T H E

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A M A G AZIN E SPECIALLY DEVOTED TO MISSIONARY TOPICS.

MODERN HINDUISM— TEE WOMEN OF IN D IA .

B y t h e E e v . G eorge W . S a w d a y .

A GREAT deal has been heard of late about the state oE the women of India. Whatever opinion may be held

on this point there can be no doubt that ancient literature reveals woman in a very different light from that which she now occupies. In the Kamayana and Mahábhárata, the great epic poems of India, there are most beautiful pictures of domestic and social happiness. e Wives are loyal, secluded, and obedient to their husbands, yet show much independence of character and d.o not hesitate to express their own opinions; husbands are tenderly affectionate towards them, and treat them with respect and courtesy j daughters and woman especially are vir­tuous and modest, yet spirited, and, when occasien requires, firm and courageous/ The position now assigned to women is ascribed by some to the influence of the Mussalman conquerors, and to the fear inspired by their licentiousness, but the true cause seems to be the placa assigned to them in Manu’s Code, written ages before ever the Mussalmans set foot in India. As we have already seen women and Sudras were forbidden to read the shas- tras, and even in the Bliagavadgita women of all castes are classed with Sudras.

It may perhaps be doubted whether all that has been written on the subject is quite true to fact. W e have heard of the seclusion and loneliness, but then W9 must remember that with her present training the respectable Hindu woman prides herself on the fact that she is not ex­posed to tlic gaze of men. W e must also remember that

M A R C H , 1886. rPublis.-̂ i L Monthly.

33

258 Modem Hinduism— The Women of India.

only a small proportion of the women are confined to the zenanas. The majority of the women are Sudras and outcastes, and these move about with the same freedom as European women. Nor must we imagine the Hindu woman to be without influence in the home. The truth is, her influence is unspeakably great. She rules men in India as quietly and yet as effectively as her sisters do in England. They must do what she wishes, they dare not run the risk of offending her. One often meets educated Hindus, well- read, well-mannered fellows, most pleasant to converse with. To talk with them, you would imagine they were on the point of breaking loose from the shackles that fetter them, even if they were not on the point of becoming Christians. They talk largely of the evils of caste, de­nounce it as a huge sham, say they never will be slaves ; but alas 1 directly they enter the precincts of their home they become changed creatures. They act as though they never had a moment’s doubt as to the efficiency of caste customs ; they bathe, they put on the nama (sacred mark worn on the forehead), they make namashdra to the god and are just as much under its influence as any poor villager. And why is it? In the majority of cases it is because they fear the black looks of the women of the home. Nothing can be done without them, marriages are arranged by them, -every detail of the outer life has to be sanctioned by them, and in no place is women more feared, in no place does she more tyrannize than in a Hindu home.

And yet in spite o f these redeeming features, these bright tracts in her life, that life is one o f darkness and of sadness calculated to move the heart o f the onlooker to its deepest depths. From the day of her birth to that of her death she is surrounded by circumstances which of neces­sity contain more o f misery than of happiness. Her very sex is one cause of her misery. When a female is born no anxious inquiries await the mother; no greetings welcome the new comer who appears an intruder from its very birth, and often, though pez-haps not so often now as formerly, it finishes its life in the very hour of its birth. The silence which accompanies a female birth is expressive of the sorrow whieh is felt. The parents are not troubled by the thought of educating the child, for alas ! education scarcely enters into their thoughts j but the idea how they are to dispose of her and marry her, constantly preys on tbeir mind, and the fear of this difficulty withthe expense accompanying

it was probably one of the moving causes of infanticide'. “ A cctirsed be the day when a woman-child was born to me,” was the exclamation of a Rajput noble when the birth of a female child was announced.

Immured in the zenana, her life is rendered doubly miserable by the galling chains of ignorance and super­stition. On this subject let a native speak for himself. “ Freedom of thought and independence of action— the natural birthrights of a rational being— are denied her, not by her Creator but by a selfish, narrow-minded and crafty priesthood. She is treated and disposed of as if she were entirely destitute of the feelings and ideas of a sentient being. She dare not emerge from the unhealthy seclusion of the closely confined zenana, or female depart­ment, where suspicions and jealousies, envy and malignity are not unfrequently brewing in the boiling caldron of domestic discord. Born within the precincts of an ill- ventilated zenana, and cooped up in the cage of an uncon­genial cell, she is destined to breathe her last in that unwholesome retreat. A European lady can have no idea of the enormous amount of misery and privation to which the life of a Hindu female is subjected. In her case, the bitters far counterbalance the sweets of life. The natural helplessness of her condition, the abject wretchedness to which she is inevitably doomed, the utter prostration o f her intellect, the ascendency of a dominant priesthood exacting unquestioning submission to its selfish doctrines, the unmerited neglect of an unsympathetic world, and the appalling hardships and austerities which she is condemned to endure in the event of the death of her lord, literally beggar description. All the graces and accomplishments with which she is blessed by nature, and which have a tendency to adorn and ennoble humanity, are in her case unreasonably denounced as unfeminine endowments and privileges, to assert which is a sacrilegious act. I f she is. ever happy, she is happy in spite of the cruel ordinance of her lawgiver, and the still more cruel usages and institutions of her c o u n t r y *

I f this be the state of the higher-caste women generally,, we can readily imagine what the state of the widows is. From the moment her husband dies she is doomed to a life* of misery and slavery. Her good clothes are removed, her jewels are taken away, her head is shaved, and she sinks

* Bose’s ' The Hindus as they are.’

Modem Hinduism— The Women o f India. 259

260 Modem Hinduism— The Women o f India.

at once into tlio position of the menial and drudge of the home. The writer whom wo have just quoted, says :— “ It is terrible to contemplate the awf ill amount of physi­cal and mental suffering with all its varied complications, to which she is doom ed: her life is a steadfast battle against misery, her soul soars in a vacuum where all is unreal, empty and hollow, and all the sweet enjoyments o f life fall flat on her taste. Her mental strife is never over. She is like a weary swimmer who throws himself back and floats, because he is too much exhausted to swim longer, yet will not sink and let the cold and merciless water close over his head. Her spirit has broken wildly loose from its normal attitude, and her mind is over­whelmed in a surging tide of misery. From the day she loses her husband, she has a new lease of life, and a miser­able lease it must be She will not cease to lament until her soul itself shall die. I f she could say, joy was once her portion, it lighted on her as the bird rests on the tree in passing and takes wing, yet she would now say, her existence is so unlife-like that to her death is sweet. She is a poor fallen outcaste of humanity. No one can enter into her feelings and views of things. She has no influence, no control over herself, she cannot turn over a new leaf within her own mind. Though society is almost a necessity o f our existence, yet she lives wholly alone; a cheerless train of thoughts always haunts her mind, she feels a dismal void in her heart, she finds herself cut off at once and for ever from one most dear to her, no conversation, however pleasant, can bring her consolation or cheer her grief. The tide of settled melancholy threatens her reason. A s an outcaste, she is religiously forbidden to take a part in any of the social and domestic concerns of life, tending to relieve the ennui of a wearisome existence and to enliven the mind for a while. She is a living example of an angel sent by heaven to minister to the comforts of man, turned by a cruel institution into a curse. Estranged from the affection of those who are, by the ties of consanguinity, nearest and dearest to her, she passes her days like a recluse, quite apart from the communion of society.” Doomed thus to a state of perpetual widowhood, subjected to constant temptation,-who can wonder that so few of them are pure, or that those few often delight in the shaven head because they think their ugly appearance will enable them the more effectually to repel the attacks of a wicked

seductive world ? And yet with such surroundings who can wonder that one of their own people should say that in these days of libertinism purity of life is rarely known ? Much has been said on this subject but there is much that cannot be said, for in addition to the miseries that are known to all, there are griefs and sorrows that are hidden away in the heart of many a poor heart-broken widow that will never see the light. Un­kindness and cruelty lead to sin, and sin leads to murder ; and although such horrid practices cannot be carried on openly, yet a Hindu reformer only a few months ago (1884) told us that only two out of every hundred widow- murders ever came to light. There is a fact, if fact it be, and there is every probability of its being true, for our police authorities— for every twowidow-murders discovered, ninety-eight go undiscovered. Natural causes are as­signed, and the poor mangled body is hurried away to the funeral pyre where the dust tells no tale, and reveals no secrets.

