til '^r:r*^H »T, % t /18 i^m LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. Cliap.„ Copyright No. Shelf...__ti4.3 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. JQOXUAA. WITHIN THE PURDAH ALSO lln tbe Zenana Ibomee of llnMan princea AND 1beroe6 anb Iberoinee of Xion BEING THE PERSONAL OBSERVATIONS OF A MEDICAL MISSIONARY IN INDIA By S. ARMSTRONG-HOPKINS, M.D. FORMERLY PHYSICIAN IN CHARGE TO THE WOMAN S HOSPITAL, DISPENSARY, AND TRAINING SCHOOL FOR NURSES, OF HYDERABAD, SINDH, UNDER ENGLISH GOVERNMENT APPOINTMENT NEW YORK : EATON & MAINS CINCINNATI : CURTS & JENNINGS 18530 Copyright by EATON & MAINS, 1898. »^F: CEIVED< <^f.i OF CQfi^^ L^qL^ CX^^o.^"^ DEDICATED TO 1Rcv» 'MtUlam XeonacC) Armstrong, /IR.2). A tribute pure of filial love Unto my honored sire ; Who taught my trembling feet to climb, My spirit to aspire; Who bade me reach a helping hand To all whom I might raise From darksome paths of sin and vice, To tread in wisdom's ways; Who bade me speak the truth, nor fear What mortal man might say; . With soul transparent all, and pure, To humbly watch and pray. PREFACE DEAR FRIENDS, I know I have aone a very unfashionable thing in harrowing up your feelings by the recital of some heartrending facts. Facts, indeed, they are, for each particular case which I have cited is a real case. In every instance I have had some particular patient in mind, and have given you the exact details and history of that particular patient ; and yet each of these particular patients is but a sample of many similar cases such as I treated again and again during my dispensary life. I know that returned missionaries love to cite instances of natives coming from distant vil- lages to the mission inquiring the way of salvation. They love to describe revival efforts in country towns, where, perhaps, the whole village has been brought to the foot of the cross. All this can be done. All this is true. The cause of God is making wonderful strides in that strange, dark land. I, too, could tell of similar cases of conversions from dark- est heathendom ; even of Hindu priests who have left all and chosen affliction with the people of God rather than to continue the worship of idols ; but, dear friends, I have chosen to tell you these more unpleasant facts. I have done it deliberately and ''with malice aforethought." At every opportu- 7 8 PREFACE nity I desire to make known these facts to the people of my own country. Why? Because I believe in them; I believe in the chivalry of my own countrymen. Because I believe in my coun- trywomen and in the children of my native land. Because I am convinced that the religion of Jesus Christ, as professed and lived by the people of this blessed country, is not a farce ; is not a mere gar- ment intended for Sunday wear, which is put off and on at discretion. I believe that you who pro- fess to love the Lord Jesus Christ, who have taken his name upon yourselves, do partake of his nature who left his Father's throne and his Father's house and came to earth — the great Medical Missionary — to help, and to heal, and to save his people. When I was in India, and from day to day witnessed such horrible sights, and heard from the pale, trembling lips of wee sufferers heartrending stories such as I have here depicted, I resolved that, if God spared my life and permitted me again to visit my own native land, I would raise the purdah of these zenana homes ; I would acquaint the people of this country with the real condition of the women and children of that dark continent. For I am sure that you need but for one short hour to gaze upon the wretchedness, to look down, as I have looked, into the depths of these dark places where women and children, in utter helpnessness, crouch in pain and woe such as beggar description — that you need only to see with another's eyes — in order to stir your Chris- tian hearts to do something to relieve ; something PREFACE 9 to save. I believed, and I do believe, that for you to know is to do. That you who have felt the thrill w^hich comes from the heart of the All Father in the secret place of prayer, who have reached up and taken hold of the omnipotent hand of God in your secret closets, need but to know the facts in order to run with swift feet to deliver, in order to reach out glad, helping hands to lift up, in order to be willing to sacrifice somewhat of your luxuries, somewhat of your comforts, somewhat, perhaps, of those things which you call the necessities of life, in order to do your part toward sending the Gospel message to those people who sit in darkness and see no light ; remembering that inasmuch as you do it unto one of the least of these, you do it unto him. Do you remind me that I have already