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" When you are grown, will you not become a Missionary and 
 come to India ?" Page 3D6. 
 
VOICE FROM THE EAST 
 
 YOUNG, 
 
 SERIES OF LETTERS TO THE CHILDREN OP THE 
 
 REFORMED PROTESTANT DUTCH CHURCH 
 
 OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 BY 
 
 JOHN ""SCUDDER, D.D,. 
 
 OF TKE MADEAS MISSION, INDIA. 
 
 *7 
 
 BOARD OF PUBLICATION 
 
 OF THE 
 
 REFORMED PROTESTANT DUTCH CHURCH, 
 83 7 Broadtvat. 
 
 1856 
 
Enteeed, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1855, by 
 REV. THOMAS C. STRONG, 
 
 On behalf of the Board of Publication of the Reformed Protestant Dutch Chiirch 
 North America, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United 
 States for the Southern District of New- York. 
 
 •> 
 
 S^\ 
 
 \V- 
 
 cj^ 
 
 « 
 
fttitxB U Cljilk^n. 
 
 ISrUMBEE I. 
 
 My Dear Children: I have thonght 
 tliat it miglit be well for me to give you some 
 account of the heathen of India, in a series of 
 short letters. In this, my first letter, I will 
 tell you something about their gods. Of 
 these it is said that there are three hundred 
 and thirty millions.* Brahm holds the first 
 place among them ; and, though he is called 
 the Supreme Being, he is never worshipped. 
 Generally he is fast asleep. In the place of 
 Brahm, the Hindoos worship many of the 
 gods just alluded to. These gods are of all 
 colors — some black, some white, some blue, 
 some red ; gods of all sizes and shapes — some 
 
 * Most of the facts about the Hindoos, in the following 
 letters, are taken from Ward, Dubois, and Duff. 
 
LETTEllS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 in tlie shape of beasts, some in tlie shape of 
 men, some partly in the shape of beasts and 
 partly in the shape of men, having four or ten 
 or a hnndred or a thousand eyes, heads, and 
 hands. Some ride through the air on ele- 
 phants, buffaloes, lions, deer, sheep, goats, 
 peacocks, vultures, geese, serpents, and rats. 
 They hold in their hands all kinds of wea- 
 pons, offensive and defensive — ^thunderbolts, 
 javelins, spears, clubs, bows, arrows, shields, 
 flags, and shells. They are of all employ- 
 ments. There are gods of the heavens above, 
 and of the earth below ; gods of wisdom and 
 of folly ; gods of war and of peace ; gods of 
 good and of evil ; gods of pleasure ; gods of 
 cruelty and wrath, whose thirst must be sati- 
 ated with torrents of blood. These gods fight 
 and quarrel with one another. They lie, steal, 
 commit adultery, murder, and other crimes. 
 They pour out their curses when they can not 
 succeed in their wicked plots, and invent all 
 kinds of lying tales to hide their wickedness. 
 There are three principal gods, who com- 
 pose what is called the Hindoo triad. Their 
 names are Brumha, Yishnoo, and Siva. These 
 were some how or other drawn from Brahm's 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 essence, on one occasion wlien he was awake. 
 Brumlia, they say, was the creator of the 
 world, Yishnoo the preserver, and Siva the 
 destroyer. Brnmha has no temple erected to 
 his worship, on account of a falsehood which 
 it is said he told. I will tell you what it was ; 
 Once they say there was a dispute between 
 him and Vishnoo as to who was the greatest ; 
 while thus disputing, Siva appeared between 
 the two as a fire-post, and told them that he 
 who would find the bottom or the top of this 
 post first, would show that he was the great- 
 est. Vishnoo immediately changed himself 
 into a hog and began to root up the earth, 
 with the hope of finding the bottom of it. 
 Brumha changed himself into a swan, flew up 
 to the top of it, and cried out, " I have found 
 it !" when he had not. This you know, my 
 dear children, was a falsehood. For this false- 
 hood, it is said that no temple is erected for 
 his worship. Yishnoo was a thief and a liar. 
 He was once dwelling in the house of a dairy- 
 man, and he used constantly to be stealing 
 butter and curdled milk from the dairyman's 
 wife. She did not know for a long time what 
 had become of her butter and her curdled 
 
10 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 milk ; but at last she fonnd out tliat Yislmoo 
 was tlie tliief. To pnnisli liiin for Ms theft, 
 she tied him to a rice-poimder. 
 
 Siva's conduct was very bad. I will tell 
 you but one thing about him. On one occa- 
 sion he was playing at cards with his wife, 
 Parvathe. Yishnoo was appointed to deter- 
 mine who was the best player. After playing 
 for a little season, Parvathe won the game. 
 Siva then beckoned to Yishnoo to declare that 
 he, instead of Parvathe, had won it. This he 
 did. In consequence of this falsehood, he was 
 cursed by Parvathe, and changed into a snake. 
 
 And now, my dear children, why do I tell 
 you about these gods ? I tell you for the pur- 
 pose of making you thankful that you were 
 born in a Christian land, where you have the 
 Bible to teach you better things. Had you 
 not the Bible, you would worship just such 
 wretched beings as these poor Hindoos wor- 
 ship. Perhaps you know that our Saxon 
 fathers, before they had the Bible, worshipped 
 Thor and "Woden, and other similar idols, and 
 they were even in the habit of offering up hu- 
 man sacrifices. Sometimes they would make 
 an image sixty feet in height, and, after hav- 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN-, 11 
 
 ing put witMn it forty, fifty, or sixty liying 
 beings, they would set fire to it, and bnrn 
 them all up. They used also to offer tip one 
 in ten of all the prisoners they took in their 
 wars to their gods. Surely if any thing conld 
 make you give your hearts to your Saviour, 
 and love hnn above all things, it is Grod's gift 
 to you of the Bible. I tell you about these 
 gods for another reason also ; and this is, that 
 you may pray for the poor creatures who wor- 
 ship them — and not only pray for them, but 
 give your money to send the Gospel to them. 
 Perhaps, after you grow up, you will come 
 out as missionaries to tell them of the Saviour. 
 
12 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 NUMBEE II. 
 
 My Deae Childeen: If you wiU take 
 
 up your map of Hindoostan, you will see on 
 the Coromandel coast the city of Madras, 
 where I am. Above that is the Orissa coun- 
 try, where there is a very celebrated idol of 
 one of the gods, namely, Yishnoo, of whom 
 I gave you some account in my first letter. It 
 is called Juggernaut, of whom I will give you 
 some particular description hereafter. My 
 reason for referring to Yishnoo now is to tell 
 you about a man who was once a follower of 
 this god, but who forsook his worship after 
 he had learned something of the Gospel and 
 become a Christian. I received the account 
 of him from my friend Mr. Wilkinson, of the 
 Orissa Mission. Several years ago, Mr. Lacey, 
 who was also a member of that mission, was 
 on a journey. On one occasion he made an 
 encampment not far from a native village. 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 18 
 
 ISTiglit came on, and in the midst of tlie dark- 
 ness lie heard a passer-bj siaging one of the 
 songs of the "Jewel Mine of Salvation." He 
 hailed him, and inquired where he had learned 
 it. He told him that he had learned it from 
 a tract while on a pilgrimage to Juggernaut. 
 As Mr. Lacey found him to be an interesting 
 inquirer, he invited him to visit his station at 
 Cuttack, which you will find on your map. 
 This he did, and after having received suitable 
 instruction, he resolved to forsake all and fol- 
 low Christ. This resolution, through grace, 
 he was enabled to carry into execution. 
 
 The person of whom I am now speaking 
 was a Brahmin, or priest. After having read 
 the tracts which he received at Juggernaut, 
 his faith in idolatry began to be shaken. He 
 was troubled ; and in order to rid himself of 
 his burdened mind, he determined to make 
 another piLgrunage to that bloody city, for the 
 purpose of testing the divinity of the idol. 
 He came to the conclusion that if he were a 
 god, he would answer the petition which he 
 would make of him to this effect, namely, that 
 he would reveal himself to him by a vision or 
 dream, or by an audible voice. After he 
 2 
 
14 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 reached Juggernaut, lie spent the first day in 
 singing praises to the idol, with the expecta- 
 tion that he would during the night receive an 
 answer to his petition. But no answer came. 
 The next day he spent in reviling the idol, 
 thinking that if he could provoke him to 
 show his anger, he would obtain a proof of 
 his divinity in this way. But he found that 
 the god was not to be provoked. On the 
 third day he went to the temple for the last 
 time, and addressed the idol as follows : "I 
 have praised you and I have cursed you, but 
 you have neither answered me by a blessing 
 nor a curse. Had I been struck down with the 
 cholera, I might have beheved that you are a 
 god ; but you can do neither good nor harm ;" 
 and stepping behind him, he said to him, 
 "ISTow, if you are a god, show me," and 
 thrusting a spear he had in his hand into his 
 back, he said, " Take that ; " and after having 
 given him a second and a third thrust without 
 seeing any evil result, he left the temple, de- 
 claring that he would never worship him 
 again. From that tune he became a worship- 
 per of the true Grod. He was ordained to the 
 Grospel ministry many years ago, and to this 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 15 
 
 day ranks as one of the most powerful preach.- 
 ers of tlie Gospel. 
 
 Do you, my dear children, ever give any 
 money to buy tracts and the Bible for the 
 heathen ? Then it may be that through your 
 instrumentality souls may be converted, as the 
 Brahmin above mentioned was conv erted by 
 reading a tract, or as Eaamee, of our Madras 
 Mission, (of whom I will tell you further by 
 and by,) was converted by reading a gospel of 
 John. Should this be the case, how happy 
 will you be in the day of judgment, if you 
 see this and that individual pointing to you, 
 and hear them saying: There stands the 
 friend who, by contributing some of his money 
 to buy me a tract — a gospll, has, through the 
 Holy Spirit, been the means of my salvation, 
 and without whose contribution I must have 
 been lost for ever ! 
 
16 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 NUMBER III. 
 
 My Dear Children" : In my first letter I 
 mentioned tliat some of the gods whom the 
 Hindoos worship are partly in the shape of 
 beasts, and partly in the shape of men. Pul- 
 liar, or Gunesha, or Gunputty, is a god of this 
 description. If you have seen my little book 
 about the heathen, published by the American 
 Tract Society, entitled, *' Tales for Little 
 Readers," you have seen the picture of this 
 god. This is the god which was once wor- 
 shipped by Raama, of whom I promised in my 
 last letter to tell you some interesting particu- 
 lars. After his conversion, through the means 
 of a gospel of John, he of course would not 
 want his idol any more ; so he let me have it. 
 I will tell you how he used to worship it, and 
 after I have told you, I want you to ask your- 
 selves whether you spend as much time in 
 worshipping your Saviour as he spent in wor- 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 17 
 
 sMpping Ms idol. He was in the liabit of 
 worshipping it every day. In the morning he 
 would get np and bathe his own body; for he 
 considered his idol too holy to be touched until 
 he had washed himself. After he had bathed, 
 he would in the first place bathe his image. 
 In the second place, he would anoint it with 
 oil. In the third place, he would daub it with 
 holy ashes, which all the followers of the god 
 Pulliar rub on their foreheads, and on their 
 breasts, and on their arms. In the fourth 
 place, he would perfume it with sandal- wood, 
 to make it smell sweetly. In the fifth place, 
 he used to put flowers around it. In the sixth 
 place, he would put betel and arikenut before 
 the god, to chew. The people of this country 
 chew betel and arikenut, just as many people 
 in America chew tobacco. But why would 
 he put betel and arikenu.t before the god to 
 chew ? Could the god eat it ? No. Then 
 why did he put it before it ? Just as the little 
 girls in America, in their play, set something 
 to eat before their dolls, so he would set those 
 things before his god, and, as it were, play with 
 them. In the seventh place, he would burn 
 camphor before the idol, and repeat the holy 
 2* 
 
18 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 muntrmns, or prayers, thougli lie knew noth- 
 ing more about the meaning of them than a 
 parrot knows what it says when it repeats the 
 words which it has been tanght. 
 
 How thankful jou ought to be, my dear 
 children, that you were born in a land where 
 you have parents to teach you prayers of 
 which you know the meaning. When your 
 mothers taught you that sweet little prayer — 
 
 " Now I lay me down to sleep, 
 I pray the Lord my soul to keep ; 
 If I should die before I wake, 
 I pray the Lord my soul to take ; 
 And this I ask for Jesus' sake." 
 
 you understood it. But the poor heathen, as 
 I before said, know nothing of the meaning of 
 the muntrums which they are taught. Let 
 me mention some of these muntrums : 
 
 Om kungkumapatheiya numma. Om che- 
 vaiya numma. Om chavoom chadavarna- 
 pavoiya numma. Om lymnkilleum chavoom. 
 Chavoom killeum lyum. Yuntade savunta- 
 deiya nununa. Intedaiya numma. Eyama- 
 daiya numma. Yodunaiya numma. Kupay- 
 diya numma. 
 
 On every Friday, in addition to a repeated 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 19 
 
 performance of tlie ceremonies wHcL. I liave 
 been now describing, Kaama nsed to boil rice 
 and curr J, and make an offering of it to his 
 idol. Now, as I before said, I want you, my 
 dear children, to tell me whether you spend 
 as much time in worshipping your Saviour as 
 he spent in worshipping his idol. 
 
20 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 NUMBEE IV. 
 
 My Deae Childeen : From wliat I liave 
 previously told yon, you will not be surprised 
 to liear that tlie Hindoos worsMp almost every 
 prominent thing in creation. They worship 
 the ape, the tiger, the elephant, the horse, the 
 ox, the stag, the sheep, the hog, the dog, the 
 cat, the rat, the peacock, the eagle, the cock, 
 the hawk, the serpent, the lizard, the tortoise, 
 fishes, and even insects. I will tell you for 
 the present only of the worship of the serpent. 
 
 Of all the dangerous creatures found in India, 
 there are none that occasion so many deaths 
 as serpents. The people are very much ex- 
 posed to their bites, especially at nights, when 
 they are walking. They tread upon them; 
 and as they do not generally wear shoes, the 
 snakes turn over their heads, and strike their 
 fangs into those parts of the feet which -are 
 nearest to the place where the pressure is made 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 21 
 
 upon their bodies. Sometimes tHeir bite is 
 followed witb instant deatb. The Cobra Ca- 
 pello is one of the most common snakes 
 and one of tbe most poisonous. It is said 
 tbat it bas a thousand beads, one of wbicb 
 holds up the earth. It bas a peculiar mark 
 on its back, just behind the head. This mark 
 very much resembles a pair of spectacles with- 
 out handles. If you should go near it, it 
 would raise up the fore-part of its body for 
 about six inches, widen out its neck, so as to 
 be about double its common width, and pre- 
 pare to strike you. The reason why the Hin- 
 doos offer sacrifices and adoration to it above 
 aU the other serpents is, because it is so fre- 
 quently met with, and is so much dreaded. 
 
 In order to induce the people to worship 
 this dangerous enemy, the Hindoos have filled 
 their books with tales concerning it. Figures 
 of it are often to be seen in the temples and 
 on other buildmgs. They seek out their holes, 
 which are generally to be found in the hillocks 
 of earth which are thrown up by the white 
 ants ; and when they find one, they go from 
 time to time, and offer milk, plantains, and 
 such other good things to it. 
 
22 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 Tlie Hindoos liave eigliteen annual festivals. 
 One of these festivals is observed for tlie pur- 
 pose of worsMpping tMs serpent. Temples in 
 many places are erected to it, of wMcli tliere 
 is one of great celebrity in Mysore. When 
 the festival occurs at this temple, great crowds 
 of people come together to offer sacrifices to 
 the creeping gods in this sacred place. Many 
 serpents, both of the Cobra Capello and other 
 kinds, hve within it, in holes made especially 
 for them. They are kept and well fed by the 
 Brahmins, with milk, butter, and plantains. 
 By these means they become very numerous, 
 and may be seen swarming from every crevice 
 in the temple. To injure or to kill one would 
 be considered a great crime. 
 
 Many of the natives call the Cobra Capello, 
 nulla paampu — ^that is, good snake ; they are 
 afraid to call it a bad snake, lest it might in- 
 jure them. The following is the prayer which 
 is offered before the image of this snake : " 
 divine Cobra! preserve and sustain us. 
 Sheoh! partake of these offerings, and be gra- 
 cious unto us." 
 
 Can you think of any thing, my dear child- 
 ren, more dishonoring to a holy Grod than 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDEEN. 23 
 
 siLcli worsliip? And wliat liave you ever 
 done to prevent it ? Have you every morn- 
 ing and evening prayed that tlie Gospel miglit 
 be sent to tMs people? Did you ever give 
 any money to send it to tliem ? Did you ever 
 tHnk wlietlier it may not be your duty by 
 and by to come to tbem to tell tbem of tbis 
 G-ospel — ^to come to tbem as missionaries ? 
 
24 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 NUMBEE Y. 
 
 My Dear Children : India is full of 
 temples, as it is of idols. One is to be found 
 in every large village. They are also to be 
 found in out-of tbe-way places, distant from 
 villages — ^in woods, on banks, and in the midst 
 of rivers ; but, above all, on mountains and 
 steep rocks. 
 
 The practice of building temples on moun- 
 tains, says the Abbe De Bois, is very ancient. 
 The Israelites were accustomed to choose a 
 mountain when they offered up their sacrifices 
 to the Lord. Solomon, before the building of 
 the Temple, chose Mount Gribeon on which to 
 offer his burnt-offerings ; and when the ten 
 tribes separated themselves, in the reign of 
 Jeroboam, they built their altars on the moun- 
 tain of Samaria. This practice may have 
 come from the circumstance that ISToah offered 
 to God the first sacrifice of thanks on one of 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 25 
 
 the Mgliest mountains of Armenia. Besides 
 tlie temples of tlie idols, there are various ob- 
 jects of worship made of earth and stone. 
 Some of the idols are carved ; some consist 
 merely of the rough stone. These are to be 
 seen on the high roads, at the entrance into 
 villages, and, above all, under lofty trees. 
 Some of them are covered; but generally 
 they are exposed to the open air. 
 
 You will read in Genesis 28 : 18, that 
 Jacob, after his dream, rose up early in the 
 morning, and took the stone that he had used 
 for his pillow, and set it up for a pillar, and 
 poured oil on the top of it. "Whether it has 
 happened from this circumstance or not that 
 the heathen universally pour oil over their 
 idols, I can not tell ; all I know is that they do 
 it. 'No idol can become an object of worship 
 until a Brahmin has said his muntrums, or 
 prayers, for the purpose of bringing down the 
 god to live, as it is said he does, in the image, 
 and until he has drenched it v/ith oil and liquid 
 butter. 
 
 The idols in the great temples are clothed 
 with rich garments, and adorned with very 
 costly j ewels. These j ewels are enriched with 
 
26 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 precious stones, ■wMcli make tliein very valu- 
 able. Sacrifices are constantly made to these 
 idols, consisting of boiled rice, flowers, fruits, 
 and so forth; but above all, of lamps, of 
 wMcb many thousands are sometimes seen 
 burning in the temple. They feed them with 
 butter, in preference to oil. 
 
 The priests of the temples offer up sacrifices 
 twice every day, morning and evening. They 
 begin their ceremony by washing the idol. 
 The water which they use is brought from a 
 river or tank. Every priest who offers up 
 sacrifices must have several lighted lamps with 
 a bell, which he holds in his left hand, while 
 with his right hand he makes an offering to 
 the idol, adorns it with flowers, rubs its fore- 
 head and various parts of its body with sandal- 
 wood and holy ashes. "While all this is going 
 on, the priest is alone in the temple, the door 
 of which he closes. The unholy multitude 
 remain without, silently waiting until he has 
 done. "What he does they can not know, only 
 heariag the sound of the bell. "When he has 
 done, he comes out and distributes among the 
 people a part of the things which have been 
 offered to the idol. These are considered as 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDEEN. 27 
 
 holj, and if rice or fruit, it is immediately 
 eaten ; if flowers, they put tliem in their tur- 
 bans, and the girls entwine them in their hair. 
 
 ISText to the priests, the most important 
 persons in the temple are the dancing-girls. 
 These are persons of the vilest character. 
 They perform their religious exercises in the 
 temple twice a day. They also assist at the 
 public ceremonies, and dance, and sing the 
 most abominable and filthy songs. 
 
 The next order of persons employed in the 
 temples are players on "musical instruments. 
 Every temple of note has a band of these 
 musicians, who, as well as the dancers, are 
 obliged to attend in the temple twice a day. 
 Their band generally consists of wind instru- 
 ments, resembling clarionets and hautboys, to 
 which they add cymbals and drums. They 
 have a base produced by blowing into a kind 
 of tube, widened below and which gives an 
 uninterrupted sound. Part of the musicians 
 sing hymns in honor of their gods. 
 
 The expenses of the temples are borne by 
 the voluntary offerings of the people, consist- 
 ing of money, jewels, cattle, provisions, and 
 other articles. In order to induce them to 
 
28 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 make sucli offerings, the Brahmins sometimes 
 make use of great deception. Sometimes they 
 will put their idols in irons, chaining their 
 hands and feet. They exhibit them in this 
 sad condition, declaring that they have been 
 brought into it by creditors, from whom their 
 gods had to borrow money in times of trouble, 
 to supply their wants. They declare that 
 these creditors refuse to set the gods at liberty 
 until the money with interest is paid. The 
 people, seeing the deplorable condition into 
 which they have been brought, come forward 
 and pay off the debt, which, when done, the 
 chains are soon taken off, and the god is set 
 at liberty. 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN-. 29 
 
 ISrUMBEE YI. 
 
 My Dear Children: Another way i- 
 "wMch. tlie Brahmins sometimes deceive the 
 people, is as follows : They say that the god 
 is afflicted with some dreadful disease, brought 
 on by the distress which he has had because 
 the people do not worship him as much as 
 they should. In such cases, the idol is some- 
 times placed at the door of the temple, when 
 they rub his forehead and temples with various 
 kinds of medicine. They also set before him 
 all sorts of medicines, pretending in this way, 
 to do all they can to cure him. But as all 
 their efforts to cure him prove to be vain, and 
 the disease becomes worse, the Brahmins send 
 out persons to tell the sad news. The people, 
 believing the report, hasten to bring in theii* 
 gifts and offerings. The god, on beholding 
 such proofs of their attachment to him, feels 
 himself cured of his disease, and immediately 
 returns to his throne within the temple. 
 3^ 
 
30 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 The Braliinins use anotlier kind of deception 
 in order to procure offerings for tlie temples. 
 Tliey declare tliat tlieir gods are angry with 
 certain individuals who have offended them, 
 and that they have sent some evil spirit or 
 devil to take possession of their bodies, and 
 torment them. Accordingly, persons appear 
 wandering about in different parts of the 
 country, showing by their dreadful convul- 
 sions, their writhings and twistings, every 
 symptom of being possessed of the devil. The 
 people who see them are filled with dismay, 
 and fall down before them, and offer their gifts 
 and sacrifices, that they may not injure them. 
 "Whatever they ask, they bring. They give 
 them to eat and drink abundantly. When they 
 leave them, they accompany them with instrT> 
 ments of music till they arrive at some other 
 place, where they practise the same deception. 
 , At every large temple, there is at least every 
 year one grand procession. The idol is brought 
 out from its inclosure, and placed on a great 
 car or chariot, prepared for this express pur- 
 pose. This stands upon four wheels of great 
 strength, not made like ours, of spokes,, with a 
 rim, but of three or four pieces of thick, solid 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 31 
 
 timber, rounded and fitted to eacli other. It 
 is sometimes forty or fifty feet Mgh, having 
 caryed npon it images of a most abominable 
 natnre. I must not tell you any thing about 
 them. The car, when finished, presents some- 
 what the shape of a pyramid. On the day of 
 the procession it is adorned with painted cloth, 
 garlands of flowers, green shrubbery, and pre- 
 cious stuffs. The idol is placed in the centre, 
 loaded with jewels, etc., to attract the attention 
 of the people. 
 
 Having fastened ropes to this immense car, 
 six or seven or eight or nine hundred or a 
 thousand people catch hold of them, and slowly 
 drag it along, accompanied with the awful 
 roaring of their voices. At certain periods 
 they stop, at which the immense crowds col- 
 lected from all parts of the country set up one 
 universal shout, or rather yell. This, with the 
 sound of their instruments and numerous 
 drums, produces much uproar and confusion. 
 Sometimes the weighty car comes to a stand, 
 from the dampness of the ground, or in nar- 
 row streets, when the tumult and noise are 
 redoubled. 
 
 One of the principal idols of the heathen of 
 
32 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 India is named Juggernaut, tlie meaning of 
 wliicli is, "tlie Lord of tlie world." At Orissa, 
 tliis idol is very celebrated. It is supposed 
 tliat more than a million of people go every 
 year to worship it. Some of these measure 
 the whole distance of their journey with their 
 bodies lying on the ground, as a carpenter 
 lays his rule on a board, over and over again, 
 until he gets the length of it. The aged and 
 the sick undertake it as a remedy for all evils. 
 Thousands die on their way to and from the 
 temple. For many miles around it the roads 
 are strewed with the bones and skulls of the 
 poor pilgrims. Dogs, jackals, and vultures 
 live on their bodies ; especially do the pilgrims 
 die in large numbers on their way from the 
 temple. Their route may be traced by the 
 bones, which lie where the jackals and vultures 
 leave them, after eating their flesh. The coun- 
 try near the temple seems as if it had been 
 visited by pestilence and famine ; dead bodies 
 are seen in every direction ! When Jugger- 
 naut is placed on his car, and drawn around 
 the temple, poor deluded pilgrims throw them- 
 selves under the wheels, and are crushed to 
 death. Not long since, -Q-Ye or six persons 
 

 CAR OF JUGGERNAUT. Page 32. 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN". 
 
 thus threw themselves under the wheels^ and 
 were killed. The god is said to smile when 
 this is done. 
 
 Near the city of Juggernaut are to be seen 
 crowds of deluded creatures, some remaining 
 all the day with their heads on the ground and 
 their feet in the air; some cram their eyes 
 with mud, and their mouths with straw; others 
 are extended in a pond of water ; one has his 
 foot tied to his neck ; another has a pot of fire 
 on his breast, or is enveloped in a network of 
 ropes. 
 
 Thus,, my dear children, you see what suffer- 
 ings the poor heathen are willing to undergo 
 with the hope of obtaining heaven ; a hope 
 which I need hardly tell you, is utterly vain. 
 Grod requires no such sufferings. All which 
 he requires of you is, that you should repent, 
 and accept of Christ as your Saviour. And 
 have you done these things? If not, let me 
 entreat you to do so without delay. Death 
 and eternity are drawing near, and remember 
 that if you are once lost, you are lost for ever. 
 It is my earnest desire to meet you all in 
 heaven. Who is there among you that will 
 refuse to meet me there ? 
 
3l 
 
 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 ISrUMBEE YII. 
 
 My Dear Childeen: In one of tliose 
 seasons when Brahm was awake, it is said by 
 tlie Hindoos tliat all the atoms wMcli compose 
 tlie earth, the snn, the moon, and stars, were 
 drawn from his essence. At first, these atoms 
 were all in disorder. For the purpose of re- 
 ducing them to order, Brahm created what is 
 called the great mundane egg. Into this egg 
 he himself entered, u.nder the form of Brumha, 
 taking with him all these atoms. After re- 
 maining in this egg four thousand three hun- 
 dred millions of years, to arrange these atoms, 
 he burst its shell, and came out with a thou- 
 sand heads, a thousand eyes, and a thousand 
 arms. With him he brought out aU these 
 harmonious atoms which, when separated, 
 produced this beautiful universe which we 
 see above and around us. 
 
 The universe, as it came from the mundane 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 35 
 
 egg, is generally divided into fourteen worlds 
 — seven inferior or lower worlds, and seven 
 superior or upper worlds. The seven lower 
 worlds are filled with all kinds of wicked and 
 loathsome creatures. Our earth, which is the 
 first of the upper worlds, it is said, is flat. 
 That part of it which is inhabited consists of 
 seven circular islands or continents, each of 
 which is surrounded by a different ocean. 
 The island in the centre, where we dwell, is 
 surrounded by a sea of salt water ; the second 
 island is surrounded by a sea of sugar-cane 
 juice ; the third island is surrounded by a sea 
 of spirituous liquors ; the fourth is surround- 
 ed by a sea of clarified butter; the fifth is 
 surrounded by a sea of sour curds ; the sixth 
 is surrounded by a sea of milk ; the seventh 
 is surrounded by a sea of sweet water. 
 
 In all the worlds above ours are mansions 
 in which the gods reside. In the third is the 
 heaven of India. This is the heaven to 
 which it is said the widow goes, after she has 
 burned herself to death on the funeral pile of 
 her husband. Its palaces are of the purest 
 gold ; and such are the quantities of diamonds, 
 and jasper, and sapphire, and emerald, and aU 
 
36 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 manner of precious stones there, that it sMnes 
 with, a brightness superior to that of twelve 
 thousand suns. Its streets are of the clearest 
 crystal, fringed with gold. In the seventh, or 
 the highest of the upper worlds, is the heaven 
 where Brumha chiefly resides. This far ex- 
 ceeds all the other heavens in point of beauty. 
 In the inferior worlds it is said that there 
 are one hundred thousand hells. These are 
 provided for such as have been great crimi- 
 nals. The Hindoos say that those who have 
 not been very wicked can make an atonement 
 for their sins in this world. Should they 
 neglect to do this, they must suffer for it in 
 another birth. They believe in what is called 
 the 'transmigration of souls, or the passing of 
 the soul after death into another body. The 
 soul must suffer in the next birth, if not puri- 
 iied in this. Hence it is asserted that if a 
 man be a stealer of gold from a Brahmin, he 
 is doomed to have whitlows on his nails ; if a 
 drinker of spirits, black teeth ; if a false de- 
 tractor, fetid breath ; if a stealer of grain, the 
 defect of some limb ; if a stealer of clothes, 
 leprosy; if a horse-stealer, lameness; if a 
 stealer of a lamp, total blindness. If he steals 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 37 
 
 grain in tlie liusk, lie will be born a rat ; if 
 yellow mixed metal, a gander; if money, a 
 great stinging gnat ; if fruit, an ape ; if tlie 
 property of a priest, a croeodile. 
 
 Those persons whose sins are too great to 
 be forgiven in this world,, mnst be sent to one 
 of the hells to which I have alluded. Weep- 
 ing, wailing, shrieking, they are dragged to 
 the palace of Tama, the king of those doleful 
 regions. On arriving there, they behold him 
 clothed with terror, two hundred and forty 
 miles in height, his eyes as large as a lake of 
 water, his voice as loud as thunder, the hairs 
 of his body as long as palm-trees, a flame of 
 fire proceeding from his mouth, the noise of 
 his breath like the roaring of a tempest, and 
 in his right hand a terrific iron club. If what 
 I have now been saying about Yama were 
 true, what a frightful creature would he be, 
 and how would you dread to fall into the 
 hands of such a being ! But frightful as the 
 character of Yama would be if he had an ex- 
 istence, it could not be more so than that of 
 the great adversary, the Devil, whom we know 
 to eKist, and who is emphatically named Apoll- 
 yon, or the destroyer. He is the head or 
 4 
 
38 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 king of tliat awful prison of despair, where 
 those who shall finally be lost are to weep and 
 wail and gnash their teeth for ever; and 
 doubtless he will be their tormentor there, as 
 he is their destroyer here. Oh ! if those who 
 are now taken captive by him at his will, only 
 knew what is before them, surely they would 
 not be so ready to serve him : wonld they eat 
 honey if they knew that poison was in it? 
 May it be your lot, my dear children, never 
 to fall into the hands of such a dreadful 
 being. 
 
 I want to ask you a question just in this 
 place. It is. Have you never had any fears 
 lest this great adversary of whom I have been 
 speaking — ^this great roaring Hon, who goeth 
 about seeking whom he may devour — may 
 be the means of destroying you? If you 
 have not, I feel deeply alarmed on your ac- 
 count. You are mad, my dear children, if 
 you do not entertain such fears, so long as 
 your many sins are not forgiven. I say your 
 many sins, for they have been many, very 
 many. Have you never been angry, and per- 
 haps spoken bad words in your anger ? Heve 
 you not sometimes quarrelled with your bro- 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 39 
 
 thers or sisters, or others, and perhaps lifted 
 your hands to strike them ? When playing 
 with them, have you never shown any marks 
 of selfishness, by wishing to take possession of 
 their playthings ? and when you were not al- 
 lowed to have them, did you never show your 
 resentment by leaving them, and by your re- 
 fusal any longer to be in their company ? 
 Have you never murmured when you have 
 been punished for your faults ? and when you 
 were quite young, and when you were denied 
 what it would have been wrong for you to 
 have, did you not sometimes throw yourselves 
 down on the floor, and show what a wicked 
 temper you had by screaming and kicking ? 
 And have you never manifested a proud and 
 peevish spirit? And have you never dis- 
 obeyed your parents ? Has your conduct not 
 sometimes been like that of Ananias and Sap- 
 phira ? Have you not told untruths ? And 
 has your conduct never been ■ like that of 
 Achan, whose history is mentioned in the 
 seventh chapter of Joshua ? Did you never 
 stretch out your hands, and take and eat some 
 forbidden fruit, or other things which you had 
 been told not to touch? But I have not yet 
 
40 
 
 BETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 told you of the greatest of all the sins which 
 jou have ever ' committed ; and this is your 
 refusal to love the Saviour. He died to save 
 sinners ; but up to this day you have said by 
 your conduct, if not by you.r words, "We will 
 not come to him that we may be saved. 
 Every act of your lives has been against him, 
 for you never did one thing with the view to 
 glorify him. Consequently, every, act of your 
 lives has been sin. Yes, many, many have 
 been your sins. They have been piled up 
 and become, as it were, great mountains ; and 
 well will it be if these mountains do not fall 
 upon you and crush you for ever. 
 
 Perhaps, my dear children, you will say 
 that I am speaking harshly; but I am not 
 sensible that I am doing so. All that I wish 
 is, to tell you plainly of the awful nature of 
 your condition. Can I cry out, Peace, peace, 
 when there is no peace? But I have not yet 
 done. I have told you that you are great'sin- 
 ners. I must further tell you, that if you ex- 
 pect to escape the woes and miseries of the 
 world to come, you must repent. Eepentance 
 is the first act which you have to perform. 
 And what does the word repentance mean ? 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 41 
 
 It means a cliange of roind — a turning from 
 sin to holiness. This is effected through the 
 agency of the Holy Spirit. It is called the 
 new birth, a birth of holiness, to distinguish 
 it from the old birth, a birth of sin. By na- 
 ture, we love sin and hate God. When we 
 are born again, we hate sin and love God. 
 The change is as marked as would be the 
 change in a fish if it were enabled to live on 
 the shore, or as marked as would be the change 
 in a man if he were enabled to live under wa- 
 ter. Now, as I just said, you must have this 
 change produced in you by the Holy Spirit, 
 or you must be lost. But there is something 
 else for you to do, if you would be saved. 
 You must believe in Christ. By behef in 
 Christ I mean a simple trust or confidence in 
 him as the Saviour of sinners, and a reliance 
 on his merits alone for your salvation. This, 
 of course, includes in it a giving up of the 
 world as your portion, and an uncond^ional ; 
 and hearty surrender of yourselves and of 
 your all to him. I wish, my dear children, to 
 make one request of you, and this is that you 
 will commit to memory the ninth verse of the 
 tenth chapter of Eomans. It, is: "If thou 
 4*' 
 
42 LETTERS TO CHILDREST. 
 
 shalt confess with, tliy mouth, the Lord Jesus, 
 and shalt believe in thj heart that Grod hath 
 raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." 
 But I must stop. I might go on with the ac- 
 count of the inferior worlds, to which. I a few 
 minutes ago directed your attention. My 
 mind, however, has become so much impressed 
 with the subject which, has last been before us 
 — th.e subject of your own salvation — ^that I 
 can not think of saying any thing more in this 
 letter. 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 43 
 
 NUMBEEYIII. 
 
 My Dear Children : In my last letter, I 
 gave you an account of those wliom tlie Hin- 
 doos say must be sent to the regions of whicli 
 Yama is king. Being summoned before him, 
 sentence is passed, and the wretched beings 
 are doomed to receive punishment according 
 to the nature of their crimes. Some are made 
 to tread on burning sands, or sharp-edged 
 stones. Others are rolled among thorns and 
 spikes and putrefied flesh. Others are dragged 
 along the roughest places by cords passed 
 through the tender parts of the body. Some 
 are attacked by jackals, tigers, and elephants. 
 Others are pierced with arrows, beaten with 
 clubs, pricked with needles, seared with hot 
 irons, and tormented by flies and wasps. Some 
 are plunged into pans of liquid fire or boiling 
 oil. Others are dashed from lofty trees, many 
 hundred miles high. 
 
m 
 
 44 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 The torment of these hells does not continue 
 for ever. After cruninals have been punished 
 for a longer or shorter time, their souls return 
 to the earth again in the bodies of men. Here 
 they may perform such good acts as may raise 
 them to one of the heavens of the gods; 
 or commit crimes which may be the means 
 of their being sent again to the abodes of 
 misery. 
 
 Things will go on in this way until the 
 universe comes to an end, when every thing 
 is to disappear and to be swallowed up in 
 Brahm. 
 
 The Hindoos say that it is now more than 
 one hundred and fifty billions of years since 
 the world was created. After it has continued 
 for one hundred and fifty billions of years 
 more, it is to come to an end. Then Brumha 
 is to die, and to be swallowed up, with the 
 universe, in the sole existing Brahm. 
 
 By what you have now read, you will learn 
 that the Hindoos expect by their sufferings to 
 make an atonement for their sins. But there 
 is no atonement for sin except through the 
 blood of Jesus Christ. We must come as lost 
 sinners to our Heavenly Eather, confess our 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 45 
 
 transgressions to liim, and plead for his forgive- 
 ness, only throngli tlie sufferings and death 
 wMcli Christ endured. Mj dear children, have 
 you done this ? K not, do it speedily, or the 
 regions of the lost must soon be your everlast- 
 ing abode. 
 
46 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 NUMBBE IX. 
 
