tree must lose its sweetness, sweet 
 retirement, sweet repose, and sweet conversation and con- 
 templation, if it go to be promoted over the trees. It is 
 implied, also, that those advanced are in great danger of 
 losing their fatness and fruitfulness. Preferment is apt to 
 make men proud and slothful, and that spoils their useful- 
 ness, with which, in a lower sphere, they honoured Grod 
 and man ; for which reason, those who desire to do good 
 are afraid of beiQg too great." 
 
 Bandee, Sept. 5, 1837. 
 
 Nothing can be well more beautiful than the country 
 
 through which we have been passing; but the dear and 
 
 honoured Heber, whose course I am now in, has so finely 
 
 touched off all these shores, that nothiag can be added. 
 
238 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 Tbe alternate narrow streamlets which, are now navigable, 
 with the broad ocean-bed of the Ganges, present perpetual 
 contrasts. The reaches place us sometimes, as it were, in 
 the Ehine. The hills at Rajmahal for two days offered a 
 new object to our Bengal eyes — something like the Mal- 
 vern range : the villages, factories, pasture- grounds, indigo 
 plantations, are exquisite. Some of the scenery is of mixed 
 mountains and plains, with fine houses crowning some of 
 the summits; and with the old native species of habita- 
 tions, half in ruins, scattered at their feet, or along the 
 winding shore. But " man is vile ;'* the lowest state of 
 squalid poverty, misery, and vice — the meet progeny of 
 the devil's household — degrades him below human nature. 
 When will the language of Isaiah, in describing Messiah's 
 reign by the blooming garden, the tall and ornamental 
 cedar, and the wilderness blossoming with the rose, be ap- 
 plicable to India ! 
 
 Benares, Sept. 26, 1837. 
 We started last afternoon at half-past five p.m., and 
 were just about twelve hours in arriving at the celebrated 
 seat of Brahminical learning and power, which we left, 
 you will remember, last February. Seven months of 
 mercies have been now granted to me ! Oh, how soon will 
 life's short course be finished ! Here I am, entertained by 
 the old General Brown, of whom I spoke. On Thursday 
 I ,go to Sultanpore, thirteen miles, to meet all the Chunar 
 Christians. Friday, I hold an Ordination. Saturday, I 
 devote to the Church Mission. Sunday, two services, and 
 English Confirmation. Monday, Hindoostanee Confirm- 
 ation. Monday night we go dak to Juanpore. You would 
 
BENARES. 239 
 
 have been delighted to see my five clerical brethren come 
 in after breakfast. We wept almost for joy. Had all been 
 assembled that were expected, there would have been four 
 more, making with myself, ten Christian clergy in the 
 very place where Satan's seat is, and where 500,000 Brah- 
 mins have been ruling for 3000 years the darkness of this 
 
 world. Mr. R , catechist of Meerut, was detained on 
 
 his road by fever ; Mr. S was on a tour for his health ; 
 
 Mr. W could not arrive in time from Gorruckpore. 
 
 Such is the imperfection of our best himian plans. We 
 were six, however, and after arranging the order of the 
 Visitation duties, I retired with them into my chamber, and 
 we poured out our hearts, as the primitive bishops and 
 clergy were wont to do, for the inspiration of the Holy 
 Ghost on the divinely appointed ministry of the Church ; 
 that our meeting might be indeed accompanied with the 
 present tokens of the Divine Presence, in the manifestation 
 of Christ Jesus more and more to our souls, and through 
 us to our flocks. These are the touching, elevating seasons 
 which cheer my heart. I forget committees and difii- 
 culties, and repose myself upon God. The love of my 
 clergy is deeply seated. 
 
 On Thursday I had about fifty at divine service at 
 Sultanpore, and was much fatigued with nearly thirty 
 miles' drive in the heat. Yesterday I had to examine 
 
 Mr. M , the candidate for Priest's orders, and to 
 
 preach as well as ordain. At night my cough was so much 
 worse that I was forbidden to go out, so that I must leave 
 the Mission visit on which I had set my heart. Thus 
 warnings are given me. I have had visits from the Rajah, 
 
240 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 whom Lord W. Bentinck subdued about tbree years since. 
 This latter is a heavy-looking person, of thirty-five or forty 
 years ; stout, without any remarkable expression. He was 
 splendidly attired in a rich silk dress, with a profusion of 
 jewels. He appeared to suspect that I wished him to 
 change his religion, and seemed fully armed against it ; he 
 acknowledged that the Christian religion was the best: he 
 called himself a Lungiot, a sect of Hindoos who take no 
 animal food whatever, and have many other peculiarities. 
 But man is man everywhere, and in his fallen state clings 
 to any darkness and folly rather than follow truth. Collie 
 Shunker Ghosal is another sort of person, about sixty years 
 of age. A rich Benares Rajah, whose father, in return for 
 some medicines given him by an English merchant in 1818, 
 presented to the Church Missionary Society a noble build- 
 ing for a school, at a cost of 48,000 rs., and an annual 
 benefaction of 24,000 rs. for its maintenance, to which 
 Government adds a like sum. The present Eajah disbe- 
 lieves all idols, acknowledges One only living and true 
 God ; admits, as they all do, the excellency of the Christian 
 religion, but does not profess Christianity: first, because 
 he wishes to keep his idols in his house for his family, and 
 thus to maintain his respectability ; secondly, because he is 
 a deliberate and confirmed drunkard. Thus all the upper 
 classes of natives are withheld by their wives and the 
 Brahmins from taking a decisive part for Christianity, and 
 therefore, generally, the poor are more accessible to the 
 Gospel. 
 
 Oct.Q, 1837. 
 " Bless the Lord, my soul, and all that is within me 
 bless His holy name !" Such, my dearest children, is the 
 
BENARES. 241 
 
 desire of your restored father's lips of praise to the Most 
 High. Here I would raise my stone of memorial and say, 
 *' Ebenezer ! hitherto hath the Lord helped me." My ill- 
 ness* is now the topic which presses most closely on my 
 mind ; the Divine purposes in the time, manner, mode, 
 alleviation of it. It is the first serious warning I have had 
 in India. I needed it, or the Lord would not have sent it. 
 Oh, to know the special designs of the visitation ! The 
 general ends are obvious : — My remaining evil heart, my 
 worldly affections, my disordered will, the state of my 
 secret prayers, the internal position of my soul towards 
 Christ and spiritual things ; all these open to me the 
 abundant grounds of the merciful chastisement. One 
 single day presents miseries, and sins, and follies, and infi- 
 delities, enough to call down the mighty hand of God upon 
 me. Here is the grand lesson, then, without going further. 
 It is a wonder that I have been spared these afflictions so 
 long. The special ends I can only meditate on in my o\nti 
 breast in most particulars, and I may be mistaken in them 
 altogether. I think one is, to tear me away more from 
 creature dependencies in my spiritual office, and cast me 
 as a shipwrecked soul on Christ. The brittle, " earthen," 
 futile vessel, in which the treasure is deposited, is exposed 
 in its true nothingness, that " the excellency of the power 
 may be of God, and not of man." Again, I trust another 
 design may be to promote sympathy and intercessory prayer 
 on my behalf. Common sorrows tend to a softening of the 
 heart, whilst the inevitable effect of any station of authority, 
 however administered, is discontent, complaint, envy. A 
 
 kThe Bishop had been suflfering from severe indisposition. — Editor. 
 
242 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 tliird end must doubtless be to keep me low for tbe time to 
 come, to remind me bow sbort my remaining time is, and 
 to teacb me to walk softly and gently before God. A 
 fourth is, tbat Christ alone can govern and bless His 
 Cburcb, ride at the helm and guide the vessel, and order all 
 things according to the counsel of His own will. Lastly, 
 I may learn to stand with my " loins girded and my lamp 
 burning," ready to give an account of my ** pounds," my 
 ** talents," my diocese, my stewardship, to the great Master 
 and Lord of all, 
 
 Benares, Oct. 12, 1837. 
 
 I am much delighted with these Missionaries of Benares. 
 They are an ornament to the Gospel, indeed. The elder, 
 
 Mr. S , is absent at Delhi for his health. The two 
 
 others, K and L , were my fellow-passengers in 
 
 1832 from England. They have invited me to take up my 
 
 lodgings in Mr. S 's cottage, where I now am ; and a 
 
 great joy it is to me. The compound contains Mr. K 's 
 
 house, and also Mr. L 's, besides schools, a chapel, and 
 
 outhouses. The Missionaries live here in all simplicity. 
 The houses are comfortable, as they ought to be, or the 
 Missionaries would perish by the climate ; but there is 
 nothing more. Their hearts are simplicity and piety itself. 
 
 I look on Mr. S at Calcutta, Mr. W at Burd- 
 
 wan, and the brethren here, as perfect specimens of what 
 Missionaries should be. 
 
 I accompanied Mr. K , on Friday and Saturday, to 
 
 his little Missionary chapels in the town, and witnessed his 
 manner of conferring with the people. He has three of 
 these neat buildings in the midst of the most crowded 
 
BENARES. 243 
 
 population, whither lie resorts morning and evening. On 
 Friday we found his native reader already on the ground, 
 reading a Christian tract. We seated ourselves in chairs 
 behind him : the people soon began to pause as they passed, 
 and listen. After fifty or so had been collected in the 
 verandah, Mr. K rose up and began himself the con- 
 ference, for it was not a sermon, but questions were pro- 
 posed and answered. The Hindoos were silent, but the 
 Mussulmen loquacious. It lasted about half-an-hour; but 
 sometimes the Missionary remains till noon, and several 
 hundreds are assembled, till the chapel itself, as well as the 
 verandah, is filled. 
 
 My residence here with these holy men has been most 
 delightful to me — the most refreshing time since I have 
 been in India. I have learned an infinity of things from 
 them concerning the actual state of the heathens and Maho- 
 metans. Hom. i. and Eph. ii. is their exact description. 
 By the bye the old Eajah, whom I spoke of as so enlight- 
 ened, when I called upon him took me to see his paternal 
 temple of gods ; for he has an entire set of deities in a fine 
 stone temple, vastly superior to his own dwelling. Here 
 he maintains sixty priests, all residing on the spot. Such 
 is Hindoo respectability ! 
 
 Benares, Oct. 19, 1837. 
 
 We leave this sweet retreat to-morrow morning at day- 
 light, in order to reach Ghazeepore by Sunday. I have 
 a pinnace sent me from Dinapore, with seventeen oars, 
 which will carry me down the current seventy-five miles 
 in two days, and at Patnah the Governor- General gives me 
 a steamer to proceed to Dacca and Calcutta. 
 
244 
 
 CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 Leave Benares — The Vedantists — Walter Scott's "Life" — 
 Ghazeepore — Consecration of New Church — Buxar — Want 
 of Chaplains — Dinapore — Confirmation — Patnah — Dacca — 
 Week-day Lecture — Fool's Bridge — Capture of Elephants — 
 Eichard Hooker — Return to Calcutta — Jangera Mission — 
 Baptism of Natives — Hindoo Pagoda given up for a Church — 
 Reflections on New Year — Baripoor — First Stone of Refuge — 
 Mission -house laid — Swinging Festival — Waterspout — Re- 
 flections on Birthday — Commencement of Second Visitation — 
 Henry Martyn's Journals — Andaman Islands — Penang — 
 Malacca — Completion of Church — Storms at Sea — Justin 
 Martyr — Return to Penang. 
 
 On Ganges, Friday, Oct. 20, 1837. 
 I HAVE brouglit Mr. K with me, to assist me at Ghazee- 
 pore. I am now for the first time in a pinnace. Our rate 
 is three miles an hour ; half my men row, and half are in 
 a boat a-head towing. We were on board this morning at 
 four, as we are in some fear of not arriving to-morrow 
 night at Ghazeepore. I have availed myself of my days 
 of restored health to visit the Missionary Schools and In- 
 stitutions. The Orphan Boys' School in the compound is 
 a most hopeful branch of the work, as the children are 
 
 baptized and separated from their families. Mr. L 
 
 has prayers with them in his chapel twice a-day. I attended 
 the Sunday service morning and evening. About twenty 
 
ON GANGES. 245 
 
 heathen increase the congregation to sixty or seventy. The 
 Girls' Day-school has ninety children ; heathens of course, 
 and under the influence of their parents when at home, 
 which is a sad obstruction. The girls read well, and an- 
 swered my questions very sharply. I gave them sixty 
 rupees to furnish each a garment for the head, called a 
 saree, and which gives them a neat uniform appearance at 
 school. The Rajah's school-house is a noble building. There 
 are 200 children, all heathen except one class, capitally 
 taught the Gospel ; sharp, lively, curious for truth. Mr. 
 
 L spends five hours daily amongst them. The Bazaar 
 
 schools I could not manage to visit, but three conferences I 
 contrived to be present at. The one at the Sanscrit College 
 
 was very interesting. Mr. K was with me. The 
 
 Yedantists opened their artillery upon us. "All is illusion 
 — all is appearance merely. *Maya' is the Sanscrit word. 
 There is nothing existent but God. At death we awake 
 from the dreams and phantoms of this life." This, you 
 see, is something like Bishop Berkeley's theory. But Pan- 
 theism is their next position. "Every soul is a part of 
 God. I am a part of God. God speaks in me." Then 
 follows the indifference of all actions performed by the 
 man swallowed up in the contemplation of God. Morals 
 
 are thus overthrown. Mr. K 's answer to all was, — 
 
 "Prove your theory. Is pain, is pleasure, is food, is money 
 non-existent ? Is the mind, which thinks and reasons, the 
 same as a table or stone? Are all the sins of men done in 
 them by God?" Confusion upon confusion arose from 
 their metaphysical replies. Next I took them upon the 
 rule of life: "Is it sinful to steal, to tell lies, to commit 
 
 I 
 
246 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 adultery ?" — "Yes." "Are tlie contrary actions virtuous?" 
 — "That depends upon a man's caste. Some castes are to do 
 some things ; others, others." All afloat again. I tried 
 them upon the vile conduct of their gods, as Brahma and 
 Krishna. They replied, " They were so great that the 
 acts which would be sins in us were not so in them." This 
 again overturns everything. I concluded by an afiectionate 
 appeal to their consciences, and assured them that the only 
 truth was in Christ Jesus, which would at length fill the 
 whole world. This missionary work delights me. 
 
 Oct. 25, 1837. 
 I have been very poorly for these four days, but it is 
 the Lord. My persuasion of my Saviour's wisdom, power, 
 and love, is so firm, that I lie composed in His hands. He 
 is the great Shepherd and Bishop of souls. My diocese, 
 my clergy, my flocks, are purchased by His blood, and 
 governed and sanctified by His Spirit ; and what am I, or 
 what even Paul, and Apollos, and Cephas, and Heber, and 
 Corrie? The inspired Word answers the question: "So 
 then neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that 
 watereth, but God that giveth the increase." I wish to 
 turn as much as I can to the care of my own heart, to the 
 importance of a healthy, spiritual, humble, unearthly, 
 simple state of faith and love. We are what our hearts 
 are. God looks to the heart : there are the issues of life. 
 To walk near to God, and with God, and in God, and to 
 God, in the covenant of grace in Christ Jesus, and by the 
 power of the Holy Ghost ; and to maintain a sweet, gentle, 
 forgiving, and yet energetic course of duty, governed by 
 
II ON GANGES. 247 
 
 good sense and a consideration of our health, age, and re- 
 lative obligations as to all specific plans — this is a high 
 and eminent attainment indeed ! 
 
 Lockhart's second and third volumes of Walter Scott's 
 "Life" are perfectly bewitching. Such a fine development 
 of such a first-rate mind ! Such a romantic history of difii- 
 culties, first created by an over- sanguine temperament, and 
 something of unfairness, and then struggled against with 
 an ardour seldom equalled ; and producing such a flood of 
 intellectual creations in verse and prose as, I suppose, the 
 literary world had never witnessed. The excellence, as 
 well as the profusion of these productions,, is the point of 
 wonder. Then, such a modest, kind-hearted, generous, un- 
 afiected person, always the first to be surprised at the 
 success of his own labours. A good husband, father, 
 master, landlord, neighbour, member of society; that is, 
 in the common estimate of those terms, and as compared 
 with other geniuses, for he wants real Christianity : he can 
 scorn at piety, he can be profane in his language, he can 
 be excessive at the table ; and his writings, as Mrs. More 
 once told me, are non-moral. Again, what an exquisitely 
 natural, and engaging, and tender-hearted, and gay letter- 
 writer ! Lastly, what a variety of topics in all forms of 
 literature did he touch, and never touched without suc- 
 ceeding ! Historical romances, history, poetry,, biography, 
 reviews, annual registers, magazines, even sermons ; in 
 which last, however, he of course failed. And in most of 
 these divisions of literature he created and exhausted a 
 new species of undiscovered and most attractive composi- 
 tion. No wonder he was the idol of his age. 
 
248 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 Ghazeepore, Oct. 30, 1837. 
 I am going off to-day to Buxar, thirty miles, in my pin- 
 nace. I consecrated this fine church on Saturday before a 
 large congregation: text, Rom. i. 16, "I am not ashamed of 
 the Gospel of Christ." I have succeeded in arranging a 
 plan for an enclosure and tower, to complete the church. 
 The whole will then be beautiful. I am delighted to hear 
 that the small society at Mirzapore have spontaneously 
 collected 2500 rs. for building a small church with a spire. 
 This, like Allyghur, is without any movement on my part. 
 Surely these are tokens for good. Christianity is openly 
 honoured in the sight of the heathen. This will make 
 twenty-two churches and towers going on in India. 
 
 Oct. 31, 1837. 
 Remember, my children, "all the way" which the 
 Lord our God has led me for ^yq Indian years. Oct. 31st, 
 1832, the pilot came on board at Calcutta. Oct. 31st, 1833, 
 I spent at Calcutta; the next at Penang and the Straits. 
 The fourth in the vessel sailing to Quilon and Madras. 
 Oct. 31st, 1836, at Loodianah; and now the sixth in a 
 pinnace, approaching the pretty station of Buxar. What 
 a stranger and pilgrim upon earth ! and yet preserved, 
 and restored lately from a double sickness ; warned also by 
 
 the affecting loss of my dear Sir B. M ; and lastly, 
 
 thrown wholly on my God by the destitution of my cir- 
 cumstances. Oh, for a state of heart to rise up to my pre- 
 sent calls of duty. Oh, for that power of faith and prayer, 
 of sweet resignation and holy courage, of real, habitual 
 spirituality of love, without which we are counted dead 
 
BUXAR. 249 
 
 before God ! I want to administer my diocese, this sixth 
 year, something more like the primitive bishops than 
 ever. 
 
 Buxar, Nov. 1, 1837. 
 "We spent yesterday at this scene of our early triumphs 
 in India. The field in which the battle of Buxar was 
 fought in 1764, against the Newabs of Bengal and Oude, 
 and by which our frontier was extended to Benares, was 
 pointed out to me. Now, our power is so extended that 
 Buxar has sunk into insignificance, and our frontier is on 
 the Sutledge, 800 miles to the north-east. Never was any- 
 thing so rapid and wonderful as the British conquests in 
 India. The other day, a miserable factory or two, almost 
 dependent on the Mogul for existence; in eighty years, the 
 dominant power over the centre of all Asia, with a do- 
 minion extending from Cape Comorin to the Himalaya, 
 and from the Indus to Arracan. Buxar has lost in the 
 interval between Bishop Heber's visit, in 1824, and my 
 own, its troops, its fort, its military glory and display; 
 and also, sad to say, its mission and schools founded by 
 Bishop Corrie, and so beautifully described by Heber. The 
 Church Missionary Society removed Mr. M , their or- 
 dained Missionary, last spring, and all is fallen. For the 
 relapses in our converts are fearful, if once the Pastor be 
 removed from them ; the feebleness of the native character 
 is so great. Witness Agra; witness the Propagation Mis- 
 sions in the south ; witness Buxar. I foimd, however, a 
 neat little church erected at dear Corrie's suggestion, and 
 which cost the gentry about 2000 rs. Here I assembled the 
 congregation, now reduced to about fifty altogether, and 
 
250 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 preached and administered the Holy Communion, at which, 
 about eighteen attended. It was desolating to me to be 
 informed that divine service had not once been adminis- 
 tered since I had been there in March, eight long months ; 
 Ghazeepore, under whose chaplain it is placed, being itself 
 without an efficient chaplain. I have now placed the 
 
 E-ev. Mr. E at Ghazeepore, who will go over once in 
 
 six weeks, and keep together both the invalid soldiers 
 and also the remains of the native flock. 
 
 Dinapore^ Nov. 8, 1837. 
 I am making my way in this great station. The 
 church is precisely the same as that of Ghazeepore, and 
 admits of the same remedy, t. e. a neat turret: the whole 
 effect will then be beautiful. I am obliged to be surveyor 
 and architect, as well as orator, advocate, and ecclesiastical 
 lawyer. "We had a noble congregation on Sunday, per- 
 haps about 1000 persons, and about eighty at the Holy 
 Communion. I preached from Gal. vi. 14, "God forbid 
 that I should glory." On Monday I held a Confirm- 
 ation ; eighty-five candidates ; most solemn and impres- 
 sive. Yesterday I visited the school and hospital. 
 
 Patnah.Nov. 13, 1837. 
 I have just finished the 4th volume of Lockhart's 
 " Life of Scott." I am weak enough to say it has an in- 
 describable charm to me ; perhaps this arises from myj 
 previous total ignorance of W. Scott's habits and cast of 
 mind, and the celebrity of his name. His letters are 
 nature itself — those to his son most paternal — the alter- 
 
DACCA. 251 
 
 nations of Hs own history romantic — the anecdotes ex- 
 quisitely told. Still, still the main thing is wanting — no 
 religion — no dread of occasional profane language — no 
 religious or moral advice mixed up with his charming 
 letters to his son — no piety of feeling, even when raised 
 in 1819 from the margin of the grave — his own impru- 
 dence and extravagant schemes involving him in deeper 
 and deeper embarrassment — his booksellers deceiving him 
 for years — the bubble almost bursting in 1820, when this 
 volume closes. It is a study for me. But Lockhart has 
 done the work capitally, I think. It is a first-rate bio- 
 graphy of a first-rate genius. 
 
 Dacca, Nov. 30, 1837. 
 This is a most charming place. One never has a 
 notion of anything till one has actually seen it. I had no 
 idea of the extent and beauty of this ancient capital. The 
 magnificence of the harbour or roads, if so they may be 
 termed, only yield to Benares, if even to that. Its four 
 miles of modern mansions and palm-trees, and ghauts sweep- 
 ing along the river's bank, present an imposing spec- 
 tacle. The solenm gloom of the church, with its lofty tower ; 
 the antique and mournful aspect of the churchyard, with 
 its Mussulman gateway ; the noble native bazaars ; the 
 prodigious mass of ruins of the former Mogul palace of the 
 Newab ; the interspersed Greek, and Armenian, and Por- 
 tuguese churches, with the mosques and pagodas (one has 
 a lofty spire surmounting a spiral or fluted tower, and 
 commanding the whole city), all constitute a perfectly 
 enchanting place, even to me, who have now seen almost 
 aU India. 
 
 I 
 
252 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 Dacca, Dec. 3, 1837. 
 I have been preaching my Advent Sermon in the 
 beautiful Gothic church of this station : perhaps there 
 may have been fifty or sixty persons present. I repeated 
 my last Sunday's sermon at Bauleah, on the forbearance 
 of God: 2 Pet. iii. 9. The congregation was attentive 
 in an extraordinary degree. The gentry had requested 
 me to deliver a lecture on Friday evening, which I cheer- 
 fully did. This is the first example of a station coming 
 forward and begging a week-day sermon. I was quite 
 surprised and delighted. In fact, hitherto, so far as I can 
 judge, I have seen no station more athirst for the river of 
 life and truth in Christ's holy Gospel than Dacca. May 
 many drink and live ! 
 
 Dacca, Dec. 7, 1837. 
 Bishop Heber was too much depressed by the illness 
 and death of his chaplain, the E-ev. Mr. Stowe, when at 
 Dacca, in June 1824, to see much of the beauties of the 
 neighbourhood. His remarks give no kind of impression 
 of what Dacca is. I only wish you could have been with 
 us in our visit to the ^' Fool's Bridge," the " Pugla Pool," 
 for instance. It lies about five miles from the city, on a 
 nullah which branches off from the Ganges, and I went 
 down in the steamer to see it. It was erected under the 
 Mogul Emperors. Its massive brick-work piers and a 
 part of the bridge and flanking towers still remain. The 
 picturesque view of the broken piles is exquisite. One 
 arch only is tolerably entire, so as to allow of boats to pass 
 under it ; the other two are lying in huge fragments, 
 crowned with the sinking towers. Time has spread a 
 
 i 
 
DACCA. 253 
 
 beautiful vegetation over the masses. It is not known 
 when the crash took place. In 1787 it was in ruins as it 
 is now, and probably the earthquake and inundation, 
 which carried off 60,000 souls, in 1763, may have broken 
 up even this prodigious erection. The union of strength 
 and weakness, of giant arches and towers in utter deso- 
 lation, mingled with the sweet calm stream purling in the 
 midst, the fresh vegetation contrasted with the mouldering 
 walls, the brick-built towers and the surrounding ruins, 
 was most imposing. I said, as we stood looking, " There 
 is an emblem of human nature — a fine ruin only." The 
 old traveller Tavernier describes Dacca in his day, 1640, 
 as a mere village with bamboo huts, and a governor's 
 house built of wood ; the Dutch, English, and French 
 factories being the only substantial erections. It rose, 
 however, after 1760, when the English obtained the 
 government of Bengal, to prodigious opulence, chiefly by 
 the muslin manufacture, which had the highest reputa- 
 tion for matchless deKcacy of fabric. It had then noble 
 churches, houses, factories, many of which remain. The 
 English church is very beautiful, and was built by the 
 subscriptions of the inhabitants. The country abounds 
 with elephants and tigers, from the richness of the soil, 
 the neighbourhood of the mountains, and the deep jungle. 
 Tigers perpetually prowl within the cantonment. There 
 is one now behind an officer's bungalow, whom the officers 
 are going to track out. They commonly remain in a spot 
 till they have carried off nine or ten bullocks. The 
 elephants ^re caught here by an officer appointed for 
 the purpose. He is just now going off into the jungle. 
 