confessed that medicine and surgery and all that the English government can accomplish by establishing great hospitals throughout India are of comparatively lit- tle avail, and cannot fully meet the needs of these people, because the tortures arising from mental and spiritual conditions are so much greater than any physical suffering? That their customs and barbarous practices are so deeply rooted that nothing can overthrow them? True ; but, dear friends, I am glad to add that there is one remedy — one remedy — and only one. It is the blessed Gospel of Jesus Christ, and it is sufficient. Send it to them. Send out your missionaries with God's word. Let them go to these suffering women and children, and tell 10 PREFACE the story of the love of God and of the love of Christ for them. Their hearts are aching and bleeding and famishing for love. In their lives they have never known it; never felt it. They have no hope of anything better beyond the grave. Send this glad, beautiful message ; send it quickly. They will embrace it ; they will receive it ; they will forsake all for it. And when once they do ac- cept this blessed Gospel message all these shackles of superstition, heathen beliefs, prejudices, and barbarous practices will fall off, and they will arise in all the emancipated freedom and liberty of glad children of God. Nothing but this can meet the case. God's word is a sufficient remedy. Won't you take it? Won't you send it? Won't you sac- rifice something in order to do this? O, do it! In the name of God Almighty, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, whom you love and revere, I entreat you to send the Gospel to these poor women and children, and to send it quickly! SINDH The gloom that here is found Is like to that of Hell ; While ghastly specters 'round The bravest spirit quell. O God, thou Source of light, This darkness all dispel ; Drive back the heathen's night, Till they thy praise shall swell. Amen. CONTENTS BOOK I Within the Purdah The Native of Hindustan — Attributes and Ciiaracteristics — In- correct Statement in Parliament of Religions — Seeming Truthful- ness — ^Care for Animal Life Explained — Government Hospitals and Equipments — Sindh — Hyderabad — Hospital Building — Patients — Caravan Journey — Dispensary Work — Purdah Garment — Baby Patient — Flattening the Head — Piercing the Ears and Nose- Mother Love— Child Marriage— Unmarried Girls — Betrothals — Bangles— Her Husband's Bank— The Mother-in-law— " Tell Me the Truth "—The Small-cause Court — The DauglUer-in-law — No Real Child Life— The Starving Wife of a Prince—"! Do Not Wish to Get Well " 17 BOOK II In the Zenana Homes of Indian Princes The Taj Mahal— The Tomb of the Dead and the Tomb of the Living Wife — The Zenana Woman and Her Purdah Home— The Zenana Woman — Mr. Syed Mohammed, Aide-de-camp to His Ex- cellency Nawab Khurshed Jah— Emissaries from His Highness Saght Sing, the Maharajah of Bhinai District— From Bombay to Ajmere — A Curious Medico-legal Consultation— A Professional Visit to the Harem of a Mohammedan Prince— The Nawab's Eu- ropean Palace— His Excellency Nawab Khurshed Jah— Her Excel- 1 1 12 CONTENTS lency the Begam Sahib — Another Strange Medical Consultation — The Nawab's Six Palaces — A Diet of Costly Gems — His Excel- lency Dewan Luchman Dass, ex-Prime Minister of Kashmir — The Wives and Daughter of Dewan Luchman Dass — Mrs. Luchman Dass, the Rich Hindu Widow — The Peer — The Peer's Daughter — A Prophecy and a Prayer 85 BOOK III Heroes and Heroines of Zion Who are They? — The Methodist Missionary of the Parent Board — The Servant Question — The Assistant Missionary — The Missionary Evangelist — Missionaries of the Woman's Foreign Mis- sionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church — The Mission- ary Teacher of the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society — The Zenana Missionary of the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society — The Medical Missionary of the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society i79 CONCLUSION By the Rev. George F. Hopkins, A.M. A Poem , . . . 247 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE Saleni Armstrong-Hopkins Frontispiece The Punjapole Asylum for Animals 22 Her Excellency the Countess of Dufferin 25 A Purdah Carriage, with Curtain Removed 30 Woman Patient in her Silk Costume 35 Woman Patient in her Purdah Garment 35 Wealthy Hindu Bridegroom and his Child-bride 49 A Little Daughter-in-law Scouring the Degchas 65 A Young Hindu Prince 73 A Wealthy Mohammedan Nawab, or Prince 73 " My Esther," Mrs. Mary Esther Isaac Ilahi Baksh ']'j Facsimile of Legal Agreement 97 Her Highness Sarupkanwar Bai 107 His Excellency Nawab Khurshed Jah „..