We are all of us familiar to some extent with the horrors of sati, that terrible custom in which widows were immolated on the funeral pyres of their husbands. This is also an outgrowth of modern Hinduism. The ancient Yedic ritual made no provision for the actual cremation of the widow. It directs that she should be placed on the pile by the side of the husband, but should be let down again by her brother-in-law, by an adopted son, or by an old servant, and the actual immolation of the widow only came into force under later and degenerate influences. This barbarous custom has counted its victims by myriads, it has wrecked the lives of countless millions, and it was not until 1829 that it was put a stop to by the British Government under Lord William Bentinck. Terri­ble as was this custom, we can readily understand how it was women became its most ardent supporters; for even a death of the most horrible misery, was preferable to the lifelong degradation and pain that awaited them as widows. It was the dread of widowhood and of the unmitigated horrors connected with it, that is said to have led tbe fifty wives of a Kajput husband to ascend the funeral pyre of their dead master and lord.

Modern Hinduism— The Women o f India. 281

* (To be continued.)

262 Preaching from Village to Village.

PREACHING FROM VILLAGE TO VILLAGE.By t h e R e t. A n d r e w P h ilip , N a t iv e M in is t e r .

ON Thursday, the 5th November, at about 12 o’ clock we started from Mysore for Seringapatam, a place

famous in the history of India. This place is a sub­station of Mysore and is visited weekly. W e were soon surrounded by a crowd of people and Devadattayya, my companion, preached to them on the healing of “ Naa- nmn, the leper.” Afterwards I preached to them on the o7tli verse of Matthew X X II. After the preaching a hearer questioned us as to which religion was revealed by God. Being answered that the Christian religion was such a one, he said that God had revealed religions according to the different capacities of men and therefore an ignor­ant man is as justified, when he says that an idol is God, as an intelligent man who says that an idol is not God but a Spirit, because the worship (whatever the mode might be) is directed to but one God. W e passed that night under the roof of a Christian brother who is a hospital assistant. After supper we read to the family from 1 Peter, ch. III. and spoke to them about the manner of life that ought to be led among heathen neighbours, and concluded with prayer. In thia place there is an intelli­gent enquirer who is held back from publicly embracing the truth on account of his wife.

November 6th, Friday.— The next morning we left Serin- gapatam very early and went eastwards on the banks of the Kaveri, At about 11 o ’clock we reached a small vil­lage where singing a Christian song we gathered as many as fifteen people. Davadattayya preached to them about the sin of idolatry. Although the people agreed to what he stated they said it was difficult for them to leave the tradi­tions of the elders. On our way we met two people from Tumkur who said that they were going to the jatre (idol fes­tival) at a place before ns. When questioned by us about the grievous sin and blind superstitions of idolatry they shifted their ground and said that they were going simply on business. Notwithstanding we showed them as far as we could the vanity and folly of idolatry and the spiritual way of worshipping God j to which they seemed to give assent. Journeying on we reached at last the place where the jatre

"Preaching from Village to Village. 263

was being held. There was a small temple dedicated to the god Mahadeshwara (the great Ishwara.)

The jatre was in honor of this god who is believed to have delivered the people and their cattle last year from many plagues; so all the neighbouring villages had gathered together bringing milk and fruits as offerings.

Here Devadattayya preached about the true worship and I on the verse, “ Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap.” After preaching and distributing handbills we resumed our journey and came to Bunnur, a large village near the river, at about half past six in the evening, where we were hospitably lodged in the house of a merchant.November, 7th Saturday.— Next morning at seven o’ clock

we went through the streets of the village in which we passed the night. Selecting a good corner for preaching, my comrade preached on “ God is a spirit,” and I on, “ What must I do to be saved ?” A conversation ensued in which the principal topic was transmigration. After distributing handbills to a crowd of about 50, we were once more on our way. The same evening we reached Malvalli one of our stations in the Mysore Circuit. Here our preaching staff was increased by the evangelist of the station, with whom we went into the town. Having announced our presence by the singing of a lyric, I preached on “ Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God,” and my co-worker who seemed deeply impressed by the foolishness of idolatry preached on the same. He had no sooner ceased than one of the hearers ( there were about 30) came forward and asked not, “ What shall I do to be saved ?” but “ As God is omnipresent, hence Hie is in a stone, why then should I not worship that stone” ? But he was silenced by the formidable battery of solid reasoning which had been pro­vided against emergencies. That evening we had the pleasure of being reinforced by the Rev. C. H. Bocken, who that evening, as a preparation for our work, conducted a prayer meeting in the house of the evangelist of the place.

November 8th, Sunday.— Early next morning our preach­ing in the street was what we may call “ experiential.” Devadattayya, Yesudas and I told the people what God had done for our souls: Mr. Hocken preached to the peopleon, “ Repent ye for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

264 Preaching from Village to Village.

Leaving that spot we went farther up the street and sat down in the shop of a merchant and talked with five or six people besides the owner of the shop, about the more important duty of rescuing a perishing soul than the eager but never ending pursuit of riches and worldly pleasures.

After meals we went to the Travellers’ Bungalow, where Divine service was conducted by the Rev. C. H. Hocken. A fter reading the lessons, the Town Mnnsiff of Mysore, Mr. J. W . Knight, who had come there with the mission­ary, spoke with us about the best mode of preaching the W ord to the unconverted.

In the evening we all went to the fort of Malvalli and preached to about 80 Brahmans, that Jesus is the Christ. W e also again repeated our own experience. One of them questioned us as to our knowledge of the forgiveness of our sins. I told him that the consciousness of forgiveness is proved valid by the change in ourselves: we know by experience and by the direct witness of God’ s Spirit.

November 9th, Monday.—Devadattayya, owing to ill- health, was unable to proceed with me, and Messrs. Hocken and Knight went no farther than Malvalli. So leaving Malvalli I went on with the colporteur and at the end of six miles I preached to a rustic congregation of 30 people on, “ God is a Spirit.” One of the ryots asked me, whether a man would live again in another form. After distri­buting handbills to such as were able to read, we went to a blacksmith’s where five or six people were assembled and, taking for my text the reaping sickle that he was repairing, I said that they ought to be prepared to meet death who was the great reaper.

Five miles onwards we came to the large village Belaka- vadi and encamped on the river bank. I went into the town in the evening and preached on, “ Mary hath chosen the good part,” to a congregation of about 40. The col­porteur sold some books here. After distributing hand­bills I visited a goldsmith, Subbanna, and the patel, Junj- a/ppa, who were acquaintances and spoke to them about the “ things pertaining to God.” W e rested that night under the verandah of one of the houses.

November 10th, Tuesday.— W e next reached a village called Haggalipura, three miles from Belakavadi. As the villagers had never before seen any preachers, we told them what our mission was. There were some 40 people present. Next wc visited the village school and had a talk

Preaching from Village to Village. 26-5

■with the school master who seemed an intelligent man and denounced the caste system. Taking leave of these people we walked on and encountered an old pujari or priest of the god Varadeshwara. He admitted that his god was no more than an ordinary stone, and that he was compelled to officiate as a priest or he would forfeit his living.

Going onwai’d we came to Talakadu. This place is consi­dered very sacred as the rivers Kaveri and Kapini flow together at this place. And for this reason people from various parts of Mysore come together here for a jatre once in two years. The people also say that Kail sa (heaven) itself is in the very midst of this place- Pilgrims at the jatre time come and bathe in the river, and with their web clothes go and worship the five lingas, by throwing sacred leaves upon them. This place is not only celebrated as a holy place, but also in history. But now it is being gradually destroyed by fche sand thrown up by the river. The sandhills are about 30 or 40 feet high. According to ancient tradition the place seems to have been very large, since 100 temples dedicated to Shiva are said to be lying under the sand. Several of these are unearthed at the time of the jatre. After my afternoon meal I went into the town to preach. There were some 60 men and women of whom some were Brahmans, and all seemed to listen very attentively. After preaching I went to the shop opposite to the spot where I stood. There came a Brahman and said to the shop-keeper, “ There are many liberal people in this place, if one of them would take the lingas out of the sand and re-instafce them, he would deserve fame.” I asked “ What profit would it be to take so much trouble on behalf of these idols ? See how helpless they are, unable either to extricate themselves from their miserable condition, or to prevent the destruction of fche place by the sand washed up by your sacred Kaveri.” This seemed too difficult for the Brahman to solve and he walked away. I could not help before going to rest ask­ing God in my nightly prayer to manifest His glory by des­troying all idcls, as the lingas of Talakadu were destroyed.