 I 
 
254 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 Last season lie caught ninety of all ages, from a few hours 
 old, when they resemble a small pig, to the finest full- 
 grown animals. A very choice one sells for 2000 rs., 
 ordinary ones for 800 or 900 rs. The ninety cost about 
 150 rs. each. All India is supplied from such jungles as 
 Dacca. The number kept here in the studs is generally 
 about 300. The luxuriance of the soil is such that rice is 
 cheap beyond imagination. The commanding beauty of 
 the situation of Dacca is, however, almost unparalleled. 
 It differs from Benares, whose lofty shores of fifty feet, 
 with its fine line of ghauts down to the river's edge, and 
 its minarets and palaces, I have formerly described ; but 
 it surpasses it in soft scenery, in the larger intermixture 
 of gardens amongst the houses, and in the gently ascend- 
 ing banks. It is more like an English view of some 
 portions of the Thames. As you row along the opposite 
 side of the spacious river, the sweep of the whole reach, 
 four miles, on which Dacca stands, is enchanting. 
 
 Steamer, Dec. 16, 1837. 
 -N'ow my heart sinks within me. On Grod I desire to 
 cast myself more unreservedly than ever. " Most gladly 
 would I desire to glory in my infirmities, that the power 
 of Christ may rest upon me." And how much have I to 
 be thankful for ! Who has received good from the hand 
 of the Lord so many years as I have ? And shall I not, 
 then, be ready to receive evil ? I was last evening read- 
 ing a little of Hooker, book i. 11 : — ** Appetitus inhiantis 
 fit amor fruentisJ' — Aug. " As the will doth now work 
 upon that good (the fruition of Grod), which is a motion 
 
ON GANGES. 255 
 
 towards tlie end as yet unobtained ; so, likewise, upon the 
 same hereafter received, it shall work by love. We shall 
 then love the thing that is good, only or principally for 
 the goodness of beauty in itself. The soul being in this 
 sort, as it is active, perfected by love of that Infinite 
 Being, shall, as it is receptive, be also perfected with those 
 supernatural passions of joy, peace, and delight. All this, 
 endless and everlasting. Lord, what is man that Thou 
 shouldst exalt him above the work of Thy hands so far as 
 to make Thyself the inheritance of his rest and the sub- 
 stance of his felicity !" So writes this immortal father of 
 our Protestant Church. Here let us take up, then, our 
 resting-place, my children, even in God in Christ Jesus ! 
 Let the waves and storms of life heave us upon this rock. 
 Here may our feet be upheld by the mighty Spirit of God. 
 I read over three times, also, the concluding sublime para- 
 graph of the book, c. 18. It is too familiar to you for 
 me to transcribe it. I wish you would read Hooker 
 again and again. Nothing can more enrich, and steady, 
 and exalt the mind under God. Bishop Butler also, and 
 Pearson on the Creed, and pray add Bingham's " Anti- 
 quities,'' which let you into the chambers of imagery, of 
 early superstition and will-worship, as well as furnish 
 valuable information on primitive church history. Char- 
 nock, which you have just been reading, I admire, also, 
 greatly, though I have never had an opportunity of regu- 
 larly going through it, and I doubt whether I have it with 
 me. But the Bible is, after all, the book for study, medi- 
 tation, divine nourishment, unmixed truth, the eternal will 
 of the eternal God, stooping down to us in Christ Jesus. 
 
256 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 Calcutta, Dec. 17, 1837. 
 
 Blessed be the Lord for restoring me once again to 
 my cathedral pulpit ! I arrived at 5 p.m. yesterday, and 
 have been preaching, after fifteen Sundays' absence, from 
 2 Pet. i. 13, the word of prophecy a light shining in a 
 dark place. 
 
 Dec. 20, 1837. 
 
 I have great cause for thankfulness to the gracious, 
 tender-hearted Redeemer, as respects niy health. Yes ; 
 and I will praise Him, trust Him, and endeavour to love 
 and obey Him, more and more. I will leave the morrow 
 to Him, both as to my family and the Church. I will lie 
 passive in His moulding hands. But oh, the mass of evil 
 in my heart, tempers, devotions ! I think I have felt 
 m.ore of barrenness and coldness these three last months 
 than ever, with more distraction upon my mind. Afflic- 
 tions are sent to burn out this noxious, weedy crop, and I 
 feel my present desolation deeply. Do not mistake me 
 when you read what I have said of my health. Age is 
 galloping on me like an armed man ; and a thousand sick- 
 nesses stand at the door. I speak only as a dying Indo- 
 European pilgrim to praise the Lord for present help. 
 I may never finish this very letter. Mrs. Hawkes' 
 " Memoirs " delight, instruct, humble, and edify me. 
 
 Dec. 31, 1837. 
 
 And thus years begin and close. Thus the last Sunday 
 
 creeps on after the first of the year has once entered on 
 
 the race. Time passes faster than the eagle in its flight. 
 
 God requireth that which is past ; the retrospect is full of 
 
CALCUTTA. 257 
 
 pain and humiliation ; as to myself, sucli shame and con- 
 fusion that no words can express it. I was saying to the 
 Archdeacon, while we were at Jangera yesterday, and wit- 
 nessing the buddings of grace in the native churches^ 
 "These simple, uneducated novices, put us to reproach 
 under our immensely superior advantages." We were 
 eleven hours yesterday in our little visit. After arriving 
 at Tallygunge at 8, we embarked in the Mission canoes,, 
 and in about two hours and a-half landed at Jangera. 
 During the passage I took down most carefully all the 
 information I could extract from the meek and pious Mis- 
 sionary who accompanied me. He has now between 800 
 and 900 converts, of whom about 500 are adults and 180 
 baptized under Christian instruction, separated from idols 
 and idolaters, attending regularly the means of grace,,, 
 learning the principles of Christianity, and training in 
 Christian morals and habits. They reside in twenty vil- 
 lages, each of which is visited once a-month by the 
 Missionary and Catechist. After two years or more of in- 
 struction they are admitted to baptism. I examined 
 twenty-five adults, making eighty-five this year. I made 
 use of all my Bengalee, of which I had been learning a 
 good lesson in the canoe as we came along, and managed 
 tolerably with the large assistance of the Missionary. No 
 answers could be more satisfactory. They repeated the 
 Lord's Prayer, Creed, and Ten Commandments perfectly ; 
 they understood the fallen state of man, the guilt of 
 idolatry, the being and perfections of the one true God, 
 the redemption of Christ, the sanctification of the Holy 
 Spirit, the rule of Christian duty, the future judgment, 
 
258 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 the benefits of baptism, tbe renouncing of the world, the 
 flesh, and the devil ; entire abstinence from all idolatry ; 
 the duties of chastity, kindness to their wives and child- 
 ren, diligence, truth, honesty. Of course all these topics 
 were imperfectly and feebly held, but they were held, and 
 they had been living for two years conformably to them. 
 I say, therefore, with the Apostle, " Can any man forbid 
 water that these should not be baptized, which have re- 
 ceived the Holy Ghost as well as we ?" We baptized 
 them then, in the name of the Lord Jesus. I then de- 
 livered an address to them and the congregation, whom I 
 called on as their witnesses and helpers to watch over 
 them and aid them in the Lord. I enjoined on them 
 daily secret prayer, daily reading or hearing the Holy 
 Scripture, preparing for the Lord's Supper ; obedience to 
 their spiritual pastors ; the shunning idols and idolaters ; 
 the watching against easily besetting sins, as uncleanness, 
 deceit, lies ; the keeping holy the Sabbath ; the continual 
 return to God from infirmities and falls ; a constant reli- 
 ance on the grace of God in Christ Jesus. Thus, I left 
 them to their Missionary and to their God. No doubt 
 many, many miscarriages may and will occur. All is as 
 yet experiment. But I do and will rejoice in these Gentiles 
 thus far " turning to God from idols, to serve the living 
 and the true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven." 
 Christian habits are gradually prevaiKng amongst them. 
 They are now numerous enough to go to the markets, and 
 they buy and sell without hindrance. In some villages 
 the head-men are converts. In others the Christians bear 
 a proportion of half, one-third, or two-thirds to the 
 
CALCUTTA. 259 
 
 heathen. In DInapore, out of its one hundred families, 
 only five remain heathen. As we were returning to Tally- 
 gunge we disembarked at Raggapore, where we have been 
 building churches. At Sujhnaberia the head-man, on his 
 conversion, gave up a Hindoo pagoda to be made a Christ- 
 ian church. It is the first I have seen — a voluntary 
 surrender of an idol temple for the worship of the true 
 God. I entered it with joy. I walked along the neat, 
 pretty building, which is merely whitewashed, and one 
 wall removed to make room for a bamboo verandah. The 
 alterations cost 18/. or 19/. It is about thirty-five feet 
 by twenty. The Archdeacon promised them his old mis- 
 sion pulpit. There are sixty converts in this village. 
 This is surely a new triumph of the Cross. H. Martyn's 
 occupation of a forsaken pagoda as a study at Adeen was 
 a difierent matter. Here the building and •worship and 
 worshippers are actually turned from the abominations of 
 idolatry to the salvation, and grace, and holiness of the 
 Gospel. We were extremely fatigued when we reached 
 the palace at seven in the evening, after five hours of 
 passage in canoes, and six of talking, conferring, teaching, 
 exhorting. 
 
 Calcutta^ Jan. 1, 1838. 
 A happy new year to my dear children — a new life, 
 new peace, new measures of holiness, new joy, new and 
 brighter hopes. "A new name, which the mouth of the 
 Lord shall name." How time flies ! India — my India, 
 I mean — now stretches over seven years. Oh, for a new 
 life, wisdom, power, meekness, consistency, spirituality in 
 my bishopric ! Oh, to end well ! I am about to preach 
 
260 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 to myself as well as to others this morning, from " Lord, 
 let it alone this year also." This will be my 576th sermon 
 in India, and 3285th since September 1801. Lord, dig 
 about me also, that I may bear wholesome, ripe, and 
 abundant fniit in my ministry, my family, my body, 
 my soul, this year. 
 
 Baripoor, Jan. 10, 1838. 
 
 We came on here last evening — the Archdeacon, Mr. 
 Withers, and myself — to examine this Mission, as we had 
 done the Jangera one. Oh, how I long for you to rejoice 
 with me in these firstfruits among the Gentiles ! I have 
 
 brought Mr. J also with me to assist. A wonderful 
 
 work is in progress. People from forty or fifty collages 
 compose the flock, which is subdivided into four large por- 
 tions — Baripoor, Sulkea, Anamania, and Muggra, at each 
 of which there is a little church. 
 
 Calcutta, March 20, 1838. 
 
 Last evening I drove with the Archdeacon to Mrs. 
 Wilson's Refuge, which I am next Sunday to advocate. 
 The children, 114 in number, were drawn up around the 
 foundations of the intended Mission-house, of which I was 
 to lay the first brick. They sang a hymn sweetly, a 
 crowd of natives from the village watching anxiously 
 around. I then pronounced several texts of Scripture 
 
 suitable to the occasion, which good Mr. S translated 
 
 into Bengalee. As : " Except the Lord build the house, 
 their laboui' is but lost that build it." — " Other foundation 
 can no man lay." I next addressed a prayer to our Al- 
 mighty and Divine Saviour. I then spread the mortar 
 and adjusted the brick. Afterwards Mr. S translated 
 
CALCUTTA. 261 
 
 a brief exhortation wMcli I made to tlie natives. A 
 doxology was tlien sung, and after giving tlie Benediction 
 in Bengalee we returned home. Mrs. Wilson is as strong 
 in health and as simple-minded in point of faith as ever. 
 This is her third building on this estate : the schools and 
 her own dwelling-house being the two first ; and her fourth, 
 a church, will be begun in the fall of the year, please God. 
 The range of these fine buildings, on the margin of the 
 Ganges, will be, like Bishop's College, a monument of 
 England's piety in the sight of the heathen who navigate 
 in crowds, and at all seasons, this fabled river. She has 
 obtained this additional land for the Mission church and 
 house from a Brahmin, for a quarter of the sum any one 
 else could have done. There is a current impression upon 
 the people's minds that she is a holy person — a saint. 
 
 Calcutta, April 10, 1838. 
 Most refreshing rain has now fallen for two or three 
 hours. The horrors of the Churruck Poojah (swinging 
 festival) are now begun. The whole population poured 
 towards the Kalee Ghaut. Every species of gay equi- 
 page was displayed — thousands of the poorer classes 
 marching in procession in their best attire. The victims 
 prepare themselves by inserting the iron spikes into 
 their flesh to-day, for the swinging of to-morrow. Then 
 the priests, the ofierings, the opium, the intoxication, the 
 madness after their idols, follow, with all the turpitude 
 and abominations which close the scene. The wretches 
 who are swung are said not to sufier much : they take such 
 precautions in benumbing the parts of their backs where 
 
262 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 the spikes are thrust in ; and their own state of inebriety 
 from opium is so complete. But the system, the idolatrous 
 worship, the barbarity, the moral pollution, remain the 
 same. Oh, what a contrast to the meek and gentle reli- 
 gion of Jesus ! 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. K of Benares, with whom I was so 
 
 much dehghted last October, have both been called to their 
 heavenly home, the one on the 29th ult., the other the 3d 
 inst. by fever, in the prime of life and usefulness, to the in- 
 expressible grief of the station, and of all the friends of 
 missions in India. 
 
 Calcutta, April U, 1S38. 
 
 I have just returned from cathedral prayers, where we 
 had a congregation of forty-five. I finished my Lent lec- 
 tures last evening, from Heb. xii. 1, 2 : " Run with 
 patience the race set before you, looking unto Jesus." 
 There has been a deep attention throughout, and Dr. 
 Webb tells me persons of all characters and from all quar- 
 ters have dropped in. 
 
 At the Churruck Poojah last week, a most insulting 
 exhibition took place in Calcutta — a dramatic scene and 
 stage, on which a Christian Missionary and his native 
 converts were paraded, whilst the impious leader of the 
 troop was loading with blasphemies the sacred Name. 
 I should like to ask, what would have been said if 
 a body of Christians had ventured thus to represent 
 the Mahometan or Hindoo religions ? There has been a 
 most fearful waterspout, or whirlwind, about five miles 
 from Calcutta. Some of the hailstones weighed a pound ; 
 several hundred lives were lost, and the heads of some 
 
CALCUTTA. 263 
 
 poor creatures were driven into their bodies almost by the 
 \T.olence of the concussion. It was the Sunday I was at 
 Barrackpore, and my servants brought me in hailstones of 
 the size of a large grape. It is very curious that at these 
 times fish appear to be rained down. The natives con- 
 stantly go out to the large fields to collect them. They 
 must have been lifted out of the rivers, I suppose, by the 
 storm. Another phenomenon is more easily accounted for. 
 Mr. T. Holroyd found in Tirbout large fish in the muddy 
 earth, at a considerable distance from the surface, and en- 
 tirely buried. 
 
 BisJiop's College^ May 6, 1838. 
 A refreshing shower last evening has reduced our 
 thermometer by 8°, and rendered our Sabbath cool and de- 
 lightful. Oh, for the spiritual refreshments from the pre- 
 sence of the Lord ! !N^othing can make up for the interior 
 supply of grace to the heart : all may be clear in doctrine, 
 devout in duty, eager in religious pursuits, practised in 
 business, regular in means of grace, firm in purpose ; and 
 yet all may be cold, feeble, unhappy, heartless, if God be 
 not with us in Christ Jesus by the tokens of His presence. 
 " If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious," is 
 the Apostle's expression. " If thy presence go not with 
 us," saith Moses. It is the loss of this presence, this 
 grace, this refreshing sense of the Divine love, which 
 renders everything dull and inoperative. And in ad- 
 vanced life, and with forty years of study and familiarity 
 with the terms of religion and the distinctions of contro- 
 versy, nothing is more common, and nothing more dan- 
 gerous, than opinions and habits being substituted for love. 
 
264 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 Controversy does not nourish, tlie life of God. Tlie faint- 
 ing "hart" desires in vain the "water-brooks." The 
 clearer we are in argument, the heavier move the affections 
 towards Christ. May the Lord at length lend us " the 
 wings of a dove, that we may flee away and be at rest ! " 
 
 Calcutta^ June 17, 1838. 
 May a blessed Sabbath be granted us ! This is the 
 anniversary of my farewell sermon at Islington, on 17th of 
 June, 1832. Oh, how I look back with wonder, gratitude, 
 fear ! To the Lord, indeed, belong mercies and forgive- 
 nesses ! And how solicitous should I be to finish my brief 
 remaining course with holy consistency and joy ! 
 
 Calcutta^ July 1, 1838. 
 I close to-day the sixtieth, and enter, please God, to- 
 morrow, on the sixty-first year of my age. I am about to 
 go up with Jacob, in my sermon at the Cathedral, from 
 Gen. XXXV. 1-3, and build an altar to the God that ap- 
 peared to me in the day of my distress, and kept me in the 
 way which I went. I shall now have to cease reckoning 
 myself between fifty and sixty years of age, and must class 
 myself with those between sixty and seventy. Oh, my 
 beloved children, assist your poor father with your affec- 
 tionate prayers, that he may hold on and hold out unto 
 the end, and finish his course with joy, and the ministry 
 which he hath received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the 
 Gospel of the grace of God ! How true are the denun- 
 ciations of Scripture against the world, worldliness, secu- 
 larity ; the name to live when we are dead ; the leaving our 
 
CALCUTTA. 265 
 
 first love ; our works not being found perfect before God ; 
 the remaining lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, under 
 the highest professions of exalted knowledge and faith. 
 These are the dangers I feel, because they creep in insen- 
 sibly on the unconscious heart ; and because a public 
 life, now for forty years, has been wearing away the gloss 
 and bloom of internal piety, and rendering the revival of 
 them more difficult. Simplicity once gone, how hard to 
 restore ! In this view I look on the trials sent me as me- 
 morials of mercy — warnings — voices — compensating dis- 
 pensations — needful medicines for the soul — the chastise- 
 ment of a heavenly Father. And, of course, the more 
 bitter the sorrow, the more unjust the attack, the more 
 disturbing the quarrel, in that proportion is the affliction 
 more salutary, it touches the heart more, it weans from 
 the creature more. When St, Paul speaks of trials as 
 especially turning to his salvation through the means of 
 the Philippians' prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of 
 Jesus Christ, he refers to the poignant grief of men dis- 
 puting his just authority, preaching Christ of envy and 
 strife, and aiming at adding affliction to his bonds — men 
 dividing into parties his infant Church, and weakening 
 and opposing his inspired doctrine. Now, what are my' 
 petty troubles compared to these ? May I, therefore, kiss 
 the chastening hand of my Father, and close the sixtieth 
 year of life with praise, joy, repose of faith, humiliation for 
 past sins, unfeigned gratitude for the Divine long-suffering, 
 and meek silence and trust as to the unknown future. 
 Bengel's "Life" begins to interest me. He was a most 
 spiritually-minded divine, and a wise as well as learned 
 man. He died about eighty years since. 
 
266 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 Hattrass Pilot Brig, July 11, 1838. 
 
 I am actually embarked, my dearest childi^en, on my 
 second visitation. The same Captain Clarke commands 
 tlie vessel as in October, 1835, when we went to Bombay. 
 I bave two Mussulman kitmutgars and one burkura, 
 togetber with a young writer, who has been with me these 
 six months, from the Free School. The hurry, pushed to 
 confusion, in which I have been for the last few weeks, 
 with the preparation of my Charge, you may easily imagine. 
 ISTow, the calm of the soul is what I want — a return to my 
 Saviour and my God — a peace in the Holy Ghost. For 
 the imperceptible evils which invade the heart when in the 
 trammels of business, hurry, conflict of opinions, secular 
 debate, are unutterable. 
 
 OffSaugor, July 13, 1838. 
 
 We are at anchor ofi* Saugor, the steamer having left 
 us this morning ; we are not able to get out to sea, the 
 wind is so contrary and the swell so heavy. This is the 
 third day of nearly total incapacity from what sounds so 
 ridiculous afterwards, but what is so oppressive at the mo- 
 ment — sea-sickness. I have attempted to read a little in 
 Henry Martyn's "Life and Journals;" but at present I 
 have no head : and how the mind sympathises with these 
 bodies of ours ! I have been incapable of thinking or 
 praying, and have been lying down for seven hours 
 this blessed day; till the captain having returned and 
 anchored, I am beginning to regain my intellects. 
 
 July 15, 1838. 
 We are now out at sea, and hope for settled wea- 
 ther for our two services ; but this is uncertain. I 
 
AT SEA. 267 
 
 have been reading Henry Martyn's " Journal," and com- 
 paring it with the corresponding passages of his life. 
 There is an unavoidable sameness in reading an experi- 
 mental narrative — the workings of his mind from day to 
 day. But it is consoling to a poor sinner Kke myself, who 
 has been placed in the full bustle of public business, to see 
 how the soul, even of a saint like H. Martyn, faints and is 
 discouraged, laments over defects of love, and finds an evil 
 nature still struggling against the law of his mind. I re- 
 member there are similar confessions in J. Milner. It is 
 this which explains the 7th of Romans. Henry Martyn 
 has now been in heaven twenty-six years, having died in 
 his thirty- second year. Dearest Corrie was born, like 
 myself, in 1778, and died in 1837, aged fifty-nine, and 
 after having been thirty-one years in India. He has been 
 at Home now a year and five months. When, where, how, 
 I may be called hence I know not. The Lord make me a 
 follower of them who, through faith and patience, have 
 inherited the promises. In H. Martyn's journals the 
 spirit of prayer, the time he devoted to the duty, and his 
 fervour in it, are the first things which strike me. In the 
 next place, his delight in Holy Scripture — his meditations 
 in it — the large portions he committed to memory — the 
 nourishment he thence derived to his soul, are full of in- 
 struction. Then, his unfeigned humility is quite un- 
 doubted — unfeigned, profound, sincere. There seems, 
 however, to have been a touch of natural melancholy and 
 depression, which was increased by one of his greatest 
 mistakes — the leaving England with his affections tied to 
 Lydia Grenfell, whom he ought either not to have loved or 
 
268 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 else to have married, and taken her with. him. Such an 
 ecstatic, warm creature as Henry Martyn, could do nothing 
 by halves. Separation was martyrdom to such a tender 
 heart. But, oh ! to imitate his excellencies, his elevation 
 of piety, his diligence, his spirituality, his superiority to 
 the world, his love for souls, his anxiety to improve all 
 occasions to do them good, his delight in the mystery of 
 Christ, his heavenly temper ! These, these, are the secrets 
 of the wonderful impression he made in India, joined as 
 they were with first-rate talents, fine scholarship, habit of 
 acquiring languages, quickness and promptitude of percep- 
 tion, and loftiness of imaginative powers. 
 
 Juhj 20, 1838. 
 
 "We are now within the Andaman Islands, off Narcon- 
 dam, a cone 2500 feet high, 700 miles from Calcutta and 
 900 from Penang. Hitherto we have had most disagree- 
 able weather, constant rain and rolling sea ; but now, under 
 the shelter of the islands, we are entering on a smoother 
 scene, and I hope for power to read and think with calm- 
 ness, and take advantage of the retirement of the vessel 
 for communing with my own heart. 
 
 July 26, 1838. 
 
 My progress in H. Martyn humbles and edifies me. 
 Making all allowance for the habits of a recluse, and the 
 feelings of a man of a morbid, dejected temperature, it is 
 one of the most charming books I ever read. His letters 
 to his Lydia are elegant and tender beyond description, 
 and his penitential exercises of soul are most affecting. I 
 look back on my residence in India with shame, and on all 
 I have done, and especially on the spirit with which I have 
 
PEXAXG. 269 
 
 been actuated. I was not aware how far I had been drifted 
 down the current. But his immovable and permanent 
 spirituality shows me my distance. May this fortnight of 
 silence and leisure be a means of quickening my earthly 
 heart. for restoring grace ! Lord, help ! 
 
 Penang^Aug. 2, 1838. 
 Bless the Lord, my soul, once and again. The 
 imprisonment of twenty- one days has ended in a liberation 
 most refreshing. Penang bursts upon me with new sur- 
 prise after four years. I had forgotten, but not lost the 
 traces altogether, of the beautiful foliage, the rich hedge- 
 rows, the roads embowered in lofty ayenues of the most 
 exquisitely green verdure I ever saw. We breakfasted 
 with the Governor. After breakfast I married a couple at 
 
 the church, and then drove off to Mr. J 's, where I 
 
 have two nice rooms, with that lovely kind of verandah 
 which prevails here, run up of wood, with Venetians, over- 
 looking the compound. Things are much the same, I fear, 
 as to spiritual matters, as four years since. We shall do 
 what we can to raise, warm, enlarge, illuminate, as means ; 
 for God only can give a new heart, and touch the soul 
 with life. We leave on Monday for Malacca, and hope to 
 be here again in six weeks, on our way to Moulmein. Pe- 
 nang is rapidly increasing; 47,000 inhabitants, and as many 
 more across the river in Queda Land, of whom about 300 
 are Christians of various Protestant names, and 700 de- 
 graded and idolatrous Portuguese Eoman Catholics. The 
 spice cultivation is just coming into play, and the whole of 
 the campaign ground is being now cleared : thousands of 
 
270 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 acres are covered with, nutmeg gardens. I miss our dear 
 M most sadly. The people here sjDeak of Sir Benja- 
 min with rapture. At the close of my sermon yesterday I 
 attempted to read the extract from my Charge, in which 
 I allude to his character ; but I was compelled to call the 
 Archdeacon up into the pulpit to read it for me. The 
 congregation was deeply affected. Our congregations both 
 
 morning and evening were surprising. Dr. D gave 
 
 them one of his most striking and impressive sermons in 
 the evening. We continue here over this week, in hope 
 of having a steamer to tow us to Singapore. 
 
 Singapore, Sept. 12, 1838. 
 
 You cannot tell how my heart yearns for news of you, 
 my dearest children ; our latest date being four months 
 back. The chief feeling of my heart is a desire to draw 
 in my sails and prepare for death and heaven. I have 
 been too eager, too public, too hurried, too sanguine, too 
 impetuous. The time .of novelty is over. I must retire 
 into God. I must make ready for the Bridegroom. I 
 have much to do with my heart, with my prayers, with 
 my interior communion with Christ, with the state of my 
 love to the Church and souls. I have much to do to watch 
 that my influence in my diocese may be more benign, 
 more spiritual, more salutary. It ought to be increasingly 
 so ; it would be if I were more like Swartz, and Yenn, and 
 Scott, and Henry Martyn. I^ever had I a harder task 
 than here at Singapore. 
 
