PRIMARY SCHOOLS.
I do not know any mission in Northern India where elementary education has been entirely neglected. Some have done much more in this department than others, but all have devoted to it a measure of attention and effort. We had at one time ten schools of this class in different parts of Benares. In these humble schools many have learned to read, write, and keep accounts, and have thus been fitted for discharging efficiently their secular work. Their minds have been furnished and their character improved by useful information communicated to them. Above all, Christian instruction has been imparted. The schools have been frequently visited by themissionary and his native assistants for the special object of reading with the pupils portions of the Scriptures, and inculcating the lessons they contain. Thus readers for our Scriptures and Christian books have been prepared, who we may hope come to their perusal with weakened prejudice from the kindly feeling with which we are regarded. A favourable impression has thus been made on the minds of parents as well as of pupils.
I have already mentioned that these schools have been utilized for preaching-stations, and have been well adapted for this purpose. They have been carried on at small expense. The great drawback has been that with few exceptions the teachers have been Hindus. They have been of the Kaisth, the writer caste, who are as a caste less imbued perhaps with Hinduism than any other. When Christians have been available their services have of course been thankfully secured. For some years the Hindu element has been gradually withdrawn from the teaching staff. Two of the early teachers in our time became Christians, one having been baptized in our Mission, and the other in the Church Mission at Benares.
The whole state of primary education in the North-West, I may say in India, is on a very different footing from what it was in 1840. Great progress in every department of education has been made since that time. Considering the vast importance of primary education, the advancement has not been so great as might have been expected, but there is every prospect of its being largely extended in the immediate future. It is hoped that one outcome of the Education Commission which is now sitting will be the gathering into schools of many thousands of the young who have been hitherto neglected.
In most Missions of any standing, even where the chief attention has been given to direct evangelistic work, some provision has been made for secondary education. A school with this object was established in our Mission in 1845. It was taught in a well-sized native house, and was afterwards transferred to a larger building. It had successive superintendents, the late Mr. Sherring, Mr. Blake, and myself. It was a longer time under Mr. Sherring than under any other, and in it he laboured very diligently and efficiently. It received the name of the Central School, as our idea was to transfer to it the best boys from what we called the Bazar schools. It was intended to allow none to enter who had not made some progress in reading their own language, but we found this exclusion impracticable, and we were obliged to form an elementary department. English was taught, and the higher classes were introduced to geometry, algebra, history, especially Indian history, and other similar branches of a liberal education. Almost all when they entered were ignorant of English. Those who remained a considerable time made fair progress, a few made remarkable progress; and we were happy to find that many on leaving us obtained responsible situations, which they continued to hold to the satisfaction of their superiors.
For years under successive superintendents the Head Master was a Christian, Babu Ram Chunder Basu, who is now most usefully employed as a lecturer to educated natives. His great attainments, his diligence and teaching power, did much to promote the prosperity of the school.
In our Central school a very prominent place was given to Christian instruction. Every day Scripture lessons were given by Christian teachers; on Saturday, for years,a lecture was delivered to the assembled school; and on Sunday morning a service was held, at which there was a good voluntary attendance. The effect of the prominence thus given to Christian teaching was shown early in 1857, when on a plan arranged by the zealous public-spirited Commissioner of the Benares Province, Mr. Henry Carre Tucker, there was a gathering in the city of the pupils from all the schools in the province who choose to attend to submit to an examination in Scripture knowledge. Prizes in money and books were given to those who proved themselves most proficient. A great number of lads and boys made their appearance, and the high place taken by the pupils of our Central school showed how well they had been taught.
THE UNIVERSITY STANDARD.
Some missions provide for taking their pupils on to the University standard. Among these the missions in the Presidency cities have held, and from their peculiar sphere must continue to hold, the first rank. I have already observed nothing interested me more, nothing delighted me more on reaching Calcutta early in 1839, than the sight of many young men and boys taught in the institutions of the Church of Scotland and of our own Mission. It was most exhilarating to see so many bright youths studying our language, introduced to Western knowledge, and, above all, led to the fountain of truth in the Word of God. Dr. Duff was not the first in establishing in Calcutta an institution for the teaching of English; he was not the first in establishing a Christian school; many were before him in this good work: but he was the first in setting up an institution on a large scale on a thoroughly Christian basis, in which English was to have the first place, and in which provision was made for carrying the students on to the University standardof Europe. In 1843 the missionaries, on account of their adherence to the Free Church, were obliged to give up their buildings in Cornwallis Square, and to seek accommodation in another part of Calcutta, where they have continued their scholastic work with great zeal and efficiency. The institution in Cornwallis Square has been conducted for many years with remarkable success by the missionaries of the Established Church of Scotland. All the missions of Calcutta have taken part in this work, and have sent forth bands of well-educated young men, who have acquired a large acquaintance with the Word of God.
