,,dr4 ,,scudder',s    ,,tales ,,for     
,,little ,,readers1    ,,about ,,the    
,,heathen4        #ahdi      ,the       
following work1 so far as the ,hindoos  
are concerned1 is principally  a        
compilation from the writings of ,duff1 
,dubois1 and others4    ,should the eyes
 of any ,christian father or mother rest
 upon it1 ,i would  ask them if they    
have not a son or a daughter to dedicate
 to the  missionary work4 ,the duty of  
devoting themselves to this work of     
,christ1 or at least1 of consecrating to
 it their money1 their efforts1  and    
their prayers1 is the great duty to be  
perseveringly and prayerfully  impressed
 on the minds of our children4 ,a       
generation thus trained would1  with aid
 from on high1 soon effect the moral    
revolution of the world4  ,blessed will 
be that father1 blessed will be that    
mother1 who shall take  any part in such
 a training4 ,and ,i would add1 too1    
blessed will be that  pastor1 and       
blessed will be that ,sabbath-school    

teacher1 who shall come  up to their    
help4          ,,contents4              
,,chapter ,i4    ,general ,remarks      
,,chapter ,,ii4    ,the ,color and      
,ornaments of the ,hindoos    ,,chapter 
,,iii4    ,dress1 ,houses1 ,eating1 and 
,salutation of the ,hindoos    ,,chapter
 ,,iv4    ,marriage among the ,hindoos  
,,chapter ,v4    ,death and ,funerals   
among the ,hindoos    ,,chapter ,,vi4   
,the ,gods of the ,hindoos    ,,chapter 
,,vii4    ,the ,three ,hundred and      
,thirty ,millions of the ,gods of the   
,hindoos--,the  ,creation of the        
,universe--,the ,transmigration of      
,souls--,the different  ,hells          
,,chapter ,,viii4    ,hindoo ,castes    
,,chapter ,,ix4    ,hindoo              
,temples--,cars--,procession of ,idols  
,,chapter ,x4    ,festivals of the      
,hindoos    ,,chapter ,,xi4    ,the     
worship of the ,serpent    ,,chapter    
,,xii4    ,the ,river ,ganges           
,,chapter ,,xiii4    ,the ,goddess      
,durga    ,,chapter ,,xiv4    ,the      

,goddess ,karle    ,,chapter ,,xv4      
,self-tortures of the ,hindoos          
,chapter ,,xvi4    ,the ,suttee1 or     
,burning of ,widows    ,,chapter ,,xvii4
    ,the revengeful ,nature of the      
,hindoo ,religion    ,,chapter ,,xviii4 
,the ,deception of the ,hindoos         
,,chapter ,,xix4    ,superstition of the
 ,hindoos    ,,chapter ,,xx4    ,burmah1
 ,china1 etc41 etc4    ,,chapter ,,xxi4 
,the duty of ,praying and ,contributing 
for the ,spread of the ,gospel          
,,chapter ,,xxii4    ,personal ,labors  
among the ,heathen    ,,chapter ,,xxiii4
    ,success of the ,gospel in ,india   
and ,ceylon          ,,dr4 ,,scudder',s 
,,tales ,,for ,,little ,,readers1       
,,about ,,the ,,heathen4                
,,chapter ,i4    ,,general ,,remarks    
,my dear children--,when ,i was a little
 boy1 my dear mother taught me1  with   
the exception of the last line1 the     
following prayer3        ,now ,i lay me 
down to sleep1      ,i pray the ,lord my
 soul to keep2      ,if ,i should die   

before ,i wake1      ,i pray the ,lord  
my soul to take2      ,and this ,i ask  
for ,jesus' sake4    ,though ,i am now  
more than fifty years old1 ,i often like
 to say this  prayer before ,i go to    
sleep4 ,have you ever learned it1 my    
dear  children8 ,if you have not1 ,i    
hope that you will learn it now2 and ,i 
hope1 too1 that when you say your other 
prayers at night1 you will also  say    
this4 ,i think that you would be glad to
 see how this prayer looks in  the      
,tamul language--the language in which  
,i am now preaching the ,gospel1  and in
 which ,i hope that some of you will    
hereafter tell the heathen of  the      
,saviour4 ,the following is a           
translation of it3    ,illustration3    
,the ,lord's ,prayer in ,tamul    ,i    
wish that all the little heathen        
children knew this prayer2 but their    
fathers and mothers do not teach it to  
them4 ,their fathers and mothers  teach 
them to pray to gods of gold1 or brass1 
or stone4 ,they take them1  while they  

are very young1 to their temples1 and   
teach them to put up  their hands before
 an idol1 and say1 ,swammie4 ,swammie   
means ,lord4 ,as  idolatry is the root  
of all sin1 these children1 as you may  
suppose1 in  early life become very     
wicked4 ,they disobey their parents1    
speak bad  words1 call ill names1 swear1
 steal1 and tell lies4 ,they also throw 
themselves on the ground in anger1 and  
in their rage they tear their  hair1 or 
throw dirt over their heads1 and do many
 other wicked things4    ,let me give   
you an instance1 to show you how they   
will speak bad words4  ,a few months    
ago1 a little girl about twelve years of
 age was brought to  me1 with two tumors
 in her back4 ,to cut them out1 ,i had  
to make an  incision about eight inches 
in length2 and as one of these tumors   
had  extended under the shoulder-blade  
she suffered much before the operation  
was finished4 ,while ,i was operating   
she cried out1 ,i will pull out my      
eyes4 ,i will pull out my tongue4 ,kurn 

kertta tayvun4 ,the  translation of this
 is1 ,the blind-eyed god4 ,by this      
expression1 she  meant to say1 ,what    
kind of a god are you1 not to look upon 
me1 and help  me in my distress8 ,if    
this little girl had had a ,christian   
father to  teach her to love the        
,saviour1 she would not have used such  
bad  language4 ,but this father was even
 more wicked than his daughter1         
inasmuch as those who grow old in sin1  
are worse than those who have not       
sinned so long4 ,i never saw a more     
hard-hearted parent4 ,that he was so1   
will appear from his conduct after the  
operation was finished4 ,he left  his   
daughter1 and went off to his home1     
about forty miles distant4  ,before     
going1 he said to his wife1 or to one   
who came with her1 ,if the  child gets  
well1 bring her home2 if she dies1 take 
her away and bury  her4    ,i hope1 my  
dear children1 that when you think of   
the wicked little girl  just mentioned1 
you will be warned never to speak bad   

words4 ,god will be  very angry with    
you1 if you do4 ,did you never read what
 is said in #b  ,kings1 #b;d chapter and
 #bc;d verse1 about the little children 
who mocked  the prophet ,elijah1 and    
spoke bad words to him4 ,o1 how sorry   
must they  have felt for their conduct1 
when they saw the paws of those great   
bears  lifted up to tear them in pieces1
 and which did tear them in pieces4     
,besides all this1 little children who  
speak bad words can never go to  heaven4
 ,god will cast them into the great     
fire4 ,have you ever spoken bad  words8 
,if so1 ,god is angry with you1 and he  
will not forgive you unless  you are    
sorry that you have done so1 and seek   
his forgiveness through  the blood of   
his dear ,son4          ,,chapter ,,ii4 
,,the ,,color ,,and ,,ornaments ,,of    
,,the ,,hindoos4      ,my dear          
children--,if you will take a piece of  
mahogany in your hands1  and view its   
different shades1 you will have a pretty
 good  representation of the color of a 

large class of this heathen people--,i  
say1 of a large class1 for there is a   
great variety of colors4 ,some  appear  
to be almost of a bronze color4 ,some   
are quite black4 ,it is  difficult to   
account for the different colors which  
we often see in the  same family4 ,for  
instance1 one child will be of the      
reddish hue to which  ,i just referred2 
another will be quite dark4 ,when ,i was
 in ,ceylon1 two  sisters of this       
description joined my church4 ,one was  
called ,sevappe1 or  the red one2 the   
other was called ,karappe1 or the black 
one4    ,this people very much resemble 
the ,english and ,americans in their    
features4 ,many of them are very        
beautiful4 ,this remark will apply      
particularly to children1 and more      
especially to the children of  ,brahmins
 and others1 who are delicately brought 
up4 ,but however  beautiful any of this 
people may be1 they try to make         
themselves appear  more so1 by the      
ornaments which they wear4 ,these       

ornaments are of very  different kinds1 
and are made of gold1 silver1 brass1    
precious stones1  or glass4 ,all are    
fond of ear-rings4 ,sometimes four or   
five are worn in  each ear1 consisting  
of solid gold1 the lower one being the  
largest1 and  the upper one the         
smallest4 ,some men wear a gold ornament
 attached to  the middle of the ear1 in 
which a precious stone is inserted4     
,sometimes  they wear very large        
circular ear-rings1 made of the wire of 
copper1  around which gold is twisted so
 as to cover every part of it4 ,these   
are  frequently ornamented with precious
 stones4 ,the females1 in addition to   
ear-rings1 have an ornament which passes
 through the rim of the ear1  near the  
head1 half of it being seen above the   
rim1 and half of it below  it4 ,an      
ornamental chain is sometimes attached  
to this1 which goes some  distance back1
 when it is lost in the hair4 ,they     
sometimes also wear a  jewel in the     
middle of the rim of the ear1 and       

another on that little  forward point   
which strikes your finger when you      
attempt to put it into  the ear4 ,nose  
jewels also are worn4 ,sometimes three  
are worn at the  same time4 ,holes are  
made through each side of the lower part
 of the  nose1 and through the          
cartilage1 or that substance which      
divides the  nostrils1 through which    
they are suspended4 ,the higher and     
wealthier  females wear a profusion of  
ornaments of gold and pearls around the 
neck4    ,a very pretty ornament1 about 
three inches in diameter1 having the    
appearance of gold1 is also frequently  
worn by them on that part of the  head  
where the females in ,america put up    
their hair in a knot4 ,in  addition to  
this1 the little girls sometimes wear   
one or two similar but  smaller         
ornaments below this1 as well as an     
ornament at the end of the  long braid  
of hair which hangs down over the middle
 of their backs4  ,occasionally the     
whole1 or the greater part of this braid

 is covered  with an ornament of the    
same materials with those just          
described4 ,they  also wear an ornament 
extending from the crown of the head to 
the  forehead1 just in that spot where  
the little girls to whom ,i am writing  
part their hair4 ,attached to this1 ,i  
have seen a circular piece of gold      
filled with rubies4 ,rings are worn on  
the toes as well as on the  fingers1 and
 bracelets of gold or silver on the     
wrists4 ,anklets similar  to bracelets1 
and tinkling ornaments are worn on the  
ankles4 ,the poor1  who cannot afford to
 wear gold or silver bracelets1 have    
them made of  glass stained with        
different colors4 ,i have seen nearly a 
dozen on each  wrist4    ,the little    
boys wear gold or silver bracelets2 also
 gold or silver  anklets4 ,i just       
alluded to finger-rings4 ,i have seen a 
dozen on the same  hand4 ,in this part  
of the country1 the little opening which
 is made in  the ears of the children is
 gradually distended until it becomes   

very  large4 ,at first1 the opening is  
only large enough to admit a wire4      
,after  this has been worn for a short  
time1 a knife is introduced into the ear
  in the direction of the opening1 and  
an incision made large enough to  admit 
a little cotton4 ,this is succeeded by a
 roll of oiled cloth1 and  by a peculiar
 shrub1 the ,english name of which1 if  
it has any1 ,i do not  know4 ,when the  
hole becomes sufficiently large1 a heavy
 ring of lead1  about an inch in        
diameter1 is introduced4 ,this soon     
increases the size  of the opening to   
such an extent1 that a second1 and      
afterwards a third1  a fourth1 and a    
fifth ring are added4 ,by these weights1
 the lower parts  of the ear are drawn  
down sometimes very nearly1 or quite to 
the  shoulders4 ,not unfrequently the   
little girls1 when they run1 are obliged
  to catch hold of these rings to       
prevent the injury which they would     
receive by their striking against their 
necks4 ,i need hardly say1 that  in due 

time1 these rings are removed1 and      
ornamented rings are  substituted4    ,a
 different plan is pursued with the     
,mohammedan little girls4 ,they have    
their ears bored from the top to the    
bottom of the ear4 ,the openings  which 
are at first made are small1 and are    
never enlarged4 ,a ring is  inserted in 
each of these openings4 ,i have seen a  
little girl to-day in  whose ears ,i    
counted twenty-four rings4    ,flowers  
in great profusion are sometimes used to
 add to the adornment of  the jewels4   
,i cannot conclude my account of the    
jewels of the little girls1 without     
giving you a description of the         
appearance of a little patient of mine  
who came here a few days ago1 loaded    
with trinkets4 ,i will give it in  the  
words of my daughter1 which she wrote in
 part while the girl was  here4 ,on the 
#agth1 a little dancing-girl came to see
 us4 ,she was  adorned with many jewels1
 some of which were very beautiful4 ,the
 jewel  in the top of the ear was a     

circle1 nearly the size of a dollar4 ,it
 was  set with rubies4 ,nine pearls were
 suspended from it4 ,in the middle of   
the ear was a jewel of a diamond shape1 
set with rubies and pearls4 ,the  lowest
 jewel in the ear was shaped like a     
bell4 ,it was set with rubies1  and from
 it hung a row of pearls4 ,close by the 
ear1 suspended from the  hair1 was a    
jewel which reached below her ear4 ,it  
consisted of six bells  of gold1 one    
above the other4 ,around each was a     
small row of pearls1  which reached     
nearly to the bell below1 thus forming a
 jewel resembling  very many drops of   
pearls4 ,it is the most beautiful jewel 
that ,i ever  saw4 ,in the right side of
 her nose was a white stone1 set with   
gold1 in  the shape of a star4 ,from it 
hung a large pearl4 ,there was a hole   
bored  in the partition between the     
nostrils4 ,this hole had a jewel in it1 
about an inch in length1 in the middle  
of which was a white stone with a  ruby 
on each side4 ,it also had a ruby on the

 top4 ,from the white stone  hung       
another1 of a similar color1 attached to
 it by a piece of gold4 ,in  the left   
side of the nose was a jewel about an   
inch in diameter4 ,it was  somewhat in  
the shape of a half-moon1 and was set   
with rubies1 pearls1  emeralds1 etc4    
etc4 ,this jewel hung below her mouth4  
,on the back of her  head was a large1  
round gold piece1 three inches in       
diameter4 ,another  piece about two     
inches in diameter1 hung below this4    
,her hair was  braided in one braid1 and
 hung down her back4 ,at the bottom of  
this were  three large tassels of silk1 
mounted with gold4 ,her eyebrows and    
eyelashes were painted with black4 ,her 
neck was covered with jewels of  such   
beauty1 and of such a variety1 that it  
is impossible for me to  describe them4 
,around her ankles were large rings     
which looked like  braided silver4 ,to  
these were attached very many little    
bells1 which  rung as she walked4 ,i    
believe all dancing-girls wear these    

rings4 ,we  felt very sad when we       
thought that she was dedicated to a life
 of infamy  and shame4    ,there is an  
ornament worn by the followers of the   
god ,siva1 on their  arms1 or necks1 or 
in their hair4 ,it is called the lingum4
 ,the nature  of this is so utterly     
abominable1 that ,i cannot tell you a   
word about  it4    ,married women wear  
an ornament peculiar to themselves4 ,it 
is called the  tahly4 ,it is a piece of 
gold1 on which is engraven the image of 
some one  of their gods4 ,this is       
fastened around the neck by a short     
yellow  string1 containing one hundred  
and eight threads of great fineness4    
,various ceremonies are performed before
 it is applied1 and the gods1 of  whom  
,i will tell you something by and by1   
with their wives1 are called  upon to   
give their blessing4 ,when these        
ceremonies are finished1 the  tahly is  
brought on a waiter1 ornamented with    
sweet-smelling flowers1  and is tied by 
the bridegroom to the neck of the bride4

 ,this ornament is  never taken off1    
unless her husband dies4 ,in such a case
 she is deprived  of it1 to wear it no  
more for ever--deprived of it1 after    
various  ceremonies1 by her nearest     
female relative1 who cuts the thread by 
which  it is suspended1 and removes it4 
,after this a barber is called1 who     
shaves her head1 and she becomes1 in the
 eyes of the people1 a  despised        
widow--no more to wear any ornament     
about her neck but a  plain one--no more
 to stain her face with yellow water1   
nor to wear on  her forehead those marks
 which are considered by the natives as 
among  their chief ornaments4    ,i have
 now told you something about the jewels
 of this people4 ,i hope  that you will 
never be disposed to imitate them1 and  
load your bodies  with such useless     
things4 ,they are not only useless1 but 
tend to  encourage pride and vanity4    
,all that you need is1 the ,pearl of    
great  price1 even ,jesus4 ,adorn       
yourself with this ,pearl1 and you will 

be  beautiful indeed--beautiful even in 
the sight of your heavenly ,father4     
,have you this ,pearl of great price1 my
 dear children8 ,tell me1 have you  this
 ,pearl of great price8 ,if you have    
not1 what have you8    ,i just now      
alluded to those marks which the natives
 consider among their  chief ornaments4 
,these are different among different    
sects4 ,the  followers of ,siva rub     
ashes on their foreheads4 ,these ashes  
are  generally prepared by burning what 
in the ,tamul language is called        
,tamul3 chaarne4 ,they also apply these 
ashes in streaks1 generally  three      
together1 on their breasts1 and on their
 arms4 ,some besmear their  whole bodies
 with them4    ,the followers of        
,vrishnoo wear a very different ornament
 from that just  described4 ,it consists
 of a perpendicular line drawn on the   
forehead1  generally of a red or yellow 
color1 and a white line on each side of 
it1  which unite at the bottom with the 
middle line1 and form a trident4        

,another ornament consists of a small   
circle1 which is called pottu4 ,this  is
 stamped in the middle of the forehead4 
,sometimes it is red1 sometimes  yellow 
or black4 ,large numbers of women1 in   
this part of the country1  wash their   
faces with a yellow water1 made so by   
dissolving in it a  paste made of a     
yellow root and common shell-lime4 ,the 
,brahmins  frequently instead of rubbing
 ashes1 draw a horizontal line over the 
middle of their foreheads1 to show that 
they have bathed and are pure4          
,sometimes the people ornament          
themselves with a paste of sandal-wood4 
,they rub themselves from head to foot  
with it4 ,this has a very  odoriferous  
smell4    ,when the people are loaded   
with jewels1 and covered with the marks 
which  ,i have just described they think
 themselves to be highly ornamented ,but
  after all1 they are like unto whited  
sepulchres1 which indeed appear         
beautiful outward1 but are within full  
of dead men's bones1 and of all         

uncleanness4 ,the ,pearl of great price1
 to which ,i before alluded1  the only  
,pearl which is of any value in the     
sight of ,him who looketh at  the heart1
 and not at the outward appearance1 they
 possess not4 ,millions  in this        
,eastern world have never even heard of 
it4 ,o how incessantly  ought you to    
pray that they may come into possession 
of it4 ,how gladly  should you give your
 money to send it to them4 ,i wish1 in  
this place1 to  ask you one question4   
,who of you expect1 by and by1 to become
  missionaries to this land1 to tell    
this people of the ,pearl of great      
price8          ,,chapter ,,iii4        
,,dress1 ,,houses1 ,,eating1 ,,and      
,,salutation ,,of ,,the ,,hindoos4      
,my dear ,children--,the dress of the   
,hindoos is very simple4 ,a single      
piece of cloth uncut1 about three yards 
in length and one in width1  wrapped    
round the loins1 with a shawl thrown    
over the shoulders1  constitutes the    
usual apparel of the people of          

respectability4 ,these  garments are    
often fringed with red silk or gold4    
,the native ladies  frequently almost   
encase themselves in cloth or silk4     
,under such  circumstances1 their cloths
 are perhaps twenty yards in length4    
,most of  the native gentlemen now wear 
turbans1 an ornament which they have    
borrowed from the ,mohammedans ,this    
consists of a long piece of very fine   
stuff1 sometimes twenty yards in length 
and one in breadth4 ,with this  they    
encircle the head in many folds4        
,those who are employed by ,european or 
,mohammedan princes1 wear a long  robe  
of muslin1 or very fine cloth4 ,this    
also1 is in imitation of the            
,mohammedans1 and was formerly unknown  
in the country4    ,the houses of the   
,hindoos are generally very plainly     
built4 ,in the  country1 they are       
commonly made of earth1 and thatched    
with straw4 ,in  the cities1 they are   
covered with tiles4 ,the kitchen is     
situated in the  most retired part of   

the house4 ,in the houses of the        
,brahmins1 the  kitchen-door is always  
barred1 to prevent strangers from       
looking upon  their earthen vessels2 for
 if they should happen to see them1     
their look  would pollute them to such a
 degree that they must be broken to     
pieces4  ,the hearth is generally placed
 on the south-west side1 which is said  
to  be the side of the god of fire1     
because they say that this god  actually
 dwells there4    ,the domestic customs 
of this people are very different from  
ours4 ,the  men and women do not eat    
together4 ,the husband first eats1 then 
the  wife4 ,the wife waits upon the     
husband ,after she has cooked the rice1 
she  brings a brass plate1 if they are  
possessors of one2 or if not1 a piece   
of a plantain-leaf1 and puts it down on 
the mat before him4 ,she then  bails out
 the rice1 places it upon the leaf1 and 
afterwards pours the  currie over it4   
,this being done1 the husband proceeds  
to mix up the  currie and the rice with 

his hands1 and puts it into his mouth4  
,he never  uses a knife and fork1 as is 
customary with us4 ,the currie of which 
,i  have spoken is a sauce of a yellow  
color1 owing to the munchel1 a  yellow  
root which they put in it4 ,this and    
onions1 kottamaly-seeds  mustard1       
serakum1 pepper1 etc41 constitute the   
ingredients of the  currie4 ,some add to
 these ghea1 or melted butter1 and      
cocoa-nut milk4 ,by  the cocoa-nut milk1
 ,i do not mean the water of the        
cocoa-nut4  ,this--except in the very   
young cocoa-nut1 when it is a most      
delicious  beverage--is never used4 ,the
 milk is squeezed from the meat of the  
cocoa-nut1 after it has been reduced to 
a pulp by means of an indented  circular
 iron which they use for this purpose4  
,after the husband has eaten1 the wife  
brings water for him to wash his  hands4
 ,this being done1 she supplies him with
 vettalay1 paakku1  shell-lime1 and     
tobacco1 which he puts into his mouth as
 his dessert4  ,the vettalay is a very  

spicy leaf4 ,why they use paakku1 ,i do 
not know4  ,it is a nut1 which they cut 
into small pieces1 but it has not much  
taste4 ,sometimes the wife brings her   
husband a segar4 ,this people1 ,i am    
sorry to say1 are great smokers and     
chewers1 practices of which ,i hope     
that you1 my dear children1 will never  
be guilty4 ,in ,ceylon1 it is  customary
 for females to smoke4 ,frequently1     
after the husband has smoked  for a     
while1 he hands the segar to his wife4  
,she then puts it into her  mouth1 and  
smokes4    ,several years ago1 one of   
the schoolmasters in that island became 
a  ,christian4 ,after he had partaken of
 the ,lord's supper1 his wife           
considered him so defiled1 that she     
would not put his segar into her  mouth 
for a month afterwards4 ,she1 however1  
has since become a  ,christian4    ,i   
spoke just now of the plantain-leaf4    
,this leaf is sometimes six feet  long1 
and in some places a foot and a half    
wide4 ,it is an unbroken leaf1  with a  

large stem running through the middle of
 it4 ,it is one of the  handsomest of   
leaves4 ,pieces enough can be torn from 
a single leaf1 to  take the place of a  
dozen plates4 ,when quite young1 it is  
an excellent  application to surfaces   
which have been blistered4    ,when this
 people eat1 they do not use tables and 
chairs4 ,they sit down  on mats1 and    
double their legs under them1 after the 
manner of our  friends the tailors in   
,america1 when they sew4 ,this is the   
way in which  the natives as a general  
thing1 sit in our churches4 ,it is not  
common to  have benches or pews for     
them4 ,carpenters and other tradesmen   
also sit  down either on a board1 or on 
the ground1 or on their legs1 when they 
work4 ,it would divert you much to see  
their manoeuvring4 ,if a carpenter1  for
 instance1 wants to make a little peg1  
he will take a small piece of  board1   
and place it in an erect position       
between his feet1 the soles of  which   
are turned inward so as to press upon   

the board4 ,he then takes  his chisel in
 one hand1 and his mallet in the other1 
and cuts off a  small piece4 ,afterwards
 he holds the piece in one hand1 and    
while he  shapes it with his chisel with
 the other1 he steadies it by pressing  
it  against his great toe4              
,illustration    ,the blacksmiths1 with 
the exception of those who use the      
sledge-hammer1  sit as do the carpenters
 while they hammer the iron4 ,i wish you
 could  see them at work with their     
simple apparatus4 ,they have small      
anvils1  which they place in a hole made
 in a log of wood which is buried in the
  ground4 ,they do not use such bellows 
as you see in ,america4    ,theirs      
consist of two leather bags1 about a    
foot wide and a foot and a  half long1  
each having a nozzle at one end4 ,the   
other end is left open  to admit the    
air4 ,when they wish to blow the fire1  
they extend these  bags to let in the   
air4 ,they then close them by means of  
the thumb on  one side1 and the fingers 

on the other1 and press them down       
towards the  nozzle of the bellows1     
which forces the air through them into  
the fire4  ,i should have said before1  
that the nozzle of the bellows passes   
through  a small semicircular mound of  
dried mud4    ,i mentioned that the     
natives do not use tables and chairs in 
their  houses4 ,neither do they1 as a   
general thing1 use bedsteads4 ,they have
 no  beds4 ,they sleep on mats1 which   
are spread down on the floor4 ,sometimes
  they use a cotton bolster for their   
heads4 ,more generally their pillows    
are hard boards1 which they put under   
the mat4 ,in addition to cooking1  the  
females have to prepare the rice for    
this purpose1 by taking it out  of the  
husk4 ,this they do by beating it in a  
mortar about two feet high4  ,the pestle
 with which they pound it1 is about five
 feet long1 made of  wood1 with an iron 
rim around the lower part of it4 ,three 
women can  work at these mortars at the 
same time4 ,of course they have to be   