„ 117 His Excellency Dewan Luchman Dass and his Daughter 137 Mrs. Molie Luchman Dass in her Kashmeri Costume 141 Mrs. Dalie Luchman Dass in her Punjabi Costume 141 Rare Trophies 15a South India Conference 178 Butler Preparing Tea 184 The Ayah „ „ 184 13 14 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE Three Zenana Missionaries with Servants and Two of Miss Levermore's Little Adopted Native Children, and Chung, Dena's Son 1 84 Rev. S. P. Jacobs with the Boys of One of his Native Schools. 187 An Indian Mud Fire-place with Degcha 194 Domingo, the Cook , 194 The New Missionary and her Moonshee 210 A Mohammedan Moonshee 213 The Girls' Boarding School of the Woman's Foreign Mission- ary Society, Bombay, India 220 A Wealthy High-caste Zenana Lady of Bombay 227 A Zenana Missionary of the Methodist Episcopal Church and her Assistants in Bombay 236 BOOK I WITHIN THE PURDAH ''And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.'' — Matthew xxv, 40. 3 BOOK I WITHIN THE PURDAH THE native of Hindustan — the Hindu, the Mo- hammedan, the Parsee, the Eurasian, but, per- haps, more particularly the Hindu — has somehow acquired a reputation throughout Europe, and doubtless in America as well, for possessing by nature all those attributes and characteristics which we in this Christian land have learned to regard as emanating from the Spirit of God alone, and which we expect to find more often and more fully exemplified in the lives of those who live nearest to the Lord Jesus Christ and who partake most of his nature. The Hindu is supposed to be, of all creatures on earth, the most generous, the most kind-hearted, the most gentle, the most sympa- thetic, and the most unselfish. After living for nearly seven years in India I must tell you that the reverse of this is true. The great principle which we, as Christians, were taught at our mother's knee holds true. Charity, kindness, unselfishness, thoughtful consideration for others, love, and ten- derness, emanate in large measure from God, and from him only, and those who live nearest to him and walk most closely in the footsteps of our Lord Jesus Christ do most fully exemplify these characteristics. 17 18 WITHIN THE PURDAH It has been said that among the many languages spoken by the peoples of Hindustan there is no such word as home, in the sense in which we understand it ; that among all the languages spoken there is no such word as love, in the sense in which we know it. I cannot vouch for the truth of this, as I am not ac- quainted with the languages of India, but I do know that among all the heathen people of that country there is no such place as home, as we un- derstand it; there is no such sentiment as love, as we feel it. And yet it is not difficult to understand how the Hindu has gained the reputation of being all that we have mentioned — kind-hearted, gentle, loving, etc. Those who attended the Parliament of Religions at our great Columbian Exposition may have heard some educated, proud Brahman declare before the civilized nations of the world that the Hindu reli- gion is better than the Christian religion, because it inculcates such kindness of heart and gentleness of nature as to render its follower incapable of stretching forth his hand to slay any living creature. This same proud Brahman, true to his training in deceit and misrepresentation, did not further ex- plain why the Hindu refuses to slay even the creep- ing thing which crosses his pathway or the deadly serpent which imperils his life. At the first glance his statement has a seeming truthfulness. There is a trite saying to the effect that a half truth, or a lie which contains a partial truth, is the worst kind of a lie. It is true that a Hindu will not, under WITHIN THE PURDAH 19 arty circumstance, put any living thing to death. If you lived in India, and a venomous serpent, whose sting is death in twenty minutes — and with- out remedy — were to cross your threshold, you might call in vain upon your Hindu servant to slay that serpent. He would fall at your feet and declare his willingness to serve you to the utmost of his ability, but would beg you to forgive him for refusing to kill the serpent which threatens your life. There are three explanations of the foregoing fact, the first of which seems almost to bear out our educated Brahman in his statement concerning the superiority of the Hindu as compared with the Christian religion. In the religious history of the Hindu, after a reign of terror in which the priests are said to have ' ' multiplied religious ceremonies and made ritual the soul of worship," and when ** sacrifice assumed still more and more exaggerated forms, becoming more protracted, more expen- sive, more bloody — a hecatomb of victims