November 11th, Wednesday.— Next morning I preached in the same place about the Prodigal Son to about 40 people. When the preaching,was over, a Brahman youth with hand­bills in hand said to me “ Sir, I read these handbills all night, the one on f idolatry’ struck mo very much. Is

U

266 Preaching from Village to Village.

not then an idol God ?” The colporteur sold many books here. When we came to cross the river by the boat and proceed on our journey a man came to us like Nicodemus. After waiting for all people to clear away, he said, “ Sir, I want to know certain things. I quite agree with what you said about idols in Talakadu, and beg you to tell me about the true God and His ways.” I told him all I could and related my own experience— how I came to believe in Jesus Christ, as the only medium of salvation. He bought several tracts and books from the colporteur, and when we took leave of him, he promised to come to Mysore, to hear more from us, that he might find peace. Confiding that enquiring spirit to the over-ruling Providence of God, we took leave of him and parted. Journeying twelve miles more we reached Narsipur. The next morning at seven o’clock as I was preaching there a Brahman came to the spot and said “ You are an out-caste yourself, have yon come here to spoil others too V' But he went away in silence when I quoted to him one of a hundred slokas, saying that a man by simply changing his belief does not lose his caste, but by doing wrong. Another contended that God is the author of sin. He came in a bad spirit, but I met him with as much wisdom and patience as I could command. The same evening in the same place I preached to about twenty-five men on tl Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.” The Brahmans abused us most maliciously, but we were deaf to their railings and on our way to our resting place a Brahman and a vaccinator who had been observing our forbearing behaviour accompanied us to the river side and spoke with us about the true God, and the need of preach­ing the Gospel.

November 13th, Friday.— Leaving next morning we came to a place called Gejjiganhalli. I preached in this village on “ Eternal punishment and reward.”

November 14th, Saturday.—W e reached Nanjangud and the same evening preached in the town to about 100 peo­ple, about the worship of the True God. Afterwards we weiit to a merchant who was an acquaintance. A Brahman joined us there and discussed the advaita theory. The same night we gathered all the resident Christians toge­ther and had a prayer meeting.

November 15th, Sunday.— I preached in the morning again in the street on “ What shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul ?” After

A Chapter from the First Tamil Novel, 267

disti ibuting handbills, we went and spoke with one of my merchant friends, Nanjandayya, when there came four men and conversed with us about God. The same evening I preached on “ Ye are the light of the world,” to the Christians of the place and gave them their quarterly tickets,

November 16th, L\Ionday.— Leaving Nanjangud, we came to Kadakola where I preached to 30 people, on the Rich man and Lazarus. Afterwards we went and visited the Christian family there and gave them their quarterly tickets.

In the evening I found myself once more in Mysore safe and sound, and with a greatful heart prayed that God would bless my labours in the villages and towns which I had visited.

A CHAPTER FROM TEE FIR ST TAM IL N O V E L*

ifT )RA TH A PA M U TH ALIAR,” the first Tamil novel,wasJT first published seven years ago and has, until lately,

been for some time out of print. Its author, S. Vethanaya- gum Pillei, is perhaps the foremost Tamil writer of the present time, and is a master in poetry as well as in prose. He is a Christian, and withal a true Tamil man, as he ought to be. This book is an indication of a clear advance bath in Tamil thought and literature, for in it the spirit of the West often clothes itself in Tamil speech. It is an eminently healthy and homely book, and is well planned and ably written. The following chapter has been taken from it well nigh at random :—

CHAP. X XX II.—A n expo su re of D a y B obbers b y a N ig h t R o b b e r .

A tailor one evenisg having tied a rupee in his upper garment and thrown it over his shoulder was walking along the street, when a thief having seen all this in the moonlight, followed him. The tailor, by the corner of his eye, saw the thief coming behind, but continued to walk along as if unconscious of his presence. Making no noise, the thief came close to him and cut off the knot containing the rupee, with a pair of scissors. At once the

* Prathapa Muthaliar,* by S. Vedanayagum Pillei, late District Munsiff, Mayaveram, Second Edition, Madras, W. Pushpuratha Chettiar 1885.

268 À Chapter from the First Tamil Novel.

tailor turned round and cut off one of the thief’s ears with a pair of scissors. Unable to bear the pain the thief cried out, “ K u k u ! murder ! murder!” To this the tailor lustily responded “KA k u ! robbery ! robbery !” Next, “ Here’s your money,” said the thief, throwing him his rupee; and “ Here’s your ear,” said the tailor,' throwing him that organ. The tailor then seized the thief and took him before Deverajah Pillei. The thief pleaded guilty to the magistrate, speaking as follows:—

“ 0 sir, I have a large family, consisting of a wife and many children, a very old father and mother, and two sisters who are A v id o w s . There is no one to provide for them except myself. By very hard work, I have managed to provide for them all until now, but since this is a time of famine, I can find no work anywhere, and nobody will give me alms. If I myself only were hungry I could bear that somehow, but having seen for days my old father and mother and the little children hungry I could endure it no longer, so I began to steal. But, sir, I assure you that I never rob women, nor children, nor good people. I only steal from misers and wortliless folk. And now you are going to punish me for having stolen a rupee. But if I had borrowed a rujDee from this tailor, and cheated him by not paying it back again, would you punish me ? Can you count the number of those who day by day borrow thousands and tens of thousands of lakhs of gold, and by trickery never pay it back again ? Yet all these are my brothers, aren’t they ? If you ask what is the difference between them and fellows like myself; we steal without shuffling or telling lies, they tell a thousand lies to get a loan, and having got it, they never repay, but retain it by countless deceits, dodges and false promises. In their robbery, falsehood, deceit, misplaced confidence and unfaithfulness to creditors are all united, but no such faults as these are connected with my theft.

“ If you decide to send me, who have stolen a rupee, to jail for a month, must not all these great thieves who have cheated their creditors be punished for life P

“As I havesaid, my poverty is the reason why I began to steal. But without any such reason, many kings make war with other kings, and in their enterprise, as they call it, destroy all the public buildings, palaces and fortresses which they find in their route, and having killed lakhs on lakhs of people, plunder and carry off all property. Do not such rajahs also belong to our class ? Writers of history tell, in praise of Alexander and some other great heroes, that they gave back the lands which they conquer­ed. But after all the men have been killed, the houses and pa­laces laid in ruins, and all the wealth plundered, what profit comes by restoring a land full of widows and little children to its former king F If such restoration be magnanimous, did not I also throw back to the tailor the rupee which I stole ? Histo­rians say that Alexander and other great heroes, did not

A Chapter from the First Tamil Novel,. 269

injure the wives and children of their enemies ; have not I also confessed that I never steal from women and children P You decree the punishment of death to a murderer. If this be so what punishment must be assigned to those kings who have committed lakhs on lakhs of robberies and murders ? Besides, are not those cruel rajahs great robbers who make the people bear untolerable burdens of taxation F

“ There was once a rajah who levied unjust taxes and a poor man informed him of his inability to pay. The rajah said, ‘ If you do not pay the tax you cannot live in this country.’

“ ‘ W here shall I goF ’ asked the poor man.“ ‘ Go to Srirangam,’ said the rajah.“ ‘ But your elder bi-otheris reigning there,’ said the poor

‘ man, so I cannot go.’“ ‘ Goto Tanjore then,’ said the rajah.“ ‘ But your uncle is ruling there,’ said the poor man.“ ‘ If so, then go to Uarakam’ (perdition), said the rajah in

anger ; to which the poor man rejoined, ‘ Since your father, grandfather and others have got a footing there, L won't go.'

“ Are we worse men than such cruel kings F “ Again, in order that judges and magistrates may not covet

bribes, Government has appointed to them handsome salaries. Yet though this be so these judges in every case receive bribes from both sides, and accordingly pronounce both sides partly right and partly wrong. "When magistrates cannot do full justice to one side instead of returning the bribe,they reserve it as an advance f-or a future case. Besides these bribes, cloth merchants present cloths annually to them and their families. Ryots give to them the fruit of the soil. So also, without money and withotft price, merchants give them salt and camphor and every thing between. Thieves like myself rob only on new moon daj^s, and since these magistrates plunder both day and night, is our robbery equal to theirs p When we are caught in the very place where we went to steal and brought before these magistrates for trial, ‘ Many days work for the potter, a minute’s work for the breaker,’ as the pro­verb says ; so what we spent many days in stealing is taken from us in a moment. What kind of thieves are they who steal from thieves F Some religionists say that by bathing a few times in sacred waters such roguery will be expiated. But we have not found any truth in such a statement. W e do see, however, that those who give presents to the magistrates, though they be great rascals, obtain perfect absolution, and those who do not give pre­sents to them, even although innocent, are punished as bad men. Some officials, afraid lest they lose their character by the accep­tance of bribes in every case, are wont to receive ‘ gifts’ when­ever important ceremonies connected with joy or sorrow are per­formed in their homes. This being so, birth, puberty, marriage and srdddha ccremonies happen in their families with astounding

270 A Chapter from the First Tamil Novel.

frequency, so much so that there might be a hundred members in the family of each official. For all this number bribery is to blame. Whether he be an official or a non official, every man has but one father who must die. Since this is true, the annual occurrence of many srdddhas for one father is a marvellous thing.