very  skilful in the use of the pestle1 
so as not to interfere with each        
others' operations4 ,sometimes1 while   
thus engaged1 the children1 who are     
generally at play near their mothers1   
put their hands on the edge of the      
mortars4 ,in such cases1 when the pestle
 happens to strike the edge1  their     
fingers are taken off in a moment4      
,the ,hindoos have many modes of        
salutation4 ,in some places they raise  
their right hand to the heart4 ,in      
others1 they simply stretch it out      
towards the person who is passing1 if   
they know him1 for they never  salute   
persons with whom they are not          
acquainted4    ,in many places there is 
no show of salutation4 ,when they meet  
their  acquaintances they content       
themselves by saying a friendly word or 
two  in passing1 and then pursue their  
way4 ,they have borrowed the word  salam
 from the ,mohammedans4 ,they salute    
both ,mohammedans and ,europeans  with  
this word1 at the same time raising     

their hand to the forehead4  ,when they 
address persons of high rank1 they give 
them their salam  thrice1 touching the  
ground as often with both hands1 and    
then lifting  them up to their          
foreheads4    ,the other castes salute  
the ,brahmins by joining the hands and  
elevating  them to the forehead1 or     
sometimes over the head4 ,it is         
accompanied with  andamayya1 which      
means1 ,hail1 respected lord4 ,the      
,brahmins stretch out  their hands and  
say1 aaseervaathum--benediction4        
,another very respectful kind of        
salutation consists in lowering both    
hands to the feet of the person to be   
honored1 or even in falling-down  and   
embracing them4    ,of all the forms of 
salutation1 the most respectful is the  
shaashtaangkum1 or prostration1 in which
 the feet1 the knees1 the  stomach1 the 
head1 and the arms1 all touch the       
ground4 ,in doing this1  they throw     
themselves at their whole length on the 
ground1 and stretch  out both arms above

 their heads4 ,this is practised before 
priests1 and  in the presence of an     
assembly1 when they appear before it to 
beg pardon  for a crime4    ,relations1 
who have long been separated1 testify   
their joy when they  meet by chucking   
each other under the chin1 and shedding 
tears of joy4  ,i am not aware that     
grown persons ever kiss each other4     
,sometimes  mothers1 or other           
individuals1 will put their noses to the
 cheeks of  little children1 and draw   
the air through them1 just as we do when
 we  smell any thing which is agreeable4
 ,at other times they will apply the    
thumb and first finger to the cheek of  
the child1 and then apply them to  their
 own noses1 and1 as it were1 smell them4
    ,the women1 as a mark of respect1   
turn their backs1 or at least their     
faces aside1 when they are in the       
presence of those whom they highly      
esteem4 ,they are never permitted to sit
 in the presence of men4 ,a  married    
woman cannot do this1 even in the       

presence of her husband4    ,if a person
 meets another of high rank1 he must    
leave the path1 if on  foot1 or alight1 
if on horseback1 and remain standing    
until he has  passed4 ,he must at the   
same time take off his slippers4 ,he    
also must  take off his slippers when he
 enters a house4 ,should he fail to do  
this1  it would be considered a great   
impropriety4    ,in addressing a person 
of note1 they mast keep at a certain    
distance  from him1 and cover their     
mouths with their hands while they are  
speaking1 lest their breath1 or a       
particle of moisture1 should escape  to 
trouble him4    ,when the ,hindoos visit
 a person of distinction for the first  
time1  civility requires them to take   
some present as a mark of respect1 or to
  show that they come with a friendly   
intention2 especially if they wish  to  
ask some favor in return4 ,when they    
have not the means of making  large     
presents1 they carry with them sugar1   
plantains1 milk1 and other  things of   

this kind4    ,in case of mourning1     
visits must always be made1 though at a 
distance of  a hundred miles4 ,letters  
of condolence would by no means be      
received as  a substitute4              
,,chapter ,,iv4    ,,marriage ,,among   
,,the ,,hindoos4      ,my dear          
,children--,marriage1 to the ,hindoos is
 the greatest event of  their lives4 ,in
 the celebration of it1 many ceremonies 
are performed ,of  these ,i will mention
 some of the most important4 ,if the    
father of the  young girl is a ,brahmin1
 and if he is rich and liberal1 he will 
frequently bear all the expenses of the 
marriage of his daughter4 ,to  give a   
daughter in marriage and to sell her1   
are about the same thing4  ,almost every
 parent makes his daughter an article of
 traffic1 refusing  to give her up until
 the sum of money for which he consented
 to let her  go1 is paid4 ,men of       
distinction generally lay out this money
 for jewels1  which they present to     
their daughters on their wedding-day4   

,you will  infer from what ,i have just 
said1 that the parties to be married    
have  nothing to do in the choice of    
each other4    ,there are properly but  
four months in the year in which        
marriages can  take place1 namely       
,march1 ,april1 ,may1 and ,june4 ,this  
probably arises  from the circumstance  
that these are the hottest seasons of   
the  year--the seasons when the people  
have more leisure to attend to them4    
,from the harvest1 also1 which has just 
been gathered in1 they are  provided    
with means to perform the various       
ceremonies4    ,the marriage ceremony   
lasts five days4 ,the bride and         
bridegroom are  first placed under a    
puntel1 a kind of bower1 covered with   
leaves1 in  front of the house4 ,this is
 superbly adorned4 ,the married women   
then  come forward1 and perform the     
ceremony called arati1 which is as      
follows4 ,upon a plate of copper1 they  
place a lamp made of a paste from  rice 
flour4 ,it is supplied with oil1 and    

lighted4 ,they then take hold of  the   
plate with both hands1 and raise it as  
high as the heads of the  couple to be  
married1 and describe a number of       
circles with the plate  and lamp4 ,this 
is to prevent the evil of any jealous   
looks1 which  certain persons might     
make4 ,the ,hindoos believe that great  
evils arise  from wicked looks4 ,they   
consider that even the gods themselves  
are not  out of the reach of malicious  
eyes2 and therefore after they have been
  carried through the streets1 the      
ceremony of arati is always performed1  
to efface the evil which they may have  
suffered from these looks4    ,it ought 
to have been mentioned1 that before any 
thing is done1 they  place an image of  
,pullian under the puntel4 ,this god is 
much honored  because he is much feared4
 ,and although the great ugliness of his
  appearance has hitherto kept him      
without a wife1 they never fail to pay  
him the greatest attention1 lest he     
should in some way or other injure      

them4    ,after arati and many other    
ceremonies are performed1 the kankanan1 
which  is merely a bit of saffron1 is   
tied to the right wrist of the young    
man1 and to the left wrist of the girl4 
,this is done with great  solemnity4    
,another remarkable ceremony succeeds   
this4 ,the young man  being seated with 
his face towards the east1 his future   
father-in-law  supposes that he beholds 
in him the great ,vrishnoo4 ,with this  
impression1 he offers him a sacrifice1  
and then1 making him put both of  his   
feet in a new dish filled with cow-dung1
 he first washes them with  water1 then 
with milk1 and again with water1        
accompanying the whole with  suitable   
muntrums or prayers4    ,after many     
other ceremonies1 he takes the hand of  
his daughter and puts  it into that of  
his son-in-law4 ,he then pours water    
over them in honor  of ,vrishnoo4 ,this 
is the most solemn of all the           
ceremonies1 being the  token of his     
resigning his daughter to the authority 

of the young man4  ,she must be         
accompanied with three gifts1 namely1   
one or more cows1 some  property in     
land1 and a salagrama1 which consists of
 some little  amulet stones in high     
esteem among the ,brahmins4 ,this       
ceremony being  finished1 the tahly is  
brought to be fastened to the neck of   
the bride4  ,this1 as ,i before said1 is
 presented on a salver1 decked and      
garnished  with sweet-smelling flowers4 
,incense is offered to it1 and it is    
presented to the assistants each of whom
 touches it and invokes  blessings upon 
it4 ,the bride then turning towards the 
,east1 the  bridegroom takes the tahly1 
repeats a muntrum or prayer aloud1 and  
ties  it around her neck4    ,fire is   
then brought in1 upon which the         
bridegroom offers up the  sacrifice of  
homam1 which consists of throwing boiled
 rice with melted  butter upon the fire4
 ,he then takes his bride by the hand1  
and they walk  three times around it1   
while the incense is blazing4    ,there 

is another ceremony1 which1 perhaps1    
ought to be mentioned1 as it  is        
considered by some to be one of much    
importance4 ,two baskets of  bamboo are 
placed close together1 one for the      
bride1 the other for the  bridegroom4   
,they step into them1 and two other     
baskets being brought1  filled with     
ground rice1 the husband takes up one   
with both hands and  pours the contents 
over the head of the bride4 ,she does   
the same to him4  ,in the marriage of   
great princes pearls are sometimes used 
instead of  rice4    ,on the evening of 
the third day1 when the constellations  
appear1 the  astrologer points out to   
the married pair a very small star1     
close to  the middle or in the tail of  
,ursa ,major1 which he directs them to  
worship1 and which he says is the wife  
of ,vasestha4    ,while the assembled   
guests1 are dining1 the bridegroom and  
the bride  also partake1 and eat        
together from the same plate4 ,this is a
 token of  the closest union4 ,this is  

the only instance in which they ever eat
  together4    ,after all the ceremonies
 are finished1 a procession is made     
through the  streets of the village ,it 
commonly takes place in the night1 by   
torchlight1 accompanied with fire-works4
 ,the newly married pair are  seated in 
one palanquin with their faces towards  
each other1 both richly  dressed4 ,the  
bride1 in particular1 is generally      
covered with jewels and  precious       
stones4    ,the procession moves slowly2
 and their friends and relations come   
out of  their houses1 as they pass2 the 
women hailing the married couple with   
the ceremony of arati1 and the men with 
presents of silver1 fruits1  sugar1 and 
betel4 ,i once witnessed one of these   
marriage processions in  the streets of 
,madras at night1 but can give you but  
little idea of its  magnificence4 ,the  
lamps used on the occasion could not be 
numbered4 ,the  shrubbery1 which was    
drawn on carts or other vehicles1       
appeared  exceedingly beautiful1 in     

consequence of the light reflected from 
the  lamps4 ,intermingled with this     
shrubbery1 were to be seen little girls 
elegantly dressed1 and adorned with     
flowers on their heads4 ,many           
elephants1 with their trappings of gold 
and silver and red1 formed a  part of   
the procession4 ,fire-works were also   
added to make the scene  more brilliant4
          ,,chapter ,v4    ,,death ,,and
 ,,funerals ,,of ,,the ,,hindoos4       
,my dear ,children--,the death of a     
,hindoo is followed by many ridiculous  
ceremonies4 ,i will give you a          
description of a few1 connected with the
  death of one who has moved in one of  
the higher ranks--of a ,brahmin4        
,illustration    ,when it is evident    
that a ,brahmin has but a little time to
 live1 a space  is prepared with earth1 
well spread with cow-dung1 over which a 
cloth1  that has never been worn1 is    
spread4 ,the dying man is placed upon   
this  at full length4 ,another cloth is 
wrapped around his loins4 ,this being   

done1 the ceremony of expiating his sins
 is performed as follows4 ,the  chief of
 the funeral brings on one plate some   
small pieces of silver or  copper coin1 
and on another the punchakaryam1 etc4 ,a
 little of this  punchakaryam is then   
put into his mouth1 and1 by virtue of   
this nauseous  draught1 the body is     
perfectly purified4 ,besides this1 there
 is a  general cleansing1 which is      
accomplished by making the dying man    
recite  within himself1 if he cannot    
speak1 the proper muntrums1 by which he 
is  delivered from all his sins4 ,after 
this1 a cow is introduced with her      
calf4 ,her horns are decorated with     
rings of gold or brass1 and her neck    
with garlands of flowers4 ,a pure cloth 
is laid over her body4 ,thus  decked1   
she is led up to the sick man1 who takes
 hold of her tail4  ,prayers are now    
offered up that the cow may conduct him1
 by a blessed  path1 to the next world4 
,he then makes a gift of a cow to a     
,brahmin4  ,this gift is considered     

indispensable to enable the soul to go  
over the  river of fire1 which it is    
said all must pass after death4 ,those  
who  have made this gift1 are met by one
 of these favored creatures the  moment 
they arrive at the bank of the stream1  
and by her help1 they are  enabled to   
pass without injury from the flames4    
,as soon as the breath has left his     
body1 all who are present must weep  for
 a reasonable time1 and join in         
lamentations together4    ,after various
 ceremonies1 the body is washed1 and a  
barber is called to  shave his head4 ,he
 is then clad with his finest clothes   
and adorned with  jewels4 ,he is rubbed 
with sandal-wood where the body is      
uncovered1 and  the accustomed mark is  
put upon his forehead4 ,thus dressed he 
is placed  on a kind of state bed1 where
 he remains until he is carried to the  
pile4    ,after every preparation is    
made to bear away the corpse1 the person
 who  is to conduct the funeral1 with   
the assistance of some relative or      

friend1 strips it of its clothing and   
jewels1 and covers it with a            
handkerchief provided for the occasion4 
,the corpse is then placed on a  litter4
 ,those who die in a state of marriage1 
have their faces left  uncovered4 ,the  
litter1 adorned with flowers and        
foliage1 and sometimes  decked with     
valuable stuffs1 is borne by four       
,brahmins4 ,the procession  is arranged 
as follows4    ,the chief of the funeral
 marches foremost1 carrying fire in a   
vessel4  ,the body follows1 attended by 
the relations and friends1 without their
  turbans1 and with nothing on their    
heads but a bit of cloth1 in token of   
mourning4 ,the women never attend the   
funeral1 but remain in the house1  where
 they set up a hideous cry when the     
corpse is taken out4 ,while  advancing  
on the road1 the custom is to stop three
 times on the way1  and1 at each pause1 
to put into the mouth of the dead a     
morsel of  unboiled rice1 moistened4    
,the object of stopping is considered to

 be  very important4 ,it is not without 
reason2 for they say that persons       
supposed to be dead have been alive1 or 
even when lifeless have been  restored2 
and sometimes1 also1 it has happened    
that the gods of the  infernal regions  
have mistaken their aim1 and seized one 
person instead  of another4 ,in any     
view1 it is right to afford the         
opportunity for  correcting these       
mistakes1 so as not to expose to the    
flames a person  who is still alive4    
,hence the propriety of these pauses1   
each of which  continues half of the    
quarter of an hour4    ,having arrived  
at the place for burning the dead1 they 
dig a trench  about six or seven feet in
 length4 ,this is consecrated by the    
muntrums4  ,it is slightly sprinkled    
with water to lay the dust1 and a few   
pieces of  money in gold are scattered  
upon it4 ,here the pile is erected of   
dried  wood1 on which the body is laid  
out at full length4 ,over the body a    
quantity of twigs are laid1 which are   

sprinkled with punchakaryam ,the  chief 
of the funeral then takes on his        
shoulders a pitcher of water1 and  goes 
around the pile three times1 letting the
 water run through a hole  made in it4  
,after this he breaks the pitcher in    
pieces near the head of  the corpse4    
,at last the torch is brought for       
setting fire to the pile1 and is handed 
to the chief of the funeral4 ,before he 
receives it1 however1 he is  obliged to 
make some grimaces to prove his sorrow4 
,he rolls about on the  ground1 beats   
his breast1 and makes the air resound   
with his cries4 ,the  assistants also   
cry1 or appear to cry4 ,fire being      
applied to the four  corners of the     
pile1 the crowd retire1 except the four 
,brahmins who  carried the body2 they   
remain until the whole is consumed4     
,the funerals of the ,sudras differ in  
some particulars from those of the      
,brahmins4 ,deafening sounds of drums1  
trumpets1 and other instruments of      
music1 not in use among the ,brahmins1  

accompany their funerals4 ,to  increase 
the noise1 they sometimes shoot off an  
instrument which  somewhat resembles a  
small cannon4 ,i do not now think of any
 other  particular worthy of mention4   
,by the ceremonies which are performed  
at their funerals1 this wretched  people
 expect to secure the pardon of all the 
sins of those who have  died4 ,alas1    
what a delusion6 ,o1 that ,christians   
had sent the ,gospel to  this dark land 
in the days when they sent it to our    
heathen fathers4  ,then might the       
,hindoos now be seeking the expiation of
 their sins1  through the blood of the  
ever-blessed ,redeemer4 ,of this        
,redeemer1  however1 they know nothing4 
,they enter eternity1 not that their    
souls  may be consumed as their bodies  
have been1 but to endure the flames of  
divine wrath for ever and ever4 ,alas1  
alas1 that it should be so6 ,o1  that   
the generation of ,christians now living
 would lay these things to  heart1 and  
do what they can1 through grace1 to     

rescue those who are yet  within the    
reach of hope from so tremendous a doom4
 ,what1 my dear  children1 will you do  
for this purpose8          ,,chapter    
,,vi4    ,,the ,,gods ,,of ,,the        
,,hindoos4      ,my dear ,children--,the
 word heathen is applied to those who   
worship  idols1 or who do not know any  
thing about the true ,god4 ,this is the 
case  with this people4 ,they say that  
there is one supreme being1 whom they   
call ,,brahm2 but he is very different  
from ,jehovah1 and is never  worshipped4
 ,generally1 he is fast asleep4 ,in the 
place of ,brahm1 they  worship many     
gods--gods of all colors3 some black1   
some white1 some  blue1 some red--gods  
of all shapes and sizes3 some in the    
shape of  beasts1 some in the shape of  
men2 some partly in the shape of beasts1
  and partly in the shape of men1 having
 four1 or ten1 or a hundred1 or a       
thousand eyes1 heads1 and hands4 ,they  
ride through the air on elephants1      
buffaloes1 lions1 sheep1 deer1 goats1   

peacocks1 vultures1 geese1  serpents1   
and rats4 ,they hold in their hands all 
kinds of weapons1  offensive and        
defensive1 thunderbolts javelins1       
spears1 clubs1 bows1  arrows1 shields1  
flags1 and shells4 ,they are of all     
employments4 ,there  are gods of the    
heavens above and of the earth below1   
gods of wisdom and  of folly1 gods of   
war and of peace1 gods of good and of   
evil1 gods of  pleasure1 gods of cruelty
 and wrath1 whose thirst must be        
satiated with  torrents of blood4 ,these
 gods fight and quarrel with one        
another4 ,they  lie1 steal1 commit      
adultery1 murder1 and other crimes4     
,they pour out  their curses when they  
cannot succeed in their wicked plots1   
and invent  all kinds of lying tales to 
hide their wickedness4    ,there are    
three principal gods1 who compose what  
is called the ,hindoo  triad4 ,their    
names are ,brumha1 ,vrishnoo1 and ,siva4
 ,they were somehow  drawn from ,brahm's
 essence1 on one occasion when he was   

awake4 ,brumha1  they say1 is the       
creator of the world1 ,vrishnoo the     
preserver1 and ,siva  the destroyer4    
,brumha has no temple erected for his   
worship1 on account  of a great         
falsehood which he told4 ,i will tell   
you what it was4 ,once1  as it is said1 
there was a dispute between him and     
,vrishnoo1 as to who  is the greatest4  
,while thus disputing1 ,siva appeared   
between the two as  a fire-post and told
 them that he who would find the bottom 
or the top  of the post first1 would    
show that he is the greatest4 ,vrishnoo 
immediately changed himself into a hog1 
and began to root up the earth  with the
 hope of finding the bottom of the post4
 ,brumha changed himself  into a swan1  
flew up towards the top of the post1 and
 cried out1 ,i have  found it1 when he  
had not4 ,this1 you know1 my dear       
children1 was a  falsehood4 ,for this   
falsehood1 it is said1 no temple is     
erected for his  worship4    ,vrishnoo  
was a thief and a liar4 ,he was once    

dwelling in the house of a  dairyman1   
and he used constantly to be stealing   
butter and curdled milk  from the       
dairyman's wife4 ,she did not know1 for 
a long time1 what became  of her butter 
and curdled milk2 but at last she found 
out that ,vrishnoo  was the thief4 ,to  
punish him for his theft1 she tied him  
to a rice  mortar4    ,siva's conduct   
was very bad4 ,i will tell you but one  
thing about him4 ,on  one occasion he   
was playing at cards with his wife      
,parvathe4 ,vrishnoo  was appointed to  
determine who was the best player4      
,after playing for a  little season     
,parvathe won the game4 ,siva then      
beckoned to ,vrishnoo to  declare that  
he1 instead of ,parvathe1 had won it4   
,this he did4 ,in  consequence of this  
falsehood1 he was cursed by ,parvathe1  
and changed  into a snake4    ,and now1 
my dear children1 why do ,i tell you    
about these gods8 ,i tell  you for the  
purpose of making you thankful that you 
were born in a  ,christian land1 where  

you have the ,bible to teach you better 
things4 ,had  you not the ,bible1 you   
would worship just such wretched beings 
as these  poor ,hindoos worship4        
,perhaps you know that our ,saxon       
fathers1 before  they had the ,bible1   
were as great idolaters as are this     
people4 ,they  worshipped ,thor and     
,woden and other similar idols1 and they
 were even in  the habit of offering up 
human sacrifices ,surely1 if there is   
any thing  which should make you give   
your hearts to your ,saviour and love   
him  above all things1 it is ,god's gift
 of the ,bible to you4                  
,,chapter ,,vii4    ,,the ,,three       
,,hundred ,,and ,,thirty ,,millions ,,of
 ,,the ,,gods ,,of ,,the                
,,hindoos--,,the  ,,creation ,,of ,,the 
,,universe--,,the ,,transmigration ,,of 
,,souls--,,the ,,different  ,,hells4    
,my dear children--,i told you that in  
one of those seasons when ,brahm was    
awake1 ,brumha1 ,vrishnoo1 and ,siva    
were somehow drawn from ,brahm's        

essence4 ,the three hundred and thirty  
millions of the gods of the  ,hindoos   
were also drawn from this essence2 as   
were all the atoms which  compose the   
earth1 the sun1 moon1 and stars4 ,at    
first1 these atoms were  all in         
disorder4 ,for the purpose of reducing  
them to order1 ,brahm  created what is  
called the great mundane egg4 ,into this
 egg he himself  entered1 under the     
form1 of ,brumha1 taking with him all   
these atoms4  ,after remaining in this  
egg four thousand three hundred millions
 of  years1 to arrange these atoms1 he  
burst its shell and came out1 with a    
thousand heads1 a thousand eyes1 and a  
thousand arms4 ,with him1 he  brought   
out all those harmonized atoms1 which1  
when separated1 produced  this beautiful
 universe that we see above and around  
us4    ,the universe1 as it came from   
the mundane egg1 is generally divided   
into  fourteen worlds3 seven inferior or
 lower worlds1 and seven superior or    
upper worlds4 ,the seven lower worlds   

are filled with all kinds of wicked  and
 loathsome creatures4 ,our earth1 which 
is the first of the upper  worlds1 it is
 said1 is flat4 ,the following figure   
will give you some  idea of it4         
,illustration3 ,concentric circles with 
labels on each from outermost to        
innermost3 ,sea of ,sweet ,water4 ,sea  
of ,milk4 ,sea of ,sour ,curds4 ,sea of 
,clarified ,butter4 ,sea of ,spirituous 
,liquors4 ,sea of ,sugar ,cane ,juice4  
,sea of ,salt ,water4 ,earth4    ,that  
part of the earth which is inhabited    
consists of seven circular  islands1 or 
continents each of which is surrounded  
by a different ocean4  ,the island in   
the centre1 where we dwell1 is          
surrounded by a sea of salt  water1 the 
second island is surrounded by a sea of 
sugar-cane juice1 the  third island is  
surrounded by a sea of spirituous       
liquors1 the fourth is  surrounded by a 
sea of clarified butter1 the fifth is   
surrounded by a  sea of sour curds1 the 
sixth is surrounded by a sea of milk1   

the seventh  is surrounded by a sea of  
sweet water4    ,in all the worlds above
 ours are mansions where the gods       
reside4 ,in the  third is the heaven of 
,indra4 ,this is the heaven to which it 
is said the  widow goes1 after she has  
burned herself to death on the funeral  
pile of  her husband ,its palaces are of
 the purest gold4 ,and such are the     
quantities of diamonds1 and jasper1 and 
sapphire1 and emerald1 and all  manner  
of precious stones there1 that it shines
 with a brightness  superior to that of 
twelve thousand suns4 ,its streets are  
of the  clearest crystal1 fringed with  
gold4 ,in the seventh1 or the highest of
  the upper worlds1 is the heaven where 
,brumha chiefly resides4 ,this far      
exceeds all the other heavens in point  
of beauty4    ,in the inferior worlds it
 is stated that there are one hundred   
thousand  hells4 ,these are provided for
 such as have been great criminals4 ,the
  ,hindoos say1 that those who have not 
been very wicked1 can make an  atonement

 for their sins in this world4 ,should  
they neglect to do this1  they must     
suffer for it in another birth4 ,they   
believe in what is called  the          
transmigration of souls1 or the passing 
of the soul1 after death1  into another 
body4 ,the soul must suffer in the next 
birth1 if not  purified in this4 ,hence 
it is asserted1 that if a man is a      
stealer of  gold from a ,brahmin1 he is 
doomed to have whitlows on his nails2 if
 a  drinker of spirits1 black teeth2 if 
a false detractor1 fetid breath2 if  a  
stealer of grain1 the defect of some    
limb2 if a stealer of clothes1  leprosy2
 if a horse-stealer1 lameness2 if a     
stealer of a lamp1 total  blindness4 ,if
 he steals grain in the husk1 he will be
 born a rat2 if  yellow mixed metal1 a  
gander2 if money1 a great stinging gnat2
 if fruit1  an ape2 if the property of a
 priest1 a crocodile4    ,those persons 
whose sins are too great to be forgiven 
in this world1  must be sent to one of  
the hells to winch ,i have alluded4     