Similar institutions have been formed throughout the country. As may be supposed, these vary greatly in resources and efficiency. Years ago our Central school was transferred from a rented house in the city to a large purchased house in the suburbs, where, under the name of the High School, it has continued to flourish. Many of its students have successfully passed the Entrance examination of the Calcutta University, and a considerable number have passed the First Arts examination. It has always stood high in native estimation, has had a large attendance of pupils, and is reckoned one of the best institutions of the kind in the North-West. The change from the Central school, with its secondary education, the the High school, with its arrangement to carry on the pupils further, was made by the late Mr. Sherring, and to his assiduous care and efficient management its success is largely due. It maintains its character under the superintendence of our friend Mr. Hewlett, who has arranged for the opening of a B.A. class.
I have mentioned the University standard. For manyyears after our going to India there was no University in the land. The establishment of Universities in Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay, and the introduction of the grant-in-aid system, have effected in the educational department a change so great that it may be called a revolution. The studies in mission schools are to a large extent what they were, but they have come under new conditions, which greatly alter the proportionate attention given to them, and the degree of zeal with which they are prosecuted. Under the grant-in-aid system missionaries are allowed full liberty in giving Christian instruction to their pupils. The only thing required by the Government Inspector is that the secular education be such as will entitle the school to a grant. If formerly a mission school egregiously failed in fitting the pupils for the positions in life to which they were looking forward, it rightly lost favour, and was soon deserted. Now there is a new urgent necessity for efficiency, and the healthy stimulus thus given is in itself a marked benefit; but if care be not taken the opportunity for imparting Christian instruction is impaired, which formed the main inducement for missionaries taking part in the work.
AMBITION FOR UNIVERSITY HONOURS.
The effect of the change is most marked in our higher schools. There is a widely spread and intense ambition for University honours. Not only in the Presidency cities, but in the great cities of the country, a crowd of boys and young men are eager for admission to the University circle. This eagerness springs from the desire for honourable distinction, which is as strong in the minds of Indian youth as in any youth on the face of the earth. It springs, perhaps, still more from the fact that the University stamp, attesting educational proficiency, is a high recommendation in favour of applicants for well-paid situations. It would be hard to say how far a love of knowledge contributes to this eagerness for study. It would be uncharitable to affirm it is altogether absent, but it would be shutting one's eyes to potent facts to suppose it furnishes the greater part of the motive power. Owing to various causes, such as the want of opportunity, of capacity, and diligence, the great majority of students do not aspire higher than the Entrance examination; but even to pass this successfully is considered a great feat, and many are proud of achieving it. The Calcutta University has a high standard for degrees, and those who acquire them are entitled to be considered well-educated men.
The effect of this eagerness, we may say this rage for University distinction, on mission schools can be easily conceived. The great question with the student is, "How can I get to the University goal? What are the studies which promise the quickest and largest success?" The studies which do not lead to this goal have little attraction; while those that lead to it, and just in proportion as they lead to it, are eagerly pursued. Our Scriptures have no place in the University curriculum. The consequence is that the student, whose supreme aim is to acquit himself well when he goes up for degrees, and estimates studies by their bearing on his success, gives to the Bible only the attention required by the rule of the institution he attends, and he often gives that attention reluctantly; so that even the knowledge he cannot fail to acquire can scarcely be expected to tell on his heart and conscience. Every hour given to the Bible he is apt to regard as taken away from the studies which he most highly values, and in which, with all his application, he finds it difficult to attain proficiency.
THE POPULARITY OF MISSION SCHOOLS.
It is undeniable that mission schools have been, and are, popular with the people of India. From the Report just published of our Benares Mission it appears that at present there are 1,265 pupils in its schools, boys and girls. Various things have conduced to this popularity. Missionaries as a class have acquired a firmly established character for attention to their pupils and kindly treatment of them. They are credited with good motives by many who have no drawing to Christianity. Then, for a considerable time no charge for tuition was made, the pupils being simply required to pay for their school books. Since fees have been taken they are, I believe, generally lower than in Government institutions; though, on the other hand, these have scholarships and prizes which are far beyond any pecuniary advantage mission schools can offer. There is, of course, in our schools the possibility of the pupils' ancestral religion being weakened, or even abandoned, but the hope is entertained both by them and their parents that the danger will be escaped. While the main motive for resorting to our schools is secular advancement—undoubtedly a right motive, if kept within due limits—the missionaries, while earnestly desiring the temporal welfare of their pupils, are actuated by a still higher motive, which they constantly avow. Till the establishment of the University, boys and young men, while prosecuting the special object for which they had put themselves under tuition, with few exceptions showed no disinclination to Christian instruction. A portion of the school-time was allotted for it, and to the work of that time many cheerfully applied themselves. Some became deeply interested, and a few were led in consequence to avow their faith in Jesus. With the new University system a new order of things has come in,which has placed Christian instruction under great disadvantages.