 My Deae Childeen: In my last letter, I 
 told jou something about tlie heaven of India ; 
 this being the place where the Hindoos say 
 that widows go after having burnt themselves 
 to death on the funeral piles of their husbands. 
 I must tell you more particularly about the 
 burning of these widows. The sacred books 
 of the Hindoos encourage this burning. They 
 declare that if a woman will ascend the faneraJ 
 pile and sacrifice her life there, not only her 
 own sins, but the sins of her husband, though 
 he may have been a murderer, shall be for- 
 given, and that they shall both go to heaven 
 — ^the heaven of India. This cruel ceremony, 
 which is called the Suttee, has been abohshed 
 in the British dominions of India, but is, I 
 fear, practised to an awful extent in some of 
 the native Eajah's territories. Even while 
 you are reading these lines, perhaps some poor 
 
HINDOO WIDOW, CARRIED IN A PALANQUIN TO THE 
 FUNERAL PILE. Page 47. 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 47 
 
 widow is stretclied on tlie pile witli the dead 
 body of her husband, and will be in eternity 
 in a very few moments. I will mention a few 
 instances of the bnrning of widows, that you es- 
 pecially, my dear httle girls, may be thankful 
 that you were not born in this dark land. The 
 first to which I would call your attention took 
 place in the village of Tanjore. 
 
 A merchant having died, his wife, who was 
 about thhty years old, determined to bum 
 herself with his corpse. The news of what 
 she was going to do spread rapidly in every 
 direction, and large numbers of people col- 
 lected to witness the burning. After she was 
 adorned with jewels and dressed in her best 
 clothing, and after her body was tinged with 
 the yellow infusion of sandal- wood and saffron, 
 bearers arrived to bear away the corpse, with 
 the wretched woman. The body of the man 
 was placed on a car, ornamented with costly 
 stuffs, flowers, etc. There he was seated like 
 a liviug man, elegantly decorated with all his 
 jewels, and clothed in rich attire. 
 
 The corpse being carried first, the wife fol- 
 lowed in a rich palanquin. As she went along, 
 the surrounding multitudes of people stretched 
 
48 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 out their hands towards her, to show how 
 much they admired her conduct. The women 
 in particular went up to her, apparently de- 
 siring to receive her blessing, or, at least, that 
 she would pronounce over them some pleasing 
 word. She tried to satisfy them all, saying to 
 one that she would long continue to enjoy her 
 worldly happiness, and to another that she 
 would be the mother of many beautiful child- 
 ren. Another was informed that she would 
 arrive at great honor in the world. These ajid 
 similar expressions she made to all who came 
 near her, and they departed with the full be- 
 lief that they would enjoy all the blessings of 
 which she had spoken. She also distributed 
 among them some betel leaves, which they 
 gladly received as relics, or something of bless- 
 ed influence. 
 
 During the whole procession, which was 
 very long, her countenance was serene and 
 even cheerfid, until they came to the pile on 
 which she was to die. Then she suddenly 
 became pensive. She no longer attended to 
 what was passing around her. Her looks were 
 wildly fixed upon the pile ; her face grew pale, 
 she. trembled with fear, and seemed ready to 
 faint away. 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 40 
 
 The Bralimins wlio took the lead in this 
 ceremony, with her relatives, seeing her sad 
 condition, ran to her and endeavored to re- 
 store her spirits ; but she seemed not to know 
 what they said, and answered not a word. 
 
 •They made her quit the palanqnin, and her 
 nearest relatives took her to a pond of water, 
 which was near the pile, where they washed 
 her. They then attended her to the pile, on 
 which the corpse of her husband had already 
 been laid. It was surrounded with Brahmins, 
 each with a lighted torch in one hand and a 
 bowl of melted butter in the other, all ready, 
 as soon as the poor victim was placed on the 
 pile, to envelope her in fire. 
 
 The relatives, armed with muskets, sabres, 
 and other weapons, stood closely around in a 
 double hne, for the purpose, it was said, of 
 making her afraid if she might wish to draw 
 back, or of frightening any body who might 
 piij her and endeavor to rescue her. 
 
 At length, the time for firing the pile being 
 proclaimed, the young widow was stripped of 
 her jewels, and led on towards the pile. She was 
 then commanded to walk three times around 
 it, two of her nearest relatives supporting her 
 5 
 
50 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 bj the arms. The first round she accomplish- 
 ed with tottering steps, but in the second her 
 strength forsook her, and she fainted away in 
 the arms of those who were holding her. They 
 were obliged to drag her between them for the 
 third round. Then, senseless, she was thrown 
 on the corpse of her husband. At that instant 
 the multitude made the air to ring with their 
 shouts of gladness, while the Brahmins poured 
 the butter on the dry wood, and applied the 
 torches. Instantly the whole pile was in a 
 blaze. 
 
 As soon as the flames began to rage, the 
 poor woman, now in the midst of them, was 
 called upon by name from all sides ; but, as 
 insensible as the corpse upon which she lay, 
 she made no answer. She entered eternity, 
 suffocated at once, most probably, by the 
 flames. 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 51 
 
 ISrUMBEE X. 
 
 My Dear Children : In my last letter, I 
 gave you an account of tlie burning of a widow 
 in Tanjore. If you will look on your map of 
 Hindoostan, you will see tliat this place is about 
 one hundred and fifty miles from Madras, 
 That your minds may be more fully impressed 
 with the misery and wretchedness of the hea- 
 then, I will transcribe a few more cases of Sut- 
 tee. The Eev. Mr. Campbell, when speaking 
 of the burning of a widow, says : "I saw her 
 pacing her appointed circuits around the pile. 
 I saw her ascend the bed of death, and tied to 
 the dead body of her husband. I saw her take 
 her jewels from her ears, her neck, and the va- 
 rious members of her body, and distribute 
 them as parting memorials to her friends. I 
 saw her son, whom she had nurtured, and 
 whom she had nursed, take the torch into his 
 hand, and in several places kindle the flame 
 
52 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 tliat was to consume his mother. I saw the 
 servants cut the ropes to let the canopy of fag- 
 ots fall upon her head, to crush her, and to 
 prevent her escape ; and as the flames ascend- 
 ed, and as the pile became one mass of fire, I 
 heard the horrid yell and shout of exultation 
 from the surroimding multitude, to drown the 
 shrieks of that victim in the plaudits of their 
 joy. Oh! I thought I was standing on the 
 borders of the infernal lake. I wondered that 
 the earth did not open her mouth to devour 
 the perpetrators of this horrid murder." 
 
 The next instance which I will transcribe is 
 a very dreadful one. A young widow, four- 
 teen years of age, soon after the death of her 
 hu.sband, proceeded to burn herself on the fu- 
 neral pile. The pile was prepared by her re- 
 lations, and set on fire by her uncle, as she 
 had no children to put the fire to it. She sooji 
 leaped from the pile, much burned ; but she 
 was seized, taken by the hands and feet, and 
 thrown back upon it. Again she leaped from 
 the burning pile, and running to a well not far 
 off, laid herself down in the water-course, bit- 
 terly weeping.. A sheet was then brought, 
 and she was desired by her uncle to place her- 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 self upon it. Slie refused, saying, tliat lie 
 would carry lier again to the fire ; and slie 
 would rather quit the family, and live by beg- 
 ging, if they would only have mercy upon 
 her. At length, on her uncle's swearing by 
 the Eiver Ganges, (they say that the Eiver 
 Granges is a goddess,) that if she would sit 
 down on the cloth he would carry her home, 
 she did so ; but was instantly bound up in it, 
 carried to the pile, now fiercely burning, and 
 again thrown into the flames. The poor crea- 
 ture tried once more to save herself, when, at 
 the instigation of the rest, a Mohammedan ap- 
 proached near enough to reach her with his 
 sword, and cutting her through the head, she 
 fell backward, and expired. 
 
 Not unfrequently, the sons take a promi- 
 nent part in destroying their mothers. This 
 will appear from the following case : A Brah- 
 min died, and his body was brought to the 
 place of burning. His wife was fastened to 
 the pile, and the fire was kindled ; but the 
 night was dark and rainy. "When the fire be- 
 gan to scorch the poor woman, she contrived 
 to disentangle herself from the dead body, and, 
 creeping from under the pile, hid herself 
 5* 
 
54 LETTERS TO OHILDREIn. 
 
 among some brush-wood. In a little time, it 
 was discovered tliat there was bnt one body 
 on the pile. The relations immediately took 
 the alarm, and searched for the poor wretch. 
 The son soon dragged her forth, and insisted 
 that she should throw herself on the pile 
 again, or drown or hang herself She plead 
 for her life at the hands of her own son, and 
 declared that she could not embrace so horrid 
 a death ; but she pleaded in vain. The son 
 urged that he should lose his caste, and that, 
 therefore, he would die, or she should. Un- 
 able to persuade her to hang or drown herself, 
 the son and the others present then tied her 
 hands and feet, and threw her on the funeral 
 pile, where she quickly perished. 
 
 Instances have occurred where children of 
 eight years old have been sacrificed on the fu- 
 neral pile. Several years ago, a child of this 
 age was burned to death near Calcutta. At 
 the time the news arrived of the death of the 
 child's husband, she was playing with other 
 children at a neighbor's house. Having just 
 before been severely chastised by her aunt, 
 and having formerly suffered much from her, 
 she resolved to burn herself with the dead 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 55 
 
 body, that she might ayoid similar treatment 
 in future ; nor could her relations induce her 
 to alter her resolution. As soon as she was 
 laid upon the pile, she appeared to die — '■ no 
 doubt from fear — even before the fire touched 
 her. 
 
56 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 NUMBEE XI. 
 
 My Dear Childeen: I must say a word 
 or two mote about tlie Suttee. It sometimes 
 happens that many women are burned with a 
 single corpse. Several years ago, it is said, no 
 less than thirty-seven females were burned 
 alive with the remains of a Brahmin of Bag- 
 napara. This Brahmin had more than one 
 hundred wives. At the first kindling of the 
 fire only three of them were present ; but the 
 fire was kept burning three days. When one or 
 more arrived, the ceremonies were performed, 
 and they threw themselves on the blazing fire. 
 On the first day three were burned ; on the 
 second, fifteen; on the third, nineteen. Among 
 them, some were forty years old, and others as 
 young as sixteen. Most of these wives had 
 seldom seen hhn while living. From one 
 family he had married four sisters. 
 
 Since I came to this country, the King of 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 57 
 
 Edur died. On tlie morning of tlie burning 
 of Ms bodj, fourteen persons were taken 
 down with it, and burned before all tlie assem- 
 bled people of Edur. If I remember cor- 
 rectly, one of them was a man, probably a 
 servant of the king. 
 
 You will be sorry to hear that a widow was 
 not long since burned to death with the corpse 
 of her husband, even within the bounds of the 
 British dominions, where the most stringent 
 laws are enacted against this ceremony. It 
 occurred at a place near Ahmednuggur. The 
 police attempted to interfere, but were driven 
 back by the Brahmins, who persisted in their 
 murderous determination tni their victim, a 
 young woman of fifteen, was totally consumed. 
 The case was brought to trial, but how it 
 terminated I do not know. "We hope," 
 said the Poonah Chronicle^ "that the punish- 
 ment of the murderers will be most exem- 
 plary." 
 
 And are you not ready, my dear children, 
 to exclaim. How wretched is the condition of 
 these poor creatures! But what is all this 
 wretchedness when compared with the wretch- 
 edness which they will have to endure in the 
 
58 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 world to come ? And how mnch. greater will 
 your wretchedness be, my dear children, 
 should you -eyentually be lost ! The heathen 
 linow not their Master's will ; you know it, 
 and if' you do it not, you will be beaten with 
 many stripes, while they shall be beaten with 
 few stripes. And are you yet out of Christ? 
 If so, oh ! let me entreat you to give your 
 heart to him unmediately! Eemember that 
 death is near, and that if you put off your re- 
 pentance, you may die in a state of mind in 
 some respects more awful than that in which 
 those poor creatures die who are burned on 
 the funeral pile. 
 
 . I shall never forget the death-bed scene of a 
 young lady whom I attended in the capacity 
 of a physician, before I left America. Her 
 disease was the consumption. After my at- 
 tendance upon her for a month, I perceived 
 one morning that death was near. I told her 
 that she must die. " Can not I live a month ?" 
 she exclaimed. " Can not I live two weeks?" 
 After I told her that she could not, such a 
 scene of horror followed as I never before 
 witnessed ; and may Grod, in his great mercy, 
 grant that I may never witness such another. 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 59 
 
 At one time slie insisted on being taken from 
 her concli, and put upon Iter knees, that site 
 might call upon God to have mercy upon her; 
 at another she entreated the bystanders not to 
 let her sleep, that she might spend every 
 breath in pleading for mercy. At one time 
 she looked up to me, as if in despair, and said: 
 " Doctor, can not you save me ?" Alas ! what 
 could I do for the poor creature ? A very af- 
 fecting circumstance occurred, which I must 
 not omit to mention. She either ordered her 
 trunk to be brought to her, and took a ring 
 from it, or ordered the ring to be handed to 
 her. She then called a young lady to her, 
 and proceeded to piit this ring on her finger, 
 at the same time saying : " Do not put off your 
 repentance, as I have done, till a dying hour!" 
 That ring, which is set with red garnet, is now 
 in my possession, a sad, sad memento, indeed, 
 of days gone by. It was on Thursday morning 
 that I told her she must die; on Saturday 
 morning, loithout Tioj^e, I fear, she entered 
 eternity. "Would that I could carry you to 
 her dying bed-side, and would that I could 
 show you that mournful countenance which 
 remained as a sad monument of the wreck 
 
60 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 tliat there had. been witMn, until slie was 
 screwed up in lier coffin ! Never, never shall 
 I forget it. 
 
 Now, very dear children, jon would not 
 like to die as I fear this young lady died. 
 Well, then, if you would die differently, you 
 must live differently •, for you must live for 
 Christ, if you die in Christ. And are you 
 Christ's ? or are you yet gay and thoughtless — 
 as gay and thoughtless as that young lady was 
 until laid upon her dying-bed? K you are 
 so, and if you continue to remain in this sad 
 condition, your season of sorrow will certainly 
 come, and it may come when you expect it 
 not. As the little insect which flies around 
 and around your candle is dazzled with its 
 brightness, and feels nothing but pleasure un- 
 til it unconsciously strikes the blaze with its 
 little wings, and is swallowed up in the flame, 
 so you are dazzled with the pleasures of the 
 world, thinking nothing of the flames which 
 may swallow you up in a moment, and put a 
 stop to all your joys for ever. Oh ! that the 
 death-bed scenes of Miss Matthews might 
 have their becoming effect upon you ! Oh ! 
 that the solemn warning which she gave to 
 
LETTEKS TO CHILDREN. 61 
 
 her young fiiend, not to put off repentance as 
 she had done until a dying hour, might con- 
 tinue to sound in your ears, until you would 
 no longer delay your repentance ! 
 
 My dear chHdren, this young lady, though 
 dead, yet speaketh. She speaks to you. She 
 calls upon you from the tomb, from the eter- 
 nal world, to delay youi: repentance no longer. 
 Will you, then, be so mad as to turn a deaf 
 ear to this call? Will you ever take another 
 sip from the cup of unhallowed pleasure? 
 Will you ever direct your little feet to the 
 ball-room or other places of sinful amusement? 
 Will you hereafter prefer your worldly joys 
 to Christ ? Oh ! you must not, you must not ! 
 It will not do for you to be lost ! Who, oh ! 
 who can lie down in everlasting burnings? 
 Who can dwell for ever with devouring 
 flames? Can you, my dear children? Ko, 
 no; you can not — ^you can not; and yet you 
 must, unless you will give up the vain plea- 
 sures of the world, and give yourselves to 
 Christ. 
 
62 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 ISTUMBEE XII. 
 
 My Dear Childbek : There are some 
 gods wMcli are worshipped only by the lower 
 classes of people. The five-faced god is one of 
 this kind. He has three eyes in each face. 
 Some persons make a clay image of this god 
 and worship it. Others worship him before a 
 stone placed nnder particular kinds of trees. 
 This stone is painted red at the top, and is 
 anointed with oil. Offerings of flowers, fruits, 
 sweetmeats, fried peas, and so forth, accom- 
 pany the worship. In some of the villages, 
 several of these shapeless stones are to be seen 
 thus anointed, and consecrated to this god. 
 The womfen are much terrified at this god, and 
 are very much afraid lest their children should 
 in their play injure his image. They tell 
 them that death will be the consequence, if 
 they touch it. 
 
 When children are seized with the disease 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 63 
 
 called epilepsy, it -is supposed that tHs god 
 seizes them, and throws them into a state of 
 frenzy, until they foam at the mouth. The 
 mother asks the supposed evil spirit his name, 
 who answers through the child: '^ I am the 
 five-faced god. Your child has cast dust on 
 my image, kicked me, and is the ring-leader 
 of all the children of the village in this wick- 
 edness. I will certainly take away his life." 
 One of the priestesses of thi^ god — who are 
 all old women — ^is now called, who comforts 
 the weeping family,' and thus addresses the 
 god : " O five-faced god ! I pray thee, restore 
 this child. These are thy worshippers. The 
 offender is but a child. If thou wilt restore 
 the child, the parents will sacrifice a goat to 
 thee, and present to thee many offerings." If 
 this should fail to render him propitious, they 
 take the child before the image, causing it to 
 beat its head upon the ground. They also try 
 to gain their point by flattering him. If the 
 child recovers, believing that the five-faced 
 god has cured him, they make their offerings 
 to him. 
 
 There is another form of Siva worshipped 
 by the lower classes of people. A black stone 
 
64 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 of any shape is used to represent this god. 
 Those who worship him, paint the part de- 
 signed as the forehead, and place it nnder a 
 tree. Others place the stone in the house, and 
 give it silver eyes, anoint it with oil, and wor- 
 ship it. The ceremonies connected with his 
 worship are like those which are used at the 
 festival of the hook-swinging, with the addi- 
 tion of blood-sacrifices. The animals sacrificed 
 are usually goats. On such occasions, devo- 
 tees pass cords through their sides, pierce their 
 tongues with irons, walk on the fire, and 
 throw themselves on spikes. 
 
 "At two villages," says Mr. "Ward, " Poo- 
 sooree and Eayukalee, the worship of this god 
 is attended by crowds of people from a dis- 
 tance. If a woman's eldest child dies, she 
 makes a vow, before witnesses, that she will 
 not cut her hair for two years ; at the same 
 time declaring that, after this time, she will go 
 to one of these villages, cut off her hair and 
 present an offering to the god, provided he 
 will preserve her second child. In order to 
 obtain a blessing, women sometimes put on 
 wet clothes, place an earthen pot full of burn- 
 ing coals upon a cloth on their heads, and, 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 65 
 
 taking a cMld up in their arms, go and sit in 
 a supplicating posture before hini. At tlie 
 same time incense is offered up. India pitch 
 is thrown into the pan of coals." 
 
 There are other forms of this god, worship- 
 ped much in the same manner ; but of which 
 I need not make mention. 
 
 The goddess Sheetula is worshipped by the 
 Hindoo females when their families are afflict- 
 ed with the itch; and the god Ghetoo — a 
 black boiling pot — is worshipped to remove 
 the scurvy, or any kind of blotches on the 
 skin. 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDHEN. 
 
 NUMBEE XIII. 
 
 My Dear Childrek : The Hindoos, says 
 Mr. "Ward, worsliip tlie " Host of Heaven." 
 The planets, the constellations, the signs of 
 the zodiac, and the stars in general, are all 
 considered as gods, and worshipped as such. 
 The constellations are worshipped separately, 
 at the birth of children, as well as at the anni- 
 versaries of their birth, till the time of death. 
 
 Those Hindoos, whose births have taken 
 place under a supposed evil planet, are often 
 filled with melancholy. Some abandon them- 
 selves to despair, careless as to what may hap- 
 pen to them. 
 
 At the great festivals a small offering is 
 presented to all the planets at once. On other 
 occasions they are never worshipped together. 
 They are frequently worshipped separately by 
 the sick and unfortunate, who suppose them- 
 selves to be under the baneful influence of 
 
LETTERS TO CHILD^REN. 67 
 
 some one of tliem. At these times the nine 
 planets are worshipped one after the other in 
 regular succession. 
 
 The sun is worshipped as one of the planets. 
 If a person is born under him, he will possess 
 an anxious mind, be subject to disease and 
 other sufferings, be an exile, and endure much 
 sorrow from the loss of his wife, children, and 
 property. 
 
 The image of the moon is that of a white 
 man drawn by ten horses, or sitting on the 
 water-lily. With his right hand he is giving 
 a blessing ; in the other he holds a club. All 
 the Hindoo ceremonies are regulated by the 
 rising or setting, the waxing or the waning of 
 the moon. If a person be bom under it, he 
 will have many friends, will possess elephants, 
 horses, and palanquins, will be honorable and 
 powerful, will have excellent food, etc. 
 
 The god Mars is painted red. He rides on 
 a sheep, wears a red necklace, and garments 
 of the same color. He has four arms. If a 
 person be born under him, he will be full of 
 anxious thoughts, be wounded and imprisoned, 
 be oppressed with fear from robbers and fire, 
 and will lose his lands, trees, and good name. 
 
68 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 The god Mercury lias four arms. He ridas 
 on a lion, and lias a placid countenance. He 
 wears yellow garments. If a person be born 
 under tMs planet, he will be very fortunate ; 
 and, among other things, obtain an excellent 
 wife. . 
 
 The image of Jupiter is painted yellow. He 
 sits on a water-lily. He has four arms. In 
 one he holds a bead-roll, in another an alms- 
 dish, in another a club, and with the fourth he 
 is bestowing a blessing. If a person be born 
 under this planet, he will be endowed with an 
 amiable disposition, possess palaces, gardens, 
 lands, and be rich in money. All his wishes 
 will be gratified. 
 
 The god Venus is dressed in white, and sits 
 on a water-lily. If a person be born under 
 this planet, he will have the faculty of know- 
 ing things past, present, and future. He will 
 have many wives, have a kingly umbrella, 
 and kings will worship him. 
 
 The god Saturn is dressed in black. He 
 rides on a vulture, and has four arms. All 
 the Hindoos dread the supposed bad influence 
 of this god, and perform a number of cere- 
 monies to appease him. Many stories are told 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 69 
 
 of him, such as that of burning off the god 
 Pulhar's head ; his being the cause of bad har- 
 vests, etc. If a person be born under this 
 planet, he will be slandered, his riches will be 
 dissipated, his son, wife, and friends destroyed. 
 He will also live at variance with others, and 
 endure much suffering. At the time of the 
 appearance of this planet, some of the Hin- 
 doos, if absent from home, will return through 
 fear of him ; others forsake their business lest 
 they should meet with misfortunes. 
 
 But I have told you enough, my dear child- 
 ren — enough, perhaps, to make you exclaim, 
 How foolish is the idea that a person can be 
 born under Si planet, and that his destinies are 
 shaped by such a birth ! But you must re- 
 member that it is only in consequence of the 
 advantages which you enjoy, that you are en- 
 abled to view this belief in its proper light. All 
 is darkness where the religion of the blessed 
 Jesus does not shine. Oh ! if there is a heart 
 within you, that heart ought to beat with 
 gratitude to your Heavenly Father, on account 
 of his distinguished mercies, both of a tempo- 
 ral and spiritual nature, towards you : above 
 all should it beat with gratitude when you re- 
 
70 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 member that he gave Ms only-begotten Son to 
 die for yon ; to die that you might escape that 
 awfal place of torment, where the worm dieth 
 not, and where the fire is not quenched. 
 
 Oh ! for this love, let rocks and hills 
 
 Their lasting silence break, 
 And all harmonious human tongues 
 
 The Saviour's praises speak. 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 71 
 
 NUMBEE XIV. 
 
 My Dear Children: I have yet many 
 things to tell you about the worship of the 
 Hindoos ; but as I haye dwelt so much on this 
 subject already, I will turn away from it for 
 a little while. In this letter I will give you a 
 description of some of their domestic customs. 
 These are very different from ours. The men 
 and women never eat together. The husband 
 first eats, then the wife. The wife waits upon 
 the husband. After she has cooked the rice, 
 she brings a brass plate, if they possess one ; 
 or, if not, a piece of plantain-leaf, and puts it 
 down on a mat before him. She then bails 
 out the rice, places it upon the leaf, and after- 
 wards pours the curry over it. This being 
 done, the husband proceeds to mix up the 
 curry and rice with his hands and puts it into 
 his mouth. He never uses a knife and fork, 
 as is customary with us. The curry of which 
 
72 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 • ^^ 
 
 I have spoken is a sauce of a yellow color, 
 owing to the munchel^ or yellow root, whicli 
 they put in it. This and onions, kottamaly- 
 seeds, naustard, serakum, pepper, etc., consti- 
 tute the ingredients of the curry. Many add 
 to this, ghee and cocoa-nut milk. By the co- 
 coa-nut milk, I do not mean the water of the 
 cocoa-nut. This, except in the very young 
 cocoa-nut, (when it is a most delicious bever- 
 age,) is never used. The milk is squeezed 
 from the TYieat of the cocoa-nut, after it has 
 reduced to a pulp, by means of an indented 
 circular iron, which they use for this purpose. 
 After the husband has eaten, the wife brings 
 water for him to wash his hands* This being 
 done, she supplies him with vettalay, paakkee, 
 shell-lime, and tobacco, which he puts into his 
 mouth as his dessert. The vettalay is a very 
 spicy leaf. Why they use paakkee, I do not 
 know. It is a nut which they cut into small 
 pieces, but it has not much taste. Sometimes 
 the wife brings her husband a segar. This 
 people, I am sorry to say, are great smokers 
 and chewers — ^practices which you, my dear 
 children, should avoid. In Ceylon, if is cus- 
 tomary for females to smoke. Frequently, 
 
LETTERS TO^ CHILDEEK-. 73 
 
 after tlie liiisband has smoked awhile, he 
 hands the segar to his wife. She then puts it 
 into her mouth and smokes. 
 
 Several years ago,, one of the school-masters 
 in that island became a Christian. After he 
 had partaken of the Lord's Supper, his wife 
 considered him so defiled that she would not 
 put his segar into her mouth for a month 
 afterwards. She, however, has since become 
 a Christian. 
 
 I spoke just now of the plantain-leaf. This 
 leaf is sometimes six feet long, and in some 
 places a foot and a half wide. It is an un- 
 broken leaf, with a large stem running through 
 the middle of it. It is the handsomest leaf I 
 ever saw. Pieces enough can be torn from a 
 single leaf to take the place of a dozen plates. 
 When quite young, it is an excellent applica- 
 tion to surfaces which have been blistered. 
 
 "When this people eat, they do not use 
 tables and chairs. They sit down on mats, 
 and double their legs under them, after the 
 manner of our friends, the tailors, in America, 
 when they sew. This is the way in which 
 the natives sit in many churches. Carpenters 
 and other tradesmen sit down, either on a 
 7 
 
74 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 board, or on tlie ground, or on their legs, 
 wlien tliej work. It would divert you mucli 
 to see their manoeuvring. If a carpenter, for 
 instance, wants to make a little peg, he will 
 take a small piece of board and place it in an 
 erect position between his feet, the soles of 
 which are turned inward, so as to press upon 
 the board. He then takes his chisel in one 
 hand and his mallet in the other, and cuts off 
 a small piece. Afterwards he holds the piece 
 in one hand, and, while he shapes it with his 
 chisel with the other, he steadies it by press- 
 ing it against his great toe. 
 
 The blacksmiths, with the exception of 
 those who use the sledge-hammer, sit as do 
 the carpenters, while they hammer the iron. 
 I wish you could see them at work, with their 
 simple apparatus. They have small anvils, 
 which they place in a hole made in a log of 
 wood, which is buried in the ground. They 
 do not use such bellows as you see in America. 
 Theirs consist of two leather bags, about a 
 foot wide and a foot and a half long, each 
 having a nozzle at one end. The other end 
 is left open to admit the air. When they 
 wish to blow the fire, they extend these bags 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 75 
 
 to admit tlie air. Then thej close them by 
 means of the thumb on one side and the fin- 
 gers on the other, and press them down to- 
 wards the nozzle of the bellows, which forces 
 the air through them into the fire. I should 
 have said before, that the nozzle of the bellows 
 passes through a small semi-circular mound 
 of dried mud. 
 
 I mentioned that the natives do not use 
 tables and chairs in their houses. Neither do 
 thej, as a general thing, use bedsteads. They 
 have no beds. They sleep on mats, which they 
 spread down on the floor. Sometimes they 
 use a cotton bolster under their heads. More 
 generally, their pillows are hard boards, which 
 they put under the mat. In addition to cook- 
 ing, the females have to prepare the rice for 
 this purpose, by taking it out of the husk. 
 This they do by beating it in a mortar about 
 two feet high. The pestle with which they 
 pound it is about five feet long, made of wood, 
 mth an iron rim around the lower part of it. 
 Three women can work at one of these mor- 
 tars at the same time ; of course they have to 
 be very skillful in the use of the pestle, so as 
 not to interfere with each other's operations. 
 
70 LETTSRS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 Sometimes wHle tliiis engaged, tlie cTiildren, 
 who are at play near their mothers, put their 
 hands on the edge of the mortars. In such 
 cases when the pestle happens to strike the 
 edge, their fingers are taken off in a moment. 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 NUMBEE XY. 
 
 My Deae Children : If you will take a 
 piece of mahogany in your hand, and view its 
 different shades, you will have a pretty good 
 representation of the color of a large class of 
 this people. I say of a large class ; for there 
 is a great variety of colors. Some appear to 
 be almost of a bronze color ; some are quite 
 black. It is difficult to account for the differ- 
 ent colors which we often see in the same fa- 
 mily. For instance, one child will be of the 
 reddish hue to which I just referred ; another 
 will be quite dark. "When I was in Ceylon, 
 two sisters of this description joined my 
 church. One was called Sevappe, or the red 
 one; the other was called Karappe, or the 
 black one. 
 
 The people resemble the English and Ame- 
 ricans in their features. Many of them are 
 very beautiful. This remark will apply par- 
 7* 
 
78 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 ticularly to children, and more especially to 
 tlie children of Brahmins and others who are 
 delicately brought up. But, however beauti- 
 ful any of this people may be, they try to 
 make themselves appear more so by the orna- 
 ments which they wear. These ornaments 
 are made of gold, silver, brass, precious stones, 
 or glass. All are fond of ear-rings. Some- 
 times four or five are worn in each ear, consist- 
 ing of solid gold ; the lower one being the 
 largest, and the upper one the smallest. Some 
 men wear a gold ornament attached to the 
 middle of the ear, in which a precious stone is 
 inserted. Sometimes they wear large circular 
 ear-rings ornamented with precious stones. 
 The females, in addition to ear-rings, have an 
 ornament which passes through the rim of the 
 ear, near the head, half of it being seen above 
 the rim, and half of it below it. An orna- 
 mental chain is sometimes attached to this, 
 which goes some distance back, where it is 
 lost in the hair. They also wear a jewel 
 sometimes in the middle of the rim of the ear, 
 and another on that little forward point which 
 strikes your finger when you attempt to put 
 it into the ear. ISTose-jewels also are worn. 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 Sometimes three are worn at tlie same time. 
 Holes are made througL. each side of the lower 
 part of the nose, and- through the cartilage, or 
 that substance which divides the nostrils, 
 through which they are suspended. The 
 higher and wealthier females wear a profusion 
 of ornaments of gold and pearls around the 
 neck. 
 
 A very pretty ornament, about three inches 
 in diameter, having the appesprance of gold, is 
 also frequently worn by them on that part of 
 the head where the females of America put 
 up their ha,ir in a knot. In addition to this, 
 the little girls sometunes wear one or two si- 
 milar but smaller ornaments below this, as 
 well as an ornament at the end of the long 
 braid of hair which hangs down over the mid- 
 dle of their backs. They also wear an orna- 
 ment extending from the crown of the head 
 to the forehead, just in that spot where the 
 little girls to whom I am in part writing, 
 part their hair. Attached to this, I have seen 
 a circular piece of gold filled with rubies. 
 Kings are worn on the toes as well as on the 
 fingers, and bracelets of gold or silver on the 
 wrists. Anklets similar to bracelets, and tink- 
 
80 LETTERS TO CHILDREN". 
 
 ling ornaments, are worn on tlie ankles. The 
 poor, wlio can not afford to wear gold or silver 
 bracelets, liave them made of glass, stained 
 with different colors. I have seen nearly a 
 dozen on each wrist. 
 
 The little boys wear gold or silver brace- 
 lets, also gold or silver anklets. I just alluded 
 to finger-rings : I have seen a dozen on the 
 same hand. 
 
 The Mohammedan little girls have their 
 ears bored from the top to the bottom. A 
 ring is inserted in each of the openings. I 
 some time ago saw^a little girl in whose ears I 
 counted twenty-four rings. 
 
 Flowers, in great profusion, are sometimes 
 used to add to the adornment of the jewels. 
 
 When I was residing for a time in Madura, 
 a little patient of mine came to me, loaded with 
 jewels. The following description of her ap- 
 pearance is given by my daughter : *'0n the 
 17th, a little dancing-girl came to see us. She 
 was adorned with many jewels, some of which 
 were very beautiful. The jewel in the top of 
 the ear was a circle nearly the size of a dollar. 
 It was set with rubies. Nine pearls were sus- 
 pended from it. In the middle of the ear was 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 81 
 
 a jewel of a diamond shape, set with, rubies 
 and pearls. Tlie lowest je¥,rel in the ear was 
 shaped like a bell. It was set with rubies, and 
 from it bung a row of pearls. Close by the 
 ear, suspended from the bair, was a jewel 
 wbicb reached beloYf her ear. It consisted of 
 six bells of gold, one above the other. Aroimd 
 each was a small row of pearls, which reached 
 nearly to the bell below; thus forming a jewel 
 resembling very many drops of pearls; It is 
 the most beautiful jevfel that I ever saw. In 
 the right side of her nose was a white stone 
 set with gold, in the shape of a star ;' from it 
 hung a large pearl. There was a hole bored 
 in the partition between the nostrils. This 
 hole had a jewel in it aboLit an inch in length, 
 in the middle of which w&s a white stone, with 
 a ruby on each side. It also had a ruby on 
 the top. From the white stone hung another, 
 of a similar color, attached to it by a piece of 
 gold. In the left side of the nose was a jewel 
 about an inch in diameter. It was somewhat 
 in the shape of a half-moon, and was set with 
 rubies, pearls, emeralds, etc. This jewel hung 
 below her mouth. On the back of her head 
 was a large, round gold piece, three inches in 
 
82 LETTEES TO CHILDREN. 
 
 diameter. Anotlier piece, about two inclies in 
 diameter, hung below tMs. Her bair was 
 braided in one braid, and bung down ber 
 neck. At tbe bottom of tbis were tbree large 
 tassels of silk, mounted witb gold. Her eye- 
 brows and eye-lasbes were painted witb black. 
 Her neck was covered witb jewels of sucb 
 beauty, and of sucb a variety, tbat it is impos- 
 sible for me to describe tbem. Around ber 
 ankles were large rings wbicb looked like 
 braided silver. To tbese were attached very 
 many little bells, wbicb rung as sbe walked. 
 I believe tbat all dancing-girls wear tbese 
 rings. We felt very sad wben we tbougbt 
 tbat sbe was dedicated to a life of infamy and 
 sbame." 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREX. 8^ 
 
 NUMBEE XYI. 
 
 My Dear Children : There is an orna- 
 ment worn bj the followers of the god Siva, 
 on their arms, or necks, or in their hair. It 
 is called the lingum. The nature of this is so 
 utterly abominable, that I must not tell you a 
 word about it. 
 
 Married women wear an ornament peculiar 
 to themselves. It is called the tahlj. It is a 
 piece of gold on which is engraven the image 
 of some one of their gods. This is fastened 
 roimd the neck bj a short yellow string, con- 
 taining one hundred and eight threads of 
 great fineness. Various ceremonies are per- 
 formed before it is applied, and the gods, with 
 their wives, are called upon to give their bless- 
 ing. When these ceremonies are finished the 
 tahly is brought on a waiter, ornamented with 
 sweet-smelling flowers, and is tied by the 
 bridegroom to the neck of the bride. This 
 
84 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 ornament is never taken ojff unless lier lins- 
 band dies. In such a case slie is deprived of 
 it to wear it no more for ever — deprived of it, 
 after various ceremonies, hj her nearest female 
 relative, who cuts the thread by which it is 
 suspended, and removes it. After this a bar- 
 ber is called, who shaves her head, and. she 
 becomes in the eyes of the people a despised 
 widow — ^no more to wear any ornament about 
 her neck but a plain one — no more to stain 
 her face with yellow water, nor to wear on her 
 forehead those marks which are considered by 
 the natives as among their chief ornaments. 
 
 The great chsgrace to vfhich females who 
 lose their husbands are subjected, is, perhaps, 
 the grand rea,son, at least in many cases, why 
 they wish to be burnt to death on the funeral 
 pile, or otherwise destroyed. Let me mention 
 an instance of this kind: " Kot long since a 
 woman starved herself to death, because she 
 was prevented from being burnt with the 
 corpse of her husband. She was about twenty- 
 five years of age, the wife of a Brahmin ; but 
 as she resided in one of the allied States, where 
 the Eajah had been persuaded to carry out the 
 views of the British government respecting 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 85 
 
 the Suttee, slie was frustrated in lier wishes. 
 As soon as it was rumored abroad that she in- 
 tended to be burnt, an officer was dispatched 
 to forbid it, and, if necessary, to put the 
 woman in confinement till she repented of her 
 rash design. Thus restrained, she allowed her 
 husband's remains to be consumed without her, 
 and appeared quietly to submit to the neces- 
 sity of living ; so quietly, that it was supposed 
 all danger of a fatal result was over, and she 
 was allowed to remain at large. But she had 
 entertained the purpose of selfmurder too 
 long, again to be reconciled to life. Accord- 
 ingly, after having witnessed her husband's 
 remains reduced to ashes, she returned to her 
 dwelling with the confirmed determination to 
 starve herself to death ; and so firmly did she 
 adhere to her resolution, that for the nest three 
 days, with the exception of an occasional frag- 
 ment of sweetmeats, she entirely abstained 
 from food. After thus starving herself, she 
 went to an open space on the side of the city 
 tank, danced there frantically for several hours, 
 and then returning home, almost immediately 
 expired. Her friends no sooner saw her dead, 
 than they resolved to erect a small temple to 
 - 8 
 
86 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 her memory, and worship her as a goddess. 
 Unexpected difficnlties arose to prevent the 
 execution of their design. They had selected 
 a site and commenced operations, when they 
 were prevented by the native government 
 from proceeding further, on the plea that the 
 land belonged to the king, and ought not to 
 have been appropriated without his permis- 
 sion." ISTow, perhaps, you would ask, had I 
 not previously said what I did. What could • 
 have nerved this woman thus to encounter 
 death in so terrible a form ? Her friends say 
 that the principle which inspired her was not 
 an extravagant affection for her husband, nei- 
 ther was it the hope of ranking high in another 
 state of being. To these considerations she 
 did not once advert, but the constant burden 
 of her lamentation was the state of poverty 
 and wretchedness to which she would be re- 
 duced. She well knew the degradation which 
 is purposely heaped upon the Brahmin widow. 
 What a wretched system is Hindooism, which, 
 tyrannising over the weaker sex, first reduces 
 the widow to wretchedness, and then suggests 
 a violent death as the appropriate mode of es- 
 cape! 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 87 
 
 NUMBEE XYII. 
 