,weeping1  wailing1 shrieking1 they are 
dragged to the palace of ,yama1 the king
  of those doleful regions4 ,on arriving
 there1 they behold him clothed  with   
terror1 two hundred and forty miles in  
height1 his eyes as large as  a lake of 
water1 his voice as loud as thunder1 the
 hairs of his body as  long as          
palm-trees1 a flame of fire proceeding  
from his mouth1 the noise  of his breath
 like the roaring of a tempest1 and in  
his right hand a  terrific iron club4   
,sentence is passed1 and the wretched   
beings are  doomed to receive punishment
 according to the nature of their       
crimes4  ,some are made to tread on     
burning sands1 or sharp-edged stones4   
,others  are rolled among thorns and    
spikes and putrefying flesh4 ,others are
  dragged along the roughest places by  
cords passed through the tender  parts  
of the body4 ,some are attacked by      
jackals1 tigers1 and elephants4  ,others
 are pierced with arrows1 beaten with   
clubs1 pricked with needles1  seared    

with hot irons1 and tormented by flies  
and wasps4 ,some are  plunged into pans 
of liquid fire or boiling oil4 ,others  
are dashed from  lofty trees1 many      
hundred miles high4    ,the torment of  
these hells does not continue for ever4 
,after criminals  have been punished for
 a longer or shorter time1 their souls  
return to  the earth again in the bodies
 of men4 ,here they may perform such    
good  acts as may raise them to one of  
the heavens of the gods2 or commit      
crimes1 which may be the means of their 
being sent again to the abodes  of      
misery4    ,things will go on in this   
way until the universe comes to an end1 
when  every thing is to disappear1 and  
to be swallowed up in ,brahm4    ,the   
,hindoos say1 that it is now more than  
one hundred and fifty billions  of years
 since the world was created4 ,after it 
has continued about one  hundred and    
fifty billions of years more1 it is to  
come to an end4 ,then  ,brumha is to    
die1 and to be swallowed up with the    

universe in the sole  existing ,brahm4  
,by what you have heard1 you will learn 
that the ,hindoos expect1 by their      
sufferings1 to make an atonement for    
their sins4 ,but there is no  atonement 
for sin1 except through the blood of    
,jesus ,christ4 ,we must  come as lost  
sinners to our heavenly ,father1 confess
 our transgressions  to him1 and plead  
for his forgiveness1 only through the   
sufferings and  death which ,christ     
endured4 ,my dear children1 have you    
done this8 ,if  not1 do it speedily1 or 
the regions of the lost must soon be    
your  everlasting abode4                
,,chapter ,,viii4    ,,hindoo ,,castes4 
,my dear ,children--,the people of      
,india are divided into castes1 as they 
are called4 ,their sacred books declare1
 that after ,brumha had peopled  the    
heavens above and the worlds below1 he  
created the human race1  consisting of  
four classes or castes4 ,from his mouth 
proceeded the  ,brahmin caste4 ,those of
 this class are the highest and noblest 

beings on  earth1 and hold the office of
 priests4 ,at the same time there flowed
  from his mouth the ,vedas1 or sacred  
books1 of which the ,brahmins are  the  
sole teachers ,to their fellow-men1 they
 were to give such parts of  these books
 as they thought best4 ,from ,brumha's  
arm proceeded the  military caste4 ,the 
business of this class is to defend     
their country  when attacked by enemies4
 ,from his breast proceeded the third   
caste1  consisting of farmers and       
merchants4 ,from his feet1 the member of
  inferiority1 proceeded the ,sudras1 or
 servile caste4 ,carpenters1  braziers1 
weavers1 dyers1 and the manual          
cultivators of the soil1 are  included  
in this class4    ,caste is not a civil1
 but a sacred institution4 ,you must get
 some one  older than yourself to       
explain what this means4 ,caste is a    
difference of  kind4 ,hence1 a man of   
one caste can never be changed into a   
man of  another caste1 any more than a  
lion can be changed into a mole1 or a   

mole into a lion4 ,each caste has its   
laws1 the breaking of which is  attended
 with great disgrace1 and even          
degradation below all the other  castes4
 ,for instance1 if a ,brahmin should1 by
 eating any forbidden  thing1 break his 
caste1 he would sink below all the other
 castes4 ,he  would become an outcast1  
or pariah4 ,for beneath the fourth1 or  
lowest  caste1 there is a class of      
people belonging to no caste--a class of
  outcasts1 held in the utmost          
abhorrence4    ,by the system of castes1
 the ,hindoos have been divided into so 
many  selfish sections1 each scowling on
 all the rest with feelings of hatred   
and contempt4 ,the spirit which upholds 
it1 is similar to that spirit  which    
says1 ,stand by thyself1 for ,i am      
holier than thou1 and1 of  course1 is   
nothing but pride4 ,this is one of the  
greatest obstacles to  the spread of    
,christianity in this dark land1 and for
 the exhibition of  which we were lately
 obliged to cut off many of the members 

of our  churches4    ,the ,brahmins1 in 
consequence of their being of the       
highest caste1 and of  their having been
 taught from their infancy to regard all
 other classes  of men with the utmost  
contempt1 are very proud4 ,they make    
great efforts  to keep themselves pure1 
in their sense of the word1 both without
 and  within4 ,they are exceedingly     
afraid of being defiled by persons of   
other  castes4 ,they have the utmost    
dread even of being touched by a pariah4
  ,for them to eat with any of these    
pariahs1 or to go into their houses1  or
 to drink water which they have drawn1  
or from vessels which they have         
handled1 is attended with the loss of   
their caste4 ,a ,brahmin who should     
enter their houses1 or permit them to   
enter his1 would be cut off from  his   
caste1 and could not be restored without
 many troublesome ceremonies  and great 
expense4 ,the pariahs are considered to 
be so low1 that if a  ,brahmin were to  
touch them1 even with the end of a long 

pole1 he would  be looked upon as       
polluted ,in some districts they are    
obliged to make a  long circuit1 when   
they perceive ,brahmins in the way1 that
 their breath  may not infect them1 or  
their shadow fall upon them as they     
pass4 ,in  some places their very       
approach is sufficient to pollute a     
whole  neighborhood4    ,the ,brahmins  
carry their ideas of purity very far4   
,should a ,sudra happen  to look upon   
the vessels in which they cook their    
food1 they would be  considered as      
defiled4 ,they can never touch any kind 
of leather or skin1  except the skin of 
the tiger and antelope4 ,the most       
disagreeable of all  ,american fashions1
 in their eyes1 is that of boots and    
gloves4 ,they  rarely eat their food    
from plates2 and when they do so1 it is 
only at  home4 ,they use the leaf of the
 plantain or other trees as a           
substitute4  ,to offer them any thing to
 eat on a metal or earthen plate which  
others  have used1 would be considered a

 great affront4 ,for the same reason1   
they will neither use a spoon nor a fork
 when they eat2 and they are  astonished
 that any one1 after having applied them
 to their mouths1 and  infected them    
with saliva1 should repeat the act a    
second time4 ,they  have a great        
abhorrence of the toothpick1 if used a  
second time4 ,when  they eat any thing  
dry1 they throw it into their mouths1 so
 that the  fingers may not approach the 
lips4    ,they do not drink as we do1 by
 applying the cup to the lips4 ,this    
would  be considered a gross            
impropriety4 ,they pour the water into  
their  months4 ,the reason why they do  
these things is1 because they consider  
the saliva to be the most filthy        
secretion that comes from the body4 ,it 
is on this account that no one is ever  
permitted to spit within doors4    ,the 
use of animal food they consider to be  
defiling4 ,not only will they  not eat  
animal food1 but they will eat nothing  
that has the principle of  life in it4  

,on this account1 they cannot eat eggs  
of any kind4 ,i was  once breaking an   
egg in my medicine-room at ,panditeripo1
 while a ,brahmin  was present4 ,he told
 me that1 under such circumstances1 he  
could not  remain with me any longer4   
,in his view1 ,i was committing a great 
sin4 ,to  kill an ox or a cow1 is       
considered by them as a crime which can 
never be  atoned for1 and to eat their  
flesh is a defilement which can never be
  washed away4 ,to kill a cow is1 by    
,hindoo law1 punishable with death4     
,the touch of most animals1 particularly
 that of the dog1 defiles a  ,brahmin4  
,should a dog touch them1 they would be 
obliged instantly to  plunge into water1
 and wash their clothes1 in order to get
 rid of such a  stain4 ,notwithstanding 
this1 the dog is one of the gods        
worshipped by  the ,hindoos4    ,the    
,hindoos consider themselves to be      
unclean if they have assisted at a      
funeral4 ,when the ceremony is over1    
they immediately plunge into water  for 

the sake of purification4 ,even the news
 of the death of a relative1  a hundred 
miles off1 has the same effect4 ,the    
person who hears such news  is          
considered unclean until he has bathed4 
,in unison with this feeling1  a person 
is no sooner dead1 than he is hastened  
away to be buried or  burned2 for1 until
 this is done1 those in the house can   
neither eat nor  drink1 nor go on with  
their occupations4    ,a ,brahmin who is
 particular in his delicacy1 must be    
careful what he  treads upon4 ,he is    
obliged to wash his body or bathe1 if he
 happens to  tread on a bone1 or a      
broken pot1 a bit of rag1 or a leaf from
 which one  has been eating4 ,he must   
also be careful where he sits down4     
,some  devotees always carry their seats
 with them1 that is1 a tiger or         
antelope's skin1 which are always held  
pure4 ,some are contented with a  mat4  
,they may sit down on the ground without
 defilement1 provided it has  been newly
 rubbed over with cow-dung4 ,this last  

specific is used daily  to purify their 
houses from the defilement occasioned by
 comers1 and  goers4 ,when thus applied1
 diluted with water1 it has             
unquestionably one  good effect4 ,it    
completely destroys the fleas and other 
insects1 with  which they are very much 
annoyed4    ,there is one thing more    
which ,i wish to mention4 ,it is1 that  
all the  high castes consider the use of
 intoxicating drinks to be defiling4 ,i 
hope that you1 my dear children1 will   
always have the same opinion1 and  never
 touch them any sooner than you would   
touch arsenic or other  poisons4    ,a  
person may be restored to his caste1    
provided he has not committed an        
unpardonable offence4 ,this is done as  
follows4 ,after he has gained the       
consent of his relations to be restored 
he prostrates himself very  humbly      
before them1 they being assembled for   
that purpose1 and submits  to the blows 
or other punishment which they may think
 proper to inflict1  or pays the fine   

which they may have laid upon him4      
,then1 after  shedding tears of sorrow1 
and making promises that1 by his future 
conduct1 he will wipe away the stain of 
his expulsion from caste1 he  makes the 
shaashtaangkum before the assembly4     
,this being done1 he is  declared fit to
 be restored to his tribe4    ,when a   
man has been expelled from his caste for
 some great offence1  those who restore 
him sometimes slightly burn his tongue  
with a piece of  gold made hot4 ,they   
likewise apply to different parts of the
 body redhot  iron stamps1 which leave  
marks that remain for ever4 ,sometimes  
they  compel the offender to walk on    
burning embers2 and to complete the     
purification1 he must drink the         
punchakaryam1 which literally means the 
five things2 these all come from the    
cow1 and must be mixed together4  ,the  
first three of these ,i will mention1   
namely1 the milk1 butter1 and  curds4   
,the other two1 for the sake of         
delicacy1 ,i must not mention4  ,after  

the ceremony of punchakaryam is finished
 the person who has been  expelled from 
his caste must give a grand feast4 ,this
 finishes all he  has to do1 and he is  
then restored to favor4    ,there are   
certain offences which1 when committed  
cut off all hope that  the offender will
 ever be restored to his caste4 ,for    
instance1 should he  eat the flesh of   
the cow1 no presents which he might     
make1 nor any fines  which lie might be 
disposed to pay1 no1 not even the       
punchakaryam  itself1 would be of any   
avail for his restoration or            
purification4    ,i will make a remark  
here1 which ,i might have made before4  
,it is1 that  in ,christian countries1  
there is a spirit of pride which much   
resembles  the spirit of caste4 ,many   
are to be found who are very proud that 
they  have descended from rich and      
honorable ancestors1 and who look down1 
almost with disdain1 upon those in other
 situations4 ,i need hardly tell  you   
that this is a very wicked spirit1 and  

entirely opposed to the  spirit of the  
,gospel4 ,no matter what may be our high
 thoughts of  ourselves1 we appear but  
very low in the sight of ,him who       
created us4 ,we  are all sinners1 and1  
as such1 are offensive in his sight4 ,if
 we would  go to heaven1 the first thing
 which we have to do1 is to humble      
ourselves for the pride of our hearts1  
and become as little children  before   
him4 ,we must have that spirit of which 
the apostle speaks1 when  he says1 ,let 
each esteem others better than          
themselves4 ,with a humble  spirit we   
may approach a holy ,god1 with the      
assurance that he will1 for  ,christ's  
sake1 forgive all our sins4             
,,chapter ,,ix4    ,,hindoo             
,,temples--,,cars--,,procession ,,of    
,,idols4      ,my dear ,children--,i    
will proceed to give you a description  
of the ,hindoo  temples4 ,these are very
 numerous4 ,one is to be found in almost
 every  village4 ,they are to be found1 
also1 in out-of-the-way places1 distant 

from villages1 in woods1 on the banks   
and in the middle of rivers2 but1  above
 all1 on mountains and steep rocks4     
,this latter practice1 of building      
temples on mountains1 is very ancient4  
,the ,israelites were accustomed to     
choose a mountain when they offered up  
their sacrifices to the ,lord4 ,solomon1
 before the building of the  temple1    
chose ,mount ,gibeon on which to offer  
his burnt-offerings2 and  when the ten  
tribes separated themselves1 in the     
reign of ,jeroboam1 they  built their   
altars on the mountain of ,samaria4     
,this practice may have  come from the  
circumstance1 that ,noah offered to ,god
 a great sacrifice  of thanks on one of 
the highest mountains of ,armenia4      
,probably ,mount  ,ararat continued long
 to be remembered1 by him and his       
descendants1 as  the scene of their     
deliverance4    ,besides the temples of 
the idols1 there are various objects of 
worship1  made of earth and stone4 ,some
 of the idols are carved4 ,some consist 

merely of the rough stone4 ,these are to
 be seen on the high-roads1 at  the     
entrance into villages1 and1 above all1 
under lofty trees4 ,some of  these are  
covered2 but generally they are exposed 
in the open air4    ,you will read in   
,genesis1 #bhth chap1 and #ahth verse1  
that ,jacob1 after  his dream1 rose up  
early in the morning and took the stone 
that he had  put for his pillow1 and set
 it up for a pillar1 and poured oil upon
 the  top of it4 ,whether it has        
happened from this circumstance or not1 
that  the heathen universally pour oil  
over their idols1 ,i cannot tell4 ,all  
,i  know is1 that they do it4 ,no idol  
can become an object of worship until  a
 ,brahmin has said his muntrums1 or     
prayers1 for the purpose of bringing    
down the god to live1 as it is said be  
does1 in the image1 and until he  has   
drenched it with oil and liquid butter4 
,the idols1 in the great temples1 are   
clothed with rich garments1 and  adorned
 with jewels1 which are enriched with   

precious stones of immense  value4      
,sacrifices are constantly made to these
 idols1 consisting of  boiled rice1     
flowers1 fruits1 etc41 but1 above all1  
of lamps1 of which  many thousands are  
sometimes seen burning4 ,they feed them 
with butter1  in preference to oil4     
,the priests of the temples offer up    
sacrifices twice every day1 morning  and
 evening4 ,they begin the ceremony by   
washing their idol4 ,the water  which is
 used is brought from a river or tank4  
,every morning a  procession1 with      
music1 passes before our door1 with this
 water4    ,every priest who offers up  
sacrifices1 must have several lighted   
lamps  with a bell1 which he holds in   
his left hand4 ,with his right hand he  
makes an offering to the idol1 adorns it
 with flowers1 and rubs its  forehead   
and various parts of its body with      
sandal-wood and holy ashes4  ,while all 
this is going on1 he is alone in the    
temple1 the door of which  is closed4   
,the unholy multitude remain without1   

silently waiting till  he has done4     
,what he does1 they cannot know1 only   
hearing the sound of  the bell4 ,when he
 has done1 he comes out and distributes 
among the  people a part of the things  
which have been offered to the idol4    
,these  are considered as holy4 ,if they
 consist of rice and fruit1 they are    
immediately eaten2 if of flowers1 the   
men put them in their turbans1 and  the 
girls entwine them in their hair4       
,next to the priests1 the most important
 persons about the temples are  the     
dancing girls4 ,these are persons of the
 vilest character4 ,they  perform their 
religious duties in the temple twice a  
day4 ,they also  assist at the public   
ceremonies1 and dance4 ,at the same time
 they sing  the most abominable and     
filthy songs4 ,of these wicked          
creatures1  however1 ,i must not tell   
you any thing further4    ,the next     
order of persons employed in the        
temples1 are players on  musical        
instruments4 ,every temple of note has a

 band of these musicians  who1 as well  
as the dancers1 are obliged to attend   
the temple twice a  day4 ,they are also 
obliged to assist at all the public     
festivals4 ,their  band generally       
consists of wind1 instruments1          
resembling clarionets and  hautboys1 to 
which they add cymbals and drums4 ,they 
have a bass1  produced by blowing into a
 kind of tube1 widened below1 and which 
gives  an uninterrupted sound4 ,part of 
the musicians sing hymns in honor of    
their gods4    ,the expenses of the     
temples are borne by the voluntary      
offerings of the  people1 consisting of 
money1 jewels1 cattle1 provisions1 and  
other  articles4 ,in order to induce    
them to make such offerings1 the        
,brahmins  use all kinds of deception4  
,sometimes they will put their idols in 
irons1 chaining their hands and feet4   
,they exhibit them in this sad          
condition1 declaring that they have been
 brought into it by creditors  from whom
 their gods had to borrow money1 in     

times of trouble1 to supply  their      
wants4 ,they declare that their         
creditors refuse to set the gods at     
liberty1 until the money with the       
interest is paid4 ,the people1 seeing   
the deplorable condition into which they
 have been brought1 come forward  and   
pay off the debt2 when the chains are   
taken off1 and the god is set  at       
liberty4    ,another way in which the   
,brahmins sometimes deceive the people1 
is as  follows4 ,they say that the god  
is afflicted with some dreadful disease1
  brought on by the distress which he   
has had1 because the people do not      
worship him as much as they should4 ,in 
such cases1 the idol is sometimes       
placed at the door of the temple where  
they rub his forehead and temples  with 
various kinds of medicine4 ,they also   
set before him all sorts of  medicines1 
pretending in this way to do all they   
can to cure him4 ,but as  all their     
efforts prove to be vain1 and the       
disease becomes worse1 the  ,brahmins   

send out persons to tell the sad news4  
,the people1 believing  the report1     
hasten to bring in their gifts and      
offerings4 ,the god1 on  beholding such 
proofs of their attachment to him1 feels
 himself cured of  his disease1 and     
immediately returns to his throne within
 the temple4    ,the ,brahmins use      
another kind of deception1 in order to  
procure  offerings for the temples4     
,they declare that their gods are angry 
with  certain individuals who have      
offended them1 and that they have sent  
some  evil spirit or devil to take      
possession of their bodies and torment  
them4 ,accordingly1 persons appear      
wandering about in different parts of   
the country1 showing1 by their dreadful 
convulsions1 their writhings  and       
twistings1 every symptom of being       
possessed with the devil4 ,the  people  
who see them are filled with dismay1    
fall down before them1 and  offer gifts 
and sacrifices1 for fear of being       
injured by them4 ,whatever  they ask is 

granted4 ,the people give them to eat   
and drink abundantly2  and when they    
leave a place1 accompany them with      
instruments of music1  till they arrive 
at some other place1 where the same     
deception is  practised4    ,there are  
various other ways in which the         
,brahmins deceive the people2  but ,i   
have told you enough4    ,at every large
 temple1 there is at least yearly one   
grand procession4  ,the idol is brought 
out from its inclosure1 and placed in a 
great car or  chariot1 prepared for this
 express purpose4 ,this stands upon four
 wheels  of great strength1 not made    
like ours1 of spokes with a rim1 but of 
three or four pieces of thick1 solid    
timber1 rounded and fitted to each      
other4 ,the car is sometimes forty or   
fifty feet high1 having upon it  carved 
images of a most abominable nature4 ,i  
must not tell you any thing  about them4
 ,the car1 when finished1 presents      
somewhat the shape of a  pyramid4       
,illustration    ,on the day of the     

procession1 it is adorned with painted  
cloth1 garlands  of flowers1 green      
shrubbery1 and precious stuffs4 ,the    
idol is placed in  the centre1 loaded   
with jewels1 etc41 to attract the       
attention of the  people4 ,having       
fastened ropes to this enormous car1    
eight or nine  hundred or a thousand    
people catch hold of the ropes and      
slowly drag it  along1 accompanied with 
the awful roaring of their voices4 ,at  
certain  periods they stop2 when the    
immense crowds1 collected from all parts
 of  the country1 set up one universal  
shout1 or rather yell4 ,this1 with the  
sound of their instruments and numerous 
drums1 produces much uproar and         
confusion4 ,sometimes the weighty car   
comes to a stand1 from the dampness  of 
the ground or from the narrowness of the
 streets1 when the tumult and  noise are
 redoubled4    ,illustration    ,perhaps
 you know that on some occasions1 when  
the cars are drawn1 people  throw       
themselves under the wheels1 and are    

crushed to death4 ,this occurs  at the  
drawing of the car of ,juggernaut1 as   
you may learn if you will  read my      
,sermon to ,children1 on the ,condition 
of the ,heathen4 ,here is a  picture of 
,juggernaut1 and on the last page you   
may see a picture of his  car1 and two  
men crushed to death under the wheels4  
,not long since1 five  persons were thus
 crushed to death4 ,many dreadful       
accidents also take  place at the       
drawing of these cars4 ,a few years ago 
several persons in  this city had their 
limbs amputated1 in consequence of      
injuries  received4    ,illustration    
,when ,i was in ,america1 ,i showed to  
many of the dear children an idol       
called ,pulliar1 which was formerly     
worshipped by ,raamu1 one of our  native
 helpers1 when he was a heathen4 ,i gave
 a particular description1  of the ,i   
manner in which he daily worshiped it1  
in the sermon above  mentioned ,here is 
a picture1 which will give you some idea
 of this god4    ,you will see that it  

is partly in the shape of a man1 and    
partly in the  shape of a beast4 ,you1  
my dear children1 would put no          
confidence in such  vain idols2 but this
 people do1 as you may know from what ,i
 am now going  to tell you4    ,some    
months ago1 a woman was brought to me   
with a cancer in her breast4  ,it had   
made sad ravages4 ,on the morning after 
her arrival ,i took it out4  ,before she
 was brought to me1 her brother went to 
the temple of the  goddess ,meenaache1  
to ascertain what was her will          
respecting his  bringing her to me1 or  
taking her to a native doctor4 ,in order
 to  ascertain it1 he had recourse to   
the following expedient4 ,he prepared   
several bundles of red and white        
flowers--the red to represent the red   
or ,tamil man1 the white to represent   
the white man4 ,these flowers were      
carefully inclosed in leaves1 so as to  
prevent their color being seen1  and    
then laid down on the ground1 at the    
entrance of the temple4 ,after  this1 he

 called a little child to him1 and then 
proceeded to entreat  ,meenaache that1  
if it were her will that he should bring
 the sick woman  to me1 she would direct
 the child to take up one of the parcels
  containing the white flowers4 ,it so  
happened that the child took up one  of 
these parcels4 ,of course1 he brought   
her to me4 ,had it taken up a  parcel   
containing the red flowers1 she would   
have been taken to a native  doctor4    
,may we not hope that1 not ,meenaache1  
but ,jehovah directed him  to bring her 
to me1 that she might hear of a very    
different being from  her goddess1 even 
of ,jesus4 ,of him she has fully heard4 
,,chapter ,x4    ,,festivals ,,of ,,the 
,,hindoos4      ,my dear ,children--,the
 ,hindoos have many festivals4 ,these   
are all  occasions of joy and gladness4 
,on such days1 the people quit their    
usual  employments4 ,friends and        
relations unite in family parties1 and  
give  entertainments according to their 
means4 ,innocent pastimes and           

amusements of various kinds are resorted
 too to add to their happiness4         
,there are eighteen principal festivals 
yearly1 and no month passes  without one
 or more of them4    ,one of the most   
solemn of these ceremonies is held in   
the month of  ,september1 and appears to
 be principally in honor of ,parvathe1  
the wife  of ,siva4 ,at this time every 
laborer and every artisan offers        
sacrifices  and prayers to his tools4   
,the laborer brings his plough1 hoe1 and
 other  farming utensils4 ,he piles them
 together1 and offers a sacrifice to    
them1 consisting of flowers1 fruit1     
rice1 and other articles4 ,after  this1 
he prostrates himself before them at    
full length1 and then returns  them to  
their places4    ,the mason offers the  
same adoration and sacrifice to his     
trowel1 rule1  and other instruments    
,the carpenter adores his hatchet1 adze1
 and plane4  ,the barber collects his   
razors together and worships them with  
similar  rites4    ,the writing-master  

sacrifices to the iron pen or style1    
with which he  writes upon the palm-leaf
 the tailor to his needles1 the weaver  
to his  loom1 the butcher to his        
cleaver4    ,the women1 on this day1    
collect into a heap their baskets1      
rice-mill1  rice-pounder1 and other     
household utensils1 and1 after having   
offered  sacrifices to them1 fall down  
in adoration before them4 ,every person1
 in  short1 in this solemnity sanctifies
 and adores the instrument or tool by   
which he gains a living4 ,the tools are 
considered as so many gods1 to  whom    
they present their prayers that they    
will continue to furnish them  still    
with the means of getting a livelihood4 
,this least is concluded by making an   
idol to represent ,parvathe4 ,it is     
made of the paste of grain1 and being   
placed under a sort of canopy1 is       
carried through the streets with great  
pomp1 and receives the worship of  the  
people4    ,another festival of great   
celebrity is observed in ,october4 ,at  

this  time1 each person1 for himself1   
makes offerings of boiled rice and other
  food1 to such of their relations as   
have died1 that they may have a good    
meal on that day4 ,they afterwards offer
 sacrifices of burning lamps1 of  fruit1
 and of flowers1 and also new articles  
of dress1 that their  ancestors may be  
freshly clothed4    ,at this festival1  
soldiers offer sacrifices to their      
weapons1 in order  to obtain success in 
war4 ,on such occasions1 a ram is       
offered in  sacrifice to their armor4   
,in ,november1 a festival is observed1  
which is called the feast of lamps4  ,at
 this season1 the ,hindoos light lamps1 
and place them around the doors  of     
their houses4 ,this festival was        
established to commemorate the          
deliverance of the earth from a giant1  
who had been a great scourge to  the    
people4 ,he was slain by ,vrishnoo1     
after a dreadful battle4 ,in many       
places1 on this day1 a sacrifice is     
offered to the dunghill which is        

afterwards to enrich the ground4 ,in the
 villages1 each one has his own  heap1  
to which he makes his offering of       
burning lamps1 fruit1 flowers1  etc4    
,the most celebrated of all the         
festivals1 is that which is held in the 
end of ,december4 ,it is called the     
feast of ,pongul1 and is a season of    
rejoicing for two reasons3 the first is1
 because the month of ,december1  every 
day of which is unlucky1 is about to    
end2 and the other is1  because it is to
 be followed by a month1 every day of   
which is  fortunate4 ,for the purpose of
 preventing the evil effects of this    
month1  the women every morning scour a 
place about two feet square before the  
door of the house1 upon which they draw 
white lines1 with flour4 ,upon  these   
they place several little balls of      
cow-dung1 sticking in each a  flower4   
,each day these little balls1 with their
 flowers1 are preserved1  and on the    
last day of the month1 they are thrown  
into tanks or  waste-places4    ,the    

first day of this festival is called the
 ,pongul of rejoicing4 ,near  relatives 
are invited to a feast1 which passes off
 with mirth and  gladness4    ,the      
second day is called the ,pongul of the 
sun1 and is set apart to  worship that  
luminary4 ,married women1 after bathing 
themselves1 proceed  to boil rice with  
milk1 in the open air4 ,when the milk   
begins to  simmer1 they make a loud cry1
 ,pongul1 ,o ,pongul4 ,the vessel is    
then  taken from the fire1 and set      
before an idol4 ,part of this rice is   
offered to the image1 and1 after        
standing there for some time1 it is     
given to the cows4 ,the remainder is    
given to the people4 ,this is the  great
 day for visiting among friends4 ,the   
salutation begins by the  question1 ,has
 the milk boiled8 ,to which the answer  
is1 ,it has  boiled4 ,from this1 the    
festival takes the name of pongul1 which
  signifies to boil4    ,the third day  
is called the ,pongul of cows4 ,in a    
great vessel1 filled  with water1 they  

put saffron and other things4 ,these    
being well mixed1  they go around the   
cows and oxen belonging to the house    
several times1  sprinkling them with    
water4 ,after this1 the men prostrate   
themselves  before them four times4 ,the
 cows are then dressed1 their horns     
being  painted with various colors4     
,garlands of flowers are also put round 
their necks1 and over their backs4 ,to  
these are added strings of  cocoa-nuts  
and other kinds of fruit1 which1        
however1 are soon shaken  off1 when they
 are in motion1 and are picked up by    
children and others1  who greedily eat  
what they gather1 as something sacred4  
,after being  driven through the        
streets1 they are suffered1 during the  
day1 to feed  wherever they please1     
without a keeper4 ,i have1 however1 told
 you  enough4 ,are you ready to exclaim1
 ,is it possible that a people can be   
guilty of such utter folly8 ,but you1 my
 dear children1 would be guilty  of just
 such folly1 if you had not the ,bible4 