was but a small offering," came a time when ''the tension seemed too great, and the bow snapped. Buddhism arose. We may call this remarkable system the product of the age — an inevitable re- bellion against intolerable sacerdotalism; and yet we must not overlook the importance of the very distinct and lofty personality of Buddha (Sakya Muni) as a power molding it into shape." Buddha effected a vast revolution in Indian thought. *' My law," said he, " is a law of mercy for all." In the 20 WITHIN THE PURDAH forefront of his religious system he put certain great fundamental principles of morality ; he made religion consist in duty rather than in rites, and reduced duty, for the most part, to mercy and kind- ness toward all living creatures. This did away with all slaughter of animals. The people, having grown weary of priestcraft and ritualism, gladly embraced the teachings of this great reformer. This religious system was, in fact, a rebound or re- action from the excessive cruelties which had pre- ceded it. The second explanation is found in the fact that the Hindu worships a large number of animals, and would not naturally be disposed to slay the object of his w^orship. It is a common thing to see a Hindu doing poojah (worship) to the ants by the wayside, and bringing flour or boiled rice with which to feed them. They are his gods. He also worships the serpent, the monkey, the bull, and many other animals. The third explanation may be traced as follows : The Hindu religion leads its follower to believe in the transmigration of souls ; therefore a Hin- du will not kill the ant which crosses his path in the street, or the deadly serpent, or the venomous scorpion, or the rabid dog which has torn the limbs of his own child, not because of kind-heartedness on the part of this same Hindu, but because by so doing he fears he may slay his deceased mother-in- law, or great aunt, or second cousin, or some other near and dear relative whose spirit is at this time in 'S < OT < o a. oi WITHIN THE PURDAH 23 inhabiting the body of this serpent, scorpion, or rabid dog; and for this great crime he may, in some future state of existence, be doomed to occupy the body of this same creature which he has wickedly put to death. One of the practical outgrowths of this religious belief may be seen in the city of Bombay, in the establishment of an asylum or place of refuge where all diseased, maimed, decrepit, aged, or otherwise dangerous animals may be confined. Just as the English government provides places of refuge for unfortunate mortals afflicted with lep- rosy, cholera, smallpox, and insanity, so have the high-caste Brahmans of Bombay established such an asylum or hospital for animals. Howxver, one can hardly speak of it correctly as either an asylum or a hospital, because there is no effort made to restore these inmates to health, to prolong their lives, or to promote their comfort. It is merely a place of banishment where offensive or harmful domestic animals are kept until they die, in order that no Brahman may be compelled in self- protection to put any of these creatures to death, and so bring a curse upon his own soul. This same Brahman will beat his domestic animals most cru- elly starve and torture them in many ways, thus exhibiting his lack of kindness. Indeed, you need only to acquaint yourself with the inner home-life of the Hindu, you need only to pass in behind the purdah of his zenana home and behold his conduct toward the members of his own household, in order 24 WITHIN THE PURDAH to know for yourself that my first proposition is true, and that the Hindu is of all people the most cowardly and the most cruel ; for a cruel man is always a coward, and a coward is always cruel. In order that you may know the Hindu personally, become acquainted with the members of his family, and understand the principles which govern his life, I shall invite you to accompany me to the English government hospital of Hyderabad, Sindh. You know about the splendid work that has been done for India by the English government through the efforts of that beautiful woman, the Countess of Dufferin, in establishing government hospitals in all the great cities of that empire. Beautiful hos- pitals they are ; thoroughly equipped with all modern improvements, conveniences, instruments, and apparatus such as you find in the best English hospitals of to-day, having an efficient staff of officers — servants, nurses, compounder or druggist, clerk, interpreter, house surgeon — and at the head of all, the English or American lady physician in charge. It was to such a position as this in the Woman's Hospital, Dispensary, and Training School for Nurses, of Hyderabad, Sindh, that I was called in