 Malacca, Sept. 19, 1838. 
 
 A trip of a day and a-half brought us here j^esterday 
 
MALACCA. 271 
 
 afternoon at four. We find all aKve for completing 
 their now consecrated clinrcli. We are to have two ser- 
 vices to-day, for we must sail this evening. 
 
 Hattrass, Sept. 20, 1838. 
 " Bless the Lord, my soul, and all that is within me 
 bless His holy name !" Malacca received us with open 
 arms — 60 at church in the morning and 130 at night. 
 The church already in order ; pulpit removed to its place ; 
 reading-desk put up ; new communion-table and enclo- 
 sure done, and new vestry — quite a surprise to us. But 
 besides this, they are about to re-pew the church, and 
 accommodate 200 instead of 150. A porch and belfry 
 
 will finish the improvements. 
 
 Sept. 29, 1838. 
 
 Last night we had one of those fearful storms which 
 are so common along the shore of Sumatra. The heavens 
 and earth seemed mixed together, and the vivid flashes of 
 lightning had, at one time, such a sulphureous smell, that 
 the captain feared for the safety of the ship. The Lord, 
 however, helped us. We had a better vessel and better 
 captain than off Tricomalee in the " Enterprise," and God 
 blessed the means employed, as well as mitigated the 
 storm in such mercy, that we rode through all, and offered 
 this morning our sacrifice of praise. 
 
 I have read through the Bishop of Lincoln's " Justin 
 Martyr," and am reading his " Clement" also. These 
 Fathers stand very low in my opinion as to the interpret- 
 ation of Scripture, as to the simple exposition of St. 
 Paul's doctrine of justification, as to the simplicity, in 
 fact, and power of the Gospel. Their apologies are poor 
 
272 • JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 things ; their arguments against heathenism are as weak as 
 those for the defence of the Gospel. Evidences they have no 
 idea of ; logic not much ; criticism they are absolutely void 
 of altogether. But there is plenty of superstition, plenty of 
 commixtures of heathenism and Christianity, plenty of a 
 lowered external religion, plenty of fanciful and absurd 
 arguments on all subjects, plenty of dangerous admissions, 
 plenty of allegorical applications of the Old Testament. And 
 yet, these are the men who are to have a share in forming, 
 with the Inspired Books, the rule of faith ! I allow them 
 all, and more than all, their real merit as witnesses to the 
 grand facts and broad doctrines of Christianity : here they 
 are contemporary testimonies ; here we gather our canon 
 of Scripture ; here we collect the Mcene Council to glorify 
 our Incarnate Saviour with the united voice of 1800 
 prelates, representatives of their dioceses, that is, of the 
 universal Church, with the very few Arian exceptions, 
 though only about 300 could travel to the council in per- 
 son. But I deny wholly any place in the rule of faith to 
 the Fathers, both individually and collectively. Even 
 Cyprian, and Augustine, and Ambrose are weak as rea- 
 soners, commentators, and interpreters. Their writings 
 abound with superstitions, or germs of superstitions ; there 
 is not one after Clemens Romanus that is not utterly 
 feeble compared with St. Paul. And I stand upon the 
 ground of the Reformers — not tradition, but Christ; not 
 the Church, but the Gospel ; not the Fathers, but the 
 inspired Apostles ; not the folly of man, but the inspir- 
 ation of the Holy Ghost. Here I plant my foot. Eeally 
 it is mere child's prattle to talk to us, after the bitter ex- 
 
OFF PENANG. 273^ 
 
 perience of twelve centuries, again of the tradition of the 
 Fathers as a joint rule of faith. This is the very marrow 
 of Popery. This is the mud and quagmire on which, if 
 we set. one of our feet, it is in vain to pretend to plant the 
 other on " the foundation laid in Zion ;" the sinking foot 
 will soon drag in the other, and down we rush into the 
 miry gulf. The Lord preserve us! 
 
 Sept. 22, 1838. 
 
 We still hope to reach Penang before church-time 
 to-morrow; but we have had calms since noon. We 
 have been interceding this Saturday, as usual, for the 
 imiversal Church and the whole race of mankind. Prayer 
 is, indeed, the breath of the spiritual life. May the Great 
 Comforter inspire us with mol'e of this heavenly temper ! 
 If we reach Penang to-morrow, we shall merely land for 
 church and return to our vessel. 
 
 9 o'Cloch. 
 
 An almost total calm has left us five miles from 
 Penang, and made it impossible for us to preach to the 
 poor desolate flock in this island. We have been anxious, 
 mournful, and almost fretful the whole day, for any hour 
 of fine wind would have taken us in. But we have had our 
 two public services in the cuddy. The Archdeacon preached 
 admirably from Ps. Ixxiii. 23, 24. I reserved myself 
 for the evening on shore, and had been meditating on that 
 fine text. Gal. vi. 14, " God forbid that I should glory 
 save in the cross," &c. But, alas ! I could not reach land, 
 though the Archdeacon and I entreated to go in a boat ; 
 but the tide was against us, and we were seven or eight 
 
 T 
 
274 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 miles distant. The captain, however, has sent the boat 
 for our letters, and to announce our arrival. Conceive 
 only how the blessing of steam communication rises upon 
 our minds, after losing four Sundays in ten weeks ! All 
 my plans are deranged. But hush, my soul ! God is in all 
 events, however small. And now, my beloved ones, fare- 
 well once more. Be of good comfort, quit you like men, 
 live in peace, and the God of love and peace shall be with 
 you. The future let us leave with the Lord omniscient, 
 all- wise, omnipotent, our E/cdeemer, Saviour, and Sancti- 
 fier ! Only let us stand with our loins girded and our 
 lamps burning, mortifying the old man, waiting for the 
 coming of our Lord, rejoicing in tribulation, instant in 
 prayer. May Christ be our life, and Christ our death. 
 May we know, and love, and believe, and rejoice in Him, 
 and follow His blessed example. And may Christ be with 
 us in our last hours, and not suffer us for any pains of 
 death to fall from Him. 
 
275 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Leave Penang — Contrary Winds — Moulmein — Cordial Reception 
 — Dr. Judson — Baptist Mission — Chittagong — Human Sa- 
 crifices to Indra — Late Sir W. Jones's House — Eeturn to 
 Calcutta — New Cathedral projected — Wilberforce's Life — 
 Palmer on the Church — Lord Chatham's Correspondence — 
 Boys destined for Sacrifice — Unborn Children dedicated to 
 Shiva — Native Converts to he received in Masses — Infant 
 School Examination — Converts at Baripoor — Good Tidings 
 from Krishnaghur — Houra — Hindoo College Examination — 
 Funeral Rites of Runjeet Singh — Life of Whitefield — Buxton 
 on Slavery — Fort of Ghazee stormed — Consecration of first 
 Church built for Natives — First Stone of New Cathedral laid. 
 
 Penang, Sept. 24, 1838. 
 We arrived here, my dear, dear children, for you become 
 dearer to me, if possible, every day of my "lengthened 
 chain," to allude to Goldsmith, at ten this morning, after 
 four days and a-half, from Malacca. We immediately 
 circulated a notice for divine service at seven o'clock this 
 evening. We re- embark after church, in order to be 
 ready for the first breath of the morning. 
 
 Oct. 5, 1838. 
 We have had a sad, dull time, patience put to the 
 stretch. Light winds or contrary ones for many days. 
 We have, indeed, been totally thrown out in our visitation 
 
276 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 by these delays. When we shall reach Moulmein, which 
 we ought to have done the middle of September, it is im- 
 possible to say. We must omit visiting Mergue, Tavoy, 
 Akbyah, Khaickshoo, and even, perhaps, Chittagong. 
 Nor can we expect to see Calcutta, after all, before the 
 middle of November ; and in a stormy sea, perhaps. Well, 
 we comfort ourselves with the reflection that we have 
 not lost a moment of time unnecessarily, and that winds 
 and waves are in the hands of our blessed Saviour. Mark 
 iv. 35-41, and vi. 45-52, have come in the course of our 
 family reading, and have taught us that Jesus is near 
 when we are tossed with the waves ; that He sees us ; that 
 He is praying for us ; that He comes to us at the fixed 
 time ; that He awakes at the cry of prayer ; that He says, 
 " It is I, be not afraid ;" that He who " constrained" His 
 disciples to undertake the voyage, does not desert us when 
 in the path of duty ; and that at His command the wind 
 ceases, and wafts us with favourable gales to our destined 
 port. Let me, therefore, trust my gracious Master, and 
 confide in His never-failing Providence. 
 
 Moulmein, Oct. 18, 1838. 
 
 I am exhausted with the peculiar closeness of the river 
 
 after our sea breezes. The Archdeacon went off" with Mr. 
 
 Hamilton last evening at ten, and the Resident's splendid 
 
 cutter, with twelve oars, is now alongside waiting to take 
 
 Mrs. D and myself up the moment the tide turns. 
 
 We actually landed on the twenty-third day from our 
 embarkation at Penang. I preached last evening, fatigued 
 as I was, to a congregation of 500, in the beautiful 
 
MOULMETN. 277 
 
 wooden cliurcli. We have unfortunately arrived in the 
 hot season. The place has increased in four years from 
 17,000 to 25,000. Trade would vastly increase, and 
 extend even to China, if encouraged. A vein of coal has 
 been discovered equal to the very finest in England. Iron 
 mines also abound. Cofiee, sugar, nutmegs, cotton, every- 
 thing grows. 
 
 Oct. 19, 1838. 
 I have seen the justly celebrated Dr. Judson, of the 
 American Mission. He is a most lovely person, counte- 
 nance mild, intelligent, penetrating, fine forehead, nose 
 aquiline, address refined and gentlemanly, complexion 
 approaching to dark, manner of speaking slow, voice mu- 
 sical. We talked for an hour. He is full of spirituaKty, 
 humbleness, retiredness of mind. He has been twenty- 
 five years in India, of which thirteen were spent at Ava, 
 and other parts of the Burman Empire. He re-married 
 four years since. He is the first Burmese scholar Kving : 
 the language is monosyllabic, like the Chinese. He is 
 very adverse to the Romanizing system ; has had the 
 blessedness of translating the whole Bible into Burmese, of 
 which the third edition is now published by the American 
 Missionary Society. He has 120 converts of established 
 piety here, at Moulmein : additions of about twelve a-year 
 are made. I had a long conversation with this superior 
 man about training a native ministry. He thinks the 
 Societies, both in England and America, are far too eager 
 upon a subject on which they must be, and are, profoundly 
 ignorant. He doubts whether a native ministry can be 
 formed through the medium of the English language — 
 ^oride is so soon generated. He trains Burmese students 
 
278 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 in Burmese only. He tMnks tlie first desideratum is a 
 higlier class of European and American Missionaries ; of 
 far deeper devotedness, and more superior to party-spirit. 
 He never interferes out of his missionary line of duties, 
 and discourages sucL. interference, as I find all really 
 learned and pious men do. 
 
 Oct 20, 1838. 
 We are proceeding more pleasingly and hopefully. 
 The Archdeacon goes about everywhere to see schools and 
 hospitals, and this saves me much fatigue. There are 
 here two European regiments and two native, about 3000 
 men. Our time is fully occupied. To-day I was out 
 three hours. I examined the schools and hospital. We 
 then went to see the American Mission. The house most 
 primitive; the chapel adjoins behiad, which is Mr. Jud- 
 son's study. He is printing an edition of the Burmese 
 Bible, in 4to. — 10,000 copies at the expense of the Bap- 
 tist Board, and a third edition of the " Sermon on the 
 Mount,'' 40,000 copies. There are forty or fifty work- 
 men, and six presses. The Bible Society has no share in 
 the undertaking, because of the Baptist scruples. 
 
 Oct 25, 1838. 
 !Never was I anywhere more cordially received than 
 here. Oh, may the efiect be powerful and permanent, 
 through the grace of the primary Teacher, the Lord and 
 Giver of life ! I have been charmed (to turn to quite an- 
 other topic) with the review of Mr. Wilberforce's Life in 
 the "Edinburgh" for April.* It is splendidly done. 
 Nothing could more tend to aid the widest currency of 
 * By the late Sir James Stephen. — Editor. 
 
MOULMEIN. 279 
 
 the publication, because it will awaken curiosity in tbe 
 worldly, the poKtical, the scientific, the Kterary circles. 
 I have read the article twice. Really Mr. W 's cha- 
 racter rises upon me, — the extent of his influence, the 
 powers of his conversation, the fascination of his gentle, 
 lively character, the position he held in the House of 
 Commons ! I had no idea, I confess, of the weight at- 
 tached to his opinion ; nor was I aware of the number of 
 occasions on which he had opposed Mr. Pitt. The sum- 
 mary of his cast of mind is admirably touched off. The 
 reviewer errs somewhat in the directly religious part of 
 his history ; but, on the whole, the article is deeply inter- 
 esting, so as to be sure to contribute to the circulation of 
 the work in the non-religious world : a matter of the last 
 moment, for in the religious world itself it will make its 
 own way. I am so truly delighted also that the book is 
 well done, carefully, modestly, wisely. I do bless God, 
 indeed. Being dead, this noble creature will yet speak to 
 his country, with perhaps more effect than during his 
 long and honourable life. Learn for me, my dear son, 
 who is the writer. I long to see the book itself, though 
 this brilliant sketch of the life will abate my pleasure in 
 reading the original. 
 
 Moulmein,Oct.2S, 1838. 
 "We are now about to finish our testimony. God be 
 praised for what He has done ! I confirmed 165 on 
 Friday — a most solemn and affecting scene. The pre- 
 ceding days I examined the various schools, and visited the 
 hospitals. Yesterday I consecrated an additional burial- 
 ground at half-past six, a.m. At eleven I examined the 
 
280 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 Sunday scliools, and gave an exhortation; at half-past 
 three, baptized and confirmed a widow lady ; at four, dined 
 with Col. Read ; and at six, the Archdeacon met a large 
 number of soldiers at Mr. Hamilton's, and addressed them 
 for an hour. 
 
 Hattrass Ship, Oct. 29, 1838. 
 
 Last night we went and slept on board our own ship, 
 in the hope of reaching Chittagong by Sunday, and Cal- 
 cutta the Sunday week. Our detention on Sundays is 
 heart-breaking ; however, we do all we can. Not an hour 
 do we lose. How wonderfully did God bless us at Moul- 
 mein ! We had about 150 at the Holy Communion, and 
 collected 500 or 600 rupees for the Propagation Society. 
 
 Responsibility is a fearful thought. I now record the 
 goodness of God in bringing me to the close of my sixth 
 year of residence. Oct. 31st, 1832, must never be for- 
 gotten. Oh, that I may enter my seventh year with a" 
 sevenfold blessing ! Oh, may the Lord pardon the sins 
 of the years that are past ! The great mercy of 1838 is 
 the arrival of my two suffragans in their dioceses ; Dr. 
 Carr in February, Dr. Spencer in October, as I hope. 
 " Bless the Lord, my soul ! " I take you, my children, 
 to witness, that if I should be called home this year I 
 die in the faith of Jesus. I die in the doctrine I have 
 preached for thirty-eight years. I die holding the same 
 views of the glorious Gospel as I did when a Curate at 
 Chobham, a Tutor at Oxford, a Minister at St. John's, 
 and a Yicar at Islington. I die in the Communion of the 
 Apostolical Anglican Church, in which I was brought up 
 from my fourteenth year, and indeed from my infancy, 
 
AT SEA. 281 
 
 ttougli more strictly from the time I have stated; and 
 from which I have never swerved, and which I believe to 
 be the purest of all the branches of Christ's Holy Catholic 
 Church now in the world. I die, finally, a lost, un- 
 worthy sinner, disclaiming all merit in myself, and re- 
 posing my whole trust in the imputed righteousness of the 
 co-equal and consubstantial Son of God, received by faith ; 
 and humbly hoping that I am born of His Spirit, and 
 made capable of enjoying and delighting in the service 
 and obedience of angels by His sanctifying grace ; of 
 which the proof, I trust, may be an ardent and inextin- 
 guishable desire to grow and advance in grace, and love, 
 and holiness, every day of my remaining probation upon 
 earth. Lord Jesus, receive Thou my spirit in the last 
 hour ; and suffer me not for any pains of death to fall 
 from Thee. 
 
 At Sea, Nov. 2, 183S. 
 "We have hitherto had pleasant weather, though the 
 winds have been light. The moon has been glorious 
 evening after evening. I have finished the Burmah Bap- 
 tist Mission history of Mrs. Judson. She was an Israelite 
 indeed. There are strains of piety as elevated as in Yenn 
 or Swartz. Her sufferings at Ava were those of a 
 martyr, and sustained with the fortitude of one. She has 
 left an impress on her age. The 650 converts, the 7 sta- 
 tions, the 30 missionaries, the 26 native assistants, the 
 300 scholars, and the thousands of pounds raised for the 
 Mission, are all the fruit of her energy and love to Christ. 
 Even her husband's eminent services are to be traced back 
 to the wife. That man is also a Missionary indeed. His 
 
282 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 mild, dignified, poetical, intellectual countenance, is now 
 in my eye. I see he has not only renounced almost half 
 his stipend, but has given all his property, and the pre- 
 sents made him by the English Government, to the Mis- 
 sion — about 10,000 rupees. 
 
 Chittagong^ Nov. 15, 1838. 
 We arrived here on Tuesday, and have been most ex- 
 ceedingly charmed with the novel character of the Arra- 
 can coast. The beauty of the river sweeping at the foot 
 of the series of knolls, on which the gentlemen's houses 
 are built ; the lovely, fruitful valleys and dells interposed ; 
 all heightened by the previous imprisonment of sixteen 
 days, and by the extreme joy of the Christian population 
 to welcome us : they seemed as though they would pluck 
 out their own eyes and give them us. And yet, at present, 
 all is dead towards God. No church ; no divine service ; 
 no charitable society. About sixty nominal Christians, 
 
 but without God in the world. Mr. S , of Dacca, had 
 
 arrived the Saturday before us. Our measures were 
 planned at once. As the first step, a public meeting took 
 place yesterday, and im.animously determined to build a 
 church ; a committee was formed to fix a site ; and sub- 
 scriptions raised of 1600 rupees. I am obliged to be 
 architect as well as everything else. To-day, the confirm- 
 ation ; to-morrow, laying first stone of church ; Saturday, 
 examination of schools; Sunday, two services, and Holy 
 Communion. Then we must sleep on board, in hope of 
 reaching Calcutta by Sunday the 25th. Last evening we 
 dined at the Judge's, and I proposed a charitable society, 
 including a dispensary. The plan is to be arranged to- 
 
CHITTAGONG. 283 
 
 morrow. In conversation I received tlie horrifjang intelli- 
 gence that four human victims had just been sacrificed to 
 Indra, on the hills behind the Settlement, and in the Bri- 
 tish territories ! Hear it, ye languid, dreaming friends of 
 Missions, who think little of your own Christian privileges 
 in England, and are tame in your charity to India ! I 
 started at the tidings. I said to the Commissioner, '' Ex- 
 plain to me the facts." He replied, " It was undoubted. 
 Four travellers had been seized as they were crossing the 
 hills, and offered as victims by the priests of Indra, on 
 their blood-stained altars." He added, it was his duty to 
 examine and bring to punishment the murderers ; and the 
 investigation was just begun. I turned to the magistrates 
 present, and they confirmed the awful narrative. They 
 said, that fifteen other victims had perished beyond the 
 British boundaries ; and that further back, on the limits 
 of Burmah, the aborigines were little raised above the 
 brute creation. No marriage, no clothing, no abodes, no 
 arts of life. I instantly raised my voice, and addressed the 
 whole company, eighteen gentlemen, on the infinite benefits 
 of Christianity, even viewed as a benevolent scheme, to 
 remedy the murderous cruelties and practices which deso- 
 lated the heathen world ; and much more, as founded on 
 the Eedemption of the Son of God. 
 
 Nov. 16, 1838. 
 On "Wednesday we formed a party to drive out to a 
 house built by the late eminent Sir William Jones, Lord 
 Teignmouth's friend, about five miles from Chittagong. 
 There is a melancholy pleasure in tracing the favourite 
 spots of the poet and the philosopher, especially where, as 
 
284 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 in tliis case, Cliristiaiiity added its finisli to the character. 
 The ruins — for forty years have made it a ruin — are 
 still considerable. There is no roof, but the walls stand. 
 The house was perched on the extreme top of a moun- 
 tain, which you ascend with difficulty from the thick 
 jungle, but which opens to the astonished eye one of the 
 most extensive and lovely prospects in the world, com- 
 bining the finest sea-view on one side, with mountain 
 scenery on the other. The depths of the dells, with the 
 faces of the opposite mountains (or hills, for the height is 
 moderate), are sublime. A causeway formerly led up to the 
 place. There are nine rooms, one of which, on the south- 
 west, commanding the range of hills, we conceive to have 
 been the study of this remarkable person. A lawn of small 
 extent, with a chabuttre, or sitting-place, formed of ce- 
 mented stone, add to the complete fascination of the whole. 
 But now Jaffierabad (such is its name) is only a memorial 
 of human frailty in all her works. 
 
 Nov. 17, 1838. 
 On Thursday evening we held divine service and a 
 confirmation, at which there were only four candidates ; but 
 the whole station, with many Roman Catholics, were pre- 
 sent. It was in a tent, where, perhaps, sixty were present 
 altogether. The Archdeacon preached from Acts viii. 5. 
 The name of the village where the victims were seized is 
 Ranmanugger, sixty miles from Chittagong. The hill on 
 which the four men (travellers who came to purchase 
 cotton) were offered, is about eighty miles further inward, 
 in the Mhug or Arracan population. The occasion was a 
 vile He, got up by the priests, that the treasures of seven 
 
CALCUTTA. 285 
 
 rajalis (native princes) were concealed under a liuge stone, 
 on a hill summit, and that the offering of fourteen human 
 sacritices to Indra would infallibly lead to the discovery of 
 the treasure. Such is heathenism. 
 
 Hattrass, Monday, Nov. 19, 1838. 
 
 We are now embarked on the last division of our 
 voyage, and we hope we may arrive at Calcutta by next 
 Simday. We slept on board last night, after evening ser- 
 vice, the Archdeacon having preached admirably to a con- 
 gregation still more numerous than the morning, many 
 more Roman Catholics being present, nearly one hun- 
 dred altogether. He had eighteen at the Holy Communion. 
 Never was there a station which more needed a visitation 
 than Chittagong, and never one where we were received 
 more cordially, and succeeded more completely in all the 
 great ends in view. One trait of the necessity of our visit 
 will suffice. The Chaplain of Dacca receives 200 rupees 
 monthly, for residing three months each year at Chitta- 
 gong ; but three Sundays only has he actually been pre- 
 sent during the last two years ; and he had told the 
 gentry, before I arrived, that he could only remain till 
 I had re-embarked! I insisted, of course, on his con- 
 tinuing his full three months. 
 
 Calcutta, Nov. 23, 1838. 
 
 Thank God, we arrived safely at four o'clock ! Grati- 
 tude for the Divine mercy should swell in my heart when 
 I consider four and a-half months of absence, without any 
 one calamity ; at a time, too, when seven shipwrecks in 
 India have occurred this very winter. I am deKghted 
 
286 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 witli "Wilberforce,"* wMcli I found on my arrival here. 
 His example puts me to shame. What vigilance ! what 
 conscientiousness ! what self-government ! what fervour of 
 prayer ! what self-suspicion ! His religion was as sound 
 as it was elevated. The sons have managed their mate- 
 rials admirably. I think I never read a more edifjdng 
 book for one hurried as I am, placed in the front of the 
 battle, and in a most difficult and responsible station. 
 Oh, what watchfulness ! what examination ! what care 
 of his heart ! what ample space for prayer and com- 
 munion with God ! what retirings of soul ! what fear 
 of spiritual declines ! what anxiety to preserve the love 
 and savour of religion in vigour, and a delight in heavenly 
 things ! What study of the Bible appears united in 
 this eminent saint, with his conscientiousness, activity, 
 boldness, sympathy with human sorrow, and zeal for 
 propagating truth ! This holy person will do infinite 
 good by the' example which his life exhibits. 
 
 But, would you imagine it ? I am going to build a 
 Cathedral ! Twenty years since. Colonel Hutchinson was 
 desired by Lord Hastings to prepare plans for rendering 
 our present cathedral something more like a building 
 bearing that name. The plans were superseded by a 
 design for erecting a new Grothic cathedral ; and this last 
 design failed ultimately. Now I propose effecting the 
 pious project. May God prosper it ! And now the great, 
 and good, and blessed Lord and Saviour, preserve, keep, 
 and sanctify us ! I must live nearer to heaven. I must 
 
 ^' Life of Wilberforce by his Sons. — Editor. 
 
CALCUTTA. 287 
 
 draw closer to the Fountain of Light and Bliss. I must 
 breathe more the atmosphere of humility, peace and love. 
 I must be waiting for His Son from heaven, whom He 
 raised from the dead, even Jesus, who delivered us from 
 the wrath to come. 
 
 Calcutta^ Christmas-day, 1838. 
 
 A happy festival of our Lord's Nativity to my beloved 
 children, to my grandchildren, to my family, and to all 
 my friends and brethren in Christ Jesus. I have been 
 delivering my seventh Christmas-day discourse in India, 
 from Heb. i. 1-3. 
 
 I am forcibly reminded at this season of the first links 
 in that chain which has bound me to India. It was on 
 
 Dec. 16th, 1831, that Dr. D first mentioned my name 
 
 to Lord Glenelg, as willing to go out, if no one else at aU 
 suitable could be found ; and from that date till my actual 
 appointment, March 27th, 1834, the exercises of my soul 
 were most humiliating, and at times painful. How rapidly 
 have seven years slipped by ! and how soon will my steward- 
 ship be closed, and I shall be no longer steward ! Lord 
 Jesus, grant Thy servant grace to finish his course with 
 joy. raise up Thy power, and come and help me. 
 fill me with Thy Spirit, and bless my clergy and their 
 flocks ! 
 
 Dec. 29, 1838. 
 