,should not the gratitude1  then1 which 
you owe to your heavenly ,father1 for   
your distinguished  mercies1 constrain  
you to do all that you can to send this 
blessed book  to this dark land8        
,,chapter ,,xi4    ,,the ,,worship ,,of 
,,the ,,serpent4      ,my dear          
,children--,if you have never heard much
 about the ,hindoos1 you  will be       
astonished to learn how numerous are the
 objects of their  worship4 ,they       
worship many living creatures1 such as  
the ape1 the tiger1  the elephant the   
horse1 the ox1 the stag1 the sheep1 the 
hog1 the dog1  the cat1 the rat1 the    
peacock1 the eagle1 the cock1 the hawk1 
the  serpent1 the chameleon1 the lizard1
 the tortoise1 fishes1 and even         
insects4 ,of these1 some receive much   
more worship than others1 such as  the  
cow1 the ox1 and the serpent ,cobra     
,capella4 ,i will speak at present  only
 of the worship of the serpent4    ,of  
all the dangerous creatures found in    
,india1 there are none that  occasion so

 many deaths as serpents4 ,the people   
are very much exposed to  their bite1   
especially at night1 when they are      
walking4 ,they tread upon  them1 and1 as
 they generally do not wear shoes1 the  
snakes turn their  heads1 and strike    
their fangs into those parts of the feet
 which are  nearest to the place where  
the pressure is made upon their bodies4 
,sometimes the bite is followed with    
instant death4 ,the ,cobra ,capella is  
one of the most common snakes1 and one  
of the most poisonous4 ,it is  said1    
that it has a thousand heads1 one of    
which holds up the earth4 ,it  has a    
peculiar mark on its back1 just behind  
the head4 ,this mark very  much         
resembles a pair of spectacles1 without 
the handles4 ,if you should  go near it1
 it would raise the fore part of its    
body about six inches1  widen out its   
neck1 so as to be about double its      
common width1 and  prepare to strike    
you4 ,the reason why the ,hindoos offer 
sacrifices and  adoration to it above   

all the other serpents is1 because it is
 so  frequently met with1 and is so much
 dreaded4    ,in order to induce the    
people to worship this dangerous enemy1 
the  ,hindoos have filled their books   
with tales concerning it4 ,figures of it
  are often to be seen in the temples1  
and on other buildings4 ,they seek  out 
their holes1 which are generally to be  
found in the hillocks of  earth which   
are thrown up by the white ants2 and    
when they find one1  they go from time  
to time and offer milk1 plantains1 and  
other good  things to it4               
,illustration    ,the ,hindoos1 as ,i   
before observed1 have eighteen annual   
festivals4 ,one  of these festivals is  
held for the purpose of worshipping this
 serpent4  ,temples in many places are  
erected to it1 of which there is one of 
great  celebrity in ,mysore4 ,when the  
festival occurs at this temple1 great   
crowds of people come together to offer 
sacrifices to this creeping god4  ,many 
serpents besides the ,cobra ,capella    

live within it1 in holes made           
especially for them4 ,all of these are  
kept and well fed by the ,brahmins  with
 milk1 butter1 and plantains4 ,by such  
means they become very  numerous1 and   
may be seen swarming from every crevice 
in the temple4 ,to  injure or to kill   
one would be considered a great crime4  
,many of the natives call the ,cobra    
,capella nulla paampu1 that is1 good    
snake4 ,they are afraid to call it a bad
 snake1 lest it should injure  them4    
,the following is the prayer which is   
offered before the image of  this snake4
 ,o1 divine ,cobra1 preserve and sustain
 us4 ,o1 ,sheoh1 partake  of these      
offerings1 and be gracious unto us4     
,can you think of any thing1 my dear    
children more dishonoring to a holy     
,god1 than such worship8 ,and what have 
you ever done to prevent it8 ,have  you1
 every morning and evening1 prayed that 
the ,gospel might be sent to  this      
people8 ,did you ever give any money to 
send it to them8 ,did you  ever think   

whether it may not be your duty1 by and 
by1 to come to them1  to tell them of   
this ,gospel8          ,,chapter ,,xii4 
,,the ,,river ,,ganges4      ,my dear   
,children--,if you will look at the map 
of ,asia1 and find the  country of      
,hindostan1 you will see running through
 it a very celebrated  river--the river 
,ganges4 ,it is called the ,ganges1     
after the goddess  ,gunga4 ,the ,hindoos
 say that the goddess ,gungu--who was   
produced from the  sweat of ,vrishnoo's 
foot1 which ,brumha caught and preserved
 in his  alms-dish--came down from      
heaven1 and divided herself into one    
hundred  streams1 which are the mouths  
of the river ,ganges4 ,all classes and  
castes worship her4 ,the sight1 the     
name1 or the touch of the river  ,ganges
 is said to take away all sin4 ,to die  
on the edge of the river1 or  to die    
partly buried in the stream1 drinking   
its waters1 while their  bodies are     
besmeared with mud1 is supposed to      
render them very holy4 ,on  this        

account1 when it is expected that a     
person will die1 he is hurried  down to 
the river1 whether willing or unwilling4
 ,sometimes the wood  which the people  
bring to burn their bodies after death1 
is piled up  before their eyes4 ,o1 how 
inhuman is this4 ,after it is supposed  
that  they are dead1 and they are placed
 on the pile of wood1 if they should    
revive and attempt to rise1 it is       
thought that they are possessed with    
the devil1 and they are beaten down with
 a hatchet or bamboo4    ,were you      
standing on the banks of the ,ganges you
 might1 perhaps1 in one  place see two  
or three young men carrying a sick      
female to the river4 ,if  you should ask
 what they are going to do with her1    
perhaps they would  reply1 ,we are going
 to give her up to ,gunga1 to purify her
 soul1 that  she may go to heaven2 for  
she is our mother4 ,in another place you
 might  see a father and mother         
sprinkling a beloved child with muddy   
water1  endeavoring to soothe his dying 

agonies by saying1 ,it is blessed to die
  by ,gunga1 my son2 to die by ,gunga is
 blessed1 my son4 ,in another place  you
 might see a man descending from a boat 
with empty water-pans tied  around his  
neck1 which pans1 when filled1 will drag
 down the poor  creature to the bottom1 
to be seen no more4 ,here is murder in  
the name  of religion4 ,he is a devotee1
 and has purchased heaven1 as he        
supposes1  by this his last good deed4  
,in another place you might see a person
  seated in the water1 accompanied by a 
priest1 who pours down the throat  of   
the dying man mud and water1 and cries  
out1 ,o mother ,gunga1 receive  his     
soul4 ,the dying man may be roused to   
sensibility by the violence4  ,he may   
entreat his priest to desist2 but his   
entreaties are drowned4 ,he  persists in
 pouring the mud and water down his     
throat1 until he is  gradually stifled1 
suffocated--suffocated in the name of   
humanity--suffocated in the name of     
religion4    ,it happens1 sometimes1 in 

cases of sudden and violent attacks of  
disease1 that they cannot be conveyed to
 the river before death4 ,under  such   
circumstances1 a bone is preserved1 and 
at a convenient season is  taken down   
and thrown into the river4 ,this1 it is 
believed1 contributes  essentially to   
the salvation of the deceased4          
,sometimes strangers are left on the    
banks to die1 without the ceremony  of  
drinking ,ganges water4 ,of these1 some 
have been seen creeping along  with the 
flesh half eaten off their bones by the 
birds2 others with  their limbs torn by 
dogs and jackals1 and others partly     
covered with  insects4    ,after a      
person is taken down to the river1 if he
 should recover1 it is  looked upon by  
his friends as a great misfortune4 ,he  
becomes an outcast4  ,even his own      
children will not eat with him1 nor     
offer him the least  attention4 ,if they
 should happen to touch him1 they must  
wash their  bodies1 to cleanse them from
 the pollution which has been           

contracted4  ,about fifty miles north of
 ,calcutta1 are two villages inhabited  
entirely  by these poor creatures1 who  
have become outcasts in consequence of  
their recovery after having been taken  
down to the ,ganges4    ,at the mouth of
 the river ,hoogly1 which is one of the 
branches of the  ,ganges1 is the island 
,sauger1 which ,i saw as we approached  
,calcutta  after having been at sea for 
one hundred and twenty-eight days4 ,now1
 my  dear children1 if you come out to  
,india as missionaries1 you will have   
to sail nearly one hundred and thirty   
days before you can reach it4  ,sauger  
island is the island where1 formerly1   
hundreds of mothers were in  the habit  
of throwing their children to the       
crocodiles1 and where these  mothers    
were wont to weep and cry if the        
crocodiles did not devour their         
children before their eyes4 ,think what 
a dreadful religion that must  be1 which
 makes mothers so hard-hearted4 ,did you
 ever take any corn or  ,indian meal and

 throw it to the chickens8 ,and what did
 these chickens  do8 ,did they not come 
around you and eat it8 ,well1 just in   
this way the  crocodiles would come near
 those mothers1 and devour their        
children4  ,here is a picture of a      
mother throwing her child to a          
crocodile4    ,illustration    ,i am    
glad to tell you1 that the ,british have
 put a stop to the sacrifice  of        
children at that place2 but mothers     
continue to destroy their  children     
elsewhere1 and will continue to destroy 
them until ,christians  send the ,gospel
 to them4 ,it is not improbable that    
vast numbers of  children are annually  
destroyed in the ,ganges4 ,mothers      
sacrifice them1  in consequence of vows 
which they have made4 ,when the time to 
sacrifice  them has come1 they take them
 down to the river1 and encourage them  
to  go out so far that they are taken   
away by the stream1 or they push them   
off with their own hands4    ,i just    
remarked1 that mothers will continue to 

destroy their children  until the       
,gospel is sent to them4 ,that the      
,gospel does prevent such  things1 the  
following circumstance will show4       
,several years ago1 a  missionary lady  
went from ,new ,england to ,india4 ,as  
she was walking out  one morning1 on the
 banks of the ,ganges1 she saw a heathen
 mother  weeping4 ,she went up to her1  
sat down by her side1 put her hand into 
hers1 and asked what was the matter with
 her4 ,i have just been making a  basket
 of flags1 said she1 and putting my     
infant in it--pushing it off  into the  
river1 and drowning it4 ,and my gods are
 very much pleased with  me1 because ,i 
have done it4 ,after this missionary    
lady had heard all  she had to say1 she 
told her that her gods were no gods2    
that the only  true ,god delights not in
 such sacrifices1 but turns in horror   
from them2  and that1 if she would be   
happy here and hereafter1 she must      
forsake her  sins1 and pray to ,jesus   
,christ1 who died to save sinners like  

herself4  ,this conversation was the    
means of the conversion of that mother1 
and  she never again destroyed any of   
her infants4    ,such is the power of   
the blessed ,gospel4 ,and what the      
,gospel has done  once1 it can do again4
 ,if ,christians will send it to them1  
with the  blessing of ,god1 the time    
will soon come when heathen mothers will
 no  more destroy their children4 ,and  
have you nothing to do in this great    
work1 my dear children8 ,when you grow  
up1 cannot you go and tell them of  the 
,saviour8 ,here is a very pretty hymn   
about a heathen mother throwing  her    
child to a crocodile4        ,see that  
heathen mother stand      ,where the    
sacred currents flow1      ,with her own
 maternal hand1      ',mid the waves her
 infant throw4        ,hark1 ,i hear the
 piteous scream--      ,frightful       
monsters seize their prey1      ,or the 
dark and bloody stream      ,bears the  
struggling child away4        ,fainter  
now1 and fainter still1      ,breaks the

 cry upon the ear2      ,but the        
mother's heart is steel1      ,she      
unmoved that cry can hear4        ,send1
 ,o send the ,bible there1      ,let its
 precepts reach the heart2      ,she may
 then her children spare1      ,act the 
mother's tender part4    ,i have heard  
of a little boy who learned this hymn4  
,he was deeply  affected by it1 and     
wanted very much to give something to   
send the  ,gospel to ,india4 ,but he had
 no money4 ,he was1 however1 willing to 
labor  in order to earn some4 ,hearing  
that a gentleman wanted the chips       
removed  from the ground near his       
woodpile1 he hired himself to him1      
removed the  chips1 got his money1 and1 
with glistening eyes1 went and delivered
 it  up1 to be sent to the heathen1     
repeating1 as he went1        ,send1 ,o 
send the ,bible there1      ,let its    
precepts reach the heart2      ,she may 
then her children spare1      ,act the  
mother's tender part4    ,about one     
hundred miles above the mouth of the    

,hoogly is the city of  ,calcutta1 and  
about five hundred miles above that city
 is the city of  ,benares4 ,in these    
cities1 as well as in other places1 we  
see how much  the heathen will          
contribute to support their wretched    
religion4 ,a rich  native in ,calcutta  
has been known to spend more than one   
hundred  thousand dollars on a single   
festival--the festival of the goddess   
,karle--and more than thirty thousand   
dollars every year afterwards  during   
his life1 for the same purpose4 ,not    
long since1 a rich native  gave at one  
time to his idols more than one million 
two hundred thousand  dollars4 ,and what
 have ,christians ever done to honor    
their ,saviour1  which will bear a      
comparison with what the heathen do for 
their idols8  ,alas1 alas1 few          
,christian men or ,christian women1 in  
all the church1 are  willing to give    
even one-tenth of their annual income to
 the ,lord4 ,most  of those who are     
rich1 hoard up their money1 instead of  

spending it for  the purpose of saving  
souls4 ,and there are many persons who  
have never  given a farthing to send the
 ,gospel to the heathen4 ,o1 what will  
such  say1 when they must meet the      
heathen at the bar of ,god8             
,,chapter ,,xiii4    ,,the ,,goddess    
,,durga4      ,my dear ,children--,from 
what ,i said1 in my last chapter1 about 
the  goddess ,gunga1 you see that the   
,hindoos worship goddesses as well as   
gods4 ,there is another goddess much    
worshipped the wife of the god ,siva4   
,she has appeared in a thousand forms1  
with a thousand different names4  ,of   
all these thousand forms1 ,durga and    
,karle are the most regarded by  the    
people4 ,i will speak of ,durga first4  
,of all the festivals in ,eastern       
,india1 hers is the most celebrated4    
,she has ten hands1 in which she  holds 
an iron club1 a trident1 a battle-axe1  
spears1 thunderbolts1 etc4  ,thus armed1
 she is ever ready to fight with her    
enemies4    ,were you to be present in  

the city of ,calcutta in the month of   
,september1 you might everywhere see the
 people busy in preparing for the       
yearly festival of this goddess4 ,images
 representing her you would find  in    
great numbers for sale1 as bread or meat
 is sold4 ,in the houses of  the rich1  
images are to be found made of gold1    
silver1 brass1 copper1  crystal1 stone1 
or mixed metal1 which are daily         
worshipped4 ,these are  called permanent
 images4 ,besides these1 multitudes of  
what are called  temporary images are   
made--made merely for the occasion and  
then  destroyed4 ,they may be made of   
hay1 sticks1 clay1 wood1 or other such  
things4 ,their size varies from a few   
inches to twenty feet in height4 ,if    
any persons are too poor to buy one of  
these images1 they can make them  for   
themselves4 ,when the festival is near  
at hand1 people are seen in  every      
direction taking the images to their    
houses4 ,after they are thus  supplied1 
the festival commences4 ,it lasts       

fifteen days4 ,the greater  part of this
 time is spent in preparing for the     
three great days of  worship4 ,early on 
the morning of the first of the three   
great days1 the  ,brahmins proceed to   
consecrate the images1 or to give them1 
as they  suppose1 life and              
understanding4 ,until they are          
consecrated1 they are  not thought to be
 of any value4 ,they are looked upon as 
senseless4 ,a  wealthy family can always
 receive the services of one or more    
,brahmins1  and a few of the poor may   
unite and secure the services of one of 
them4  ,at length the solemn hour       
arrives4 ,the ,brahmin1 with the leaves 
of a  sacred tree1 comes near the image4
 ,with the two forefingers of his  right
 hand he touches the breast1 the two    
cheeks1 the eyes1 and the  forehead of  
the image1 at each touch saying the     
prayer1 ,let the spirit  of ,durga      
descend and take possession of this     
image4 ,by such ceremonies1  and by     
repeating various muntrums1 it is       

supposed that the ,brahmins  have the   
power to bring down the goddess to take 
possession of the  image4 ,having been  
thus consecrated1 it is believed to be a
 proper  object of worship4 ,having     
eyes1 it can now behold every act of    
worship  which is made2 having ears1 it 
can be delighted with music and with    
songs2 having a nose1 it can smell the  
sweet perfumes which are offered2       
having a mouth1 it can be delighted with
 the rich food which is prepared  for   
it4    ,after the image is consecrated1 
the worship begins4 ,the devotee comes  
near the image1 and falls down before   
it4 ,he then twists himself into a      
great variety of shapes4 ,sometimes he  
sits on the floor1 sometimes he  stands1
 sometimes he looks in one direction1   
sometimes in another4 ,then  he         
sprinkles the idol with holy water1     
rinses its mouth1 washes its  feet1     
wipes it with a dry cloth1 throws       
flowers over it1 puts jewels on  it1    
offers perfumes to it1 and finishes by  

performing shaashtaangkum4    ,the      
worship of the idol is succeeded by a   
season of carousing1 joy1 and           
festivity4 ,on this occasion1 large     
offerings are made to the idols4 ,a     
rich native has been known to offer     
eighty thousand pounds of  sweetmeats1  
eighty thousand pounds of sugar1 a      
thousand suits of cloth  garments1 a    
thousand suits of silk1 a thousand      
offerings of rice1  plantains1 and other
 fruits4    ,bloody sacrifices are      
offered up on such occasions4 ,the king 
of ,nudiya1  some time ago1 offered a   
large number of sheep1 goats1 and       
buffaloes on  the first day of the      
feast1 and vowed to double the offering 
every day2  so that the whole number    
sacrificed amounted to more than        
sixty-five  thousand4 ,you may remember 
that king ,solomon offered up on one    
occasion  twenty-two thousand oxen1 and 
a hundred and twenty thousand sheep4 ,if
  all the animals slain throughout      
,hindostan1 at the festival of the      

goddess ,durga1 were collected together1
 they would amount to a much  larger    
number than ,solomon offered4    ,after 
the worship and offerings have been     
continued for three days1 the  festival 
closes4 ,as the morning of the first day
 was devoted to the  consecration of the
 images1 the morning of the fourth is   
spent in  unconsecrating them4 ,this    
work is done by the ,brahmins4 ,they    
profess1 by  various ceremonies1 to send
 back the goddess to her heaven1        
concluding  with a farewell address1 in 
which they tell her that they expect her
 to  accept of all their services1 and  
return and pay them a visit again in    
the coming year4 ,then all unite in     
bidding her a sorrowful adieu1 and  many
 seem affected even to the shedding of  
tears4    ,soon afterwards the images   
are carried forth into the streets1     
placed on  stages or platforms1 and     
raised on men's shoulders4 ,as the      
procession  moves onward through the    
streets1 accompanied with music and     

songs1 amid  clouds of dust1 you might  
see them waving long hairy brushes to   
wipe off  the dust1 and to keep off the 
flies and mosquitoes1 which might       
trouble  the senseless images4 ,but     
where are these processions going8 ,to  
the  banks of the ,ganges4 ,and for what
 purpose8 ,for the purpose of casting   
the images into the river4 ,when all the
 ceremonies connected with the  occasion
 are finished1 those who carry the      
images suddenly fall upon  them1 break  
them to pieces1 and then throw them with
 violence into the  river4 ,after this  
the people return to their homes4    ,i 
have now given you a specimen of the    
image-worship of the ,hindoos2 and  how 
different is it from the worship which  
the ,bible enjoins4 ,god is a  ,spirit2 
and they who worship him1 must worship  
him in spirit and in  truth4 ,the very  
reverse of this1 as you have seen1 marks
 the worship of  the heathen4 ,they are 
not satisfied1 unless they can have some
 object  before them1 to which they can 

make their offerings and their prayers4 
,thus daily are they engaged in a       
service which1 above all others1 is the 
most offensive and provoking to a holy  
,god--a service which has caused  him to
 declare1 that idolaters shall not enter
 the kingdom of heaven4  ,this1 too1 is 
the service in which every person1 who  
has never given  himself to the         
,saviour1 is engaged2 and1 of course1 in
 which you are  engaged if you have not 
given your hearts to him4 ,those who    
think more  of their money than they    
think of ,christ1 just as certainly     
worship the  image which is stamped on a
 dollar or a cent1 as the heathen       
worship  their idols4 ,those who love   
their fathers and mothers1 and brothers 
and  sisters more than ,christ1 make    
these their idols4 ,and are you1 my dear
  children1 yet out of ,christ8 ,if so1 
you have your idols4 ,and what are      
these idols8 ,are they the world and its
 vanities8 ,then ,god is as angry  with 
you as he is with the heathen1 and      

unless you give up these idols1  you too
 must be lost4    ,in a tract of mine1  
published by the ,american ,tract       
,society1 entitled1  ,knocking at the   
,door--a tract which ,i most earnestly  
entreat you to  get and read--you will  
find an account of the death of a young 
lady1 who  had chosen the world and its 
vanities as her idols4 ,i was her       
physician4  ,after having attended her  
for about a month1 ,i perceived1 one    
morning1  that her disease must soon    
prove fatal4 ,i told her that she could 
not  live4 ,she then exclaimed1 ,doctor1
 can ,i not live a month8 ,i informed   
her that she could not4 ,again she      
exclaimed1 ,can ,i not live two weeks8  
,she was told that she could not live   
two weeks4 ,and such a scene of  horror 
followed as ,i never before witnessed1  
and may ,god be pleased to  grant that  
,i may never witness such another4      
,until laid upon a dying  bed1 ,i fear  
that she had neglected to think about   
her soul's concerns4  ,now she requested

 to be taken from it1 and placed upon   
her knees1 that  she might call upon    
,god to have mercy upon her4 ,as her    
case excited much  attention1 some of   
the youth came to see her4 ,these she   
warned1 in the  most solemn manner1 not 
to put off repentance1 as she had done1 
to a  dying hour4 ,looking up at me1 on 
one occasion1 she exclaimed1 ,doctor1   
cannot you save me8 ,alas1 what could ,i
 do for the poor sufferer4  ,witness1   
now1 how anxious she was to obtain the  
favor of that ,god whom  she had        
hitherto neglected4 ,yes1 so anxious    
that she requested her  friends not to  
allow her to sleep1 that she might spend
 every remaining  breath in calling upon
 ,god to have mercy upon her4 ,one very 
affecting  circumstance occurred4 ,she  
requested her trunk either to be brought
 to  her bedside1 or to be opened4 ,from
 this a ring1 which was set with red    
garnets1 was taken out by herself1 or by
 another1 and handed to her4 ,she  then 
called a young friend to her bedside1   

put the ring upon her finger1  and said 
to her1 ,don't you put off repentance1  
as ,i have done1 until a  dying hour4   
,that ring is now in my possession4 ,in 
less than forty-eight  hours after ,i   
told her that she could not live1 she   
passed into  eternity4 ,would that ,i   
could show you that mournful            
countenance1 which  continued long after
 the last spark of life had become      
extinct2 yes1  even up to the moment    
when the lid of her coffin for ever hid 
it from  our view4 ,never1 never shall  
,i forget it4 ,it was a sad monument of 
the  wreck within4    ,now1 my dear     
children1 you would not like to die as1 
,i fear1 this young  lady died4 ,well1  
then1 if you would die differently1 you 
must live  differently4 ,you must live  
for ,christ1 if you would die in        
,christ4 ,and  are you ,christ's1 or are
 you yet gay and thoughtless--as gay and
 as  thoughtless as this young lady was1
 until laid upon her dying bed8 ,if  you
 are so1 and if you continue to remain  

in this sad condition1 your  season of  
sorrow too will certainly come1 and it  
will come when you  expect it not4 ,as  
the little insect which flies round and 
round your  candle is dazzled with its  
brightness1 and feels nothing but       
pleasure1  until it unconsciously       
strikes the blaze with its little wings1
 and is  swallowed up in the flame2 so  
you are dazzled with the pleasures of   
the  world1 thinking nothing of the     
flames which may swallow you up in a    
moment1 and put a stop to all your joys 
for ever4 ,o1 that the death-bed  scene 
of ,miss ,matthews might have a happy   
effect upon you4 ,o1 that the  solemn   
warning which she gave to her young     
friend1 not to put off  repentance as   
she had done1 until a dying hour1 might 
continue to sound  in your ears1 until  
you would no longer delay repentance4   
,my dear  children1 this young lady1    
though dead1 yet speaketh4 ,she speaks  
to you4  ,she calls upon you from her   
tomb--from the eternal world1 to delay  