 My Dear Children : In my two last let- 
 ters, I have told you sometlimg of tlie jewels 
 and other ornaments worn by this people. I 
 hope that you will never be disposed to imitate 
 them, and load your bodies with such useless 
 things. They are not only useless, but they 
 tend to encourage pride and vanity. All that 
 you need is the ''Pearl of great price," even 
 Jesus. Adorn yourself with this Pearl, and 
 you will be beautiful indeed — beautiful even 
 in the sight of your heavenly Father. Have 
 you this Pearl of great price, my dear child- 
 ren? Tell me. Have you this Pearl of 
 great price ? If you have not, what have you ? 
 Nothing. And .if you die in your present 
 condition, nothing is before you but the black- 
 ness of darkness for ever — nothing but a worse 
 hell than that which is before such of the poor 
 heathen who have never heard, as you have 
 
88 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 lieard and continue to hear, of a Savionr. 
 "And that servant wliicli knew his Lord's 
 will, and prepared not himself, neither did 
 according to his will, shall be beaten with 
 many stripes ; but he that knew not and did 
 commit things worthy of stripes, shall be 
 beaten with few stripes." Awful indeed is it 
 to go down to perdition, from a heathen land ; 
 but how unspeakably more awful is it to go 
 down to perdition from a Christian land ! Oh ! 
 that you, my dear children, who have not yet 
 given your hearts to Christ would think of, 
 these things. Oh ! that you would lay to heart 
 the things which belong to your peace, before 
 they shall for ever be hidden from your eyes. 
 Who can lie down in everlasting burnings ? 
 Who can dwell for ever with devouring flames ? 
 In my last letter, I alluded to some marks 
 which the natives of this country consider to 
 be among their chief ornaments. These are 
 different among different sects. The followers 
 of Siva rub ashes on their foreheads. They 
 also apply these ashes in streaks, generally 
 three together, on their breasts, and on their 
 arms. Some besmear their whole bodies with 
 them. 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 89 
 
 The followers of Yislinoo wear a very dif- 
 ferent ornament from tliat just described. It 
 consists of a perpendicular line drawn on tlie 
 foreliead, of a red or yellow color, and a wliite 
 line on eacL. side of it, whicli unite at the bot- 
 tom with the middle line and form a trident 
 
 Another ornament consists of a small circle, 
 which is called pottee. This is stamped in the 
 middle of the forehead. Sometimes it is red, 
 sometimes yellow or black. Large numbers 
 of women, in this part of the country, wash 
 their faces with a yellow water, made so by 
 dissolving in it a paste made of a yellow root 
 and common shell-lime. The Brahmins, fre- 
 (pently, instead of rubbing ashes, draw a 
 horizontal line over the middle of their fore- 
 heads, to show that they have bathed and that 
 they are pure. Sometimes the people orna- 
 ment themselves with a paste made of sandal- 
 wood. They rub themselves from head to 
 foot with it. This has a very odoriferous 
 smell. 
 
 When the people are loaded Avith jewels 
 
 and covered with the marks which I have just 
 
 described, they think themselves to be highly 
 
 ornamented. But, after all, "they are like 
 
 8^- 
 
90 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 unto wliited sepiilclires, wliicli indeed appear 
 beautiful outward, but are within full of dead 
 men's bones and of all uncleanness." Tbe Pearl 
 of great price — to wbicli I have already allud- 
 ed, tbe only Pearl YitHcIl is of any value in 
 the sight of Him who looketh at the heart and 
 not at the outward appearance — ^they possess 
 not. Millions in this Eastern world have 
 never even heard of it. Oh ! how incessantly 
 ought you to pray that they may come into 
 possession of it. How gladly should you give 
 your money to send it to them. I wish in this 
 place to ask you one qu.estion : Who of you 
 expect by and by to become missionaries to 
 this land, to tell this people of the Pearl of 
 gTeat price? 
 
LETTSHS TO CHILDREN. 91 
 
 ISrUMBEE XVIII. 
 
 My Deak Childken": The dress of the 
 Hindoos is very simple. A single piece of 
 uncut cloth, three or four yards in length and 
 one in width, wrapped around the loins, with 
 a shawl thrown over the shoulders, constitutes 
 the usual apparel of the people of respecta- 
 bility. These garments are often fringed with 
 gold, or otherwise ornamented. The native 
 ladies, frequently, almost encase themselves in 
 cloth or sUk. Under such circumstances, 
 their cloths are perhaps twenty yards in 
 length. Most of the native gentlemen novf 
 wear turbans ; an ornament which they have 
 borrowed from the Mohammedans. This con- 
 sists of a long piece of very fine stuf^ some- 
 times twenty yards in length. With this they 
 encircle then- heads, of course with many 
 folds. Those who are employed by Euro- 
 peans, and by the great men among the Mo- 
 hammedans, wear a long robe of muslin, a 
 
02 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 very fine clotli. This is also in imitation of 
 the Mohammedans, and was formerly unknown 
 in this conntry. 
 
 The houses of the Hindoos are generally 
 very plainly built. You, perhaps, have seen 
 the low buildings in which ropes are made. 
 Imagine to yourselves a rope-walk of one 
 hundred feet long, divided into four equal 
 parts, and cut at the ends in such a manner 
 that, when put together, they will form an un- 
 broken square, and you will have some idea 
 of the appearance of the best of native houses. 
 Consequently there is a great open space in the 
 middle vfliich admits the light from above, 
 and of course all the rain which falls on the 
 inner roof descends within the house, into the 
 middle court. This is let off by sluices which 
 run under the building. A mud floor under 
 the inner slopings of the house, about a foot 
 high, preserves the people from the effects of 
 the rain. It is on this floor that they sleep. 
 In the country, the houses are usually thatched 
 with straw. In the cities they are covered 
 with tiles. The kitchen is situated in the 
 most retired part of the house. In the houses 
 of the Brahmins, the kitchen-door is always 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 93 
 
 barred to prevent strangers jB:om looking upon 
 their earthen vessels ; for if they shonld hap- 
 pen to see them, their look would pollute them 
 to such a degree that thej must be broken to 
 pieces. The hearth is generally placed on the 
 south-west side, which is said to be the side of 
 the god offire^ because they say this god dwells 
 there. 
 
 The Hindoos have many ways of salutation. 
 In some places they raise the right hand to 
 the heart, in others, they simply stretch it out 
 towards the person who is passing, if they 
 know him, for they never salute persons with 
 whom they are not acquainted. In many 
 places there is no show of salutation. When 
 they meet their acquaintances, they content 
 themselves by saying a friendly word or two 
 in passing, and then pursue their way. They 
 have borrowed the word salam from the Mo- 
 hammedans. They salute both Mohamme- 
 dans and Europeans with this word, at the 
 same time raising their hand to the forehead. 
 When they address persons of high rank, 
 they give them .their salam thrice, touching 
 the ground as often with both hands, and then 
 lifting them up to their foreheads. 
 
94 LETTERS TO CHILDREN-. 
 
 The otlier castes salute tlie Bralimiiis by 
 joining the hands and elevating them to the 
 forehead, or sometimes over the head. It is 
 accompanied with ancktmayya, which means, 
 blessing, Hail, respected lord. The Brahmins 
 stretch out their hands and say aaseervaathum, 
 benediction. 
 
 Another very respectful kind of salutation 
 consists in lowering both hands to the feet of 
 the person to be honored, or even falling down 
 and embracing them. 
 
 Of all the forms of salutation, the most re- 
 spectful is the shaashtaanghum, or prostration, 
 in which the feet, the knees, the stomach, the 
 head, and the arms all touch the ground. In 
 doing this, they throw themselves at their 
 whole length on the ground, and stretch out 
 both arms above their head. This is prac- 
 tised before priests, and in the presence of an 
 assembly, when they appear before it to ask 
 pardon for a crime. 
 
 Eelations who have long been separated, 
 testify their joy when they meet by chucking 
 each other under the chin, and shedding tears. 
 I am not aware that grown persons ever kiss 
 each other. Sometimes mothers or other indi- 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN". 95 
 
 viduals will put their noses to tlie cheeks of 
 little cliildren, and draw tlie air through 
 them, just as we do when we smell any thing 
 which is agreeable. At other times they will 
 apply the thumb and first finger to the cheek 
 of the chUd, and then apply them to their own 
 noses, and, as it were, smell them. 
 
 The women, as a mark of respect, turn 
 their backs, or at least turn their faces aside 
 when they are in the presence of those whom 
 they highly esteem. They are never permit- 
 ted to sit in the presence of men. A married 
 woman can not do this, even in the presence 
 of her husband. 
 
 If a person meets another of high rank, he 
 must leave the path if on foot, or alight if on 
 horseback, and remain standing until he has 
 passed. He must, at the same time, take off 
 his slippers. He must also take off his slippers 
 when he enters a house. Should he fail to do 
 this, it would be considered a great impropriety. 
 
 In addressing a person of note, they must 
 keep at a certain distance from him, and cover 
 their mouths with their hands while they are 
 speaking, lest their breath, or a particle of 
 moisture, should escape to trouble him. 
 
96 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 When the Hindoos visit a person of dis- 
 tinction for the first time, civility requires 
 them to take some present as a mark of re- 
 spect, or to show that they come with a friend- 
 ly intention; especially if they wish to ask 
 some favor in return. When they have not 
 the means of making large presents, they car- 
 ry with them sugar, plantains, nulk, and other 
 things of this kind. 
 
 In cases of mourning, visits must always 
 be made, though at a distance of a hundred 
 miles. Letters of condolence would by no 
 means be received as a substitute. 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 97 
 
 NUMBEE XIX. 
 
 My Deae Childeen : Marriage to the Hin- 
 doos is tlie greatest event of their lives. In 
 the celebration of it many ceremonies are per- 
 formed. If the father of the young girl is a 
 Brahmin, and if he is rich and liberal, he will 
 frequently bear all the expenses of the mar- 
 riage of his daughter. To give a daughter in 
 marriage, and to sell her, are about the same 
 thing. Almost every parent makes his daugh- 
 ter an article of traf&c, refusing to give her up 
 until the sum of money for which he con- 
 sented to let her go is paid. Men of distinc- 
 tion generally lay out this money for jewels, 
 which they present to their daughters on their 
 wedding-day. You will infer, from what I 
 have now said, that the parties to be married 
 have nothing to do in the choice of each other. 
 
 The marriage-ceremony lasts five days. • The 
 bride and bridegroom are first placed under a 
 9 
 
98 LETTERS TO CHILDEEJ?". 
 
 puntel, a kind of bower covered with, leaves, 
 in front of tlie house. This is superbly 
 adorned. The married women then come for- 
 ward, and perform the ceremony called arati^ 
 which is as follows; Upon a plate of copper 
 they place a lamp made of a paste from rice- 
 flour. It is supplied with oil, and lighted. 
 They then take hold of the plate with both 
 hands, and raise it as high as the heads of the 
 couple to be married, and describe a number 
 of circles with the plate and lamp. This is to 
 prevent the evil of any jealous looks which 
 certain persons might make. The Hindoos 
 believe that great evils arise from wicked 
 looks. They consider that even the gods 
 themselves are not out of the reach of mali- 
 cious eyes; and, therefore, after they have 
 been carried through the streets, the ceremony 
 of arati is always performed, to efface the evil 
 which they may have suffered from these 
 looks. 
 
 It ought to have been mentioned, that, be- 
 fore any thing is done, they place an image of 
 PuUiar, the elephant-faced god, under the 
 puntel. This god is much honored, because 
 he is much feared. And although the great 
 
HINDOO GOD PULLIAR. 
 
 Page S8. 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 99 
 
 ■Ugliness of Ms appearance lias Mtherto kept 
 liim without a wife, they never fail to pay Mm 
 the greatest attention, lest he should in some 
 way or other injure them. 
 
 After arati and many other ceremonies are 
 performed, the kankanan, which is merely a 
 bit of saffron, is tied to the right wrist of the 
 young man, and to the left wrist of the girl. 
 This is done with great solemnity. Another 
 remarkable ceremony succeeds this. The 
 young man being seated with his face towards 
 the east, his future father-in-law supposes that 
 he beholds in Mm the great Yishnoo. With 
 tMs impression he offers him -a sacrifice, and 
 then making him put both of his feet in a new 
 dish filled with cow-dung, he first washes 
 them with water, then with milk, then again 
 with water, accompanying the whole with 
 suitable muntrums or prayers. 
 
 After many ceremomes, he takes the hand 
 of his daughter, and puts it into that of Ms 
 son-in-law. He then pours water over them, 
 in honor of Vishnoo. This is the most solemn 
 of all the ceremonies, being the token of Ms 
 resigning his daughter to the authority of the 
 young man. She must be accompanied with 
 
100 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 three gifts, namely, one or more cows, some 
 property in land, and a salagrama^ wliicli con- 
 sists of some little amnlet stones in liigli 
 esteem among tlie Brahmins. This ceremony 
 being finished, the tahly is brought to be fas- 
 tened to the neck of the bride. This, as I be- 
 fore said, is presented on a salver decked and 
 garnished with flowers. Incense is offered to 
 it, and it is presented to the assistants, each of 
 whom touches it, and invokes blessings on it. 
 The bride then turning towards the east, the 
 bridegroom takes the tahly, repeats a mun- 
 triim or prayer aloud, and ties it around her " 
 neck. • 
 
 Fire is then brought in, upon which the 
 bridegroom offers up the sacrifice of homam, 
 which consists in throwing boiled rice, with 
 melted butter, upon the fire. He then takes 
 his bride by the hand, and they walk three 
 times around it, while the incense is blazing. 
 
 There is another ceremony which is con- 
 sidered by some to be of much importance. 
 Two baskets of bamboo are placed closely to- 
 gether, one for the bride and the other for the 
 bridegroom. They step in them, and two 
 other baskets being brought, filled with ground 
 
lETTERS TO CHILDREN. 101 
 
 rice, tlie linsband takes up one witli both 
 liands, and pours tlie contents over tlie liead of 
 tlie bride. Sbe does tbe same to bim. In tbc 
 marriage of great princes, pearls are some- 
 times used instead of rice. 
 
 On tbe evening of tbe tbird day, wben tbe 
 constellations appear, tbe astrologer points out 
 to tbe married pair a very small star close to 
 tbe middle or in tbe tail of Ursalfajor, wbicb 
 be directs tbem to worsbip, and wbicb be says 
 is tbe wife of Yasestba. 
 
 Wbile tbe assembled guests are dining, tbe 
 bridegroom and tbe bride also partake. Tbis 
 is a token of tbe closest union. Tbis is tbe 
 only instance in wbicb tbey ever eat together. 
 
 After all tbe ceremonies are finished, a pro- 
 cession is made through the streets of the vil- 
 lage. It cqpamonly takes place in the night, 
 by torch-light, accompanied with fire-works. 
 The newly-married pair are seated in one pa- 
 lanquin, with their faces towards each other, 
 both richly dressed. Tbe bride, in particular, 
 is often covered with jewels and precious 
 stones. 
 
 •" I once witnessed one of these marriage pro- 
 cessions in the streets of Madras, at night, biit 
 9* 
 
102 LETTERS. TO CHILDREN. 
 
 can give you but little idea of its magnificence. 
 The lamps used on tlie occasion could not be 
 numbered. Tlie shrubbery, wMcli was drawn 
 on carts or other vehicles, appeared exceed- 
 ingly beautiful, in consequence of the light 
 reflected by the lamps. Intermingled with 
 the shrubbery were to be seen little girls, ele- 
 gantly dressed, and adorned with flowers on 
 their heads. Many elephants, with their trap- 
 pings of gold and silver and red, formed a 
 part of the procession. Fire-works were also 
 added to make the scene more brilliant. 
 
LETTERS TO CIIILDHEN. 103 
 
 NUMBER XX. 
 
 My Dear Children : The death of a Hin- 
 doo is followed by many foolish ceremonies. 
 I will give you a description of these, con- 
 nected with the death of a Brahmin. 
 
 When it is evident that a Brahmin has but 
 a little time to live, a space is prepared with 
 earth, well sjDread with cow-dung, over which 
 a cloth which has never been worn is spread. 
 The dying man is placed on this at full length. 
 Another cloth is wrapped around his loins. 
 This being done, the ceremony of expiating 
 his sins is performed as follows : The chief of 
 the funeral brings on one plate some small 
 pieces of silver or copper coin, and on another 
 the punchakaryam,, etc. The word puncha- 
 karyam literally means the five things. These 
 all come from the cow, and must be mixed 
 together. The first three of these I will men- 
 tion — namely, the milk, butter, and curds. 
 
104 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 The otlier two, for tlie sake of delicacy, I 
 must not mention. A little of this punchaka- 
 r jam is put into his mouth, and b j means of 
 this nau.seous drailght the body is perfectly 
 purified. Besides this, there is a general 
 cleansing, which is accomplished by making 
 the dying man recite within himself, if he can 
 not speak, the proper muntrums, by which he 
 is delivered from all his sins. After this, a 
 cow is introduced, with her calf Her horns 
 are decorated with rings of gold or brass, and 
 her neck with garlands of flowers. A pure 
 cloth is laid over her body. Thus decked, she 
 is led up to the sick man, who takes hold of 
 her tail. Prayers are now offered up, that the 
 cow may conduct him, by a blessed path, to 
 the next world. He then makes a gift of a 
 cow to a Brahmin. This is considered indis- 
 pensable to enable the soul to go over the 
 river of fire, which, it is said, all must pass 
 after death. Those who have made this gift 
 are met by one of these favored creatures the 
 moment they arrive at the bank of the stream, 
 and by her help they are enabled to pass with- 
 out injury from the flames 
 As soon as the breath has left the body, all 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 105 
 
 wlio are present must weep and join in la- 
 mentations together. 
 
 After Tarious ceremonies, tlie body is wash- 
 ed, and a barber is called to shave his head. 
 He is then clad with his finest clothes, and 
 adorned with jewels. He is rubbed with san- 
 dal-wood when the body is uncovered, and 
 the accustomed mark is put upon his forehead. 
 Thus dressed, he is placed on a kind of state- 
 bed, where he remains until he is carried to 
 the pile. 
 
 After every preparation is made to bear 
 away the corpse, it is stripped of its jewels, etc., 
 and placed on a htter. Those who die in a 
 state of marriage have their faces left uncov- 
 ered. The litter, adorned with flowers and 
 fohage, and sometunes decked with valuable 
 stuffs, is borne by four Brahmias. The pro- 
 cession is as follows : The chief of the funeral 
 marches foremost, carrying fire in a vessel. 
 The body follows, attended by the relations 
 and friends, without their turbans. The women 
 never attend the funeral, but remain in the 
 house, where they set up a hideous cry when 
 the corpse is taken out. While advancing on 
 the road, it is customary to stop three times 
 
106 LETTERS TO CHILDREN". 
 
 on the way, and at eact. pause to pnt into tlie 
 mouth, of the dead a morsel of unboiled rice, 
 moistened. The object for stopping is con- 
 sidered to be very important; for they say 
 that persons supposed to be dead have been 
 alive, or even when lifeless have been re- 
 stored; and sometimes, also, it has happened 
 that the gods of the infernal regions have mis- 
 taken their aim, and seized one person instead 
 of another. In any view, it is right to afford 
 the opportunity for correcting these mistakes, 
 so as not to expose to the flames a person who 
 is yet alive. 
 
 Having arrived at the place of burning the 
 dead, they dig a trench about six or seven 
 feet in length. This is consecrated by mun- 
 trums. A few pieces of money in gold are 
 scattered upon' it. Here the pile is erected of 
 dried wood, on which the body is laid out at 
 length. Over the body a quantity of twigs 
 are laid, and are sprinkled with punchakary- 
 am. The chief of the funeral then takes on 
 his shoulder a pitcher of water, and goes 
 round the pile three times, letting the water 
 run through a hole made in it. After this, 
 he breaks the pitcher in pieces near the head 
 of the corpse. 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREIT. 107 
 
 At last the torcli for setting fire to tlie pile 
 is brouglit, and is handed to the chief of the 
 funeral. Before he receives it, however, he 
 rolls on the ground, beats his breast, and 
 makes the air resound with his cries. The 
 assistants also cry, or appear to cry. Fire 
 being applied to the four corners of the pile, 
 the crowd retire, except the four Brahmins 
 who carried the body. They remain until 
 the whole is consumed. 
 
 The funerals of the Sudras differ in some 
 particulars from those of the Brahmins. 
 Deafening sounds of drums, trumpets, and 
 other instruments of music, accompany their 
 funerals. To increase the noise, they some- 
 times shoot off a small instrument somewhat 
 resembling a cannon. 
 
 By the ceremonies performed just before 
 death, this wretched people expect to secure 
 the pardon of all the sins of the deceased, 
 Alas ! what a delusion. Oh ! that Christians 
 had sent the Grospel to this dark land in the 
 days when they sent it to our heathen fathers. 
 Then might the Hindoos now be seeking the 
 expiation of their sins through the blood of 
 the ever-blessed Kedeemer. Of this Eedeem- 
 
108 LETTERS TO CHILDllEN. 
 
 er, however, tlie most of them know little or 
 notiiing. Thej enter eternity, not tliat tlieir 
 souls may be consumed as tlieir bodies have 
 been, but to endure the flames of Divine 
 wrath, for ever and ever. Alas! alas! that it 
 should be so. Oh! that the generation of 
 Christians now living would lay to heart 
 these things, and do what they can, through 
 grace, to rescue those who are yet within the 
 reach of hope from so tremendous a doom. 
 What, my dear children, will you do for this 
 purpose ? 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 109 
 
 TSrUMBEE XXI. 
 
 My Deak Children" : The people of India 
 are divided into castes, as thej are called. 
 Their sacred books declare tliat Brumlia cre- 
 ated four different castes to inhabit the earth. 
 From his mouth proceeded the Brahmin caste. 
 Those of this class are the highest and noblest 
 beings on earth, and hold the ofS.ce of priests. 
 At the same time there flowed from his mouth 
 the Vedas, or sacred books. From Brumha's 
 arm proceeded the military caste. From his 
 breast proceeded the farmers and merchants. 
 From his feet proceeded the Sudras or servile 
 caste; carpenters, weavers, and the manual 
 cultivators of the soil are included in this 
 class. 
 
 Caste is not a civil, but a religious institu- 
 tion. It is a difference of hind. Hence, a 
 man of one caste can never be changed into a 
 man of another caste, any more than a lion 
 10 
 
110 LETTERS TO CHILDREN-. 
 
 can be cliaiiged into a mole. Each, caste has 
 its laws, the breaking of which is attended 
 with great disgrace. 
 
 By the system of castes, the Hindoos have 
 been divided into so many selfish sections, each 
 scowling on all the rest with, feelings of hatred 
 and contempt. This, of course, is one of the 
 greatest obstacles to the spread of Christianity 
 in this dark land. 
 
 The Brahmins, in consequence of their hav- 
 ing been taught to regard alb other classes of 
 men with . contempt, are very proud. The}' 
 are exceedingly afraid of being defiled by 
 other castes. They have the utmost dread of 
 being touched by a Pariah — one of the lowest 
 caste. To eat with these Pariahs, or to go in- 
 to their houses, or to drink water which they 
 have drawn, or from vessels which they have 
 handled, is attended with the loss of their 
 caste. They are considered to be so low, that 
 if a Brahmin were to touch them, even with 
 the end of a pole, he would be looked upon 
 as polluted. In some places their very ap- 
 proach is sufficient to pollute a whole neigh- 
 borhood. 
 
 The Brahmins carry their ideas of purity 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. HI 
 
 SO far, tliat if a Sudra should happen to look 
 upon the vessels in which they cook their 
 food, thej would be considered as defiled. 
 They can never touch any kind of leather or 
 skin, except the skin of the tiger and antelope. 
 They are great enemies to European and 
 American boots and gloves. They rarely eat 
 their food from plates, and when they do so it 
 is only at home. They use the leaf of the 
 plantain or other trees as a substitute. They 
 will neither use a spoon nor a fork when they 
 eat, and they are astonished that any one, 
 after having applied them to their mouths and 
 infected them with saliva, should repeat the 
 act a second time. When they eat any thing 
 dry, they throw it into their mouths, so that 
 their fingers may not touch their lips. 
 
 They do not drink as we do, by applying 
 the cup to their lips. This would be consid- 
 ered a gross impropriety. They pour the 
 water into their mouths. The reason why 
 they do these things is, because they consider 
 the saliva to be the most filthy secretion which 
 comes from the body. It is on this account 
 that no one is ever allowed to spit within 
 doors. 
 
112 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 The use of animal food they consider to be 
 defiling. They will eat nothing which has the 
 principle of life in it, not even an egg. To 
 kill a cow, is considered by them a crime 
 which can never be atoned for, and to eat 
 their flesh is a defilement which can never be 
 washed away. To kill a cow is by Hindoo 
 law punishable vfith death. 
 
 The touch of most animals, particularly the 
 dog, defiles a Brahmin, and yet the dog is one 
 of the gods worshipped by the Hindoos. 
 
 A Brahmin who is particular in his delicacy 
 must wash his body, or bathe, if he happens to 
 tread on a bone, or bit of a rag, or a leaf from 
 which one has been eating. He must also be 
 careful where he sits. They may sit down on 
 the ground without defilement, provided it 
 has been newly rubbed over with cow-dung. 
 This last specific is used daily to purify their 
 houses from the defilement occasioned by 
 goers and comers. When thus applied dilu- 
 ted with water, it has one good effect — ^it com- 
 pletely destroys the fleas and other insects 
 with which they are very much annoyed. 
 
 All the high castes consider the use of in- 
 toxicating drinks to be defiling. I hope, my 
 
LETTERS TO CIIILDREN'. 113 
 
 dear cliildren, that you will ever have the 
 same opinion, and no sooner touch them than 
 you would touch arsenic and other poisons. 
 
 A person may be restored to his caste if he 
 has not committed an unpardonable offense. 
 This is done as follows : He prostrates himself 
 very humbly before his relations — ^they being 
 assembled for the purpose of his restoration — 
 and submits to the blows or other punishment 
 which they may think proper to inflict, or pays 
 the fine which they may have laid upon him. 
 Then, after shedding tears of sorrow and what 
 not, he makes the shaasahanghum before the 
 assembly. This being done, he is declared fit 
 to be restored to his tribe. When a man has 
 been expelled from his caste for some great 
 offense, those who restore him slightly burn 
 his tongue with a piece of gold made hot. 
 They likcAvise apply to the different parts of 
 the body red-hot iron stamps, which leave 
 marks which remain for ever. Sometimes 
 they compel the offender to walk on burn- 
 ing embers, and, to complete the purification, 
 he must drink the nauseous punchakaryam, 
 of which I have before told you. After this, 
 he must give a grand feast. 
 
114 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 ISTo person who lias eaten the flesL. of the 
 cow can ever be restored to his caste. Even the 
 punchakaryam is of no avail in snch cases. 
 
 I will make a remark here which I might 
 have made before. It is, that in Christian 
 countries there is a spirit of pride which 
 much resembles the spirit of caste. Many are 
 to be found who are very proud that they 
 have descended from rich and honorable an- 
 cestors, and who look down almost with dis- 
 dain upon those in other situations. I need 
 hardly tell you, that this is a very wicked 
 spirit, and entirely opposed to the Grospel. Ko 
 matter what may be our high thoughts of our- 
 selves, we appear but very low in the sight of 
 Him who created us. We are all sinners, a.nd 
 as such are offensive in his sight. If we 
 would go to heaven, the first thing which we 
 have to do is to humble ourselves for the 
 pride of our hearts, and become as little child- 
 ren before him. We must have that spirit 
 of which the Apostle speaks, when he says: 
 ''Let each esteem others better than them- 
 selves." With an humble spirit we may ap- 
 proach a holy God, with the assurance that he 
 will, for Christ's sake, forgive all our sins. 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 115 
 
 NUMBEE XXII. 
 
 My Dear Children : Tlie Hindoos have 
 many festivals. These are all occasions of joy 
 and gladness. On such days the people quit 
 their usual employments. Friends and rela- 
 tions unite in family parties and give enter- 
 tainments according to their means. Inno- 
 cent amusements of various kinds are, resorted 
 to, to add to their happiness. There are 
 eighteen principal festivals yearly. 
 
 One of the most solemn of their ceremonies 
 is held in the month of September, and ap- 
 pears to be principally in honor of Parvathe, 
 the wife of Siva. At this time, every laborer 
 and every artisan offers sacrifices and prayers 
 to his tools. The laborer brings his plough, 
 hoe, and other farming utensils. He piles 
 them together and offers a sacrifice to them, 
 consisting of flov?-ers, fruit, rice and other ar- 
 ticles. After this, he prostrates hioiself before 
 
116 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 them at full length, and then returns them to 
 their places. 
 
 The mason offers the same adoration and 
 sacrifice to his trowel, rule, etc. The carpen- 
 ter adores his hatchet, adze, and plane. The 
 barber collects his razors together and wor- 
 ships them with similar rites. The writing- 
 master sacrifices to his style and iron pen, 
 with which he writes on the palm-leaf; the 
 tailor to his needles ; the weaver to his loom ; 
 the butcher to his cleaver. The women on 
 that day collect into a heap their baskets, rice- 
 mill, rice-pounder, and other household uten- 
 sils and after having offered sacrifices to them, 
 fall down in adoration before them. Every 
 person, in short, in this solemnity, sanctifies 
 and adores the instrument or tool by which 
 he gains a living. The tools are considered 
 as so many gods, to whom they present their 
 prayers that they will continue to furnish 
 them still with the means of getting a live- 
 lihood. 
 
 This feast is concluded by making an idol 
 to represent Parvathe. It is made of the 
 paste of grain, and, being placed under a sort 
 of canopy, is carried through the streets with 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 117 
 
 great pomp, and receives the worship of the 
 people. 
 
 Another festival of great solemnity is ob- 
 served in October. At this time each person 
 makes offerings of boiled rice and other food 
 to such of their relations as have died, that 
 they may have a good meal on that day. 
 They afterwards offer sacrifices of burning 
 lamps, of frnit and of flowers, and also new 
 articles of dress, that their ancestors may be 
 freshly clothed. At this festival soldiers offer 
 sacrifices to their weapons to obtain success in 
 war. On such occasions, a ram is offered to 
 their armor. 
 
 In November, a festival is observed which 
 is called the Feast of Lamps. At this season, 
 the Hindoos light lamps and place them around 
 the doors of their houses. This festival com- 
 memorates the deliverance of the earth from 
 a giant who had been a great scourge to the 
 people. He was slain by Yishnoo, after a 
 dreadful battle. In many places, on this day, 
 a sacrifice is offered to the dung-hill^ which is 
 afterwards to enrich the ground. In the vil- 
 lages, each one has his own heap, to which he 
 makes his offerings of fruit, flowers, burning 
 lamps, etc. 
 
118 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 The most celebrated of all tlie festivals is 
 held at the end of December. It is called 
 the Feast of Pongul, and is a season of re- 
 joicing for two reasons : the first is, because 
 the month of December, every day of which 
 is nnlucky, is about to end; and the other 
 is, because it is to be followed by a month 
 every day of which is fortunate. For the 
 purpose of preventing the evil effects of this 
 month, the women every morning scour a 
 place about two feet square before the door 
 of the house, upon which they draw white 
 lines, with flour. Upon these they place 
 several little balls of cow-dung, sticking in 
 each a flower. Ea,ch day these little balls, 
 with their flowers, are preserved, and on the 
 last day of the month, they are thrown into 
 tanks or waste places. 
 
 The first day of this festival is called the 
 Pongul of Eejoicing. Near relatives are in- 
 vited to the feast, which passes off with mirth 
 and gladness. 
 
 The second day is called the Pongul of the 
 Sun, and is set apart to worship that body. 
 Married women boil rice with milk in the open 
 air. "When the milk begins to simmer, they 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 119 
 
 make a loud cry : Pongul ! O Pongul ! The 
 vessel is then taken from the fire and set before 
 an idol. Part of this rice is offered to the 
 image, and after standing there for some time, 
 it is given to the cows. The remainder is 
 given to the people. This is the great day for 
 visiting among friends. The salutation begins 
 by the question: "Has the milk boiled?" 
 To which the answer is: "It has boiled." 
 From this the festival takes the name of Pon- 
 gul, which signifies, to boil. 
 
 The third day is called the Pongul of Cows. 
 In a great vessel filled with water they put 
 saffron and other things. These being well 
 mixed, they go around the cows and oxen be- 
 longing to the house, several times, sprinkling 
 them with water. After this, the men pros- 
 trate themselves before them, four times. The 
 cows are then dressed, their horns being 
 painted with various colors. G-arlands of 
 flowers are also put round their necks, and 
 over their backs. To these are added strings 
 of cocoa-nuts and other kinds of fruit, which, 
 however, are soon sha*ken off when they are 
 in motion, and are picked up by the children 
 and others, who eat what they gather be> some- 
 
120 LETTERS TO CHILDREK. 
 
 thing sacred. I, however, have told you 
 enough. Are you ready to exclaim: "Is it 
 possible that a people can be guilty of such 
 utter folly?" But you, my dear children, 
 would be guilty of such folly, if you had not 
 the Bible. Should not the gratitude, then, 
 which you owe to your heavenly Father, for 
 your distinguished mercies, constrain you to 
 do all that you can to send this blessed book 
 to this dark land ? 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 121 
 
 NUMBER XXIII. 
 
 My Dear Children: In my letter — ^tlie 
 one before the last — wlien speaking of the 
 loss of caste, and of the impossibility of its 
 being restored, after the eating of the flesh of 
 the cow, I should have mentioned that the 
 lower castes eat the flesh of the cow, not only 
 after it has been killed, but when the cow has 
 died of itself. Some eat even the ants — the 
 white ants, whose houses are under ground. 
 I must tell you some particulars about these 
 white ants. They are about half the size of 
 the black ant of America, and derive their 
 peculiar name from their transparency. In 
 front of their heads they have two nippers^ if 
 I may so call them, which are very small, but 
 with which they do an immense amount of 
 mischief Were you to see them, you would 
 not suppose it to be possible that with such 
 little instruments they could do any injury. 
 11 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 Those of US, however, who have long been in 
 India, know, to our sorrow, that the contrary 
 is the case. They attack our books and 
 clothes, and in a single day or night commit 
 sad havoc among them. These they use for 
 food. Wood is also one of their articles of 
 diet. On this account they attack 'our boxes 
 and trunks, and when they are of soft wood, 
 such as our white pine of America, they soon, 
 if left undisturbed, destroy them. Under our 
 floors, I may say, there are myriads of them. 
 It is on account of their destructive nature 
 that we can not board floors in any of the 
 houses consisting of but one story. Our 
 floors are made of common mortar or tfles. 
 Through the former they contrive, with their 
 little nippers, to make their way, and by the 
 edges of the latter. These ants are favorite 
 dishes, if you will allow me to use the term, 
 for the fowls, and for the little innocent lizards 
 which we have about our houses. This being 
 the case, their instinct teaches them to meke 
 use of means for their defense. When they 
 come up through our floors in quest of food, 
 they build mud houses quite up to the floor 
 where they intend to have their feasts. As 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 123 
 
 they generally choose those articles wliicli vf ill 
 yield with the least labor to their little nip- 
 j^ers, they will travel some distance to reach 
 them. For instan.ce, if they wish to eat up a 
 house which is covered with leaves, they will 
 not at first attack the hard wooden posts which 
 support the roof, but build their houses on 
 these posts, quite up, as I before said, to the 
 place where they intend to commence their 
 work of destruction. The posts will be re- 
 served for their last meals. When their houses 
 are done, you can perceive nothing but a long 
 elevated streak of dried mud; and unless 
 aware of it, you would have no idea of the 
 mischief they were doing. These houses are 
 semi-circular, consisting at first of soft, wet 
 earth, which is brought up in very small 
 quantities, of course, in their mouths or their 
 little nippers. One grain after another of this 
 is piled up, and when their buildings become 
 dry they are quite hard — so hard that one of 
 their principal enemies, the lizard, can make 
 no impression on them. If you will take a 
 rattan or a twig of a tree of the same size, 
 split it in the middle, fasten one half of it 
 with its flat part inward, to a post, encase the 
 
124 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 whole of it with soft mud about the thickness 
 of one of our American-ten cent pieces, and, 
 after the mud is dried, draw out the rattan, 
 you will have a good idea of their houses. 
 Through the hollow in these houses, thousands 
 of ants travel to their destined spot. There is 
 another singularity about the white ant. It is, 
 that they put a covering of mud over every 
 thing they intend to devour. For instance, if 
 you should happen to drop your spelling-book 
 on the ground, and after a few days go in quest 
 of it, you would see nothing to remind you 
 of your book. All you could see would be 
 an elevation having the appearance of dried 
 mud. This dried mud they use, as in the in- 
 stance to which I just alluded, as a covering 
 of defense. Underneath it, and between it 
 and your book, there would be a space suffi- 
 ciently wide to allow them to travel about, and 
 eat at their convenience. 
 
 You may, perhaps, have heard of the white- 
 ant hills. They are of the shape of a pyramid, 
 several feet above the ground, and become so 
 hard that it is dif&cult to destroy them, except 
 with a pickaxe. But I have told you enough 
 of this, and would proceed to remark that, in 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. "125 
 
 the rainy season, vast mimbers of wMte ants, 
 probably the older ones, take wings, come out 
 of tbeir holes, fly about for a little season, and 
 then die. At this time their bodies become 
 larger than the bodies of an American black 
 ant. It is after they have taken wings that 
 they are made nse of for food. As the ground 
 is full of them, the children surround the 
 little openings by which they have communi- 
 cation with the air, get down upon their hands 
 and knees, put their mouths to these openings, 
 and, with a peculiar noise which they make, 
 they either do in reality call up, or think that 
 they do call up, great numbers of them. At 
 all events they make their appearance. I 
 think it probable that they are frightened by 
 the noise which they hear, and that on this 
 account they come forth. As fast as they 
 show themselves, the children catch and kill 
 them. After they have taken many, they put 
 them into water, when their wings fall off. 
 They then mix them with rice, and dry them 
 over the fire. Thus prepared they are ready 
 for eating. 
 