 How tasteless are other books compared with "Wilber- 
 force !" His constant efibrts after nearer and nearer com- 
 munion with God, this is one point in his character. His 
 actually high attaiaments in real spirituality is a second. 
 Then, his self-government and self-examination are most 
 
288 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 observable. Next, the special times be set apart for bu- 
 miliation, fasting, and prayer. But notbing strikes me 
 more tban bis study of bis speecbes, bis reading for bis 
 public duties, bis repetitions of Horace, bis adding to 
 bis general stock of knowledge. In tbis be resembled 
 Swartz, wbo was a student and learner to tbe day of 
 bis deatb. I especially rejoice tbat bis distinct reli- 
 gious principles are laid down as tbe foundation of bis 
 character : spiritual religion is portrayed indeed, and in 
 tbe most attractive form. I can settle to notbing since I 
 bave finished him. I have begun to look into " Palmer 
 on the Church." He seems of the Keble stamp, and it is 
 curious that the " Record'* of Sept. 24tb, seizes tbe very 
 same point as the nucleus of tbe whole system, in a letter 
 from a correspondent, which I have dwelt on in my charge 
 — ^Authority. So that I almost hope that, in dissecting 
 Keble's dangerous principle of Tradition as a joint rule of 
 faith, I bave, in fact, cut deep into tbe main impostbume 
 of the entire corrupt and cancerous mass. Conder's new 
 work on all religions I bave opened. I wish be bad sound 
 principles, for be is clever, has a good style, and great 
 skill in collecting materials. The correspondence of the 
 great Earl of Chatham, wbo died the year in which I was 
 born, only moderately interests me, because tbe best letters, 
 those to the late Lord Camelford, were published by Lord 
 Granville many years since. Still it is pleasing to look 
 into tbe interior history of so great a statesman and orator. 
 George 11. seems to bave bad much more real influence on 
 the men and measures of bis administration tban our 
 kings bave bad of late. In fact, the popular branch of the 
 
CALCUTTA. 289 
 
 constitution has so prodigiously advanced since 1793 as to 
 overweigh tlie other two, and endanger the safety of the 
 country. His love to his wife and children is, like our 
 Pitt's amiableness and pleasantry of temper, as brought 
 out in Wilberforce's Life, very engaging. Lister's " Life 
 of Clarendon " is on my table, but untouched. 
 
 Dec. 30, 1838. 
 Two most fearful instances of Hindoo idolatry have come 
 under my notice since my Chittagong case. Mr. E, in- 
 formed me, that a boy destined for sacrifice had been heard 
 of, but could nowhere be discovered — 200 rs. were ofiered as 
 a reward. The Brahmin murderer restored the child for the 
 reward, and substituted one of his own sons as the victim. 
 
 Mr. E, , when he calls on you, will tell you all details. 
 
 The other is a horrid practice in Malwa, on the banks of the 
 Nerbudda, in the celebrated sacred island, Mundatta, where 
 Shiva, the Destroyer, (what a title for an idol god ! how ap- 
 propriate!) is supposed to be peculiarly present. In this 
 island, about 100 yards broad, and covered with jungle and 
 ravines, is the Rock of Sacrifice, Bheercallah ; from whence 
 devotees throw themselves during the feast of Cartie Jattra. 
 But the dreadful practice of mothers devoting their children, 
 when yet unborn, to this sacrifice, is something surpassing 
 anything I ever heard of before. A child so dedicated, 
 even before his birth, is compelled to sacrifice himself when 
 grown up, to the demon. From the moment of his en- 
 trance into life a mark is set upon him ; every one regards 
 him with dread ; he feels he has nothing in common with 
 others ; a downcast expression in his countenance speaks 
 
 u 
 
290 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 the mysterious horror whicli has taken possession of him ; 
 the mother rejoices in the meritorious act she has per- 
 formed. At length the wretched youth is forced to the sa- 
 crifice ! And yet this is the idolatry which Britons too 
 much tolerate, and which Missionaries are so tardy to 
 come out in order to assist in abolishing ! 
 
 Bishop's College, Dec. 31, 1838. 
 It is remarkable how the Church of England is slowly 
 making its way in India, as to its broad principles. Mr. 
 
 B , the chief Independent minister here, called on me the 
 
 other day ; and amongst other things told me he was more 
 and more convinced that we must try to get the Hindoos 
 to embrace Christianity in masses at first, and with little 
 beyond nominal acquaintance with it, in order to set on 
 foot a better order of things for the next age, in the way 
 of education especially. I replied, This is just what was 
 done in the primitive ages. They took the people en masse, 
 upon the conversion of the leading persons, and then worked 
 them up into good and spiritual Christians afterwards. 
 Were our Druidical ancestors all really converted in the 
 second century, or again in the sixth ? No such thing. 
 But idolatry was renounced ; Christianity received ; bap- 
 tism administered; truth freely preached, and education 
 instituted; and then the grace of Christ gradually wrought 
 amongst them: habits were improved. Christian society 
 
 formed. Mr. B warmly assented. But this is the very 
 
 principle of parochial order in our Church, instead of a 
 minute selection of a few angelical individuals for a spot- 
 less Church communion, as amongst our Dissenters. Pray 
 
DUM DUM. 291 
 
 turn your minds to this subject. Still there must be limits. 
 Heathenish Christianity is worse than heathenism itself. 
 Baptism must repose on faith in adults. But the question 
 is, how far you may take in, under the wing of the parent 
 converted, the magistrate, or zemindar, or rajah converted, 
 all who willingly follow his authority, and renounce at his 
 advice idolatry, and profess the Christian faith. This, in- 
 deed, seems very much the way that Mr. "W proceeds 
 
 in the South Seas and the Pacific. It involves important 
 questions. 
 
 Calcutta, Jan. 15, 1839. 
 
 Mrs. "Wilson called on Saturday at Bishop's College, 
 before we had risen from breakfast, and sat two hours. It 
 was time spent but not wasted. She told us, that in October 
 she settled her accounts, with only three rupees in hand. 
 She began then to devise plans for raising funds, and wrote 
 applications to different friends ; when lo ! on a sudden,. 
 
 1200 rupees came in from Mrs. P of Kurnaul. Her 
 
 whole conversation was most animating. She is against a 
 native, and in favour of European agency. She deems 
 it impossible to trust natives for years to come. Nor did I 
 ever mean to trust them. 
 
 Dum Dum, Jan. 20, 1839. 
 
 I have come out here, accompanied by Mr. Pratt, who 
 arrived at five o'clock yesterday afternoon in complete 
 health, after a fine passage of little more than four months. 
 Thank God for support during the long privation. I may 
 truly say, " Having obtained help of God, I continue unto 
 this day." 
 
292 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 Jan. 29, 1839. 
 
 We have had our Infant-school Anniversary this 
 morning — a greater crowd than ever. Four or five hun- 
 dred came to witness one of the most perfect exhibitions 
 we ever made of about 100 children. The impression upon 
 the audience was enthusiastic. Mr. Pratt says the children 
 pronounce English better, and reply more intelligently, 
 than a like school in England would. We have made a 
 great step in the establishment of the Hooghly Infant 
 School, in connexion with the College there. 
 
 Yesterday I laid the foundation of Mrs. Wilson's Boys' 
 School-room at Agripara. The Mission-house is com- 
 plete — 10,000 rs. the cost. It is admirable. She and the 
 Archdeacon are very anxious for a Missionary. 
 
 I believe I have not mentioned, that on January 25th 
 I confirmed 201 at the Cathedral, with a very peculiar 
 unction upon all hearts. The Church, indeed, was filled 
 
 with glory. 
 
 Feh. 17, 1839. 
 The Archdeacon and Krishna* are at Krishnaghur, 
 where the Almighty seems doing a great work. I sent 
 
 down D to see how the brethren did, and to comfort 
 
 them concerning their faith. Fifty-two villages are in- 
 quiring after truth with different degrees of earnestness, 
 with a population of 3000, including women and children. 
 
 Mr. W from Burdwan, and our Mr. S , met Dr. 
 
 I) . I shall hear more particulars when he returns. 
 
 how gracious is our God and Saviour ! the wonders 
 of His wisdom and love, His truth and power ! His dis- 
 pensations how deep, and past finding out ! 
 
 * A native convert. — Editor. 
 
BARIPOOR. 293 
 
 Banpoor, Feb. 20, 1839. 
 We came down last evening, tlie Archdeacon, Mr. 
 Pratt, and myself, to visit this most interesting mission. 
 This year all is yet more promising than before. I have 
 confirmed this morning about sixty ; and this afternoon, 
 at two, we have 135 to baptize, partly believers them- 
 selves, who are to be inserted openly into the Church, and 
 partly the infants of the faithftd, like those in Lydia or the 
 jailor's household. The devout and intelligent answers, 
 and earnest responses, of these neophytes, are delightful. 
 Christian habits, manners, domestic purity, diligence, 
 truth, forethought, are beginning to appear. All is, how- 
 ever, weak and unstable. The converts are chiefly from 
 the poorest classes. Their minds, and education, and 
 habits of thought, are like those of our Saxon ancestors in 
 the sixth century ; the number of solid, spiritual, abiding 
 disciples is but small. But the commencements of sal- 
 vation among idolaters are blessed still. There were about 
 400 present this morning. The villages are forty-four. 
 The inquirers, 600. The baptized, 260. But these joyful 
 tidings are surpassed by those brought by the Archdeacon 
 from Krishnaghur on Monday. The truth surpasses all 
 that we had supposed. The earnestness, the deep feeling 
 of sin, the knowledge of the Gospel, the love of these dear 
 young flocks, quite overcame the Archdeacon's heart. 
 The work has been going on for four years. The villages 
 lie forty miles or more from Krishnaghur. The converts 
 were chiefly a sect of Hindoos and Mussulmans, little ac- ' 
 quainted with their own faith, but still not idolaters. The 
 Archdeacon has done all he can to provide native cate- 
 
294 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 cliists for tlie spiritual instruction of these inquirers. We 
 hope to have a dozen going round weekly, and appointed 
 duly by the committee. Oh, if this budding should ripen, 
 what effects may not be expected to follow ! 
 
 March 11, 1839. 
 "We have had a very warm and exposed morning, but 
 a delightful one as to the progress of the great work. We 
 
 have breakfasted with Mr. S at Mirzapore. I gave 
 
 an address to his assembled flock of between 200 and 300. 
 Next we examined a class in the heathen schools, of 120. 
 After that, in the two Christian schools, of 60 and 70. 
 We went over all the new rooms preparing for the semi- 
 nary, and walked through the Christian village of about 
 thirty houses and 120 souls. We went on, also, and 
 visited Mrs. Wilson's central Female Day-school, of 300 
 children, and the General Assembly's schools, of 800. This 
 last fine institution of Dr. Duff is now held in a magnifi- 
 cent building erected by public subscription. We looked 
 in, lastly, on Krishna's new church and school-rooms, 
 which the Archdeacon is building from his evangelical 
 fund. Five hours in the sun are fatiguing to the body, 
 though most refreshing to the spirit. But it is a twelve- 
 month since I had been to see them. 
 
 Calcutta, March 12, 1839. 
 My mind is filled with the joy of these tidings from 
 
 Krishnaghur. Mr. S , with whom I spent four or five 
 
 hours yesterday, entirely concurs in the judgment of all 
 our other brethren, of the hopeful state of the 3000 
 
CALCUTTA. 295 
 
 inquirers. He conceives tlie whole population may be 
 10,000 or 12,000 ; and tliat if tlie work can be followed 
 up, they will all embrace the blessed doctrine. At Tangba, 
 also, three miles off Mirzapore, he has himself received an 
 invitation to come and open the new doctrine ; whilst at 
 Balasette, sixteen miles on the Dum Dum quarter, his 
 catechist is making his way rapidly. What astonishing 
 news are these ! I had scarcely again reached home when 
 
 Mr. D , of the Propagation Mission of Baripoor, called 
 
 upon me to say he had received a message from a new 
 village near his own circuit, " to come over and help 
 them ;" a village of 100 families or more, i.e. 600 souls. 
 What is all this ? What is God about to do for us in 
 India ? This will raise his missionary catechumens to 
 
 1200. Mr. J , at Jangera, has about 900. Here, 
 
 then, are about 2000 souls making their way up from the 
 shadow of death into the fair light of Christ, or rather, as 
 we hope, about to be " translated," thoroughly " trans- 
 lated," from the kingdom of darkness into the " kingdom 
 of God's dear Son." 
 
 March 13, 1839. 
 
 The steam question, like its boilers, is getting up so 
 rapidly that we talk commonly now of the Comprehensive- 
 scheme vessels accomplishing the passage, complete, from 
 Calcutta to London in one calendar month. What a 
 joy ! what a facility ! what a step to civilization and 
 evangelization ! 
 
 Bishop's College, March 17, 1839. 
 
 Mr. Pratt has gone over this morning to help the 
 Archdeacon, Mr. B being in the new fields of labour 
 
296 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 at Krislinagliur, whither also Brijonoth Ghose, from this 
 
 college, went last Monday ; and Mr. S 's catechist, and 
 
 two more are invited from distant spots : so that I am left 
 in the calmness and solitude of this sweet place to medi- 
 tation and prayer, and study of Holy Scripture. I have 
 been preaching from Eph. vi. 24, " Grace be with all 
 them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity." 
 
 Calcutta, March 24, 1839. 
 I have begun my seventh Passion Week in India by 
 delivering the first of a course of expositions upon our 
 Lord's Passion. My subject was, our Saviour's last Pass- 
 over, and His sufferings in the Garden of Gethsemane. 
 to enter more deeply into the doctrine of the cross ! O 
 for more of that sense of the evil of sin, the infinite evil 
 of sin, of our own sins, of our nature, that we may 
 rejoice more in the love of Christ in dying for us, and 
 may die more unto sin, and be ready to suffer with Christ 
 and for Christ ! Lord Jesus, shine Thou into my heart, 
 shed abroad Thy love there, diffuse a sweet humility, like, 
 in some measure, to Thine own ! For, my dearest children, 
 this interior life is everything ; and if God will allow m.e 
 to build a house to His great name in Calcutta, I must 
 expect compensating trials. Who am I that I should 
 erect a temple to the Lord, a temple to the mighty God 
 of Jacob ? I am unworthy of the least of all His mercy 
 and truth towards me ! It is an honour to be a minister 
 at all ; more so to be sent out to India ; still more to be 
 entrusted with the superintendence of churches, pastors, 
 colleges, missions : but, most of all, to have been sent out 
 
CALCUTTA. 297 
 
 at such a time as this, when such a movement is apparent 
 at Krishnaghur, Baripoor, Jangera; when churches are 
 erecting at home and here by a simultaneous impulse, and 
 when a noble edifice may, perhaps, be reared in this City 
 of Palaces to testify to the heathen that '' the Lord He is 
 the God, the Lord He is the God ! " 
 
 A^pril 9, 1839. 
 
 The Archdeacon, Mr. Pratt, and I have been paying 
 our annual visit to Howra, which is much improved since 
 last year. The number of converts, about 60 ; children in 
 the schools, 350 ; Christian and English schools, about 30. 
 The answers of the heathen lads, taught the Gospel by 
 heathens, were very striking ; perfectly convinced of the 
 foUy of Hindooism, convinced of the one living and true 
 God, and promising to profess Christianity when they 
 grow up, if God puts it into their minds. This is a sin- 
 gular state of things in India. Light and truth breaking 
 in, and yet the fear of man preventing an open reception 
 of it ; or rather, a defect in feehng the evil and guilt of 
 sin allowing other motives to outweigh the paramount 
 duty of confessing Christ before men. 
 
 April 16, 1839. 
 
 On Saturday and yesterday I witnessed two promising 
 displays of talent in the boys of our Hindoo schools. The 
 Saturday's display was not so interesting as that of yester- 
 day, though the boys were more numerous, being those 
 of the Hindoo College ; but yesterday we had 338 of the 
 " Oriental Seminary," entirely a private establishment, 
 the boys aU paying for their education, and the masters 
 Kving by it. I assure you the first two classes read Milton 
 
298 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 and Shakspeare in a most striking manner, with perfect 
 enunciation, and thorough, understanding of their author. 
 They answered, also, in English history, political economy, 
 Paley's "Moral Philosophy,'* and in mechanics, in an 
 astonishing manner. The references to Christianity were 
 frequent, and the boys seemed to have no shyness on 
 the subject. It is impossible but that all this education, 
 though secular, must loosen Hindooism and Mahometan- 
 ism to the very foundations. It cannot be otherwise ; and 
 when all this is combined with the concurrent labours of 
 our Missionaries and the openings just presented at Krish- 
 naghur, Baripoor, and Jangera, there is nothing we may 
 not hope for, if God give us grace to be united, each 
 Christian community, amongst ourselves. 
 
 July 2, 1839. 
 
 I enter to-day the sixty-second year of my age. So 
 that " I not only pass for an old man in the days of Saul," 
 like Jesse, but I may say with Isaac, " Behold now, I am 
 old ; I know not the day of my death." May God 
 enable me to bless and praise Him for sixty-one years of 
 mercy, long-suffering, grace ; to endeavour to devote my 
 few remaining days to His glory more entirely, and to 
 trust Him for all the unknown future, the last hour, and 
 the transition into an eternal state. I am, indeed, called 
 to " set my house in order." 
 
 July 17, 1839. 
 
 Who can foresee the vast ultimate effects of such a 
 communication as steam will produce on the Christianiz- 
 ation of India ? What is one of our greatest obstacles ? 
 — distance, uncertainty, fear of encountering unknown 
 
CALCUTTA. 299 
 
 hazards. Place England and India within forty-five days' 
 dak, and holy men will crowd to the scene of Christian 
 glory. At present we are weighed down for want of help. 
 
 Mr. A , our excellent catechist, came to me yesterday 
 
 to enter on his three months' residence, either in the Palace 
 or at Bishop's College, preparatory to holy orders. I in- 
 quired as to the state of things at Krishnaghur, where he 
 has now been for two or three months, having been re- 
 moved from Culna for that purpose. I was delighted with 
 
 his account. It is now seven months since Mr. D sent 
 
 up his catechist, and five since I got the good Archdeacon 
 
 to visit these fields of hope. Mr. A resides at Solo, 
 
 twenty miles north of Krishnaghur, and on the east bank 
 of the river. He has twenty villages within a circuit of 
 about six miles, which he regularly visits. The popu- 
 lation is about 200 in each, or 4000 altogether. Out of 
 these about 500 have been baptized after one, two, three 
 years' instruction, and some of them twelve or fifteen, of 
 incipient ideas of Christianity, acquired at Calcutta or 
 elsewhere. There are also about 200 more inquirers, and 
 applications from three or four more villages had just been 
 made, with thirty or forty persons anxious for instruction. 
 Mr. A considers these as the beginnings of the pro- 
 bable conversion of all the neighbourhood, with its nume- 
 rous villages. Little chapels are being built by the Church 
 Missionary Committee, in the centres of four circles 
 of hamlets, and a larger chapel is being erected by Mr. 
 
 W at Solo, where 100 converts already assemble for 
 
 public worship on the Sundays. A bungalow is also being 
 built at Solo for Mr. A and family. I inquired par- 
 
300 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 ticularly as to the real state of religious character in the 
 
 converts. Mr. A says he cannot doubt that a great 
 
 and good work of grace is begun. They have a fixed 
 conviction of the truth of Christianity — some sense of the 
 sinfulness of sin — they offer prayers to Christ — they have 
 a general view of His salvation — they consider the death 
 of Christ their only hope — they have given up all idolatry, 
 all caste, all association with idolaters. They endure per- 
 secution with meekness, though refused all employment, 
 and scarcely allowed to take water from the village well. 
 They speak truth, are honest, and maintain themselves 
 
 by their labour. "On the whole," said Mr. A , 
 
 " shame filled my mind, because I never expected to see 
 such things in India." An old man told me, as I was 
 leaving Solo, " We have heard a little from you, and now 
 you are going away. Our hearts are very hard ; but if you 
 smite them with your words as you do, we must become 
 better." Such is the simple state of things in one division 
 only of the station of Krishnaghur, of which I wrote so 
 fully to Lord Chichester in February. 
 
 Calcutta, July 23, 1839. 
 All Christendom will be horrified at the murder of 
 eleven victims in the sight of all India, at the funeral rites 
 of that Buonaparte of the East, Runjeet Singh — a fierce 
 and unprincipled warrior, whose entire life has been the 
 robbery and spoiling of the Punjaub, and who has hastened 
 his end by drunkenness and profligacy. The scandal is 
 the greater because, being now the close ally of the British 
 Government in India, and Lord Auckland having just 
 
KRISHNAGHUR. 301 
 
 exchanged presents witli him, it should seem that a strong 
 remonstrance on the part of our ambassador might have 
 prevented the sacrifice. And all this is in the face of Lord 
 "W. Bentinck's humane abolition of the Suttee a few years 
 back ! Hear it, Christians in England, who are so tardy in 
 sending out your Missionaries ; hear it, youth of Great 
 Britain, who are taught to love and honour your parents ; 
 whilst you are dreaming and delaying at home, India is 
 the victim of the most cruel, and polluting, and degrading 
 idolatry ! Hear it, British sceptics and unbelievers, who 
 would palliate Hindoo ignorance and vice ! See the " god 
 of this world" revelling in blood. Behold him on the very 
 borders of the British dominions, and on the most public 
 of all occasions, ofiering the sons and daughters of the 
 human race to devils ! See him stirring up to madness 
 the four wives of the late Rajah ! Follow them in their 
 jewelled attire, casting money amongst the surrounding 
 Brahmins ! Yiew the poor unnoticed slave- girls — seven 
 immortal souls, be it remembered — placed around the body 
 of the Bajah, stretched on a bier of sandal- wood ! Mark 
 the elder wife (the holy name is misapplied to the poly- 
 gamy of a wretch said to have had 500 females in his 
 palace, of one class or another) seated at the head of the 
 dead warrior, and placing it on her lap ! But who ap- 
 proaches the pile ? It is the new Rajah, who hastens to 
 apply the torch to the eleven Hving females ! Oh, Earth, 
 cover thou not their blood ! Oh, tender-hearted Saviour, 
 have pity on a benighted world of heathen ! And let 
 British Christians contrast with this death the last mo- 
 ments of our late King William, and the solemn, pious 
 
302 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 offices of our fine Burial Service, and the acts of mercy and 
 benevolence that mark the last religious duties performed 
 by the chief ministers of religion and the surviving royal 
 house. I mention William lY. as an instance of the latest 
 death of a Christian monarch. But take the innumerable 
 funeral obsequies of Christian kings, statesmen, warriors, 
 poets, divines, and learn what Christianity has done for 
 man. I say nothing of the religious and moral training 
 of the two systems of Hindooism and Christianity — of the 
 disciples they severally form — of the state of the soul, as 
 respects God and eternity, in each ease — of the measure in 
 life and death, judgment, and a future state — of happiness 
 and holiness produced by each. I hold up the last public 
 religious rites of both. Heathenism with her funeral 
 murders, and her four wives and seven slave-girls, burnt 
 on the pile of a deceased ruler ; and Christianity interring 
 the dead, though a monarch, with prayer, humiliation, acts 
 of penitence and grief, in hope of a glorious resurrection 
 to everlasting life through faith in Him who died and rose 
 again for us ! This is enough. The two systems of dark- 
 ness and light, of truth and lies, of mercy and blood, of 
 God and Satan, are stamped and exhibited in the last 
 scenes which embody the whole tendency of each. 
 
 August 22, 1839. 
 I have read through Philips's " Life of Whitefield." I 
 was determined to do it. I thought the freshness and 
 vigour of his piety would do me good, and it has done me 
 good. But what a mixture, what a large mixture of 
 natural impulse, human zeal, and pure enthusiasm ! Much 
 
CALCUTTA. 303 
 
 of this, my impression of him, arises from the way in 
 which the book is got up. The author does not bring 
 out Whitefield's character. It seems like a book of notices 
 and references and animadversions, which suppose the 
 reader to know all the facts before, and to be even ac- 
 quainted with the piety, talents, and cast of mind of White- 
 field. Still, you catch glimpses now and then, and touches 
 of character appear in letters, and some descriptions are 
 quoted and anecdotes given, which let you into the real 
 merits of this extraordinary person — 18,000 sermons in 
 thirty-four years (my number is 3,450 in thirty-eight) — 
 almost innumerable bodies of people, all through the towns 
 of England, Scotland, and America, awakened and aroused 
 — thousands and tens of thousands of souls really converted 
 from ignorance and vice to God — an impression produced 
 on high and low, noble and plebeian, infidel and pharisee, 
 unparalleled in modern times — during his discourses, 
 scarcely a sermon in which he was not himself dissolved in 
 tears — the most sudden tran&itions of sympathy produced 
 in audiences of 20,000 people — the whole sustained by a 
 consistent, holy life. Yet, when one compares him with 
 Augustine, or Luther, or Calvin, or Cranmer, he shrinks 
 into nothing: he wanted learning, judgment, steadiness, 
 capacity of governing. He was no divine, no writer, no 
 ecclesiastical student : he began, a boy untaught, and 
 lived and died an orator — a distinguished one, indeed — 
 a Christian one — but a mere fine declaimer on evange- 
 Kcal truths. Blessed, however, he was in life and death, 
 because he was a sincere, straightforward servant of Christ, 
 fulfilling his particular circle of duties, and shining 
 
304 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 brightly in that circle, and without any interested motives 
 
 whatever. 
 
 August 30, 1839. 
 
 Mr. Buxton^s * book on slavery harrows up my whole 
 soul. It was quite new to me. My mind had been turned, 
 since the abolition in 1807, to the Emancipation question. 
 But, behold ! a double slave-trade in point of numbers, and 
 a treble one in point of cruelty, is detected and placed be- 
 fore the sun — 120,000 victims yearly landed ; and to obtain 
 these, 350,000 murdered — and the profit 180/. per cent — 
 and all Africa barred out from Christianity. There never 
 was such an atrocity. The God of mercy will assuredly 
 be avenged of the guilty nations. Buxton delights me by 
 his calmness, moderation, capital sense. He reposes all 
 his facts on parliamentary papers ; and his remedy is 
 practicable, obvious, and easy — the opening, a lawful com- 
 merce for Africa. 
 
 Sept. 2, 1839. 
 