repentance no longer4 ,will you1 then1  
be so mad as to turn a deaf ear to  this
 call8 ,will you ever take another sip  
from the cup of unhallowed  pleasure8   
,will you ever direct your little feet  
to the ballroom1 or  other places of    
sinful amusement8 ,will you hereafter   
prefer your worldly  joys to ,christ8   
,o1 you must not1 you must not4 ,it will
 not do for you to  be lost4 ,who1 ,o   
who can lie down in everlasting         
burnings8 ,who can dwell  for ever with 
devouring flames8          ,,chapter    
,,xiv4    ,,the ,,goddess ,,karle4      
,my dear ,children--,in the preceding   
chapter ,i spoke of ,karle4 ,she1 as ,i 
there mentioned1 is the wife of ,siva1  
and1 like her husband1 has the  power of
 destruction4 ,from the images made of  
her1 it would appear that  she is a     
female1 of a black or dark blue color4  
,she has four arms4 ,in  one hand she   
holds a sword1 and in another a human   
head4 ,her hair is  dishevelled1        
reaching down to her feet4 ,her         

countenance is most  ferocious4 ,her    
tongue comes out of her mouth1 and hangs
 over her chin4  ,she has three eyes1   
red and fiery4 ,her lips and eyebrows   
are streaked  with blood4 ,she has two  
dead bodies for ear-rings1 and wears a  
girdle  around her loins--a girdle made 
of bloody hands1 which she cut off from 
the bodies of her enemies4 ,she has a   
necklace of skulls1 which she took  from
 the bodies of the giants and others    
killed by her4    ,illustration    ,of  
all the ,hindoo divinities1 this goddess
 is the most cruel and  revengeful4     
,such is her thirst for blood1 that     
being unable at one time  to procure any
 giants for her prey1 in order to quench
 her thirst1 she  cut her own throat1   
that the blood issuing thence might     
spout into her  mouth4 ,different acts  
of worship are performed to appease her4
 ,if1 for  example1 a devotee should    
burn his body1 by applying a burning    
lamp to  it1 it would be very pleasing  
to her4 ,if he should draw some of his  

blood and give it to her1 or if he      
should cut off a piece of his flesh  and
 offer it as a burnt-offering1 she would
 be still move pleased4 ,if he  should  
present whole burnt-offerings upon the  
altar1 saying1 ,hrang1  brang1 ,karle1  
,karle6 ,o1 horrid-toothed goddess1 eat1
 eat2 destroy all  the malignant3 cut   
with this axe2 bind1 bind2 seize1 seize2
 drink this  blood2 spheng1 spheng2     
secure1 secure2 salutation to ,karle1   
she would  be much delighted4 ,it is    
said that she will be pleased for three 
months1  if the people offer her the    
blood of a crocodile--for a thousand    
years1  if they offer her the blood of  
one man1 and a hundred thousand years1  
if  they offer her the blood of three4  
,this goddess is the patroness of       
thieves4 ,to her they pay their         
devotions1 to obtain help to carry on   
their wicked delights4 ,gangs meet      
together1 and1 after having offered     
bloody sacrifices1 and worshipped  their
 weapons1 and having drunk some         

intoxicating liquor1 and rubbed  their  
bodies with oil1 they go forth to rob4  
,they have a prayer1 which  they offer  
when they worship their weapons4 ,it is 
as follows3 ,o1  instrument formed by   
the goddess1 ,karle commands thee to cut
 a passage  into the house1 to cut      
through stones1 bones1 bricks1 wood1 the
 earth1  and mountains1 and cause the   
dust thereof to be carried away by the  
wind4 ,scattered throughout ,india1     
there is a lawless set of men whose     
profession it is to get their food by   
murder4 ,they are called  ,phansiagars1 
or ,thugs4 ,they owe their origin and   
laws to ,karle4 ,they say  that she told
 them to become murderers and           
plunderers4 ,they are called            
,phansiagars1 from the name of the      
instrument which they use when they     
murder people4 ,phansiagar means a      
strangler1 and they use a phansi1 or    
noose1 which they throw over the necks  
of those whom they intend to  plunder1  
and strangle them4 ,these ,phansiagars  

are composed of all  castes1 ,hindoos1  
,mahommedans1 pariahs1 and chandellars4 
,this arises from  the circumstance that
 they never destroy the children of     
those whom they  rob and murder4 ,these 
children they take care of1 and bring up
 to their  own horrible mode of life4   
,they always murder those whom they rob1
  acting upon the maxim that dead men   
tell no tales4 ,a gang of these  robbers
 varies from a dozen to sixty or seventy
 persons4 ,these divide  into small     
parties4 ,those whom they murder are    
travellers1 whom they  happen to meet on
 the road4 ,sometimes two or three of a 
gang will take  up their station in a   
choultry1 or place where the traveller  
stops1 and  while he sleeps1 they rouse 
him from his sleep1 and cast the noose  
over  his head and kill him4 ,it takes  
two persons to kill a man4 ,one casts   
the  noose over his head1 and           
immediately tightens it with all his    
strength2  the other strikes him on the 
joint of his knees as he rises1 which   

causes him to fall forwards4 ,after he  
has fallen1 they kick him on the        
temples till he dies1 which is usually  
in a minute4 ,they never commit a       
murder until they have taken every      
precaution not to be found out4 ,they   
will follow a traveller for weeks1 if   
necessary1 before they destroy  him4    
,after they have murdered him1 they gash
 the body all over and bury  it4 ,they  
gash it1 that it may not swell1 and     
cause cracks to take place  in the      
ground1 which might cause the jackals to
 dig down to the body1  and thus expose 
their guilt4 ,if a dog accompanies the  
person1 they  always kill it1 lest the  
faithful creature should lead to the    
discovery  of his master4 ,they think it
 to be a very good act to give a part of
 the  plunder1 which they get when they 
murder a person1 to their goddess4 ,if  
they fail to put him to death according 
to their rules1 they suppose  that they 
have made her angry1 and they make      
offerings to her1 that she  may be      

appeased4 ,thus1 you see that their     
religion teaches them to  commit the    
blackest of crimes4    ,the reason why  
this people gash and bury the bodies of 
those whom they  murder1 is as follows4 
,they say that the goddess used to save 
them the  trouble of burying the corpses
 of their victims by eating them1 thus  
screening the murderers from all chance 
of being found out4 ,once1 after  the   
murder of a traveller1 the body was1 as 
usual1 left unburied4 ,one of  the      
,phansiagars employed1 unguardedly      
looking behind him1 saw the  goddess in 
the act of feasting upon it4 ,this made 
her so angry1 that she  vowed never     
again to devour a body slaughtered by   
them2 they having1 by  this one act of  
curiosity1 forfeited her favor4         
,however1 as an  equivalent for         
withdrawing her patronage1 she plucked  
one of the fangs  from her jaw1 and gave
 it to them1 saying that they might use 
it as a  pickaxe1 which would never wear
 out4 ,she then opened her side and     

pulled  out one of her ribs1 which she  
gave them for a knife1 whose edge       
nothing  could blunt4 ,having done this1
 she stooped down and tore off the hem  
of  her garment1 which she gave to them 
for a noose1 declaring that it  would   
never fail to strangle any person about 
whose throat it might be  cast4 ,she    
moreover commanded them to gash and bury
 the bodies of those  whom they         
destroyed4    ,the ,phansiagars bring up
 their children to their own profession4
 ,to  learn this1 the boy is placed     
under the care of a tutor4 ,sometimes   
his  father is his teacher4 ,by him he  
is taught that it is just as proper to  
murder a man1 as it is to kill a snake  
which lies in his path and would  bite  
him as he passes4 ,he is not permitted  
at first to see the murders1  but merely
 a dead body2 his mind being gradually  
prepared for the sight4  ,after this1   
the dreadful secret of his trade is1 by 
degrees1 told him4  ,when he expresses a
 wish to be engaged in this horrid      

business1 they  tell him all about it4  
,in the meantime he is allowed a small  
part of the  plunder1 in order that his 
desire to commit these murders may be   
increased2 since it is only by murder   
that the plunder is obtained4 ,he  is   
from time to time allowed to assist in  
some things1 while the murder  is taking
 place1 or allowed to be present to see 
how the business is  managed4 ,it is    
not1 however1 until he becomes a man1   
that he is  permitted to apply the      
noose4 ,to attain this privilege1 he    
usually  devotes eight or ten years4    
,before he can commit a murder1 his     
tutor  must present him with a noose4   
,this sets him loose upon the world1 as 
a  licensed murderer4 ,when the tutor is
 about to give him the noose1 he  takes 
him apart1 and solemnly enjoins it upon 
him to use it with skill1  as it is to  
be the means of his earning his food1   
and as his safety will  depend upon the 
skill with which it is used4 ,after he  
receives it1 he  tries his skill in     

strangling a person the first           
opportunity that  offers4    ,by the    
course of education which the           
,phansiagars undergo1 they become so    
fond of their dreadful occupation1 that 
nothing can induce them to quit  it4    
,some who have been employed in the     
,east ,india ,company's service1  have  
always returned to their business when  
an opportunity offered of a  successful 
enterprise4    ,when the ,phansiagars   
become old1 they do not quit the        
service1 but act  as watchers1 and decoy
 the traveller1 by some false tale of   
distress1  into some distant place1     
where he is murdered4    ,women are     
sometimes admitted to the society of    
these plunderers1 and1  on some         
occasions1 are allowed to apply the     
noose4 ,they select a  handsome girl1   
and place her in a convenient spot1     
where1 by her beauty1  or by a false    
story of distress1 she may decoy some   
unsuspecting  traveller1 and be the     
means of his destruction4 ,should he be 

on  horseback1 she will induce him to   
take her up behind him2 after which1    
when an opportunity offers1 she throws  
the noose over his head1 leaps  from the
 horse1 drags him to the ground1 and    
strangles him4 ,i will  mention an      
instance4 ,it happened that a horseman  
of ,coorg1 in the ,madras  presidency1  
was passing by a spot where one of these
 interesting-looking  girls was         
stationed4 ,she told him a piteous story
 of having been robbed  and badly       
treated1 and begged him to assist her4  
,feeling sorry for her1  he offered to  
take her behind him1 on his horse1 and  
thus assist her a  few miles on her     
journey4 ,she expressed much gratitude  
for his kindness1  and mounted4 ,soon   
afterwards she suddenly passed a noose  
over his head1  and1 drawing it with all
 her might1 endeavored to pull him from 
his  saddle4 ,at this moment1 a number  
of ,phansiagars started from the        
neighboring thicket and surrounded him4 
,the murderess then slipped from  the   

horse2 but the ,coorg striking his heels
 into the horse's sides1 it  threw out  
its hind legs with great violence1 and  
struck to the ground  the girl1 who     
immediately let go the cord4 ,he then   
drew his sword1 and1  cutting his way   
through the robbers1 effected his       
escape4 ,he wounded two  of them        
severely4 ,these men were shortly       
afterwards taken1 and1 through  their   
means1 twelve others fell into the hands
 of the judicial officers  of the king  
of ,coorg1 including the girl who       
attempted the murder4 ,they  were all   
put to death4    ,and is it possible    
that such persons can go to heaven8 ,how
 could such  ever relish its pure joys8 
,what would they do1 could they be      
admitted  there8 ,my dear children1 it  
is a charity which has no foundation1 to
  suppose that the heathen can go to    
heaven4 ,i have preached the ,gospel to 
tens of thousands of them1 but ,i never 
saw one who had the least atom of  a    
qualification for that holy place4 ,they

 have all gone out of the  way4 ,every  
crime which the apostle ,paul speaks of 
in the latter part of  the first chapter
 of his epistle to the ,romans1 they    
commit1 and crimes  of so dreadful a    
nature that ,i cannot mention           
them--crimes which1 should  they be     
written in the ,bible1 would cause the  
,bible to be a sealed book  for ever4   
,,chapter ,,xv4    ,,self-,,tortures    
,,of ,,the ,,hindoos4      ,my dear     
,children--,as the heathen have no      
,bible to direct them1 they have        
devised various means by which they     
expect to obtain the favor of their     
gods1 and get to heaven4 ,i will mention
 some of these4    ,some burn a lamp in 
a temple4 ,they think that this is a    
very meritorious  act4 ,some roll on the
 ground after the god1 as he is carried 
in a great  car or chariot around the   
temple4 ,it is customary for the people 
to  build very high cars or chariots1   
and cover them with very beautiful      
cloths4 ,they also tie the cocoa-nut    

blossom and plantain-tree within  them1 
and attach great ropes to them4 ,when   
they are ready to drag these  cars1 or  
chariots1 they bring their gods of gold 
or of brass from the  temples1 and place
 them on them4 ,then one1 two1 three1   
six1 nine  hundred1 and even a thousand 
persons1 when the cars are very large1  
catch hold of these ropes and drag them 
around the temple4 ,while they  are     
doing this1 many of the heathen1 to     
fulfil vows which they made when  in    
sickness1 and at other times of         
distress1 throw themselves on the       
ground1 and roll over from side to side1
 and frequently much injure  themselves4
    ,some swing on great hooks1 which   
are passed through the tender parts of  
their backs4 ,sometimes they swing for  
half an hour2 sometimes an hour4  ,the  
longer they can bear the torture of the 
swinging1 the more  acceptable they     
suppose it will be to their goddess4 ,it
 occasionally  happens1 that the flesh  
in which the hooks are fastened gives   

way1 in  which case the poor creature is
 dashed to the ground4 ,when this       
occurs1  the people hold him in the     
greatest abhorrence4 ,they judge him to 
be a  great criminal1 and suppose that  
he has met a violent death in           
consequence of sins which he committed  
in a former birth4    ,not long since1  
,i attended one of these hook-swingings1
 not far from the  city of ,madura4 ,it 
took place on the morning of ,june #hth1
 #ahdh1 just  twenty-nine years after ,i
 first left ,america for ,india4 ,it    
should have  taken place on the         
preceding afternoon2 but one of the     
axle-trees of the  car1 which was to    
support the machine on which the man was
 to be  elevated in the air1 was broken4
 ,nothing1 of course1 could be done     
until  it was repaired4 ,the carpenters 
and others worked with great diligence  
until about eleven o'clock at night1    
when every thing was prepared for  the  
swinging4 ,i expected immediately after 
this to witness the ceremony4  ,it      

however did not take place until the    
morning4 ,while waiting for the  man who
 was to be swung to make his appearance1
 ,i took a pencil and made  a drawing of
 the machine to which he was to be      
fastened4 ,the picture on  the first    
page of the book will give you some idea
 of it4    ,yon have1 perhaps1 often    
seen a well-sweep4 ,the long beam in the
 picture  is swung in the same manner as
 is the well-sweep1 with a single       
exception4 ,in addition to its usual    
motion1 it is made to turn              
horizontally4 ,the cuts which you may   
have seen1 in two or three of my  little
 books1 differ much from the above2 of  
course different machines  are used at  
different times4 ,there are stationary  
swingings1 as well as  swingings of the 
kind to which ,i just alluded4          
,between six and seven o'clock in the   
morning1 the man who was to be  swung   
made his appearance for a few moments1  
and then disappeared4 ,the  hooks by    
which he was to be swung1 as well as the

 iron rods with which a  number of      
devotees were immediately to pierce     
their sides1 were carried  through the  
streets1 and held up that they might be 
seen by the people4  ,soon afterwards   
the man again appeared with the hooks in
 his back1 and  went up to the end of   
the beam to which he was to be fastened4
 ,this1 of  course1 was lowered4        
,notwithstanding the dense multitudes of
 people1 ,i  made my way to the same    
spot1 determined to be satisfied whether
 or not  there was any deception in the 
application of the hooks4 ,there was no 
deception4 ,they passed through the     
skin1 on the sides of the backbone4  ,to
 these hooks were attached yellow ropes1
 by which he was fastened to  the beam1 
as you will perceive in the picture4    
,this being done1 the men1  five or six 
in number1 who had hold of the ropes    
fastened to the end of  the beam which  
you see resting on the ground1 and which
 was then1 of  course1 high in the air1 
drew him up until the beam lay          

horizontally4  ,then1 after making him  
perform one circular motion around the  
car1 they  elevated him1 as you see in  
the picture4 ,when thus elevated1 it was
  thought that he was forty feet from   
the ground4 ,all being ready1 the       
people seized the ropes which you see in
 front of the car1 and began to  draw   
it4 ,mr4 ,chandler and myself           
accompanied it through the streets1     
until it came to the place from which it
 set out4 ,the distance of ground       
passed over was at least half a mile1   
and the time in which the journey  was  
accomplished exceeded an hour4 ,of      
course he was swinging more than  an    
hour4 ,as the car passed through the    
streets1 the people threw  plantains    
from the tops of the houses to the      
crowds below4    ,the man who was swung 
was adorned with flowers and other      
ornaments4 ,he  had a tinselled turban  
on his head4 ,his body was rubbed over  
with a  yellow paste1 made1 most        
probably1 from the sandal-wood4 ,around 

his  ankles were rings1 hung with little
 bells1 which he made to tinkle1 as  he 
was swinging1 by striking his legs      
together4 ,he wore a dark or black  pair
 of pantaloons1 which came a little     
below the knees1 and which had  a border
 of gold around them4 ,he held a        
handkerchief in one hand1 and a  knife  
somewhat resembling a dagger1 in the    
other4 ,these he kept in  constant      
motion1 by moving his arms4 ,on one     
occasion1 a bunch of  plantains was tied
 to one of the long ropes which you see 
hanging down  by the side of the        
swinger4 ,these he drew up1 and         
afterwards scattered  over the people on
 a house opposite to him4 ,illustration4
    ,after following the car for a      
quarter of a mile or more1 we went      
before  it1 and there witnessed another 
appalling sight4 ,there were five or six
  men1 who had the rods of iron which ,i
 just mentioned passed through the  skin
 of their sides4 ,they were dancing     
along1 and1 as they danced1 they  made  

these rods go backward and forward      
through the skin4    ,after the car had 
reached the place from which it set out1
 the end of  the beam from which the man
 was swinging was then lowered and he   
was  untied4 ,again ,i looked very      
carefully at the hooks in the back4 ,the
  people say that no blood is shed by   
their introduction1 and consider  this  
to be a miracle4 ,the falsity of this   
assertion was shown by the  blood which 
,i saw on the side of one of the wounds4
    ,i have been long in this country1  
and consequently have become so         
familiarized with heathenism1 that my   
feelings1 though deeply wounded at  this
 sight1 were not so keenly affected as  
were those of my new  associate1 ,mr4   
,chandler4 ,he has been on heathen      
ground but a short time4  ,when they    
tied the man to the beam1 he was        
unnerved and wellnigh  overcome2 and he 
told me1 that during all the time he was
 following the  car1 he felt like       
shedding tears4    ,while following the 

car1 the young men of ,america came into
 my mind4  ,they refuse to come1 said   
,i1 to help these miserable creatures4  
,o1 they  will not come--they will not  
come4 ,i thought1 that if many of the   
dear  children of that land--children to
 whom ,i lately preached1 as well as    
others1 could witness this poor creature
 swinging from the end of a long  beam1 
far above the tops of the trees1 and    
that1 too1 by hooks passing  through the
 tender parts of his back1 they would   
say1 we will1 by and  by1 become        
missionaries1 and1 by the help of ,god1 
proclaim to the  heathen that there is a
 ,saviour4    ,on the evening of the day
 on which the swinging takes place1     
another act  of great cruelty is        
practised4 ,devotees throw themselves   
from1 the top  of a high wall1 or a     
scaffold of twenty or thirty feet in    
height1 upon a  bed of iron spikes1 or  
on bags of straw with knives in them4   
,many are  often mangled and torn4      
,others are quickly killed4    ,at      

night1 many of the devotees sit down in 
the open air1 and pierce the  skin of   
their foreheads1 by inserting a small   
rod of iron4 ,to this is  suspended a   
lamp1 which is kept burning till        
daylight4    ,sometimes bundles of      
thorns are collected before the temple1 
among which  the devotees roll          
themselves without any covering4 ,these 
thorns are then  set on fire1 when they 
briskly dance over the flames4    ,other
 devotees swing before a slow fire2 some
 stand between two fires1  as you see in
 this picture4    ,illustration3        
,some have their breasts1 arms1 and     
other parts stuck entirely full of      
pins1 about the thickness of small      
nails1 or packing needles4    ,another  
very cruel torture is practised4 ,some  
of the devotees make a  vow4 ,with one  
hand they cover their under lip with wet
 earth or mud4 ,on  this1 with the other
 hand1 they place some small grains1    
usually of  mustard-seed ,they then     
stretch themselves flat on their backs1 

exposed  to the dews of night1 and the  
blazing and scorching sun by day4 ,their
  vow is1 that from this position they  
will not stir1 that they will not  move 
nor turn1 nor eat nor drink1 till the   
seeds planted on their lips  begin to   
sprout4 ,this usually takes place on the
 third or fourth day4  ,after this they 
arise1 and then think that they are very
 holy4    ,there is a class of devotees 
in this country called ,yogis1 whose    
object  it is to root out every human   
feeling4 ,some live in holes and caves4 
,some drag around a heavy chain attached
 to them4 ,some make the circuit  of an 
empire1 creeping on their hands and     
knees4 ,some roll their bodies  from the
 shores of the ,indus to the ,ganges4   
,the ,rev4 ,mr4 ,heyer1 in one of his   
letters from ,india1 says1 that an      
,indian devotee has spent more than nine
 years on a journey from ,benares  to   
,cape ,comorin1 that is1 from the #bgth 
to the #gth degree of north  latitude4  
,the whole journey is made by rolling on

 the bare ground1 from  side to side4   
,when he comes to a river1 of course he 
cannot roll over  it4 ,he therefore     
fords it1 or passes over it in a boat1  
and then rolls  on the banks of the     
river just as far as the river is wide4 
,by doing  this1 he supposes that his   
determination to roll all the way is    
fully  carried out4    ,illustration    
,some devotees hold up one or both arms1
 until the muscles become rigid1  and   
their limbs become shrivelled into      
stumps4 ,in the above cut1 you  have a  
representation of a man with one of     
these shrivelled arms4 ,see  how long   
his finger-nails have grown4 ,one has   
run through his hand and  back through  
his arm4 ,some stretch themselves on    
beds of iron spikes4  ,some wear great  
square irons on their necks4 ,i have    
seen not only a man1  but a woman1 with 
these great square irons around their   
necks1 each  nearly two feet in length  
and two feet in breadth4 ,these they put
 on for  the purpose of fulfilling some 

vow which they have made4 ,for instance1
  if a mother has a very sick little    
boy1 she will say1 ,now1 ,swammie1 if   
you will cure my little boy1 ,i will    
have a square iron put on my neck1  and 
wear it all my life4 ,after this vow is 
made1 if the little boy gets  well1 the 
mother thinks that her ,swammie has     
cured him1 and to fulfil  her engagement
 she will have one of these irons put on
 her neck4    ,illustration3            
,illustration3    ,other devotees throw 
themselves from the tops of precipices1 
and are  dashed to pieces2 some bury    
themselves alive in holes1 which their  
own  relatives have dug2 some bind      
themselves with ropes or chains to      
trees1  until they die2 some keep gazing
 so long and so constantly at the       
heavens1 that the muscles of their neck 
become contracted1 and no  aliment but  
liquids can pass into the stomach4      
,but ,i will not continue this subject4 
,you perceive1 my dear children1  what a
 wretched religion that must be which   

encourages its followers to  perform    
such acts4 ,and how vain are all these  
acts--how utterly  destitute are they of
 any merit4 ,those who practise them are
 not made  better by them1 and they are 
just as far from the kingdom of heaven  
after having performed them1 as they    
were before4 ,the ,christian religion   
encourages no such things4 ,it tells us 
to perform no pilgrimages to holy       
places1 to inflict no self-tortures4    
,but it has its requirements1 and  these
 are very simple1 and may easily be     
performed by all who are  willing to do 
their duty4 ,these requirements are1    
repentance1 forsaking  sin1 faith in    
,christ1 and a supreme devotedness to   
his service4 ,have  you1 my dear        
children1 attended to these             
requirements8 ,if not1 you are  in a    
much worse condition than these poor    
heathen of whom you have been  reading4 
,they are not as guilty before ,god as  
you are4 ,they know not  their ,master's
 will4 ,still1 they must perish1 unless 

the ,gospel is sent  to them4 ,but      
though they perish1 their punishment    
will be lighter than  the punishment of 
those who refuse to love and obey the   
,saviour4 ,that  servant who knows his  
,lord's will1 and prepares not himself1 
neither  does according to his will1    
shall be beaten with many stripes4 ,but 
he  that knows not1 and does commit     
things worthy of stripes1 shall be      
beaten with few stripes4 ,should it be  
your sad lot to perish at last1 it      
would be far better for you to go down  
to hell enveloped in all the  darkness  
of a heathen land1 than to go down to   
hell from a land of such  gospel light  
and privileges as you enjoy4            
,,chapter ,,xvi4    ,,the ,,suttee1 ,,or
 ,,burning ,,of ,,widows4      ,my dear 
children--,from what ,i have already    
told you1 you know that the  ,hindoos   
are a cruel people4 ,but ,i have not    
told you of the extent to  which they   
carry their cruelty4 ,perhaps it is     
shown to the highest  degree in their   

practice of the suttee1 or burning of   
widows4 ,the  ,british have abolished   
this rite throughout their dominions in 
,india4  ,they have also made great     
exertions to have it abolished in the   
territories of the native princes1 but  
,i am sorry to say1 that in some  of    
these territories it is still practised4
 ,within the last three years1          
twenty-three of the princes just alluded
 to1 have issued orders for its         
abolishment throughout their dominions4 
,these orders have probably been  issued
 solely in consequence of their fear of 
the ,british power1 for it  is a        
practice which is riveted in the        
affections of the people4 ,this  power  
they know that it will be dangerous to  
resist4    ,in my ,sermon to ,children1 
on the ,condition of the ,heathen1 ,i   
mentioned1 that the sacred books of the 
heathen encourage the suttee4 ,i  also  
mentioned several instances1 in which   
widows had been burned to  death with   
the corpses of their husbands4 ,even    

though you may have seen  that book1 it 
will be well for me to give you two or  
three other cases1  to impress your     
minds more fully with the horrors of the
 ,hindoo  religion4 ,the first took     
place in a village of ,tanjore4 ,a      
merchant  having died1 his wife1 who was
 about thirty years old1 determined to  
burn herself with his corpse4 ,the news 
of what she was going to do1  quickly   
spread in every direction1 and large    
numbers of people collected  to witness 
the burning4 ,after she was adorned with
 jewels and dressed in  her best        
clothing1 and after her body was tinged 
with the yellow  infusion of sandal-wood
 and saffron1 bearers arrived to take   
away the  corpse with the wretched      
woman4 ,the body of the man was placed  
on a car1  ornamented with costly       
stuffs1 flowers1 etc4 ,there he was     
seated like a  living man1 elegantly    
decorated with all his jewels1 and      
clothed in rich  attire4    ,the corpse 
being carried first1 the wife followed  

in a rich palanquin4  ,as she went      
along1 the surrounding multitudes of    
people stretched out  their hands       
towards her to show how much they       
admired her conduct4 ,the  women in     
particular went up to her to wish her   
joy1 apparently desiring  to receive her
 blessing1 or at least1 that she would  
pronounce over them  some pleasing word4
 ,she tried to satisfy them all1 saying 
to one1 that  she would long continue to
 enjoy her worldly happiness1 and to    
another1  that she would be the mother  
of many beautiful children4 ,another was
  informed1 that she would soon arrive  
at great honor in the world4 ,these1    
and similar expressions1 she made to all
 who came near her1 and they  departed  
with the full belief that they would    
enjoy all the blessings of  which she   
had spoken4 ,she also distributed among 
them some betel-leaves1  which they     
gladly received as relics1 or something 
of blessed influence4    ,during the    
whole procession1 which was very long1  

her countenance was  serene and even    
cheerful1 until they came to the pile   
upon which she was  to die4 ,then she   
suddenly became pensive4 ,she no longer 
attended to what  was passing around    
her4 ,her looks were wildly fixed upon  
the pile4 ,her  face grew pale4 ,she    
trembled with fear1 and seemed ready to 
faint away4    ,the ,brahmins1 who took 
the lead in this ceremony1 with her     
relations1  seeing her sad condition1   
ran to her1 and endeavored to restore   
her  spirits1 but she seemed not to know
 what they said1 and answered not a     
word4    ,they made her quit the        
palanquin1 and her nearest relatives    
took her to  a pond of water which was  
near the pile1 where they washed her4   
,they  then attended her to the pile1 on
 which the corpse of her husband had    
already been laid4 ,it was surrounded   
with ,brahmins1 each with a lighted     
torch in one hand1 and a bowl of melted 
butter in the other1 all ready1  as soon
 as the poor victim was placed on the   

pile1 to envelope her in  fire4    ,the 
relatives armed with muskets1 sabres1   
and other weapons1 stood  closely around
 in a double line1 for the purpose1 it  
was said1 of making  her afraid1 if she 
might wish to draw back1 or of          
frightening any body  who might pity    
her1 and endeavor to rescue her4    ,at 
length the time for firing the pile     
being proclaimed1 the young widow  was  
stripped of her jewels1 and led on      
towards the pile4 ,she was then         
commanded to walk three times around it1
 two of her nearest relations           
supporting her by the arms4 ,the first  
round she accomplished with  tottering  
steps2 but in the second1 her strength  
forsook her1 and she  fainted away in   
the arms of those who were holding her4 
,they were  obliged to drag her between 
them for the third round4 ,then         
senseless1  she was thrown upon the     
corpse of her husband4 ,at that instant1
 the  multitude made the air to ring    
with their shouts of gladness1 while the