January, 1893. Before proceeding further allow me to state that most of the fashions, heathen customs, prejudices, and barbarous practices which I shall here describe are peculiar to the district of Sindh, and would not hold true if applied to the people of Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, or perhaps to any other people of India. Her Excellency the Countess of Dufferin WITHIN THE PURDAH 27 Sindh is a province in the northwestern part of British India, having an area of 56,632 square miles and, in 1891, a population of 2,900,000. Hyderabad is the historical capital of Sindh and chief city of that province. It stands three and a half miles east of the left bank of the Indus River. Its population in 1891 was 58,048, of whom 23,000 were Mohammedans, the remainder being, for the most part, Hindus ; unlike the great native city of Hyderabad, Deccan, which is purely Mohammedan , and a walled city. Our hospital building is a fine brick structure of but one story, surrounded by a very deep veranda, which is shut in from outside gaze by broad pil- lars, with close lattice w^ork intervening, and over all the Indian chick — a sort of curtain made from split bamboo or reed grass. To this hospital and dispensary come patients representing all classes and castes, rich and poor, Hindu, Mohammedan, and Eurasian. Not only do they come from Hy- derabad city, but also from the country villages round about, ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty miles distant. Some of the poorer classes from these country villages come walking. I have often seen a little frail woman, weak and ill, who had walked a distance of forty miles from her country village to the hospital — not alone ; one never goes alone through the jungles of India. It would not be safe to do so on account of the wild beasts which prowl about and the many venomous and deadly serpents which infest the plains. 28 WITHIN THE PURDAH It generally happens in a country village that some peer or wealthy native — one of the aristocracy of the place — has a son who is ill. Perhaps he would scarcely undertake such a journey for the sake of a wife or a daughter, but his son, whose life is far more valuable than the life of any woman could be, is ill. There are no hospitals in the country villages, and no English physicians, or even properly educated native doctors. He determines, therefore, to make a trip to the government hospital at Hyderabad, and forthwith proceeds to gather together all the sick people in his village until a large company has arranged to make the journey. Those who are most ill, sons, wives, and daughters of the wealthier members of the community, make the journey on camels, while the poorer people, men, women, and children, and also, perhaps, a large number of strong men, even though of the wealthier class, and high caste, will travel on foot. It is a great sight to see such a caravan en route from some distant village to Hyderabad city. The camels, with their slow and measured tread, you may see in the distance, marching single file. The head camel is ridden by one man, who holds one end of a little string not much larger than the cord with which your groceries are bound. The further end of this string is attached to the outer swell of a little wooden nose ring, very much the shape of a thread spool with a very thin stem, which passes through the right nostril of the great docile beast. This nose ring and slender cotton cord serve the o > o g a O o a. WITHIN THE PURDAH 31 purpose of halter, bridle, and all. A slight tight- ening of this cord will indicate to the camel that the rider wishes to turn, and a tap on his great neck will serve to guide him in the right direction. The second camel has a similar nose ring, to which is attached a similar cord, this cord being tied to the tail of the first camel ; and thus all the twenty- five or fifty camels are tied together, noses and tails, and all with a string so slender that you would think a toss of the head would break it. All the camels except the first one described, which leads the others, are loaded with the women, children, and sick people of the company, while their robust friends and neighbors follow after on foot. The journey is begun late in the afternoon, as soon as the heat of the day begins to abate ; and they travel all night, until the morning sun grows so intensely hot as to render further travel hazardous to their lives. Then, if possible, they find a tree with broad, expanded branches, in the shade of which they rest until evening, when they start on again. So it is that early, early in the morning, often before the dawn of day, such a caravan as this arrives at our hospital in Hyderabad. At a signal or