In consequence of this change some have advocated the entire withdrawal of mission agency from the schools where the higher education is imparted. It has been said, "Why should missionaries from day to day be doing the work of mere secular teachers, in hope that during the short time allotted for Christian instruction to young men, indisposed to receive it, they can secure their spiritual good?" If they withdraw, what then? The alternative is the loss of influence over a class that may be expected to take the lead in all movements of their people, and their transfer to teachers who are, in many cases, the avowed and bitter foes of Christianity, and whose object will be to imbue them with their own sentiments. There is abundant testimony to the fact that the pupils of mission schools regard missionaries with a friendly feeling, and diffuse that feeling in their respective circles, and also show respect for the Gospel even when they argue against it to justify their adherence to their ancestral religion. May it not be hoped, too, that in many minds a conviction is left that Christianity is the religion of heaven, although there are formidable obstacles to that conviction obtaining sway over the heart and life? There have been instances where the conviction has broken through every obstacle, and has been avowed by open profession of faith in Christ. Our Missionary Societies may well shrink from the abandonment of a sphere which furnishes the opportunity for favourable influence over so many minds—and minds, too, which are sure to be very influential in the community.
SABBATH SCHOOLS.
The preferable plan has been adopted. It appears from the latest statistics that the number of students inmission schools is greater, and the course of study more advanced, than at any previous period. I am not aware that any of the missionaries in the higher institutions have proposed to abandon them on account of the new state of things. While giving themselves cheerfully to the imparting of the education which their pupils are eager to acquire, they put forth resolute steady effort to counteract the secularizing tendency of their studies. The assembled school is opened with prayer, Scripture lessons are given, and, taught as they are by Christians, the pupils are under Christian influence during all their school hours. It is common in the North-West, and I suppose in other parts of India, to have services in the schools on Sabbath morning, at which the attendance is voluntary; and at Benares, at least, the attendance has been very encouraging. Of late Sabbath schools, apart from day schools, have been established in many missions, with every prospect of success. The attendance is large, and in some places a number of parents are present. These schools are carried on largely on the English and American model. The international lessons are used, pictures and books are given as prizes to attentive scholars; and they have a yearly treat, in conducting which care is taken against the violation of caste. The American Episcopal missionaries have taken the lead in this new departure.
It has been often remarked that our higher schools can show very few converts. The conversions have not been many, and yet they have not been so inconsiderable in number as they have been represented. When we look at our mission agents we find that a large proportion of our most efficient men, the men that have done the best service, have come from these schools. At the greatMissionary Conference at Allahabad in 1874, at which I was present, they acquitted themselves in a manner which attested their mental power and Christian earnestness, and gave one a high opinion of their fitness for evangelistic work among their countrymen. At the late Decennial Missionary Conference in Calcutta they took a prominent and effective part. It is, indeed, a matter for deep regret that of late our accessions from this quarter have been few; but when hope has been at the lowest ebb one has appeared here and there to strengthen it by avowing himself a follower of Christ.[3]
[3]At the Calcutta Conference there was much discussion about schools, especially of the higher order. Experienced educationalists gave expression to their views, some stating in strong terms the aversion to Bible lessons shown by many of the pupils; while others, among whom Mr. Miller of Madras was prominent, represented the pupils as generally willing to receive Christian instruction.
[3]At the Calcutta Conference there was much discussion about schools, especially of the higher order. Experienced educationalists gave expression to their views, some stating in strong terms the aversion to Bible lessons shown by many of the pupils; while others, among whom Mr. Miller of Madras was prominent, represented the pupils as generally willing to receive Christian instruction.
In reference to our schools, in reference to our work generally, it is important to keep before our minds the great power of public opinion. Many are the things which go to form it; it is very subtle in its working; the most acute and observant mind cannot estimate its force: but when once widely formed its effects are remarkable. In India public opinion is formed much more slowly than in a land like ours; the constitution of society presents a stronger front to its action. But there too it works, and when it works on till it has obtained overmastering power we may expect to see a marvellous change. We cannot doubt that missions have a high place in forming this opinion; and among mission agencies I believe there is no one which has told and is telling more beneficially on the people than our mission schools.