 On the 28th came down the splendid news of the 
 storming of the strong fort of Ghazee, that ancient glory 
 of the Ghiznivide dynasty. Sir J. Keane says he found it 
 a very strong place, with a high rampart, a citadel with 
 wet ditch, screen- walls built before the gates : the whole 
 had been gradually strengthened for the last thirty years, 
 and had then a garrison of 3500, and abundance of stores. 
 It was considered impregnable throughout not only 
 Afighanistan, but aU Asia. In two hours we carried it by 
 blowing up the Cabool gate ; and the whole garrison, with 
 the governor, was captured. Sir J. Keane says that it was 
 * The late Sir Fowell Buxton, M.F.-'-Editor. 
 
CALCUTTA. 305 
 
 one of the most brilliant acts he had ever witnessed during 
 a service of forty-five years in the four quarters of the 
 world. How wonderful are the ways of Providence ! An- 
 other world opened to British enterprise, benevolence, and 
 piety ; Christianity crossing the Indus, and preparing her 
 way to the Caspian, to Palestine, and to Asia Minor. A 
 quiet siege, or half-a-dozen battles would not have struck 
 the natives with such terror as this instant explosion of their 
 only remaining stronghold, and the capture, as by magic, 
 of 3500 men, with their arms and baggage, and the whole 
 town, bazaars, citadel, treasures, stores, and with a loss 
 of only 17 killed and 180 wounded. The whole world 
 of Calcutta are talking and reading of nothing else. The 
 interesting thing is, that British power should have struck 
 a blow at Ghazee, a city classically associated with the 
 history of the East, and the very fort from which the 
 Moslems poured their torrents of warriors on that India 
 which is now British ; the renown of the capture of which 
 will spread with the rapidity of lightning throughout 
 all Asia and the civilised world. The effect ultimately 
 on the conversion of India none can even conjecture. 
 
 Sept. 29, 1839. 
 How I wish you could have witnessed the sight of the 
 consecration of the first Christian church ever built in 
 Bengal for natives only. It was erected by Archdeacon 
 Dealtry's evangelical fund at the old church. The ground 
 the church, and adjoining schools, with missionary apart- 
 ments over them, have cost 30,000 or 40,000 rupees. 
 What a fine design ! Krishna Mohun Banerjea is the 
 
306 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 Missionary, whose health is much recovered. The church is 
 pure Gothic, holding 400 or 500 ; — a nave and side-aisles, 
 no chancel, a very chaste Gothic tower and pinnacles. 
 You should have seen the crowds of natives who could not 
 gain admittance. I suppose there must have been 300 
 present, all understanding English more or less. There 
 were also fifteen clergy present, including the Archdeacon 
 and myself. The mute astonishment as our fine ser^-ice 
 proceeded ; the admirable sermon of the dear Archdeacon 
 from Exod. xx. 24, "In all places where I record my 
 name I will come unto Thee, and I will bless Thee ;" the 
 solemnity of the Holy Communion, which closed a service of 
 three hours, and at which all the clergy and all the stu- 
 dents of Bishop's College, and most of the English con- 
 gregation, assisted — all this was overwhelming ; and when 
 I looked on Mrs. Wilson's Central School on the opposite 
 side of the square, and the General Assembly's extensive 
 school-house in the same quarter, I could scarcely conceal 
 my feelings. Think only, my beloved ones, of the pro- 
 gress of things. Think of Krishnaghur, Baripoor, and 
 Jangera. Then, remember the opposition which Brown, 
 Buchanan, H. Martyn, and even Corrie, as well as Dr. 
 Carey, and Mr. and Mrs. Judson, met with — scarcely 
 allowed to act, banished almost, and this not thirty years 
 since ! Then, remember what God is now doing. Three 
 Bishops in their several dioceses, all of one heart and 
 one soul. Surely we may exclaim, "What hath God 
 wrought ! " Four Missionary churches are, at this moment, 
 begun, or about to be begun, near Calcutta alone. And, 
 to crown all, seven clergymen are expected, or have 
 
CALCUTTA. 307 
 
 arrived, from England and the Cape. Blessed be the 
 Lord ! What are troubles when such mercies are vouch- 
 safed ! 
 
 Oct 3, 1839. 
 
 Last evening angels rejoiced, I trust, in the prospect of 
 the many sinners who will repent. The ground of my new 
 Mission Cathedral was staked off by Colonel M'Leod and 
 Major Forbes, with Mr. Pratt and myself. The line might 
 then be seen in the hands of Zerubbabel. Blessed be God ! 
 The first stone is to be deposited on Tuesday next. It 
 will be November 15 before the ground is dry enough for 
 the work, the rains have been so copious ; and six weeks 
 more before the building will have fairly begun, and three 
 years before divine service is celebrated in it. God is the 
 Judge, and Helper, and Worker, and Great Architect, 
 and shall bear the glory. Krishna Mohun's new church 
 was crowded last Sunday. He preached to 600 Hindoos, 
 he supposes, who, after filling the building, hung in at all 
 the windows. His text, "You hath he quickened who were 
 dead in trespasses and sins." The dear fellow was quite 
 overwhelmed. It was his first Bengalee sermon addressed 
 wholly to natives. Are not these things marvellous in our 
 eyes ? Our Asiatic Society meeting at half-past eight last 
 
 night was very interesting. Mr. B presented the skin 
 
 of a boa constrictor, twenty-one feet long, in the inside of 
 which was found a fallow deer. It was shot by his nephew 
 at Gorruckpore. 
 
 Oct. 11, 1839. 
 
 On Tuesday, at 5 p.m., our first stone of St. Paul's was 
 laid. I will send you a copy of the prayers used, which 
 
308 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 I altered from the Consecration Service used by Bishop 
 Middleton at laying the first stone of Bishop's College, 
 December 15, 1820. I will also send you the address. I 
 wish I could send you, but I cannot, an impression of the 
 scene, the crowd, the number of gentry, the clergy, the 
 natives, the whole field covered with the people and their 
 carriages. 
 
 Oct. 12, 1839. 
 Imagine us now in the agony of preparation, a thou- 
 sand things to arrange. "We go up to Krishnaghur in the 
 "Experiment" steamer, and not by dak, the roads being 
 still impassable. And now, into Thine hands I commend 
 my spirit, my body, my soul, my diocese, my flocks with 
 their pastors, my all, Thou blessed Jesus ! Keep, I pray 
 Thee, me and mine. Preserve, and sanctify, and enlarge 
 Thy Church in India. Prosper the great design of build- 
 ing a principal church to Thy Name in this metropolis of 
 British India. Make this visitation a source of spiritual 
 blessings indeed, through the assistance of the Holy Ghost. 
 Guide the dear Archdeacon during his arduous duties in 
 Calcutta in my absence. Bless all the clergy, civil and 
 military servants. East India community, merchants, and 
 others, I pray Thee. Pardon, also, my God, the un- 
 numbered sins and transgressions committed during the 
 awful period of my superintendency of this portion of Thy 
 Church. Pardon especially sins of omission ! 
 
309 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Arrival at Krishnaghur — Large Number of Converts — Hopeful 
 State — Solo — Hurrah — Baptism of Converts — TheGooroos — 
 Want of Churches and Schools — Interesting Conversation with 
 Converts — Ruttenpoor — Anunda Bass — Hough's History of 
 of India — Alexander the Great — Patnah — Unfinished Church 
 — Juanpore — Allahabad — Cawnpore — Consecration of Church 
 
 — Lucknow — Meerut — Three Thousand Inquirers — • Mrs. 
 Hawkes' Memoir — Almorah — First Stone laid of New Church 
 
 — The Himalayas — Precipitous Track — Rajahs of Gurwal 
 and Nahum — Arrival at Simlah. 
 
 Krishnaghur, Oct. 19, 1839. 
 Blessed be tlie Lord ! the first news I heard was, that 3000 
 more had renounced idolatry, making 6000 or 7000 in the 
 whole. But it cannot be; I distrust the information. Seven- 
 teen new villages declared — seventy -two altogether. Two 
 Gooroos, or spiritual guides, with 2000 disciples, taking 
 some, but not decisive, steps ; the determined inquirers in 
 the seventy- two villages about 4000. The fire spreading 
 all around, as a spark carried by the wind over a dried 
 
 heath. Mr. and Mrs. S tell us nothing has been 
 
 exaggerated, but has rather been understated by the Arch- 
 deacon. Thus God blesses the faith and love which ven- 
 ture all for Him, pardoning the effects of m.ere judgment ; 
 whilst He sends the rich, and self-dependent, and prudent, 
 empty away. There is a something in such men as Swartz 
 
310 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 and Martyn, Corrie and Brainard, beyond and above otbers, 
 whicb the All-seeing Eye marks and blesses. My office, 
 however, here, is " to supply the things that are wanting," 
 to reconcile differences, to distinguish the true from the 
 false catechist, to " ordain elders in every city," to guard 
 the noble deposit. O for heavenly wisdom ! for, though 
 God works by zeal and love in awakening souls, yet He 
 blesses age and experience in keeping them from the snares 
 of Satan, the delusions of false teachers, the fickleness and 
 weakness of the first converts. The first information I 
 obtained yesterday was from Mr. E, , assistant-magis- 
 trate, who sees a good deal of these new Christians. He 
 tells me they are evidently superior in conduct, diligence, 
 forethought, to the heathen around ; they are another sort 
 of people. They have much to suffer. The heathen zemin- 
 dars oppress them. For example, the zemindar sends a 
 body of his servants and drives away 150 cows from a 
 Christian farmer, shuts the herd up, takes the milk, and 
 beats the owner if he complains. The case is brought be- 
 fore the magistrates ; the difficulty of detecting perjured 
 
 witnesses is extreme ; but such a person as Mr. R goes 
 
 through with it, compels the depredator to restore the 
 cows, and fines him 200 or 300 rs. This is the old invasion 
 of Job's neighbours, mere open violence; it is like our pri- 
 vate wars amongst the English barons. At one o'clock it 
 was announced that the Mission School-room was filled 
 with Christians from the villages around Krishnaghur, 
 which means the city of Krishna, a corruption of the 
 blessed name of Christ. I was informed there were many 
 candidates for confirmation, and that divine service was 
 
KRISHNAGHUR. 311 
 
 looked for. I had not opened my Bengalee manuscript 
 since January, and I had scarcely time to read it over with 
 one of the catechists when I was hurried off, at one 
 in the day, in a tonjon, or chair. I found a fine school- 
 room crowded with natives, and the verandahs filled with 
 women and children, perhaps between 200 and 300. Mr. 
 Pratt soon got matters a Kttle arranged. I produced my 
 Bengalee knowledge, and for two hours, without a punkah, 
 and in a loud voice, was examining, and confirming, and 
 exhorting these neophytes. It was a blessed sight. Most 
 of the men had been Kurta Bhoojahites of the Mahometan 
 class. Many were advanced in life, with fine Mussulman 
 features, black flowing beards, eyes brightening as ques- 
 tions were proposed. I looked at them again and again 
 with indescribable affection, just as I had done on the 
 fishermen at Jangera and Baripoor, with Mr. J , Pro- 
 fessor W , Mr. D , and my dear J . IJhe 
 
 answers given to my questions were very much of the same 
 simplicity, with an occasional point and force which made 
 me start from my seat. I confirmed about forty. Surely 
 this is the Lord's doing, and is marvellous in our eyes. 
 Compare all this with Sir W. Jones's time, when, in 1789- 
 91, he resorted here during the long vacation with his 
 pundits, to prepare a translation of the "Institutes of 
 Menu." The house occupied by that distinguished Chris- 
 tian scholar is now in ruins, like everything of any standing 
 in India. Then conversion was never attempted. Carey 
 and Marshman were banished to the Dutch settlement of 
 Serampore. This was in 1794. Ten years later Buchanan 
 was forbidden to publish a volume of sermons on Prophecyf 'I 
 
312 • JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 Dr. and Mrs. Judson, in 1814, were not allowed to land at 
 Calcutta, and nothing material was seen in any of our 
 Missions till the moyements at Jangera and Baripoor four 
 or five years since ; and now this surprising one at Krish- 
 naghur. I cannot help thinking that Lord W. Bentinck 
 and Lord Glenelg helped the cause much with their totally 
 new measures, in elevating and bringing out the native 
 character, in protecting them from wrong, in honouring 
 Missionaries, in raising the tone of moral and religious 
 feeling. 
 
 Solo, Oct. 23, 1839. 
 With what emotions I entered this desert place, where 
 
 Mr. A has just built a bungalow, it is impossible for me 
 
 to describe. We feared that we should not be able to come 
 on here. The steamboat could not venture so high up the 
 Jellinghey, upon which Solo stands, and the roads were 
 described as flooded and impassable. And yet 300 or 400 
 Christians had been appointed to meet here for confirmation 
 and examination this morning. At last we ventured in pal- 
 kees, but my entire set of clothes was drenched in passing 
 through the waters. We started yesterday at three o'clock, 
 and reached Hurrah, sixteen miles, at seven, and there 
 slept, finishing the journey this morning. I feel exceed- 
 ingly fatigued, but not ill. As I entered this new scene 
 of Messiah's triumph, as I humbly trust, and glorious 
 
 reign, my heart leaped within me. Mr. A met us, 
 
 and brought us into the new and damp and unfinished 
 abode. One chopper roof stretches over the whole build- 
 ing, and walls ten or eleven feet high separate the rooms, 
 leaving the whole expanse above, of ten feet, open to the 
 
KRISHNAGHUR. 313 
 
 roof. It is mere mud and bamboos, with, doors sent up 
 from Calcutta. It was only on Friday I ordained him 
 deacon, and now I am in the first Church Missionary bun- 
 galow, reared under his eye, and for his convenience. May 
 the Lord bless ! 
 
 Hurrah, Oct 23, 1839. 
 
 "We returned here after the duties of the day at Solo, 
 in order to be six miles on our road to Krishnaghur. We 
 
 are received by an indigo planter, Mr. De C . At 
 
 eleven this morning 150 native and baptized Christians 
 
 assembled, from six or seven miles round. Mr. A ■- read 
 
 Bengalee prayers. I then preached from Acts xiv. 22, 
 " Confirming the souls of the disciples," with Mr. 
 
 A 's interpretation. When the sermon was ended, I 
 
 examined the candidates for confirmation before the whole 
 congregation. It was perfectly deKghtful to hear the 
 simple and appropriate answers they made. There is 
 every appearance of their sincerity, and of some dawnings 
 of grace breaking upon their hearts. After the confirm- 
 ation, the Holy Sacrament was administered to the Mis- 
 sionaries, but Mr. A thought it better not to admit 
 
 any of the converts till they were more acquainted with its 
 nature. The service lasted more than two hours and a 
 half. The whole visit was most encouraging. The wives 
 and children could not attend, from the waters being out, 
 so that we had the heads of families chiefly from eight 
 miles round. 
 
 Krishnaghur, Oct. 25, 1839. 
 
 Last evening all the gentry dined here. I addressed 
 them at family prayers ; told them of the joy I felt at 
 
314 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 visiting Solo ; cautioned them as to the chief dangers in a 
 new scene of duty, especially as to native catechists, who, 
 if insincere, would be artful, dishonest, and disgraceful. I 
 assured them that as to necessary support for the Missions, 
 supposing things to go on well, I entertained no doubt; 
 that I intended to write to Lord Chichester immediately, 
 and would represent the whole case. The five Mission- 
 aries must have small bungalows, schools, and chapels, or 
 their lives would fall a sacrifice, and their work could 
 not be carried on, even if health remained. Nor would 
 England hesitate a moment in doing this, when once a 
 plan was digested. This morning, before six, we were on 
 the ground designed as the site for the Krishnaghur build- 
 ings, and where a capital school-room was erected by the 
 Church Missionary Society, about two years since. The 
 house where Sir "William Jones used to reside adjoins. It 
 stands on the river, and though now a complete ruin, 
 shows the splendid outline of former grandeur. It very 
 much resembles that at Jellalabad. The two Gooroos, with 
 3500 disciples, live in the northern villages, near Jellin- 
 ghey. They were Kurta Bhoojahites ; worshipped one 
 God, but knew nothing of Christianity, except that a 
 Saviour in human flesh was to appear. So the Hindoo 
 narrations are vestiges of the same truth. They made 
 disciples from Hindoos and Mussulmans, and confided to 
 each some mysterious word, of no meaning in itself, but 
 a kind of charm, which, if remembered, would insure 
 their salvation. Human nature is darkness, we see, 
 everywhere, if left to its own resources, as the Scriptures 
 speak. These Gooroos kept up also disputes with Hin- 
 
KRISHNAGHUR. 315 
 
 doos and Mahometaiis, and seem to have been inquirers 
 after truth, in a certain sense. The Kurta Bhoojahites 
 seem to have sprung, about fifty or sixty years since, from 
 the labours of Christian Missionaries at Chin surah and 
 Hooghly ; and the germs of knowledge appear to have 
 been handed down from the fathers to the present age, 
 
 and to have been called into life under Mr. D 's 
 
 faithful preaching of Christ Jesus. He thinks all these 
 3500 may be gradually brought to receive instruction in 
 Christian doctrine. The native Eajah at Benares, who 
 gave the school-house to the Church Missions, was of this 
 sect. There are mingled amongst them, however, some 
 descendants from the Persian Durbeshes. The conduct 
 of the baptized Christians is, on the whole, as good as 
 
 Mr. D could expect. Honesty, meekness, forgiveness 
 
 of injuries, and diligence in their calling, are apparent. 
 I can truly say I never saw more attentive hearers in my 
 life. They seemed to eat every word. One venerable old 
 Christian, with a grey beard, and who had heard the 
 Gospel twenty years since in Calcutta, struck me particu- 
 larly, as he came up to be confirmed, for he had now just 
 been led to confess Christ by baptism. Another new convert 
 
 was between eighty and ninety years of age. Mr. D 
 
 gave me a fine trait of the honesty of the Christians. A 
 whole village had borrowed money for their seed-corn, 
 800 rupees. The receipts had been lost by the catechists. 
 
 Mr. D begged them each to say how much he owed. 
 
 They did; and the aggregate exceeded the 800 rupees 
 
 in Mr. D 's books by 40 or 50 ! This relates to a 
 
 whole village of perhaps 80 or 100 families. There are 
 
316 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 from 50 families to 500 in each of the 72 villages ; i. e. 
 from 250 souls to 2500. Out of these, 8 or 10 families, or 
 more, in each, are inquirers : — 4000 souls, altogether, 
 who are professing Christianity, and under instruction, 
 of whom nearly 700 are baptized. The Kurta Bhooja- 
 hites are about 100,000, and stretch from Krishnaghur to 
 Benares, 400 miles. Those descended from the Dur- 
 beshes are few. They came in with the Mahometan 
 conquests. The leaders amongst them are pretty well 
 informed, can read and write, and understand the tenets 
 of the sect. They believe all idolatry to be sinful ; that 
 salvation is to be obtained by seeing God ; that, in order 
 to see God, their eyes must be purified; that then they 
 will see God with their bodily eyes, for that the Deity is 
 to appear in the form of man. Our blessed incarnate 
 Jesus soon meets inquirers on this point. The difficulty 
 is the doctrine of Atonement, of which the Mussulman 
 Kurta Bhoojahs have no notion, and the Hindoos very 
 little. Christ is the grand topic in Mr. D 's preach- 
 ing, as it was in St. Paul's. One answer at Solo, in reply 
 to the question, "What do you mean by an atonement 
 for sin ?" was, " Christ's suffering in our stead. Our sins 
 deserved God's wrath and punishment. Christ bore them 
 instead of us ! " Mr. Pratt examined three converts, sepa- 
 rately, at Solo, and their account of their faith was capital. 
 He is delighted. His previous expectations are far sur- 
 passed. 
 
 Krishnaghur, Oct 28, 1839. 
 We start for Anunda Bass at four to-morrow morning, 
 and return here on Thursday, to lay the first stone of the 
 
KRISHXAGHUR. 317 
 
 Schools, and then proceed to Moorshedabad. We gave 
 two English services here yesterday ; and in the evening 
 
 we had two hours' conversation with Mr. D . The 
 
 impression of what is going on is delightful, and yet 
 mixed with awe and fear. I exclaim, " How dreadful — 
 awful — is this place ! This is none other than the house 
 of God ; and this is the gate of heaven !" I could not sleep 
 hardly, after hearing the account, from agitation, joy, 
 anxiety to direct everything aright. A third Gooroo came 
 
 to Mr. D on Saturday, a brother of the other two, 
 
 from a distance of sixty miles, or, as they term it, two 
 days' journey. He has 200 houses under his spiritual 
 guidance ; i. e. he has made 200 families — 1000 persons — 
 full Hindoos, by giving them the muntra, or secret word 
 of salvation ; and he receives from these houses four anas, 
 eight, twelve, a rupee, or two rupees, annually. He came 
 with the same inquiry, "What is the right way ? I am a 
 Kurta Bhoojah, of the Mussulman class. I have given up 
 and renounced the Koran. I believe salvation is to be ob- 
 tained by seeing God, who will appear in human flesh." 
 
 To this question Mr. D answers by beginning at the 
 
 same place, and preaching unto him Jesus ; that " he 
 that sees Him by faith sees the Father ;" that " He is 
 God manifest in the flesh ;" that " all that the Kurta 
 Bhoojahites are seeking for is in the Gospel." The man 
 cries out, " This is the true way ! We have found what 
 we have been seeking for so long." You will observe, my 
 children, that the 4500 followers of these three Goroos 
 are not yet themselves inquirers, nor in the least moved ; 
 but there is every reason to hope that many of them will 
 
318 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 be gradually brought to bear tbe joyful sound. Indeed 
 
 Mr. D says tbe wbole district, from Hoogbly to 
 
 Jellingbey, about eighty miles, is apparently ready for 
 Christianity ; nothing else is talked about. Every week 
 fresh applications are made for instruction ; which, alas ! 
 cannot as yet be afforded. The three things wanted now 
 are, a good sound body of catechists ; needful missionary 
 bungalows ; advice and help as to the gross oppression of 
 the native zemindars ; and the right conduct to be held by 
 the Christians. A fourth want, that of Missionaries, 
 I consider supplied in the three German brethren so 
 very opportunely come out. 
 
 Ruttenpoor, Oct. 29, 1839. 
 "We arrived here dak at one this morning, after 
 eight and a-half hours' bad road, inundated fields, paths 
 ploughed up. Mr. D and Mr. B accompa- 
 nied us ; and our kind host, Mr. S , sent on servants, 
 
 and all things needful, beforehand, to an indigo factory 
 
 of Mr. M 's, about two miles from Anunda Bass. 
 
 May God prepare me for these two days of most difficult 
 and important duty ! I feel as if I was only beginning to 
 be an overseer. The task is so arduous, and my unworthi- 
 ness and unfitness so great. " What is highly esteemed 
 before men is,'' we are told, often " abomination in the 
 sight of the Lord ;" and I am persuaded that God too often 
 sees in us causes of abhorrence, when all is fair and useful 
 so far as man is concerned. "What corrupt motives ! what 
 invasions of evil thoughts ! what vagrancy of the fancy ! 
 what recollections of former scenes of evil ! what unwatch- 
 fulness in prayer ! Lord, behold I am vile ! Enter 
 
ANUNDA BASS. 319 
 
 not into judgment with. Thy servant. Let the Sacrifice 
 interpose between me and my guilt ; and subdue, cleanse, 
 and illuminate the defiled chamber of my heart by Thy 
 Holy Ghost, that Christ may deign to enter and dwell 
 there, and shed abroad His peace and joy. 
 
 Anunda Bass, Oct 29, 1839. 
 I have had three most deHghtful and exquisite hours 
 of divine service with these neophytes, when about 500 
 were present, and about 150 or 160 baptized ; and upwards 
 of 100 of those whom the dear Archdeacon baptized in 
 February were confirmed ; the rest were children and in- 
 quirers. It was the same kind of scene as we witnessed 
 at Baripoor and Jangera. You may remember that many 
 of our friends would not then believe the accounts ; but 
 lo ! six years have been confirming the truth of that 
 blessed work; and now, a like one has burst out Hke 
 spring in this district. Never did I feel the beauty of 
 our Baptismal and Confirmation Services so much as this 
 morning. The prayers and thanksgivings of the first, 
 and the laying on of hands and suppKcations in the 
 second, were equally striking. It was the sign and seal, 
 and first day, in the eye of others, of the new birth by 
 water and the Spirit ; it was the descent of the sanctifying 
 grace of the Holy Ghost. "We began with examining the 
 candidates for baptism: "Are you sinners?" — "Yes, 
 we are aU sinners," was resounded from one end of the 
 chapel (a mud edifice, with straw roof and verandah) to 
 the other. "How do you hope to obtain forgiveness?" — 
 "By the sacrifice of Christ." " What was that sacrifice ?" 
 
320 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 — "We were sinners, and Clirist died in the stead of us." 
 "How is your heart to be changed ?'* — "By the Holy 
 Ghost." "Will you renounce all idolatry, feasts, poo- 
 jahs, and caste ?" — " Yes ; we renounce them all." " Will 
 you renounce the devil, the world, and the flesh ? " — 
 "Yes." "Will you sufier for Christ's sake? Forgive 
 injuries?" — "Yes." In a word, I went over all the 
 branches of Christianity with these candidates, and find- 
 ing from Mr. D that they had for a year or more 
 
 been under instruction, and had been living consistently 
 with it, I begged Mr. D to read the Baptismal Ser- 
 vice. When we came to the questions in the service, I 
 paused to tell them of the seriousness of the engagement, 
 and I asked the congregation of the baptized if they 
 would be witnesses and God-parents to them. They 
 shouted that they would. The sight now was most touch- 
 ing, — 150 or 160 about to enter the Christian Church, 
 and the whole of the village standing sponsors. Mr. 
 Pratt and Mr. A then went round the lines of cate- 
 chumens and administered baptism. I then stood in the 
 midst, and received them in a body into the church, wait- 
 ing for Mr. P and Mr. A to go round and sign 
 
 them with the sign of the cross separately. The words of 
 reception were then repeated by me, and interpreted. 
 You cannot imagine the intelligent, anxious eyes of the 
 crowded assembly, as all this was going on. 
 
 Koolhared, Nov. 2, 1839. 
 "Now for another wonderful topic. Cabul is moving. 
 Herat is opening her Mahometan gates to Christ. The 
 
ON GANGES. 321 
 
 Bishop of Bombay sends me ttie letter of Mr. P- 
 
 Chaplain to the Forces, who has found a body of Ar- 
 menian Christians at Cabul, with a church, and they 
 are Avilling to enter the pale of the Church of England, 
 and receive our doctrines. They were once 1200 in 
 number, but are now reduced. They have had no priest 
 for twelve years. What an opening ! 
 