a word from the man who sits upon the first camel all these gentle brutes kneel down in the fashion peculiar to themselves, slowly lowering the closed carriages, or baskets, which are loaded with human freight. Then four men — fathers, husbands, or brothers of the occupants of this particular carriage — approach the second camel, and with two long poles attached 32 WITHIN THE PURDAH to its floor raise it (the carriage) to the level of their shoulders, and thus carry it to the great door which opens into the deep veranda of our hospital. Here they leave it, just outside the threshold, and run away and hide themselves, while four of our Chris- tian nurses from the hospital go out and carry the precious burden inside of the veranda, closing the door after them. Here the carriage door is opened, and the occupants are taken out and allowed to rest on the floor of this great veranda until the hour ar- rives for opening the dispensary. When this load is properly settled the carriage is put outside the door, and other men bring the next carriage in the caravan of camels, and so on, until all the camels have been unloaded and their occupants deposited on our hospital veranda, where they are quite se- cluded from public gaze, as before intimated, by the broad pillars, close lattice work, and bamboo chicks. Of course the hospital is a purdah or zenana hospital, no men being allowed inside its gates. At half past nine o'clock a. m. the physician in charge arrives in her carriage, and then the dispen- sary work begins. Passing through a large folding door in the center of the great front of the hospital, we find ourselves in a large and pleasant consult- ing room. The ceiling is very lofty, and from its center is suspended a huge punkah, which swings from side to side, keeping the sultry air in motion and rendering the room comfortably cool. The members of the hospital staff have arranged them- WITHIN THE PURDAH 33 selves in rows on either side of the space between the door and the doctor's table, and bow low in respectful salaams as we pass ; afterward standing about in their pure white sarees, gracefully draped in Indian fashion, respectfully awaiting orders. Parina, the native interpreter, a Christian woman, stands near by, ready to interpret into English any of the many tongues which may be spoken by the various patients who have gathered from all direc- tions. The side door, leading into the outer hall, is opened, and one patient at a time, each taking her turn, passes into the clerk's office, where her name, approximate age, and any particulars which can be gleaned concerning her personal history and illness are recorded. These people never know the date of their birth, but they approximate their age by certain great epochs. This one says, "I was so big," indicating a height of two feet, ''at the time of the mutiny," and so on. Having regis- tered, the patients are admitted, in twos and threes, to the consulting room. I shall endeavor to make them known to you, one at a time, as they come into our presence. A tiny woman, not larger than a child of ten in this country, makes her way slowly from the clerk's office. She is shrouded in her long white purdah garment, which consists of a cap about the shape of a gentleman's smoking or skull cap, pure white, and hand embroidered. Into the lower edge of this cap is gathered a full flounce of unbleached muslin, which falls to the ground, and even trails 34 WITHIN THE PURDAH about her, being as long in front as behind. Thus her entire person is wholly concealed from view. If you separate the thick folds near the rim of the cap, about where the eyes are supposed to be, you will find two small holes in the muslin. They are about one inch long and two thirds of an inch in width, and are veiled by a close net, something like mosquito netting, only of coarser texture. Through these tiny openings the patient is supposed to be able to see sufficiently to avoid a fall. Of course one from without cannot see the face nor even the eyes of the patient through these small and closely- screened openings. As she comes near our inter- preter, with tender persuasion, seeks to remove this heavy garment ; but the little patient is timid and shrinking, and resists her overtures. At length, however, she herself slowly gathers the heavy folds together and raises them a little at a time, until from underneath she is able to peer out and look about. She does this to make sure that there are no boys or men folk in the room. Later on she is persuaded to allow the nurses to re- move this heavy and oppressive garment, and when this is done she stands before us in her many- colored pure silk garments, which are so gracefully adjusted and so