  ,brahmins poured the butter on the dry
 wood1 and applied the torches4         
,instantly the whole pile was in a      
blaze4    ,as soon as the flames began  
to rage1 the poor woman1 now in the     
midst of  them1 was called upon by name1
 from all sides2 but as insensible as   
the  corpse on which she lay1 she made  
no answer4 ,she entered eternity1       
suffocated at once1 most probably1 by   
the flames4    ,the second case of      
suttee which ,i shall mention took place
 at the death  of the rajah1 or king of 
,tanjore4 ,he left behind him four      
wives4    ,the ,brahmins having         
determined that two of these four should
 be burned  with the corpse of their    
husband1 and having selected the two    
whom they  thought best to sacrifice1   
they told them of what awaited them4    
,they  received the information with    
apparent joy4 ,a refusal would have been
  attended with their utter disgrace4   
,one day only was necessary to get ready
 for the funeral ceremonies4 ,they  were

 conducted as follows3 ,in a field      
somewhat distant from the palace1  the  
people made a hollow1 not very deep1 but
 about twelve or fifteen  feet square4  
,within it they made a pyramid of the   
sweet-smelling  sandal-wood4 ,on the    
middle of the pyramid1 a scaffold was   
built in such  a manner that the posts  
could easily be taken away1 by which    
means the  scaffold would fall at once4 
,on the four corners of the platform1   
large  jars were placed1 filled with    
melted butter1 to besmear the pyramid1  
that it might be the more easily set on 
fire4    ,the following was the order of
 the procession4 ,it was headed by a    
great  number of soldiers under arms4   
,they were followed by a multitude of   
musicians1 chiefly trumpeters1 who made 
the air recho with their  melancholy    
sounds4 ,next came the body of the king 
upon a splendid  palanquin1 richly      
adorned4 ,this was surrounded by the    
nearest relations  and by the priest of 
the king4 ,they were all on foot1 and   

without their  turbans in token of      
mourning4 ,a large party of ,brahmins   
formed around  them as an immediate     
escort4 ,the two wives who were to be   
burned with  the corpse came next1 each 
borne on a palanquin4 ,during the       
journey they  appeared calm and         
cheerful4 ,the troops kept off the      
immense crowds who  were assembled from 
every direction4    ,the two queens1    
loaded with jewels1 were attended by    
their favorite  women1 with whom they   
occasionally conversed1 and by their    
relations of  both sexes4 ,to many of   
these they had made presents before     
leaving the  palace4 ,they were also    
accompanied by thousands of ,brahmins1  
collected  from different quarters4     
,these were followed by an innumerable  
multitude  of persons of both sexes4    
,when they arrived at the ground where  
they  were to be burned1 the two victims
 were made to descend from their        
palanquins1 for the purpose of          
performing the preparatory ceremonies4  

,they went through the whole without    
showing any fear until towards the      
close1 when their countenances began to 
change1 and their three circuits  around
 the pile were not performed without    
considerable effort to  maintain        
calmness4    ,in the meantime1 the body 
of the king had been placed on the      
scaffold  over the platform4 ,the two   
queens were also laid down beside the   
corpse1  one on the right hand1 and the 
other on the left1 and they joined hands
  by stretching them over the body4 ,the
 astrologer having then declared  that  
the happy moment was come for firing the
 pile1 the ,brahmins  repeated several  
prayers in a loud voice1 and sprinkled  
the pile with  holy water4 ,when these  
ceremonies were finished1 a signal was  
given1 and  the pillars which supported 
the pyramid and the scaffold were       
suddenly  taken away4 ,immediately the  
women were covered with the falling mass
 of  timber1 which tumbled over them    
with a crash4 ,at the same instant the  

pile was fired in all its parts4 ,on one
 side1 the nearest relative of  the king
 applied his torch1 and on the other    
side1 the priest2 while the  ,brahmins1 
in every quarter1 were pouring jars of  
melted butter on the  flames1 creating  
so intense a heat as must instantly have
 consumed the  victims4 ,then the       
multitude shouted for joy1 and the      
relations  approaching the pile also set
 up a loud cry1 calling them by their   
names4 ,they supposed that they heard a 
voice in answer pronouncing  ,enna8 that
 is1 ,what8 but the fall of the         
platform1 and the immediate  bursting   
out of the flames1 must have stifled    
them at once4    ,such was the miserable
 cud of these poor unhappy              
queens--unhappy victims  of the most    
cruel religion that ever disgraced the  
earth4    ,not unfrequently the sons    
take a prominent part in destroying     
their  mothers4 ,this will appear from  
the following case4 ,a ,brahmin died1   
and  was brought to the place of        

burning4 ,his wife was fastened to the  
pile1  and the fire was kindled1 but the
 night was dark and rainy4 ,when the    
fire began to scorch the poor woman1 she
 contrived to disentangle  herself from 
the dead body1 and creeping from under  
the pile1 hid  herself among some       
brushwood4 ,in a little time it was     
discovered that  there was but one body 
on the pile4 ,the relations immediately 
took the  alarm1 and searched for the   
poor creature4 ,the son soon dragged her
  forth1 and insisted that she should   
throw herself on the pile again1 or     
drown or hang herself4 ,she pleaded for 
her life at the hands of her own  son1  
and declared that she could not embrace 
so horrid a death2 but she  pleaded in  
vain4 ,he urged1 that he should lose his
 caste if she were  spared1 and added1  
that either he or she must die4 ,unable 
to persuade  her to hang or drown       
herself1 the son and the others present 
tied her  hands and feet1 and threw her 
on the funeral pile1 where she quickly  

perished4    ,illustration3 ,,burning   
,,of ,,widows    ,i observed that the   
rite of suttee is riveted in the        
affections of this  people4 ,the        
following communications from two of the
 native princes who  lately consented to
 put a stop to this rite1 will show you 
that this is  the case4 ,the rajah of   
,oorcha declares1 that no subject of his
 state  shall in future be permitted to 
become a suttee1 though according to the
  ,shasters1 it is no doubt very        
meritorious for a widow to die of grief 
for the death of her husband4 ,the rajah
 of ,sumpthem says1 ,the practice  of   
suttee is so very old1 and has been     
countenanced and encouraged by  the wise
 men of so many generations that ,i have
 never thought myself  justified in     
interposing to prevent it2 but my       
anxiety to meet the  wishes of the      
governor-general in this and in all     
things1 is so great1  that ,i have      
waived all other considerations1 and    
forbidden suttee4    ,if the ,british   

were to lose their power in ,india1 the 
suttee would  immediately be            
restablished4 ,power has put it down1   
but power alone  will never root it out 
of the affections of the people4        
,nothing but the  ,gospel can do this4  
,o that ,christians would think of this1
 and hasten1  yea1 with great haste1 to 
send this blessed ,gospel to them4      
,,chapter ,,xvii4    ,,the ,,revengeful 
,,nature ,,of ,,the ,,hindoo ,,religion4
      ,my dear ,children--,the sacred   
books of the ,hindoos encourage revenge4
 ,in  the ,vedas1 which are the most    
sacred books1 are laid down forms of    
religious service1 or acts of worship1  
which are designed to injure or  destroy
 their enemies4 ,when a person wishes to
 have his enemy  destroyed1 he goes to a
 ,brahmin or priest1 and secures his    
supposed aid4  ,the ,brahmin1 before he 
proceeds to his work1 clothes himself   
with a  black garment4 ,he also makes   
four images of the foe1 and clothes     
these  with black garments4 ,he then    

kindles a sacrificial fire1 and after   
the  performance of various ceremonies1 
he takes pieces of some animal which    
has been consecrated for the purpose1   
and throws them into this fire4 ,on     
every occasion when he makes this       
burnt-offering1 he touches the mouth  of
 the image of this enemy1 uttering one  
or other of the forms of prayer  which  
are written in the sacred books4 ,of    
these1 the following are a  few3 ,o     
,agni1 god of fire1 thou who art the    
mouth of all gods1 do  thou destroy the 
wisdom of my enemy4 ,o ,agni1 fill with 
distraction the  mind of this my enemy4 
,o ,agni1 destroy the senses of this my 
enemy4  ,o ,agni1 make dumb the mouth of
 this my enemy4 ,o ,agni1 fasten with a 
peg the tongue of this my enemy4 ,o     
,agni1 reduce to ashes this my  enemy4  
,how different1 my dear children1 is the
 religion of ,jesus from the  religion  
of which ,i have been giving you a      
description4 ,no precepts  teach us that
 we may injure or destroy our enemies4  

,on the contrary1  they teach us to love
 them1 and do them good4 ,let me repeat 
to you some  of the words which our     
,saviour spoke on this point4 ,ye have  
heard that  it hath been said1 ,thou    
shalt love thy neighbor1 and hate thine 
enemy2  but ,i say unto you1 love your  
enemies1 bless them that curse you1 do  
good to them that hate you1 and pray for
 them that despitefully use you  and    
persecute you1 that ye may be the       
children of your ,father which is  in   
heaven2 for he maketh his sun to rise on
 the evil and on the good1  and sendeth 
rain on the just and on the unjust4     
,one of the young ,hindoos in ,dr4      
,duff's school in ,calcutta1 when       
reading  the above and similar passages1
 was so struck with the difference      
between these precepts and the precepts 
of his ,shasters1 that he could  not but
 exclaim ,o1 how beautiful1 how divine4 
,surely this is the  truth--this is the 
truth--this is the truth4 ,the          
consequence was1 that  he never could   

rest until he had thrown aside his      
sacred books and his  idols1 and        
embraced that ,saviour whose precepts   
appeared to him to be so  beautiful4    
,and was this heathen so struck with the
 beauty of the  precepts of the         
,bible--so struck1 that he had no peace 
until he gave  himself to his ,saviour8 
,and have you ever1 my dear children1   
been struck  with the precepts of your  
,saviour--so struck with them1 that you 
could  never rest until you had given up
 your hearts to him8 ,if not1 how great 
is the contrast between you and that    
young ,hindoo4 ,he gave his heart to    
the ,saviour4 ,you withhold yours4 ,he1 
through grace1 will dwell for ever  with
 ,christ in heaven4 ,you1 if you        
continue in your present awful          
condition1 must be banished from his    
presence1 and cast into hell1 where  you
 shall be tormented day and night for   
ever1 with the devil and his  angels4   
,flee1 my dear children1 flee to the    
,saviour now1 if you have  never yet    

done so4 ,flee to him1 and then you also
 shall dwell for ever  with him4        
,,chapter ,,xviii4    ,,the ,,deception 
,,of ,,the ,,hindoos4      ,my dear     
,children--,from what ,i have previously
 stated1 you are aware that  the        
,hindoos are a very deceitful people4   
,let me give you another  instance of   
their deception4 ,a late head catechist 
of one of my  missionary brethren was1  
before his conversion1 the priest of a  
temple4  ,a man from whom about one     
thousand rupees' worth of jewels and    
similar  things had been stolen1 came to
 this priest1 and promised to reward him
  well1 if he would detect the thief1   
and secure to him the restoration of    
his property4 ,the priest promised to   
comply with his wishes2 and in  order to
 effect his purpose1 he had drums beaten
 through the village1  and proclaimed1  
that at a certain time he would hold a  
meeting and  detect the thief4 ,at the  
appointed time1 a large concourse of    
people  assembled1 the priest appearing 

in the midst of them with a cocoa-nut   
bound around with saffron-cords4 ,he    
then told them1 that if1 after  putting 
down the cocoa-nut1 it should move of   
its own accord towards  him1 they might 
know that he would be able certainly to 
detect the  thief2 and added1 that after
 it had thus moved1 it would pursue the 
offender1 and follow him until it would 
break his head4 ,he then  performed     
certain ceremonies calculated to awaken 
superstitious feelings  in the minds of 
the people1 and laid the cocoa-nut down 
at a little  distance from him4 ,to the 
great amazement of all present1 it began
 to  move towards the priest1 and       
continued to move until it reached his  
feet4 ,this being done1 he told the     
people1 that they might conclude from   
what they had seen1 that the cocoa-nut  
would follow the thief until it  would  
break his head4 ,he consented1 however1 
to give him a little  grace--to spare   
his life until the next day2 adding his 
advice1 that the  thief1 whoever he     

might be1 had better come to him        
privately1 and tell  him where the      
property was4 ,in the dead of the night1
 a tap was heard at  the door of the    
priest2 the thief presented himself1 and
 delivered up  the property4 ,the priest
 received a present from the owner of   
the  property1 and rewarded the thief   
for his promptness4 ,after this man was 
converted1 he was asked how he contrived
 to make the cocoa-nut move  towards    
him4 ,why1 sir1 he answered1 if you will
 carefully divide a  cocoa-nut1 scoop   
out the kernel from one-half of it1     
enclose a strong1  lively rat1 put the  
parts of the cocoa-nut together1 and    
bind the whole  with saffron-cords1 to  
prevent the crack being seen1 and then  
place it  on a declivity previously     
prepared1 it is clear1 that if you place
  yourself at the foot of this declivity
 the rat will twirl the cocoa-nut1  and 
cause it to descend until it reaches    
your feet4          ,,chapter ,,xix4    
,,superstition ,,of ,,the ,,hindoos4    

,my dear ,children--,in my ,sermon to   
,children1 before alluded to1 ,i        
mentioned a few particulars to prove    
that the people of ,india are very      
superstitious4 ,let me mention a few    
more4 ,it is said that no act1  however 
good it may be1 if performed on ,sunday1
 will succeed4 ,some will  not eat at   
all on ,sunday1 until they have seen a  
certain bird--the bird  on which the god
 ,vrishnoo rides4 ,if a man rubs oil on 
his head on  ,monday1 and bathes1 he    
will commit a sin equal to the sin of   
destroying  a temple of ,siva4 ,if he   
has his hair out on ,tuesday1 he will   
become  poor4 ,even to worship the gods 
on ,wednesday1 is bad4 ,if a person     
takes  medicine on ,thursday1 his       
sickness will be increased4 ,should he  
lend any  thing on ,friday1 he will lose
 his property4 ,if he should buy a new  
cloth  on ,saturday1 take it home1 and  
keep it there1 death may be the         
consequence4 ,should he die on this day1
 some other member of the family  will  

die on the following week4    ,if the   
foundation of a house is laid in ,june1 
the destruction of that  house will     
follow4 ,should a family enter a new    
house in ,march1 some  member of the    
family will die4 ,if a marriage is      
celebrated in ,september1  the husband  
and wife will fight with each other4    
,should a thunderbolt fall on a house1  
or a vulture alight on it1 some  evil   
will befall the people living in it4 ,if
 a crow should strike any  person on the
 head with its wings1 some of his       
relations will die4  ,should a cat or a 
snake cross his path1 it would be an    
indication of  evil4 ,in the latter     
case1 one of his relations will die4    
,if1 when  returning home1 a person     
should meet him bearing a light1 a      
quarrel will  be the result4    ,after a
 person has left his house1 should he   
meet a single ,brahmin1 or a  woman who 
has had her head shaved1 or a dumb or a 
blind man1 or a  washerman or a barber1 
the object for which he left would not  

succeed4  ,or1 when going out1 should he
 hit his head against the top of the    
door-frame1 or should any one ask him   
where he was going1 or should he  happen
 to sneeze1 he would consider these     
things as hinderances to his  going1 and
 renter the house4    ,should a son or a
 daughter be born on the new moon in    
,april1 they will  become thieves4 ,if a
 person is born under the planet        
,saturn1 he will be  slandered1 his     
riches will be dissipated1 and his wife1
 son1 and friends  will be destroyed4   
,he will also be at variance with       
others1 and endure  many sufferings4    
,should he be born under the planet     
,mars1 he will be  full of anxious      
thoughts1 be imprisoned1 and oppressed  
with fear from  robbers1 fire1 etc4 ,he 
also will lose his lands1 trees1 and    
good name4    ,if a person dreams that a
 monkey has bitten him1 he will die in  
six  months2 or if he dreams that       
bedbugs1 in large numbers1 are creeping 
over his body to bite him1 he will die  

in eight days4 ,should he dream  that a 
dog has bitten him1 he will die in three
 years2 or should he  dream that a dead 
person has appeared to him and spoken to
 him1 he will  die immediately4    ,if a
 man has a little head1 he will become  
rich4 ,if he has a large head1  he will 
be poor4 ,if his forehead is wide1 he   
will live a hundred years4  ,if he has a
 small neck1 he will be a murderer4 ,if 
the second toe is  long1 he will be a   
bad man4 ,if a woman has curly hair1 she
 will not  prosper4 ,if her nose is     
long1 she will have a good disposition4 
,if her  ear is wide1 she will tell     
falsehoods4 ,if she has a mole on her   
nose1  she will be subject to anger2 if 
on her lips1 she will be learned2 if on 
the eyebrows she will be cunning4    ,i 
could continue to fill a number of pages
 with things of the same  description1  
but it will be unnecessary4 ,i will     
merely mention one  instance more4 ,on a
 certain night in the month of          
,november1 the people  will not look at 

the moon4 ,the reason assigned for this1
 is as follows4  ,once1 when the        
elephant-faced god ,pulliar was dancing 
before the gods1  the moon happening to 
see him1 laughed at him1 and told him   
that he had  a large stomach1 an ear    
like a winnowing-fan1 etc4 ,this so     
enraged him1  that he cursed her4 ,this 
curse was inflicted on the night above  
mentioned4    ,how does the wretchedness
 of a people1 both in reference to the  
things  of this world and of the world  
to come1 show itself where the ,bible is
  unknown4 ,if this blessed book was not
 an inspired book--if it did no  more   
than remove the temporal miseries of    
men1 how invaluable would it  be6 ,of   
how much more value then1 is it1 in     
reference to the removal of  their      
spiritual miseries8    ,o1 why is it    
that ,christians have not long since    
sent this ,bible to  them8 ,why is it   
that they do not send it to them now8   
,this is a  mystery1 which we must leave
 to be unravelled at the judgment-seat  

of  the last day4 ,my dear children1 you
 are to stand before that               
judgment-seat4 ,shall any of these      
heathen among whom ,i dwell1 rise up at 
that awful season--stretch out their    
hands towards you1 and say1 ,there      
stand the children who might have sent  
us the ,bible1 but they did not  send   
it2 and now we must be lost--lost for   
ever6          ,,chapter ,,xx4          
,,burmah1 ,,china1 ,,etc41 ,,etc4       
,my dear children--,if you will look on 
your map of ,asia1 you will see1        
adjoining ,hindostan1 at the east1 a    
country called ,burmah4 ,this is        
another land of idols4 ,here the        
,baptist ,general ,convention for       
,foreign  ,missions have one of the most
 interesting and flourishing missions in
  the world4 ,the people of ,burmah are1
 if possible1 still further removed     
from divine knowledge than the people of
 ,india4 ,they are in reality  atheists1
 or1 in other words1 people who do not  
believe in a creator or  preserver of   

the world4 ,but still they worship gods1
 who1 they say1 have  become so by acts 
of religious merit4 ,he whom they now   
worship is called  ,gaudama1 or ,boodh4 
,he is reputed to be the son of the king
 of ,benares1  and1 if their history be 
correct1 was born six hundred years     
before  ,christ4 ,the ,boodhists are all
 idolaters4 ,they have many temples     
erected  to the honor of ,boodh and his 
image4 ,before this image they present  
flowers1 incense1 rice1 betel-nuts etc4 
,like all other idolatrous  nations1 the
 ,burmese are very wicked4 ,they do not 
respect their females  as they should   
do4 ,they treat them as an inferior     
order of beings4 ,they  often sell them4
    ,a very singular custom prevails in 
that country4 ,it consists in paying a  
kind of homage to a white elephant4     
,this elephant is sumptuously dressed   
and fed4 ,it is provided with officers1 
like a second sovereign1 and is  made to
 receive presents from foreign          
ambassadors4 ,it is next in rank to  the

 king1 and superior to the queen4       
,burmah is the country in which ,drs4   
,judson and ,price1 and ,messrs4 ,hough 
and ,wade suffered so much1 during the  
war with ,england several years  ago4   
,messrs4 ,hough and ,wade were the first
 to suffer4 ,as the ships which  were to
 make the attack upon ,rangoon          
approached the city1 they were  seized  
and cast into prison4 ,their legs were  
bound together with ropes1  and eight or
 ten ,burmans1 armed with spears and    
battle-axes1 were  placed over them1 as 
a guard4 ,they were afterwards put in   
irons4 ,the  next morning1 as the fleet 
approached still nearer the city1 orders
 were  sent to the guard1 through the   
grates of their prison1 that the instant
  the shipping should fire upon the     
town1 they were to kill them1 together  
with the other prisoners confined with  
them4 ,the guard1 on receiving  these   
orders1 began to sharpen the instruments
 with which they intended  to kill them1
 and moved them about their heads to    

show with how much  skill and pleasure  
they would attend to their orders4 ,upon
 the floor  where they intended to      
butcher them1 a large quantity of sand  
was spread  to receive the blood4 ,the  
gloom and silence of death reigned among
 the  prisoners2 the vast ocean of      
eternity seemed but a step before them4 
,at  length the fleet arrived1 and the  
firing commenced ,the first ball which  
was thrown into the town passed1 with a 
tremendous noise1 directly over  their  
heads4 ,this so frightened the guard1   
that they seemed unable to  execute     
their murderous orders4 ,they shrunk    
away into one corner of the  prison1    
where they remained quiet1 until a      
broadside from one of the  ships made   
the prison shake and tremble to its very
 foundation4 ,this so  alarmed them1    
that they burst open the doors of the   
prison and fled4 ,the  missionaries1    
with the other prisoners1 were then left
 alone4 ,their  danger1 however1 was not
 at an end2 but as ,god had protected   

them thus  far1 he continued to protect 
them until they were set at liberty1 and
  allowed to preach the ,gospel again to
 those perishing heathen4 ,drs4  ,judson
 and ,price were also imprisoned1 and   
suffered much2 but they1 too1  were     
preserved and delivered4 ,the accounts  
of their sufferings are so  long1 that  
,i cannot now relate them all to you4   
,you will find them in  the life of     
,mrs4 ,judson4    ,after the war was    
over1 the missionaries were permitted to
 go everywhere  to proclaim the name of 
the ,saviour2 and their efforts have    
been very  much blessed1 especially     
among the ,karens4 ,it will be          
impossible for me  to give you an       
account of their many labors1 and of the
 many tokens  which they have received  
of ,god's favor towards multitudes who  
have  become followers of the ,redeemer4
 ,suffice it to say1 that more than six 
thousand have been received into the    
,christian church4 ,one of the native   
teachers not long since baptized1 on one

 occasion1 three hundred and            
seventy-two persons4    ,adjoining      
,burmah1 is ,china1 a country containing
 more than three hundred  millions of   
people1 about twenty times as many as   
there are in the  ,united ,states of    
,america4 ,it is a country filled with  
idols4 ,many of the  people earn their  
living by making and selling these      
idols4 ,there are  many shops where they
 are sold1 or repaired when they become 
broken or  defaced4    ,the females in  
that country are in a very degraded     
state4 ,they are the  slaves of their   
husbands1 and live and die in the       
greatest ignorance4  ,any attempt to    
raise themselves to the level of females
 in ,christian  lands1 is considered as 
very wicked4 ,the little female child is
 tortured  from her birth4 ,you have1   
perhaps1 heard that the women of ,china 
have  small feet4 ,these are made small 
by a very cruel practice--by putting    
bandages of cloth so tightly around     
them1 that they cannot grow4 ,many      