 In my next letter, I will (D. Y.) say some- 
 thing more about the white ants. 
 11* 
 
126- LETTERS TO CHILDRE^T. 
 
 NUMBEE XXIY. 
 
 My Dear CniLDREisr : In my last letter I 
 spoke of the means wliicli tlie little children 
 make use of to secure a meal of white ants. 
 There is another method adopted by the people 
 to catch them. They find an ant-hill where 
 the ants are ready for "swarming," and at 
 about thirty-two or three feet from the hill, on 
 the leeward side, they dig a hole as large as a 
 common water-pail, in which they set a pot 
 of water standing towards the hill. Then a 
 small fire is set a few inches from the pot, be- 
 tween it and the ant-hill. As the ants come 
 out in great numbers at night, they see the 
 hght, are attracted by it, fly directly over it, 
 and fall into the water and are drowned. 
 Sometimes the people yuR secure two quarts 
 of them from a single pot. 
 
 One of the most interesting points in the 
 history of the white ant is the queen-mother. 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 127 
 
 By digging into tlie outer ant-hill, many, in 
 some instances hundreds, of rooms are found, 
 which the ants make their home. By dig- 
 ging farther into it, a room of a peculiar kind 
 is discovered, of which you can have some 
 idea by supposing two saucers to be placed 
 with their hollows towards each other, and 
 thus brought together. Inside this lies the 
 queen ; she is like a white worm, somewhat 
 translucent, and grows to the enormous size 
 of a man's little finger. To this great body 
 is attached the natural and small head of the 
 small ant! All around her room are very 
 small entrances, about the size of a pin's head, 
 and at each of these doors is stationed a sen- 
 tinel to guard their queen against all intruders. 
 These sentinels are very watchful, and if dis- 
 turbed they show their attachment to her by 
 sticking out of the doors their little nippers, 
 and afterwards, if in their power, by cutting 
 their enemies into two parts, as with a pair of 
 scissors. 
 
 The queen lies quiet, not being able tomovo 
 her great body, and if she were able to move 
 it, she could not get out of her palace. It is 
 said that the ants bring her food and supply 
 
128 LETTERS TO CHILDREN". 
 
 all her wants, wMle she, month, after month, 
 continues to fill np her little world with her 
 bnsj and mischievous little people. 
 
 I ought to have mentioned in its proper 
 place, that when the white ants come up from 
 their holes, or while they are carrying up their 
 houses — the upper part of which must remain 
 open until they reach their place of destina- 
 tion — they are much exposed to be devoured. 
 The little lizards, for instance, will take up 
 their position near them, dart upon them and 
 seize them, then recede and swallow them, 
 then dart upon them again and again, and 
 thus continue their manoeuvring until they 
 have filled their little stomachs. "What a fit 
 emblem is this of the great adversary — of the 
 great devourer of souls ! How does he mo- 
 mently and hourly watch to devour us ! My 
 dear children, have you been sorry for your 
 sins, and have you forsaken them? Have 
 you given up your hearts to your Saviour, 
 and do you strive above all things to love and 
 serve him ? If so, all is well with you. If 
 this, however, is not the case, how awful is 
 your situation! You are liable every mo- 
 ment to be devoured by the great adversary 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 129 
 
 of your souls — liable every moment to bo 
 lost. Oh! flee to tbe Saviour — flee to him 
 to-day, even now ! Belay not, for if you do, 
 even before to-morrow your everlasting wail, 
 your everlasting lament, may be begun. 
 
130 
 
 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 NUMBER XXY. 
 
 My Dear Childeek: The natives of 
 India are very fond of worshipping trees, both 
 of good and evil. The Palmyra tree is one 
 of the most useful, and it is natural to suppose 
 that this would be a favorite object of wor- 
 ship. I am not aware, however, that this is 
 ever the case. Less regard is shown to those 
 trees which excel in fruit than to such as af- 
 ford the coolest shade by the thickness of 
 their foliage. Among the latter is the stately 
 banyan, of which you may have seen the pic- 
 ture in the Dayspring. Of the evil or mis- 
 chievous trees there is one which is worship- 
 ped, and which deserves particular notice. It 
 bears thorns which are venomous. To avert 
 their evil, the people offer rather a singular 
 sacrifice. This consists in sticking rags on its 
 branches and shoots, with which they are al- 
 most entirely coyered. I saw one of these 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 131 
 
 trees some time ago near Sivigungal, Mr. Clian- 
 dler's station in Madura. 
 
 I just now mentioned that tHe Palmyra tree 
 is one of the most useful trees in India. I 
 must give you some account of it : It is en- 
 tirely made up of a trunk and leaves. Of 
 course it has no branches. It grows very 
 high, and is almost as straight as an arrow. 
 In this respect it differs altogether from the 
 cocoa-nut tree, which is almost invariably 
 crooked. The first shoot from the planted 
 nut is a leaf "When this has grown to its full 
 size, it has a long stem, three feet in length. 
 At this time the leaf is about two feet in di- 
 -ameter, and is circular. You may have seen 
 the fans which are made of it. After the first 
 leaf appears another and another grow at its 
 side, and vf hile thus growing the trunk begins 
 to be deposited just below them. This, when 
 fuUy formed, is a foot and a half in diameter. 
 As the trunk continues to grow, the leaves are 
 to be seen attached to its sides by the stems, 
 the ends of which embrace the whole tree. 
 After a while, as new leaves come out, the 
 lower leaves die ; but they do not fall off until 
 the end of the stem attached to the tree decays. 
 
132 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 Generally the leaves are cut off. Wlien this 
 is the case, a part of the stem remains, which 
 eventually falls off, and is used in the place of 
 fire- wood. A little ridge is left on every part 
 of the trunk where the leaves were attached. 
 This makes it quite rough, which is of great 
 importance, as it enables the climber of the 
 tree to ascend it more easily. 
 
 With this tree and mud alone the natives 
 can build a very comfortable house. The 
 trunk of the tree is used for rafters and sleep- 
 ers. It may also be used for the door-posts 
 and doors, but generally Marcosa or other 
 hard woods are substituted. These are pre- 
 ferable on two accounts. The white ants are 
 very fond of the Palmyra wood, and soon de- 
 stroy it. It also, from its grassy nature, soon 
 decays when it comes in contact with earthy 
 substances. Under other circumstances, it is 
 very durable. The timbers of the house are 
 fastened together with wooden nails, formed 
 from the same tree, and the sleepers are tied 
 to them by a string which is peeled from the 
 stem of the leaf. The leaves are used for the 
 covering of the house, and are perfectly water- 
 tight. 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 133 
 
 This tree furnislies tlie people with, all the 
 means necessary for drawing water from the 
 wells; posts for the well-sweep; the well- 
 sweep ; ropes, twisted from the strands of the 
 stem of the leaf; and the basket, made of the 
 platted leaves, for the purpose of drawing the 
 water. It also makes excellent troughs. 
 
 I remarked that the Palmyra leaves are use- 
 ful as a covering for houses. Thej are used 
 for a great variety of other purposes. Cut 
 into small, oblong pieces, they are platted to- 
 gether and used as mats for the floors; for 
 bags, in which to keep their rice and other 
 grains ; as little receptacles for the sugar which 
 is manufactured from the sweet juice of the 
 tree. They are used as a substitute for pock- 
 ets, to carry their papers, their betel, and arik- 
 kanut, and other things ; as plates from which 
 to eat, and cups from which to drink. Good 
 hats may be manufactured from them. They 
 are also used for hedges. After being used 
 thus for a year or two, they decay. They are 
 then buried in the earth, and serve as an ex- 
 cellent manure to enrich the land. 
 
 All their books are written on this leaf. 
 The letters are impressed upon them by a style 
 12 
 
134 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 or iron pen, wHcli cuts tkrough tlie outer sur- 
 face, or tlie slcin^ of the leaf Cliarcoal is 
 rubbed oyer these letters to make tliem more 
 legible. Tlie letters wMcIl tbej send b j mail, 
 tbeir deeds, and otber similar instruments, are 
 also written upon tMs leaf. 
 
 The tree yields a rich but rather coarse 
 ffuit. This is as large as a cocoa-nut when 
 deprived of its husk. It usually has three 
 large seeds. When quite young, the inner 
 part of these seeds yields a very delicious jelly. 
 Around these seeds, when ripe, there is a yel- 
 low, inspissated juice, which is eaten, if you 
 will allow me thus to speak, in its natural 
 state, and is very nourishing. This juice is 
 also expressed from the fruit, put upon mats 
 and dried in the sun, and is used for food by 
 many of the lower classes. After the seeds 
 are divested of their inspissated juice and 
 other things, they are planted, and from them 
 shoots downward a very nourishing root, 
 similar in appearance to the carrot or parsnip. 
 This, when fully grown, is dug up. It is then 
 boiled and eaten, or it is cut into pieces, dried 
 in the sun, and afterwards used as flour to 
 make gruels and puddings. The seed serves 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN". 135 
 
 another purpose after tliis. It is burnt, and 
 makes excellent charcoal. This is nsed hy 
 the blacksmiths, silversmiths, and other simi- 
 lar tradesmen. 
 
 I mentioned that sugar is mannfactured 
 from the juice of this tree. This juice is 
 drawn from the upper part of it. "Among 
 the cluster of leaves which crown the stem, 
 several long sheaths are foimd which contain 
 the flower-buds. Under each of these the 
 climber of the tree hangs a jar, and cutting 
 off the top of the bud, the juice begins to 
 flow." This at first is very sweet. It is 
 called Karapurn J. The sugar is manufactured 
 from it while in this state. If it is allowed to 
 stand a few hours, it ferments, and becomes 
 an intoxicating liquor. This, I am sorry to 
 tell you, is much used by many, and goes far 
 to counterbalance all the blessings of this tree. 
 What a curse are intoxicating drinks to the 
 world ! 
 
 But you, perhaps, will ask, How can a man 
 climb a tree which has no branches. He 
 climbs it in a very curious manner. A loop 
 is made of the strand of the stem, and this 
 encircles both of his feet. He then stands 
 
136 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 upriglit, close to the tree, and raising both his 
 hands above his head, he clasps the tree with 
 them. He then draws Tip his feet as far as 
 possible, and applies the sole of each foot to 
 the sides of the tree. The loop catches in the 
 rough bark, and as it encircles the feet, it pre- 
 vents them from slipping. While thns cling- 
 ing with his feet, he lets go his hands and 
 raises them with his body to nearly a perpen- 
 dicular condition, when he again clasps the 
 tree with his hands. Then he draws up his.feet 
 again, and so on, nntil he reaches the top of the 
 tree. After having cut the buds, before re- 
 ferred to, he apphes his little jar and imme- 
 diately descends. He re-visits the tree after 
 he supposes that his jar is filled. 
 
 It is, however, time to conclude. Before I 
 do so, allow me, my dear children, to remind 
 you of the tree of life, whose leaves are for 
 the healing of the nations. If you would sit 
 down under the shade of this tree, and enjoy 
 its fruit for ever, you must, while on earth, be- 
 come Christ's children. And are you his child- 
 ren? This is a momentous question, and I 
 entreat you to answer it to your conscience, 
 before you ever again sleep — ^before you sleep, 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 137 
 
 did I say? Answer it now^ for you may be 
 an inhabitant of eternity before another honr, 
 yea, another minute, has passed. And if, on 
 examination, you find that you are not His, I 
 need not spend my time in telling you what 
 you must do. 
 
 12* 
 
138 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 NUMBER XXYI. 
 
 My Dear Children" : Rivers are favorite 
 objects of worsMp with tlae Hindoos. I will 
 tell you a little about one of tbe most cele- 
 brated of these — the river Ganges. It is 
 called the Ganges after the goddess Gunga. 
 The Hindoos say that the goddess Gunga — 
 who was produced from the sweat of Yish- 
 noo's foot, which Brahma caught and pre- 
 served in his alms-dish — came down from 
 heaven, and divided herself into a hundred 
 streams, which are the mouths of the river 
 Ganges. All castes worship her. The sight, 
 the name, or the touch of the river Ganges, 
 takes away, it is said, all sin. To die on the 
 edge of the river, or to die partly buried in 
 the stream, or to drink its waters, while their 
 bodies are besmeared with mud, is supposed 
 to render them very holy. On this account, 
 when it is expected that a person must die, he 
 
MTTEUS TO CHILBREK-. " 139 
 
 is hurried* down to the river, whether wilhng 
 or unwilling. Sometimes the wood, which the 
 people bring to burn their bodies after death, 
 is piled up before their eyes. Oh ! how inhu- 
 man is this ! After it is supposed that they 
 are dead, and they are placed on the pile of 
 wood, if they should revive and attempt to 
 rise, it is thought that they are possesseyi with 
 the devil, and they are beaten down with a 
 hatchet or bamboo. 
 
 Were you standing on the banks of the 
 Ganges, you might, perhaps, in one place, see 
 two or three young men carrying a sick 
 female to the river. If you should ask, what 
 they are going to do with her, perhaps they 
 would reply : " We are going to give her up 
 to Grunga, to purify her soul, that she may go 
 to heaven ; for she is our mother." In another 
 place you might see a father and mother 
 spriakling a beloved child with muddy water, 
 endeavoring to soothe his dying agonies, by 
 saying: "It is blessed to die by Grunga, my 
 son ; to die by Gunga is blessed, my son." In 
 another place you might see a man descending 
 from a boat, with empty water-pans tied 
 around his neck, which pans, when fiUed, 
 
140 LETTERS- TO CHILDREN. 
 
 will draw down the poor creature to the bot- 
 tom, to be seen no more. Here is murder in 
 the name of religion. He is a devotee, and 
 has purchased heaven, as he supposes, by this 
 his last deed. In another place you might see 
 a person seated in the water, accompanied by 
 a priest, who pours down the throat of the 
 dying .man mud and water, and cries out: "O 
 mother Gunga! receive his soul !" The dying 
 man may be roused to sensibility by the vio- 
 lence. He may entreat his priest to desist ; 
 but his entreaties are drowned. He persists 
 in pouring the mud and water down his 
 throat, until he is gradually stifled, suffocated; 
 suffocated in the name of humanity; suffo- 
 cated in the name of religion. 
 
 It happens sometimes, in cases of sudden 
 and violent attacks of disease, that .they can 
 not be conveyed to the river before death. 
 Under such circumstances a bone is preserved, 
 and at a convenient season is taken down and 
 thrown into the river. This, it is believed, 
 contributes essentially to the salvation of the 
 deceased. 
 
 Sometimes strangers are left on the banks 
 to die without the ceremony of drinking Gan- 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 141 
 
 ges water. Of these, some liave been seen 
 creeping along with the flesh half eaten off 
 their bones by the birds; others with limbs 
 torn by dogs and jackals ; and others partly 
 covered with insects. 
 
 After a person is taken down to the river, 
 if he should recover, it is looked upon by his 
 friends as a great misfortune. He becomes an 
 outcast. Even his own children will not eat 
 with him, nor offer him the least attention. 
 If they should happen to touch him, they 
 must wash their bodies, to cleanse them from 
 the pollution which has been contracted. 
 About fifty miles north of Calcutta are two 
 villages inhabited entirely by these poor crea- 
 tures, who have become outcasts in conse- 
 quence of their recovery after having been 
 taken down to the Ganges. 
 
 At the mouth of the river Hoogly, which 
 is one of the branches of the G-anges, is the 
 island Sanger, which I saw as we approached 
 Calcutta, after having been at sea one hundred 
 and twenty-eight days. ISTow, my dear child- 
 ren, if you come to India as missionaries, you 
 will have to sail nearly one hundred and 
 thirty days before you can reach it. Sanger 
 
142 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 Island is tlie place where, formerly, hniidreds 
 of motliers were in the habit of throwing 
 their children to the crocodiles, and where 
 these mothers were wont to weep and cry if 
 the crocodiles did not devour their children 
 before their eyes. Think what a dreadful re- 
 ligion that must be, which makes mothers 
 wilHng to do such things. 
 
 I am glad to tell you that the British gov- 
 ernment in India has put a stop to the sacri- 
 fice of children at that place; but mothers 
 continue to destroy their children elsewhere, 
 and will continue to destroy them, until 
 Christians send the G-ospel to them. It is not 
 improbable that many children are annually 
 destroyed in the Granges. Mothers sacrifice 
 them, in consequence of the vows which they 
 have made. When the time to sacrifice them 
 has come, they take them down to the river, 
 and encourage them to go out so far that they 
 are taken away by the stream, or they push 
 them off with their own hands. 
 
i»m 
 
 
 \ii'^^^ 
 
 THE HEATHEN MOTHER. 
 
 Page 143. 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 143 
 
 NUMBEE XXYII. 
 
 My Dear Children : In my last letter' I 
 remarked that tlie mothers of India will con- 
 tinue to destroy their children until the Gos- 
 pel is sent to them. That the Gospel does 
 prevent such things, the following circum- 
 stance will show : Several years ago, a mis- 
 sionary lady went from New-England to 
 India. As she was walking out one morning, 
 on the hanks of the Ganges, she saw a hea- 
 then mother weeping. She went up to her, sat 
 down by her side, put her hand into hers, and 
 asked what was the matter with her. " I have 
 just been making a basket of flags," said she, 
 "and putting my infant in it, pushing it off into 
 the river and drowning it, and my gods are 
 very much pleased with me because I have 
 done it." After this missionary lady had heard 
 all she had to say, she told her that her gods 
 were no gods; that the only true God dehghts 
 
144 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 not in sncTi sacrifices, but tnrns in horror from 
 them ; and tMt if she wonld be happy here 
 and hereafter, she must forsake her sins, and 
 pray to Jesus Christ, who died to save sinners 
 like herself. That conversation was the means 
 of the conversion of that mother, and she 
 never again, of course, destroyed any more 
 of her infants. 
 
 Such is the power of the blessed Gospel ; 
 and what it has once done it can do again. If 
 Christians will send it to them, with the bless- 
 ing of Grod, the time will soon come when 
 heathen-mothers will no more destroy their 
 children. And have you nothing to do in 
 this great work, my dear children? When 
 you grow up, can not you go and tell them 
 of the Saviour? Here is a pretty hymn 
 about a heathen-mother throwing her child to 
 a crocodile. 
 
 See tliat heathen mother stand 
 Where the sacred currents flow, 
 
 With her own maternal hand, 
 'Mid the waves her infant throw. 
 
 Hark I I hear the piteous scream! 
 
 Frightful monsters seize then- prey I 
 Or the dark and bloodj stream 
 
 Bears the struggling child away. 
 
LETTEU3 TO CIIILDREN. 145 
 
 Fainter now and fainter still, 
 
 Breaks the cry upon the ear ; 
 But the mother's heart is steel ; 
 
 She unmoved that cry can hear. 
 
 Send, oh ! send the Bible there ; 
 
 Let its precepts reach the heart ; 
 She may then her children spare; 
 
 Act the mother's tender part. 
 
 I have heard of a little boy who learned 
 this hymn. He was deeply affected by it, and 
 wanted very much to give something to send 
 the Grospel to India. But he had no money. 
 He was, however, willing to labor to earn 
 some. Hearing that a gentleman wanted the 
 cliips removed from the ground near his 
 wood-pile, he hired himself to him, removed 
 the chips, got the money, and with glisten- 
 ing eyes went and delivered it up to be sent 
 to the heathen, repeating as he went: 
 
 "Send, oh! send the Bible there; 
 Let its precepts reach the heart ; 
 She may then her children spare ; 
 Act the mother's tender part." 
 
 About one hundred miles above the mouth 
 of the Hoogly is the city of Calcutta, and 
 13 
 
146 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 about five linndred miles above tbat city is 
 tlie city of Benares. In these cities, as well 
 in otber places, we see bow mucb tbe beatben 
 will contribute to support tbeir wretcbed reb- 
 gion. A ricb native of Calcutta bas been 
 known to spend more tban one bundred thou- 
 sand dollars at a single festival — ^tbe festival of 
 tbe goddess Karle — and more tban thirty thou- 
 sand dollars every year afterwards during bis 
 life for tbe same purpose. ISTot long since, a 
 rich native gave, at one time, to his idols more 
 tban one million two hundred thousand dollars. 
 And what have Christians ever done to honor 
 their Saviour, which will bear comparison 
 with what tbe beatben do for their idols? 
 Alas I alas I bow few Christian men and 
 women in all tbe Church are wilbng to give 
 even one tenth of their annual income to the 
 Lord. Most of those who are rich hoard up 
 their morj,ey instead of spending it for the pur- 
 pose of saving souls. And there are many 
 psESons who have never given a farthing to 
 send tbe Gospel to the heathen. Oh ! what 
 "wii. such say when they must meet the hea- 
 then ^t tbe bar of Grod ? 
 
HINDOO GODDESS DDRGA. 
 
 Pag 2 147. 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 147 
 
 NUMBEE XXYIII. 
 
 My. Deae Children : Let me now return 
 to tlie subject from wliich. I told you, in my 
 thirteentli letter, tliat I would, for a little 
 wMe, turn away. I will first speak of Dur- 
 ga, tlie wife of Siva, a goddess wlio is much 
 worshipped. She has appeared in a thousand 
 forms, with a thousand, different names. Of 
 all these thousand forms, Durga and Karle 
 are the most regarded by the people. Dur- 
 ga's Festival is the *most celebrated of all 
 Eastern festivals. She has ten hands, in 
 which she holds an iron club, a trident, a 
 battle-axe, spears, thunder-bolts, etc. Thus 
 armed, she is very ready to fight with her 
 enemies. 
 
 Were you to be present in the city of Cal- 
 cutta in the month of September, you might 
 everywhere see the people busy in preparing 
 for the yearly festival of this goddess. Images 
 
148 LETTERS TO CHILDIIEX. 
 
 representing her, you would find in great 
 numbers for sale, as bread or meat is sold. 
 In tlie houses of the rich, images are to be 
 found made of gold, silver, brass, copper, 
 crystal -stone, or mixed metal, which are 
 daily worshipped. These are called perma- 
 nent images. Besides these, multitudes of 
 what are called temporary images are made — 
 made merely for the occasion, and then de- 
 stroyed. They are made of hay, sticks, clay, 
 wood, etc. Their size varies from a few inches 
 to twenty feet in height. If persons are too 
 poor to buy their images, they can make 
 images for themselves. When the festival is 
 near at hand, people are seen in every direc- 
 tion carrying their images to their houses. 
 After they are thus supplied, the festival com- 
 mences. It lasts fifteen days. The greater 
 part of this time is spent in preparing for the 
 three great days of the worship. Early on 
 the morning of the first of the three great 
 days, the Brahmins proceed to consecrate the 
 images, or to give them, as they suppose, life 
 and understanding. Until they are consecrat- 
 ed, they are not thought to be of any value — 
 they are looked upon as senseless. A wealthy 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 149 
 
 family can always secure the services of one 
 or more Brahmins, and a few of tlie poor may 
 unite and secure tlie services of one of them. 
 At length the solemn hour arrives. The 
 Brahmin, with* the leaves of a sacred tree, 
 comes near the image. With the two fore- 
 fingers of his right hand he touches the 
 breast, the cheeks, the eyes, and the forehead 
 of the image, at each touch saying the prayer : 
 "Let the spirit of Durga descend and take 
 possession of this image." By such ceremo- 
 nies it is supposed that the Brahmins have the 
 power to bring down the goddess to take pos- 
 session of the image. Having been thus con- 
 secrated, it is believed to be a proper object of 
 worship. Having eyes, it can now behold 
 every act of worship which is made ; having 
 ears, it can be delighted with music and with 
 songs ; having a nose, it can smell the sweet 
 perfumes which are offered ; having a mouth, 
 it can be delighted with the food which is pre- 
 pared for it. 
 
 After the image is consecrated, the worship 
 begins. The devotee comes near the image 
 and falls down before it. He then twists him- 
 self into a great variety of shapes. Sometimes 
 13* 
 
150 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 he sits on tlie floor, sometimes lie stands, some- 
 times lie looks in one direction, sometimes in 
 another. Then he sprinkles the idol with 
 holy water, rinses its mouth, washes its feet, 
 wipes it with a dry cloth, throws flowers over 
 it, puts jewels on it, perfumes it, and finishes 
 bj performing shaashtaangkum. 
 
 The worship of the idol is succeeded by a 
 season of carousing, joy, and festivity. On 
 this occasion, large offerings are made to the 
 idols. A rich native has been known to offer 
 eighty thousand pounds of sugar, eighty thou- 
 sand pounds of sweetmeats, a thousand suits 
 of cloth garments, a thousand suits of silk, a 
 thousand offerings of rice, plantains, and other 
 fruits. 
 
 Bloody sacrifices are offered up on such oc- 
 casions. The King of ISTudiya, some time ago, 
 offered a large number of sheep, goats, and 
 buffaloes on the first day of the feast, and vow- 
 ed to double the offering every day; so that 
 the whole number sacrificed amounted to more 
 than sixty thousand. You may remember 
 that Eang Solomon offered, upon one occasion, 
 twenty-two thousand oxen, and a hundred 
 -and twenty thou.sand sheep. K all the ani- 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDEEN. 151 
 
 mals slain tlirongliout Hindostan, at tlie festi- 
 val of Durga, were collected together, they 
 would amount to a much larger number than 
 Solomon offered. 
 
 After the worship and offerings have been 
 continued for three days, the festival closes. 
 
152 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 ISTUMBEE XXIX. 
 
 My Deae Childeen : In my last letter I 
 told you sometMng about the goddess Durga, 
 tlie consecration of her image, etc. As the 
 morning of the first day of her festival was 
 devoted to the consecration of her images, 
 the morning of the fourth is spent in unconse- 
 crating them. This work is done by the Brah- 
 mins. They profess, by various ceremonies, 
 to send back the goddess to her heaven, con- 
 cluding with a farewell address, in which they 
 tell her that they expect her to accept of all 
 their services, and return and pay them a 
 visit again in the coming year. Then all 
 unite in bidding her a sorrowful adieu, and 
 many seem to be affected, even to the shed- 
 ding of tears. 
 
 Soon afterwards, the images are carried 
 forth into the streets, are placed on stages or 
 platforms, and raised on men's shoulders. As 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 153 
 
 the procession moves onward throngli tlie 
 streets, accompanied with, music and songs, 
 amid clouds of dust, you might see them wav- 
 ing long hair-brushes to wipe off the dust, 
 and to keep off the flies and mosquitoes, 
 which might trouble the senseless images. 
 But where are these processions going ? To 
 the banks of the Ganges. And for what pur- 
 pose ? For the purpose of casting the imagea 
 into the river. When all the ceremonies con- 
 nected with the occasion are finished, those 
 who * carry the images suddenly fall upon 
 them, break them to pieces, and then throw 
 them into the river. After this, the people 
 return to their homes. A few days ago, the 
 little children were seen dragging their idols 
 on small cars, by the mission-house which I 
 occupy, for the purpose of throwing them 
 into the sea. These images were made of 
 mud. 
 
 I have now given you a specimen of the 
 image-worship of the Hindoos ; and how dif- 
 ferent is it from the worship which the Bible 
 efijoins ! G-od is a spirit, and they who wor- 
 ship him must worship him in spirit and in 
 ti'uth. The very reverse of this, as you have 
 
154 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 seen, makes tlie worsMp of tlie heathen. 
 Thej are not satisfied unless they can have 
 some object before their eyes, to which they 
 can make their offerings and prayers. Thus 
 are they daily engaged in a service, which, 
 above all others, is the most offensive and 
 provoking to a holy Grod — a service which 
 has caused Him to declare that idolaters shall 
 not enter into the kingdom of heaven. This, 
 too, is the service in which every person who 
 has never given himself to the Saviour is en- 
 gaged ; and, of course, in which you are en- 
 gaged, if you have not given your hearts to 
 him. Those who thkik more of their money 
 than they think of Christ, just as certainly 
 worship the image which is stamped on a dol- 
 lar or a cent, as the heathen worship their 
 idols. Those who love their fathers, and 
 mothers, and brothers, and sisters, more than 
 Christ, make them their idols. And are you, 
 my dear children, yet out of Christ ? If so, 
 you have your idols. And what are these 
 idols ? Are they the world and its vanities, 
 fondness for dress, fondness for vain partis 
 of pleasure? Then God is as angry with 
 you as he is with the heathen, and unless you 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 155 
 
 give up these idols, you, too, must be lost. 
 And will you not give up these idols ? Can 
 any folly be greater than that of not giving 
 them up ? Are they not bubbles, which may 
 be broken in a moment? Besides all this, 
 may you not be in eternity before another 
 day has passed? Yea, even before an- 
 other hour shall have fled you may be there. 
 The following instance proves this: "Not 
 long since," says the Eev. Mr. Wilcox, "a 
 young man, in the vigor of health, with the 
 fairest prospects of a long and prosperous life, 
 was thrown from a vehicle, and conveyed to 
 the nearest house in a state that excited in- 
 stant and universal alarm for his safety. A 
 physician was called. The first question of 
 the wounded youth was : ' Sir, must I die ? 
 Must I die ? Deceive me not in this thing.' 
 His firm tone and penetrating look demanded 
 an honest reply. He was told that he could 
 not live more than an hour. He waked up, 
 as it were, at once to a full sense of the dread- 
 ful reality. ' Must I then go into eternity in 
 an hour ? Must I appear before my God and 
 Judge in an hour ? God knows that I have 
 made no preparation for this event. I knew 
 
156 LETTERS TO CHILDRElir. 
 
 that impenitent yonth were sometimes cut off 
 tlins suddenly, but it never entered my mind 
 that I should be one of this number. And 
 now what shall I do to be saved ?' He was 
 told that he must repent and believe in the 
 Lord Jesus Christ. ' But how shall I repent 
 and believe?' Here is no time to explain. 
 The monster, death, will not wait for explan- 
 ation. The work must be done. The whole 
 business of an immortal being in this proba- 
 tionary life is now crowded into one short 
 liour, and that an hour of mental agony and 
 distraction. Friends were weeping around, 
 and running to and fro in the frenzy of grief 
 The poor sufferer, with a bosom heaving with 
 emotion, and with an eye gleaming with des- 
 peration, continued the cry of ' What shall I 
 do to be saved ?' till, in less than an hour, his 
 voice was hushed in the stillness of death 1" 
 
LETTERS TO CIIILDHEN. 157 
 
 NUMBEE XXX. 
 
 My Deah Childeen : Tlie goddess Karle, 
 wliose name I have already mentioned, is the 
 wife of Siva, and, like her husband, has the 
 power of destruction. From the images made 
 of her, it would appear the she is of a black 
 or dark blue color. She has four arms. In 
 one hand she holds a sword, and in another a 
 human head. Her hair is disheveled, reach- 
 ing down to her feet. Her countenance is 
 most ferocious. Her tongue comes out of her 
 mouth, and hangs over her chin. She has 
 three eyes, red and fiery. Her lips and eye- 
 lids are streaked with blood. She has two 
 dead bodies for ear-rings, and wears a girdle 
 around her loins — a girdle made of bloody 
 hands, which she cut off from the bodies of 
 lier enemies. She has a necklace of skulls, 
 which she took from the bodies of the giants 
 and others killed by her. 
 14 
 
158 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 Of all tlie Hindoo goddesses, slie is tlie most 
 cruel and revengeM. Sucli is lier tMrst for 
 blood, tliat being unable at one time to procure 
 any giants for ber prey, in order to satisfy ber 
 tbirst sbe cut ber own tbroat, tbat tbe blood 
 issuing bence migbt spout into ber moutb. 
 Different acts of worsbip are performed to ap- 
 pease ber. If, for example, a devotee sbould 
 burn bis body, by applying a burning lamp 
 to it, it would be very pleasing to ber. If be 
 sbould draw some of bis blood and give it to 
 ber, or if be sbould cut off a piece of bis flesb 
 and offer it as a burnt-offering, sbe would be 
 still more pleased. If be sbould present ivhoh 
 burnt-offerings upon tbe altar, saying, "Hrang, 
 brang, Karle, Karle — borrid tootb goddess ! 
 eat, eat ! destroy all tbe malignant ! cut witb 
 tbis axe! bind, bind! seize, seize! drink tbis 
 blood ! sbpeng, sbpeng ! secure, secure ! salu- 
 tation to Karle !" — sbe would be mucb de- 
 ligbted. It is said tbat sbe will be pleased for 
 tbree montbs, if tbe people offer ber tbe blood 
 of a crocodile ; for a tbousand years, if tbey 
 offer ber tbe blood of one man ; and a bundred 
 tbousand years, if tbey offer tbe blood of tbree. 
 
 Tbis goddess is tbe patroness of tbieves. 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 159 
 
 To her they pay their devotions, to obtain 
 help to carry on their wicked designs. Gangs 
 meet together, and after having offered up 
 bloody sacrifices, and worshipped their wea- 
 pons, and having drunk some intoxicating li- 
 quor, and rubbed their bodies with oil, they go 
 forth to rob. They have a prayer which they 
 offer when they worship their weapons. It is 
 as follows : " instrument formed by the god- 
 dess ! Karle commands thee to cut a passage 
 into the house ; to cut through stones, bones, 
 bricks, wood, the earth, and mountains, and 
 cause the dust thereof to be carried away by 
 the wind." 
 
 This is probably the goddess to whom the 
 wild Khonds, and others inhabiting the hill- 
 countries of Orissa, offer up human sacrifices. 
 Of these I will give you some account in my 
 next letter. 
 
 And is it possible, my dear children, that 
 the followers of such divinities can go to 
 heaven ? How could such ever relish its pure 
 joys? What would they do, if they could be 
 admitted there ? It is a charity which has no 
 foundation, to suppose that the heathen can 
 go to heaven. I have preached the Gospel to 
 
160 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 tens of thonsands of tliem — perliaps to more 
 tlian a liimdred and fifty thousand — but I 
 never saw one wlio had the least atom of a 
 qnalification for that holy place. ' ' They have 
 all gone ont of the way." Every crime which 
 the Apostle Paul speaks of in the latter part 
 of the first chapter of his Epistle to the Eo- 
 mans, they commit, and crimes of so "dreadfal 
 a nature that I can not mention them ; crimes 
 which, should they be written in the Bible, 
 would cause the Bible to be a sealed book for 
 ever. 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 161 
 
 NUMBEE XXXI. 
 
 My Dear Childreit: I have spoken in 
 one of my former letters of Orissa, a district 
 of country a few liundred miles above the city 
 where I reside. In that district there are ex- 
 tensive mountains, inhabited by different tribes 
 of barbarians, who are in the habit — except 
 when they have been prevented by the Bri- 
 tish-^of offering np hnman sacrifices. Until 
 of late, the Khonds of Goomsoor were num- 
 bered among these sacrifices. Of these I gave 
 some account when I vfas lately in America. 
 I will speak of them as still offering up these 
 sacrifices, though I believe that government 
 has to a great extent, at least, succeeded in 
 putting an end to them in this tribe. Their 
 victims are stolen from the low country, or 
 are sold to them. 
 
 I will tell you how they perform their sac- 
 rifices, though I should be glad not to tell you 
 14^ 
 
162 LETTERS TO CHILDKEK. 
 
 any thing about tliem, on account of tlieir 
 cruelty. Were I not to tell you about tliem, 
 you would never know liow to pity them, and 
 pray and labor for them, as you should do. 
 When the day which has been appointed for 
 the sacrifice arrives, the Khonds assemble from 
 all parts of the country, dressed in their finery, 
 some with boa-skins thrown over their shoul- 
 ders, others with the tails of peacocks flowing 
 behind them, and the winding feather of the 
 jungle-cock waving over their heads. Thus 
 decked, they dance, leap, rejoice, beat drums, 
 and play on an instrument not unlike in sound 
 to the Highland pipe. In the afternoon the 
 priest, with the aid of an assistant, proceeds 
 to fasten a man, or a woman, or a boy, or a 
 girl to a post, which has been firmly fixed 
 in the ground. Around this post stand num- 
 bers of these Khonds, with great knives in 
 their hands. At an appointed signal they 
 rush upon the poor creature, and try who can 
 cut the first piece of flesh from his bones. 
 Great value is attached to the first morsel cut 
 out from his body, as it is supposed to possess 
 greater virtues. This is buried in the earth 
 before sunset. 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDRfiN. ' 163 
 
 In Guddapoor a different sacrifice precedes 
 this. A trench seven feet long is dug, over 
 which a human body is suspended alive by 
 the neck and feet, which are fastened to stakes 
 firmly fixed in the ground at each end of the 
 excavation, so that, to prevent strangulation, 
 he is compelled to support himself with his 
 hands over each side of his grave. The pre- 
 siding priest, after the performance of various 
 ceremonies in honor of their goddess, takes an 
 axe and inflicts six cuts at equal distances from 
 the feet to the back of the neck, repeating the 
 numbers one, two, three, etc., as he proceeds, 
 Eondi, Eendi, Munjee, ISTalge, Chingi, Sajgi, 
 and at the seventh, Aigi, cuts off his head. 
 The body falls into the pit, and is covered 
 with earth. 
 
 Had you, my dear children, been born in 
 that part of India, some of you might have 
 been stolen from your parents, and. taken up 
 the mountains to be sacrificed by the Khonds. 
 Many who have thus been taken up to be sac- 
 rificed, have within the last few years been res- 
 cued from them. Captain Campbell, in one 
 of his communications, says: "I have been 
 most fortunate in my late expedition among 
 
164 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 the wild Khonds of Goomsoor, and liave res- 
 cued no less tlian one hundred and three cliild- 
 ren, of various sizes, who were intended for 
 sacrifice by these barbarians. These children 
 are now at head-qu.arters, and form a most in- 
 teresting group, happy, such of them as were 
 aware of their situation, in having escaped the 
 fate which awaited them." 
 
 After the arrival of the British troops in 
 the Khond country, a female found her way 
 to the collector's camp, with fetters on her 
 legs. She had escaped from those who had 
 charge of her, and related that she had been 
 sold by her brother for the purpose of being 
 sacrificed. 
 
 Thus, you see, my dear little girls, that if 
 you had been born in some parts of this land, 
 your own brothers would sell you for a dollar, 
 to have all the flesh cut from your bones ; and 
 if you have never yet given your hearts to 
 Christ, methinks you ought to do so imme- 
 diately, from gratitude to Him who has made 
 you to differ from them. 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 165 
 
 NUMBEE XXXII. 
 