“ Some magistrates settle cases, as the monkey settled that of the two cats. A difference arose between these cats about the dividing of the cake, so they asked a monkey to divide it exactly between them. Accordingly the monkey broke it in two pieces, put them on the scales and weighed them, but as one piece was too heavy to make it equal to the other, he bit off a piece and ate it. But the other piece was then too heavy, so he bit off and ate a piece of that. When the cats saw this they were alarmed, and said, ‘ Sir, you have weighed it sufficiently, we are quite satisfied now, please to give us our portions.’ ‘Ah !’ replied the monkey,‘ but though you are satisfied, I am not. A case so difficult cannot be decided hastily, without c a r e fu l consideration.’ So he took up the scales and went on weighing, and weighing, and eating and eating. Once more the cats interposed, ‘ O Judge, don’t trouble yourself any more, give us at least what is left.’ ‘ Don’t I need cooly for all my pains F Will any one do work without wages ?’ answered the monkey, and ate up the remainder of the cake. So there are judges in the world who seize for themselves property in dispute and drive away the complainants empty handed.

“ As the proverb says, ‘Where the stonebreaker goes all becomes dust’ ; so when some great mutton-eating officials go from vil­lage to pillage in their district, sheep, cattle, wild animals, fowls, paddy birds and birds of other kinds lose their lives. If even a hundred tigers make their appearance will they eat all up so quickly F The nine kinds of gi'am, straw, grass, firewood and other things, bundle after bundle, come from many villages. Whatever these great officials do not require, the small officials divide among themselves. Besides this, plantain trees, nut trees, and cocoanut trees are cut to decorate pandals and tie toranams. All the bandies belonging to the village are siezed by force, to remove their luggage. Whether these grains aforementioned and the bandy hire be all paid for— God alone knows.

“ Some officials are appointed to take care of the people, just as a cat will take care of a parrot, or a tiger will take care of a cow. Their unjust doings are beyond description. But if we thieves reveal their doings, we should be the most ungrateful of men, for we live by them, and they live by u s; they know all our secrets and we know all.theirs. They never reveal our se­crets, and we never reveal theirs. But for their kindness to us, some of. us would be hanged : many of us would be in prison. Since we give to them a share of our plunder, they never be­tray us. Though they harass innocent people who will not bribe

A Chapter from the First Tamil Novel. 271

them, they do not come our way, so, as a mat conceals the sky, I am hiding their deeds.

“ Since all the -world knows the deceits practised by cloth mer­chants it is not necessary that I should enumerate them. It is possible to count the threads of their cloths but to count their tricks is impossible. They make old cloths new, white cloths black, and black cloths red by the tricks of India. After having shown and received payment for a good cloth they give an in­ferior one. They keep one good cloth as a sample and say that they have a crore of the same kind. For a cloth which they bought for one rupee, they will show a receipt to prove that it cost them ten rupees. Afraid of their deceits, sheep, oxen, wild animals and birds go unclothed. The images of Buddha are also naked, and Siva wears a tiger and elephant skin for the same reason.

So the dealers in precious stones, are not their deceits numberless ? Don’t they deceive everybody, saying a red stone is a ruby, a white stone is a diamond, a green stone an eme­rald ? Since these cannot be known by a test, nor by rubbing, nor weight ; as the proverb says ‘ The fisherman names the fish of the sea,’ so these merchants name as high a price as they can and cheat and rob in this way. They call the few stones which they keep in stock a crore, and tell a crore of lies. If these stones do not shine, ‘ This is not their shining time,’ they say ; but if they are of a shining nature, why do not they shine always ? When a number of merchants meet to fix a price they do not speak with their mouths, lest every one should know, but hid­ing their hands beneath a cloth they make signs with their hands. Besides they do not speak the ordinary language cor­rectly, but make arbitrary changes of their own. Would there be any loss to mankind if these stones were not in the world ? Brick, and white stone, and black stone which are used for build­ing houses are of far more value to the world than the red, white, and green stones of the merchants. It is only on account of human ignorance that these useless stones are held in honour among men.

“ If I were to tell the deceits of the goldsmiths would six or eight tongues be sufficient ? Though a thousand people watch them with open eyes, they will blind them all, and from half a pagoda weight of gold they will rob a quarter pagoda and mix the remainder with copper. Men say that the alchemists turn­ed iron and other metals into gold, but the goldsmiths are the only alchemists whom we have seen accomplish this feat. So accustomed are they to steal that even when they make jewels for themselves they must abstract a little of the gold. Though we give them a mountain of gold, when they shall have weighed it, it will seem as a mustard seed, and when they give gold as much as a mustard seed, by their weighing it seems as a moun­tain. Though the gold in their hands be only six touch they

272 A Chapter from the First Tamil Novel.

will make it appear to be ten, and the ten touch gold in our hands they will change to six. They make out their iron to be gold and our gold to be iron. Afraid of the tricks which goldsmiths practice in jewel making, Siva wears a snake as a jewel.

t£ Goldsmiths will promise to make a jewel in eight days, but will not give it in eight years. In order that people may know their excuse and deceits, I will relate a circumstance which happened in the time of the learned Sankarachariar. On one occasion this eminent man invited men to come and test his knowledge of books and learning and the different employments of men. Accordingly a number of men came and examined him, and the goldsmiths also came. When he saw the gold­smiths, he told them to go and return again a week afterwards. They did so. Then he ordered them to come again when four days more had passed. They did so. Once more he sent them away, saying, ‘ Come again in two days,’ and when they came again he dismissed them saying, ‘ Come to-morrow, come to­morrow.’ Thus he continued for many months. Since by doing this he followed exactly the custom of the goldsmiths, at last they said to him, ‘ Swami, you are perfectly acquainted with our profession. There is no need at all to examine you;’ and having given him a certificate to this effect they went away. It is only on account of women that the professions of goldsmiths, dealers in precious stones, and cloth merchants are carried on in the world. Were there no women there would be no cloth merchants, and if there were no cloth merchants would women get all they ask for ?

“ Again, as rajahs steal kingdoms, so wealthy mirasdars, little by little, steal and annex the adjoining lands of small mirasdars. Are our thefts greater than such systematic robbery ?

“ I have been speaking until now of thieves who steal the pro­perty of men. But how many thieves there are who steal from God. What can rival the daily robbery of reputed guardians from temples and choultries ? Would a book contain them all ? And since there are in this world countless robbers-by-day who are all left unpunished, is it just to make me a great culprit who commenced to steal by the hardship of cruel poverty ?”

Thus spoke the thief, and having heard all this, the magistrate (DevarajahPi 1 lei) made inquiry concerning the poor fellow’s con­dition and character, and found that what he had said was true, and that up to that time he had been a well behaved man. Upon this the magistrate addressing him said, “ Since you admit your fault, it will not be just to. allow you to remain unpunished, still since there are circumstances in your favour which alleviate your guilt, I pass upon you a sentence of only one month’s simple imprisonment. ‘ The thief for many days will be caught one day,’ says the proverb, and so the day-thieves of whom you

A Hymn from the Tamil o f Pattanatthar. 273

have spoken will one day be caught and punished, and their punishment will not be so light as yours.”

When the man’s term of imprisonment was ended, the magis­trate gave him employment in the village, and he continues honestly to do his duty. It is very doubtful whether the day- thieves in the end will be as well off as he.

G,

A HYMN.

From the Tamil o f Pattanatthar.

Though I my life have wasted,Thy grace oh give to me ;Much suffering I have tasted,Thy heaven shall I not see ?

The day which favour giveth,W ill not that day come near ?Before all days who liveth My Lord—will he appear ?

Great Silence which man neareth,When speech is dead and gone ;Pure spirit, who appeareth When all beside hath flown.

The Great Expanse which holdeth All trouble, doubt and fear ;The Comfort which enfoldefch ;Ah when shall these come near ?

Oh wilt thoa not now take me,Thy servants’ slave receive ;And teach me now, and make me Free from all sin to live.

O Guru mine, now hear me;Than this, what can I say ;No one save thee is near me To grant me help alway.

G. M. C obban .

85

274 Notes and Extracts.

NOTES AND EXTRACTS.

G e t t in g in to d e b t.—W e are glad to see that the sub­ject of the indebtedness o f native Christians is exciting at­tention in Missionary circles. The article that appeared in the January number of this Mazagine has been referred to in several papers, and in the issue of the Indian Witness for February 6th there is an interesting letter on the ques­tion from the Rev. J. D. Bate of Allahabad. Mr. Bate “ inclines to the opinion that a good deal of this chronic inpecuniosity is attributable to the fact that the employes of: Missions receive their pay at too long intervals.” “ Payment b j the month” he says “ is proved, by an en­ormous induction, to be a failure. The gap would not be b o wide if we were to pay them weekly and the temptation to a weak-principled or heavily-burdened man would con­sequently not be so great.” Mr. Bate further says that in one case he has tried a plan of this kind and has found it to be the very remedy required.