artistically arranged, in point of coloring and in every other detail, as to render her a beautiful picture to look upon. So tiny and wan is she, so emaciated and sad of face, that you judge her to be the patient ; but your mind is presently disabused of this thought, for she WITHIN THE PURDAH 37 steps forward and, unwrapping from the folds of her garment an infant, she lays it on the table be- fore you. Its arms and legs are tightly bound down, stiff and straight, by strong strips of cotton cloth. This is the custom throughout the district of Sindh. Be it a boy or a girl, be it Hindu or Mohammedan, all are thus strapped during the first months of their existence ; so that the slight exer- cise, relaxation, and rest which an un trammeled baby naturally gets from tossing its limbs about is denied to infants here. These strips of cloth are tied so tightly about the soft, emaciated limbs that you can almost bury your finger in the groove caused by this pressure. But it is not for this condition we are consulted. The child-mother turns the infant on its side, and you see that the whole back of the head has been crushed until it is quite flat. It is swollen, hot, inflamed, and in the center of the head, at the back, there is a running sore about the size of a silver half-dollar. If you do not know the cause of this condition, your interpreter will explain that every child born of heathen parents in the district of Sindh, boy or girl, Hindu or Moham- medan, is, immediately after birth, placed upon a solid stone bed. Its head rests lower than its trunk, and in order that the child may not slide off headwise and be injured a little ledge is arranged as a headpiece. During the day, every two or three hours, some member of the father-in-law's family, with the strong palm of the hand, presses the soft, mobile little head against this hard stone. 38 WITHIN THE PURDAH until it becomes quite flat at the back, the forehead protrudes, and above each ear large protuberances appear, almost resembling horns. This practice goes on during all the early months of the infant's life, until the head remains in this distorted shape. All this for beauty's sake. These ignorant people imagine that they know better how to form a beau- tiful human head than does God Almighty. It is the fashion in that part of India, and must be fol- lowed — even though the practice result in the death of the child, which is often the case. It seemed to me that every child must die as a result of such treatment. The whole thing was at first incredible to me, and I asked my nurses to call in the serv- ants, and the children of the servants, and uncover their heads, that I might examine them ; men's heads in India being always covered with their pugris, and the heads of women and girls by their sarecs. To my astonishment, I found all their heads were perfectly flat at the back and protruding above the ears and in front, as above described. In the case of this little patient, we will give the infant into the hands of our surgical nurse, asking her to syringe the wound with some disinfectant solution, place a little pillow of surgeon's cotton over and around the wound, bandage the head nicely, as she knows how to do, and bring the child back to us. This done, we restore the little one to its mother's arms, giving strict injunction not again to place it upon its stone bed, and not in any case to remove the bandage, but to bring it WITHIN THE PURDAH 39 back again to-morrow to have the wound dressed. The following day, however, she does not return, nor the next, nor for several weeks. When, how- ever, she does return w^e discover that the band- ages have been removed, and perceive by the con- dition of the wound that the crushing process has been persisted in, despite the fever which it has caused and the evident debility of the child. We begin to upbraid the little woman. We tell her that she is no mother, that it is a cruel, unnatural thing for her thus to torture her little one, that she has no love for her babe. At these words the tiny mother, with a gesture expressive of utter helpless- ness and a look of entreaty, exclaims: ''O, Doctor Sahiba, what can I do ? It is our custom ! And then, " she adds, in a still more helpless way, * ' I have a cruel mother-in-law." So it is that, though the child-mother might perhaps spare her infant this torture, there are other members of the family who would insist upon carrying out the custom of their people. Of course the little head is dressed again as before, and the patient and mother sent away with stronger orders than ever; but she never again returns — not at least for the sake of this child. Some months later she does come back to consult us in regard to an older