All over India missions have had orphans under their charge, but from personal knowledge I can only speak of the North-West.
FAMINE IN THE LAND.
The need for these institutions was most pressing in 1838 and 1839. I remember hearing, on my arrival at Benares, the most harrowing account of the fearful sufferings of the people over a great extent of country. The famine had been sore in the land. People fled from their towns and villages, hoping to reach a more favoured region; but travelling through districts as destitute of food as those they left, they received no help, and perished miserably. The weak and the very young were the first to succumb. Many struggled on, eating grass or anything that could allay the pangs of hunger, in the hope of reaching the cities where they could expect relief from their own people, and still more from their English rulers. At that time Agra was the seat of government for the North-West, and as the famine was specially severe in that district, so great a multitude poured into it that, notwithstanding the strenuous effort put forth by Europeans, official and non-official, helped by wealthy and benevolent natives, only partial relief could be afforded. The means of communication between onepart of India and another were, even at that time, far better than they had been in the days of native rule; much had been done to improve the roads, but owing to the distance of places where food was comparatively abundant, and the length of time and the expense incurred in conveying it to the afflicted districts, timely help was not obtained. Many children were abandoned, and the authorities sent out orders to their subordinates to rescue these waifs and feed them till arrangements could be made for their support.
Missionaries felt themselves called on to offer their services in this dreadful emergency, and the offer was readily accepted. The large expenditure for which they thus became responsible was met by a small allowance made by Government for each child, by a grant from a Famine Fund which had been raised, and by contributions received by missionaries from friends to help them in this new undertaking.
The institutions then established have become permanent. The places left vacant by the death of many of the first inmates, and the entrance into active life of those who survived, were soon filled by others who had equal claims on Christian compassion. On the occasion of great melas children are often lost, and in not a few cases their parents are never found. In the great cities, by the death of parents, and by the abandonment of children—sometimes through extreme destitution, at other times by unnatural indifference—helpless little ones are cast on the pity of the public. From country places forsaken children are sent to the head-quarters of districts. In seasons of scarcity, which frequently occur, and especially in famine years such as 1861, large additions are made to the number of orphans. With these causes operating to produce theclass from which orphanages are recruited, there is no likelihood of the time coming when they will not be needed. The people, as a rule, are undoubtedly kind to children; but when we consider the great poverty of many, the extreme difficulty with which they obtain the necessaries of life, there is no reason to wonder at the cases of destitution which are continually presenting themselves. In our own country, with all its advantages, we have numerous orphanages, where many are sheltered and trained for useful life, who would otherwise be thrown as waifs on the surface of society.
SANGUINE HOPES.
When orphanages were first formed in Northern India, great hope was entertained they would not merely relieve present and pressing distress, and do good to a large number of destitute young persons, but would tell powerfully on native society, and lead to the formation of a large, strong Christian community. The sufferings of the people afflicted by famine were deplored, they were regarded with deep pity; everything was done which could be done to relieve them, but it was hoped that out of this calamitous state of affairs would be evolved, through the overruling of Providence, a signal moral and spiritual benefit to the people generally. Here was a large band of boys and girls taken out of native society, cut off from idolatrous training and associations, and made over in the most plastic season of their lives to be moulded by those whose supreme aim would be to strengthen and elevate their character, and prepare them for a happy, useful, and honourable career. It was hoped that when these children thus trained grew to manhood and womanhood, they would go out among their countrymen striking examples of moral and spiritual excellence, and would by their manifest superiority make a greaterimpression on the minds of the people than could be made by the preaching and efforts of missionaries. A worthy chaplain sent out a pamphlet advocating the gathering by Government of all the orphan children in the country, and, if I remember rightly, of all the children with whom parents were willing to part, and the placing of them in institutions where they should be brought up as Christians, and as members of the Church of England. He maintained that if this was done, in the course of a few years a great number would go out to native society to leaven it with Christian sentiment, and with loyalty to the British Government. He drew a glowing picture of the good that would be accomplished if this policy were adopted and vigorously carried out. Few were so hopeful as my friend, but many did anticipate great results.
It cannot be doubted that orphan institutions have done much good; but I think none will maintain that the sanguine hopes with which they were begun have been realized. There have been obstacles in the way of success which might have been partly foreseen, but which could not have been fully anticipated. Many of the children brought to the missionaries were so sickly and emaciated, that they soon died in spite of all the attention bestowed on them. The mortality has been at times most depressing. There was no vitality to resist disease. The effort to preserve life was in many cases frustrated by the vitiated taste of the children, which led them to eat lime, earth, garbage of any kind on which they could lay their hands, in preference to good food. They were closely watched, but it was impossible to watch them so closely as to prevent them from doing that which hurried them to the grave.