 My Dear Childeen: Having given you 
 some description of the Khonds, I proceed to 
 remark tliat there are districts beyond theirs, 
 where human sacrifices are performed in a 
 different manner. Some destroy their victims 
 by heavy blows from the metal bangles, 
 which they purchase at the fairs, and which 
 they wear on these occasions. ■ If the poor 
 creature is not killed by two or three of these 
 ])lows inflicted on his head, they strangle him 
 with a cleft bamboo, which they slip over his 
 neck. Others destroy their victims by placing 
 them on the ground, bound hand and foot, 
 with their faces downwards, and by throwing 
 large stones upon them until their lives are 
 extinct. In Patna the people do not use 
 much of the flesh of their victims — frequently 
 none at all. In some districts they cut out 
 the liver, in others, the lungs, and after chop- 
 
166 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 ping them up in small pieces, bury them. It 
 is customary among some tribes to draw a 
 cup full of blood from the body, and each 
 family take a little of it and sprinkle it on the 
 floor of their house. "While doing this they 
 implore blessing on their household and on 
 their fields. 
 
 It was not until the military operations of 
 the British took place in Upper and Lower 
 Goomsoon, in 1886 and 1837, that the cruel 
 rite of immolating human beings was brought 
 to light among the neighboring hill-tribes; 
 and it was not until that time .that the first 
 victims destined for sacrifice were rescued 
 from them. These were twelve in number. 
 Captain Millar was the honored instrument 
 in rescuing these first victims. For his serv- 
 ices he received the acknowledgments of the 
 Madras government, as follows : " Captain 
 Millar will realize in his own mind an ample 
 reward for his most commendable conduct in 
 having rescued twelve victims destined for 
 these horrible sacrifices; as the gratifying re- 
 flection of having been the means of saving 
 so many human beings from a cruel and un- 
 timely death can not fail, at all times, to be a 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 167 
 
 source of genuine happiness to him. The 
 discretion, however, with which he contrived 
 to eJBfect his humane purpose is entitled to the 
 warmest and most unquahfied approbation of 
 government." 
 
 I am personally acquainted with Captain 
 MacYiccar, a very good man, who has been 
 one of the British agents "for the suppression 
 of human sacrifices and female infanticide in 
 the hill-tracts of Orissa." His constitution 
 has been broken down by his labors on these 
 unhealthy hills. I learned from him the facts 
 contained in the first part of this letter, and 
 also learned that the whole number of victims 
 who had been rescued up to the time when 
 he was in this city, in 1851, amounted to 
 more than nineteen hundred. Of these, no 
 less thsn five hundred weie rescued by himself 
 and his assistant. Captain Fry, year before 
 last. All these immortal beings must have 
 been put to death in the most horrid manner, 
 had it not been for the timely assistance 
 afforded to them. 
 
 I spoke in my last letter of a woman who 
 escaped from the hands of the Khonds, and 
 who was saved from being sacrificed by reach-. 
 
168 LETTERS TO CHILDREN". 
 
 ing tlie collector's camp. Let me tell you of 
 another person who escaped. His name is 
 Joj Sing. He had, bj stealth, witnessed one 
 of the sacrifices of these barbarians. I say by 
 stealth, for they never allow the victims de- 
 voted to destruction to witness a sacrifice. 
 He had seen a child put in the cleft of a small 
 tree which had been split for this purpose. 
 He had seen how the child was held fast in 
 this position, by the parts of the tree pressing 
 upon its body. He had also seen the flesh 
 cut from its bones. You will not wonder, 
 therefore, that he was filled with horror at the 
 thought of meeting with such a doom. Nei- 
 ther will you wonder at his determination to 
 make every possible effort to free himself 
 from the hands of his intended murderers. 
 This effort was made, but it was at first un- 
 successful. After travelHng for two days 
 through the wilderness, he was recaptured by 
 his owners, and put in irons. His courage, 
 however, did not fail. He determined to 
 make another attempt to escape, though he 
 could only crawl along, in consequence of 
 the irons on his legs. Thus fettered, he travel- 
 led for two days and two nights, and when he 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN". 169 
 
 had just reached the foot of the mountains he 
 again espied those who were in pursuit of 
 him. Captain Millar, of whom I have already 
 spoken, was providentially encamped near the 
 place where he was. To this encampment he 
 hastened, as you will readily suppose, with all 
 the speed which he could command, scarcely 
 daring to look behind him, and reached it in 
 safety. On his arrival he endeavored to make 
 known his tale of woe by his looks and his 
 tears ; and these looks and tears spoke a lan- 
 guage which this officer could not misunder- 
 stand. His irons were taken o&, and he was 
 once more free. 
 
 Joy Sing was afterwards educated, and has 
 since gone back to the mountains to assist m 
 building up the kingdom of Christ there. 
 
 Have you never thought, my dear children, 
 that by nature you are in a much worse situa- 
 tion than was Joy Sing, when in the hands of 
 his intended murderers ? They could do no- 
 thing more than destroy his body ; but you are 
 in the hands of one who, unless you flee from 
 his grasp, as Joy Sing fled from the grasp of 
 his masters, will be the means of the destruc- 
 tion both of your bodies and souls for ever. 
 15 
 
170 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 And can you think of sncli a destruction 
 without horror ? Can you afford to be eter- 
 nally lost ? Can you lie in the flames in this 
 world for a single night ? Can you hold your 
 hands in the fire for a single minute ? Oh ! if 
 you are yet in the hands of the devil, flee 
 from him. 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 171 
 
 ISrUMBEE XXXIII. 
 
 My Deae Childeen: You will be glad 
 to liear tliat many of the cMldren who have 
 been rescued from the cruel Khonds and 
 others, have been sent by the British govern- 
 ment to Christian schools — schools established 
 by the missionaries of the cross. Connected 
 with a station near Guttach^ (see your map,) 
 between Madras and Calcutta, where a very 
 dear friend of mine, the Eev. Mr. Wilkinson, 
 resides — a station about ten miles distant from 
 the first range of mountains inhabited by the 
 Khonds — ^there are two schools, one for the 
 boys and the other for the girls who have 
 been rescued fi?om this wretched people. From 
 the friend just alluded to, I learned the follow- 
 ing fact : A few years ago, a number of these 
 rescued victims arrived at the gate of the mis- 
 sion-house on their way to the sea-coast. The 
 children of the schools went out to see them. 
 
172 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 Belonging to tlie female school there was a 
 little girl, wlio thought that she recognized 
 her brother among the strangers. In a few 
 minutes she was seen coming forward, leading 
 him by the hand, and was heard exclaiming,, 
 with great joy, I have found my brother! 
 Mr. "Wilkinson said to her: "How do yon 
 know that he is your brother ? Perhaps you 
 are mistaken." " Oh! no, papa," said she, "I 
 am not mistaken. I thought when I saw 
 him at the gate, that he looked just like a lit- 
 tle brother I had when I was taken from my 
 home, only he was smaller. So I said to my- 
 self, if he is my brother, he will know his own 
 name. So I called out, Pod, Pod, and he 
 lifted up his head and came running to me." 
 And this sister wept over her little brother 
 and kissed him, and taking him up in her 
 arms, she bore him away to her school-room. 
 A thought strikes me just in this place. It 
 is, that if the sister of whom I have been 
 speaking was so much rejoiced in having 
 found her little brother — so glad that he wa^s 
 delivered from the awful death to which he 
 had been exposed — how rejoiced must the 
 angels of heaven be when such children aa 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 173 
 
 you are rescued from tlie arms of tlie devil, 
 and delivered from going down to that lake 
 of fire and brimstone wliere the wicked are 
 to weep, and wail, and gnash, their teeth for 
 ever ! How rejoiced must they be when they 
 see them safely folded in the arms of the 
 Saviour ! Are you, my dear children, folded 
 in the arms of this Saviour? If so, all is 
 well with you. But if not, your great adver- 
 sary, the devil, who, like a roaring lion, walk- 
 eth about seeking whom he, may devour, has 
 you in his possession. Can you conceive of 
 any situation this side of hell which is so 
 dreadful ? 
 
 15* 
 
174 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 . NUMBEE XXXIY. 
 
 My Dear Childreist : In my last letter I 
 spoke of a little girl who liad found her bro- 
 ther. Mr. Sutton relates the case of two 
 brothers who met under similar circumstances. 
 They had both been sold, at different times, 
 to the Khonds, for sacrifice, by their unna- 
 tural uncle. 
 
 Among the victims formerly rescued from 
 the Khonds, there was a very awkward lad, 
 whom the missionaries called David, (ji-reat 
 pains were taken to instruct him ; but he was 
 so stupid that all their efforts appeared to be 
 useless. At last he was devoted to the work 
 of sweeping the premises of the mission-house. 
 *At this time," says the Eev. Mr. Sutton, 
 "our school was very full, and many of the 
 young natives had been converted. All at 
 once, a ray of intelhgence seemed to break 
 upon the mind of poor David. He seemed 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREJf. 175 
 
 suddenly to be possessed of new faculties. 
 All were astonished at Ms understanding and 
 his answers. He now applied himself so dili- 
 gently, and was profited so much by the in- 
 struction afforded, that he was subsequently 
 received into our church. Soon afterwards 
 he was taken into the printing-office, and as 
 i}.Q made rapid advances in his new business, 
 he was made a compositor. While thus en- 
 gaged, and interesting and amazing us all by 
 his sudden proficiency, there appeared on his 
 sidn numerous white spots — ^the first indica- 
 tions of leprosy, a very common and also a 
 very fatal disease in India. We sent him to 
 the hospital, and every care was taken of him ; 
 but each of the white spots became a putrid 
 alcer, and his limbs were much eaten away. 
 Nothing could arrest the progress of his mala- 
 dy or save his life, and as there was danger 
 that he might communicate his disease to 
 others, by coming in contact with them, the 
 doctor directed that he should be kept by him- 
 self A tent was provided for him, from which 
 he would creep, at service time, to the door of 
 our meeting-room and join in the service. A 
 more interested listener I never beheld. One 
 
176 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 day I went witli my wife to pay him a visit. 
 He was stretched on Ms mat. His Testament 
 was close to his side. His hymn-book was in 
 his hand, and we saw that his attention had 
 been riveted on the following verses : 
 
 ' Of all that decks the field or bower, 
 Thou art the fairest, sweetest flower ; 
 Then, blessed Jesus, let not me 
 In thy kind heart forgotten be. 
 
 ' Day after day youth's joys decay ; 
 Death waits to seize the trembling prey ; 
 Then, blessed Jesus, let not me 
 In thy kind heart forgotten be.' 
 
 " When we left the tent my wife said to me, 
 with great emphasis and emotion : ' There lies 
 an heir of glory ; for though, like Lazarus, he 
 is full of sores, like Lazarus, also, he is rich in 
 assured hope.' I could not but concur in the 
 parable." 
 
 Soon afterwards, the spirit of this afflicted 
 but happy youth took its flight, as we have 
 good reason to believe, to the bosom of his 
 Saviour, rescued by the British government 
 from the hands of the cruel Khonds, and res- 
 cued from eternal torment, in consequence of 
 
LETTERS, TO CHILDREN-. 177 
 
 liis having been sold to them for tlie purpose 
 of being sacrificed. How mysterious are tlie 
 ways of Providence ! 
 
 Should it be the sad lot of any of you, my 
 dear children, not to reach heaven at last, 
 what will you say in the day of judgment, 
 when you find this youth among the company 
 of the redeemed, but yourselves among the 
 company of the lost ! Oh ! that word lost ! 
 that dreadful, that dism^al word, lost! What 
 a living scorpion will it be to your deathless 
 souls " for ever !" 
 
 But let me hope different things. Let me 
 liope that you are not to be lost. If, however 
 I am to entertain such a hope, there must be 
 a change in you as great as is the change from 
 death to life — a change firom sin to holiness. 
 You might as well expect to go down to the 
 sea, and dwell beneath the surface of its wa- 
 ters, as to expect to go to heaven in your pre- 
 sent unconverted state. You must be born 
 again, or you can never enter into the kingdom 
 of God. Christ, who is now to you as a root 
 out of dry ground, and in whom you see no 
 form nor comeliness, must become the supreme 
 object of your desires. Him you must esteem 
 
178 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 as the cHefest among ten tliousandj and alto- 
 getlier lovelj. To him you 'must make an 
 entire consecration of yonrselves. Alas! alas! 
 that you should have slighted him so long. 
 Alas ! that when he has come to the door of 
 your hearts, and knocked for admittance, you 
 should have treated him as you have done — 
 treated him with an incivility which you would 
 blush to use even to me. 
 
 My dear children, I can not bear the thought 
 of your continuing in rebellion against your 
 Saviour for another hour. Only think of his 
 love to perishing sinners ! Think of what he 
 had to undergo and suffer to procure their 
 salvation ! To purchase this salvation he had 
 to tread his weary way to the tomb, with no 
 one to accompany him ; to tread it through 
 tears and groans, and under the edge of the 
 sword of Divine justice. He was trodden, as 
 it were, in the wine-press of the fierceness of 
 the wrath of Almighty God. He was crown- 
 ed with thorns, that they might be crowned 
 kings in his Father's dominions. He was con- 
 demned at the bar, that they might not be con- 
 demned at the tribunal of the last da}^. He 
 died that they might live. And can you think 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 179 
 
 of this love and your hearts not be melted ? 
 Can jou see no beauty in Jesus, that you 
 should desire him ? Are your eyes holden, 
 that you can not behold his all-attractive 
 charms ? I have been giving you a descrip- 
 tion of the wretched Khonds. Suppose that 
 you were among them, and that you were 
 now in the same condition with the little child 
 of whom I have made mention — ^the little child 
 who was placed in the cleffc of a spht tree for 
 the purpose of having the flesh cut from its 
 bones ; and suppose that that good man, the 
 agent of the British government, should come 
 and rescue you from such a fearful death — 
 would you not love him to the end of your 
 lives ? Would any thing be too hard for you 
 to do for such a friend ? And did Jesus come 
 down from heaven to save sinners from being 
 cast into everlasting burnings; and is he 
 stretching out his hand and entreating you 
 to grasp it, that you may be saved from this 
 dreadful doom, and will you not grasp it and 
 be saved ? And will you not love him much 
 for such kindness — love him to such a de- 
 gree that nothing will be too hard for you 
 to do to glorify him? What, not love that 
 
180 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 Saviour who stands readj to save you from 
 eternal death, wlien you would love your fel- 
 low-men for saving you from a temporal 
 death? 
 
 Oh I that all the blind but knew Ilkn, 
 And would be advised by me ! 
 
 Surely would they hasten to him ; 
 He would cause them all to see. 
 
LETTERS TO CIIILDREX. 181 
 
 NUMBBK XXXV. 
 
 My Deae Children : Perhaps you will 
 be surprised to hear that the cow is a promi- 
 uent object of worship among the Hindoos. 
 Brumha, it is said, created the Brahmins, or 
 priests, and the cow at the same time — ^the 
 former to read their Scriptures, the latter to 
 afford milk for the burnt-offerings. The cow 
 is called the mother of gods. She is worship- 
 ped annually. 'No image is used. The wor- 
 ship is performed in a cow-house, before a jar 
 of water. On tLe thirteenth of Phalgoonee 
 the milkmen paint the horns of their cattle 
 and bathe them in the river. A few persons, 
 who are very strict in their religion, worship the 
 cow daily. After bathing, they throw flowers 
 at her feet and feed her vfith fresh grass, say- 
 ing, "O Bhuguvutee! eat." After this they 
 walk around her, sometimes even to the sev- 
 enth time, making obeisance to her. 
 
 If a man sell his cow, the sacred book 
 16 
 
1§2 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 threatens him witli the torments of hell, for 
 as many thousand years as there are ha,irs on 
 his body. If her owner does not burn cow- 
 dung in the cow-house to raise a smoke and 
 keep off the mosquitoes from biting her, he 
 will descend into the hell of mosquitoes and 
 gad-flies. The holy ashes, which the Hindoos 
 rub on their bodies, is nothing but burnt cow- 
 dung. It may not be amiss to mention here, 
 that cow-dung is gathered and dried for fael, 
 and in this respect is very useful where wood 
 is scarce. 
 
 The black-faced monkey is worshipped by 
 the Hindoos on their birth-day, to obtain long 
 life, which they suppose he can bestow, as he 
 is immortal. In some temples, his image, 
 alone, is set up. Those who worship him are 
 promised every gratification which they can 
 desire. By many he is considered as their 
 guardian god. 
 
 Many years ago the King of Nudeeya spent 
 nearly fifty thousand dollars in marrying two 
 monkeys ; when all the parade common at 
 BLindoo marriages was exhibited. In the 
 marriage procession were seen elephants, cam- 
 els, horses, palanquins, lamps, and flambeaus. 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN'. 183 
 
 The male monkey was fastened in a fine 
 palanquin, having a crown on his head, with 
 men standing by his side to fan him. Then 
 followed singing and dancing-girls in carriages. 
 There was at the same time a grand display of 
 fire-works. Dancing, singing, and every de- 
 gree of low mirth were exhibited at the bride- 
 groom's palace for twelve days together. 
 
 The jackal is worshipped, as a form of the 
 goddess Dnrga, by all who worship the god- 
 desses. The offerings made on such occasions 
 are put on a clean place, and the god is called 
 upon to come and partake of them. In tem- 
 ples dedicated to Durga, a stone image of the 
 jackal is placed on a pedestal, and daily wor- 
 shipped. When a jackal passes a Hindoo, he 
 must bow to it, and if it passes on the left 
 hand, it is considered to be very lucky. Other 
 animals, such as the dog, the buffalo, the rat, 
 and the goat are also worshipped. 
 
 I have previously told you that the Hindoos 
 a,re worshippers of rivers. The following is a 
 prayer which is offered by them to the Granges: 
 goddess ! the owl that lodges in the hollow 
 of a tree on thy banks is exalted beyond mea- 
 sure, while the Emperor whose palace is far 
 
184 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 from thee, tliougli lie possess a million of 
 stately elephants, and may liave the wives of 
 millions of conquered enemies to serve him, is 
 nothing. 
 
 The sacred books of the Hindoos are wor- 
 shipped with the same ceremonies as an idol. 
 They anoint them with perfumes at such times, 
 and adorn them with garlands. At the read- 
 ing of any part of the vades the worshipper 
 thus prays to the book : book ! thou art the 
 goddess of learning. Bestow learning upon us. 
 
 Stones, as I have before told you, are wor- 
 shipped. "Wood is also worshipped. There 
 is what is called The Pedal, a favorite object 
 of worship. It is a rough piece of wood, gen- 
 erally the trunk of a tree, balanced on a pivot, 
 with a head something like a mallet. It is 
 used to separate the rice from the husk, to 
 pound brick-dust for buildings, etc. A person 
 stands at the farthest end, and with his feet 
 presses it down, which raises up the head; 
 after which he lets it fall upon the rice or 
 pieces of brick. 
 
 Several years ago, one of the native kings 
 spent more than a hundred thousand dollars 
 at a festival in honor of this log of wood. 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 185 
 
 NUMBEE XXXYI. 
 
 My Deae Childeen: I have already 
 mentioned tliat tlie Yidas, tlie most sacred 
 of Hindoo books, are worshipped. In these 
 books are laid down forms of religious wor- 
 ship which are designed to injnre or destroy 
 their enemies. When a person wishes to have 
 his enemy destroyed, he goes to a Brahmin or 
 priest, and secures his supposed aid. The 
 Brahmin, before he proceeds to his work, 
 clothes himself with a black garment. He 
 also makes four images of the foe, and clothes 
 them with black garments. He then kindles 
 a sacrificial fire, and after the performance of 
 various ceremonies, he takes pieces of some 
 animal which has been consecrated for this 
 purpose, and throws them into this fire on 
 every occasion; when he makes this burnt- 
 offering, he touches the mouth of the image 
 of this enemy, uttering one or the other of the 
 16* 
 
186 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 forms of prayer wMcli are written in tlie sacred 
 books. Of tliese tlie following are a few: " 
 Agnil" Grod of fire, ^'tliou wlio art tlie moiitli 
 of all tlie gods, do tliou destroy the wisdom of 
 my enemy. O Agni ! fill with distraction the 
 mind of this my enemy. O Agni ! destroy the 
 senses of this my enemy. O Agni! make 
 dumb the mouth of this my enemy. Agni ! 
 fasten with a peg the tongue of this my enemy. 
 Agni! reduce to ashes this my enemy." "0 
 Agni! all the gods are centred in thee. Do 
 thou render propitious the judge who is to 
 decide between me and this enemy. Agni ! 
 make this judge the enemy of my enemy." 
 
 In this manner, he must continue the sacri- 
 fice for fifteen days and nights. In the darkest 
 part of the night, he must place a lamp near 
 the altar, and thus address it: "O lamp! as the 
 insect attracted by thee, falls into the blaze, 
 so let my enemy be overthrown in the seat of 
 judgment." 
 
 How different, my dear children, is the re- 
 ligion of Jesus from the religion of the Hin- 
 doos. No precepts of the Bible teach us that 
 we may injure or destroy our enemies. On 
 the contrary they teach us to love them and 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 187 
 
 do them good. Let me quote for you some 
 of the words spoken bj our Saviour on this 
 point: "You have heard that it hath been 
 said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate 
 thine enemy : but I say unto you, love your 
 enemies, bless them that curse you, do good 
 to them that hate you, and pray for them that 
 despitefuUy use you and persecute you, that 
 ye may be the children of your Father which 
 is in heaven, for he maketh his sun to rise on 
 the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on 
 the just and on the unjust." 
 
 I not long since read of a little girl who 
 was acquainted with her Bible, and who 
 showed that she felt her obligation to obey it. 
 One day she came to her mother much pleased, 
 to show her some fruit which had been given 
 to her. Her mother said that the friend was 
 very kind and had given her much. " Yes," 
 said the child, " very kind; and she gave me 
 more than that, but I have given some away." 
 The mother inquired to whom she had given 
 it. She answered: " I gave it to the girl who 
 pushes me off the path and makes faces at me." 
 On being asked why she had given it to her, 
 one of the reasons which she mentioned for 
 
188 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 having done so, was in tlie following words : 
 " Because I tlionght it wonld make her know 
 that I wished to be kind to her." 
 
 To this narrative it is added : "A tear stood 
 in the eye of little Charles, and he promised 
 his mother to try and do so too." 
 
 One of the yonng Hindoos in Dr. DufP's 
 school in Calcutta, when reading the quotations 
 which I a moment ago made from the Sermon 
 on the Mount, and similar passages, was so 
 struck with the difference between these pre- 
 cepts and the precepts of his shasters, that he 
 could not but exclaim : " Oh ! how beautiful, 
 how divine ! Surely this is the truth — ^this is 
 the truth!" The consequence was, that he 
 could never rest until he had thrown aside his 
 sacred books and his idols, and embraced that 
 Saviour whose precepts appeared to him to be 
 so beautiful. 
 
 And was this heathen so struck with the 
 beauty of the precepts of the Bible, so struck 
 that he had no peace until he gave himself to 
 his Saviour ? And have you ever, my dear 
 children, been struck with the precepts of your 
 Saviour ? so struck with them that you could 
 never rest until you had given up your heart 
 to him? 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 189 
 
 You should be most careful, my dear cMld- 
 ren, never to give place, even for a moment, 
 to a revengeful spirit. Sucli a spirit often 
 leads to the most disastrous consequences in 
 this world, and, I need hardly add, that when 
 unrepented of, it must inevitably be attended 
 mth the loss of the soul for ever in the world 
 to come. One of the most appalling mstances 
 when I ever read of a revengeful spirit is the 
 following : 
 
 " We have all heard," says the Boston Re- 
 corder^ '^ of the Spaniard, who having disarm- 
 ed his enemy, obliged hun, on condition that 
 his life should be spared, to renounce his reli- 
 gion and blaspheme his Eedeemer, and then 
 deliberately plunged the sword into his bosom, 
 saying that it would have been a poor revenge 
 merely to put him to death. He had now 
 insured his eternal damnation." I heard this 
 same anecdote related by the late venerable 
 Dr. Milledoler, at a meeting which I attended 
 about forty years ago in Garden street in the 
 city of New York ; and as this event must 
 have happened at least forty years ago, in all 
 probability the murderer and the murdered 
 have met, long ere this, in the world of woe, 
 
190 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 there to be tormentors of eacL. other for ever 
 and for ever. Oh ! what an awful place would 
 hell be, if filled up only with such spirits as 
 that to which I have now been directing your 
 attention ! 
 
 Allow me, my dear children, to repeat what 
 I have just said — namely, that you will never 
 give pl_a.ce, even for a moment, to a wrongful 
 spirit. 
 
 Eepress the very first risings of it. Alas ! 
 how many have destroyed not only their own 
 happiness but the happiness of others by it. 
 How many have been brought to the gallows 
 by it. How many have by it been lost for 
 ever. Think of the little girl of whom I have 
 just been making mention. How much hap- 
 pier was she, than she would have been had 
 she manifested an unkind spirit towards her 
 who had been treating her badly. But the 
 grand reason why you should not entertain a 
 revengeful spirit is, because Grod has forbidden 
 it. He mahetli Ms sun to rise on the evil as well 
 as on the good. He sendeth rain upon the un- 
 just as well as upon the just. I need hardly 
 add, after all I have said, that the same spirit 
 which dwells in the bosom of Jehovah must 
 dwell in yours also. 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 191 
 
 I should be very glad, if each of jou woiild 
 commit to memory the following two verses 
 and often thirLk: of them. 
 
 Forgive thy foes — not that alone, 
 Their evil deeds with good repay ; 
 !Pill them with joy, who leave thee none, 
 And kiss the hand upraised to slay. 
 
 So does the fragrant sandal bow, 
 In meek forgiveness to its doom; 
 And o'er the axe at every blow 
 Sheds in abundance, rich perfume. 
 
192 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 NUMBEE XXXYII. 
 
 My Deae Childken : The people of India 
 are very superstitious. Let me mention a few 
 instances of their superstition. It is said that 
 no act, however good it may be, if performed 
 on Sunday, will succeed. Some will not eat 
 at all on Sunday, until they have seen a cer- 
 tain bird — ^the bird on which the god Yishnoo 
 rides. If a man rubs oil on his head on Mon- 
 day and bathes, he will commit a sin equal to 
 the sin of destroying a temple of Siva. If he 
 has his hair cut on Tuesday, he will become 
 poor. Even to worship the gods on Wednes- 
 day is bad. If a person takes medicine 
 on Thursday, his sickness will be increased. 
 Should he lend any thing on Friday, he will 
 lose his property. If he should buy a new 
 cloth on Saturday, take it home and keep it 
 in his house, death may be the consequence. 
 Should he die on this day, some other member 
 of the family will die on the following week. 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 193 
 
 If the foundation of a house is laid in June, 
 the destruction of that house will follow. 
 Should a family enter a new house in March, 
 some member of the family will die. If a 
 marriage is celebrated in September, the hus- 
 band and wife will fight each other. Should 
 a vulture alight on a house, some evil will 
 befall those who are living in it. K a crow 
 should strike any person on his head with 
 its wings, some of his relations will die. 
 Should a cat or a snake cross his path, it 
 would be an indication of evil. In the latter 
 case one of his relations will die. If when re- 
 turning home a person should meet him, bear- 
 ing a light, a quarrel will be the result. 
 
 After a person has left his house, should he 
 meet a single Brahmin, or a woman who has 
 had her head shaved, or a washman, or a bar- 
 ber, the business for which he left would not 
 succeed. Or, when going out, should he butt 
 his head against the top of the door-frame, or 
 should any one ask him where he was going, 
 or should he happen to sneeze, he would con- 
 sider these things as hindrances to his going 
 out, and reenter his house. 
 
 Should a son or a daughter be bom on the 
 17 
 
194 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 new moon in April, they will become tMeves. 
 If a person is born under the planet Saturn, 
 Ms wife, son, and friends will be destroyed. 
 
 If a person dreams that a monkey bas bit 
 Mm, be will die in six montbs ; or if be dreams 
 tbat bed-bugs in large numbers are creeping 
 over Mm, to bite Mm, be will die in eigbt 
 days. Should be dream tbat a dog has bitten 
 Mm, be will die in tMee years ; or should he 
 dream that a dead person has appeared to him 
 and spoken to Mm, he will die immediately. 
 If a man has a little head, he will become rich. 
 If he has a large head, he will be poor. If his 
 forehead is wide, he will live a hundred 
 years. K he has a small neck, he will be a 
 murderer. If the second toe is long, he will 
 be a bad man. If a woman has curly hair, she 
 will not prosper. If her nose is long, she will 
 have a good disposition. If her ear is wide, 
 she will tell falsehoods. If she has a mole on 
 her nose, she will be subject to anger ; if on 
 her lips, she will be learned ; if on the eye- 
 brows, she will be cunmng. 
 
 Pages might be filled with things of the 
 same description, but I will mention only one 
 instance more. On a certain night in the 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 195 
 
 month, of Noyember, the people -will not look 
 at the moon. The reason assigned for this is 
 as follows: Once, wlien the elephant-faced 
 god, Pnllian, was dancing before the gods, the 
 moon happening to see him, laughed at him, 
 and told hun that he had a large stomach, an 
 ear like a winnowing-fan, etc. This so en- 
 raged him, that lie cursed her. This curse 
 was inflicted on the night above mentioned. 
 
 How does the wretchedness of a people, both, 
 in reference to the things of this world and of 
 the world to come, show itself where the Bible 
 is unknown. If this blessed book were not an 
 inspired book, if it did no more than remove 
 the temporal miseries of man, how invaluable 
 would it be ; of how much more value then is 
 it, in reference to the removal of their spirit- 
 ual miseries ? 
 
 Oh! why is it, that Christians have not long 
 since sent the Grospel to them ? "Why is it 
 that they do not send it to them now f This 
 is a mystery which we must leave to be un- 
 ravelled at the judgment-seat of the last day. 
 My dear children, you are to stand before that 
 judgment-seat. Shall any of these heathen 
 among whom I dwell, rise up at that awful 
 
196 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 season, stretch out their hands towards you, 
 and say: There stand the children who 
 might have sent us the Bible ; but they did 
 not send it, and now we must be lost, lost 
 
 for ever f 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 197 
 
 NUMBEE XXXYIII. 
 
 My Dear Children : I said sometMng to 
 you, in one of my former letters, about tlie 
 transmigration of souls ; that is, that one 
 soul passes into the body of another person, 
 etc. The following quotations on this sub- 
 ject are from a native work, called Kurmuvi- 
 pakee : 
 
 He that destroys a thing which is to be of- 
 fered up in sacrifice will be punished in hell. 
 Afterwards he will be born again, and remain 
 a fish for three years. Then he will be born 
 a man. He who kills an enemy subdued in 
 war, will be cast into one of the hells; after 
 which he will become a bull, a tiger, a fish, a 
 man. In the last state he will die with the 
 palsy. He who eats good food without giving 
 any of it to others will be punished in hell for 
 thirty thousand years, and then be born a 
 muskrat, then a deer, then a man who prefers 
 17* 
 
198 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 bad to good food. He wlio refuses to give 
 his father and mother the food they desire, 
 will be punished in hell, and afterwards be 
 born a crow, then a man. In the latter birth 
 he will not relish any food. The stealer of a 
 water-pan will be born an alligator, and after- 
 wards a man of monstrous size. He who Mils 
 an animal not designed for sacrifice will, in 
 the form of a turtle, be punished in hell, then 
 be born a bull, and then a man afflicted with 
 an incurable distemper. He who kills a,n 
 animal by holding its breath will, after en- 
 during various torments, be born a snake, then 
 a tiger, a cow, a white heron, a crow, and a 
 man having the asthma. He who steals alms 
 will sink into hell, and afterwards be born a 
 blind man, afflicted with the consumption. 
 
 Manu says that the slayer of a Brahmin 
 must enter, according to the circumstances of 
 his crime, the body of a dog, a boar, an ass, a 
 camel, a bull, a goat, a sheep, a stag, a bird. 
 A priest who has drunk spirituous liquors 
 shall migrate in the form of a worm or insect, 
 a moth, or a fly feeding on filth or some raven- 
 ous animal. He who steals the gold of a 
 priest shall pass a thousand times into the 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 199 
 
 bodies of spiders, of snakes, of cliameleons, of 
 crocodiles, and other water-monsters, or of 
 miscHevous blood-sucking demons. They 
 who taste what ought not to be tasted, will be 
 born maggots or flies. 
 
 One of the Puranas or sacred books de- 
 clares that a person whose soul goes into a 
 being lower than a man passes through eight 
 millions of births among inferior creatures 
 before he can again be born a man. Of these, 
 he remains two millions one hundred thousand 
 births among the immovable pa,rts of creation, 
 as stones, and trees, and so forth ; nine hun- 
 dred thousand births among the watery tribes ; 
 one million of births among insects, worms, 
 etc. ; one million of births among the birds, 
 and three millions among the beasts. 
 
 That the Hindoos beUeve in transmigration 
 often appears from their conversation. When 
 a person is in deep sorrow for the loss of a 
 child, and is addressed by another, the former 
 perhaps will say: " What have I done that I 
 am thus grievously af&icted? When I ex- 
 a,mine my life from my childhood I can not 
 see that I have done any harm. Why, then, 
 does God thus afflict me ? Why did he give 
 
200 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 me a child ? "Why did lie take it awaj ?" 
 Slie next vents lier grief in a torrent of abuse 
 upon Yama, tlie king of the different hells. 
 " Yama ! what did I do to thee ? I am sure 
 I never injured thee. Thou knowest that I 
 had none else. I am in this world like a 
 blind creature. The child was my staff, and 
 thou hast taken him away. thou wicked 
 Yama ! I will put a wisp of fire in thy face. 
 I will flay the broom." Another female now 
 joins her and says : " sister I What ! is your 
 child gone? Ah! ah! ah! that vile Yama ! 
 He is full of injustice. If I could see him I 
 would cut him in a thousand pieces." An- 
 other person comes in and says : " "Why do you 
 blame Yama ? "What fault has he done ? In 
 former births you must have committed many 
 crimes, otherwise I can not see why you should 
 suffer in this dreadful manner. You have 
 done nothing but works of merit in this birth. 
 You must have injured some one's child in a 
 former birth, and now yours is taken away 
 from you." 
 
 If a person dies an untimely death, this is 
 attributed to crimes committed in a former 
 state of existence. A person who is born 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN'.. 201 
 
 blind is supposed to have destroyed tlie eyes 
 of some one in a former birtli. Of sncli an 
 one tlie people will say : " Ah ! no doubt that 
 man was guilty in a former birth of such and 
 such a crime, and now the consequences ap- 
 pear in his present state." 
 
 If persons are suddenly prosperous, fre- 
 quently remarks are made about them as to 
 their merits in a former birth. " He must," 
 they say, "have performed acts of extraordi- 
 nary merit in former births, or he could not 
 have so suddenly risen to such a state of afflu- 
 ence." 
 
 "When the Hindoos see animals used cruel- 
 ly, especially cows, they exclaim : " Ah ! how 
 many sins must that creature have committed 
 in a former birth!" When they see a dog 
 riding with his master in a palanquin, they 
 say : " True, thou art born a dog, but some 
 good works have made thy fate tolerable." 
 
202 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 NUMBEE XXXIX. 
 
 My Dear Children: Tlie Hindoos fre- 
 quently consult astrologers, or persons who 
 profess to tell them what will happen here- 
 after &om the appearances and situation of the 
 stars. Of these astrologers they ask such ques- 
 tions as the following : " Will an article which 
 has been bought for sale produce profit or 
 not ?" " Will a lawsuit be decided in a per- 
 son's fayor or not ?" " Will a person be pros- 
 perous or not in a new house which he is 
 building?" "Will a person's death happen 
 in a holy place or not ?" " Will a person 
 have a long or short life ?" etc. 
 
 This country also has its witches, whose 
 supposed power is much dreaded. They gen- 
 erally are old women. Amongst other things, 
 it is said that while sitting near another they 
 are able, imperceptibly, to draw the blood out 
 of his body, and by a look to make a person 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 203 
 
 mad. If a witch shakes lier hair in a field at 
 night, it is said that a miniber of witches im- 
 mediately assemble and dance, and play, and 
 skip about as long as they choose, and that 
 if any one comes within the magic circle 
 he is snre to fall a victim to their power. 
 When a person falls suddenly sick, or is seized 
 with some new disorder, they impute their ill- 
 ness to witchcraft. 
 
 The Hindoos have the strongest faith in en- 
 chantments or incantations. There is one in- 
 cantation which, it is said, empowers an arrow 
 shot into a tree to make it wither immediately. 
 Many women wear written incantations, in 
 order to obtain particular blessings. They 
 wear these charms on their arms, or around 
 their necks, or in their hair, inclosed in small 
 gold or brass boxes. Incantations are repeat- 
 ed when the people retire to rest ; when they 
 rise up ; when they set their feet on the ground ; 
 when they clean their teeth ; when they eat ; 
 when it thunders ; when their heads ache ; 
 when they put on new clothes ; when they 
 want to kill or injure a supposed enemy ; when 
 they wish to cure the scab in sheep. If dis- 
 eases are not cured by incantations, and the 
 
204 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 person dies, thej saj that tlie words of tTie in- 
 cantation were pronounced incorrectly, or a 
 word was left out. 
 
 Men wlio keep snakes and exliibit tliem to 
 the public, pretend, bj incantation, to destroy 
 the power of poison, after they have permitted 
 them to bite them. ISTotwithstanding these 
 incantations, however, sometimes the virus 
 spreads through their veins, and the poor crea- 
 tures, writhing in agony, are hurried into 
 eternity. 
 