women have feet not larger than those of
 an ,american infant of one year  old4  
,mr4 ,doty1 missionary to ,china1 says1 
that he was acquainted with a  little   
girl whose mother had bound up her feet 
so tightly1 that she  cried two or three
 hours every day1 on account of the     
great pain which  she suffered4    ,with
 such little feet1 you may well suppose 
that it would be very  difficult for the
 women to walk4 ,it is so4 ,they limp   
and hobble along1  just as if their feet
 had been cut off1 and they had to walk 
on stumps4    ,the ,chinese do not count
 their daughters among their children4  
,mr4 ,doty  says1 he one day asked his  
,chinese teacher how many children he   
had4 ,he  replied1 that he had several4 
,how many of these1 he then inquired1   
are daughters8 ,we do not count our     
daughters among our children1 he        
answered4 ,i have three daughters1 but  
we ,chinese count our sons only as      
children4    ,when this missionary was  
in a ,chinese village where he had never

 been  before1 a man called to see him1 
bringing with him two pretty little     
girls1 neatly dressed1 about six and    
seven years old4 ,he said that they     
were his daughters and that he wished to
 sell them4 ,mr4 ,doty refused to  buy  
them1 as it was wicked to buy and sell  
children2 but he told him1  that if he  
would commit them to him1 he would take 
them home with him1  and educate them1  
and that they might return home after   
they had grown4  ,to this proposal he   
would not consent but said1 that if he  
would buy  them1 they should be his for 
ever4 ,he could have bought them both   
for  about twenty-six dollars4    ,the  
,chinese have many schools1 but none for
 their daughters1 as they do  not teach 
them1 to read4 ,when they are about     
thirteen years old1 they  shut them up  
in what are called women's apartments1  
where they remain  until the time of    
their marriage4 ,then the parents sell  
them to those  who wish to have wives   
for their sons4 ,in this way1 they are  

frequently  married to persons whom they
 never before saw4    ,many parents in  
,china destroy their little girls soon  
after they are  born1 or while they are 
very small4 ,this they frequently do by 
throwing  them into rivers1 or into the 
sea1 after they have wrapped them up in 
coarse mats4 ,there is a little ,chinese
 girl1 named ,ellen1 now living in      
,newark1 ,new ,jersey1 whose father was 
about to kill her when she was  three   
weeks old4 ,an ,english lady heard of   
his intentions1 and sent a  person with 
ten dollars to see if she could not be  
bought4 ,he was  offered the ten        
dollars1 but refused to take them4 ,she 
sent ten dollars  more4 ,he consented to
 take the twenty dollars4 ,this little  
girl was  brought by this ,english lady 
to ,america1 when she was about six     
years  old4 ,the friends who have her   
under their care1 are educating her with
  the hope that she may go back to      
,china1 to tell its females of the      
,saviour4    ,did you ever1 my dear     

girls1 think why it is that your parents
 love you1  and educate you--why it is  
that they try to make you happy1 instead
 of  cramping your feet1 shutting you   
up1 and1 perhaps1 at last selling you8  
,it is because they have the ,bible4    
,then1 how anxious should you be to     
save what money you can1 to buy ,bibles 
to send to those poor heathen4    ,as ,i
 am now speaking of the destruction of  
infants1 ,i would observe1  that this   
crime is common in other heathen        
countries4 ,it was quite  common1 until 
lately1 in the island of ,tahiti1 and   
other places in the  ,south ,pacific    
,ocean4 ,when the missionaries of the   
,london ,missionary  ,society went      
there1 many years ago1 they found the   
females in a very  degraded situation4  
,mr4 ,nott1 one of these missionaries1  
declared that  three out of four of the 
children were murdered as soon as they  
were  born4 ,he met a woman soon after  
this dreadful crime had been abolished  
to whom he said1 ,how many children have

 you8 ,this one in my arms1  was her    
answer4 ,and how many did you kill8 ,she
 replied1 ,eight4  ,another woman1 who  
was asked the same question1 said that  
she had  destroyed seventeen4           
,infanticide1 or1 in other words1 the   
destruction  of infants1 says the ,rev4 
,mr4 ,williams1 was carried to an almost
  incredible extent in ,tahiti1 and some
 other islands4 ,he writes1 ,during  the
 visit of the deputation1 ,g4 ,bennet1  
,esq41 was our guest for three or  four 
days2 and on one occasion1 while        
conversing on this subject1 he          
expressed a wish to obtain accurate     
knowledge of the extent to which  this  
cruel practice had prevailed4 ,three    
women were sitting in the room  at the  
time1 making ,european garments1 under  
,mrs4 ,williams direction2  and1 after  
replying to ,mr4 ,bennet's inquiries1 ,i
 said1 ',i have no doubt  but that each 
of these women has destroyed some of her
 children4' ,mr4  ,bennet exclaimed1    
',impossible2 such motherly1 respectable

 women could  never have been guilty of 
so great an atrocity4' ',well1' ,i      
added1 'we  will ask them4' ,addressing 
the first1 ,i said to her1 ',friend1 how
 many  children have you destroyed8'    
,she was startled at my question1 and at
  first charged me with unkindness1 in  
harrowing up her feelings1 by  bringing 
the destruction of her babes to her     
remembrance2 but upon  learning the     
object of my inquiry1 she replied1 with 
a faltering voice1  ',i have destroyed  
nine4' ,the second1 with eyes suffused  
with tears1  said1 ',i have destroyed   
seven2' and the third informed us that  
she had  destroyed five4 ,had the       
missionaries gone there but a few years 
before1 with the blessing of ,god1 they 
would have prevented all this4  ,these  
mothers were all ,christians at the time
 this conversation was  held4    ,on    
another occasion1 says ,mr4 ,williams1  
,i was called to visit the  wife of a   
chief in dying circumstances4 ,she had  
professed ,christianity  for many years1

 had learned to read when about sixty1  
and was a very  active teacher in our   
adult school4 ,in the prospect of death1
 she sent a  pressing request that ,i   
would visit her immediately2 and on my  
entering  her apartment she exclaimed1  
',o1 servant of ,god1 come and tell me  
what ,i  must do4' ,perceiving that she 
suffered great mental distress1 ,i      
inquired the cause of it1 when she      
replied1 ',i am about to die4' ',well1' 
,i rejoined1 'if it be so1 what creates 
this agony of mind8' ',o1 my sins1  my  
sins1' she cried2 ',i am about to die4' 
,i then inquired what the  particular   
sins were which so greatly distressed   
her1 when she  exclaimed1 ',o1 my       
children1 my murdered children6 ,i am   
about to die1 and  shall meet them all  
at the judgment-seat of ,christ4' ,upon 
this ,i  inquired how many children she 
had destroyed1 and to my astonishment   
she  replied1 ',i have destroyed        
sixteen1 and now ,i am about to die4'   
,after  this ,mr4 ,williams tried to    

comfort her1 by telling her that she had
 done  this when a heathen1 and during  
the times of ignorance1 which ,god      
winked  at4 ,but she received no        
consolation from this thought1 and      
exclaimed  again1 ,o1 my children1 my   
children4 ,he then directed her to the  
faithful saying1 which is worthy of all 
acceptation1 that ,jesus ,christ  came  
into the world to save sinners4 ,this   
gave her a little comfort2  and after   
visiting her frequently1 and directing  
her to that blood which  cleanseth from 
all sin1 he succeeded1 with the blessing
 of ,god1 in  bringing peace to her     
mind4 ,she died soon after1 rejoicing in
 the hope  that her sins1 though many1  
would be forgiven her4 ,well may you    
exclaim1  my dear children1        ,holy
 ,bible1 book divine1      ,precious    
treasure1 thou art mine4    ,infanticide
 still prevails in ,india1 but as ,i    
have given a particular  description of 
this crime in my ,sermon to ,children1  
on the ,condition of  the ,heathen1 ,i  

will here say nothing farther on the    
subject4          ,,chapter ,,xxi4      
,,the ,,duty ,,of ,,praying ,,and       
,,contributing ,,for ,,the ,,spread ,,of
 ,,the ,,gospel4      ,my dear          
children--,there is another story       
connected with ,india1 which ,i  might  
have mentioned in my last chapter while 
writing about the  destruction of       
infants4 ,i will relate it now1 in order
 that you may be  constrained to pray   
more frequently for the heathen4 ,some  
time ago1 the  wife of a native prince  
had a little daughter4 ,the father      
ordered it to  be put to death1         
immediately after it was born4 ,had it  
been a son1 an  heir to the throne1 he  
would have taken great care of it4 ,a   
second1 a  third1 a fourth1 a fifth     
little daughter was born4 ,all these    
were also  put to death by the command  
of the father4 ,when a sixth little     
daughter  was born1 the mother's heart  
yearned over it4 ,i cannot part with it1
  said she2 ,i will have it taken away  

and hid1 so that the king may know      
nothing about it4 ,this was done1 but   
the poor mother never dared to  send for
 her little girl4 ,she never saw her    
again1 but died sometime  after4        
,many of the little girls in ,india are 
very pretty4 ,they have dark eyes1  and 
sweet1 expressive countenances4 ,this   
little child grew to be a very          
beautiful girl2 and when she was eleven 
years old1 some of her relations        
ventured to bring her to her father4    
,they thought that he would be  struck  
with the sight of his sweet child1 and  
that he would love her for  the sake of 
her mother who had died4 ,the little    
girl fell at his feet  and clasped his  
knees1 and looked up in his face and    
said1 ,my father4  ,and what do you     
think that father did8 ,do you think    
that he took her up  in his arms1 and   
kissed her8 ,no4 ,he seized her by the  
hair of her head1  drew his sword from  
his belt1 and with a single blow took   
off her head4    ,now1 my dear children1

 do you not think that you ought to pray
 for the  poor heathen--to pray that    
,god will send the ,gospel to them8 ,i  
want to  tell you of a little boy who   
heard me preach some time ago about the 
heathen4 ,one night he said his prayers1
 and went to bed4 ,after he got  into   
bed1 he said to the nurse1 ,i have      
forgotten to pray for the  heathen1 and 
,i must get out of bed and pray for     
them4 ,the nurse then  told him that it 
would not be necessary for him to get   
up1 as he could  pray for them while in 
bed4 ,no1 said he1 ,i must get out of   
bed and  pray for them4 ,and the dear   
little boy would not rest until he got  
out  of bed and prayed for them4 ,now ,i
 want all of you1 my dear children1     
every morning and evening1 to kneel down
 and pray for the heathen1 as  this     
little boy did4 ,and ,i want you to do  
something more4 ,i want you  always to  
be punctual in attending the usual      
monthly concerts of  prayer1 provided   
there are no juvenile monthly concerts  

to which you  can go4 ,i have long      
wished to see juvenile monthly concerts 
of prayer  established4 ,they would be  
very interesting if ,i am to judge from 
the  account of one which ,i some time  
ago received from a friend of mine1 the 
,rev4 ,mr4 ,v----4 ,i will give you some
 extracts from his letter4 ,he  writes1 
,according to promise1 ,i send you an   
account of the first  children's monthly
 concert1 so far as ,i can learn1 held  
on ,long ,island4  ,as notice was not   
given either in the church or           
,sabbath-school1 the  attendance was    
smaller than it otherwise would have    
been4 ,still1 about  sixty interesting  
children attended4 ,after a few remarks 
concerning the  object of the meeting by
 the superintendent of the              
,sabbath-school they  sung with melting 
eyes the hymn that describes the        
wretched heathen  mother casting her    
lovely babe into the jaws of the monster
 of the  ,granges4 ,prayer then was     
made1 of about two or three minutes in  

length4  ,then ,i gave some of the most 
affecting accounts of the cruelties and 
ignorance of the heathen1 as related by 
the devoted ,williams1 that  martyr     
missionary4 ,their silent attention and 
subdued countenances told  that their   
hearts were with the wretched idolaters4
 ,after having thus  spent about ten    
minutes1 the children sung in a sweet   
manner1 a hymn--a  prayer for those     
laboring amid the heathen3        ,when 
worn by toil1 their spirits fail1       
,bid them the glorious future hail2     
,bid them the crown of life survey1     
,and onward urge their conquering way4  
,after which1 two resolutions were      
passed1 unanimously1 by the children4   
,first1 that they will each one attend  
the monthly concert of prayer           
regularly1 when able1 and bring with    
them all their companions whom they  can
 persuade to come4    ,secondly1 that   
they1 with the children of the various  
schools of ,w----1  will constitute ----
 a life member of the ,w---- ,bible     

,society4 ,some of  the smaller children
 had brought their little ,bibles to    
give them to  ----1 that he might carry 
them to the poor children of the        
heathen4 ,but  when informed that the   
heathen could not understand ,english1  
they  determined to raise money1 and    
send it out to purchase ,bibles for the 
children4 ,this interesting meeting was 
closed by prayer1 the doxology1  and    
benediction4    ,but not only can you   
pray for the heathen1 you can give      
something to  send the ,gospel to them4 
,do you say that you have no money to   
give8 ,but  cannot you earn some8 ,many 
young persons have done so4 ,one of whom
 ,i  have read1 says1 ,besides          
supporting a school in ,ceylon1 we are  
going to  support five ,chinese boys4 ,i
 earn six cents a week for not using    
tea1  one for not using sugar1 and three
 for not using coffee4    ,another says1
 ,i1 with three others1 have been making
 matches to the  amount of ten dollars1 
and should have made more1 but the      

people are  pretty well supplied4 ,i am 
going to dig my father's garden1 and my 
mother is going to give me a quarter of 
a dollar for digging it1 which ,i  shall
 give to the missionaries4 ,i am going  
to do all ,i can1 and to earn  all ,i   
can1 and save all that ,i have1 to      
support the missionaries4    ,another   
says1 ,i am going to leave off buying   
candy4 ,what is that8 ,can  little girls
 and boys do without sugar-candy8 ,i am 
afraid that many of  you1 my dear       
children1 would find it difficult to go 
without it4 ,but let  me quote all that 
this child wrote4 ,i am going to leave  
off buying  candy and such little       
notions1 unless it is necessary1 and    
save every  cent that ,i can get and    
give it to the missionaries4    ,now1 my
 dear children1 ,i do think that if you 
would save some of those  cents which   
you spend in buying candy1              
fire-crackers1 and similar  things1 and 
buy ,bibles and tracts for the poor     
heathen1 you would do  much more good   

with them4    ,i want to tell you about 
a little boy who belonged to one of my  
schools  in ,ceylon1 who has1 as ,i     
hope1 gone to heaven through the means  
of a  tract which cost only two or three
 cents1 and which was the cause of his  
coming under my care4 ,after he had     
attended preaching for some time1 he    
begged me to admit him to the church4   
,as he was quite young1 not eleven      
years old1 ,i was afraid to receive him4
 ,this feeling1 perhaps1 was  wrong4 ,he
 never joined the church on earth4 ,he  
has1 however1 ,i hope1  gone to join the
 church in heaven4 ,when he was about   
eleven years of  age1 he was attacked   
with the cholera and died4 ,in this     
country1 when  children are very ill1   
the father or mother will catch up a    
cocoa-nut or  a few plantains1 and run  
off to the temple1 and say1 ,now1       
,swammie1 if  you will cure my little   
boy or little girl1 ,i will give you    
this  cocoa-nut1 or these plantains4    
,the mother of this boy saw that he was 

very ill1 and she told him that she     
wished to go to make offerings to  one  
of her idols1 in order that he might get
 well4 ,but he requested her  not to do 
so4 ,i do not worship idols1 said he2 ,i
 worship ,christ1 my  ,saviour4 ,if he  
is pleased to spare me a little longer  
in the world1 it  will be well2 if not1 
,i shall go to him4 ,the last words he  
uttered  were1 ,i am going to ,christ   
the ,lord4    ,now when you think about 
this little boy1 ,i want you to ask     
yourselves1  whether it is not better to
 give two or three cents to try and save
 the  soul of some poor little heathen  
boy or girl1 than to spend them in      
buying candy1 and other useless things4 
,but ,i must tell you about a little    
girl whom ,i saw some time ago1 who     
refused to buy candy while there are so 
many heathen without the ,bible4  ,her  
father is a sea-captain4 ,being absent  
from home1 he sent her five  dollars to 
buy candy1 or any thing else which she  
wished4 ,as this little  girl had heard 

about the heathen1 she determined to    
throw all her money  into the           
missionary-box1 instead of spending it  
for her own pleasure4  ,the mother1 on  
learning her intentions1 asked her if   
she would not like  to spend a part of  
it for candy1 and similar things4 ,she  
replied1 that  she would not1 and in due
 time she put her five dollars into the 
missionary-box4 ,not long after this1   
she was attacked with a severe          
toothache4 ,the mother proposed that the
 defective tooth should be  extracted4  
,the little creature1 for she was only  
about eight years old1  dreaded the     
operation1 and seemed at first to be    
backward about having  it performed4 ,to
 encourage her to submit to it1 her     
mother offered her  twenty-five cents4  
,this little girl did not then begin to 
reason1 ,now1  if ,i can only get those 
twenty-five cents1 ,i can buy a doll1 or
 ,i can  buy some sugar-candy2 but she  
reasoned thus1 ,now1 if ,i can get those
  twenty-five cents1 ,i can go and put  

them into the missionary-box4 ,so she   
said to her mother1 ,i will go and have 
the tooth taken out4 ,the tooth1        
however1 ceased to ache1 but still she  
wished to have it extracted4 ,her       
mother then interfered1 and told her    
that1 as it had ceased to ache1 it      
might be well for her not to have it    
drawn until it ached again4 ,the  little
 girl1 however1 persisted1 saying1 that 
if it were not taken out1  she could not
 get the twenty-five cents to devote to 
the missionary  cause4 ,she therefore   
went to the dentist's1 submitted to the 
operation1  received her twenty-five    
cents1 and went and threw them into the 
,lord's  treasury4 ,was not that a noble
 little girl8 ,doubtless you will all   
say  she was4    ,i must tell you about 
a noble little boy also4 ,some time ago1
 ,i was  preaching to the children of   
,canandaigua1 in the western part of    
,new  ,york4 ,after ,i had preached     
there1 ,i went on to ,rochester4        
,returning from  that place1 ,i met with

 a lady in the cars1 who told me as     
follows3  ,after you had preached in    
,canandaigua1 said she1 a young lady    
there1  who had lost her mother1 and who
 had six or seven or eight of her       
brothers and sisters under her care1    
formed them into a missionary  society4 
,oh1 ,i wish that all the dear children 
in ,america were formed  into missionary
 societies4 ,after she had done this1   
she asked her little  brother how he was
 going to get money to put into the     
missionary-box4  ,by catching mice1 said
 he4 ,his sister gave him two or three  
cents for  every mouse he caught4 ,thus 
it appears1 that this dear little boy   
was  going to throw all his earnings    
into the ,lord's treasury4    ,but let  
me tell you a little more about the     
children to whom ,i before  alluded4    
,another says1 ,in some of the          
day-schools of this city1 the  girls    
have formed sewing societies1 and make  
pin-cushions1 needle-books1  emery-bags1
 and the like1 and send the money that  

is raised from the  sale of them to the 
missionaries1 to be used for the        
heathen4 ,there are  seven              
,sabbath-schools in this town1 and in   
each of them there is a  missionary     
association2 so that in all about five  
hundred dollars are  sent from the      
,sabbath-schools every year4    ,now1 my
 dear girls1 ,i want you to think of    
what has now been said about  the       
formation of sewing societies2 and ,i   
want you to ask your mothers  whether   
they will not allow you to form such    
societies1 to meet once a  week1 or once
 in two weeks1 or once a month to sew1  
to get some money to  send the ,gospel  
to the heathen4 ,many societies of this 
kind have been  formed4 ,after ,i had   
preached to the children in one of the  
churches in  ,third-street1 ,new ,york1 
the little girls who attend that church 
formed  such a society4 ,the account    
which ,i received of it is as follows4  
,you  may remember1 that in your address
 to our ,sabbath-school1 you related    

instances of little girls knitting1     
sewing1 etc41 to earn something for  the
 missionary-box ,the examples which you 
related were not lost to the  girls of  
the ,sabbath-school4 ,immediately they  
began to talk about  forming themselves 
into a sewing society1 and making small 
articles1 and  giving the proceeds to   
the missionary society4 ,they did not   
stop here1  but went right to work1 and 
soon formed their society1 which they   
styled  the ,juvenile ,sewing ,society4 
,they are in a very prosperous and      
flourishing condition at present4 ,i    
know not the amount of funds they       
possess--they pay a cent a week into    
their treasury--but they have a  large  
assortment of articles already made4 ,i 
understand1 also1 they meet  once a week
 to sew4    ,after ,i had preached at a 
place called ,little ,falls1 ,new ,york1
 the girls  formed a sewing society     
there4 ,the following account of this   
society ,i  received from one of its    
little members4 ,when you were here last

 fall1  and told us how much good little
 girls had done in having sewing        
societies1 we thought we would see if we
 could not do some good in the  world1  
as well as they2 and1 since ,october1 we
 have met weekly1 and by  holding a     
fair1 we have succeeded in raising      
sixty-two dollars4 ,we  hope it will be 
the means of saving some poor heathen   
children4    ,now1 as ,i said before1 ,i
 want you1 my dear girls1 to ask your   
mothers if  you may not form such       
societies also4 ,will you think of it8  
,i hope you  will4    ,another of the   
children to whom ,i have twice referred1
 says1 ,i can try  and save their souls1
 if ,i am not there4 ,i can work for    
them1 and send  some money to you to buy
 them ,bibles1 and ,i can pray for them2
 and if ,i  should save some souls1 ,o  
how would they thank me4 ,but if ,i did 
not send  my money1 nor care any thing  
about them1 and ,i should not go to     
heaven1  and they should not1 how would 
they rise up in judgment against me1 and

  say1 ,if we had had the privileges    
that you had1 we should not be here4    
,o1 how thankful we ought to be1 that we
 were not born in heathen lands4  ,o1 if
 the poor heathen could only have such  
privileges as we have1 how  thankful    
would they be2 and if we were born in   
heathen lands1 ,i have no  doubt that   
they would come and tell us about a     
,saviour4    ,i have received many      
letters from children1 breathing the    
same spirit  which is manifested in the 
notes ,i have copied4    ,one writes1   
,last winter ,i brought in the wood for 
mother1 and she gave  me fifty cents4 ,i
 now am very glad that ,i have not spent
 it1 as ,i can  give it to you to buy   
tracts for the little heathen children  
of ,india4    ,a second writes1 ,the    
enclosed fifty cents my grandmother gave
 me when ,i  was a very little boy1 for 
sitting still one hour4 ,will you please
 to  use it to furnish the ,bible and   
missionary to the heathen4    ,a third  
writes1 ,i have always spent my money   

for candy and other  trifles1 but since 
,i have heard about the darkness and    
misery of the  heathen1 ,i intend to    
save it all1 and put it into the        
missionary-box4    ,a fourth writes1    
,the enclosed ,i earned by knitting4 ,i 
intended to save  it1 till ,i had       
sufficient to carry me a short journey  
to see some of my  friends2 but when ,i 
heard you tell about the little heathen 
girls1 ,i  thought ,i would give it to  
you1 for the poor heathen children4     
,a fifth writes1 ,i have enclosed twelve
 and a half cents1 which my  father gave
 me to go and see ,general ,tom ,thumb4 
,when ,i heard you  lecture last        
evening1 ,i came home and concluded to  
give it to you1 and  let you buy ,bibles
 for the poor heathen4    ,a sixth      
writes1 ,i remember1 before my mother   
died1 she used to tell me  a great deal 
about the children of ,india1 and now   
she is in heaven4 ,i  think she would   
like to have me give my heart to the    
,saviour1 and go and  teach those poor  

children4 ,i give you some money that   
was given to me to  see an exhibition1  
which ,i saved to give for such things1 
rather than  go4    ,a seventh writes1  
,you told us that two cents were the    
means of  converting a young man4 ,i    
would give two cents every week1 if it  
would  convert souls to ,christ4    ,an 
eighth writes1 ,my mother told me1 some 
time ago1 that every day ,i  recited my 
lessons without missing a word1 she     
would give me a penny2  and not being   
desirous to spend it1 ,i do wish you    
would take it--fifty  cents--to the     
heathen4 ,it may buy some tracts at the 
bazaar or market4    ,a ninth writes1   
,we feel sorry for those poor heathen   
children4 ,we will  try to earn some    
money to buy ,bibles for the heathen4   
,father has  promised us some land to   
work next summer1 and we think we can   
raise  something and sell it to get the 
money4    ,a tenth writes1 ,since you   
were here last spring1 ,i have saved    
what ,i  could--one dollar--for the     

heathen children1 and should be glad if 
,i  could do more4    ,an eleventh      
writes1 ,the money which you will find  
enclosed1 ,i earned by  working for my  
mother on ,saturday1 which ,i intended  
to keep to buy a  microscope2 but when  
,i heard you preach on ,sabbath1 ,i     
concluded to give  it to buy ,bibles for
 the poor heathen children4    ,a       
twelfth writes1 ,the enclosed1 five     
dollars1 was a birthday present  from my
 father1 but ,i want to give it to ,dr4 
,scudder1 for the poor  little boys in  
,ceylon4    ,a thirteenth writes1       
,please accept my mite1 by the hand of  
my brother4  ,i have been keeping it for
 the purpose of buying a geography2 but 
when ,i  heard you preach yesterday1 ,i 
thought ,i had better send it to you1   
for  the poor heathen4    ,a fourteenth 
writes1 ,i would like much to become a  
missionary1 as ,i am  named after one2  
,i hope ,i shall be one4 ,i have been   
saving a dollar to  buy myself some     
books1 but concluded to give it to buy  

some books for  the heathen4    ,the    
last two children1 whose letters you    
have been reading1 gave to the          
missionary cause the money which they   
had been earning to buy books4  ,when   
you have been earning money for the     
express purpose of giving it to  the    
missionary cause1 then you should devote
 it all to that cause2 but ,i  would    
advise you not to do as did the two     
children last mentioned4 ,had  my       
opinion been asked1 relative to the     
disposal of their money1 ,i would  have 
recommended them to give one-tenth1 or  
perhaps a little more1 of  the sums they
 had been earning1 to their ,saviour1   
and to keep the rest  to buy their      
books4 ,the giving of not less than     
one-tenth of all you  earn1 for         
charitable purposes1 is the principle   
which ,i wish to have  impressed fully  
on your minds1 and ,i hope you will grow
 up under the  influence of this        
principle1 and never1 never depart from 
it4 ,but  while ,i thus speak1 you must 

not suppose that ,i wish you to confine 
yourselves to the giving of one-tenth1  
when you can give more2 ,i hope  you    
will not give merely this1 but one-half1
 or more1 if you can afford  it4        
,indeed1 if you do not go as            
missionaries to the heathen1 ,i want you
  to make it your great object to make  
money for ,christ1 and to spend it  for 
,christ4 ,o1 if the generation which is 
grown1 were as anxious to  make money   
for ,christ1 and to spend it for        
,christ1 as they are to make  it for    
themselves1 and to spend it for         
themselves1 or to hoard it up--it  may  
be for the everlasting destruction of   
the souls of their  heirs--there would  
be no complaints that money could not be
 had to send  the ,gospel to the        
destitute1 both at home and abroad4     
,in my twelfth chapter1 ,i spoke of the 
liberal donations which the  heathen of 
,india make for the support of their    
religion4 ,in the city of  ,calcutta    
alone1 it is supposed that two millions 

of dollars are spent  every year on the 
festival of a single goddess--a festival
 which lasts  only a few days4 ,a single
 native has been known to give1 as ,i   
before  said1 more than one hundred     
thousand dollars at one time to this    
festival1 and afterwards thirty thousand
 dollars yearly4 ,how vast1 then1  must 
be the sums which are spent upon all the
 different festivals of  their gods4    
,would that we could see such liberality
 among ,christians4  ,would that we     
could see the generality of them willing
 to give even  one-tenth of their annual
 income to the ,lord4 ,alas1 what would 
the  heathen say1 if they were to learn 
how much greater are the sums of  money 
which they give to their idols1 than    
,christians give to honor  their        
,saviour8 ,would they not exclaim1 ,it  
is because ,christianity is  false1 and 
heathenism is true1 that ,christians    
give so little for  ,christ1 while we   
give so much for our gods8 ,my dear     
children1 ,i hope  that you will never  

allow the heathen to say that the       
,christian religion  is false1 because  
you do not give your money for the      
spread of the  ,gospel4 ,will you not   
resolve now1 that you will1 so long as  
,god prospers  you in worldly goods1    
give at least one-tenth of all you earn 
to the  ,lord8 ,do1 my dear children1 do
 make the resolution now4               
,,chapter ,,xxii4    ,,personal ,,labors
 ,,among ,,the ,,heathen4      ,my dear 
children--,you have1 perhaps1 often seen
 ,campbell's missionary  map of the     
world4 ,if not1 ,i want you very        
carefully to look at it4 ,i  want you to
 look at the red spots on it1 and think 
how many millions of  people embrace the
 religion both of the ,greek and ,roman 
,catholic  churches--a religion which is
 nothing more nor less than paganism1   
with  a few ,christian doctrines added  
to it4 ,after this1 ,i want you to look 
at  the green spots1 and think of the   
hundred and twenty millions of          
,mohammedans1 who spurn the name of     