THE DIFFICULTIES IN ORPHAN MANAGEMENT.
The orphans were of different ages, from very early youth to fourteen or fifteen. The elder ones were steeped in the spirit of the class from which they came—as a rule the lowest class of the community; and the younger ones had in their very blood hereditary qualities which put obstacles in the way of successful training. We do not believe there is in blood the overpowering efficacy which some have attributed to it; if it had, responsibility would cease, and the effort to raise certain tribes and classes would be hopeless; but we believe it has a strong influence, and we think we have seen clear evidence of its hurtful effect on Indian orphans. There were these difficulties to begin with. And then it was impossible to bring these children under the happy influence of an orderly living family. In our own country it has been found highly conducive to the right bringing-up of orphans, to the repressing of evil tendencies, and the drawing forth of the finer elements of character, to secure for them domestic training to the utmost extent circumstances will permit. The keeping of many together, not merely taught together, which is very desirable, but eating together, sleeping together, constantly acting and reacting on each other, is found very unfavourable to the formation of the right character, however careful, wise, and kindly the superintendence may be. In India, where hundreds of orphans were brought at once to mission premises, this gregarious life was unavoidable. Besides, it is impossible to separate orphans from the community around so completely as to leave them unaffected by its moral atmosphere.
There was of course a difference in the qualifications of those who undertook this great charge, some being more fitted for it than others; but this we say with theutmost confidence, after an intimate acquaintance with the working of some of the larger orphanages, and a general knowledge of others, that they have been managed with a laboriousness, a patience, a wisdom, and a kindness, deserving of the highest praise. Those in charge acted as parents, so far as that was possible, but in the nature of things there could not be the close attention and the fond personal affection to each of ordinary domestic life. We remember cases where children were committed to well-ordered Christian families with happy results, but for many years after orphanages were founded there were no such families to receive them.
THE OCCUPATIONS OF ORPHANS.
With the exception of orphans sent to Baptist Missions, they were as a rule baptized at once, and were thus brought within the pale of the Christian Church to be trained for the love and service of Christ. The first place was given to Christian instruction and training. All were taught reading, writing, and arithmetic. Those who proved themselves capable of receiving a higher education were continued at school, in the hope of their becoming qualified for offices such as those of teacher and preacher, for which mental and moral fitness was indispensable. The great majority were early taught a trade. In the larger orphanages a variety of trades was introduced—tailoring, carpentry, baking, dyeing, carpet-making, printing, bookbinding, and farming. Some of these trades, after much labour had been bestowed upon them, were given up, as it was found the orphans could not compete with native workmen. They had not the energy and aptitude possessed by those who followed their ancestral occupations, and who had been from their earliest years familiar with the conditions of native trade. Hopes were entertained many would betake themselves to farming. Thesehopes have been only partially realized. On land secured by the Church Mission of Benares, at a short distance from the city, orphans when they grew up were settled; but few took kindly to the work, and most soon abandoned it. There are now a few Christian families on the ground, but the larger part of the land is let to ordinary native agriculturists. In some places, such as Goruckpore and Shahjehanpore, the experiment has been successful. A greater number have continued at printing and bookbinding than at other trades. Co-operative associations of native Christians have been formed at Allahabad for printing, and at Futtygurh for tent-making, which I believe continue to prosper. These associations are under unfettered native management. A considerable number who have come out of orphan institutions have followed the trades they were taught, and have succeeded in getting employment in different places. Many were trained as servants, and in that capacity they are scattered over all Northern India. These have been joined by not a few who were taught trades, but did not continue in them, as they deemed service easier and more profitable. This is much to be regretted as native Christians in service are exposed to many disadvantages and temptations from their fellow-servants, and too often from their European masters and mistresses. The position of a capable artisan is far superior.