 Steamer, Nov. 12, 1839. 
 The steamer arrived yesterday at 4 p.m. We em- 
 barked at six, and at a quarter-past five this morning 
 were under way. About seven days of total quiet, re- 
 pose, freedom from the ordinary round of duties, messages, 
 daks, are now before us — most beneficial and salutary. 
 It is very curious that Hough, in his " History of Christ- 
 ianity in India,'' which I am reading, begins with Alex- 
 ander the Great, of whom he had spoken in a preceding 
 part of his letter, as having opened the East, to Western 
 energy and commerce, and broken up the sleep of ages, 
 and prepared for the Roman armies and the peace of the 
 world at the I^ativity of the blessed Saviour. The talents 
 of that wonderful man, his magnanimity, his foresight, 
 his promptitude, his presence of mind in danger, his skill 
 in selecting his generals, his generosity to his followers, 
 his sagacity in choosing the site of Alexandria and other 
 cities for purposes of universal commerce, his tact in the 
 management of his vast empire, are all of the highest 
 order. His faults were those of a heathen in a barbarous, 
 magnificent age, with the art of war in its infancy — excess 
 in his feasts, intemperate anger, reckless exposure of his 
 
 T 
 
322 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 person to danger, indiscriminate pillage of captured cities, 
 superstition to the gods of every nation in every form, 
 boundless ambition, and insatiate love of glory. The whole 
 history of his exploits, with Hough's comment, impresses 
 me deeply with the state of things in which we now are : 
 the passage of the same Indus, the possession of the same 
 Cabul, the establishment of similar lines of commerce, 
 which seem ever to be the preludes to evangelization, 
 the breaking up again the inert mass of Oriental hea- 
 thenism and Mahometanism. The difference is, that we 
 are working from the eastward ; Alexander from the west. 
 We are a Christian people ; he, a Pagan prince. We, in the 
 year 1839 of our Lord ; he, 325 before the Christian era. 
 We, with steam and railways almost ready for our com- 
 merce, arts, and religion ; he, in the rudest period of navi- 
 gation. We, with all the humanity to captives, and care 
 to save human life, and anxiety to act only on the defen- 
 sive and shun the lust of conquest, which our religion en- 
 joins ; he, with every one of these particulars as contrary 
 as possible. Oh, that Britain may rise up to the dignity 
 of her position ! Oh, that British Christians would be 
 more earnest in prayer for the efPusion of the Holy Spirit ! 
 Oh, that England may return to her allegiance to the 
 King of Elngs at home, and not unite with Infidels and 
 Papists to disown her relation to her God ! Oh, that the 
 Priests, the Ministers of the Lord, may keep firm, united, 
 simple-minded, sound in faith, in charity, in patience ! 
 and oh, that the Bishop of Calcutta may know and do 
 his duty to Christ! 
 
PATNAH. 323 
 
 Patnah, Dec. 1, 1839. 
 
 I must pause to bless God for being preserved to my 
 eightb Advent Sunday in India. I have been preacbing 
 my 778tb Indian sermon. The cburcb, or ratber building 
 tbat is to be the cburcb, was crowded in every part almost. 
 I tbink tbere were 600 persons, and several Eoman Catbo- 
 lics standing outside. Rom. i. 16, my Advent text : tbe 
 deepest attention. Tbis is tbe sixtb service I bave per- 
 formed in tbis station, and tbe confirmation tbis afternoon 
 will be tbe seventb. You never saw sucb a place as I 
 preacbed in, tbis morning, and "Wednesday. No floor, no 
 roof, no windows, no doors, no pews, a tub of an old 
 pulpit, no communion rails, no vestry. But I was deter- 
 mined to bave service, in order to rebuke tbe two years' 
 delay in building tbe cburcb. Tbe gentry sent cbairs, 
 tbe ground was matted, a cbopper roof tbrown over tbe 
 rafters, windows and door were of mat, a raised platform 
 of loose bricks was our communion-table, tbe vestry was 
 made of mats. By tbis sort of field-preacbing our Advent 
 bere was celebrated. I sball bave tbe cburcb roofed, and 
 plastered, and enclosed, and painted, and fitted up, in two 
 montbs' time. 
 
 Juanpore, Dec. 17, 1839. 
 
 I am now a guest at tbe bouse of tbe dear, amiable 
 
 Mrs. T , tbe companion of our voyage to India in 
 
 1832. Tbis Juanpore is new to me. It is most in- 
 teresting. It stands on tbe winding Groomty river, wbicb 
 runs up to Lucknow. A bridge of fifteen arcbes, of 
 beautiful cbunar stone, connects tbe native town witb 
 tbe civil station. It was anciently tbe seat of a migbty 
 
324 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 Malioiiietaii empire, which contended for mastery with 
 Delhi. The bridge is unique, even in India. It 'is 
 adorned on either side of the carriage-way with shops or 
 small verandahs of stone, of very elegant form, with open 
 columns. The fort is in ruins, but it once resembled, and 
 almost equalled, Agra. It crowns a fine mount just out 
 of the town, and presents a most enchanting view from 
 the bastions of the native town ; the Goomty, the bridge, 
 and the mosques, are all relieved by the richest foliage : for 
 Juanpore is fertile to a proverb, in sugar and grapes espe- 
 cially. The two principal musjids, or mosques, are rapidly 
 falling into decay. They are of immense extent, like those 
 of Agra and Delhi. The enclosed square is, perhaps, eighty 
 yards on each side. There are open rooms, two stories 
 high, sustained by several rows of pillars, where travel- 
 lers, devotees, students, scholars, and moulvies, were en- 
 tertained. The centre of each side is pierced by superb 
 gateways. The entire extent of one, however, is occu- 
 pied with the enormous building where the Koran is read, 
 and the prayers of the assembly addressed. No images, 
 no pictures are admitted. The simple and sublime 
 word Alohou, surely derived from the Hebrew, D'^Tlbw, 
 Elohim, is suspended in the recess near the reader's steps 
 or pulpit. But the Crescent is fallen. Mahometanism, 
 like Hindooism, is fading, now that the secular support of 
 Government is Christian, and that education and British 
 manners and notions are making their way ; for the 
 patches of Missions and converts are far too few to have 
 difPused any general influence as yet : but the time is at 
 hand, and all will come down with a crash ; and the wall 
 
BEXARES. 325 
 
 undermined by a peepul-tree — so common all around us 
 here — will be the image of the strongholds and citadels 
 of Satan, bowing to their fall. 
 
 Benares, Dec. 18, 1839. 
 We have just come from Juanpore, thirty-eight miles, 
 and at five are going out in my carriage to join the camp. 
 IN'othing can have been more deKghtful, and, I humbly 
 believe, profitable, than our visitation thus far, — Krish- 
 naghur, Berhampore, Bauleah, Patnah, Gyah, Hazeera- 
 bagh. Decree, Ghazeepore, Juanpore, Benares. And now, 
 my beloved children, farewell once again ! I shall have 
 more calm and leisure when I begin to march ; but dis- 
 traction is, alas ! too much my lot : it disturbs the soul, 
 interrupts prayer, strengthens the fleshly nature, weakens 
 the spiritual strength. A Bishop ought to walk with God, 
 indeed ! May God help, pardon, sanctify. The languor 
 with which I revisit old places — and almost all are old to 
 me — is abundantly compensated for by the greater calm- 
 ness and leisure for spiritual duties, and the better ac- 
 quaintance with my diocese which I am acquiring. 
 
 Choohe, Dec. 19, 1839. 
 This is the beginning of our encampment. After wan- 
 dering about for nine weeks we begin now to march. We 
 returned from Juanpore to Benares by 11 a.m. yesterday, 
 and came on with four pair of horses to the camp, at 
 Gopee Gunge. My visit to Juanpore was delightful. The 
 scenery is romantic ; the remains of Mahometan grandeur 
 imposing : amongst others, the Pinjir, Sherefee, or holy 
 hand, a spot of enclosed ground, with a monument erected 
 
326 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 over the supposed print of a saint's hand. Tombs sur- 
 rounded the place, noble tamarind -trees overshadowed 
 the decayed buildings, and the usual verandahs or serais 
 for travellers surround the interior wall. 
 
 Allahabad^ Christmas-day^ 1839. 
 We have celebrated the Nativity from Heb. i. 1-3. 
 Three hundred present ; seventy at Communion. The 
 new church is nearly finished, and already opened for 
 divine services, and filled with an attentive congregation. 
 This is my eighth Christmas-day in India. Oh, for joy 
 and gratitude ! Oh, for humiliation and penitence at the 
 birth of Christ ! Oh, that He may be born in many 
 hearts ! Oh, that my few remaining days may be more 
 dedicated to His praise, to the simple preaching of His 
 cross, and the humble expectation of His kingdom ! 
 
 Chookee, Jan. 1, 1840. 
 The name of Jesus, Emmanuel, Jehovah, the Saviour, 
 be upon my children and grandchildren, and family, and 
 the Church in India, and Europe, and Britain, and the 
 correspondent name of Christian be difiused over the 
 world. The import of the one, as derived from the other, 
 may be thus given : We are Christians when we own 
 Christ as our Saviour, Lord, Master ; when we rely on 
 Christ for pardon and grace ; when we are united to 
 Christ ; when we labour and sufier for Christ ; when we 
 imitate Christ ; and when we long to be with Christ for 
 ever, and are preparing for it. There is my new year's 
 sermon compressed in a sentence. 
 
CAWNPORE. 327 
 
 Caionpore, Jan. 4, 1840. 
 
 I have had the blessing to consecrate Christ's Church, 
 
 Cawnpore, to-day, of which J witnessed the laying of 
 
 the first stone, February 1837. Nothing can be more 
 beautiful than this church. The whole edifice is simple, 
 appropriate, ecclesiastical : by far the finest in India after 
 Delhi. 
 
 Luchnow, Jan. 6, 1840. 
 
 Again starting, the magic scene disappearing. We 
 had the Prince to a public breakfast on Saturday, posi- 
 tively hidden with jewels. I had an audience of the King 
 on Thursday, propped up in a throne on which he could 
 not sit ; two pages rubbing his feet ; his hands hanging 
 down with weakness and pain. What a contrast with the 
 gorgeous jewelled crown and splendid apparel ! His 
 kingdom is even worse administered than under his dis- 
 solute predecessor. ISTative governments can never be 
 good ones. They want principles. The King is ruled by 
 wretched women. Splendour and luxury are in the palace, 
 misery and oppression amongst the people. 
 
 Cawnpore, Jan. 20, 1840. 
 What a prospect stretches on aU hands ! I observe 
 thirteen years since, in his last pubKc speech, poor 
 Canning speaks of there " being no example in the history 
 of the world, on the one hand, of the existence of an 
 imperial corporation like the East India Company ; or, 
 on the other, of the concurrence of two co-ordinate autho- 
 rities for so long a series of years, in conducting, without 
 shock or conflict, the administration of the wonderful, I 
 
328 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 had almost said tlie tremendous, empire over which the 
 Company and the Crown jointly preside. The construc- 
 tion and maintenance of that vast empire are a disproof 
 of the common adage, that little wisdom is required for 
 governing mankind. We have only to consider how such 
 a machine has been gradually formed ; how a varied po- 
 pulation of nearly one hundred millions of souls has been 
 kept together under a government so anomalous, and 
 distant thousands of miles, with so much comparative 
 happiness and so little internal confusion. But the great- 
 ness of the concern to be administered has had its natu- 
 ral effect. It has produced a race of men adequate to 
 its administration. I venture to say that there cannot be 
 found in Europe any monarchy which, within a given 
 time, has produced so many men of the first talents, in 
 civil and military life, as India has, within the same 
 period, first reared for her own use, and then given to their 
 native country." Such was Canning's view in 1827, and 
 how much more applicable is his language now, and in a 
 higher sense. 
 
 Gormoohtenir Glidt^ Feb. 21, 1840. 
 "We are now 1707 miles from Calcutta, and within 
 thirty- two miles of Meerut. The whole road from Bareilly 
 is new to me, for in 1837 I visited Bareilly as I returned 
 from Simlah. It is crowded with villages — cultivation 
 abundant — groves, or gardens as they term them, of trees 
 every mile or two almost. Serais for travellers are frequent. 
 The range of snow-clad Himalaya mountains is clearly 
 visible about sunrise. But the roads are bad beyond ima- 
 gination. This morning, on either side of the Ganges, 
 
MEERUT. 329 
 
 the sand, tlie backwaters, the roads worn into furrows Kke 
 the waves of the sea, were indescribable, and will so con- 
 tinue till India has far advanced in commerce and civiliz- 
 ation. The soil, the periodical rains, the sun-burnt clods, 
 the small degree of traffic, the vast extent of country, and 
 the selfishness of the zemindars and native Rajahs, com- 
 bine to render road-making, which must be annually 
 renewed, slow work. 
 
 Meerut, March 1, 1840. 
 Bless the Lord, my soul ! Here are more openings 
 for India's salvation. Three thousand souls at Meerut are 
 said by the Missionary to be inquiring after Christianity. 
 Was there ever anything so glorious ? At Baripoor, 
 1800 ; at Krishnaghur, 4000 or 5000 ; and now, at Meerut, 
 3000.* To Thee, O my Saviour, be all the praise ; and may 
 grace and wisdom be vouchsafed me in the guidance of 
 these great matters. But now, hear the account, as given 
 
 me word for word by the Rev. Mr. R : " Three 
 
 thousand natives here are inquiring after Christianity. 
 They meet from time to time, and invite the native 
 Christians to confer with them and argue. They are all 
 of one sect, called, from the name of their founder, Shunur- 
 rainery, who was a Hindoo, and about 100 years since 
 set up the sect. They reject all idolatry. They believe 
 in one God. They meet together, and place the book of 
 their religion before them in the centre of the room. It 
 was written by their founder ; it is about half the size of 
 our New Testament. It inculcates moral duties, prohibits 
 
 * These sanguine expectations have only partially been ixA- 
 med. — Editor. 
 
330 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 oaths, forbids worship of idols, commands faith in the one 
 only God, prescribes alms, good deeds, and especially 
 honesty, as the way of salvation. They have no idea of an 
 atonement. Their minds have lately been much turned 
 towards Christianity." Mark, my children, here the 
 finger of God. They will eat and drink with the native 
 Christians, though they observe caste before others, 
 exactly like the Kurta Bhoojahs. They are of all 
 trades and employments, some in the army. They come 
 to the Missionary chapel five or six at a time to listen. 
 They object at present to what they suppose to be the 
 food prescribed by Christianity. They have each only one 
 wife. They send some of their children to the Mission- 
 aries' school. Their morals are better than the generality 
 of Hindoos. I was struck dumb when I heaM all this, 
 and adapted my Hindoostanee sermon from Col. iii. 11, 
 " Christ is all and in all," to their case. There were 
 fourteen or fifteen present. I spoke to the head of the 
 sect after service with kindness and frankness. After I 
 left, Mr. E; talked with him. The man said he under- 
 stood every word, and " If this is Christianity, why should 
 we delay ?" added he. Well, here it rests. When I 
 return from Delhi I shall preach again more expressly to 
 them. what a prospect ! and what a blessing that I 
 have never given up the study of my Hindoostanee, 
 Sanscrit, and Bengalee, though I have so little practice 
 that I can never know much about them ! Still I can 
 get up a sermon and a conversation, and see what I am 
 about, and help on the great cause. But, my children, 
 say nothing at present. Let us wait. God is a jealous 
 
DELHI. 331 
 
 Grod. He will work, and who shall let it ? God of grace, 
 help ! 
 
 Delhi, March 2, 1840. 
 We have driven over to this most interesting spot, 
 romantic from associations of ancient glory, in order to 
 save our time in coming down the country on our return. 
 We started before five, and arrived in six hours and a-half. 
 The old recollections revived as I approached the ancient 
 capital of the Mogul Empire, and drove across the Jumna, 
 and passed under the sandstone walls of Shah Jehan, and 
 beheld once more my beloved church, built by Colonel 
 Skinner. The drive of this evening through the Chandy 
 Choke, and out at the Lahore gate, and through the 
 cantonments, back by the Cashmere, was enchanting. 
 The rise of the rocky ground commands two of the finest 
 views that India presents. But, alas ! no chaplain for 
 eighteen months past. The flock scattered without a 
 shepherd. God help us ! 
 
 Meerut, March 10, 1840. 
 Never was a visit more opportune than this to Delhi. 
 I visited all the flock, baptized two native converts, con- 
 firmed five, and preached a preparatory sermon. On 
 Sunday we had 150 persons at church, both morning and 
 evening. I administered Holy Communion to sixty-five, 
 baptized five infants, and churched one lady ; collected 
 240 rs. for the Church Missionary Society ; lastly, re- 
 ceived a petition for a chaplain from all the stations, and 
 answered it by a public letter. I am now infinitely busy 
 in getting up an Hindoostanee sermon from John viii. 12, 
 for the 3000 non-idolaters. 
 
332 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 Mooradahad^ March 18, 1840. 
 
 I begin a new letter with a mind Ml of the sense of 
 God's goodness in bringing me thus far on my visitation, 
 1905 miles, and surrounding me with so many unex- 
 pected mercies ; so many, indeed, and so great, that the 
 care of my own heart seems now my most important duty, 
 as it indeed always is. T\niat are we without a tender and 
 contrite spirit, and what is so arduous a thing ? Lord, 
 grant, in addition to all Thy gifts, the heart to know, and 
 praise, and love Thee in all, and above all, and through 
 all ! Grant me more grace, larger measures of the Holy 
 Spirit, preparation for death. 
 
 Chilkea, March 26, 1840. 
 
 After thirteen hours' dak through a stormy night, 
 rain in torrents, wind almost rising to a hurricane, I 
 arrived at six, and found no tents, no servants, no pre- 
 paration, all stopped by the storm. Mr. Lushington, 
 however, .from Almorah, was on the spot ; and now, at 
 half-past seven, the majestic elephants are marching in 
 with their loaded backs, the head tent-man coming up in 
 all shame and humility at not having preceded us. I am 
 writing on the roof of my palky, the Himalayas forming 
 a panorama on the south ; the noise of the calashes pitch- 
 ing the tents distracting the head ; breakfast preparing ; 
 a new scene now opening here at Chilkea, forty- seven 
 miles from Mooradabad. God be praised ! 
 
 Between Kotee and Ghutgarh, March 27, 1840. 
 We are now fairly in the hills. We left Chilkea at 
 three yesterday afternoon, and thence, after dining and 
 sleeping, came on this morning, nine miles of fearful 
 
ALMORAH. 333 
 
 mountain path. TVe are hastening to Almorah, to be in 
 before Sunday. We have, as yet, not lost a single Sunday 
 since we left Calcutta on 18th October. The scenery 
 for these forty miles is exactly what it was in 1836 ; sub- 
 lime, varied ; the massive rocks united with the fruitful 
 patches of land in the valleys, both diversified with the 
 lovely waters of the Kossilah dividing the glen ; the 
 mountaineers the same sallow, sickly kind of race as at 
 Mussooree and Simlah. Mr. Lushington, the Resident at 
 Almorah, is our guide. He is a son of the late Governor 
 of Madras, and lost an accomplished and pious wife about a 
 year since. I have been going on with the delightful pages 
 of Mrs. Hawkes' Memoir. I really consider it a very 
 superior work. Mr. Cecil's part is incomparable, and 
 Mrs. Hawkes' thoughts are repetitions of his instructions 
 chiefly. I hardly know a better specimen of sound and 
 elevated experimental piety, superior to Fenelon, superior 
 to H. Martyn, superior to Brainard; the first of whom 
 was mystical, and the two last overshadowed by dejection 
 and gloom. Then, this is the case of a female, and a most 
 afilicted one, and in retired life, and yet shining forth so 
 brightly, so much more brightly than the other three. 
 The book gives me an especial delight in testifying to 
 the high and exalted graces of Mr. Cecil, and to the sort 
 of religion which he propagated. For thirty years Mr. 
 Cecil's wisdom and talents excited envy and calumny. 
 It was the fashion to despise his doctrine and ministry. 
 I can remember when Pratt, Simeon, and a very few 
 more, were the only eminent ministers that defended him. 
 But now, in 1840, who is so universally looked up to ? 
 
334 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 T\Tiere are two books so valued as " The Yisit to the 
 House of Mourning " and " The Remains ?" and I am 
 mistaken if this demonstration of the religion of one of 
 his favourite and most cherished converts does not raise 
 the just reputation of both master and disciple. This 
 is a lesson to us, my children, to prefer a wise and 
 solid to a flashy and showy piety. I cannot put you in 
 possession of my feelings, but you may form some con- 
 jecture. The w^ork itself is most edifying, animating, 
 arousing, awakening. The way in which this eminent 
 lady longs after holiness, her sensibility to the evils of the 
 heart, her joy in Christ, united with genuine humility, 
 her desire to be with Christ, and yet her resignation, her 
 dread of the act of dying, and her triumph over it by 
 faith, are not easily surpassed. 
 
 Almorah, April 2, 1840. 
 This .Almorah is one of the ancient cities of India, 
 founded about a.d. 1450. The native town is divided among 
 three distinct classes, Hindoos, Mussulmans, Low Castes. 
 It is paved, and the houses are closed up with wainscot or 
 wooden walls, with small apertures. The hills are not pic- 
 turesque like Simlah and Mussooree, but barren, rugged 
 rocks. The view of the snowy range is finer, incom- 
 parably, than at either of those stations. We passed 
 over the Ghagur in our road, 7,700 feet high. The 
 second highest mountain in the world is visible — 25,500 
 feet high, called the Nundadeir. Hindooism here reigns 
 triumphant. The region is sacred. The population 
 of the district is about 300,000, of whom there are 
 only 750 Mussulmans. It was probably peopled from 
 
ALMORAH. 335 
 
 Hindoostan, and not from Tartary. Badarinath is a shrine 
 dedicated to Vishnu, in the Mana pass, at a height of 
 15,500 feet. The chief Brahmin is always taken from the 
 Carnatic or Malabar coast. The pilgrims come from all 
 parts of India to die in the vicinity of the temple. Caste 
 prevails in its utmost rigour amongst the higher natives, 
 and a Brahmin explains the Purduas at sunset to a con- 
 gregation of them in the court of the A 1m or ah temple. 
 No respectable native is absent from these daily instruc- 
 tions. This is what I have not seen elsewhere. The 
 language is Hindoo. The British Government is acknow- 
 ledged publicly to be most just and beneficent. The 
 Goorka rule which preceded it was cruel and oppres- 
 sive. It is sixteen years since Bishop Heber visited this 
 place. "We are doing aU we can in this interesting 
 station. We are planning a church. I have a burial- 
 ground to consecrate, a confirmation to hold, the blessed 
 Sacrament to administer. I find, also, a new field of use- 
 fulness opening in this visitation, in doing all the good I 
 can to one or two leading persons. Almost all the native 
 officers in the different courts came out on Saturday to 
 meet us. 
 
 Almorah^ April 5, 1840. 
 I am now retiring to rest after the sacred labours of 
 this day, and the laying of the first stone of the new 
 church on Saturday evening. This last ceremony was 
 picturesque. The sun was declining. The site was on 
 the brow of a mountain, at the entrance of the canton- 
 ment, and coromanding the vast yawning valley beneath, 
 with the face of the opposite rocks in panorama all 
 
336 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 around. All the station was assembled. Sucti a site had 
 never before been chosen in India. I addressed the com- 
 pany. Prayers were offered, and Ps. xlviii. and Ixxxvii. 
 and Hag. ii. read. Mussooree approached the nearest to 
 the scene. But there the spot was in the interior. 
 
 Hawalbaugh, April 6, 1840. 
 We are again upon the move. I started in my chan- 
 pan with twelve bearers at five, and reached our first stage 
 before seven. We are at the bungalow of Mr. T , resi- 
 dent here for so many years. We passed over the face of a 
 range of hills, with a lovely valley on our left, which opened 
 beautifully upon Hawalbaugh. The snowy range was 
 visible on the right, surmounting the nearer barrier-moun- 
 tains. Almorah was on the left, and between was the 
 civil station of Hawalbaugh, with its pretty bungalows, its 
 deodars, like cedars of Lebanon, its compounds, and its 
 richly-cultivated meadows creeping up the mountain sides. 
 The sun has been up three hours, but the thermometer is 
 only 64°. The Kussolee river is winding with a sweet 
 murmur through the valley : an iron hanging-bridge across 
 it is in sight, with the road towards Mussooree, which we 
 shall traverse in the afternoon ; the natives are fishing in 
 the stream — all is cultivation, and peace, and happiness, 
 so far as the Divine goodness extends : for man, man here, 
 is the perverted, dark part of God's creation. The notion of 
 fate prevails here as everywhere else in Hindoostan. How 
 singular ! Mahometan fate, Hindoo fate, the infidel Eu- 
 ropean's fate, is the same corruption of the doctrine of 
 Providence which has ever marked aU false religions. A 
 
SOORIANA. 337 
 
 disregard of humaii life is another sure symptom. Christ- 
 ianity sets everything right — doctrine, morals, state of 
 man, providence, sovereignty of God, use of means, and 
 way of salvation. " Yet I find the strongest prejudices still 
 prevail against this blessed religion. 
 
 Sooriana, April 9, 1840. 
 We encamped last night near the sources of the Ram 
 Gunga river, in a lovely valley, surrounded by lofty moun- 
 tains 4000 or 5000 feet above us, and, when illuminated 
 by the moonlight, presenting a unique spectacle of pic- 
 turesque grandeur. I was reading at family prayer this 
 morning the 46th Psalm, which is enough to encourage 
 the faintest heart. What a "very present help'' is God 
 as a " refuge and a strength ! " What refreshment is 
 there in that " Eiver, the streams whereof make glad the 
 city of God ! '' What resignation and trust are involved in 
 the command, " Be still, and know that I am God ! " 
 
 Dwara on Himalayas, April 8, 1840. 
 The clamour of 160 hill-porters is ringing in my ears ; 
 tents are striking all around ; the busy scene of an encamp- 
 ment, which an hour since presented all the marks of sta- 
 bility, is gone — the place that knew it, knowing it no more. 
 Movement, movement, movement ! Such is my mountain 
 journey, and such is human life : a shepherd's tent for 
 a "city which hath foundations." Messrs. Batten and 
 Lushington, the kings of the country, are with us. Here 
 we have a bungalow built on occasion of my coming, and 
 which cost 150 rupees, and smells deliciously of its cedar 
 roof. It has two convenient rooms. The villages around 
 
 z 
 
338 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 are crowded with temples. The faqueers say there are 
 365, and as many fountains. 
 