The first objection most missionaries are likely to raise is that Mr. Bate’s scheme would make very heavy demands upon their time. I f the pay-day comes too seldom for the agents it no doubt comes often enough for the missionary. As it is he feels that financial and other details occupy too much of his time and painfully curtail his opportunities for direct spiritual work. If weekly payments were substi­tuted for monthly, the burden would be still more oppres­sive. Moreover such a course would only be feasible at head-quarters; it could not be adopted at out-stations. We doubt, too, whether weekly payments would be equally convenient to agents taking them as a whole. In this part of India it is usual to buy in a month’s supply of grain &c. as soon as the pay is received. It is obviously the more economical course to purchase a considerable quantity at once and we should be sorry to see the custom disturbed. It is plain also that Mr. Bate’ s plan would not tend to foster independence of character. He argues indeed that Mission employes can only be treated as children. W e are not inclined to think that any general change of system is ex­pedient or desirable, but it may he well worth our while to try Mr. Bate’s plan in exceptional cases. There are people who can only be trusted with a rupee or two at a time, and for them the weekly system is likely to work well.

Notes and Extracts. 215

Mi*. Bate remarks on the wide-spread prevalence of debt in India and deprecates a harsh judgment of native Christ­ians. In this we fully agree with him. The fault is a national one and attaches to the nation no more than to the community at large—possibly not so much. But our very anxiety for the future of the native church makes us keener-sighted in detecting anything in it that is weak or faulty. It is true also that many Europeans live beyond their means, but fortunately missionaries themselves are able to speak with that authority which teaching derives from consistency of conduct, for so far as our experience goes there is nothing about which they are more scrupu­lously careful than the punctual payment of all their accounts.

L a d y D u fferin ’ s S c h em e H ang in g F ie e in S outhern I n d ia .— This scheme was ushered into existence with a flourish of trumpets which resounded throughout India and reached as far as the British Isles, but now the echoes have died away and except in Calcutta where the presence of the Countess of Du fieri n keeps the enthusiasm alive, the matter is fading from the recol­lection of the public. On the 27th of January the Viceroy presided over a public meeting held in the Calcutta Town Hall in support of this fund, and it seemed that at that time it amounted to about a lakh and a half of rupees, but the movement does not go for all that. Every one that knows anything about the country admits that the mortality amongst the women and children in this country is appalling, and that the new agencies which this fund proposes to bring into existence are just the kind to alleviate the misery which befalls millions of women in India in their hour of greatest need. But the movement has excited very little, if any, enthu­siasm outside of those who are in personal contaot with the Viceregal circle. This apathy seems to us deplor­able. The reasons for it are not far to seek. In the first place the movement is in the air. The great official and personal influence of the Viceroy secured for it a host of professed friends and induced the native princes to sup­port it as a matter of.loyalty, but it has not touched their heart and conscience, and the masses are in complete ig­norance both of the movement and of the remedies which it proposes for theii relief, Then the immense difficulties

276 Notes and Extracts.

which at present stand in its way, make it a dead letter wherever the interest in it is feeble. It is proposed, to have a number of properly qualified lady doctors who will train and send forth into the mofussil nurses, midwives and female medical assistants. But where are the doctors and students in any sufficient numbei's to como from ? And when the latter are trained, what will induce native married women to leave their friends and live in loca­lities where they are needed most ? But one of the greatest difficulties it seems to us is to secure the hearty co-operation of the officers of the Medical Department throughout the country. Like all official classes they are intensely conservative ; this movement too is in some sort a reflection on their own department, and they are naturally doubtful of an agency which may not be en­tirely under their own control. Moreover they are all burdened with work and have no time or energy to spare ; they also appreciate the difficulties in detail much more clearly than the public. They may, therefore, be expect­ed to be sceptical of its success and to offer it that kind of resistance which is the most fatal because it works in secret. W e emphasise these things because we believe the present affords us opportunity for assisting a movement of unspeakable importance, which it would be a lasting disgrace for us to lose. One of the conditions ot its success is that the difficulties which lie in its way should be fairly understood. To make the movement go, more must be done to instruct and arouse the people, from one end of the Peninsula to the other, by means of tracts and public lectures ; special efforts, should be made to bring it into harmony with the existing Medical Depart­ment ; and as no agency will be so efficient and economical as that inspired by religion rather than love of pecuniary reward, the hearty co-operation of all missionary and benevolent societies should bo sought and accepted.

Me. H. J. S. Cotton’s book, “ New India, or India in Transition,” has it is said had an unprecedented sale and now there is not a single copy to be had. It deals with a most fascinating subject— the wide-spread commotion resulting from the bringing of the most ancient and vene­rable forms of thought and order into sudden and violent contact with the most modern methods and conceptions. The V ail Mall 'Gazette in a review of the book, giving a

summary of Mr. Cotton’s sketch of the results of the last few years in Indian politics, says :—

“ There has been no doubt a great increase in the race antagonism between the Europeans and the natives, which came to a head in the bitter opposition to the Ilbert Bill. Moreover, this has especially affected the Civil Service, which in old days always stood forward as the champion of native rights against the high-handedness of the planters. Mr. Cotton attributes this regrettable change partly to the many facilities ■which now exist for reaching Europe. The civil servant nowadays, instead of settling down for a long term of years in his district, is perpetually on the look-out to snatch the opportunity of making a dash for Europe which a short furlough affords. Much is also probably due to the virulence of the A n g lo - Indian press, which is a thing of the last twenty years, and has naturally provoked similar violence in the vernacular newspapers. It is in this change which has come over the service, which furnished men like John Lawrence, that our immediate difficulties in India largely consist. The attitude of the civilians threatens to render unworkable Lord fiipon’s reforms in the direction of municipal and local government, upon which India depends for political education. And it is naturally opposed to the further reforms which New India demands—a larger share in judicial and administrative work, with the economy which this would carry with it. On the other hand, Mr. Cotton foresees a greater interest taken in Indian affairs by the English people, and is confident in the success of appeals directed to a generous public opinion.”

T h e "Repo rt of t h e S ociety for P s y c h ic a l R e search on T h e o so ph y* .— Most of our readers are aware that soon after the publication of “ The Collapse of Koofc Hoomi” in our pages the Society for Psychical .Research, which had already taken up the question, resolved to send one of its members to India to investigate on the spot the evidence for the alleged phenomena, and to attempt to determine whether or not the letters which we published, as written by Madame Blavatsky, were genuine. Mr. Bichard Hodg­son, b . a ., Scholar of St. John’s College, Cambridge, undertook this duty. He arrived in Madras towards the close of 1884 and spent the following three months in making a very careful examination in Madras and other parts of India of all the circumstances con­nected with theosophical “ phenomena.” On his return to England he submitted an elaborate report to the Society at its meetings on May 29th and June 24th, 1885. The publication of this report was delayed on account of various difficulties, but this is the less to be regretted as it has enabled Mr. Hodgson to add several important notes and appendices including facsimiles of some of Madame Blavatsky’s letters. Mr. Hodgson’s report is prefaced by the report of the Committee of the Society which had been appointed in May, 1*84, “ for the purpose of taking such evidence as to the alleged phenomena; connected with the Theosophical Society as might be offered by members of .that body at the time in England, or as could

* Proceedings of the Society for Psychical research. Fart IX. London: Trubner and Co., 18&5. i rice 4s. 6d,

Notes mid Extracts. 277

be collected elsewhere.” The finding of this Committee is as follows:—

“ After hearing what Mr. Hodgson had to say on these points, and after carefully weighing all the evidence before them, the Committee unanimously arrived at the following conclusions :—

(1) That of the letters put forward by Madame Coulomb, all those, at least, which the Committee have had the opportunity of themselves examining, and of submitting to the judgment of ex­perts, are undoubtedly written by M adame Blavatsky; and suffice to prove that she has been engaged in a long continued combination with other persons to produce by ordinary means a series of ap • parent marvels for the support of the Theosophic movement-

(2). That, in particular, the shrine at & dyar, through which letters purporting to come from Mahatmas were received, was elaborately arranged with a view to the secret insertion of letters and other objects through a sliding panel at the back, and regularly used for this purpose by Madame Blavatsky or her Agents.