It must be acknowledged by those who have the kindest feeling towards the orphans, and who wish to entertain the most favourable opinion of them, which truth will permit, that they have often been wanting in energy and self-reliance. There has been a tendency to lean unduly on those to whom they have been indebted for the preservation of their lives, and for everythingwhich makes life desirable. They have been accustomed to call them, in the language of the country,ma, bap—mother, father—and to expect everything to be done for them as if they were still helpless children. This can not be said of all, but it must be acknowledged this unduly dependent spirit has been often shown. A greater wrong could not be done to orphans, when grown to maturity, than to treat them as children, unable to make their own way in the world. This would be to destroy all strength of character, and turn them into abject, and at the same time discontented, paupers. Few have been so destitute of common sense as to have supposed that in this way they were to be supported, but there has been a tendency to expect the missionaries to set them out on a career of self-support, and remove all obstacles in their way without any special effort on their part, and when difficulties have arisen to fall back on their missionary friends to set them out afresh. When these expectations have not been realized, they have been disposed to view their guardians as having failed in parental duty and affection. We have known cases where the rough experience of life has taught self-dependence, and thankfulness also for the treatment, which at the time was regarded as unkind, but had led to lasting benefit. So far as we have been able to ascertain, the ordinary feeling among those who had been inmates of orphan institutions, and of their descendants, has been one of affection and gratitude to those who have watched over them and provided for them in their days of helplessness, and who have toiled and in many cases suffered to promote their temporal and spiritual good. When travelling we have met many of this class, and have been much gratified by the spirit they have shown.
Some have come out of orphanages well equipped for the highest work by character and attainments. As teachers, catechists, and native preachers, these occupy honourable and useful positions, and have been a great blessing to the Church and the world. In the course of our residence in India we have seen many of the missions in the North-West, but our acquaintance with them is too slight to enable us to mention the number given by orphanages to the higher class of native agents. We have known several who are worthy of all respect, confidence, and affection.
ORPHANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS.
To the question, "What is the general character of the large community of native Christians formed of orphans and their descendants?" it is difficult to give a satisfactory reply, though easy enough to give one's impression. A characterization of communities is one of the most common and at the same time most unsatisfactory of operations, as the data for its being done well are so wide, recondite, and difficult to grasp. As I proceed I shall have occasion to give my views of native Christians generally. All I can now say about orphans and their descendants is, that considering what human beings are, as shown from age to age, considering the circumstances and surroundings of those of whom we are speaking, the moral and spiritual results are what might have been expected, though not all that had been wished for and hoped for. Sanguine spirits had hoped that they would have had a striking superiority to their fellow-countrymen, which would have drawn forth their wonder and led them to inquire whence the superiority had come; but no one will maintain this has been the case. A few, I believe very few, have turned out utterly reprobate. The character of some who have not lapsedinto gross wickedness has been very unsatisfactory. Many are respectable members of society, and make the profession of religion implied in attending public worship and calling themselves Christians. A considerable number show in different ways spiritual character. What more can be said of congregations composed of those whose advantages have been immeasurably greater? It would have been a most pleasing, but at the same time a most remarkable and unparalleled result, if orphans brought up under the charge of missionaries had gone forth a united band, with no defaulters, to maintain the cause of God among their countrymen, by a life so adorned with excellence that its testimony to Christ could not be resisted. The result actually attained, though chequered, is sufficient to show that orphan institutions have by the Divine blessing done much good, and that the faithful labour bestowed on them has borne gratifying fruit.
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In our own country, under the pressure of life, many hail the release from toil and the refreshment of spirit promised by the annual summer trip. So in India missionaries avail themselves of the cold season to sally out for the prosecution of their work. Their main object is to make known the gospel to the many whom they are sure to meet wherever their tent may be pitched, who have never heard the name of Jesus, except perhaps amidst the bustle and noise of a mela, and who but for itineracies would remain in total ignorance of the Saviour of mankind. The missionary who does not keep this before his mind as his chief aim is unworthy of the name. While this object is pursued, another is sought which missionaries deem very legitimate. Health is indispensable for the efficient discharge of their duties, and travelling is found very beneficial to the health of their families as well as to their own. Touring in the cold weather, by the new strength it gives to the body and the refreshment it gives to the spirit, has been found to prepare them for a new campaign at home as nothing else could have done.
Some missionaries have kept themselves within a limited sphere not far from their homes, visiting thesame places again and again, obtaining a personal acquaintance with many of the people, and endeavouring to deepen any impressions which may have been made. Others have travelled for weeks, sometimes for months, over hundreds of miles, visiting the towns and villages on their route, and speaking about the things of God to all whom they have met.
During my long residence in India it was my privilege to undertake tours of both descriptions. I never stopped at home during the cold weather—we are not in India in the habit of saying "summer and winter," but "hot weather and cold weather"—except when justice to my colleagues, or the necessities of the mission, compelled me to stay. There were seasons when my colleague was, either from inexperience or ill-health, unable to do the home work; or, as happened more than once, I had no colleague at all, and in these circumstances it was obvious duty to remain at my post. Even then I commonly managed to get out a little into the surrounding country. On some of our tours we were put to no small inconvenience, and we were not strangers to hardship; but we look back to them with much pleasure, and think how much we would like to set out on them again if circumstances permitted.