 After having read the contents of the above, 
 and many of my preceding pages, perhaps 
 you are ready to exclaim. Is it possible that 
 the Hindoos can be guilty of such folly as to 
 believe what has been stated? But their folly, 
 my dear children, will scarcely bear a com- 
 parison with yours, so long as you withhold 
 your affections from Christ. You are lost in 
 astonishment at their folly. How must all 
 holy beings be lost in astonishment at yours ! 
 Especially what must be the feelings of the 
 angelic host when they see you as totally re- 
 gardless of the Saviour as if he had never 
 come into this world on the errand of mercy — 
 as totally neglectful of securing an interest in 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 205 
 
 him as if there were no hell, no lake of fire 
 and brimstone into which yon are momently 
 in danger of falling ! And when those holy 
 beings also see the efforts which, from time to 
 time, are put forth for your salvation; but 
 which are put forth in vain — especially when 
 they see the ministers of the Grospel running, 
 as it were, between you and the awful abyss 
 which is before you, and hear how earnestly 
 they entreat you not to destroy yourselves, 
 but entreat you to no purpose ; to what a height 
 must their wonder and astonishment rise! 
 And if you, over whom so many even of the 
 tears of the Eedeemer have been shed, should 
 eventually be lost, how mysterious will your 
 conduct appear to yourselves ! When the 
 prison of despair shall have closed its doors 
 upon you, and when an eternity will be given 
 to you for reflection, with what horror will 
 you look back upon the maddening course 
 which you pursued while in this world! 
 How overwhelmingly awful will the thought 
 be, that you waded down to destruction, as it 
 were, through the very blood of the Son of 
 Grod! Ah! it is this thought — the thought 
 that you dipped your feet in the blood of the 
 18 
 
206 
 
 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 Lamb, wliicli will then tear tlie caul of your 
 heart in pieces, and it is this thought which 
 will for ever be furnishing new food to the 
 worm which dieth not, and which will be add- 
 ing fresh fuel to the fire which is never to 
 be quenched. Alas ! alas 1 that it should be 
 so. "0 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often would 
 I have gathered thy children together, even as 
 a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, 
 and ye would not !" 
 
 The Son of Grod in tears! What a sight! 
 Oh I methinhs that if any thing could melt your 
 hearts, it would be such a sight as this. But 
 even this makes no impression. Alas ! what 
 is man without the influences of the Holy 
 Spirit? 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 207 
 
 N U MB E E XL. 
 
 My Dear Children : The Hindoos liave 
 many law-books. Let me give you some 
 quotations from one or more of them : If a 
 man speak reproachfully of a magistrate, the 
 latter is to cut out his tongue and banish him. 
 A Brahmin, whatever his crime may be, is 
 not to be put to death. The fines and punish- 
 ments for the high-caste natives are much less 
 than for persons of low caste, the Brahmin 
 being lightly dealt with, while the Sudra 
 must suffer heavily for the slightest offense 
 against a Brahmin. This the following quo- 
 tations will show : If a man deprive another 
 of life, he shall suffer death ; but if a Brah- 
 min does this, he shaU be fined. For striking 
 a Brahmm, a Sudra's hand is to be cut off; for 
 speaking against him, his tongue is to be cut 
 out ; for spitting upon him, his lips are to be 
 cut off. A man of high caste may strike one 
 
208 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 of low caste, if lie offends Mm, without being 
 exposed to pimislinient. 
 
 For killing a goat, a horse, or a camel, it is 
 directed tliat one hand and one foot of the 
 offender shall be cut off. If a person show a 
 disposition to sell by false weights, or use 
 deceit in selling his goods, his ear, nose, and 
 hand must be cut off. False coiners must 
 have the hand, the nose, and the teeth broken. 
 The house-breaker must have both of his 
 hands cut off, and be otherwise punished. 
 The highway robber is to be strangled. The 
 stealer of a man of high caste is to be roasted 
 alive ; of a woman of middling caste, to have 
 both his hands and feet cut off, and to be cast 
 out into a highway where four roads meet ; 
 of a man of low caste, he is to be fined. The 
 stealer of an elephant or a horse, in time of 
 war, is to be put to death ; if in time of peace, 
 a hand and a foot must be cut off. For steal- 
 ing a goat or a sheep, a hand is to be cut off. 
 For stealing a weasel or cat, half of the foot 
 is to be cut off. A thief, when caught in 
 breaking through an inclosure, is, for the first 
 offense, to have a finger cut off; for the se- 
 cond, his hand and foot ; for the third, he is 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 209 
 
 to be put to death. For stealing flowers, 
 fruit, wood, or grass, from a Bralimin, tlie 
 hand is to be cut off. A Bralimin, for com- 
 mitting a robbery, if lie has been accustomed 
 to offer a burnt sacrifice daily, is to have his 
 head shaved, which is equivalent to the loss 
 of caste. If a man sets fire to a granary, he 
 must be burnt alive. Should a Brahmin eat 
 garlic or onions, he is to be banished from his 
 country. If a Sudra, or low-caste man, read 
 the Yedas, or Sacred Scriptures, he must have 
 boiling oil poured into his throat ; if he hears 
 them read, he must have it poured into his 
 ears ; if he commits them to memory, he is to 
 be put to death. 
 
 If a man causes a Brahmin to drink wine, 
 he is to be put to death. A woman who mur- \ 
 ders her husband or child, must have her ears, 
 nose, hands, and lips cut off, and must then be 
 devoured by dogs. 
 
 A bad wife is to be made a slave or a cook 
 to some idol. A woman is not allowed to go 
 out of the house without the consent of her 
 husband. She must not talk with a stranger, 
 nor laugh without a veil over her face. She 
 must not swallow any thing but medicine till 
 18^ 
 
210 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 she sliall have served others. She must not 
 go to the house of a stranger, nor stand at 
 the door, nor look out at the window. She 
 may give her body to be burnt with the corpse 
 of her husband. 
 
 I have now given you a specimen of Hin- 
 doo law. May I not remind you, my dear 
 children, of a law of a much more awful 
 nature than any to which I have now been 
 directing your attention ? I allude to the law 
 which was given on Sinai's mount — a law by 
 which you are condemned to be cast into a 
 burning, fiery furnace, there to be tormented 
 day and night for ever. But, though thus 
 condemned, there is a Friend through whoso 
 merits and intercession you may be pardoned. 
 And who is this Friend ? Jesus. And do 
 not your very hearts leap for joy that you 
 have such a Friend? And if you have 
 hitherto slighted this your best Friend, will 
 you slight him any more ! Forbid it, ye 
 great drops of blood which flowed down from 
 the hands, and feet, and side of the Eedeemer ! 
 But perhaps you will continue to slight him. 
 Perhaps you will think it well to put off the 
 consideration of this momentous subject to a 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 211 
 
 more convenient time. If sucli a thoiiglit is 
 passing through your minds, cast it out at 
 once. Oh! cast it out, I entreat you. Ko 
 more harbor it for a moment than you would 
 harbor the deadly adder in your bosoms. 
 Kemember that a more convenient season may 
 never arrive. You may, for aught you know, 
 die to-day. But even should you live for many 
 years to come, you have no reason to believe 
 that you will have as convenient a season as at 
 present. Your hearts will grow harder and 
 harder, and of course you will find it more 
 and more difficult to give up all for the Saviour. 
 Look at the aged. Are they more ready to 
 seek Him, after having spent fifty or sixty 
 years in sin, than they were when young? 
 The reverse is, in general, the case. Besides, 
 you do not know that God will continue to 
 hold out any encouragement for you to come 
 to him after this very moment. " My Spirit," 
 he declares, "shall not always strive with 
 man." Many are the sad monuments of his 
 desertion. Let me give an instance for your 
 warning : 
 
 " I was once called," says a venerable clergy- 
 man, " to visit a young lady who was said to 
 
212 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 he in despair. She had, at some time previous, 
 been serious, and had, as it was hoped, reso- 
 lutely set her face Zionward. In an evil hour 
 some of her associates, gay, pleasure-loving 
 young ladies, called on her to accompany 
 them to a ball. She refused to go. The oc- 
 casion, the company, the parade, and gayety 
 were all utterly dissonant with her present 
 feelings. With characteristic levity and 
 thoughtlessness, they urged her, ridiculed her 
 Methodism, railed at the cant and hypocrisy 
 of her spiritual guides, and finally so far pre- 
 vailed that, with a desperate effort to shake off 
 her convictions, and regain her former carnal 
 security, she exclaimed : ' Well^ I will go if I 
 am damned for it /' Grod took her at her word. 
 The blessed Spirit immediately withdrew his 
 influences, and instead of the anxious sigh and 
 longing desire to be freed from the body of 
 sin and of death, succeeded by turns the calm- 
 ness and horrors of despair. The wretched 
 victim knew that the Spirit had taken his 
 final leave. No compunction for sin, no tears 
 of penitence, no inquiries after God, no eager 
 seeking of the place where Christians love to 
 meet now occupied the tedious hours. Instead 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 213 
 
 of the bloom and freslmess of healtli there 
 came the paleness and haggardness of decay. 
 The wan and sunken cheek, the ghastly, glar- 
 ing eye, the emaciated limb — the sure precur- 
 sors of approaching dissolution — were there. 
 The caresses of friends, the suggestions of 
 affection all were unheeded. The consolations 
 of piety — ^the last resource of the miserable — 
 were to her but the bitterness of death. In 
 this state of mind I was called to visit her. 
 When I entered the room where she was, and 
 beheld her, pale and emaciated, and reflected 
 that the ravages of her form without but faint- 
 ly shadowed forth the wreck and desolation 
 within, I was almost overpowered. Never 
 had I conceived so vivid an idea of the woe 
 and misery of those who had ' quenched the 
 Spirit.' I proposed prayer. The word threw 
 her into an agony. She utterly refused. No 
 entreaties of friends, no arguments drawn from 
 the love of Grod — from the fullness and free- 
 ness of atoning blood — oould prevail to shake 
 her resolution. I left her without having been 
 able to find a single avenue to her heart, or to 
 dart one ray of comfort into that dark bosom 
 which, to all human view, was soon to be en- 
 
214 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 veloped in the blackness of darkness for ever. 
 Never sliall I forget the dreadful expression 
 of that ghastly coTintenance, the tones of that 
 despairing voice. The impression is as vivid 
 as though it had been but yesterday. Oh ! that 
 all the young, gay, thoughtless ones who 
 stifle the convictions of conscience and repress 
 the rising sigh ; who dance along on the brink 
 of utter reprobation and despair, would read 
 and lay to heart the warning which the last 
 hours and death of this young lady are calcu- 
 lated so forcibly to give." 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 215 
 
 I^UMBBE XL I. 
 
 My Dear Childrejst: As I have spoken 
 of tlie law-books of tlie Hindoos, it maj le 
 well to say a word or two relative to their 
 medical department. The country abounds 
 with physicians, and the books which treat of 
 medicine are numerous. Many of the valu- 
 able medicines, such as camphor, musk, etc., 
 are used by Hindoo physicians, and some 
 compounds are made which I think that you 
 would not be much disposed to swallow. 
 Take, for instance, a medicine prepared from 
 the poison of the cobra capella. It is thus 
 described : Having seized one of these snakes 
 and extracted the poison to the amount of 
 half a tola, mix and boil it in forty pounds of 
 milk and a quantity of curds, and let it remain 
 thus for two days, after which it must be 
 churned into butter. JSText, boiling the butter, 
 mix it with nutmegs, mace, cloves, and the 
 
^16 LETTERS TO CHILDREN". 
 
 roots of several trees. After they liave been 
 well boiled together, pound tlie whole very 
 small, mix it with water and make it up into 
 pills as small as mustard-seeds. Wlien a per- 
 son is apparently in dying circumstances tMs 
 medicine is administered, mixed in cocoa-nut- 
 water. First, tlie patient must take a single 
 pill ; and if there be no apparent relief, a se- 
 cond may be given. A medicine of the same 
 poison is prepared as follows : The snake is to 
 be seized and a string tied round its neck till 
 the mouth opens, after which some nu.tmegs, 
 cloves, mace, and other spices must be thrown 
 into its mouth, which is then to be closed 
 again and the snake placed in an earthen pan 
 and covered up closely. The pan is next to 
 be placed on the fire and kept there till the 
 23oison is completely absorbed in the spices, 
 which are then to be taken out of the mouth 
 and dried ; and after the experiment of their 
 efficacy on some animal, are to be pounded 
 and given to the patient as snuff or in small 
 pills. 
 
 These poisons are administered when all 
 other remedies fail, and when there is but ht- 
 tle hope of recovery. The most extraordi- 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDPvEN. 217 
 
 nary cures, it is said, have been effected by 
 them. 
 
 But I have said enough on this subject, and 
 would observe that the Hindoos do not de- 
 pend altogether on their physicians or medi- 
 cine for the cure of their diseases. They 
 repeat the names of their gods, offer certain 
 leaves to Yishnoo, repeat many charms, or 
 wear them after they have been written on " 
 the bark of a tree and inclosed in small cases 
 of copper, silver, gold, etc. 
 
 I have spoken above of the cobra capella. 
 This is not the most poisonous snake which we 
 have in India. The bite of the beaver-snake 
 is much more venomous. It is said that it 
 proves fatal in half a minute. 
 
 When we look at the various evils to which 
 we are- exposed in this world, how much have 
 we to remind us of sin, that poison which 
 has diffused itself through our whole hearts, 
 and which, imless counteracted, will prove to 
 be as destructive to our souls as is the virus 
 of the cobra capella or beaver-snake to our 
 bodies ! For the bite of these snakes there is 
 often, at least, no remedy. But, blessed be 
 Grod, there is a remedy for the poison of sin, 
 19 
 
218 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 and tM§ remedy, as you have often Leard, my 
 dear cMldren, is tlie blood, tlie precious blood 
 of Jesus. Of tMs you must make use or you 
 must perisli. And have you made use of it ? 
 Perhaps some of you have done so. Many of 
 you, however, I fear, have not. And is this 
 the case ? Are your sins not washed away by 
 the blood of the Lamb ? Then how awful is 
 your situation I You are liable, every mo- 
 ment, to perish. Perhaps you will perish; 
 and I have no reason to think otherwise, if I 
 am to judge from your present conduct. In a 
 number of my past letters I have set before 
 you life and death — I have told you of the 
 love of a dying and risen Saviour — I have 
 told you that you must come to him or perish ; 
 but no impression has been made on your 
 minds. And what reason have I to suppose 
 that what I am now saying will do you any 
 good ? Perhaps I shall be the means of your 
 greater condemnation in the world to come — 
 in the world of woe. Alas ! alas ! how dread- 
 ful will it be if such should be the case! 
 Peradventure, hewever, that you may yet ob- 
 tain eternal life; let me again direct your 
 attention to the Saviour. He is still knock- 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 219 
 
 ing at the doors of your hearts, and pleading 
 with yon to open them, that he may come in 
 to you — that you may sup with him and he 
 with you. 
 
 Behold a stranger at the door ! 
 He gently knocks, has knocked before ; 
 He's waited long, is waiting still ; 
 Tou treat no other friend so ill. 
 
 lovely attitude I he stands 
 "With melting heart and loaded hands. 
 matchless kindness ! and he shows 
 This matchless kindness to his foes. 
 
 But will He prove a friend indeed ? 
 He will, the very friend you need ; 
 The Friend of sinners — yes, 'tis he 
 "With garments dyed on Calvary. 
 
 Eise, touched witli gratitude divine, 
 Turn out his enemy and thine, 
 That soul-destroying monster, sin, 
 And let the heavenly Stranger in. 
 
 Admit him ere his anger burn, 
 His feet, departed, ne'er return ; 
 Admit him, or the hour's at hand 
 You'll at his door rejected stand. 
 
 Before I conclude, will you allow me, my 
 dear children, to beg one thing of you ? This 
 is, that you will commit the above hymn to 
 memory. 
 
220 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 NUMBER XLII. 
 
 My Dear Children : Proverbial sayings 
 are common in tlie Engiisli language. It is 
 common to say of a person, He is as strong as 
 a lion — he is as cunning as a fox. K we see 
 a little cliild witli very red clieeks, we say that 
 his cheeks are like roses. The Hindoos have 
 many proverbial sayings. Let me mention a 
 few of them. ""What beautiful hair!" they 
 will say. " It hangs down like a skein of silk ; 
 it is black as darkness itself, shining as oil." 
 The eyes are compared to those of a deer — ^to 
 a water-lily. The face is compared to the moon ; 
 the teeth to the seeds of a pomegranate, to 
 pepper-corns, to a row of pearls. A woman 
 walks elegantly when her gait is like that of a 
 goose or an elephant. When a beautiful child 
 is seen sitting on the knee of its mother, they 
 say: "Ah! see that water-lily bud." An infant 
 of a very dark complexion is called a yomig 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 221 
 
 crow. A woman of a wicked disposition is 
 compared to tlie edge of a razor. An ugly and 
 filthy woman is called a will-o'-tlie-wisp. Tlie 
 liead of a woman with rough hair is compared 
 to the crow's nest ; a scold to the tempest, or 
 to a shower of bullets. 
 
 When an ugly man is married to a beautiful 
 female, they say: "Ah! they have given the 
 moon to be devoured by the dragon — ^the ripe 
 mango to the crow." A person's hair, when 
 tied up like a pigtail, is compared to the tail 
 of a lizard. A cruel person is compared to 
 the executioner ; a hypocrite to the sly padd}^- 
 bird watching its prey ; a cunning person to 
 the jackal. Selfish persons are compared to 
 the crows, which, though they eat every kind 
 of flesh, will not permit other birds to devour 
 that of the crow. A mischievous person is 
 compared to the saw with which the ornament- 
 makers cut their shells, and which cuts ascend- 
 ing and descending. Hope in a faithless per- 
 son is like a bag of sand. When a person 
 possessed of many faults exposes the faults of 
 another, the Hindoos say they are like the 
 sieve blaming the needle for having a hole in 
 19^ 
 
222 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 it, or like a musk-rat's ckarging a common rat 
 with giving out an offensive smell. 
 
 When a person wishes to make a strong con- 
 trast between two things, he says: "These 
 things are no more ahke than the lion and the 
 jackal, than the sun and the fire-fly, than the 
 elepliant and the fly." 
 
 A person who can leap to a great distance 
 is compared to the deer ; he who limps, to the 
 frog ; a man who can run swiftly, to the wind, 
 to an arrow. 
 
 "When a handsome, wise, and well-dressed 
 person is seen sitting in company, one spectator 
 says to another: "He looks like one of the 
 gods." A very rich and fortunate person is 
 called Indree, the king of the gods ; and they 
 add that his fame spreads a light like that of 
 the moon, and that it is as fragrant as the sweet- 
 est spice.s. He who protects orphans with a 
 fatherly care is said to cover them with his 
 wings. 
 
 When two or three persons, sitting together, 
 make a great noise, they say the market is 
 begun. A person who troubles another by 
 incessant applications is compared to a barking 
 jackal following a tiger, or to a tick that lays 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 223 
 
 liolcl of the flesh, and can not be torn away. 
 A greedy person is compared to the leech. A 
 person when engaged in a perplexing concern, 
 says, I find no end to this unravelled thread. 
 To a man surrounded with a large family, it is 
 sometimes said : '' You live in a market." 
 When a friend who has long been absent is 
 addressed, they say : " You are lil^e the flowers 
 of the young fig-tree, invisible." A person 
 who secretly seeks to injure another is said to 
 act like the snake which enters the hole of a 
 rat. 
 
224 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 JSrUMBER XLIII. 
 
 My .Dear Children : When I was in 
 America, a few years ago, I preached to many 
 thonsands of children and young persons. 
 The following is a quotation from a sermon 
 which I preached while there : " I wish to say 
 one word to you, my dear little girls especially, 
 to make you thankful that you were born in a 
 Christian land. In some parts of India little 
 girls are put to death immediately after they 
 are born. There is a sect called the Jaters, 
 who make it a point to murder most of their 
 female infants. Among the ISTairs in Mulwa, 
 in Oude, and the northern proyinces^ it is im- 
 possible to calculate how many female infants 
 have been put to death. A gentleman of the 
 Bengal service was sent by the government 
 through the northern and independent king- 
 doms to find ou.t the number. In the pro- 
 vinces through which he passed, the ]3rincipal 
 
\ LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 225 
 
 cHefs acknowledged that they had murdered 
 many of their own children, and that they 
 knew their neighbors had destroyed many of 
 theirs, and that this rite wa,s rooted in the 
 affections of the people. In one village there 
 were fifty-one boys, but only fourteen girls. 
 In a second, sixty boys, and only fourteen 
 girls. In a third, seventy-nine boys, and only 
 twelve girls. In a fourth, ten boys, and only 
 two girls. In a fifth, fifty-eight boys, and only 
 four girls. In a sixth, twenty-two boys, and 
 no girls. 
 
 " I must tell you a story which will make 
 you feel very sorry for the little girls of India. 
 Some time ago the wife of a Eajah, or king, 
 had a little daughter. The father ordered it 
 to be put to death immediately after it was 
 born. Had it been a son he would have taken 
 gTcat care of it. A second, a third, a fourth, 
 a fifth little daughter was born. All of them 
 were murdered by the command of the father. 
 After the sixth little daughter was born the 
 mother's heart yearned over it. 'I can not 
 part with it,' said she. ' I will have it taken 
 away and hid, so that the King may know 
 nothing about it.' He thought that it had been 
 
226 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 put to death, like the rest. The poor mother 
 never dared to send for her little girl. She 
 never saw h.er again, but died some time after. 
 " Many of the little girls of India are very 
 pi:etty. They have dark eyes, and sweet, ex- 
 pressive countenances. This little child grew 
 up a very beautiful girl ; and when she was 
 eleven years old some of her relatives ventured 
 to bring her to lier father. They thought that 
 h.e would be struck with the sight of his sweet 
 child, and that he would love her for the sake 
 of the mother who h.ad died. The little gnl 
 fell at his feet and clasped his knees, and 
 looked up in his face and said, ' My father.' 
 And what do you think the father did? Do 
 you think that he took her up in his arms and 
 kissed her ? l^o ; he seized lier by the hair 
 of the head, and drew his sword from its belt, 
 and with a single blow took ofP her head." 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 227 
 
 JSTUMBEE XLIY. 
 
 • 
 My Dear Childeen : The Hindoos are a 
 very deceitful people. Let me give you an 
 instance of their deception : A late head-ca- 
 techist of one of my' missionary brethren was, 
 before his conversion, the priest of a temple. 
 A man, from whom abont one thousand rupees' 
 worth of jewels and similar things had been 
 stolen, came to this priest and promised to re- 
 ward him well if he would detect the thief and 
 secure to him the restoration of his property. 
 The priest promised to comply with his wishes, 
 and in order to effect his purpose he had drums 
 beaten through the village, and proclaimed 
 that at a certain time he would hold a meeting 
 and detect the thief. At the appointed time a 
 large number of people assembled, the priest 
 appearing in the midst of them with a cocoa-nut 
 bound round with saffron cords. He then 
 told them that if, after putting down the cocoa 
 
228 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 nut, it should move of its own accord towards 
 him, they might know that he would be able, 
 certainly, to detect the thief; and added that, 
 after it had thus moved, it wonld pursue the 
 offender, and follow him until it wonld break 
 his head. He then performed certain ceremo- 
 nies calculated to awaken superstitious feelings 
 in the minds of the people, and laid down the 
 cocoa-nut at a little distance from him. To the 
 great amazement of all present, it began to 
 move towards the priest, and continued to 
 move untn it reached his feet. This being 
 done, he told the people that they might con- 
 clude from what they had seen that the cocoa- 
 nut would follow the thief until it would break 
 liis head. He consented, however, to give him 
 a little grace — to spare his life until the next 
 day ; adding his advice, that the thief, who- 
 ever he might be, had better come to him 
 privately and tell him where the property 
 was. In the dead of the night a tap was 
 heard at the door of the priest ; the thief pre- 
 sented himself, and d.elivered up the property. 
 The priest rewarded the thief for his prompt- 
 ness, and received a present from the owner 
 of the property. After this man was convert- 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 229 
 
 cd, he was asked how he contrived to make 
 the cocoa-nut move towards him. "Why, sir," 
 said he, "if you will carefully divide a cocoa- 
 nut, scoop out the kernel from one half of it, 
 inclose a strong and lively rat, put the parts 
 of the cocoa-nut together, and bind the whole 
 with saffron cords to prevent the crack being 
 seen, and then place it on a declivity previous- 
 ly prepared ; it is clear, that if you place your- 
 self at the foot of this declivity, the rat will 
 twirl the cocoa-nut and cause it to descend un- 
 til it reaches your feet." 
 
 Let me mention another instance of the de- 
 ception of the Hindoos : A man was employed 
 by a king to make an image of gold for him. 
 A room was set apart to which he daily resorted 
 to carry on his work. Of course he was care- 
 fully watched when going in and coming out, 
 that he should not take in any of the inferior 
 metals to mix with the gold, and that he 
 should not bring out any of the gold with him. 
 Every night, after going home, he would make 
 just as much of an image of brass, as he made 
 of the image of gold during the day. In due 
 time both images were completed. His object 
 in making the image of brass was, of course, 
 20 
 
230 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 to cliange it for the image of gold, and Ids 
 purposes were effected in tlie following man- 
 ner : He represented to tlie king that, as lie 
 had made the idol for him, he should have the 
 honor of giving it its first bathing. The king 
 assented to his proposal. Accordingly, the 
 goldsmith went down to the river, and, carry- 
 ing it out to a particular spot, where he had 
 previously deposited his brass image, he pro- 
 ceeded to bathe it, and while thus bathing it 
 he let it sink to the bottom. He then took 
 up his brass image and bore it away to the 
 king. Of course, in due time he returned to 
 the river and secured the gold image for him- 
 self The fraud, I believe, was not not dis- 
 covered until some time afterwards. 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 231 
 
 ISrUMBEK XLY. 
 
 My Dear Childeen : I must give jou a 
 few more quotations from the sermon to wMcIl 
 I alluded in one of my recent letters. The 
 Tliugs, or Phansiagars, are a lawless race of 
 the Hindoos, who obtain their living by mur- 
 der. To Karle thej ascribe their origin, their 
 laws, and their observances. They say that 
 the goddess plucked one of the fangs from her 
 celestial jaw, and gave it to them, saying that 
 they might use it as a pickaxe, which vf ould 
 never wear out. She then opened her side 
 and pulled out one of her ribs, which she 
 • gave them for a knife, whose edge nothing 
 could blunt. Having done this, she stooped 
 down, tore off the hem of her garment, and 
 gave it to them for a noose, which would never 
 fail to strangle every person about whose throat 
 it should be cast. Thus you see that their 
 religion sanctions the blackest of crimes. 
 These Thugs, or Phansiagars, are scattered 
 
232 . LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 all over India, and murder immense numbers 
 of people, bj casting the noose, of wMcli I just 
 told you, over tbeir beads, and strangling 
 tbem. This thej do for the purpose of getting 
 their money. When they rob, they always 
 commit murder. Sometimes a gang consists 
 of sixty or seventy persons. Those whom 
 they rob are travellers, whom they fall in with 
 on the road. Not unfrequently, two or three 
 of a gang will take up theu- station in a choultry^ 
 or rest-housC; where the traveller stops to rest 
 at night; and while he sleeps they rouse him, 
 and cast the noose over his head, and strangle 
 him. Grenerally, they attack single travellers. 
 I have read, however, of one instance, where 
 forty-two persons were destroyed by them at 
 one time. If a dog accompanies those whom 
 they strangle, they always destroy it, lest the 
 faithful creature should lead to the discovery 
 of the grave of his master. They think it a 
 meritorious act to give a part of the plunder 
 they obtain to their goddess. If they fail in 
 putting a person to death in what they think 
 is the proper manner, they think that they 
 have committed an ofPense against her, and 
 make an offering to appease her. 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 233 
 
 These people never destroy tlie very small 
 cMldreii of those whom they murder. They 
 take care of them, and bring them tip to theu^ 
 dreadfal profession. These children are placed 
 under the care of tutors, in order that they 
 may instruct them skillfully to murder their 
 fellow-men. By these instructors the pupil is 
 taught that it is just as proper to kill a man as 
 it is to kill a snake which lies in his path, 
 ready to bite him as he passes. He is not per- 
 mitted at first to see the murders, but merely a 
 dead body, his mind being gradually prepared 
 for the sight. After Ihis, the dreadful secret 
 of his trade is, by degrees, told him. When 
 he expresses a wish to be engaged in this hor- 
 rid business, they tell him all about it. In 
 the mean time he is allowed a small part of 
 the plunder, in order that his desire to commit 
 these murders may be increased, as it is onlj 
 by murder that this plunder is obtained. He 
 is allowed, from time to time, to assist in some 
 things, while the murder is taking place, or 
 allowed to be present to see how the business 
 is managed. It is not, however, until he be- 
 comes a man that he is allowed to do the 
 dreadful deed. To attain this privilege, and 
 20"^ 
 
234 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 to prepare liimself for it, lie usually devotes 
 eiglit or ten years. Before lie can commit a 
 murder, his tutor must present him with a 
 noose. This sets him loose upon the world as 
 a licensed murderer. 
 
 Although these plunderers are usually men, 
 women occasionally strangle people. They 
 sometimes select a handsome girl, whom they 
 place in the way by which the traveller goes, 
 where, by her beauty, or by some false story 
 of distress, she betrays him to almost certain 
 death. Should he be on horseback, she will 
 induce him to take her up behind him ; after 
 which, when an opportunity offers, she throws 
 the noose over his head, leaps from the horse, 
 drags him to the ground, and strangles him. 
 Occasionally her purposes are defeated, as the 
 following case will show : It happened that 
 a horseman belonging to Coorg, in the Madras 
 presidency, was passing by a spot where one 
 of these interesting-looking girls was. She 
 told him a piteous story of having been robbed 
 and badly treated, and begged his help in her 
 distress. He felt sorry for her, and. offered to 
 take her behind him on his horse, and thus 
 assist her a few miles on her journey. She 
 
LETTERS TO CIIILDREIs^. 235 
 
 mounted, and after having engaged tlie travel- 
 ler in conversation, slie suddenly passed tlie 
 noose over his head, and, drawing it with all 
 her might, endeavored to pull him from his 
 saddle. At this moment a number of persons 
 started from the thicket and surrounded hiqi. 
 Being a man of great strength, he defeated the 
 designs of the robbers. The murderess then 
 slipped from the horse ; but the Coorg, stiak- 
 ing his heels into the horse's side, caused it to 
 throw out its hind legs with great violence. 
 The girl was stricken to the ground ; she at 
 the same time let go the cord. He then drew 
 his sword, and, cutting his way through the 
 robbers, effected his escape. He wounded 
 two of them severely. These men were, 
 shortly after, taken, and through their means 
 twelve others fell into the hands of the judi- 
 cial of&cers of the king of Coorg, including 
 the girl who attempted the murder. They 
 were all put to death. 
 
 I am happy to tell you that the British au- 
 thorities have made the most vigorous efforts 
 to root out these monsters in human shape, 
 and have succeeded, to a good degree, at least, 
 in breaking up their gangs. 
 
236 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 NUMBEE XLYI. 
 
 My Dear CniLDREisr : As tlie lieatlieii have 
 no ^ Bible to direct tliem, tliej liave devised 
 various means by whicli they expect to obtain 
 the favor of their gods and get to heaven. I 
 will mention some of these. 
 
 Some burn a lamp in a temple. They think 
 that this is a very meritorious act. Some roll 
 on the ground after the god, as he is carried 
 in a great car or chariot, around the temple. 
 It is customary for the people to build these 
 very high, and cover them with beautiful 
 cloths. They also tie the cocoa-nut blossom 
 and plaintain-tree within them, and attach 
 great ropes to them. When they are ready to 
 drag these cars or chariots, they bring their 
 gods of gold or of brass from the temples and 
 place them on them. Then one, two, three, 
 six, nine hundred, and even a thousand per- 
 sons, when the cars are very large, catch hold 
 
HOOK-SWINGING. 
 
 Page 287. 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 237 
 
 of these ropes and drag tlieni around the tem- 
 ple. While they are doing this, many of the 
 heathen, to fulfill the vows which they made 
 while in trouble, throw themselves on the 
 ground, roll over from side to side, and fre- 
 quently much inj ure themselves. Some swing 
 on great hooks, which are passed through the 
 tender parts of their back. Sometimes they 
 swing for half an hour or an hour. It oc- 
 casionally happens that the flesh in which the 
 hooks are fastened gives way, in which case 
 the poor creature is dashed to the ground.. 
 When this occurs, the people hold him in the 
 greatest abhorrence. They judge him to be a 
 great criminal, and suppose that he has met 
 with a violent death in consequence of the 
 sins which he committed in a former birth. 
 
 I have repeatedly been present at these 
 hook-swingings. I will give you a descrip- 
 tion of one which occurred while I was in 
 Madura. It took place on the 8th of June, 
 1848, just twenty-nine years after I first left 
 America for India. It should have taken 
 place on the preceding afternoon ; but one of 
 the axle-trees of the car which was to support 
 the machine on which the man was to be ele- 
 
238 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 yated in the air, was broken. Noticing of 
 course could be done until it was repaired. 
 The carpenters and others worked with great 
 diligence until about eleven o'clock at night, 
 when every thing was prepared for the swing- 
 ing. I expected immediately after this to wit- 
 ness the ceremony. It, however, did not take 
 place until the morning. While waiting for 
 the man who was to be swung to make his ap- 
 pearance, I took a pencil and made a drawing 
 of the machine to which he was to be fastened. 
 
 You have, perhaps, often seen a well-sweep. 
 The long beam to which he was fastened was 
 swung in the same manner as is the v/ell-sweep, 
 with a single exception. Ip. addition to its 
 usual motion, it was made to turn horizontal^. 
 
 Between six and seven o'clock in the morn- 
 ing, the man who was to be swung made his 
 appearance for a few moments, and then disap- 
 peared. The hooks by which he was to be 
 swung, as well as the iron rods with which a 
 number of devotees were immediately to pierce 
 their sides, were carried through the streets, 
 and held up, that they might be seen by the 
 people. Soon afterwards the man appeared 
 again v,^ith the hooks in his back, and went 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 239 
 
 up to the end of tlie beam to wHcli lie was to 
 be fastened. This, of course, was lowered. 
 Notwitlistanding the dense nniltitudes of peo- 
 ple, I made my way to tlie same spot, deter- 
 mined to be satisfied wlietlier or not there was 
 any deception in the application of the books. 
 There was no deception. They passed through 
 the skin, on the sides of the backbone. To 
 these hooks were attached yellow ropes, by 
 which he was fastened to the beam. This 
 being done, the men, five or six in number, 
 who had hold of the ropes fastened to the end 
 of the beam which rested on the ground, and 
 which, of course, was then high in the air, 
 drew him up until the beam lay horizontally. 
 Then, after making him perform one circular 
 motion around the car, they elevated him to 
 the highest possible extent. "When thus ele- 
 vated, it was thought that he was forty feet 
 from the ground. All being ready, the peo- 
 ple seized the ropes in front of the car and 
 began to draw it. Mr. Chandler, who was 
 with me, accompanied it with myself through 
 the streets, until it came to the place jfrom which 
 it set out. The distance of ground passed 
 over was about half a mile, And the time in 
 
240 LETTERS TO CIIILDREX. 
 
 wMch. the journey^ was accomplislied exceeded 
 an hour. Of course he was swinging more 
 than an hour. As the car passed through the 
 streets, the people threw plaintains from the 
 tops of the houses to the crowds below. 
 
 The man who was swung was adorned with 
 flowers and other ornaments. He had a tin- 
 selled turban on his head. His body was 
 rubbed over with a yellow paste, made most 
 probably from the sandal- wood. Around his 
 ancles were rings hung with little bells, which 
 he made to tinkle as he was swinging, by 
 striking his legs together. He held a hand- 
 kerchief in one hand, and a knife somewhat 
 resembling a dagger in the other. These he 
 kept in constant motion by moving his arms. 
 
 After foUomng the car for a quarter of a 
 mile or more, we y^ent before it and witnessed 
 another appalling sight. There were five or 
 six men who had the rods of iron of which I 
 just made mention, passed through the skin 
 of their sides. They were dancing along, 
 and as they danced, they made these rods go 
 backward and forward through the skin. 
 
 After the car had reached the place from 
 which it set out, the end of the beam from 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 241 
 
 wMcli the man was swingmg was tlien lowered 
 and lie was untied. Again I looked very 
 carefnllj at tlie liooks in tlie back. The peo- 
 ple say that no blood is shed by their intro- 
 duction, and consider this to be a miracle. 
 The falsity of this assertion was shown by 
 the blood which I saw on the side of one of 
 the wounds. 
 
 I have long been in this country, and con- 
 sequently have become so familiarized with 
 heathenism, that my feelings, though deeply 
 wounded at this sight, were not so keenly 
 affected as were those of my new associate, 
 Mr. Chandler. He had been on heathen 
 ground but a short time. When they tied 
 the man to the beam, he was unnerved, and 
 well-nigh overcome ; and he told me that dur- 
 ing all the time he was following the car, he 
 felt like shedding tears. 
 
 While following the car, the young men of 
 America came into my mind. They refuse to 
 come, said I to myself, to help these miserable 
 creatures. Oh ! they will not come, they will 
 not come! I thought that if many of the 
 dear children of that land — children to whom 
 I had lately preached, as well as others, could 
 21 
 
243 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 -witness tMs poor creature swinging from the 
 end of a long beam far above tbe tops of the 
 trees, and that too by hooks passing through 
 the tender parts of his back, they would say, 
 we -wall, by and by, become missionaries, and 
 with the help of God, proclaim to the heathen 
 that there is a Saviour. 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 243 
 
 NUMBEE XLYII; 
 
 My Deae Childken : On tlie evening of 
 tTie day on wMcK tlie liook-swinging, of wliicli 
 I gave yon a description in my last letter, takes 
 place, another act of crnelty of a very horrid 
 nature is sometimes practised. Devotees throw 
 themselves from a high wall, or a scaffold of 
 twenty or thirty feet in height, upon a bed of 
 iron spil^es, or on bags of straw with knives 
 in them. Many are often mangled and torn, 
 others are quickly killed. Many of the de- 
 votees sit down in the open air and pierce the 
 skin of their foreheads, by inserting a small 
 iron rod. To this is suspended a lamp, which 
 is kept burning till day-light. Sometimes 
 bundles of thorns are collected before the 
 temple, among which the devotees roll them- 
 selves without any covering. These thorns 
 are then set on fire, when they briskly dance 
 over the flames. 
 
244 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 Otlier devotees swing before a slow fire ; 
 some stand between two fires. Some have 
 tlieir breast, arms, and otlier parts stuck en- 
 tirely full of pins, about tb.e thickness of small 
 nails, or packing-needles. Another very 
 cruel torture is practised. . Some devotees 
 make a vow. With one hand they cover 
 their under-lip with wet earth or mud. On 
 this, with the other hand, they place some 
 small grains, usually of mu.stard-seed. The}' 
 then stretch themselves flat on their backs, 
 exposed to the dews of the night and the 
 blazing and scorching sun by day. Their 
 vow is, that from this position they will not 
 stu", that they will not move nor turn, nor eat 
 nor drink, till the seeds planted on their lips 
 begin to sprout. This usually takes place on 
 the third or fourth day. After this they arise, 
 and of course think that they have done a 
 very holy deed. 
 