(3). That there is consequently a very strong general presumption that all the marvellous narratives put forward as evidence of the existence and occult power of the Mahatmas are to be explained as due either (a) to deliberate deception carried out by or at the instigation of Madame Blavatsky, or (b) to spontaneous illusion, or hallucination, or unconscious misrepresentation or invention on the part of the witnesses.

(4). That after examining Mr. Hodgson’s report of the results of his personal inquiries, they are of opinion that the testimony to these marvels is in no case sufficient, taking amount and character together, to resist the force of the general presumption above mentioned.

A ccordingly, they think that it would be a waste of time to prolong the investigation.”— Christian College Magazine.

278 Missionary literature.

M ISSIONARY LITERATURE.

The B e g in n in g s o f C h r i s t i a n i t y . A n Introduction to the Gospel according to St. Luke and the Acts o f the Apostles.

T h e F o u n d e r o f C h r is t ia n i t y a n d H is E e l ig io n . An Intro­duction to the New Testament.

E ssays on t h e B ib l e , for educated men in India. Madras : Printed fo r the Religious Tract Society.

These three books represent a forward movement in Christian evangelisation that has our heartiest approval and warmest sym­pathy. The representatives of the Bible and Tract Societies have felt that the educated young men of India are in danger of entering upon life without adequate religious guides ; and to help them to form a true estimate of Christianity a scheme has been devised by which every student who passes the matriculation examination will receive a copy of St. Luke and the Acts of the Apostles; every successful F. A, candidate, a New Testament; and every graduate, a reference Bible, with suitable companion

Missionary Literature. 279

volumes in each case. The books mentioned above are those that have been specially prepared for the purpose j and we think the Christian public in India, and especially the missionaries, should be exceedingly grateful to those, who have undertaken the diffi­cult task of writing these works.

The first two volumes are by the hand of that unwearying and careful compiler, the indefatigable secretary of the Madras Re­ligious Tract Society. The one intended for matriculation can­didates is written, as it should be, in a simple style, and gives as much icformation as young Hindus are likely to need about the life and times of Jesus Christ and His Apostles. There are prayers, hymns, and a vocabulary of proper names and difficult words. We think the teaching of Hinduism and Christianity might have been more sharply contrasted ; fcr young Hindus are very ignorant of their own religion, often giving it credit for what belongs to Christianity.

The introduction to the New Testament for successful i*. A. students is a neatly-bound well-printed volume, and deals with the events of Christ’s life and the planting of the Christian religion, in a very plain straightforward way. We miss the learned disquisi­tions respecting the different manuscripts, the various read­ings, the genuineness and authenticity of the various books, usually found in introductions ; and rightly so, for they would not be appreciated by the young Hindu scholar; but we think a few of the main principles of historical criticism should have been laid down and applied to the New Testament. Some indi­cations of this kind would be most helpful to an enquiring reader. The chapters on “ The Christian Beligion” and “ To whom shall we go?” bring out very clearly the chief doctrines of Christianity in contrast with Hinduism and other religions.

To prepare a companion volume to the Bible for graduates was a much more difficult task, and the plan pursued has been that of a series of essays written chiefly by missionaries at work in India. Some of them are compilations, but all are most ger­mane to the study of the Bible. The essays are of various merit, but all of them display considerable ability. We know the Hindu graduate has to read some very dry books, and is com­petent to deal with very abstruse questions, but if the subjects had been discussed in a more lively style, and religion presented in a more attractive form, we think the book would be more likely to accomplish its object. There is no doubt that the papers pn “ The duty of religious inquiry,” “ The character of Christ,” and “ Christianity and Hinduism,” are very able discussions, and will go far to convince the unbiased reader of the duty of embracing Christianity, but we question if the book, as a whole, is just what is wanted, though it is very difficult to suggest an improvement. As a beginning it is an admirable attempt, and we trust that those for whom it is prepared will fully appreciate the volume.

T h e Bombay Guardian gives the following extract from the Rev. Dr. Wm. Butler’s new book From Boston to Bareilly and bach. When Dr. Butler was nearing Madras on his first visit to India he longed to know whether the Hindu could have an experience of the personal love and saving power of Christ like his own, and filled with anxiety to solve this vital question he took a boat and went ashore :—

Finding my way to the Wesleyan mission house, I was fortunate in meeting the chairman of the district (their title for presiding elder), Rev. Mr. Hodson, and, after informing him who I was, and what I had come to do, I asked this venerable man, who would certainly understand me, what was the character of the religions experience of their native converts.

fle seemed surprised at the question, and asked what I meant by it. I explained tliat I wanted to know whether these Hindu people could be converted, and have the witness of the H oly Spii’it to the fact of their acceptance with God as wg in England and America enjoyed it. He looked at me and smiled, no doubt thinking I was a novice in missionary experience to put such a question But he saw I was anxious to have a candid answer. Without further remark he left the room, and soon returned, leading in a young man whom he introduced to me as one of their theological students, and quietly observing, “ Yon can ask him,” he went out again, leaving me face to face with the answer to my question.

Even at home, and amid the confidences of our pastoral life, it is not always easy for a minister to ascertain exactly the real condition of the religious life and experience of his members. Yet here I was, with an utter stranger, and he a Hindu, seeking this information.

But I was committed to the inquiry, and, finding that he could speak English, resolved to improve my opportunity. My limited time made it necessary that I should be prompt; so, after greeting the young man, I drew up two chairs and we were seated. His gracious and intelligent appearance impressed me favourably. I wished him to feel quite at ease with me, told him who I was and where I was going, and then said:—

“ You are the first converted Hindu I have ever seen, and you cannot imagine wilh what interest I look at you. I want you to help me by answering me a question or two.”

b e replied that he would try to do so. IthenEaid, ‘‘ First, then, will you tell me how you were converted to Christianity ?”

He was solemnized by the abrupt inquiry, and a shade of emotion passed over his countenance, but ne was soon self possessed again, and, after a few seconds, replied :—

“ Well, sir, I heard the missionaries preach in the bazaar, and was led to reed the Bible. 1 thus found Out that my ancestral religion was false, and that Christianity was truer' I embraced it, and was baptized. I am a communicant, and attend church ; I study the Scriptures, and am a Christian.”

Bad he stopped here, as I feared he might, and, as I afterwards learned, hundreds of “ converts” do,—perhaps because they are not taught better,—I should not have been much encouraged by the interview; but, to my delight, he went on to say that he had been led to see that he was a sinner—that his heart must be changed and

SSO Missionary Literature.

Missionary Literature. m

his transgressions against God forgiven, or his soul would be lost; and, under this deep sense of his need of mercy, he had come as a penitent to b'od; that he was soon enabled to cast himself by faith on the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ, and God took off from his conscience the heavy load of sin. and shed abroad His love in his heart. He then felt and knew that he was saved, and had ever since been happy.

How glad I was to hear this simple, clear statement—to have this evidence, that our blessed religion could be every thing to a Hindu that it was to me. I rejoiced with him, and then said :—

“ Now, that seems all right; you have given to me a reason of the hope that is in you, will you further tell me, as you have been in­troduced to me as a theological student, what are your motives for entering the Christian ministry ?”

This was a very close question, but he endured it, and modestly replied:—

“ Well, sir, the mercy that has saved me can save any one else, and I have such sympathy for those around me who are now as I once was, that I want to lead them to God for mercy, as I was led myself. The Lord has laid this upon my heart as a duty, and I dare not refuse. I must preach the G-ospel.”

I was delighted with his reply, and said : —“ I think any of our Quarterly Conferences in America

would vote you, on such evidence, a license to preach. I thank you for answering my questions ; you have done me more good than you can know, and have solved any doubt I may have had whether God could save your race and call them to his holy minis­try as truly and fully as he saves and calls his servants elsewhere. I shall never forget you ; you have greatly encouraged me for the work on which I am entering.”

About three years ago this Magazine contained eome articles on “ The necessity for a revision of the Tamil New Testament.’ ' It will be interesting to Tamil missionaries to know that a step has now been taken in the direction of revision by the publica­tion of a tentative version of S. Matthew’s Gospel prepared by Dr. Scudder. The following resolution of the Madras Auxiliary Bible Society is prefixed to the pamphlet:—

“ Resolved that this Gospel portion be printed and that copies be circulated to the European and Native Christian Tamil scholars in this Presidency and in Ceylon with a view to obtain their opinions on the same.”

The following publications have been received ;—The Hindu Excelsior Series, No. IV., by li. Swasankara

Pandiah, b . a . , t . s . , Madras; Report of the Bangalore Tract and Boole Society for 1885; A sermon preached in Ootacamund on the occasion of the death of Mr. John Hodges, with a bio­graphical sketch, by the Rev. James Gillings.

36

282 Wesleyan Methodist News,

W ESLEYAN METEODIST NEWS.