VOYAGING ON THE GANGES.
At an early stage of our residence at Benares voyaging on the Ganges was a favourite mode of enjoying the cold season. There were budgerows, vessels with two tolerably sized rooms, available for hire at a moderate charge. It was indispensable to have with the budgerow a small boat for the accommodation of servants and for the cooking of food. On a few occasions I took a trip on a vessel of this description with my family, moving up and down the river, and halting towards evening near a townor village, which I could visit for the purpose of speaking to the people about the Saviour. The country is so populous that there was no difficulty in mooring our little craft in the evening near some place where hearers could be collected. It was seldom on any tour in the North-West we were allowed to forget that we were in the region of the sacred river, which receives from the people divine honours, and which in their belief confers inestimable benefit on all who bathe in its waters. When on the bank of the river, its alleged virtues formed a frequent subject of remark and discussion. There, as elsewhere, we had to tell them that Ganges water, however good for refreshing and cleansing the body, cannot wash away one spot from the soul. We had to tell them frequently, that as the washerman who puts clothes into a box and carefully washes it with the expectation of their coming out clean and white will be acting a very foolish part, so they were acting an equally futile part if they supposed that the water of the Ganges, so useful for the body, had any effect on the spirit. In answer to the remark that Ganges water could not do what other water could not, as it had nothing peculiar in its composition, I have been gravely told that two things exactly the same to the senses may be essentially different; and the proof given was that the river Kurumnasa, which means the destroyer of merit, takes away all merit from those who bathe in it, while bathing in the Ganges secures an untold degree of merit, extending not only to one's own past and future, but to an untold number of ancestors and descendants!
When on the Ganges or its banks one continually sees proof of the implicit trust placed in it. We remember being awakened very early one morning long before dawn by a person bathing close to our boat, in a quivering voicewhich showed he was chilled by the water, long and earnestly imploring the favour ofGunga Ma—Mother Ganges.
There is no part of India, mountain or plain, where serpents may not be encountered. One evening, when returning to our boat from a village on the banks of the river, I was walking warily on a narrow path half-covered with grass from both sides, when I saw before me what I first supposed to be a rope. I halted, and immediately a serpent glided away. That evening, before reaching the boat, I saw at least a dozen of serpents at their evening gambols over the ruins of a house. I walked quietly on, deeming it the best part of valour to leave them undisturbed. If they observed me they showed no inclination to approach me.
For many years voyaging on the Ganges has gone out of fashion. Native boats laden with produce and wood continue to ply, but the budgerows and pinnaces, which Europeans could hire, have almost entirely disappeared. There are various reasons for this change. The current of the river is very rapid in some places, which makes the work of dragging against it very slow and tiresome; there is sometimes the danger of collision with other boats. The high banks of the river here and there prevent the country from being seen, and at other places there is a dreary stretch of sand. Though the weather of the cold season is very steady, a storm might come on, and if it did neither boat nor boatmen could be trusted; for the boat, never of the best material, was often sadly out of repair, and the boatmen were ready, when danger appeared, to throw themselves into the water and make for the shore, leaving the passengers to shift for themselves. There was, indeed, the pleasantness of sailing on a broadriver; the air was very fresh; there was no leaving of the temporary abode from day to day; the trouble of a shifting camp was escaped, though occasionally there was inconvenience from the indispensable cook-boat not keeping sufficiently near. Opposed to these advantages were the disadvantages I have mentioned, which were always felt to be serious drawbacks; and when the roads had been improved, and journeying facilities increased, travelling by land obtained so decided a preference, that the river has been well-nigh abandoned by Europeans.
SHORT AND LONG TOURS.
Some seasons our touring was confined to a narrow range, not extending beyond thirty or forty miles. We every now and then spent a few days within a few miles of the city. Our first journey of any considerable length was, at the end of 1840, to the mela at Allahabad, some seventy miles north-west of Benares, which I have already mentioned. At the end of 1842 I made a tour along with my wife and child to Agra, more than four hundred miles from Benares, which occupied us about three months. On this tour we passed through Allahabad, Cawnpore, Futtygurh, Mynpoorie, and other well-known places. Early in 1847, accompanied by a brother missionary, we went to Almora, nearly six hundred miles distant, travelling with our tents to the foot of the hills, and spending six or seven weeks on our way. We left Almora for Benares in October, and reached it early in December, having taken Meerut, Delhi, and Allygurh, as well as Cawnpore and Allahabad, in our return route. Our long journeys many years afterwards were performed with few exceptions under new conditions, and with much greater expedition.