 There is a class of devotees called Yogis, 
 whose object it is to root out every hu.man 
 feeling. Some live in holes and caves. Some 
 drag around a heavy chain attached to them. 
 Some make the circuit of an empire creeping 
 on their hands tUid knees. Some roll their 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 245 
 
 bodies from tlie shores of tlie Indus to the 
 Granges. The Rev. Mr. Heyer, in one of his 
 letters from India, says that an Indian devotee 
 has spent more than nine years on a journey 
 from Benares to Cape Comorin, that is, (see 
 your geography,) from the 27th to the 7th de- 
 gree of north latitude. The whole journey is 
 made by rolling on the bare ground from side 
 to side. When he comes to a river, of course 
 he can not roll over it. He therefore fords it, 
 or passes over it in a boat, and then rolls on 
 the banks of the river just as far as the river 
 is wide. By doing this he supposes that his 
 determination to roll all the way is virtually 
 carried out. 
 
 Some devotees hold up one or both arms, 
 until the muscles become rigid, and their limbs 
 become shrivelled into stumps. Some stretch 
 themselves on beds of iron - spikes. Some 
 wear great square irons on their necks. I 
 have not merely seen the man, but the woman, 
 with these irons around their necks, sometimes 
 perhaps nearly two feet in length and two feet 
 in breadth. 
 
 Other devotees throw themselves from the 
 tops of precipices, and are dashed to pieces : 
 21* 
 
21:^) LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 some bury themselves alive in L-oles whicli 
 tlieir own relatives liave dug : some bind them- 
 selves witb. ropes or cbains to trees until tbey 
 die : some keep gazing so long and so con- 
 stantly at the beavens, tbat the muscles of 
 tbeir necks become contracted, and no aliment 
 but liquids can j)ass into tbe stomacb. 
 
 But I will not continue tbis subject. You 
 perceive, my dear children, wbat a wretched 
 religion that must be, which encourages its fol- 
 lowers to perform such acts. And how vain 
 are all these acts, how utterly destitute are 
 they of any merit ! Those who practise them 
 are not made better by them, and they are 
 just as far from the kingdom of heaven after 
 having performed them as they were before. 
 The Christian religion encourages no such 
 things. It tells us to perform no pilgrimages 
 to holy places ; to inflict no self-tortures. But 
 it has its requirements, and these are very 
 simple, and with Divine aid, may be easily 
 performed by all who are willing to do their 
 duty. These requirements are, repentance, for- 
 saking sin, faith in Christ, and a supreme de- 
 votedness to his service. You must have an 
 experimental belief in Christ. " If thou shalt 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 247 
 
 confess witli tliy moutli the Lord Jesus, and 
 slialt believe in tliy heart that Glod hath raised 
 liim from the dead, thou shalt be saved." And 
 have you made such a confession, and have 
 you such a behef ? If not, you are in a worse 
 condition than these poor hook-swingers 
 and other devotees, who have not had your 
 privileges. They are not as guilty before 
 Grod as you are. They know not (as you do) 
 their Master's will. Still they must perish 
 unless the Gospel is sent to them. But their 
 punishment will not be as great as yours, if 
 you shall, at last, be found among the lost. 
 It would be far better for you to go down to 
 hell enveloped in all the darkness of a heathen 
 land, than to go down to hell from a land of 
 gospel light. 
 
248 LETTf:ris to children. 
 
 NUMBEE XLYIII. 
 
 My Dear Childeen : It is related of Dr. 
 Doddridge tliat on one occasion lie interested 
 Mmself in belialf of a condemned criminal, 
 and at length, succeeded in obtaining liis 
 pardon. On entering tlie cell of the con- 
 demned man and announcing to him the joy- 
 ful intelligence, he prostrated himself at the 
 Doctor's feet, and with streaming ejes, ex- 
 claimed: "0 sir! every drop of niy blood 
 thanks you ; for you have had mercy upon 
 every drop of it. Wherever you go, I will 
 be yours." 
 
 And are such the feelings which were exer- 
 cised by this criminal towards one of his fel- 
 low-men for a temporal blessing conferred 
 upon him, for obtaining a short prolongation 
 of his forfeited life ? Then what should be 
 your feelings, my dear children, towards the 
 adorable Kedeemer, who has obtained eternal 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 249 
 
 life for you — ^yes, for you, if you will accept 
 of it? Especially should your gratitude be 
 great, wlieii you remember the different cir- 
 cumstances under wHcli tlie blessings were 
 conferred. It cost Dr. Doddridge little or no 
 suffering to obtain tlie pardon of ttie condemn- 
 ed criminal for wbom lie interested Mmself ; 
 but to obtain your pardon, to deliver you from 
 going down to the fire which is never quench- 
 ed, Christ had to come down from heaven, and 
 suffer and die for you. He was crowned 
 with thorns that you might be crowned kings 
 in his Father's dominions. He was condemn- 
 ed at the bar here, that you might not be con- 
 demned at the tribunal of the last day. He 
 was nailed through his hands and his feet, and 
 died on the cross that you might not die for 
 ever. Oh ! was there ever such love as this ? 
 And if the poor criminal of whom I have 
 been making mention, could say with stream- 
 ing tears, "0 sir! every drop of my blood 
 thanks you ; for you have had mercy upon 
 every drop of it," how much more should 
 5^ou, with tears of the bitterest sorrow, ex- 
 claim.: "0 my Saviour! every drop of my 
 blood thanks thee ; for thou hast had mercy 
 
250 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 on every drop of it !" Oh ! what ungratefal, 
 wicked children will you continue to be, if 
 you do not give up your hearts to Christ, and 
 love him above every thing else in the uni- 
 verse ! And how great will be your misery 
 if you do not thus love him. So long as the 
 criminal was unpardoned, so long was he most 
 wretched ; and so long as you are unpardoned, 
 so long as the Grod who made you is against 
 you, so long as you are momently in danger 
 of being cast into hell-fire, how can you be 
 happy? I just remarked that the criminal 
 who was pardoned expressed much thankful- 
 ness for what Dr. Doddridge had done for 
 him. But let me make a supposition. Let 
 me suppose that he had expressed no thank- 
 fulness at all, would you not almost involun- 
 tarily have exclaimed : " What an ungrateful 
 wretch !" You, my dear children, have been 
 told that you are under sentence of eternal 
 death, but that Christ has shed his very blood 
 to procure your pardon, and save you from so 
 awful a doom ; and if you will not from this 
 moment begin to thank him for such kindness, 
 might I not well exclaim of each of you, What 
 a wretch, to treat your Saviour so ? Could I 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 251 
 
 use any milder language to express tlie enor- 
 mity of your guilt? 
 
 Let me make another supposition. Suppose 
 that wlien tlie news of pardon was brought to 
 the criminal above alluded to, lie bad treated 
 it witb lightness and contempt. Suppose that 
 he had addressed the excellent man who 
 brought it in an uncourteous manner, telling 
 him that it was quite unnecessary for him to 
 interfere in a business which did not concern 
 him, and that he had much better have left 
 him to be dealt with as the law required — 
 would you not have pronounced him mad? 
 And can you be absolved from the charge of 
 being mad, when your conduct towards Christ 
 is a thousand-fold more to be condemned than 
 would have been the conduct of the criminal, 
 if he had acted in the manner above describ- 
 ed? 
 
 My dear children, heaven, earth, and hell, 
 all call upon you, this day, to forsake your sins 
 and give your hearts to Christ. And will you 
 be so mad as to turn a deaf ear to this call ? 
 Will you even take another sip from the cup 
 of unhallowed pleasure ? Will you ever direct 
 your little feet to the ball-room, or other places 
 
252 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 of sinful amusement? "Will you hereafter 
 prefer your worldly joys to Christ? Then 
 you must be lost. You can not go to heaven 
 at last, as a httle boy, who formerly belonged 
 to one of my schools in Ceylon, as I hope did. 
 I must tell you a little about him. After he 
 had attended my preaching for some time, he 
 begged me to admit him to the church. As 
 he was quite young, not eleven years old, I 
 was afraid to receive him. This feeling per- 
 haps was wrong. He never joined the Church 
 on earth. He has, however, as I hope, gone 
 to join the Church in heaven. When he was 
 about eleven years of age, he was attacked 
 with the cholera, and died. In this country, 
 when children are very ill, the father or mo- 
 ther will catch up a cocoa-nut or a few plan- 
 tains, and run off to the temple, and say: 
 "^ow, Swammie, if you will cure my little 
 boy or little girl, I will give you this cocoa-nut 
 or these plantains." The mother of this little 
 boy saw that he was very ill, and she told 
 him that she wished to go and make offerings 
 to one of her idols, in order that he might get 
 well. But he requested her not to do so. "I 
 do not worship idols," said he; "I worship 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 253 
 
 Christ my Saviour. If lie is pleased to spare 
 me a little longer in the world, it will be well. 
 If not, I shall go to him." The last words he 
 uttered were : "I am going to Christ, the 
 Lord." Here was a little boy who went, as I 
 liope, to heaven from a heathen land. Perhaps 
 you will. go to hell from a Ghristian land. 
 
 22 
 
254 LETTERS TO CHILDllEN. 
 
 JSriTMBEE XLIX. 
 
 My Dear Childrek : After mj return 
 from America in 1837, 1 went to Madura, and 
 remained there for about two years. Large 
 numbers of people flocked to me to be healed 
 of their temporal maladies, among whom was 
 a woman with a cancer in her breast. I took 
 it out for her. Before she was brought to me, 
 her brother went to the temple of the goddess 
 Meenaache, in Teruppoovanum, to ascertain, 
 as he thought, what was her will respecting his 
 bringing her to me, or taking her to a native 
 doctor. In order to ascertain it, he had 
 recourse to the following expedient: He 
 prepared several bundles of red and white 
 flowers — ^the red to represent the red or tamil 
 man ; the white to represent the white man. 
 These flowers were carefully inclosed in leaves, 
 so as to prevent their color being seen, and 
 then laid down on the ground at the entrance 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 255 
 
 of tlie temple. After this, lie called a little 
 child to him, and then proceeded to entreat 
 Meenaache that if it were her will that he 
 should bring the sick woman to me, she 
 would direct the child to take up one of the 
 parcels containing the white flowers. It so 
 happened that the child took up one of these 
 parcels. Of course they brought her to me. 
 Had it taken up one of the parcels containing 
 the red flowers, she would have been taken to 
 a native doctor. 
 
 Thus you see, my dear children, what a 
 firm belief this people have in their idol-gods. 
 They are taken captive by the devil at his 
 wflL They grope the dark road to death with 
 every light extinguished upon their paths, and 
 at last perish for ever. Whether this poor 
 woman of whom I have been making mention 
 will perish or not, is, of course, unknown to 
 me. She ]ieard of the Saviour while under 
 my care, and she even went so far as to confess 
 mth her mouth that Jesus Christ is the Sav- 
 iour. It may be that heaven wfll be her final 
 resting-place. If so, and if you should at last 
 perish, she wfll rise up in judgment and con- 
 demn you. 
 
250 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 But let me not for a moment tMnk that you 
 will perish. How can you perish in sight of 
 the prize which is set before you ? How can 
 you perish after all that Christ has done to save 
 souls ? Oh ! I entreat you, my dear children, 
 that you will not perish. It will not do for 
 you to perish. Father, I entreat thee, for 
 Jesus' sake, that these dear children may not 
 perish. I will now stop writing and go away 
 alone and pray for you, that you may not 
 perish. I have been away, and on my knees 
 plead with God for you. Whether or not 
 these prayers will also rise up in judgment 
 against you, I know not. I was almost ready 
 to say, that I shall weep throughout eternity 
 if they do. 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 257 
 
 ISrUMBEK L. 
 
 My Dear Childeen: I must tell you 
 something about the way in which the people 
 of India travel. The great mass of them 
 travel on foot. Many travel in carriages of 
 different kinds, and in common carts. Others 
 travel in palanquins. You may have a very 
 good idea of a palanquin, by supposing that 
 there is a long box before you, with doors, 
 instead of boards, in part for its sides — a bos 
 six feet two or three inches long — ^four feet 
 high and three feet wide, with a pole, about 
 four feet long at each end, and with four legs. 
 These palanquins are carried by four or six 
 coolies. In the cities four are enough. When 
 long journeys are to be performed twelve are - 
 required, six of whom carry it at one time. 
 They must have twelve, that six may rest, if I 
 may so call it, while the others are bearing 
 the heavy burden. The six who are not^ 
 22* 
 
258 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 engaged in carrying it run along, sometimes 
 in front, sometimes behind tlie palanquin. 
 These coolies will, on good roads, travel at 
 tlie rate of four miles an hour, and perform a 
 journey of thirty miles, night after night. 
 They generally travel at night, on account of 
 its coolness. They can travel fifty miles at 
 one time, but they could not do this in success- 
 ive nights. 
 
 When persons wish to travel quickly, they 
 can always, by application to the government 
 authorities, have posted bearers; that is, if 
 they apply for them three or four days before 
 they wish to set out on their journey. These 
 are stationed, for the time being, at the dis- 
 tance of about twenty miles of each other. 
 "With these posted bearers, a person may 
 travel nearly one hundred miles in twenty- 
 four hours. 
 
 "When travelling, the palanquin-bearers usu- 
 ally cry out Ho, Ho, Who, Who. Sometimes, 
 when they suppose the person whom they are 
 carrying to be ignorant of their language, 
 their cry has reference to his size and weight, 
 as the following translation is an illustra- 
 i.tion : 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 259 
 
 Oh I what a heavy bag ! — Ho, ho 1 
 Sure it is an elephant — Ho, ho I 
 He is an ample weight — Ho, ho ! 
 Let's let his palkee down -Ho, ho! 
 Let's set him in the mud — Ho, ho ! 
 Let's leave him to his fate — Ho, ho ! * 
 No, but he'll be angry then— Ho, ho ! 
 Ay, and he'll beat us then — Ho, ho 1 
 Then let us hasten on — Ho, ho ! 
 Jump along, jump along — Ho, ho ! 
 
 K a ladj is the passenger, sucL. expressions 
 as these maj be heard : 
 
 She's not heavy — Patterum ! (Take care) 
 
 Carry her softly — Patterum I 
 
 Nice little lady — Patterum ! 
 
 Here's a bridge — Patterum ! 
 
 Carry her carefully — Patterum ! 
 
 Carry her gently — Patterum 1 
 
 Sing along cheerily — Patterum 1 
 
 When passing through the streets of a town 
 the J are accustomed to dignify the traveller 
 with the noblest titles : 
 
 He's a great man I — Po, po ! (Get out of the way.) 
 He's a Eajah ! — Po, po 1 
 She's a Ranee ! — Po, po 1 
 
 The reason being this, that their own import- 
 
260 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 ance will be increased by an attendance on so 
 noble a person. 
 
 When approacbing borne tbeir tbeme is 
 cbanged. The benevolence of the traveller is 
 the burden of their song. They use expres- 
 sions like these : 
 
 He's a charity man — Ho, ho I 
 He loves to do good — Ho, ho ! 
 She^s benevolent — Ho, ho ! 
 She won't forget us — Ho, ho 1 
 
 The object of which is to remind the person 
 they are carrying that after a safe arrival at 
 home a little extra pay will be very welcome. 
 Palanquin bearers are great cowards ; but 
 they never refuse to travel to any part of the 
 country, whether the road leads through 
 jungles filled with tigers or elephants, or 
 charged with the most fatal diseases. But 
 should an elephant or tiger appear, they put 
 down the palanquin and off they run, leaving 
 the poor traveller to escape the best way he 
 can. 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 261 
 
 KUMBEE LI. 
 
 My Dear Childeen : If you will read 
 from the tenth, to the nineteenth verse of the 
 third chapter of Eomans, you will have a good 
 idea of the character of Hindoo females, both 
 married and unmarried. I need hardly, there- 
 fore, add, that they are a most degraded as well 
 as a most unhappy set of beings. 
 
 Let me be somewhat particular in my state- 
 ment of their condition. In the first place, 
 their quarrelling shows that they are most 
 degraded as well as unhappy. Perhaps in no 
 country is the quarrelling of females carried to 
 such an extent as it is in India. Being held 
 in the most deplorable ignorance and slavish 
 subjection, they vent their fiirious passions 
 against each other, and indulge in the most 
 virulent and indecent railings. 
 
 Again: "Their throat is an open sepulchre, 
 the poison of asps is under their lips." They 
 
262 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 swear in tlie most terrible manner, sometimes 
 laying down tlieir cliildren and stepping over 
 tliem, uttering at the same time the most filthy 
 and blasphemous expressions. Not only do 
 they curse God, but they call down his curses 
 on themselves and on their children. They 
 will say as follows : "Make it known, God! 
 that the crime which my accusers ascribe to 
 me is false ; if otherwise, let thy temple go to 
 ruin; let thy bowels burst, let thyself be 
 destroyed, and let thy shrine be levelled to 
 the dust. If this accusation is true, let this 
 my child, here on the ground, die." 
 
 Again the Apostle says: "Their feet are 
 swift to shed blood. Destruction and misery 
 are in their way." In the province of Bengal 
 alone, it has been supposed that one hundred 
 and twenty thousand infants are yearly de- 
 stroyed, before they have seen the light of 
 day. While writing my letter to you on 
 Infanticide, I was not aware of its prevalence 
 in the Punjaub, a territory lately conquered 
 by the British. By a late number of the 
 Friend of India^ it appears that it is practised 
 there to a most frightful extent. Late in the 
 year 1851, about two years ago. Major Lake 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 263 
 
 found tliat it prevailed among a certain class 
 of people in his district. Since then, it has 
 been found to prevail in Umballa, Ferozpore, 
 JuUundur, Hoosheapore, Lahore, Mooltan, Jhe- 
 lum, and in the Leia districts ; in fact, over a 
 country as large as an European kingdom. 
 It is not, however, practised by all the inhabit- 
 ants, as it is said. It is confined principally 
 to the Beedees and Rajpoots, among whom the 
 custom is of immemorial antiquity. The Khe- 
 trees, however, and some of the Brahmins, and 
 even several of the Mohammedan tribes, main- 
 tain the practice ; and the higher the rank the 
 more certain are the female branches of destruc- 
 tion. It is believed, also, by the most experi- 
 enced officers, to have infected all classes in a 
 greater or less degree. All over the Punjaub 
 there is a disproportion in the number of female 
 bu:ths not to be accounted for by ordinary 
 causes, and in some districts the disproportion 
 rises to a height which implies the extinction 
 of the female race. This subject has within the 
 past few months engaged the attention of Earl 
 Dalhousie, our present Grovernor-General, and 
 he will make the most strenuous exertions to 
 put a stop to the dreadful evH. 
 
264 LETTERS TO CHILDREIT. 
 
 Again: "The way of peace have the j not 
 known." As it is a common practice for hus- 
 bands to beat their wives, their wives show 
 their revengeful spirit in different ways. At 
 one time, they flee to the temple of the god- 
 dess Karle, the goddess of vengeance, of whom 
 I before told yon, and entreat her to take ven- 
 geance on their hnsbands. I once witnessed 
 this. When abused by their husbands, they 
 sometimes wreak their vengeance upon their 
 children, kicking them in a violent manner. 
 Sometimes they starve themselves to death. 
 Sometimes they destroy themselves, by cutting 
 their throats, or by swallowing poison, or by 
 throwing themselves into wells. Suicide is 
 more common among women than men. A 
 number of reasons have been assigned for this. 
 I have already mentioned the first, namely, 
 the ill-treatment which they receive from their 
 husbands. Another is the belief that if they 
 destroy themselves, they shall be changed into 
 devils, and can take full vengeance upon those 
 who have used them ill. 
 
 The education of females is systematically 
 opposed, with the exception of those woman of 
 ill-fame who are the priestesses of the temples, 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 265 
 
 and whose business it is to sing the most 
 abominable and obscene songs witbin tbeir 
 temples. No females are tanglit to read. The 
 following are some of the alleged objections to 
 their education: 
 
 1. Females ought not to be educated; for if 
 the many unlettered men were to have educat- 
 ed females for wives, thej would not be sub- 
 ject to them. 
 
 2. Adultery is certainly to be expected from 
 education given to females. 
 
 3. Custom is opposed to it. 
 
 4. Bread is not procurable by the education 
 of females. 
 
 5. Education is not required to teach a 
 female how to perform her duties, as it has 
 nothing to do with cookery. 
 
 6. If a woman be educated, she will become 
 a widow, or some other misfortune will fol- 
 lovf. 
 
 7. A wife is married to a Hindoo, not for 
 the purpose of sitting down and conversing 
 with him on any subject, but that she may be 
 the confidential servant in domestic drudgery. 
 
 Manu, the greatest of Indian philosophers 
 and legislators, says: "Woman have no business 
 23 
 
2G6 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 with, the texts of the Yeda or Sacred Books. 
 Having therefore no evidence of law and no 
 knowledge of expiatory texts, women must 
 remain as fonl as falsehood itself" 
 
 Again he says: "Infidelity, violence, deceit, 
 envy, extreme avaricionsness, a total want of 
 good qualities, with impnrity, are the innate 
 fanlts of womankind." 
 
 Again he says: "Widows can never be 
 married." 
 
 Under these circumstances, the poor unfor- 
 tunate females of this heathen land groan at 
 the birth of their danghiters. They mourn 
 over the unhappy destiny to which, they must 
 be subjected in after-life, and on tliis account 
 spend many of ther leisure hours afterwards 
 in melancholy meditation. They are frequent- 
 ly heard to say that it would be better if their 
 daughters were born mud or clay, which the 
 potter shapes into cooking utensils, than to be 
 destined to become the worst-treated slaves in 
 the world. 
 
 Their marriages are often marriages neither 
 of choice nor affection, and consequently are 
 prolific sources of misery. Before a girl has 
 reached her seventh or her tenth year, the 
 
HINDOO KING BEHEADING HIS DAUGHTER. 
 
 Page 26(1 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDllSN. 267 
 
 parents are bound to give her in marriage. 
 Both husbands and wives are often dissatisfied 
 with the choice of the parents. The husband 
 proves unfaithful to the wife, and she utters 
 many curses against her parents, who married 
 her to such a vicious and profligate husband. 
 
 The relation of a wife to her husband is too 
 often that of a slave to a tyrant. She is at the 
 mercy of his will. If she has no children, 
 Manu says that she may be cast off by her 
 husband, and another taken, in the eighth year. 
 She whose children are all dead, may be cast 
 off in the tenth. She who has daughters only, 
 in the eleventh ; and she who speaks unkindly 
 may be cut off without delay. 
 
 I will mention a few of the laws which are 
 binding on the part of the wife. 
 
 1. She must not sleep longer than her hus- 
 band. She must be awake by the break of 
 day, and be ready for his command. 
 
 2. She must prepare her husband's food, and 
 wait for his coming home, before she can put 
 any thing into her mouth. Though pressed 
 with hunger, she can not eat until he has taken 
 his food. 
 
 3. Though the husband cut the throat of his 
 
268 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 wife, it is spoken of as the truest law for a 
 chaste wife to remain as silent as a dead per- 
 son. 
 
 4. At night she must not go to bed before 
 her husband. 
 
 6. She, and so it is with all women, whether 
 old or young, at the sight of a man, of what- 
 ever age he may be, must immediately rise, if 
 she is sitting. 
 
 In all the wretchedness I have now been 
 describing, the degraded females of India live, 
 and they die like the beasts of the field. Oh! 
 why is it that the Grospel, the only remedy for 
 their miseries, has not long since been sent to 
 them ? Why is it that it is not sent to them 
 now f Why is it that Christian females espe- 
 cially, do not, to a greater degree, pity their sex 
 in India ? Why is it that they do no more to 
 send the Gospel to them ? Why is it that no 
 more of them go and bear this gospel in their 
 own hands to these wretched, these miserable, 
 these perishing creatures ? 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 269 
 
 NUMBEK LII. 
 
 My Dear Childeen : As I consider Bur- 
 mali to be a part of India — India beyond tbe 
 Gl-9,nges — I will say a word about it. It is a 
 country filled with idols. Here the " Baptist 
 Greneral Convention for Foreign Missions" 
 have one of the most interesting and flourish- 
 ing missions in the world. The people of 
 Burmah, as a general thing, are removed still 
 farther from divine knowledge than the peo- 
 ple of the land where I dwell. They are in 
 reality atheists, or, in other words, people who 
 do not believe in a Creator or Preserver of the 
 world. But still they worship gods — gods 
 who have become so by acts of religious merit. 
 He whom they now worship is called Graudama 
 or Boodh. He is reputed to be the son of the 
 king of Benares ; and, if their history be cor- 
 rect, was born six hundred years before Christ. 
 The Boodhists have many temples erected to 
 23* 
 
270 LETTERS TO CITTLDREN. 
 
 the lionor of Boodh and his image. Before 
 this image they present flowers, incense, rice, 
 betel-nuts, etc. Like all idolatrous nations, 
 the Burmese are very wicked. They do not 
 respect their females as they should do. They 
 treat them as an inferior order of beings. 
 They often sell them. 
 
 A singular custom prevails in that country. 
 It consists in paying a certain kind of homage 
 to a white elephant. This elephant is sump- 
 tuously dressed and fed. It is provided with 
 officers, like a second sovereign, and is made 
 to receive presents from foreign ambassadors. 
 It is next in rank to the king, and sujperior to 
 the queen. 
 
 Burmah is the country in which Drs. Jud- 
 son and Price, and Messrs. Hough and Wade, 
 suffered so much during the war which Eng- 
 land had with it many years ago. Messrs. 
 Hough and "Wade were the first to suffer. As 
 the ships which were to make the attack upon 
 Eangoon approached the city, they were seized 
 and cast into prison. Their legs were bound 
 together with ropes, and eight or ten Bur- 
 mans, armed with spears and battle-axes, 
 were placed over them as a guard. They 
 
« LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 271 
 
 were afterwards put in irons. The next morn- 
 ing, as the fleet approached the city nearer 
 and nearer, orders were sent to the guard, 
 through the grates of their prison, that the in- 
 stant the shipping should fire upon the town, 
 they were to kill them, together with the other 
 prisoners confined with them. The guard, on 
 receiving these orders, began to sharpen the 
 instruments with which they intended to kill 
 them, and moved them about their heads, to 
 show with how much skill and pleasure they 
 would attend to their orders. Upon the floor 
 where they intended to butcher them, a large 
 quantity of sand was spread, to receive the 
 blood. The gloom and silence of death reign- 
 ed among the prisoners ; the vast ocean of 
 eternity seemed but a step before them. At 
 length the fleet arrived, and the firing com- 
 menced. The first ball that was thrown into 
 the town, passed with a tremendous noise di- 
 rectly over their heads. This so frightened 
 the guard that they seemed unable to execute 
 their murderous orders. They shrunk away 
 into one corner of the prison, where they re- 
 mained quiet, until a broadside from one of 
 the ships made the prison shake and tremble 
 
273 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 to its very foundation. This so alarmed them, 
 that they broke open the doors of the prison 
 and fled. The missionaries, with the other 
 prisoners, were then left alone. Their danger, 
 however, was not at an end ; but as God had 
 protected them thns far, he continued to pro- 
 tect them until they were set at liberty, and 
 until they were allowed again to preach the 
 Gospel to those perishing heathen. Drs. Jud- 
 son and Price were also imprisoned and suffer- 
 ed much ; but they, too, were preserved and 
 dehvered. 
 
 After the war was over, the missionaries 
 were permitted to go everywhere, to proclaim 
 the name of the Saviour, and their efforts have 
 been very much blessed, especially among the 
 Karens. It will be impossible for me to give 
 you an account of their many labors, and of 
 the many tokens which they have received of 
 God's favor towards them. Thousands have 
 been received into their churches. I received 
 a letter from the Eev. Mr. Granger, last month, 
 in which he says : " We have now about one 
 hundred and twenty churches, with native 
 pastors, and the work is extending." 
 
 What an encouragement does God give to his 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 273 
 
 servants to labor among tlie heathen ! What 
 multitudes of immortal souls are there now in 
 Burmah, and in the part of India where I dwell, 
 who are on the way to the house not made 
 with hands, eternal in the heavens ; but who, 
 humanly speaking, must have been lost, had 
 the churches in Christian lands not sent the 
 Grospel to them ! Are you doing any thing 
 for the salvation of the heathen of India, my 
 d^r children, by your prayers and by your 
 money ? If not, then you have no part nor 
 lot in the great work which is going on. " In- 
 asmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of 
 these, ye did it not to me." 
 
274 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 NUMBEE LIII. 
 
 My Deae Children: In my last letter, 
 wlien speaking of Burmah, I mentioned tliat 
 God had much, blessed the labors of his mis- 
 sionary servants there. I must now tell you 
 about a few bright spots in this part of India 
 and of Ceylon. Through the blessing of God 
 upon the prayers of his people in Christian 
 lands, and upon the prayers and labors of his 
 missionary servants, many of the heathen in 
 these places have forsaken their idols and are 
 now enlisted under the banner of Jehovah 
 Jesus. In the Travancore and Tinnivelly 
 districts, thou.sands, and even tens of thousands 
 of the people have embraced Christianity. In 
 hundreds of villages; where but a few years 
 ago the name of Jesus had never been known, 
 it is now known and ado^red. 
 
 You may often have heard of Ceylon. If 
 you will look at the map of Hindostan, you 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 275 
 
 will find it close to that coiuitry. There 
 Christianity has begun to take root. That 
 island is more than two hundred miles long, 
 and in some places quite wide. A large part 
 of it is covered with jungle, (wilderness,) in 
 which there are many wild beasts, such as 
 elephants, bears, buffaloes, and wild hogs. In 
 it alsQ are men, women, and children, running 
 wild, just like the beasts. These people are 
 called Yerders, or wild people. They 'wear 
 scarcely any clothing. They have no houses. 
 When it rains they creep into holes or go 
 under overhanging rocks. Their beds consist 
 of a few leaves. Sunk almost to the level of 
 the brute, they live and die like their shaggy 
 companions of the forest. Even upon these 
 the Gospel has tried its power. More than 
 fifty families have settled down, forming two 
 pleasant and now Christian villages. They 
 have schoolmasters and Christian teachers. 
 
 I must give you a description of two reviv- 
 als of religion which occurred while I was in 
 the island of Ceylon. Before those revivals 
 commenced there was no particular manifesta- 
 tion of seriousness at any of our stations. It 
 was in the month of October that we bega,n 
 
276 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 to feel tlie importance of laboring more and 
 jDraying more for the conversion of perisliing 
 souls. A protracted meeting was spoken of, 
 and it was determined tliat one should be 
 held at our seminary in Batticotta — a semi- 
 nary wHcli was established for the purpose 
 of raising up a native ministry. On the morn- 
 ing of the day in which the meeting was^com- 
 menced, Mr. Spaulding and myself went to 
 the station, to assist Mr. Poor, the Principal 
 of the Seminary, in laboring with the students. 
 In these labors we spent five days. No sooner 
 had we begun our labors than a blessing from 
 on high was experienced. The windows of 
 heaven were opened and the Holy Ghost de- 
 scended. This was evident from the spirit of 
 prayer which was poured out upon the pious 
 students of the seminary. They were heard, 
 " a great while before day," pleading in their 
 social circles that Grod would have mercy 
 upon their impenitent companions and bring 
 them into the kingdom of his grace. "We 
 trust, also, that a spirit of prayer was given 
 to those of us who took a prominent part in 
 the meeting. At the termination of our exer- 
 cises, with the exception of a few lads belong- 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 277 
 
 ing to a Tamil class, who had lately been ad- 
 mitted to the seminary, there was not, so far 
 as I know, an individual connected with it 
 who was not hnmbled at the foot of the cross, 
 either to he there until healed of his wounds, 
 or to show if he perished that he must perish 
 under circumstances of a very aggravated na- 
 ture. 
 
 After we had finished our meetiag at Batti- 
 cotta we went to the female seminary at 
 Oodooville, to hold similar meetings. Before 
 we reached that station, the church-members 
 there, after having heard of God's wonderful 
 doings at Batticotta, became much aroused to 
 pray for the influences of the Holy Spirit to 
 descend upon the impenitent in their semi- 
 nary also. Soon after we reached the station 
 we held a meeting with the girls. Some of 
 them were then deeply concerned for the sal- 
 vation of their souls; but it was not until 
 Wednesday afternoon that we knew how 
 powerfully the Spirit of God had been at 
 work. The meeting which we held with the 
 seminarists at that time was one of the most 
 solemn meetings which I ever attended. One 
 of the girls said to her companions, in the 
 24 
 
278 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 meeting: "Mj sisters, I liave been a proud 
 one among you. I liope tliat if you ever see 
 me proud again, you will tell me of it. I used 
 to tell tlie missionaries tliat I liad given my- 
 self to tlie Saviour ; but I bad not done it." 
 Another of tbe girls burst into tears, and 
 cried out aloud. As sbe could not restrain 
 her feelings and did not wisb to disturb tbe 
 assembly, sbe arose and left it. Sbe retired 
 to one of tbe prayer-rooms adjoining tbe semi- 
 nary, tbere to weep alone. Mr. Poor, one of 
 my missionary associates, followed ber and 
 endeavored to administer tbe consolations of 
 tbe Gospel to ber ; but sbe refused to be com- 
 forted. All ber distress seemed to arise from 
 a single source. "I told you a falsehood," 
 said sbe, " last Monday, in saying tbat I bad 
 dedicated myself to tbe Saviour, wben I bad 
 not." Perhaps sbe thought at tbat time that 
 sbe bad thus dedicated herself to Him, but 
 afterwards found that sbe bad deceived herself 
 In this wretched state of mind she continued 
 untd lOJ o'clock that night, when she came 
 into Mr. Spaulding's house, where I then was, 
 and wished to know what she must do to be 
 saved. She was told, as she bad often been 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 279 
 
 told before, that she must dedicate herself en- 
 tirely to her Saviour. She went away, and 
 returned the same night, about 11 J o'clock, 
 saying that she had found Him. 
 
 " Eriends, is not my case amazing ? 
 What a Saviour I have found !" 
 
 My dear young friends, are there any of 
 you who have never given your hearts to 
 Christ ? If so, let me entreat you to follow 
 the example of that once heathen little girl of 
 whom I have been speaking. She found it 
 necessary to give her heart to her Saviour, 
 and I trust that she did so ; and I hope that 
 she is now with him ; for she is dead. Oh ! 
 that you, too, would give your hearts to him, 
 that it may he well with you at last. Oh ! be 
 very careful, my dear children, be very, care- 
 ful that the little girl of whom I have been 
 speaking does not rise up in the last day and 
 condemn you. She must do so, she will do 
 so, if you do not, like her, choose Christ as 
 your portion. But I am digressing, and must 
 return to the point I left. 
 
 The next day one of the missionary ladies 
 who had lately reached Ceylon from America 
 
280 . LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 came to Oodooville, to witness the nature of 
 tlie work wliich slie heard was in progress at 
 that place, As she was entering Mr. Spanld- 
 ing's house, she was met by one of the most 
 consistent church-members of the seminary, 
 who declared that she had lost her hope of 
 being a Christian. Perhaps this church-mem- 
 ber was disposed to write bitter things against 
 herself because she did not feel all that warmth 
 in religion which marked the conduct of those 
 who, at that time, were indulging the hope 
 that they had passed from death to life. After 
 the lady to whom I have alluded had been in 
 the house a little while, she requested Mrs. 
 Spaulding to allow her to have an interview 
 with such of the girls as were entertaining a 
 hope of their interest in the Saviour. These 
 were twenty -two in number. This interview 
 was granted. As she knew nothing about the 
 Tamil language, I acted as her interpreter. 
 Through me, she requested the gu-ls to give a 
 statement of their feelings. One of them 
 arose and said : "I feel as happy as an angel. 
 I feel joys that I can express to no one but 
 my Saviour, and I am just as certain that my 
 sins are forgiven as if I had sent a kardu- 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 281 
 
 tTiaase [that is, a letter] to heayen, and receiv- 
 ed an answer to it." Another of the girls 
 said that the missionaries had often talked to 
 her about her dedicating herself to the Savi- 
 our, but that she did not know at that time 
 what it meant. "I now know," added she, 
 "what it means; for God has taught it to 
 me." Another of the girls said: "Though 
 they put me in the fire, I will never forsake 
 the Saviour." 
 
 24* 
 
282 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 NUMBEE Liy. 
 
 My Dear Children : Having told jou all 
 tliat I wish to say respecting the Hindoo reli- 
 gion, I have one or two questions to ask you. 
 And first : Do you not think that you ought 
 to pray* for these poor miserable creatures ; to 
 pray that God will send the Gospel to them ? 
 I want to tell you about a little boy who heard 
 me preach wh^ I was in America, a few years 
 ago. One night he said his prayers, and went 
 to bed. After he had got into bed, he said to 
 the nurse : "I have forgotten to pray for the 
 heathen, and I must get out of bed and pray 
 for them." The nurse then told him that it 
 would not be necessary for him to get up, as 
 he could pray for them while in bed. " ISTo," 
 said he, "I must get out of bed and pray for 
 them." And the dear little boy would not 
 rest until he had got out of bed and prayed for 
 them. JSTow, I want all of you, my dear 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 283 
 
 children, every morning and evening, to kneel 
 down and pray for the heathen, as this little 
 boy did. And I wish you to do something 
 more. I want you always to be punctual in 
 attending the icsual monthly concert of prayery 
 provided there are no juvenile monthly con- 
 certs of prayers to which you can go. I 
 have long wished to see juvenile concerts of 
 this kind established. They would be very 
 interesting, if I am to judge from the account 
 of one which I received from Mr. Vandoren, 
 of Williamsburgh, when I was ia America. 
 I wHl give you some extracts from his letter. 
 He writes : ' ' According to promise, I send you 
 an account of the first children's monthly con- 
 cert of prayer, so far as I can learn, held on 
 Long-Island. As notice was not given either 
 in the church or Sabbath-school, the attendance 
 was smaller than it otherwise would have been. 
 Still, about sixty interesting children attended. 
 After a few remarks concerning the object of the 
 meeting, by the superintendent of the Sabbath- 
 school, they sung, with melting eyes, the hymn 
 which describes the wretched heathen-mother 
 casting her lovely babe into the jaws of the 
 nnonster of the Ganges. Prayer then was made 
 
284 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 of about two or three minutes in lengtli. Then 
 I gave some of the most affecting accounts of 
 the cruelties and ignorance of the heathen, as 
 related by the devoted Wilhams, that martyr- 
 missionary. Their silent attention and sub- 
 dued countenances told that their hearts were 
 with the wretched idolaters. After having 
 thus spent about ten minutes, the children sung 
 in a sweet manner a hymn — a prayer for those 
 laboring amid the heathen : 
 
 ' When, -worn by toil, their spuits faU, 
 Bid them the glorious future hail ; 
 Bid them the crown of life survey, 
 And onward urge their conquering way,' etc." 
 