M andalay.—We have meetings enough. So far as the num­ber of meetings is concerned I am fairly filled up. It would be difficult to arrange for more. We have a dearth of men rather than of meetings. It has been a great pleasure to meet with some of our soldier Christians. Like all metal that has come through a furnace, they are good steel. A man who stands the excitement and unbalancing of a campaign is one who will not soon be made to give up his religion. Their religion is so sturdy that if anything it lacks sympathy and it is a little in danger of the Pharisee. Last night, for instance, I had at my class meeting nine men and their experiences though simple and ungrammatical were manly and genuine. My hospital visita­tion I have on the whole greatly enjoyed. I am sorry to say that a large number of the cases in hospital are there as the conse­quences of their own transgression, and I have to give them the Ten Commandments pretty straight. It has been a great joy to find others ready to receive the Word and to be able to tell them of salvation from the Lord. I have had some real good times in this way, and in several cases the evident welcome of the men has been grateful. The men who were in a tent by themselves asked me to come and hold a service for half an hour with them. We had a good time. Last Sunday I could not go and they reminded me of the fact first thing on Monday morning.—Extract from a letter by the Rev. W- B. Simpson, B. A,

N e g a p a t a m .—The annual gathering of Wesleyan missionaries labouring in the Negapatam and Trichinopoly District has this year been held in Negapatam, and has been attended by the entire ministerial staff. The business sessions commenced on January 5th and will, we believe, be brought to a conclusion on Friday, the 15th. Two additional Europeans have been added to the staff. The Rev. E. P. Blackburn, who arrived in Nov­ember last, goes to Maoargudi, and the Rev. A. A. Thomas, BA., who is expected to arrive about the end of the present month, will assist the Rev. W. H. Findlay, m . a ., in the Negapatam College, during the absence of the Rev. J. M. Thompson, who, after nine years of continuous service, goes on furlough.

Public services have been held as follows :— On Sunday, January 3rd, the Rev. Messrs. Gloria and Blackburn preached on behalf of Missions, and on Wednesday evening, January 6th, an English missionary meeting was held under the presidency of the Rev. R. S. Boulter ; and instructive and appropriate addresses were delivered by the chairman, and the Revs. T. F. Nicholson and F.W. Gostick. On Friday evening, January 8th, a Tamil missionary meeting was held, presided over by the Rev. Q. Hobday, addresses being delivered by the Revs. E. J. Gloria and R. Aseervatham.

Wesleyan Methodist News, 283

On Monday evening a meeting on behalf of the building fund of the new chapel was held, G. S. Bruce, Esq. occupying the chair. The financial statement presented by the superintendent showed that the total cost of the edifice had been Rs. 14,205, towards which Rs. 8,454 had been contributed, leaving a balance yet to be raised of Rs. 5,751. Addresses were delivered by the chairman and the Rev. Messrs. Boulter and Nicholson. Towards the liquida­tion of the debt, a collection was made at the close of the meet­ing, and the very handsome sum of Rs. 1,084 was contributed.

The various public services have been well attended and the sympathy manifested with the missionaries in the work, has been very gratifying.— Indian Methodist Times. 1

B a n g a l o r e M is s io n a r y C o n f e r e n c e .— The usual monthly meeting was held on February 1st at the house of the Rev. A. Burnet, when there was a large attendance of members and friends. After tea, during the transaction of the ordinary busi­ness, the Rev. A. Burnet expressed a strong desire to be relieved of the office of secretary which he has held for two years. The Conference however declined to accept the resignation. The Rev. E. P. Rice, B.A-, then gave a most interesting account of his visit to England and the present attitude of the English Churches towards missions. He referred to several instances of remark- able liberality and interest in our work on the part of friends at home. The interest which English Christians take in the spread of Christ’s kingdom is evidently more deep and more intelligent than it was a few years ago. A more attractive mis­sionary literature is greatly needed.

B a n g a l o r e ( E n g l is h ) .— W e have determined to have anew American organ for the Cantonment chapel. A proposal to this effect was made at the last quarterly meeting by Mr. C. Cress, Jr., and in a few minutes nearly Rs. 400 were promised. W e need about Rs. 400 more, and shall thankfully acknowledge donations. The collection at the Cantonment missionary meet­ing amounted to Rs. 83— 8— 0, being a considerable advance on former years. The meeting at St. John’s Hill yielded the noble sum of Rs. 133— 0— 0. Three pupils from the Cantonment day school passed the Special Upper Pi’imary Examination ; and two others passed the Higher Examination for women.

M ysore C ity .— The annual prizes were distributed to the children of our English Sunday school on 4th February, and in connection with the distribution a tea was given to all the child­ren of the station. There were sports for the young people in the afternoon, then came an excellent tea and after that a public meeting. The Chaplain of the station took the chair and dis­tributed the prizes. The report stated that there were 31 pupils in the school. Mrs. Grulliford is the superintendent and Mrs.

284 Wesleyan Methodist News.

Hoeken and Miss. Evers are her helpers. The pupils hare been diligently instructed in Christian knowledge, and the examination at the end of the year showed that the work was fruitful of good results. But the examination but imperfectly represents the earnest solicitude which the teachers have felt, the prayerful efforts they have made to fill the hearts of their pupils with a reverence and love for Divine things, and to make them under­stand and feel in their hearts the saving p©wer of Christ. In short the teachers have striven to instruct the minds that the hearts and lives of the pupils might be moulded and adorned by the grace of God. To aid in securing this end, addresses have been delivered at intervals in the school by ministers, and last July special services were conducted by a minister from Bangalore. At these services many of the pupils were deeply impressed and some of them we believe were brought to realize the personal and present love of the Saviour.

The meeting was a large and interesting one. It was closed with hearty thanks to the chairman for so kindly presiding, and to the ladies for the excellent tea which was so much enjoyed.

C o lo m b o .— The Committee of Review in accordance with the arrangement entered into on the division of the South Ceylon District has just been held, under the presidency of the Rev. J. Scott. Two young missionaries are expected to arrive from England in February, one for the Colombo and the other for the Kandy District. The name of the former is the Rev. Arthur Triggs and of the latter the Rev. Henry Stanley Sandford. The Committee of the Wesleyan Missionary Society has also arranged that one of the missionaries from North Cej-lon shall come to Colombo to take Mr. Strutt’s work until his return. The sym­pathy of our friends at home on account of the death of Mr. Hill is very great as is shown by the above appointments, so promptly made. We regret that the health of the Rev. P. R. Willen- burgh and the Rev. D. J. Ferdinando has so failed that both of these brethren require rest for some months.— Ceylon Friend.

Mr. Grant Duff, Governor of Madras, speaking as chair­man of the annual missionary meeting in Black T o w d , Madras, on the 22nd January, said :—

“ Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen,—It has given me much pleasure to come here, on this occasion, not only because it has enabled me to meet with you all, but because, although I have presi­ded at many meetings in many placcs, I have never chanced to preside at a Wesleyan Anniversary ; and 1 am glad to liave a natural opportunity of bearing testimony to the fact that the remark­able movement, whioh originated in Lincoln College, when the eighteenth century was still young, prepared the way for many things in England, with which I and many who think with me, have much more direct sympathy than witn that movement itself.

The work of your founders supplied a corrective to certain tendencies of the great age in which they worked which, admirable in themselves and sorely needed as they were by the world, had their bad and dangerous side. I like to think of your founders together, though, of course, the part of the elder brother in working out your organization was far the greater. I like to think of them as they are commemorated, where they ought to be commemorated, in Westminster Abbey, with the epitaph—one of the noblest ever placed upon a monument— ‘ God buries His work­men, but carries on His work.’ John Wesley showed incomparably greater genius than his younger brother in his capacity of founder. His was the political intelligence, but it well may be that the influence of Charles may go further down the ages, as it has certainly even now extended more widely, far indeed beyond the spheres in which his name is familiarly known I wonder how many persons who join in the hymn which is used in almost all Anglican churches at Christmas, ‘ Hark, the herald angels sing.’ know that it is a com­position, slightly altered, of Charles Wesley’s and I dare say, although there are some, there are not so very many readers of Hymns Ancient and Modern who are aware that * Jesu, Lover of my soul,’ is also from his pen. That hymn is probably the very best of all those which come into immediate competition with it, for it is much superior, considered as a poem to the hymn of St. Bernard, Jesu dulcis Memoria, although, having had so much shorter life in the world, it has not gathered round it the associ­ations which are connected with that composition. The most remarkable product, however, of Charles Wesley’s genius, is un­doubtedly the poem called ‘ Catholic love,’ the first two stanzas of which I will read, because the late Dean Stanley has called attention to the circumstances that it is curiously little known, and has got into very few of the well known collections. They run as follows

Weary of all this wordy strife,These notions, forms, and modes, and names

To Thee, the Way, the Truth, the Life,Whose love my simple heart inflames,

Divinely taught, at last I fly,With Thee, and Thine to live, and die.