,jesus as a ,saviour1 and who have set  
up ,mahomet as their prophet4 ,i want   
you also to look at all the dark  spots1
 where1 with comparatively a few        
exceptions1 the people are in  pagan    
darkness1 without any knowledge of ,god 
and the only ,saviour of  sinners ,jesus
 ,christ4 ,and in view of all this      
darkness--in view of the  need of more  
than half a million of ministers of the 
,gospel to preach  the news of salvation
 to them1 ,i want you1 my dear boys1 to 
ask  yourselves whether it may not be   
your duty1 after you grow up1 to  become
 ministers1 and go and preach the       
,gospel to them4 ,you know that  you are
 bound to do all the good to others     
which you can2 and even if  you do not  
love the ,saviour1 you are not released 
from your obligations  to do good4 ,i   
would by no means have you become       
ministers without giving  your hearts to
 ,christ2 but this you are as much bound
 to do1 as you are  bound to do all the 
good you can to others4 ,if you are not 

,christians1 ,i  want you1 through      
grace1 to become such1 and ,i want many 
of you to  become ministers and         
missionaries4 ,two of my sons are now   
missionaries  in ,india1 and four       
others1 ,i hope1 are preparing to come4 
,and why should  not you also come here1
 or go to other heathen lands8 ,if you  
can be  excused from coming or going1   
why may not all who are now little boys 
also be excused8 ,in such a case1 there 
will be no missionaries at all4  ,and   
you know that this would be very wrong4 
,but ,i do not merely want  many of you1
 my dear boys1 to become missionaries1  
,i want many of you1  my dear girls1 to 
become missionaries also4 ,many little  
girls and boys  have expressed a desire 
to become missionaries4 ,several little 
boys who  wrote to ,mr4 ,hutchings1 one 
of my missionary brethren1 and several  
little boys and girls who have written  
to me1 have said that they would  like  
to be missionaries4    ,one writes1 ,i  
should like to go and be a missionary1  

and instruct the  poor heathen children 
to love ,god4    ,a second says1 ,i have
 been selling matches that ,i made4 ,i  
got five  dollars--just as many dollars 
as ,i am years old4 ,i think ,i shall   
become  a missionary1 and come and help 
you4 ,i hope ,i shall see you again when
 ,i  come to ,ceylon4 ,tell the heathen 
children they must love ,god1 and be    
good children4 ,they must not give the  
children to the crocodiles1 nor  throw  
them into the water2 and they must not  
worship wooden and brass  gods4 ,they   
must worship the true ,god1 and keep his
 commandments4    ,a third says1 ,i like
 to send money to help the poor heathen 
to learn to  read the ,bible1 and other 
good books4 ,i think it will be pleasant
 to  sail across the ocean1 and teach   
them to turn from their idols4 ,i would 
teach them not to lay themselves down   
before the car of ,juggernaut1 and  be  
crushed to death2 and ,i would teach    
them not to burn themselves to  death on
 the funeral pile4    ,a fourth says1 ,i

 mean to save something to send to you1 
to help support  one school4 ,should my 
life be spared1 and the way be opened at
 some  future day1 ,i think ,i should be
 willing to leave my native home1 to go 
to  some distant land to tell the       
heathen of a ,saviour1 whom ,i hope ,i  
have  found4    ,a fifth says1 ,if you  
are ever in want of money1 just please  
to send on  to me1 and ,i will endeavor 
to raise all that you want4 ,if ,i live 
to be a  man1 ,i hope be a missionary to
 ,ceylon or ,china4    ,one little boy  
wrote to me as follows3 ,i have for a   
long time been  saving three shillings1 
for the purpose of buying a little      
racoon1 which  ,i intended to do on     
,monday4 ,on ,sunday ,i heard you       
preach1 and thought ,i  would give it to
 you to save some poor heathen soul2 and
 ,i hope you will  pray for me1 that ,i 
may become a minister1 and go to ,india1
 and preach  to the heathen4    ,another
 writes1 ,this is to certify that ,i1   
,charles ,d4,h4 ,frederick1  pledge     

myself1 if ,god spares my life1 when ,i 
get to be a man1 and he  pardons me     
through ,christ ,jesus1 ,i will go and  
preach to the heathen4    ,a little girl
 wrote me as follows3 ,according to my  
present feelings1 ,i  should like to    
engage in so glorious a cause1 as the   
missionary cause1  and ,i hope1 when ,i 
arrive at an age to be of use to ,god1  
and the poor  heathen1 to embrace so    
glorious a cause4    ,another little    
girl writes1 ,i felt very bad when ,i   
heard you tell about  the poor heathen  
who worship the idols4 ,i could not keep
 from weeping1  when you told us about  
the man who came so far to get a teacher
 to come  and tell the ,gospel to his   
friends1 and was disappointed4 ,i felt  
very  bad ,sunday evening2 and on       
,monday evening ,i felt that the ,lord  
had given  me a new heart4 ,i felt      
happy1 and sang some beautiful verses   
that ,i  learned in one of mother's     
little books4 ,i have read the          
,day-springs1  and thought a great deal 

about the heathen for two years4    ,i  
used to think a great deal about having 
nice clothes1 before ,i  thought so much
 about the heathen4 ,my mother told me  
some time ago1 that  she thought she    
would get me a white dress when ,i was  
ten years old4 ,i  am now ten years old1
 and this evening mother gave me two    
dollars to  get the dress1 or dispose of
 it in any way ,i thought best2 and ,i  
wish  you would take it to have the poor
 heathen taught about the ,saviour4 ,if 
,i live1 and it is the ,lord's will1 ,i 
hope ,i shall come and help you  teach  
the poor heathen about the ,saviour4    
,there is a little boy in the city of   
,new ,york1 who formerly used to tell   
his mother1 that he meant to be a       
cab-driver1 and all she could say to    
him was of no avail in making him think 
differently4 ,this little boy  came with
 his mother to hear me preach about the 
heathen4    ,after he had left the      
church1 as he was going home1 he burst  
into tears1  and exclaimed1 ,mother1 ,i 

mean to be a missionary to the heathen2 
and  so far as ,i know1 he has never    
talked about being any thing else since4
  ,and ,i hope that many of you will    
never talk about being any thing else   
than missionaries to the heathen4    ,i 
am acquainted with a little girl in     
,ohio1 who has resolved to become a     
missionary4 ,she is a niece of ,mr4     
,campbell1 late missionary to ,africa4  
,she was not quite four years old when  
,i saw her4 ,when she was eighteen      
months of age1 she saw the picture of a 
heathen mother throwing her  child into 
the mouth of a crocodile ,she was deeply
 impressed with the  sight4 ,when she   
was two and a half years old1 she       
resolved to be a  missionary1 and follow
 her uncle to ,africa4 ,from this       
resolution she has  never drawn hack4   
,when ,i was at her father's house1 she 
was asked if she  would not go to       
,india4 ,she replied1 that she would not
 go to ,india1 but  to ,africa4 ,she was
 asked why she wished to go to ,africa4 

,to teach the  heathen1 was her answer4 
,why should you teach the heathen8      
,because  they worship idols4 ,her      
mother told me1 that ever since she     
began to  get money1 she has contributed
 to the missionary cause2 and this money
  has generally1 if not always1 been    
earned by some act of self-denial on    
her part4 ,i hope that many of you will 
feel just as this little girl  felt1 and
 do just as she did4    ,when ,i was in 
,america1 ,i used continually1 when     
preaching1 to ask the  dear children    
whether they would not become           
missionaries4 ,i used also to  beg them 
to write down what ,i had asked them4   
,many complied with my  request4 ,while 
,i was at the ,avon ,springs1 one of the
 daughters of a  physician there1 not   
only wrote it down1 but gave me what she
 had  written4 ,the following is a copy 
of what she wrote1         ,august #ah1 
#ahdd4        ,dr4 ,scudder requested me
 to come to ,india to help him when ,i  
am      grown4        ,s4 ,p4 ,s4       

,avon ,springs    ,could ,i raise my    
voice loud enough to reach ,america1 ,i 
would beg of  you to write down the     
following sentence3 ,dr4 ,scudder asks  
me1 to-day1  whether ,i will not        
hereafter become a missionary to the    
heathen4 ,perhaps  you will write it    
down immediately4    ,now1 my dear boys1
 if you will come out to ,india1 or go  
to ,burmah or  ,china1 to tell the      
heathen of the ,saviour1 you may1 with  
the blessing of  ,god1 do as much good  
as ,swartz and ,carey1 and others have  
done4 ,and if  you1 my dear girls1 will 
do the same1 you also may do much good4 
,this  will appear from what ,i am going
 to tell you about a little girl in     
,ceylon4 ,this little girl belonged to  
the boarding-school at ,oodooville4     
,she early gave her heart to the        
,saviour1 and joined the church when she
  was thirteen years old4 ,i should like
 to know if there are any of you  who   
have not followed her example4 ,if so1  
this is not right4 ,my dear  children1  

it is not right4 ,shall this little     
girl1 in a heathen land1 a  land filled 
with idols1 give her heart to ,christ2  
and you1 in a  ,christian land1 a land  
of ,sabbaths1 and ,sabbath-schools1 and 
,bibles1 not  give your hearts to him8  
,this is not right4 ,you know that it is
 not  right4    ,but let me go on with  
my account of the little girl4 ,after   
she had  joined the church1 she wanted  
to go and see her mother1 who was a     
heathen1 for the purpose of conversing  
with her about her soul's  concerns4    
,now1 in this country1 when children who
 have been absent from  their parents   
for any length of time go home1 the     
mother spreads a mat  down on the floor1
 and tells them to sit down upon it1    
adding that she  will go and cook rice  
for them4 ,they have no seats to sit on1
 as you  have in ,america4 ,well1 this  
little girl went home4 ,when her mother 
saw  her1 she was very glad2 and after  
she had spread a mat for her1 and told  
her to sit down1 she said that she would

 go and cook rice for her4 ,the  little 
girl told her that she was not hungry1  
and did not wish to eat1  but wanted to 
talk with her4 ,you cannot talk with me1
 said her mother1  until ,i have cooked 
rice for you4 ,mother1 said the little  
girl1 you  worship idols1 and ,i am     
afraid that you will lose your soul1 and
 ,i want  to talk with you about ,jesus 
,christ4 ,the mother became quite angry 
with  her1 and rebuked her4 ,but still  
the little girl continued to talk with  
her about her soul4 ,the mother then    
became so angry1 that she told her  to  
be silent1 or she would punish her4 ,the
 little girl replied1 ,mother1  though  
you do whip me1 ,i must talk to you     
about ,jesus ,christ1 and she  burst    
into tears4 ,the mother's heart was     
broken4 ,she sat down on the  mat1 and  
her little daughter talked with her1 and
 prayed with her4 ,after  this the      
little girl was so troubled1 fearing    
that her mother's soul  might be lost1  
that she was heard praying for her      

during all parts of  the night4 ,and    
,god heard her prayers4 ,her mother     
forsook her idols1 and  became a        
,christian1 and her conversion was      
followed by the conversion of  one or   
two others4 ,now1 my dear little girls1 
if you will give your  hearts to the    
,saviour1 and in due time come here1 or 
go to other heathen  lands1 and tell the
 people of a ,saviour1 you may1 with the
 help of the  ,holy ,spirit1 be as      
useful as this little girl was4         
,female missionaries have done much good
 among the heathen4 ,i mentioned  an    
instance on page #hh1 to prove this4    
,let me mention another instance  more4 
,in the year #ahch1 an ,english lady1   
,miss ,aldersey1 went to the ,east1 at  
her own expense to promote female       
education among the ,chinese4 ,at that  
time1 she could not go to ,china1 as    
that country was not open to            
missionaries ,she therefore went to     
,java1 where there was a colony of      
,chinese4 ,here she hired a house1 and  

collected about twenty-five girls1  whom
 she clothed1 and boarded1 and taught4  
,the ,lord blessed her labors1  and     
several of these girls were hopefully   
converted4 ,when their parents  saw that
 they would no longer worship idols1    
they became much opposed to  the school1
 and some of them took their daughters  
from it4 ,in the year  #ahdb1 ,god      
opened the door for the entrance of the 
,gospel into ,china4  ,this missionary  
then broke up her school in ,java1 went 
to that country1  and resided in the    
city of ,ningpo4 ,of the girls who had  
become  ,christians while under her     
care1 two were much persecuted by their 
parents4 ,they were whipped and beaten1 
with the hope that they would  again    
return to their idols2 but all the      
efforts which were made to  induce them 
to forsake the ,saviour were in vain4   
,they declared that they  would sooner  
die than forsake him4 ,when their       
parents saw that stripes  and blows were
 of no avail1 they determined to marry  

them to men who  were much devoted to   
their idols4 ,this stratagem1 they      
thought1 might  succeed in destroying   
all their interest in their new         
religion4 ,here1  however1 they were    
again foiled4 ,the girls became alarmed1
 and fled from  their parents4 ,an      
,english gentleman1 but who was not a   
professor of  religion1 felt deeply     
interested for them1 and assisted them  
to get on  board a ship going to        
,batavia4 ,here they were pursued but   
escaped from  the pursuers by going on  
board of a ship which sailed for        
,singapore4  ,from ,singapore they      
sailed for ,china1 where they were      
permitted to join  the old friend who   
had been the means of their conversion4 
,this lady  collected a school at       
,ningpo of more than thirty girls4 ,thus
 you see how  much good female          
missionaries have done by going to      
heathen lands4 ,and  are none of you    
willing to follow their example8 ,are   
none of you willing  to say1 ,here am   

,i1 ,lord1 send me8          ,,chapter  
,,xxiii4    ,,success ,,of ,,the        
,,gospel ,,in ,,india ,,and ,,ceylon4   
,my dear ,children--,i have told you    
that ,india is a very dark land1 but    
there are a few bright spots in it4     
,through the blessing of ,god upon the  
prayers of his people in ,christian     
lands1 and upon the prayers and  labors 
of his missionary servants1 many of the 
heathen of ,india and  ,ceylon have     
forsaken their idols1 and are now       
enlisted under the banner  of ,jehovah  
,jesus4 ,in the ,travancore and         
,tinnivelly districts to say  nothing of
 the success of the ,gospel in other    
places1 thousands and tens  of thousands
 of the people have embraced            
,christianity4 ,in hundreds of  villages
 where but a few years ago the name of  
,jesus had never been  heard1 it is now 
known and adored4    ,you have often    
heard of ,ceylon4 ,if you will look at  
the map of  ,hindostan1 you will find it
 close to that country4 ,here           

,christianity has  begun to prevail4    
,this island is two hundred miles long1 
and in some  places quite wide4 ,a large
 part of it is covered with what is     
called  jungle4 ,jungle and wilderness  
mean the same thing4 ,in this jungle    
there  are many wild beasts1 such as    
elephants1 bears1 wild hogs1 and        
buffaloes4 ,in it also1 there are men1  
women1 and children1 running wild1  just
 like the wild beasts4 ,this people are 
called ,verders1 or wild  people4 ,they 
wear scarcely any clothing4 ,they have  
no houses4 ,when it  rains1 they creep  
into holes1 or go under overhanging     
rocks4 ,their beds  consist of a few    
leaves4 ,sunk almost to the level of the
 brute1 they  live and die like their   
shaggy companions of the forest4 ,even  
upon these  the ,gospel has tried its   
power4 ,more than fifty families have   
settled  down1 forming two pleasant1 and
 now ,christian villages4 ,they have    
schoolmasters and ,christian teachers4  
,i must give you a description of two   

revivals of religion which  occurred    
while ,i was in the island of ,ceylon1  
in the year #ahcc4 ,before  those       
revivals took place1 there was no       
particular manifestation of much        
seriousness at any of our stations4 ,it 
was in the month of ,october of  that   
year1 that we began to feel that we must
 labor more1 and pray more  for the     
conversion of perishing souls4 ,a       
protracted meeting was spoken  of1 and  
it was determined that one should be    
held at our seminary in  ,batticotta--a 
seminary which was established for the  
purpose of raising  up a native         
ministry4 ,on the morning of the day in 
which the meeting was  commenced1 ,mr4  
,spaulding and myself went to that      
station to assist ,mr4  ,poor1 the      
principal of the seminary1 in laboring  
with the students4 ,in  these labors we 
spent five days4 ,it was good to be     
there4 ,no sooner had  we begun our     
exercises1 than a blessing from on high 
was experienced4  ,the windows of heaven

 were opened1 and the ,holy ,ghost      
descended4 ,this  was evident from the  
spirit of prayer which was poured out   
upon the  pious students of the         
seminary4 ,they were heard a great while
 before  day pleading1 in their social  
circles1 that ,god would have mercy upon
  their impenitent companions1 and bring
 them into the kingdom of his  grace4   
,we trust1 also1 that a spirit of prayer
 was given to those of us  who took a   
prominent part in the meeting4 ,at the  
termination of our  exercises1 with the 
exception of a few lads belonging to a  
,tamul class1  who had lately been      
admitted to the seminary1 there was not1
 so far as ,i  know1 an individual      
connected with it1 who was not humbled  
at the foot  of the cross1 either to lie
 there until healed of his wounds1 or to
  show1 if he perished1 that he must    
perish under circumstances of a very    
aggravated nature4    ,after we had     
finished our meeting at ,batticotta we  
went to the female  seminary at         

,oodooville1 to hold similar meetings4  
,before we reached that  station1 the   
church-members there1 after having heard
 what ,god was doing  at ,batticotta1   
became very much aroused to pray for the
 influences of  the ,holy ,spirit to    
descend upon the impenitent in their    
seminary also4  ,soon after we reached  
the station1 we held a meeting with the 
girls4  ,some of them were then deeply  
concerned for the salvation of their    
souls2 but it was not until ,wednesday  
afternoon1 that we knew how  powerfully 
the ,spirit of ,god had been at work4   
,the meeting which we held  with the    
seminarists at that time was one of the 
most solemn meetings  which ,i ever     
attended4 ,one of them1 a girl of high  
caste1 and of a very  good family1 said 
to her companions in that meeting1 ,my  
sisters1 ,i have  been a proud one among
 you4 ,i hope that if you ever see me   
proud again1  you will tell me of it4 ,i
 used to tell the missionaries1 that ,i 
had  given myself to the ,saviour1 but  

,i had not done it4 ,another of the     
girls burst into tears1 and cried out   
aloud4 ,as she could not restrain  her  
feelings1 and did not wish to disturb   
the assembly1 she arose and  left it4   
,she retired to one of the prayer-rooms 
adjoining the seminary1  there to weep  
alone4 ,she1 however1 was not left      
alone4 ,mr4 ,poor1 one of  my missionary
 associates1 followed her1 and          
endeavored to administer the            
consolations of the ,gospel to her2 but 
she refused to be comforted4 ,all  her  
distress seemed to arise from a single  
source4 ,i told you a  falsehood1 said  
she1 last ,monday1 in saying that ,i had
 dedicated  myself to the ,saviour1 when
 ,i had not4 ,perhaps she thought at    
that  time1 that she had thus dedicated 
herself to the ,saviour1 but  afterwards
 found that she had deceived herself4   
,in this wretched state  of mind1 she   
continued until half-past ten o'clock   
that night1 when she  came into ,mr4    
,spaulding's house1 where ,i then was1  

and wished to know  what she must do to 
be saved4 ,she was told1 as she had     
often been told  before1 that she must  
dedicate herself entirely to her        
,saviour4 ,she went  away1 and returned 
the same night at about half-past eleven
 o'clock1  saying1 that she had found   
,,him4        ,friends1 is not my case  
amazing8       ,what a ,saviour ,i have 
found4    ,my dear young friends1 are   
there any of you who have never given   
your  hearts to ,christ8 ,if so1 let me 
entreat you to follow the example of    
that dear little girl of whom ,i have   
now been speaking4 ,she found it to  be 
necessary to give her heart to the      
,saviour1 and ,i hope that she did  give
 it to him4 ,o that you too might give  
up your hearts to him4 ,alas1  if you do
 not1 you must soon go down to eternal  
burnings where you will  be constrained 
to cry out1 ,lost1 lost1 lost for ever6 
,be careful1 my  dear children1 ,o be   
careful that this young girl does not   
rise up  against you in the last day1   

and condemn you4 ,she must do so--she   
will  do so1 if you do not1 like her1   
choose ,christ as your portion4 ,but ,i 
am  digressing1 and must go back to the 
point ,i left4    ,the next day1 one of 
our missionary sisters1 who had lately  
reached  ,ceylon from ,america1 came to 
,oodooville1 to witness the nature of   
the  work which she heard was in        
progress at that place4 ,as she was     
entering  ,mr4 ,spaulding's house1 she  
was met by one of the most consistent   
church-members of the seminary1 who     
declared that she had lost her hope  of 
being a ,christian4 ,perhaps this       
church-member was disposed to write     
bitter things against herself because   
she did not feel all that warmth  in    
religion which marked the conduct of    
those who1 at that time1 were  indulging
 the hope that they had passed from     
death to life4 ,after the  sister to    
whom ,i alluded had been in the house a 
little while1 she  requested ,mrs4      
,spaulding to allow her to have an      

interview with such of  the girls as    
were entertaining a hope of their       
interest in the ,saviour4  ,these were  
twenty-two in number4 ,this interview   
was granted4 ,as she  knew nothing about
 the ,tamul language1 ,i acted as her   
interpreter4  ,through me1 she requested
 the girls to give a statement of their 
feelings4 ,one of them arose1 and said1 
,i feel as happy as an angel4 ,i  feel  
joys that ,i can express to no one but  
my ,saviour2 and ,i am just as  certain 
that my sins are forgiven1 as if ,i had 
sent up a karduthaase1  that is1 a      
letter to heaven1 and received an answer
 to it4 ,another of  the girls said1    
that the missionaries had often talked  
with her about  her dedicating herself  
to the ,saviour1 but that she did not   
then know  what it meant4 ,i now know1  
added she1 what it means1 for ,god has  
taught it to me4 ,another of the girls  
said1 ,though they put me in the  fire1 
,i will never forsake the ,saviour4     
,now1 my dear children1 ,i must bid you 

farewell ,probably ,i shall never  see  
you1 unless you come to this heathen    
land1 until ,i meet you at the          
judgment-seat of ,christ4 ,if you do not
 become missionaries1 most of you  will 
probably die1 and be buried where you   
now are4 ,probably ,i shall die  in this
 heathen land4 ,but we shall not always 
sleep in our graves4 ,after  a little   
season1 the archangel's trumpet will    
sound1 and you in  ,america1 and ,i in  
,india1 shall hear his voice            
proclaiming1 ,awake1 ye  dead1 and come 
to judgment4 ,and we shall all at once  
rise from our  graves1 and stand before 
our ,judge4 ,and where shall ,i then see
 you8  ,shall ,i see any of you on the  
left hand of ,christ1 and hear him say1 
,depart1 ye cursed1 into everlasting    
fire1 prepared for the devil and  his   
angels8 ,o1 if ,i should hear that      
dreadful sentence pronounced  against   
you1 how would my heart die within me4  
,how could ,i bear to hear  it4 ,oh1 ,i 
could not--,i could not bear to hear it4

 ,my dear children1 if  you are yet out 
of ,christ1 ,i entreat you1 at this very
 moment1 to lay  down this book1 and    
throw yourselves at the feet of your    
,saviour4 ,tell  him1 that you are lost 
sinners1 deserving to be cast into      
everlasting  burnings4 ,tell him1 that  
though you have been wicked children1   
you will  leave off your wickedness1 and
 be his for ever4 ,plead with him1 with 
as  much earnestness as a drowning man  
would plead with you to save him1  to   
give you the influences of his ,holy    
,spirit1 to create within you a  clean  
heart1 and renew within you a right     
spirit1 without which you are  eternally
 undone2 and continue to plead1 until he
 pardons you1 and  receives you as his  
children4 ,by all the sufferings of the 
,son of ,god1  by all the joys of       
heaven1 by all the torments of hell1 by 
the  solemnities of your dying bed1 by  
the value of your immortal souls  which1
 if once lost1 must be lost for ever1 ,i
 beseech you thus  immediately to throw 

yourselves at his feet1 and plead with  
him to  make you his4 ,neglect this     
duty--neglect giving yourselves to      
,christ1  even for one minute1 and it   
may be1 that you will be lost1 yea1     
,,lost ,,for  ,,ever4