 But not only can you pray for the heathen, 
 you can give something to send the Gospel to 
 them. Do you say that you have no money 
 to give? But can not you earn some? Many 
 young persons have done so. One who wrote 
 to a missionary said : "Besides supporting a 
 school in Ceylon, we are going to support five 
 Chinese boys. I earn six cents a week for not 
 using tea, one for not using sugar, and three 
 for not using coffee." 
 
 Another says: "I, with three others, have 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN". 285 
 
 been making matclies to tlie amount of ten 
 dollars, and should have made more, but 
 the people are pretty well supplied. I am 
 going to dig mj father's garden, and my mo- 
 ther is going to give me a quarter of a dollar 
 for digging it, which I shall give to the mis- 
 sionaries. I am going to do all I can, and 
 earn all I can, and save all that I have, to sup- 
 port the missionaries." 
 
 Another says : "I am going to leave off 
 buying candy, and such little notions, unless 
 it is necessary, and save every cent that I can 
 get, and give it to the missionaries." 
 
 Now, my dear children, I do think that if 
 you would save some of those cents which 
 you spend in buying candy, fire-crackers, and 
 similar things, and buy Bibles and tracts for 
 the poor heathen, you would do much more 
 good with them. 
 
 I told you in one of my letters, of a little 
 boy who died just after uttering : "I am going 
 to Christ the Lord." That dear child went 
 to heaven, as I hope, through the means 
 of a tract which cost only two or three cents, 
 and which was the cause of his coming under 
 my care. Now when you think about this 
 
286 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 little boy, I want you to ask yourselves whe- 
 tlier it is not better to give two or three cents 
 to try and save tlie soul of some poor little 
 heathen boy or girl, than spend them ia buying 
 candy and other useless things. 
 
 But I must tell you about a little girl whom 
 I saw some time ago, who refused to buy candy 
 while there are so many heathen without the 
 Bible. Her father is a sea-captain. Beuig ab- 
 sent from home, he sent her five dollars to buy 
 candy or any thing else which she might wish. 
 As this little girl had heard about the heathen, 
 she determined to throw all her money into 
 the missionary-box, instead of spending it for 
 her own pleasure. The mother, on learning 
 her intentions, asked her if she would not like 
 to spend a part of it for candy and similar 
 things. She replied, that she would not, and 
 in due time she put her five dollars into the 
 missionary-box. Kot long after this she was 
 attacked with a severe tooth-ache. The mother 
 proposed that the defective tooth should be 
 extracted. The little creature (for she was only 
 about eight years old) dreaded the operation, 
 and seemed at first to be backward about 
 having it performed. To encourage her to 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 287 
 
 submit to it, lier motlier offered Iter twenty- 
 five cents. This little girl did not then begin 
 to reason : ISTow if I can only get those twenty- 
 five cents I can buy some sngar-candy, or I 
 can buy a doll ; but she reasoned thus : ISTow 
 if I can get those twenty-five cents, I can go 
 and put them in the missionary-box. So she 
 said to her mother, I will go and have the 
 tooth taken out. The tooth, however, ceased 
 to ache ; but still she wished to have it ex- 
 tracted. Her mother then interfered and told 
 her that as it had ceased to ache, it might be 
 well for her not to have it drawn until it ached 
 again. The Httle girl, however, persisted, say- 
 ing that if it was not taken out, she could not 
 get the twenty-five cents to give to the mis- 
 sionary cause. She, therefore, went to the 
 dentist's, submitted to the operation, received 
 her twenty-five cents, and went and threw 
 them into the Lord's treasury. Was that not 
 a noble little girl ? Doubtless you all will say 
 that she was. 
 
288 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 NUMBEE LY. 
 
 My Deae Childeen : I concluded my last 
 letter by telling you of a little girl wlio re- 
 ceived twenty-five cents for having her tooth 
 pulled, and who threw them into the mission- 
 ary-box. I must tell you about a noble httle 
 boy also. While I was in America, a few 
 years ago, I preached in Canandaigua, in the 
 western part of New- York. After I had 
 preached there, I went on to Kochester. Ee- 
 tuming from that place, I met with a lady in 
 the cars, who told me as follows : " After you 
 had preached in Canandaigua," said she, " a 
 young lady there, who had lost her mother, 
 and who had six, or seven, or eight, of her 
 brothers and sisters u.nder her care, formed 
 them into a missionary society " — (Oh ! I wish 
 that all the dear children in America were form- 
 ed into missionary societies.) " After she had 
 done this she asked her little brother how he 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 289 
 
 was going to get money to put into the mission- 
 ary-box. ' By catcMng mice,' said lie. His sif- 
 ter gave him two or three cents for every mouse 
 he caught." Thus it appears that this dear 
 httle boy was going to throw all his earnings 
 into the Lord's treasury. 
 
 But let me tell you a little more about the 
 chndren to whom I before alluded. Another 
 says : " In some of the day-schools of the city, 
 the girls have formed sewing-societies and 
 make pia-cushions, needle-books, emery-bags, 
 and the like, and send the money that is 
 raised by the sale of them to the missionaries 
 to be used for the heathen. There are seven 
 Sabbath-schools in this town, and in each of 
 them there is a missionary association ; so that 
 in all, about five hundred dollars are sent from 
 the Sabbath-schools every year." 
 
 ISTow, my dear girls, I want you to think of 
 ^vhat has now been said about the formation 
 of sewing-societies, and I want you to ask 
 your mothers whether they will not allow you 
 to form such societies, to meet once a week, or 
 once in two weeks, or once a month, to sew, 
 to get money to send the Gospel to the heathen. 
 Many societies of this kind have been formed. 
 25 
 
290 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 After I liad preached to the children in one 
 of the chnrches in Third street, New- York, the 
 little girls who attend that church formed a 
 society. The account which I received of it 
 is as follows: "You may remember that in 
 your address to our Sabbath-school, you re- 
 lated instances of little girls knitting, sewing, 
 etc., to earn' something for the missionary-box. 
 The examples which you related were not lost 
 to the girls of the Sabbath-school. Immedi- 
 ately they began to talk about forming them- 
 selves into a sewing-society, and making small 
 articles and giving the proceeds to the mission- 
 ary society. They did not stop here, but 
 went right to work and soon formed their so- 
 ciety, which they styled the Juvenile Sewing 
 Society. They are in a very prosperous and 
 flourishing condition at present. 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 made, 
 I understand also, they meet once a week to 
 sew." 
 
 After I had preached at a place called Little 
 Falls, New- York, the girls formed a sewing- 
 society there. The followiag account of this 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN". 291 
 
 society I received from one of its little mem- 
 bers : "When you were here last fall, and told 
 us liow much good little girls had done in 
 having sewing-societies, we thought we would 
 see if we could not do some good in the world 
 as well as they ; and since October we have 
 met weekly, and by holding a fair, we have 
 succeeded in raising sixty-two dollars. We 
 hope it will be the means of saving some poor 
 heathen children." 
 
 Now as I said before, I want you, my dear 
 girls, to ask your mothers if you may not 
 form such societies also. Will you think of 
 it ? I hope you will. 
 
 Another of the children before referred to, 
 says : "I can try and save their souls, if I am 
 not there. I can work for them, and send 
 some money to you to buy them Bibles, and 
 I can pray for them; and if I should save 
 some souls, oh! how would they thank me. 
 But if I did not send my money, nor care 
 any thing about them, and I should not go to 
 heaven, and they should not, how would they 
 rise up in judgment against me, and say, ' K 
 we had had the privileges that you had, we 
 should not be here!' Oh! how thankful we 
 
292 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 •ouglit to be that we were not born in beatben 
 lands. Ob! if tbe poor beatben conld only 
 bave sucb privileges as we bave, bow tbank- 
 fal would tbey be. And if we were born 
 in beatben lands, I bave no doubt tbat tbey 
 wonld come and tell ns about a Saviour." 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 293 
 
 NUMBEE LYI. 
 
 My Dear Childeen: I received many 
 letters wMle in America, breathing the same 
 spirit wHcli is manifested in my last letter. 
 
 One writes : " Last winter I brought in the 
 wood for mother, and she gave me fifty cents. 
 I now am very glad that I have not spent it, 
 as I can give it to you to buy tracts for the 
 little heathen children of India." 
 
 A second writes : " The inclosed fifty cents 
 my grandmother gave me, when I was a very 
 little boy, for sitting still one hour. Will you 
 please to use it to furnish the Bible and mis- 
 sionary to the heathen ?" 
 
 A third writes : "I have always spent my 
 money for candy, and other trifles ; but since 
 I have heard about the darkness and misery 
 of the heathen, I intend to save it all, and put 
 it into the missionary -box." 
 
 A fourth writes : " The inclosed I earned 
 25^ 
 
294 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 by knitting. I intended to save it till I had 
 sufficient to carry me a sliort journey, to see 
 some of my friends ; but wlien I beard you 
 tell about the Httle beatben girls, I tbougbt I 
 would give it to you, for tbe poor beatben 
 cbUdren." 
 
 . A fiffcb writes : "I nave inclosed twelve 
 and a balf cents, wbicb my fatber gave me to 
 go and see Greneral Tom Tbumb. Wben I 
 beard you lecture last evening, I came borne 
 and concluded to give it to you, and let you 
 buy Bibles for tbe poor beatben." . 
 
 A sixtb writes: •'! remember before my 
 motber died, sbe used to tell me a great deal 
 about tbe cbildren of India. And now sbe 
 is in beaven, I tbink sbe would like to bave 
 me give my beart to tbe Saviour, and go and 
 teacb tbese poor cbildren. I give you some 
 money wbicb was given to me to see an exbi- 
 bition, wbicb I saved to give for sucb tbings, 
 ratber tban go." 
 
 A seventb writes : " You told us tbat two 
 cents were tbe means of converting a young 
 man ; I would give two cents every week, if 
 it would convert souls to Obrist." 
 
 An eigbtb writes : ' ' My motber told me some 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 295 
 
 time ago, that every day I recited my lessons 
 without missing a word, she would give me a 
 penny ; and not being desirous to spend it, I 
 do wish you would take it — ^fifty cents — ^to 
 the heathen. It may buy some tracts at the 
 bazar or market." 
 
 A ninth writes : "I feel sorry for the poor 
 heathen children. "We will try to earn some 
 money to buy Bibles for the heathen. Father 
 has promised us some land to work, next sum- 
 mer, aiid we think we can raise something and 
 sell it to get the money." 
 
 A tenth writes : " Since you were here last 
 spring, I have saved what I could — one dol- 
 lar — for the heathen children, and should be 
 glad if I could do more." 
 
 An eleventh writes : " The money which 
 you will find inclosed, I earned by working for 
 my mother on Saturday, which I intended to 
 keep to buy a microscope ; but when I heard 
 you preach on Sabbath, I concluded to give it 
 to buy Bibles for the poor heathen children." 
 
 A twelfth writes : " The inclosed five dol- 
 lars was a birthday present from my father ; 
 but I want to give it to Dr. Scudder for *the 
 poor little boys in Ceylon." 
 
296 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 A tliirteentli writes : " Please accept my 
 mite by the hand, of my brother. I have been 
 keeping it for the purpose of buying a geogra- 
 phy ; but when I heard you preach yesterday, 
 I thought I had better send it to you for the 
 poor heathen." 
 
 A fourteenth writes : "I would like much 
 to become a missionary, as I am named after 
 one. I hope I shall be one. I have been 
 saving a dollar to bu}^ myself some books, 
 but concluded to give it to buy some books 
 for the heathen." 
 
 The last two children whose letters you 
 have been reading, gave to the missionary 
 cause the money which they had been earning 
 to buy some books. When you have been 
 earning money for the express purpose of giv- 
 ing it to the missionary cause, you should de- 
 vote it all to that cause ; but I would advise 
 you not to do as did the two children last 
 mentioned. Had my opinion been asked re- 
 lative to the disposal of their money, I would 
 have recommended them to give one tenth of 
 the sums they had been earning to the. Sav- 
 iour, and to keep the rest to buy those books 
 which they absolutely needed. The giving 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 297 
 
 of not less tlian one tenth of all you earn for 
 charitable purposes is tlie principle wliicli I 
 wish to have full j impressed on your minds, 
 and I hope you will grow up under the in- 
 fluence of this principle, and never^ never de- 
 part from it. But while I thus speak, you 
 must not suppose that I wish you to confine 
 yourselves to the giving of one tenth, if you 
 can give more. I hope you will give not merely 
 this, but one half, or more, if you can afford 
 it. Indeed, if you do not go as missionaries 
 to the heathen, I want you to make it your 
 great object to mahe money for Christ, and to 
 spend it for Christ. Oh! if the generation 
 which is grown were as anxious to make 
 money for Christ and to spend it for Christ, 
 as they are to make it for themselves and to 
 spend it for themselves, or to hoard it up — ^it 
 may be for the everlasting destruction of the 
 souls of theK heirs — ^there would be no com- 
 plaints that money could not be had to send 
 the Grospel to the destitute both at home and 
 abroad. 
 
 In one of my former letters I spoke of the 
 liberal donations which the heathen of India 
 make for the support of their religion. In the 
 
298 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 city of Calcutta alone, it is supposed tliat two 
 millions of dollars are spent- every year on the 
 festival of a single goddess — a festival which 
 lasts only a few days. A single native has 
 been known to give, as I before said, more 
 than one hundred thousand dollars at one 
 time to this festival, and afterwards thirty 
 thousand dollars yearly. How vast, then, 
 must be the sums which are spent upon all 
 the different festivals of their gods, through- 
 out the length and breadth of their land I 
 Would that we could see such liberahty 
 among Christians ! Would that we could see 
 the generality of them willing to give even 
 one tenth of their annual income ! Alas ! what 
 would the heathen say, were they to learn 
 how much greater are the smus of money 
 which they give to their idols, than Christians 
 give to honor their Saviour? Would they 
 not exclaim: It is because Christianity is 
 false, and heathenism is true, that Christians 
 give so little for Christ, while we give so much 
 for our gods ? My dear children, I hope that 
 you will never allow the heathen to say that 
 the Christian religion is false, because you do 
 not give money for the spread of the Gospel. 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 299 
 
 Will you not resolve now, that yon will, so 
 long as God prospers yon in worldly goods, 
 give at least one tenth of all you earn to tlie 
 Lord ? Do, my dear cMldren, do make this 
 resolution now. 
 
300 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 NUMBEE LYII. 
 
 My Deae Childeen : You perhaps liave 
 seen Campbell's Missionary Map of the world. 
 If not, I want you carefully to look at it. I 
 want you to look at the red spots on it, and 
 think how many millions of people embrace 
 the religion both of the Greek and Eoman 
 Catholic Churches — a religion that is nothing 
 more or less than Paganism, with a few Christ- 
 ian doctrines added to it. Affcer this, I want 
 you to look at the green spots, and think of 
 the hundred and twenty millions of Moham- 
 medans, who spurn the name of Jesus as a 
 Saviour, and who have set up Mohammed as 
 their prophet. I want you also to look at the 
 dark spots, where, with comparatively few 
 exceptions, the people are in pagan darkness, 
 without any knowledge of God and the only 
 Saviour of sinners, Jesus Christ. And in Adew 
 of all this darkness ; in view of the need of 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 301 
 
 more than half a million of ministers of the 
 Grospel to preach the news of salvation to them, 
 I want you, my dear boys, to ask yourselves 
 whether it may not be your duty, after you are 
 grown up, to become ministers, and go and 
 preach the Grospel to them? I'or you know 
 that you are bound to do all the good to others 
 which you can ; and even if you do not love 
 the Saviour, you are not released from your 
 obligations to do good. I would by no means 
 have you become ministers without giving 
 your hearts to Christ ; but this you are as much 
 bound to do as*you are bound to do all the 
 good you can to others. If you are not Christ- 
 ians, I want you, through the aid of the Holy 
 Spirit, to become such, and I want many of 
 you to become ministers and missionaries. 
 Three of my sons are now missionaries in In- 
 dia, and three of the four others I hope will, in 
 due time, follow their example. And why 
 should not you also come here, or go to other 
 heathen lands ? If you can be excused from 
 coming or going, why may not all who are 
 now httle boys also be excused ? In such a 
 case there will be no missionaries at all. And 
 you know that this would be very wrong. 
 26 
 
302 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. ^ 
 
 But I do not merely want many of you, my 
 dear boys, to become missionaries, I want many 
 of you, my dear girls, to become missionaries 
 also. Many little girls and boys have express- 
 ed a desire to become missionaries. Several 
 boys, wlio wrote to one of my former mission- 
 ary friends, and several little boys and girls 
 who have written to me, have said that they 
 would like to become missionaries. 
 
 One writes: "I should like to go and be a 
 missionary, and instruct the poor heathen child- 
 ren to love God." 
 
 A second says : " I have beerf selling matches 
 that I made. I got five dollars — -just as many 
 dollars as I am years old. I think I shall 
 become a missionary and come and help you. 
 I hope I shall see you again when I come to 
 Ceylon. Tell the heathen children they must 
 love G-od and be good children. They must 
 not give the children to the crocodiles, nor 
 throw them into the water, and they must not 
 worship wooden and brass gods. They must 
 worship the true God and keep his command- 
 ments." 
 
 A third says : "I like to send money to help 
 the poor heathen to learn to read the Bible 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 303 
 
 » 
 
 and other good books. I think it will be 
 pleasant to sail across tlie ocean, and teach 
 them to turn from their idols. I wonld teach 
 them not to lay themselves down before the 
 car of Juggernant, and be crushed to death ; 
 and I would teach them not to burn themselves 
 to death on the funeral pile." 
 
 A fourth says: "I mean to save something 
 to send to you to help support one school. 
 Should my life be spared, and the way be 
 opened at some future day, I think I should 
 be willing to leave my native home to go to 
 some distant land, to tell the heathen of a 
 Saviour, whom I hope I have found." 
 
 A fifth says: "If you are ever in want of 
 money, just please to send on to me, and I 
 will endeavor to raise all that you want. If I 
 live to be a man, I hope to be a missionary to 
 Ceylon or China." 
 
 One little boy wrote to me as follows : "I 
 have for a long time been saving three shillings 
 for the purpose of buying a little raccoon, 
 which I intended to do on Monday. On Sun- 
 day I heard you preach, and thought I would 
 give it to you to save some poor heathen soul ; 
 and I hope you will pray for me, that I may 
 
304 LETTERS TO CHILDREN". 
 
 » ; 
 
 become a minister, and go to India, and preach 
 to the heathen." 
 
 Another writes : " This is to certify that I, 
 Charles D. H. Frederick, pledge myself, if God 
 spares my life, when I get to be a man, and he 
 pardons me through Christ Jesus, I will go 
 and preach to the heathen." 
 
 A little girl wrote me as follows: "Ac- 
 cording to my present feelings, I should Hke 
 to engage in so glorious a cause" as the mis- 
 sionary cause, "and I hope when I arrive at 
 an age to be of use to Grod and the poor heath- 
 en, to embrace so glorious a cause." 
 
 Another little girl writes: "I felt very bad 
 when I heard you tell about the poor heathen 
 who worship the idols. I could not keep 
 from weeping, when you told us about the 
 man who came so far to get a teacher to come 
 and tell the Grospel to his friends, and was dis- 
 appointed. I felt very bad Sunday evening ; 
 and on Monday evening I felt that the Lord 
 had given me a new heart. I felt happy, and 
 sang some beautiful verses that I learned in 
 one of mother's httle books. I have read the 
 Day-Springs^ and thought a grea,t deal about 
 the heathen for two years. I used to think a 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN". 305 
 
 great deal about having nice clotlies before I 
 thought so much about the heathen. My 
 mother told me, some time ago, that she 
 thought she would get me a white dress when 
 I was ten years old. I am now ten years old, 
 and this evening mother gave me two dollars 
 to get the dress, or dispose of it in any way I 
 thought best ; and I wish you would take it, 
 to have the poor heathen taught about the 
 Saviour. If I live, and it is the Lord's wil], I 
 hope I shall come and help you teach the 
 poor heathen about the Saviour." 
 
 There is, or rather was a little boy in the 
 city of ISTew-York, who formerly told his 
 mother that he meant to be a cab-driver, and 
 all she could say to him was of no avail in 
 making him think differently. This little 
 boy came with his mother to hear me preach 
 about the heathen. After we had left the 
 church, as he was going home, he burst into 
 tears and exclaimed : "Mother, I mean to be a 
 missionary to the heathen." "Who among you, 
 my dear children, are ready to exclaim, with 
 this little boy. We mean to be missionaries to 
 the heathen ? 
 
 26^ 
 
306 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 ISrUMBEE LYIII. 
 
 My Deae Childeek: When I was in 
 America a few years ago, I used continually, 
 wlien preacMng, to ask tlie dear children 
 whether they wonld not become missionaries. 
 I nsed also to beg them to write down what I 
 had asked them. Many complied mth my 
 request. While I was at the Avon Springs, one 
 of the daughters of a physician there liot only 
 wrote it down, but gave me what she had 
 written. The following is a copy of what she 
 wrote: 
 
 "August 18, 1844. 
 "Dv. ScuXrturr 
 
 Requested me to come to India when I am grown. 
 "J.WW Springs. S. P. Southworth," 
 
 Could I raise my voice loud enough to 
 reach America, I would beg of you to ymte 
 down the foUowino^ sentence : De. Scuddee 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 307 
 
 asks me, to-day, wlietlier I will not hereafter 
 become a missionary to the heattien. Perhaps 
 you will write it down immediately — will you 
 not? 
 
 Now, my dear boys, if you will come out to 
 India, or go to Burmah, or China, to tell the 
 heathen of a Saviour, you may, with the bless- 
 ing of God, do as much good as Swartz, and 
 Carey, and others have done. And if you, 
 my dear girls, will do the same, you also may 
 do much good. This will appear fi:om what 
 I told you in my twenty-sixth letter. It will 
 also appear from what I will tell you about a 
 little girl of Ceylon. This little girl belonged 
 to the boarding-school at Oodooville. She 
 early gave her heart to the Saviour, and join- 
 ed the church when she was thirteen years old. 
 I should like to know if there are any of you 
 who have not followed her example. If so, 
 you well know, my dear children, that this is 
 not right. It is not right. Shall this httle 
 girl, in a heathen land — a land filled with 
 idols- — give her heart to Christ, and you, in 
 a Christian land — a land of Sabbaths, and 
 Sabbath-schools, and Bibles — not give your 
 hearts to him ? Oh ! how wicked ! 
 
808 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 But let me go on with my account of tlie 
 little girl. After slie liad joined tlie clni:pcli, 
 slie wanted to go and see lier mother, who 
 was a heathen, for the purpose of conversing 
 with her about her soul's concerns. Now in 
 this country when children who have been 
 absent from their parents for any length of 
 time go home, the mother spreads a mat down 
 on the floor and tells them to sit down upon 
 it, adding that she will go and cook rice for 
 them. They, in general, have no seats to sit 
 on, as you have in America. "Well, this little 
 girl went home. When her mother saw her 
 she was very glad, and after she had spread a 
 mat for her and told her to sit down, she said 
 that she would go and cook rice for her. The 
 little girl told her that she was not hungry and 
 did not wish to eat, but wanted to talk with 
 her. "You can not talk with me," said her 
 mother, "until I have cooked rice for you." 
 "Mother," said the little girl, "you worship 
 idols, and I am afraid that you will lose your 
 soul, and I want to talk with you about Jesus 
 Christ." The mother became quite angry with 
 her, and rebuked her. But still the little girl 
 continued to talk with her about her soul. 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 309 
 
 The motlier then became so angry that she 
 told her to be silent or she wonld punish her. 
 The little girl replied, "Mother though you 
 do whip me, I must talk to you about Jesus 
 Christ;" and she burst into tears. The mo- 
 ther's heart was broken. She sat down on 
 the mat, and her little daughter talked and 
 prayed with her. After this, the little gu-l 
 was so troubled, fearing that her mother's soul 
 might be lost, that she was heard praying for 
 her during all parts of the night. And God 
 heard her prayers. Her mother forsook her 
 idols and became a Christian, and her conver- 
 sion was followed by the conversion of one or 
 two others. Now, my dear girls, if you will 
 give your hearts to the Saviour, and in due 
 time come here or go to other heathen lands, 
 and tell the people of a Saviour, you may, 
 with the help of the Holy Spirit, be as useful 
 as this little girl was. 
 
 And now, my dear children, I must bring 
 my letters to a. close, and bid you farewell. In 
 connection with my remarks about the misery 
 and wretchedness of the heathen, I have said 
 much to you about the salvation of your own 
 souls ; and I, perhaps, have said my last words. 
 
310 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 I am not aware tliat I sMl ever do any thing 
 more for you in tliis respect than to pray for 
 you. I therefore say, Farewell. It will be but 
 a short time before we shall be called to stand 
 before the tribunal of the last day; to stand 
 before our final Judge. And where shall I 
 then see you ? Shall I see any of you on the 
 left hand of Christ, and hear Him say : " De- 
 part from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, 
 prepared for the devil and his angels." Oh ! 
 if I should hear that dreadful sentence pro- 
 nounced against you, how would my heart die 
 within me! How could I bear to hear it? 
 Oh ! I could not. I could not bear to hear it. 
 My dear children, if you are yet out of Christ, 
 I entreat you at this very moment to lay down 
 this paper and throw yourselves at the feet of 
 your Saviour. Tell him that you are lost 
 sinners, deserving to be cast into everlasting 
 burnings. Tell him that though you have 
 been wicked children, you will leave off your 
 wickedness and be his for ever. Plead with 
 him with as much earnestness as a drowning 
 man would plead with you to save him, to 
 give you his Holy Spirit, to renew within 
 you a right spirit, without which you are 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 311 
 
 eternally undone ; and continue to plead until 
 lie pardons you and receives you as Ms cHld- 
 ren. By all the sufferings of tlie Son of Grod, 
 by all tlie joys of heaven and by all the tor- 
 ments of hell, by the solemnities of your dying 
 bed, by the value of your immortal souls, 
 {which^ if once losf, must he lost for ever^) I be- 
 seech you thus, immediately/, to throw your- 
 selves at his feet, and plead with him to 
 make you his. Neglect this duty, neglect it 
 even for one minute, and it may be that you 
 will be LOST, LOST FOR EVER ! And will you 
 neglect this duty? Perhaps you will. Per- 
 haps all the warnings I have given you have 
 been hastily read by you, and will hereafter 
 be unheeded, uncared for, and but little 
 thought of. This indifference, however, can 
 not always last. Your seasons of reflection 
 will certainly come. K not in a dying hour, 
 they will in the judgment-day, and they will 
 make your hearts sink and die within you 
 when, in common with all those whose sins 
 are not washed away in the blood of the 
 Lamb, you shall be cast away into the lake of 
 burning brimstone. And when millions and 
 millions of years shall have rolled away, and 
 
312 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 jovl are forced, by tlie gnawings of tlae worm 
 wMcli never dies, and by the torments of tlie 
 fire wMcli is never qnenched, to lift up your 
 voice, and say, "How long, Lord! yet how 
 long?" and when the voice of infinite Justice 
 proclaims, For ever! with what waiUings 
 and bitter lamentations will you look back 
 and remember the transactions of this day, 
 when you deliberately and wiRmglj chose the 
 warld^ instead of the Saviour ^ as your portion! 
 Yery affectionately, 
 
 J. SCUDDER. 
 
 Madras, Oct. 15, 1853. 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN". 313 
 
 ISrUMBER LIX, 
 
 Mr. Editor: The accompanying papers 
 contain an extract from a private letter written 
 by my sister Harriet to my brother and my- 
 self. Thinking that it might be read with in- 
 terest by the friends of the missionary en- 
 terprise, and especially by those connected 
 with our own denomination, I send it to yon 
 for publication, if you see it fit to give it a 
 place in the columns of the Intelligencer. The 
 letter was written in February of the present 
 year. Our friends in India had not then 
 heard the intelligence that has saddened our 
 hearts. Ezekiel C. Scudder. 
 
 LETTER FROM INDIA. 
 
 " I MUST ten you of a very interesting case 
 
 we have had lately of a little heathen boy. 
 
 He is the only son of a high-caste, proud, and 
 
 respectable family in the large town of "Walla- 
 
 27 
 
314 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 janugger. He came a long time ago to Henry 
 for medical treatment, and heard the Gospel. 
 ■ He did not forget it, but a few weeks since ap- 
 peared on Henry's verandah, and begged him 
 to take him and protect him, as he was deter- 
 mined to be a Christian. He came to Yellore 
 all the way from his town alone. Henry, of 
 course, received him. Three or four days 
 after, his parents appeared and claimed their 
 child. Henry brought them out, and told them 
 if he would go they might take him. The 
 little fellow told them nothing could induce 
 him to return to heathenism, and that he 
 should .stay with Henry, who could teach him 
 the way to heaven. A heart-rending scene 
 followed, enough to make any one weep. His 
 poor heart-broken parents and friends wept 
 and used every inducement to make him go 
 with them ; but though the dear boy suffered, 
 he remained steadfast. By and by he pa,rtook 
 of some food on Henry's table, before his father. 
 The poor man arose at once, and, without a 
 word, left the house, overwhelmed with shame 
 and sorrow that his only child had lost his 
 high caste, etc. All remained quiet until 
 about a week after, when Henry received a 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 315 
 
 summons to appear before the court at Yellore, 
 with the boy, whom his father declared was 
 detained by Henry, without his (the father's) 
 consent. Henry sent over here for William 
 to accompany him to court, which was to be 
 held two days after. Oh! what a sad two 
 days it was to us. Incessantly our prayers 
 arose on behalf of the dear boy. Hon. Judge 
 Sullivan, the judge, is a very worldly man, 
 and from the tone of his remarks, it seemed 
 very evident that his mind was made up in 
 favor of the father, and that the boy would be 
 taken from us and given to him, and returned 
 to heathenism. Our souls were in great sor- 
 row, and with tears we plead that our Father 
 would appear for us, and incline the heart of 
 the judge to allow the boy to choose for him- 
 self Poor Henry was worn out with anxiety 
 and sorrow. He has since remarked that ' he 
 never had prayed so earnestly for his own sal- 
 vation as he had for the boy.' He and Wil- 
 liam spent hours talking and praying with the 
 boy. They told him they feared he would 
 be given up to his father, but that he must 
 cling to Jesus, and he could be saved. The 
 little fellow trembled much, but declared that 
 
316 "^ LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 notliing could make Mm leave Christ. On 
 Timrsday, tlie 2otli of last month, (Jamiary,) 
 at 11 o'clock, they went to court, and we three 
 sisters tried to spend an honr at the mercy- 
 seat, pleading for Jesus' sake, that the decision 
 of the judge might be in our favor, and the 
 boy returned to us. The whole day was spent 
 in hearing and examining the case, but no de- 
 cision was given, and it was laid over until 
 Saturday, when Henry was commanded to ap- 
 pear with the boy again at 12 o'clock. Wil- 
 liam was obliged to return home on Friday, 
 as it had been decided at the annual meeting 
 of the mission that all our native Christians 
 should meet (from the four stations) here at 
 this station, that we might see them all 
 together, and have a love-feast and com- 
 munion season. On Friday evening they came 
 in, one party after another, from Arnee, Arcot, 
 and Yellore. It was quite a business to see 
 and speak to them all, and arrange places for 
 their accommodation. They seemed very 
 happy to see each other. Some of them had 
 never met before, and we decided that they 
 should all get acquainted. Fanny and the 
 four darliags, and Anna also, arrived the same 
 • 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREJT, 317 
 
 evening from Yellore — Henry could not come 
 until after attending court witli tlie boy, as ap- 
 pointed the next day, (Saturday,) and he sent 
 ^A^ord that, as soon as the decision was given, 
 he would ju.mp on his horse and try to reach 
 us in time for the love-feast in the evening. 
 
 "On Saturday morning, the Christians and 
 all their children assembled to attend prayers. 
 After prayers, William told them that, at 12 
 o'clock, Henry was to appear in court with 
 Shengieryan, the boy, and that if they liked 
 he would meet them all at that hour and pray 
 that the boy (who was to be examined particu- 
 larly) might have grace given him to stand 
 firm, and that Mr. Sullivan might be inclined 
 to give him back to u.s. He added, that we 
 had the promise that if we prayed in faith, God 
 would answer us. At 12 o'clock they all 
 came in, and we spent an hour together. As 
 William was anxious that they should feel 
 that they ought to pray earnestly for the child, 
 he let all who wished speak and take part in 
 the meeting. It was a sweet season. I wish 
 you could have heard some of the prayers, 
 especially those by our two old and dear cate- 
 chists, Andrew and Daniel. They plead so 
 27^ 
 
318 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 earnestly and eloquently, so tenderly and 
 sweetly for their young brother in Christ, that 
 it melted us to tears, and when the meeting 
 closed, my anxiety seeilied to leave me, and we 
 all felt as if our prayers would certainly be 
 answered. Saturday was a very busy day 
 with me, as I had to provide for the love-feast 
 in the evening. There were more than eighty 
 persons to eat, so you may fancy it was no 
 small work to think and plan so as to be sure 
 there would be enough of every thing. You 
 would have laughed to see the immense quan- 
 tities of rice, vegetables, meat, etc., which I 
 purchased, and the directions I gave to the 
 servants to cook all my own way. I was on 
 my feet all day, hither and thither, superin- 
 tending matters, and occasionally scolding a 
 little when I could not make them obey me. 
 At 5 o'clock, just as the bell was about being 
 rung for our preparatory service, (the next day, 
 Sabbath, we were to have communion,) Henry 
 rode in, and we all rushed out to meet him. 
 The first words he exclaimed were, ' The dear 
 boy is ours ; Mr. Sullivan let him choose for 
 himself, and of course he chose to remain with 
 me.' We could have wept we were so happy, 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 319 
 
 and as we met at service we tried to praise tlie 
 Lord for so remarkably answering our prayers. 
 W"e waited until 8 o'clock in tke evening be- 
 fore we had our love-feast, in kope that the 
 dear boy, wkom Henry bad put in a bandy 
 after court was over and started kim for tkis 
 place, migkt reack us to join witk us in eat- 
 ing. However, ke did not get in until after 
 we kad commenced, and wken it was an- 
 nounced tkat ke kad arrived, every one was 
 anxious to meet and speak to kim. We sur- 
 rounded kim, and rejoiced over kim as a 
 ' brand plucked from tke burning.' His sckool- 
 fellows embraced kim in tkeir arms, tkey were 
 so kappy to kave kim back among tkem. We 
 kad a very nice love-feast. Our ckurck-mem- 
 bers we seated at . a table, wkile tke nominal 
 Christians and ckildren seated tkemselves in 
 rows on tke floor. Fanny and Anna sat among 
 tke women, wkile I kelped Henry and Wilkam 
 to bail out tke rice and currie, etc. We kad 
 kuge piles of rice on skeets, and just sko veiled 
 it on tke plates ; we also kad several kinds of 
 nice curries, ckateries, fruit, bread and butter, 
 and a great abundance of native sweet-cakes 
 and candy. We told tkem (tke Ckristians) all 
 
320 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 to eat as mucli as possible, and tliey certainly 
 did good justice to the food, for it disappeared 
 very rapidly. It was quite a business to help 
 them all, and when, at last, I sat down, I could 
 scarcely swallow a mouthful, I was so thorough- 
 ly wearied out. After all had eaten as much 
 as they could, Henry invited some of them to 
 speak, and several very good addresses were 
 made. You know our object in having these 
 love-feasts, is to make our Christians break 
 their caste, which they do when they attend 
 one, as they sit next to each other, and the 
 food is cooked by low-caste people. We did 
 not separate until nearly 11 o'clock in the 
 evening. The next day we had our commun- 
 ion season. According to our Dutch fasJiion^ 
 William and I arranged a bug table, at which 
 all our communicants might sit while partak- 
 ing of the supper. Including ourselves, there 
 were about thirty of us, and it did our hearts 
 good to sit down at the table of our Lord with 
 our dear native brethren and sisters. My 
 heart warmed towards them. Henry preached, 
 and William addressed the communicants. 
 Henry, too, made a short address in English. 
 He was much affected, for it was a solemn 
 
LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 321 
 
 thougli sweet season with us. He spoke of 
 our past trials in our infant mission, of our 
 separation, afflictions, etc.; also, of tlie Lord's 
 goodness to us all. We all wept, for we could 
 not help it. It was long before I could calm 
 myself. We had a precious season together, 
 ^er service, Henry and Wilham consulted 
 the Dutch Book, to learn how to form their 
 churches according to the Dutch principles, 
 etc. About 5 o'clock in the afternoon we 
 all assembled together, and Henry arranged 
 all the members of his church on one side, 
 and William all his on the other. They then 
 ordained Andrew as elder of this church, and 
 gave the members all directions as to how they 
 were to conduct themselves, etc., etc. — ^you 
 know better than I can tell you. They thus 
 organized two churches — one here, of which 
 William is pastor, and Andrew, elder ; and the 
 other to be at Yellore, of which Henry is pas- 
 tor, and Daniel and Paul, elders. These two 
 latter persons were ordained some months 
 since, when Classis was formed. After all this 
 was done, Henry and WiUiam addressed the 
 congregation, and then invited any of the 
 Christians who felt disposed to do so to ad- 
 
822 LETTEPtS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 dress their brethren and sisters. Three very 
 good addresses were made, bj Andrew, Daniel, 
 and JSTathan. The meeting was a very pleas- 
 ant one to lis all, and we did not separate 
 until after 7 o'clock in the evening. The next 
 day the Christians all returned to their several 
 stations, having greatly enjoyed the three days 
 they spent together. We thought of you, dear 
 brothers, and wished you were among us. 
 Henry told all the Christians about you, and 
 said we hoped to see you in less than a year. 
 We missed dear papa and Joseph very much, 
 and many prayers were offered up for them. 
 I am sure they would have been delighted to 
 have been with us ; for we had a very pleasant 
 time. Fanny and Anna returned to Yellore 
 the same afternoon (Monday) as the members 
 and Henry and William started on their tour. 
 Well, dear brothers, I have given you a long" 
 account of our mission, etc. I thought you 
 would like to hear it. We often speak of you, 
 and long for you to be among us. I know you 
 will be very happy, engaged in this blessed 
 work ; for it is indeed, a blessed work." 
 
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