Forth from the midst of Babel brought,Parties and sects I cast behind;

Enlarged my heart, and free my thought,Where’er the latent truth I find,

The latent truth with joy I own,And bow to Jesu’s name alone.

Now I think these lines will, one day, long after we have all van­ished from this scene, become very memorable, because they appear to me to contain an adumbration of a state of.feeling throughout Christendom, which will be much commoner in the year 2,000 than it is now, and that people will say, speaking of Charles Wesley, what some one happily said, speaking of Shakespeare, * If he did not mean it, his genius meant it.9 ”

Wesleyan Methodist News. 285

TIDINGS OF OTHER OHUROHES.

286 Tidings o f other Churches.

A M uham m adan Convert .—The following letter of the Rev. J. Bambridge, 0. M . S., to the Bishop of Lahore was publishedin the Lahore Church Gazette

“ I have just had nearly two hours, my daily portion with my Movlvie Gateclwmen, whose most interesting and encouraging case must end. up this very rambling letter, at which I have made at the least a dozen sittings. FarhatulTah is one of the most remarkable men I have ever seen, and will, I doubt not, make a Christian very far beyond the average. He is a native of 2ST. W. India, but for the last 20 years has been professor at the Dar-ul-Islam at Mecca. The way in which he was led to think about Christianity is very wonderful. One day being attracted by the title of the Mizan-ul-Raqq he took it from a shelf, where it had got accidentally mixed with other books and read the chapter on the ‘ Christian Scriptures not altered or changed.’ This chapter made a great impression upon him, and he took the book to Rahim Tolah, the head of the Institution and asked him to refute Dr. P.’s argument. R. T. was very angry at having left a Christian book about, snatched it from him and locked it up with others. Soon after R. T. was taken very ill and thought he was going to die. One day he said to F A. ‘ After all, I think the Christian religion is right and ours is wrong.’ This deepened the impression, and Farhat determined that he would leave Mecca the first opportunity and go to India in search of the truth of Christianity. He gave up his post on two years’ leave and came to India about a year ago, travelling through Cabul. For some months he was very ill with dysentery at Dera Ismail Khan, where Thwaites saw him and thought well of him. When T. went down to Bombay to see his children off home, Farhat left Dera Ismail Khan, as he did not get better, and went for a sea voyage to Muscat. As soon as he got better he came back to India, arriving at Karachi some three or four months ago. The very first morning of his arrival he found his way to the Mission House»and asked me if I could sell him a Mizan-nl -Raqq. I was much taken with a Mahomadan coming of his own free will to buy such a book, and had a very long talk with him. He opened his heart to me, and the consequence was he was soon comfortably housed in the Mission compound, with a Mizan-ul-Haqq and a Bible as his companion. He is a man of wonderful intelligence and a rare linguist. He knows something of most of the ver­naculars of ¿North India, as it was one of his special du­ties to make pilgrims from India to Mecca * pukka’ in the faith of Islam. He is a man of wide learning and a very lai’ge heart with it. I have never had such a student. He has read the Bible through, turning out all the references and copying out all the prophecies ! He has also read several religious books with me, and is now going through the Bible (Old and New Testaments) a second time. His grip of truth is simply astonishing, and I think with God’s blessing, I have been able to remove his merely intellectual and historical doubts. You may imagine what a pleasure it has been to me to teach such a man; would to God we had more like him! All being well, I hope he will be baptized next month at the

Childrens Comer. 287

meeting of our Native Church Council. I hope two Hindus will be ready to be admitted into the Church at the same time.”

O u t s id e people, who are not blinded by reb'gious prejudices, think that there is no practical wisdom in our community; otherwise, they say, Why should they so continually fight and disagree ? Practical wisdom, which, by the way, is not worldly wisdom, consists in edging off differences by mutual concessions and good feeling. If there were a dozen men endowed with this faculty among us, would they not succeed in rescuing the church from its difficulties ? An Englishman very high in the councils of the empire told us that we required one or two wise heads amongst us. Exactly so. We should know the difference between concession and principle, and we should know when to make a concession for the purpose of saving the church. There are moods which might lead a man to wish the world were at an end rather than that his principle should be sacrificed. But there are principles and principles— principles great and principles which by mutual concession be­come at best indifferent, Practical wisdom consists in sticking to the former and conceding the latter, if by so doing the church may be saved.— The Liberal.

CHILDRENS CORNER.

Cubious Omens— Sn e e zin g .— Sneezing has at all times and amongst all nations been considered of great importance. In India it is regarded as an event of extraordinary significance. “ Sneezing once or twice; when and where; standing on one foot or on two; sitting, standing, walking, or running; while coughing or expecto­rating ; by those who are well, sick, low caste or high caste; by the lame, blind or dumb; by various workmen, as burden-bearers, washermen, oil-sellers, tailors, &c., each and all have their various significations.”* Amongst most races it has been considered as a good sign, and in the Report of the “ Census of the Punjab” we learn that to sneeze is auspicious as a man cannot die for a long time after sneezing. So when a man sneezes in those parts his friends grow enthusiastic and congratulate him, saying, “ Live a hundred years.” But in most parts of India it seems to be regarded as a bad omen. When the Hindu is performing his morning ablutions in the Ganges, if he happens to sneeze before finishing his devotions, he must immediately begin his prayers over again, and he must con­tinue to repeat them from the beginning as often as they are inter­rupted by a sneeze. Also if on setting out on a journey he meets a man who sneezes, the pious Hindu will inevitably postpone his .•journey, since he knows it is a warning that misfortune will befall him if he holds on his way.

Nor are the Hindus the only people who attach importance to this, simple act. Aristotle informs us that *• Sneezing from noon to mid­night is good and from midnight to noon the reverse,” and some one

* Rowe’s “ Every Day life in India.”

else, (we forget who) “ If any one sneezes for three nights in succes­sion, it may be taken as a sign that some one will die in the house.” This reminds us of what we used to read in Lancashire Folk Lore;

Sneeze on a Monday you sneeze for danger,Sneeze on a Tuesday you kiss a stranger,Sneeze on a Wednesday you sneeze for a letter,Sneeze on a Thursday for something better,Sneeze on a Friday you’ll sneeze for sorrow,Sneeze on a Saturday, see your sweet-heart to-morrow,Sneeze on a Sunday your safety seek,The devil will have you the rest of the week.

Sneezing iB generally considered to be a sign of health. “ Two or three sneezes be wholesome” says the old author, and the proverb runs, “ He that hath sneezed thrice, turn him -out of the hospital.” According to tradition there was a habit amongst many peoples of invoking a blessing on any one who sneezed. ¡?ome Catholics attribute to St. Gregory the use of the benediction “ God bless you” after sneezing, and say that he enjoined its use during a pestilence in which sneezing was a mortal symptom, and was therefore called the death-sneeze. Aristotle mentions a similar custom among the Greeks; we know that it prevailed amongst the Hebrews and in later years amongst the Komans ; and we believe it is still prevalent amongst the American Indian tribes and many other races. In reference to this habit there is a comical story told of a schoolmaster. The Dominie kept a school where the teaching of manners formed an important part of the curriculum, and this being so he was particular to teach his pupils the cere­monies appropriate to all occasions, and amongst others, to that of sneezing. Hence he told his scholars that whenever they should hear him sneeze they must hold up their hands and exclaim, “ God save our worthy master.” It chanced that on a certain day the good Dominie and his pupils went out walking, and arriving very thirsty at a well found the bucket at the bottom. The schoolmaster volunteered to bring it up. He reached the bottom safely, and the boys proceeded to pull him up with the rope. No sooner however had his head appeared above tne well, than the poor man had the unspeakable misfortune to sneeze. The boys who had been drilled like soldiers unconsciously raised their hands, with the exclamation “ God save our worthy master,” and down went the un­fortunate Dominie to the bottom of the well. As I have already said the people of India have various notions about sneezing - some regard it as fortunate, others the reverse; some say that to sneeze once is lucky, whilst to sneeze twice or more is most unfortunate ; whilst others, forgetful of the reverence that ought to be shown to the weaker sex, say that the sneeze of a woman forbodes nought but disaster and distress. G. W. S.

. & $8 Children*8 Corner.

N. B — A correspondent wishes us to ask our readers whether they could kindly furnish him with copies of the Reports of our Mission in Madras during the earlier years of our work in that Dis­trict. He says, “ I have just found half a dozen Reports, mostly in Tamil, which ai’e very interesting.”—Ed. H. F.