 Sooriana, April 9, 1840. 
 We came on eleven miles last afternoon into the valley 
 of the Ram Gunga, like the children of Israel when they 
 pitched in Elim, where were twelve wells of water and 
 threescore and ten palm-trees. Nothing could equal the 
 serenity and grandeur of the surrounding mountains ; and 
 the contrast of the purKng streams flowing over the valley 
 in all directions, and reflecting the splendour of the moon- 
 light, was quite enchanting. This morning I rose at four, 
 and arrived in this bungalow soon after eight, at a height 
 of 5200 feet. Messrs. Lushington and Batten built it last 
 year for a country-house. It is in the midst of their pro- 
 vince, and is really an excellent residence. My pleasure 
 was much increased by learning that the righteous and en- 
 lightened government of British India has, during the last 
 fifteen years, created this fruitful vale, waving now with 
 corn and abundance, out of a poisonous fenny marsh, to 
 which culprits were sent by the Goorkhas to die. England 
 has given security to property, encouragement to industry, 
 moderate and fixed rents to the oppressed. These pro- 
 vinces are a glorious instance of our beneficent rule. Oh, 
 that Christianity might be at length known and appre- 
 ciated, and her power of illuminating and blessing man in 
 the highest sense be humbly tried, in addition to human 
 arts and policy ! Well, the time will come ; things are 
 moving on, and rapidly too. It is a great comfort to my 
 mind to receive private notes, after I have left a station, 
 assuring me of the good done. I mean good, in addition 
 
SIREENUGUR. 339 
 
 to the public sermons and official business of tbe visitation. 
 The whole convinces me that I am in my duty. Oh, that 
 I were more in the spirit which animated Leighton and 
 Bishop Ryder, and Simeon and Cecil ! This is the great 
 point, the motive, the spirit, the self-denial, the unworld- 
 liness, the humility of heart, the spiritual impression, the 
 tone of all we do, — that it be, indeed, what the Gospel re- 
 quires, and what the Author of the Gospel will bless. 
 
 Sard Ghaut, April 11, 1840. 
 
 Conceive a valley 2000 or more feet below you, as you 
 descend the precipitous winding track. At the bottom 
 gushes along the river Kush, amidst the fragments of rocks, 
 which seem at places determined to stop its passage ; whilst 
 an equally precipitous mountain, with its lovely hanging 
 wood, faces you on the other side of the ghaut ; and the 
 constant turnings of the road present the view every mo- 
 ment in a new position. We all agreed, except myself, 
 that it was worth coming from England to be a spectator 
 of such surpassing majesty. For me, other objects absorb 
 my thoughts, though, like the Psalmist, I adore the power 
 and goodness of the God of nature. To-morrow will be 
 the first Sunday we have been compelled to pass in the 
 camp. We have been diligently travelling from Monday 
 to Saturday, and find ourselves 110 miles from our next 
 Christian station, Mussooree. 
 
 Sireenugur, April 15, 1840. 
 
 We have reached this morning the last station in the 
 Honourable Company's territory. It is on the Alakanada 
 river, one of the branches of the Ganges, 1700 feet above 
 
340 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 the sea ; the road with the same endless windings, fearful 
 heights and descents, stone staircases, as it were, in the 
 more precipitous parts, beautiful turns of prospect, as 
 in our former marches. The Alakanada stretching along 
 the yalley, when it suddenly burst upon our view, on 
 surmounting an incredible steepness, was superb. The 
 depth of 2000 feet, at which it lay, and the ancient town of 
 Sireenugur scattered on all sides, with its low slated 
 roofs, made the scene most picturesque ; whilst the oppo- 
 site face of the mighty crags frowned oyer the valley. We 
 are received by Captain Huddlestone, a Roman Catholic of 
 an ancient English family, who attended our service at 
 Almorah on April 5 ; the first time he had ever been present 
 at a Protestant church. He listened very kindly to my 
 conversation about Krishnaghur conversions, as we sat on 
 his lawn after dinner, with the mottled sky and the bright 
 shining moon calming our terrified frames. 
 
 Tuholee, Apnl 16, 1840. 
 The scenery is still more beautiful than ever : the passage 
 is over the deep, roaring Alakanada, 100 feet broad or 
 more, by a rope bridge, called a jhoola, which consists of 
 mere ropes stretched from the rocks of the opposite banks, 
 at such heights as to form a road and two balustrades, over 
 which the agitation caused by your walking may pre- 
 cipitate you at any moment. The cattle swim across. For 
 the first time in my ministry I shall be compelled to spend 
 my Good Friday on a mountain ridge, far from, the assem- 
 blies of the faithful. We shall have divine service. May 
 our meditation on our Lord's crucifixion be profitable ! 
 
• THE DOON. 341 
 
 Terliee, Ajpril 18, 1840. 
 The Rajah of Gurwal came out a mile or two to meet 
 me to-day, with his two elephants, his horses (troops he 
 has none), and a crowd of officers of various orders. His 
 prime minister had come on with eight or nine chobdars to 
 Sireenugur, and had accompanied our march. We are 
 encamped on a table-land surrounded by mountain ridges. 
 The Rajah has just sent me a prodigious list of sweetmeats, 
 fowls, four goats, a pair of pheasants, a multitude of 
 bags of otter, and, to close the whole, a muzzur (present) 
 of 100 Company's rupees. I protested against the last 
 article. I said it was not the custom of the English to 
 receive it, and that of the rest I could only receive what 
 I actually wanted. I called in the Captain to help me. 
 It was of no use. The Yakeel was present, with the 
 officers of the court. I was compelled to receive the whole, 
 and must make a present of equal value in return. I have 
 often had little gifts of food, but never such profusion. 
 Oh, that I could return him the best of gifts, the know- 
 ledge of Christ ! 
 
 Deyrah Doo% May 11, 1840. 
 At five we' began our descent, sixteen miles, and 
 reached this hospitable abode at eight. We have come 
 down 4000 feet. Our visitation on these hills has been as 
 useful, I think, so far as I can judge, as I ever remember. 
 Many were in tears at the confirmation and sermons ; the 
 congregations large — 400 each Sunday, perhaps — at the 
 two churches, and an evident impression. 
 
342 JOURNAL LETTERS. • 
 
 Nahum, May 13, 1840. 
 We set off at five yesterday afternoon, and drove thirty 
 miles to Raj ghat, on the Jumna. We accomplished this 
 in three hours with three sets of horses. By four o'clock 
 this morning we were on our way hither, thirty miles. 
 The Eajah of Nahum came out to meet us, with his neat 
 company of soldiers and elephants. It was delightful to 
 pass through the Doon, and learn the immense benefits 
 which the British Government is here also rendering to 
 the poor natives. A tract of table-land 2700 feet above 
 the sea, of sixty miles by twenty, reclaimed from jungle, 
 tigers, and wild elephants, and let out in farms at fifteen 
 anas the English acre. For the first three years there is 
 no rent, then two-thirds of the good land is charged, and all 
 the stony and unprofitable thrown in for nothing. The 
 consequence is that farm-houses are built, villages formed, 
 sugar and cotton cultivated, and one lakh and a half of rent 
 secured for ten years to the Company, and health and 
 commerce, and education by degrees, to the natives. Such 
 i^ the just honour of England already ; and I trust, before 
 long, she will crown all by favouring, as she ought, the 
 progress of Christianity. 
 
343 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Oriental Studies — Lady Huntingdon's and Bishop Middleton's 
 Memoirs — Eeligious and Social State of the Mountaineers — 
 Fancy Sale — Excursion of Bishop's Chaplain across the Moun- 
 tains — Leave Simlah — Return to Delhi — Sudden Death of 
 the King — Church Missions at Agra — First Stone laid of a 
 New Church at Secundra — The Taj seen by Moonlight — 
 Curates' Aid Society projected — Marble Rocks — Interesting 
 Conversation with Rajah of Rewah — Benares — Dinapore — 
 Solo — Chupra — Address to New Converts — Murder of an 
 Inquirer — Bishop visits the Spot — Oppression of Landholders 
 — Arrival at Calcutta — Progress of New Cathedral — Reflec- 
 tion on the Letters of Old Friends — Anticipation of Death. 
 
 Simlah, June 22, 1840. 
 I AM going on with my Little dinner-parties once or twice 
 a fortnight. I hope to get out of my wilderness of letter- 
 writing, and begin again my solid reading — Gilpin, Pal- 
 mer's " Liturgies," " Book of Homilies," and Ward's 
 " Hindooism." I have, HteraUy, hardly had an hour yet 
 that I could call my own. I have begun "Yincentius 
 Lirinensis," which goes about as far as any sound divine 
 would wish in deference to antiquity. I suspect even him 
 a little ; but, granting him his principles, how difficult to 
 determine what is really and honestly the semper, the 
 uhique, and the ah omnibus ! After all, it is easier as well 
 
344 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 as safer to study the original and divine text itself, than 
 these fatherly comments in 70 yoIs. folio, and written 
 with no learning, no logic, no canons of criticism, com- 
 pared with those which the E-eformation diffused. My 
 oriental reading languishes also, till I can get clear of my 
 correspondence. I read a little Sanscrit ; but that little is 
 diminutive even to absurdity. My Hindoostanee goes on 
 a little better. After lying down for an hour in the after- 
 noon, I am not good for much at half-past four, till exer- 
 cise time : then comes in my Moonshee. We read the 'New 
 Testament first ; then " Bagh o Babar ;" lastly, "Rasselas." 
 I go over each lesson four times — once by myself, and three 
 times following him, in order to acquire the pronunciation 
 and idiom. This I do, perhaps, four days out of the six. 
 Thus I still keep my head above water, and am an oriental 
 student, in order to encourage my clergy and aid my trans- 
 lators, and also to preach at Benares, Agra, Cawnpore, 
 and Gorruckpore. The moment I enter Bengal I throw 
 aside my Hindoostanee, and take up my Sanscrit and Ben- 
 galee, to prepare for Krishnaghur and Calcutta. My book 
 for odd times, or when dressing, is " Lady Huntingdon's 
 Life," which interests me most deeply now that I have got 
 over the manner and non-churchmanship, and take men 
 upon their own principles. What instructs me is to learn 
 the early history of almost all the eminent men whom I knew 
 in their later days, in their first warmth and their uncon- 
 strained, and certainly irregular, and at times enthusiastic, 
 energy. I find I was quite ignorant of the school which 
 they formed, and which seems to have begun and ended 
 with the wonderful creature, whose rank, fortune, talents, 
 
SIMLAH. 345 
 
 and zeal, made her the centre of what was called Methodism. 
 Besides the names I mentioned in my first page, I meet 
 with Dr. Gill, Gibbons, Watts, and M. Wilks amongst the 
 Dissenters ; and in our own Church, Dr. Stonehouse, 
 R. Hill, Berridge, Fletcher, Ingham, Madan, Conyers, 
 Yenn, J. Milner, Henry Foster, De Courcy, Talbot of 
 Reading, Spencer of Winkfield (Mr. Crouch's tutor), Top- 
 lady, J. Eyre (my tutor at Homerton from 1788 to 1792), 
 omitting a multitude of others, whom I did not know, but 
 all these I may be said to have known in my youth. But 
 " the personage" is Lady Himtingdon herself, who, dying 
 in 1791 (she was like a bishop, and more than a bishop), was 
 unknown to me, though when a boy I remember hearing of 
 her Ladyship, and, perhaps, may have seen her. But what 
 benefits me most, is the unquestionable abilities, disinter- 
 estedness, love for souls, spirituality, deadness to the world, 
 communion with the Father of spirits, and consistency 
 of this elect lady and her chaplains and ministers, whom 
 she used to summon here and summon there, and proceed 
 on her visitations like Ambrose or Augustine. My soul is 
 humbled within me at my coldness and formality, com- 
 pared with those exalted characters. George Whitefield 
 rises on me prodigiously ; and Mr. Romaine, whom I knew 
 from 1792 to his death in 1797, aged eighty-four. I re- 
 member well his placing his hand on my head and blessing 
 
 me, when he came to baptize dearest , in November 
 
 1793 ; but I had no idea of the sort of line in which he 
 had moved at the head of the greatest men of the times. 
 After the Countess's death, J. Wesley, who was a won- 
 derful creature also, gathered his people in the body 
 
346 
 
 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 which now subsists : the other bodies sank into Dissenters, 
 and the clergy drew off and fell into regular habits of duty. 
 Now the point is to raise the clergy, in their canonical 
 stations, to an equal pitch of love to Christ, zeal, sim- 
 plicity, boldness in proclaiming the full Gospel (not a 
 meagre semi- Pelagian one), and superiority to filthy lucre. 
 I suppose it never can be done. Circumstances form and 
 call out heroes. 
 
 Simlah, July 20, 1840. 
 I finished my notes on the good and great Bishop 
 Middleton's " Life" on Saturday, and on the preceding day 
 my reading of Lady Huntingdon's. I would wish to unite 
 the scriptural excellencies of both. There can hardly be 
 two leading persons named, so different in ever^^hing 
 except the fundamental truths of the Gospel. The Bishop's 
 " Life" does not do him justice. It is cold, general, decla- 
 matory. There is scarcely one full and adequate expres- 
 sion of the mysteries of the Cross, or the work of the Holy 
 Spirit upon the heart, or the consolations and joys and 
 supports of real Christianity, in the whole work. How 
 different the life of Swartz ! But I bow in humiliation 
 of soul before Bishop Middleton's zeal, sincerity, judg- 
 ment, firmness, management of the government, knowledge 
 of ecclesiastical law, moderation on Church questions, and 
 freedom from the fripperies of the Oxford Traditionist 
 school. He had not Bishop Heber's milk of human kind- 
 ness, nor Lady Huntingdon's deep experience of the grace 
 of the Gospel. But I stand in admiration of what he 
 accomplished, considering the violent opposition he met 
 with. 
 
SIMLAH. 347 
 
 Simlah, Aug. 13, 1840. 
 I have thought a great deal of these mountaineers 
 since we have been here. They are a sad, sickly race; 
 their food, chiefly vegetables ; their abodes, damp holes and 
 cellars ; their social condition, just raised above the brutes ; 
 their dress is almost entirely negative ; they labour hard 
 in cutting down wood, which they carry in large planks 
 upon their heads ^nq miles, from the Mahasee forest to 
 Simlah. Their notions of religion are the merest idolatry : 
 no reading, no temples, no priests, no sacred property. 
 In short, their whole state, personal, domestic, and social, 
 is a comment on the 1st chapter of Eomans and 2nd of 
 Ephesians. The religion of Nature can never raise fallen 
 man, nor teach him her own scanty creed, nor sanctify 
 him, nor bless him. The religion of Nature can never 
 teach truth, fidelity, honesty, trustworthiness. The re- 
 ligion of Nature can never teach purity, the chastity of 
 the marriage vow, the care of children, the blessings of 
 the family circle ; and we have in Hindoostan 138,000,000 
 of similar hordes of human creatures, purchased by the 
 blood of the Son of Grod, designed and qualified for aU the 
 offers of the glorious Gospel, and capable, by the power of 
 the Holy Spirit, of equalling British Christians in all 
 the graces, and comforts, and elevation of Christian 
 habits and principles. And of all these millions, the hill 
 tribes are the freest from priestly trammels, caste, gor- 
 geous temples, and social usages, interwoven with an 
 idolatrous hierarchy ; whilst their fine climate iuvites the 
 European Missionary to reside amongst them. I have 
 long wondered that our great societies do not fix, at least, 
 
348 
 
 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 a sanitarimn here. Perhaps, wlien steam is fully at work, 
 some godly souls in the autumn of life will come out with, 
 their fortunes and their Christian zeal, and settle on the 
 Himalayas. What a blessed enterprise ! At the anni- 
 versaries at home such a design may perhaps be formed. 
 
 Simlah, Sept. 16, 1840. 
 When my monthly mail is closed I turn in upon 
 myself and think of my position, duties, mercies, prospects, 
 and endeavour to cast myself upon the Lord Jesus Christ 
 for life and for death. I made a new discourse last 
 evening on Pro v. iv. 22, " Keep thy heart with all dili- 
 gence ; for out of it are the issues of life." If you look 
 into Scott you will find one of his richest comments ; it is 
 a sermon itself, full, appropriate, new, soKd, edifying. 
 This " keeping of the heart " is, indeed, a task difficult 
 and important, and " with all diligence," too, and the 
 reason ! As the natural body is preserved in life and 
 health by the sound action of the heart, and the wonderful 
 circulation of the blood through every member, so the 
 spiritual life depends on the holy, lively, sound, active 
 state of the affections and will, propelling vital influence 
 through every member of the new man, under the grace 
 of the Holy Ghost and the indwelling power of Christ. 
 Thus out of "the heart," naturally and spiritually, are 
 indeed the "issues of life." I had about forty hearers, 
 full of intense feeling. The weather is becoming beautiful, 
 clear, and bracing ; the air full of electric matter. An 
 English October is nothing to it. We hope by five weeks 
 of this season to go down oxygenated. Mr. Pratt is in 
 
SIMLAH. 349 
 
 the interior, pressing towards the mountain pass of 21,500 
 feet in height. 
 
 Simlah, Sept. 28, 1840. 
 Thursday was one of my gala days. Eleven letters 
 from dear England came in. I had scarcely read them 
 over a second time when I had to start for Annandale, 
 where a fancy sale for our Simlah hospital was held. It 
 was a still more lovely scene than four years since. A 
 range of tents contained the ladies' stalls, beautifully 
 stored. At one o'clock the whole company sat down to 
 tiffin in a noble pavilion. We had a turnpike to pay as 
 we each entered the valley. The whole of Simlah was 
 present, and thousands of wondering natives. I proposed 
 thanks to the ladies before we retired. 
 
 Simlah, Oct. 12, 1840. 
 Mr. Pratt returned Saturday 10th, after thirty- three 
 days in the interior ; sixteen on foot, with two lame knees, 
 bruised against a Swiss rock. Some of the marches were 
 sixteen miles. He looks a little thinner, but has been 
 highly gratified, and is in good spirits. He passed the 
 Sutledge on a jhoola, which is a rope swung across the 
 river, 200 feet in width, upon which is suspended a piece 
 of wood in a bent form, to which you are tied up Hke a 
 pig and drawn over by a rope. His most delicious spots 
 were the vineyards, which commence where the periodical 
 rains end ; for where the rains fall not periodically the 
 grapes flourish. The instant that he reached the boundary 
 where the rains fall, the vines ceased. His most superb 
 prospects were at the Pass, called from the river "the 
 
350 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 Rupin Pass," 12,800 feet in height, and from the level of 
 the sea up to the highest peaks, 21,000. Stupendous 
 forests all around, the perspective wonderful. He de- 
 scended through crags, and then over numberless feeders 
 of a mountain torrent into the Eupin river ; then through 
 a forest of five miles, with gigantic monsters of trees, some 
 hanging over rocks, and standing with their roots upwards. 
 They had constant trouble with their runaway coolies. The 
 valley of the Rupin, enclosed within a circle of rocks, was 
 increased in beauty to the travellers by a cascade at its 
 head, and five or six waterfalls around, which with the 
 roar of the rapid Rupin, impelled by the downward course 
 of the cataracts from which it derives its origin, made a 
 chorus so grand, that they could not help listening with 
 admiration. They hoped to have pursued their route by 
 the E,upin river, but found themselves under an enormous 
 arch of hardened snow, stretching across the river, as large 
 as the widest arches in the London bridges, under which 
 the river rushed furiously, just at the foot of the vast 
 cataract. The roof of the arch was groined in a remarkable 
 manner, the melted snow having formed, not streaks or 
 furrows, but spherical concavities. This year was singular 
 for the small quantity of snow in the Pass ; they had none 
 to scramble over. Therm. 32° ; the ground, hard frozen. 
 They then reached Sangla, on the Buspa river, and en- 
 camped in a grove of walnut-trees. Pooraree was the 
 extreme point of their marches, celebrated for its grapes, 
 which hang in rich profusion from the vines. This is in 
 the Kanawar district. The precipitousness of the banks of 
 the Sutledge is grand in the extreme, and the river rushes 
 
SIMLAH. 351 
 
 through its mountainous ravine with the strength of a 
 mountain giant. On September 29th they encamped at 
 Tranda, in a forest of lofty and magnificent kaloo pines, 
 and the winds sighed most pathetically through their 
 elevated boughs. 
 
 Simlah, Oct. 17, 1840. 
 I begin this letter in the expectation of finishing it 
 at Allyghur, and there comes over my mind a feeling of 
 melancholy at leaving once more these beautiful hills, 
 which it is certain I shall never revisit. Some good, I 
 trust, has been done to the souls of men by forty sermons 
 and more ; by many quiet, cheerful dinner-parties ; by the 
 repairs and enlargement of our station church, for which 
 I have collected 1351 rs. ; and the establishment of the 
 Dispensary in all its needful buildings. A wide corre- 
 spondence has occupied my time. And now, unto Thee, 
 Lord, be the glory for all Thy goodness, and to me 
 shame and confusion of face for my sinfulness ; and on 
 Thy providence would I cast my Cathedral, and all that 
 appertains unto India, and my family, myself, and the 
 Church. 
 
 Simlah, Oct. 25, 1840. 
 
 We have closed our ministry at Simlah ; a crowded 
 little church of 140 ; of whom 47 were at the Holy 
 Communion. May the forty-six sermons I have delivered 
 here be blessed indeed ! 
 
 Simlah, to thee I now bid adieu. It is Monday morning, 
 dark, cold, piercing ; therm. 48°. To God Almighty, 
 the Son, and the Blessed Spirit, be the care of the souls of 
 this station entrusted ; and to the same Divine Saviour 
 be our own bodies, souls, and journey committed ! 
 
352 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 Delhi, Nov. 17, 1840. 
 
 We came in here, twenty-two miles, tliis morning. 
 The fine old Colonel met us at his door. I was in the 
 midst of dressing when Mr. Pratt came in with a Delhi 
 Gazette extra. Kurrack Singh, the successor of E-unjeet, 
 dead ; Nehal Singh, the heir of the Musjud, dead : 
 the first by a lingering disease, the second by the fall of 
 a beam in one of the covered gateways of Lahore : both on 
 the 5th or 6th instant. I hastened out to the Colonel. 
 " Christianity will govern the world !" he cried out to me. 
 " Providence is on our side ! The natives are all in con- 
 sternation." And, indeed, it is most wonderful that at 
 this moment, with 20,000 men pressing on to the Pun- 
 jaub, both the sovereign of Lahore and his next heir 
 should fall at once. Oh, my children, may God grant 
 Lord Auckland and the British nation grace to acknow- 
 ledge and adore the Divine hand. Nothing like these 
 events has occurred since Lord Hastings' time ; nor even 
 then, except as preparatory to them. Colonel Skinner 
 says, " God calls us on ; we cannot stop. Herat and 
 Bokhara on one hand, and Scinde on the other, are our 
 inheritance." 
 
 Agra, Dec. 1, 1840. 
 
 Yesterday afternoon we visited the Church Missionary 
 premises in the city, purchased by dear Corrie, and blessed 
 with the labours of Abdool Musseeh. ^There was the 
 convert's house, and the verandah where he sat and 
 taught the people ; and the city, the finest in India, 
 all paved, and many of the houses three stories, and 
 all Tvdth balconies, the very spots where the crowding 
 curiosity of the natives pressed to hear the Word of God. 
 
AGRA, 35S 
 
 The chapel, native house, and cottages, were Corrie's doing ; 
 the large school-house, Dr. P ^s ; lastly, the Missionary- 
 bungalow, Mr. M 's. We examined some of the 
 
 classes of the thirteen schools, with 501 children, in the 
 New Testament. The compound was filled with the little 
 disciples, all heathen, gathered for my inspection from 
 the various quarters, and in their best attire. It was like 
 the thousands whom our Lord ordered to sit in fifties 
 upon the grass. These, with the 300 Christian orphans 
 at Secundra, make nearly 800 in this one Mission. What^ 
 then, is wanted ? A Swartz, a Henry Martyn, or a 
 Weitbrecht. 
 
 Agra, Dec. 2, 1840. 
 This morning we were six hours at Secundra, seven 
 miles from cantonments, where the orphan schools are 
 carried on. I laid the first stone of St. John's Chapel,, 
 Secundra, in a field between the two Mahometan 
 buildings occupied by the boys and girls. Old Maho- 
 metan arches, pillars, cupolas, will be employed in its 
 construction. After breakfast, which we took in the old 
 crj^t of the tomb, a few years since choked with 
 rubbish, we held divine service. 284 children made 
 the Hindoostanee responses, and sang their Hindoo- 
 stance hjTnns. Mr. M read morning prayers in 
 
 Hindoostanee, and I preached in the same language, 
 and then confirmed sixty-eight or sixty-nine. The long- 
 arched crypt was filled with the congregation of bap- 
 tized orphans. The pulpit was placed in the centre, 
 so as to command the whole. The attention was extra- 
 ordinary, and during the confirmation, as I walked 
 
 A A 
 
354 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 amongst the ranks and administered the holy rite, it was 
 awful, the Lord Christ seemed so manifestly present. 
 The scenes at Krishnaghur were not less affecting, but of 
 another class of persons and under other circumstances. 
 