If my readers are in thought to accompany us on those journeys, it may be well to state the circumstances inwhich we travelled, the weather we had and could generally expect, our travelling arrangements, the state of the roads, and the aspects of the country through which we passed.
As to the weather, it was generally delightful. We had from day to day an unclouded sky, with the sun rather strong as the day advanced, but with a refreshing breeze, which made it thoroughly cool in the shade, even cold sometimes, so that one was inclined to go out into the sunshine to get warmth. In the daytime warm clothing was pleasant, and at night, especially in tents, our blankets and wraps came into full requisition. There was a steadiness in the weather exceeding anything known in our climate. We have known weeks without any shading of the sky. There were, however, occasional breaks. Now and then clouds gathered from day to day, and at length came down in heavy rain, which was most welcome to the farmers, especially when it came as it often did, about Christmas. Thunder storms might be sometimes looked for, accompanied by sudden and severe gusts of wind. These days of atmospheric disturbance were sufficient to make us, as travellers, appreciate more highly the weather with which we were ordinarily favoured.
APPEARANCE OF THE COUNTRY.
The greater part of the country through which we travelled is very level. Beyond Chunar, indeed, which is sixteen miles from Benares, and Mirzapore, which is thirty miles distant, there is a great extent of low hill-country. These districts we visited several times. The most of our journeys were in the wide open plains of the North-West. The country, though level, is by no means uninteresting. You receive as you travel a very favourable impression of the productiveness of the landand the industry of the people. In the cold weather you see, as far as the eye can reach, a sweep of growing corn, wheat and other grains, which give the hope of an early and abundant harvest. Towns and villages meet your view on every side. If you get to a slightly elevated spot you are struck with the number of wells you see in the fields, dug for the purpose of irrigation. In the great region lying between the Ganges and the Jumna, called the Doab—the country of the two rivers, the Mesopotamia of Northern India, over a great part of which we travelled for the first time at the end of 1842 and the beginning of 1843, and which we have often traversed since—there is no extensive forest near the Trunk Road. In all directions, however, you see clumps of lofty and shady trees, and occasionally groves of considerable extent. Trees have been largely planted along the road, and within every few miles there are groves, where travellers get their tents pitched, and where they are thoroughly protected from the glare and heat of the sun. Even in the coldest part of the cold weather tents pitched in the open become quickly too heated for comfort. In the groves the deep shade cast by the widely-spread branches and the thick foliage sometimes darkens the tent too much for reading and writing; but outside, on a chair before a small table, if that be required, one can spend hours very pleasantly reading or writing, as it may be, and listening if inclined to the cawing of the crows, the cooing of the doves, and the notes of other birds, while the gentle breeze rustles through the trees, and the children, if any, play with their toys under them.
Natives, when they travel, as I have already mentioned, manage things in a fashion which we are not able to imitate, but which I have often been inclined to envy.Let them have flour, water, a little wood for fuel, if not in its stead dried cow-dung, and they partake with relish of the meal their own hands have cooked, conscious of no want and complaining of no hardship. The relish is increased if they can get some of the ordinary vegetables of the country. With the meal over, after chatting a while over the Hookah, the "hubble-bubble" as English people call it, the pipe which sends tobacco smoke through water, they wrap themselves in the blanket which they carry with them, and sleep soundly under a tree, when, as is often the case, no Sura, a native resting-place, is at hand. If rain comes on they creep into a place where the rain cannot reach them, if such a place be available. A few Europeans have at different times tried to follow the habit of native travellers, and in very exceptional cases it has been successful. The ordinary result has been the speedy ruin of health.
Our habits compel us to travel in a different way. When a missionary is alone, though he cannot travel as a native does, he can put up, and does put up, with inconveniences to which a family cannot be exposed. The family, however, requires a change as well as himself; and when wife and children are with him, as they often are, the house is shut up at home, home servants are taken, and travelling requires only a slight addition to the domestic staff. An additional horse is needed for the conveyance (in India a conveyance is not a luxury but a necessity); two tents are required, one to be sent on over-night, while the other is kept behind for occupation; along with the tents, slight portable beds, bedding, small folding-table, cane chairs, and cooking-vessels. These goods of the moving household are laden and forwarded on carts called Hackeries, drawn by oxen. Highly paidofficials manage as they travel to have with them many of the luxuries and even some of the elegancies of life, but missionaries are satisfied if they get necessaries. As we travel we manage, though not always, to get milk, fowls, and eggs, and occasionally a kid. Whatever beside we need must be taken with us.