 Agra, Dec. 3, 1840. 
 The Governor drove us last evening to the Taj. It 
 was a brilliant moonlight. I was yet more enchanted 
 with this miracle of art than in 1836. We lingered for an 
 hour and a-half. It was too dark to examine the interior ; 
 but whilst observing the outward magnificence of the 
 superb, deep religious arches, thrown into relief by the 
 glorious moon, it was impossible not to be struck with ad- 
 miration ; for the peculiarity is this, that, unlike all other 
 buildings. Christian and Mahometan, as much skill and 
 study of effect have been bestowed on the outside as on 
 the interior : the materials, the finest alabaster, the same ; 
 the finishings of every part, the same ; the inlaid jewellery 
 and embossed flowers, the same ; whilst, instead of but- 
 tresses and projecting ornaments, you have prodigious 
 arched doorways, retreating ten or twelve feet, twice as 
 lofty and deep as in Peterborough Cathedral ; and so the 
 arches of the windows, all in just proportion : so ex- 
 quisite, indeed, as to deceive you as to the vast magnitude 
 of the whole structure. It was erected in 1620 or 1630, 
 and cost 1,000,000/. As I was walking arm-in-arm with 
 the Grovernor and Mr. Tomason, I turned the conver- 
 sation to our destitution of Chaplains, and inquired whe- 
 ther an Additional Curates' Society might not be formed 
 for all India, supported by our authorities at home and 
 
GWALIOR. 355 
 
 in this country, and giving titles to youth educated at 
 Bishop's College, and to be ordained by the several Bishops. 
 This society would have the East Indians especially in 
 view, who colonise in large numbers Agra, Delhi, Mee- 
 rut, Futtyghur, Cawnpore, and Allahabad, as well as 
 Calcutta. We never can have chaplains enough for these 
 disowned but important classes, and they are propagating 
 most rapidly. Turn this in your minds. It may be a 
 glorious thing, if the Lord grant His benediction and 
 grace ; but the plan must be well digested and wisely 
 begun. 
 
 Gwalior Fort, Dec. 14, 1840. 
 We have been visiting this curious fort, two miles in 
 length, erected on the crest of a rock 300 or 400 feet high, 
 and formerly accounted impregnable. Ruins now meet 
 the eye of the visitor. We are about to breakfast in one 
 of the beautiful summer -rooms of the ancient palace, 
 with open arcades, and with what was a fountain in 
 the centre of each. The verandah looks on the town of 
 Gwalior, stretching under the walls. The chief curiosity 
 amongst the ancient buildings is a Hindoo temple, of 
 most elaborate architecture, resembling, but surpassing, 
 those at Ellora — certainly built before the Mahometan 
 invasion. It is a sort of lofty, massive building, which 
 one may call Indian Gothic in its style. A centre plat- 
 form within forms the chief room, with pillars at each 
 corner, rising in massive grandeur to the dome : perhaps 
 one hundred feet high. A passage, or verandah, sur- 
 rounds this centre-room, with pillars supporting a gallery. 
 Every part is laboriously wrought with images, architraves. 
 
356 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 festoons, friezes, and cornices. Oh, wlien will Gwalior be 
 tlie Lord Christ's? When will its fort be turned into a 
 Missionary College, and the hum which now fills my ears 
 from the crowded bazaars and streets of the vast native 
 town be exchanged for hymns of praise to Christ? It 
 shall be done in God's good time. One means after an- 
 other is springing up — these Orphan Asylums, for ex- 
 ample ; whilst the widening empire of Britain on the 
 East and West animates our hopes. Nor is the evident 
 decay of all the Mahometan powers without its share in 
 inspiring us with warm expectation. Oh, England ! Eng- 
 land ! when wilt thou awake to thy duty ? Oh, England ! 
 England! when wilt thou send out with joy thy finest 
 youth to teach a lost world ? When will the mind be in 
 thee " which was also in Christ Jesus " — the condescend- 
 ing mind, compassionate, humble ; the mind that, for 
 " the joy that was set before it, made itself of no reputa- 
 tion," and "took upon it the form of a servant?" Oh, 
 when will excuses cease, families no longer prevent, suf- 
 ferings not alarm, and the mind of Christ overcome every 
 obstacle ? 
 
 Kerea, Dec. 26, 1840. 
 Here we halt for our Sunday. The country is quite of 
 a new character — rich in productions, studded with gar- 
 dens, superb trees everywhere, rising grounds and ghauts 
 and river-courses in each stage. Our road to-day was full 
 of Indian adventures. Eirst, we had a nullah to cross, 
 with a broken precipitous bank, which my poor carriage 
 could with the utmost difiiculty descend ; then, secondly, 
 having descended into the bed of the river, the water 
 
KEREA. 357 
 
 was over the front wheels, and my Scott's Bible is now 
 drying under tlie care of my jemadar; thirdly, in the 
 middle of the stream the horses stopped, and nothing could 
 get them to move ; fourthly, the whole caravan, carriage, 
 hackeries, palky, riding -horses, captain, doctor, bishop 
 and chaplain, lost their way ; and instead of an hour and 
 ten minutes, I was two hours and a-half on the march. 
 Fifteen suwars were attending us; fifty -eight fighting 
 men: — no matter, we all went wrong. Lastly, these ill 
 accidents were preceded by a night of thieves prowling 
 around the camp, and who carried off the night before a 
 small tent, with its appurtenances, and some crockery 
 baskets. Some days since we lost our silver spoons. "We 
 shall soon be out of these wild, independent states, and 
 reach the Company's territories. The inhabitants, from 
 Dholpor hither, are under a miserable oppression, and 
 there is no helper. The British states are a kind of land 
 of Canaan. The old Rajah of Tehree entertained us with 
 mimics, imitating the cries and voices of a variety of birds 
 and beasts. The town is dirty ; twenty temples ; no walls ; 
 the palace a wretched place. 
 
 I paid a visit to the Thug manufactory this morning. 
 Three hundred murderers turned into carpet - weavers, 
 hat-makers, rope-spinners, tent-makers, quiet, contented, 
 happy, supporting themselves ; a most extraordinary proof 
 of what habit and diligence can effect, and of the benefi- 
 cence of Christianity, tending on all occasions to bless 
 man and make him a monument of pity. 
 
 We went yesterday to visit the marble rocks, about 
 eleven miles off. Certainly they surpass anything I 
 
358 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 could have imagined. Tlie river ^N'erbudda is built up 
 by tbem, with a rocky bank of 200 feet in height. The 
 confined stream, like a pellucid lake, reflects their giant 
 forms. Tor perhaps two miles you pursue, in a flimsy 
 canoe, the reaches, as they turn in every direction. They 
 somewhat resemble the reaches in the Rhine, only that, 
 instead of banks of vines crowned with towers, you have 
 piles of rocks in every conceivable variety of position, 
 as they were upheaved by the convulsions of the earth, 
 and acted upon by sun and rain. It is only a small 
 part which are alabaster white — white as snow ; the rest 
 are dingy with the weather. All species of precious stones 
 abound, agate and chalcedony especially. The impres- 
 sion is, grandeur combined with beauty. The geologists 
 suppose the origin to have been layers of lime accumu- 
 lating at the bottom of the sea, and there formed, first 
 into limestone, and then, by fusion under volcanic heat, 
 to marble, granite, basalt, dolomite, &c. ; and finally, 
 having been forced up into their present heaps by earth- 
 quakes or other convulsions, to have been suffering for 
 ages the effects of sun, air, and rains, with winter frosts. 
 In the meantime the busy Nerbudda has found its way 
 amongst them. Oh, how wonderful are the works of the 
 Almighty ! How surpassing in grandeur and beauty ! 
 
 I have just heard of the great good done by the visit 
 to Jubbulpore. Blessed be God ! Also from Simlah, that 
 an Auxiliary Church Missionary Society is formed for the 
 interior of the hills, where we were so anxious five years 
 since to found a sanitarium. 
 
REWAH. 359 
 
 Rewah, Monday^ Feb. 1, 1841. 
 We had a grand procession on Saturday from the 
 Eajah of Rewah, a learned pundit as well as a native 
 prince, with forty lakhs of revenue. His own elephant 
 is the largest I ever saw, nearly eleven feet high, instead of 
 eight or nine, as they commonly are. As soon as he was 
 seated, he surprised me by asking me how I worshipped 
 God. I repKed, " According to the Holy Scriptures, which 
 was the revelation of His will. "What is God?" was 
 the next question. I answered, "A glorious, invisible, 
 self-existing Spirit, of infinite holiness ; the Creator, Pre- 
 server, and Judge of all men.'' " Does God pervade all 
 things?" — "No; God is everjrvsrhere present, but He is 
 not a part of anything, any more than a workman is a 
 part of his work." " What form is God ?" — " He has no 
 body, parts, nor passions. But I will write to your High- 
 ness and explain things more particularly, and in the Holy 
 Scriptures you will read the whole way of salvation." 
 " But that is a large book. I want you to explain it to me 
 now. I cannot comprehend God." I replied, "No created 
 being can comprehend the infinitely glorious God ; He is 
 a mysterious and incomprehensible Being : but we may 
 learn enough of His will and perfections for our salva- 
 tion." In the evening again, when I returned the visit, 
 the Rajah resumed the subject. I told him I had begun 
 a letter which I would finish and have translated, and if 
 he would answer it, I would write him twenty letters. I 
 have now completed it and sent it to the Benares Mis- 
 sionaries to be well translated, for I want interpreters. I 
 find a person who is not truly religious does not under- 
 
360 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 stand tlie main points, and lias not attended to the native 
 languages enough to find the proper terms ; and my own 
 knowledge even of Hindoostanee is nothing. The oppor- 
 tunities for practice are so few, and my age is so much 
 beyond that for learning, that though I read my New 
 Testament, and can get up an Hindoostanee sermon, I am 
 quite at a loss in a theological argument ; and besides, I 
 confess I am taken by surprise by an inquirer who has 
 not one idea in common with me : no notion of history ; 
 no idea of evidence ; no belief in objective truth ; no con- 
 ception of what creation means ; and who confounds the 
 creature and the Creator. I told the Rajah, however, 
 that my ancestors, 1400 years back, believed as he did ; 
 but that God sent us the Gospel and Missionaries, and 
 thus England and my ancestors were enlightened, and in 
 due time he and his country would be enlightened also ; 
 and, I added, what a noble thing it would be if he should 
 begin in earnest to seek after truth, and should be the 
 means of bringing the Gospel into his country ! And I 
 begged of him not to mind the Brahmins and other in- 
 terested parties, but boldly to follow his own conviction, 
 and pray to God for His grace and help. 0, my children, 
 what a state is the world in, and how few chaplains and 
 missionaries have we ! and what a heart-breaking thing it 
 is that, after so many years, we are still, in too many cases, 
 sowing dissension and distrust, instead of love ! But God 
 will order and direct our steps, if we can but keep humble 
 and patient, and wait for Him. Everywhere missionaries 
 and chaplains are urgently demanded. 
 
BENARES. 361 
 
 Benares, Feb. 18, 1841. 
 We finished our duties at Chunar last evening. The 
 church was crowded, both afternoon and evening. I am 
 beginning regularly my single copy of Swartz, to raise 
 my mind a little to real spirituality and contrition by the 
 aid of the Holy Ghost ; for spiritual life, as natural, is a 
 heavenly light. To create an artificial life in either case is 
 impossible ; there must be the main-spring in the watch, 
 there must be wind as well as compass, and there 
 must be Divine life as well as the means and appKances of 
 knowledge, creeds, churches, Sundays, and sacraments. 
 But grace, mercy, and peace, be with us in Christ Jesus, 
 and we shall have enough, whether in India or in Eng- 
 land. There is no place, no time, in the Divine mind. It 
 is Omnipresence everywhere — Eternity everywhere. Let 
 us realise that presence in Christ Jesus, and we shaU have 
 songs in the night, and in the very valley of darkness 
 shall fear no evil. Oh, the light which is beyond that 
 darkness. To be for ever with the Lord ; to see Him as 
 He is ; to be free from sin, sorrow, shame, and danger; to 
 lie prostrate in silent humility before Him as sinners 
 guilty, lost, unworthy in ourselves ; to admire Him, re- 
 joice in Him, be filled with His love, and all this in- 
 creasing throughout eternal ages! This is Life. 
 
 Feb. 21, 1841. 
 
 Thank God I have been weU enough to examine the 
 
 Mission Schools and hold a confirmation yesterday, and to 
 
 hold again a confirmation to day, and preach at morning 
 
 service from 1 Cor. xiii. 8. We had about 200 at church : 
 
362 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 42 at the Sacrament. Sigra, the Benares Mission, de- 
 liglited me yesterday. We were six clergy. 
 
 Dohree Ghat, Feb. 27, 1841. 
 We have driven for four hours in buggies, in dust, 
 heat, and upon wretched roads, to this indigo planter's, 
 this morning. This is the planter who gained two lakhs, 
 last season, by sugar, which had risen, all at once, seventy 
 per cent. Thus India is getting on in these first materials 
 
 of things. Mr. N , of Azinghur, assured me, with 
 
 tears in his eyes, last night, how highly he esteemed our 
 
 visit, as well as Mrs. N . They are about to build a 
 
 church (Assam, Jubbulpore, Mirzapore, are at work also), 
 and ready to support a Missionary. So at Simlah, Allyghur, 
 Jubbulpore, Allahabad, Assam, Kole-country — each of these 
 places would sustain a Missionary. Surely, if I could get 
 a society for additional chaplains established it would flou- 
 rish. Mr. N tells me, one obstacle to the conversion of 
 
 the Hindoos is, what is not generally known, the legal 
 claim of fees and privileges which the family Brahmin has 
 upon his patron ; so that the Brahmin can sue him in the 
 civil courts for marriage, funeral fees, &c., and can force 
 him to pay them, the domestic rapacity of these locusts 
 being upheld by the Hindoo law, and the Christian judge 
 compelled to award accordingly. 
 
 GhazeeporBj March 5, 1841. 
 Our visit to Gorruckpore was most delightful. The 
 station itself surpasses in verdure, convenience, elegant 
 distribution of excellent houses, fine roads, a beautiful 
 
DINAPORE. 363 
 
 clmrcli, a parsonage, and second Missionary's bungalow, 
 anything I have seen in India, and the mission of eighteen 
 years' standing is one of the most interesting imaginable. 
 Mr. W seems to have been beloved beyond all con- 
 ception. The farm was allotted him by Government at a 
 trifling rent. It produces already aU the converts' food. 
 The church is erected in the heart of it ; the bungalows for 
 Missionaries, the schoolhouses and the cottagers' huts, 
 make it most promising. It is hoped that the fevers are 
 
 casual. We had a pleasing time with Mr. and Mrs. L : 
 
 admirable persons. The last morning, after expounding a 
 chapter, we joined in social prayer, first myself, then Mr. 
 L , and lastly, Mr. Pratt. I concluded with a bene- 
 diction, — very elevating and sweet. There has been no 
 marked success in conversions or inquiries, but individual 
 good is done. There is one Missionary chapel in the heart 
 of the native city. There must be a second Missionary 
 to take the farm alone. 
 
 Dinapore, March 18, 1841. 
 I am now about to practise, as well as I can, at Krish- 
 naghur, the wisdom of Swartz's general conduct. Oh, 
 for his spirit and temper ! Surely this is the grandest and 
 most difficult spiritual crisis which has occurred in northern 
 India. God will mercifully direct. Swartz's catechist's sys- 
 tem — his taking advantage of famines — his inculcation of 
 patience under persecution — his authority in his missions 
 — Gericke's baptism of 4000 inquirers — the tact and skill 
 of both in discoursing, arguing, reproving, inviting the 
 heathen — their simplicity of aim — utter contempt of in- 
 dulgence — transparent honour and disinterestedness, are 
 
364 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 amongst tlie points which occur to me as deserving of 
 especial notice : together with their deep humility of spirit, 
 and their unfettered and pure evangelical doctrine, I 
 mean with regard to Calvinism, and Arminianism, and 
 love to Christ and souls. 
 
 Solo, March 24, 1841. 
 " Bless the Lord, my soul ; and all that is within me, 
 bless His holy Name ! " I find myself, after a year and five 
 months, and 3500 miles of travel, in this mission of joy. 
 
 As Mr. A stood before me and welcomed me into his 
 
 abode, I was filled with amazement, and, I hope, gratitude. 
 You shall have the most exact impression I can give you 
 of all I observe. It was half-past six this morning that 
 
 Mr. D and B met us at Bitzrampore. For three 
 
 hours we were exposed to a fearful heat, and the whole 
 dak was upwards of fourteen hours. As soon as we assem- 
 bled round the breakfast-table, I pronounced the salutation 
 of peace which our Lord prescribes, and returned solemn 
 praises for the mercies of the seventeen months since we 
 parted; and after our simple meal, we laid out the nine 
 days of our visitation, and sent off the necessary notices to 
 the several places. Two hours of repose have brought me to 
 five o'clock, the hour of dinner, for which I must prepare. 
 The house is a pattern for a Missionary's abode ; in much 
 better order than in 1839, and surrounded with a pucca 
 chapel, a boy's school, and other premises. I feel now in a 
 holy man's house. I feel that I am in the midst of the real 
 work. I hope I may catch something of the sacredness of 
 the place. I have got away for a time from glitter, show, 
 vanity, external duties, and am come into the interior of 
 
CHUPRA. 365 
 
 things. This is almost certainly my last visitation. [N'ever 
 shall I enter on a third. 
 
 Chupra, March 27, 1841. 
 And now before I repose, after the morning's duties, I 
 must bless God for my two visits to Anunda Bass and 
 Eanabund. Blessed, indeed, be Thy Name, my God ! 
 We had thousands at each place — inquirers, converts, 
 heathen. Yesterday I preached from Acts xvii. 30, 31. 
 
 After I had closed I called Mr. L to my side, and 
 
 said to the crowd, " I^ow I present to you your new Mis- 
 sionary. Mr. D cannot do all the labour of Krish- 
 
 naghur, with its 120 villages and forty miles of distance. 
 He has called on us for help. We have sent to England, 
 and these brethren are come out. We have divided the 
 Mission into five districts, and assigned them to the 
 
 several Missionaries. Mr. D will still visit aU of 
 
 them as often as he can, and be the father of the Mis- 
 sion. By degrees the new Missionaries will acquire 
 your language, and know you all, as the shepherd his 
 flock. They are building their houses, they are build- 
 ing schools for your children. They will, as soon as 
 it is safe, reside constantly among you. Do you under- 
 stand all this ? * Yes ; we do,' was shouted out by thou- 
 sands of voices. ' Will you love your new Missionary ? ' 
 
 — *Yes; we will.' * Will you respect and obey him?' 
 
 — *Yes; we will.' * Will you help him in building his 
 house and schools?' — 'Yes; we will.' 'Will you bear 
 patiently with him till he can speak perfectly your lan- 
 guage, as Mr. D does ?' — 'Yes ; we will.' 'Will you 
 
 stand fast in Christ, and not turn aside on account of per- 
 
366 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 secutions ?' — * Yes ; we will/ * Are you tired of Christ- 
 ianity?' — ^No/ resounded througli the assembly. ^Will 
 you return good for eyil, and meekly wait for the laws to 
 do you jufitice when you are oppressed ? ' — * Yes ; we will.' " 
 I then assured them that no injustice, no violence, no mur- 
 der would or could be long concealed under the Christian 
 Government of Great Britain, and they had only to let 
 patience have its perfect work, and God would rescue and 
 protect them. If you had seen how their countenances 
 lighted up as I went on putting these various questions, 
 you would have said that the Apostolic times had re- 
 turned. At Ranabund, this morning, I went through a 
 
 similar scene with Mr. K , after a discourse from 
 
 1 Thess. i. 13. From E-anabund we came six miles to 
 Chupra, to breakfast in the new Mission premises. A few 
 months ago all was jungle ; so was all Krishnaghur forty 
 years since : now masses of brick buildings stare one in 
 the face right and left. What is this ? The Girls' — the 
 Christian's Daughters' — school. And this? The School- 
 mistress's house. And that large building ? The Mission- 
 house. And that wall? It encloses a garden. And 
 where is the church to stand ? In that place ; and here is 
 the ground plan. It is like magic ; and all this since 
 October, 1839. Blessed, indeed, be our Lord Jesus ! 
 
 March 28, 1841. 
 
 The death of an inquirer has just occurred in a tumult 
 
 of the villagers, headed by the Thalookdar, from hatred of 
 
 the new doctrine. It seems just like those of which we 
 
 read in the Acts, a pure assault on the unoffending 
 
CHUPRA. 367 
 
 Christians because they followed Christ. The people are 
 making a great noise. The trial is in the judge's court. 
 All kind of evidence is being suborned. The Christians are 
 calumniated as the authors of the tumult, as under Nero. 
 The Missionaries are alarmed. The feeble flocks fly to 
 safer places. I was determined to visit the very spot. I 
 entered the mud chapel where the deceased took refuge. 
 I rejoiced at seeing a crowd of one or two hundred. I as- 
 sisted in baptizing twenty-nine. I examined them first 
 in the Creed, Lord's Prayer, and Commandments. Who 
 breaks the second Commandment ? Hindoos, with their 
 idols. What do children do, who murder their parents 
 with the mud of the Ganges? They break the Fifth 
 Commandment. I then summed up Christianity in seven 
 points : — The Creation ; the Fall ; the Commandments ; 
 the Incarnation and Sacrifice of the Son of God ; the 
 operation of the Holy Ghost in changing the human 
 heart ; the Bible ; the means of grace, including Church, 
 Sacraments, Sabbath, Prayer, Ministers. I then exhorted 
 them to patience, meekness, silence under persecution ; 
 remembering the word, " Vengeance is mine, I will 
 repay, saith the Lord;" and assuring them that what- 
 ever the British law could do in the way of protec- 
 tion would be ajfforded them, although, from false wit- 
 nesses, justice might for a time be perverted. If you had 
 seen the fine, intelKgent countenances of those poor con- 
 verts, and the joy with which they received holy Baptism, 
 and the glistening of their eyes, and all this on the very 
 spot where an inquirer had just been murdered by the 
 heathen, you would have blessed the God of all grace. 
 
368 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 Upon returning to Krishnagliur I laid tlie foundation of 
 a station churcli, to be called St. John's. The whole 
 station was present. This morning at twelve I addressed, 
 for two hours and more, the assembled brethren before I 
 left. I went over all the topics again, cautioned, ad- 
 monished, encouraged, and concluded with prayer. 
 
 Friends at home have no conception of a proud, savage 
 landholder, sending out and cutting the ripe corn of the 
 Christian ryots of an entire village, burning down their 
 houses, and driving them from the spot. Yet this is the 
 fact ; and what remedy have the ruined peasants ? Prac- 
 tically, none. The British magistrate receives the inform- 
 ation. He sends down his head native. The great man 
 goes down to the scene of desolation. He holds out his 
 right hand to the accuser, and his left to the accused, and, 
 according to the bribe, makes his report. False witnesses 
 make a trade of their testimony — four anas each case. All 
 corrupt to the very core ; the whole frame of society im- 
 pregnated with the dishonesty of heathenism; no police, 
 except what aggravates the misery of the oppressed. To 
 God, then, we must commit our cause. Something has 
 been done, I hope, by my stirring up the judge before 
 whom the case is now brought, and the magistrate. I 
 have urged them to sift the cases, to confront the wit- 
 nesses, to get at the truth. I have also pressed the indigo 
 factors, who have zemindaries, to protect the Christians. 
 In the meantime the persecutions cannot be more unjust 
 than those of the primitive disciples, and God has His 
 designs of grace. He purges His floor ; multitudes are 
 shaken ; many have apostatized, whole villages have fled^ 
 
CALCUTTA. 369 
 
 and yet, as you will have observed, numbers are coming 
 forward to be " baptized for tbe dead." The residence of 
 the Missionaries in their districts will have a great effect. 
 The good conduct, honest and regular payment of rents, 
 will gradually commend the Christian ryot to his ze- 
 mindar upon merely temporal motives. God will give 
 the word and the Churches will have peace. But Satan 
 will never yield his kingdom without a struggle — never. 
 
 The Lord bless us and keep us, and lift up the light of 
 His countenance upon us ! 
 
 Calcutta^ April 3, 1841. 
 This morning at ten we arrived safely once again at 
 Calcutta. May God be for ever praised and magnified for 
 all His goodness and mercy for almost a year and a-half. 
 At six this morning we set off from Chinsurah for Cal- 
 cutta, and after calling on the Governor- General entered 
 again the Palace, and saw our friends in health. I have 
 been with Major Forbes over the foundations of the Ca- 
 thedral, which will now advance more rapidly. The mass 
 of foundation is enormous — 133 men at work from nine 
 to five. The whole delighted me. The distribution of 
 the ground-plan is perfect for my design of a Protestant 
 Cathedral. 
 
 Calcutta^ April 8, 1841. 
 
 Every morning I ride round the building on my 
 horse (as Nehemiah on his beast around the desolations 
 of Jerusalem), and watch the different views which the Ca- 
 thedral will present. The sun will not allow me to visit 
 the men whilst at work. The climate of Bengal depresses 
 
 B B 
 
370 JOURNAL LETTERS. 
 
 me a good deal, as I expected it woiild, and the first burst 
 of business allows not a moment for reflection. But on 
 my Lord Christ I endeavour to repose for aU — for life, for 
 health, for sickness, for joy, for sorrow, for dejection, for 
 business, for disappointments. I find Scott's practical 
 reflections amongst the best instructions I can meet with 
 in illustration of the Bible itself. For the Bible is my 
 stay, and comfort, and light, and counsellor. May we 
 follow this blessed book, my children, more and more, and 
 all will be well for time and eternity. 
 
 Calcutta, May 16, 1841. 
 I have been reading again the letters addressed to me 
 on leaving England. About twenty of those beloved cor- 
 respondents are gone to their rest. The reading was most 
 humiliating when I looked back and reflected on how 
 little I had realised the too kind anticipations of my 
 friends. I could scarcely refrain from tears, as I roved 
 through the wood, of friends — and so many departed to 
 the heavenly world — all crowding, as it were, around me, 
 with their kind wishes, their advice, their fears, their 
 hopes. I seemed to recognise their countenances as well 
 as their hands. I marked each letter as I read it with its 
 date. Is not this an interesting recollection of love and 
 friendship ? Perhaps I am preparing for my burial. Oh, 
 to be really ready ! really in the love of God ; really 
 imited to Christ my Lord ; really to be born of the Spirit, 
 and to be living and walking in the Spirit. Oh, to be 
 really " dead," and to have our " life hid with Christ in 
 God;" to be crucified with Christ, to have the body of 
 
CALCUTTA. 371 
 
 sin mortified : no lust allowed to rule ! Oh, to be waiting 
 for our dismissal, longing for, and hasting unto the day 
 of God, with our loins girded and our lamps burning ! 
 Oh, to end well ! Lord Jesus, into Thy hands would I 
 commit my dying spirit! • 
 
 THE END. 
 
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