child, and when we interrogate her concerning her baby she tells us in a sad way that it is dead. The practices above described, of binding the limbs and crushing the heads of infants born to heathen parents residing in the district or province 40 WITHIN THE PURDAH of Sindh, are, as has already been intimated, in- flicted upon both male and female children, but if the little one is so unfortunate as to be born a girl in this district, there are many tortures which she mUvSt endure from which her brother would be exempt. Our next patient is also an infant in the arms of her young- mother. Upon examination we find the little limbs tightly banded down and the head crushed, as in the former instance, but in addition to this the wee ears have been pierced every eighth of an inch all around the rims, and dirty-looking, black woolen strings have been inserted in the freshly-wounded tender flesh. The nose, also, both right and left nostrils and the center portion, has been pierced, and the woolen strings have so irri- tated the wounds that both the nose and the ears have become enormously swollen, hot, and ulcer- ated to such an extent as to render the child feverish and ill. These running sores — shall I say it to refined ears? — are full of maggots, which add a fresh torture to the sufferings already too great. If we are new in Sindh, and have not yet learned how utterly useless it is to fight against these iron-clad customs, we will probably follow our first impera- tive impulse — clip the strings and remove them from the ears and nostrils; afterward passing the child to the nurse with instructions to syringe with disinfectant solution and dress the wounds properly. This done, we give instructions to the mother to allow the bandages to remain and to bring back the WITHIN THE PURDAH 41 child to the dispensary to-morrow. The mother does not return with the child for many days. When, finally, she does return she approaches timidly and with apparent shamefacedness. She does not carry her infant, but her mother-in-law follows on behind with the babe in her arms, while the little mother comes toward us, bowing at every step until her forehead almost touches the floor. This formality indicates that she acknowledges her own great inferiority, that she feels herself to be little and mean and contemptible — less than the dust under your feet, a very slave ; while you, in her own words, are her via bap (mother and father), great, and high, and lifted up, with authority to command or crush her at your pleasure ; neverthe- less she comes to you with a petition. As she draws near we will await her further formality. Standing before us, she takes the corner of her saree^ wraps it around her neck, and holds it tightly with her two hands. This to us, suggests hanging, and it is a sort of mental hanging, for it means ex- actly the same as the low salaam above described. Standing now with bowed head, and joining the tips of index fingers, she begins to stroke the bridge of her nose. This formality, also, has the same significance as the two preceding ones. Finally you grow impatient, and express your will- ingness to hear her petition at once. The mother- in-law now comes forward and lays the infant on the table before you. The bandages have been removed from the head, black strings have again 42 WITHIN THE PURDAH been inserted, and the cliild is in a worse condition, if possible, than on the occasion of the first visit. The little mother now interposes and begs that you do not again remove the strings from her baby's ears, but that you give some lotion or ointment which can be applied, and which will cause the wounds to heal, while the strings remain in their places ; adding, with all the emphasis which she is capable of expressing, that, if you remove them, she cannot again bring the child to the dispensary, be- cause her family will have other strings inserted immediately upon her return. The strings, she declares, must remain, because her little girl is soon to be married, and then ornaments will be inserted in place of the strings. The native Indian has a conviction that the English ointment is an infallible cure-all. No matter what the disease, no matter how terrible the condition, if an Indian can procure a little English ointment, a perfect cure is certain. In this case, if we are wise — if we have been in this part of India for long, and understand how per- fectly impossible it is to overthrow the customs of these people and how futile all efforts to prevent the carrying out of them — we will accede to the petition of the little mother. We will not again cut the strings from the baby's ears and nostrils, but we will have the wounds syringed with a disin- fectant solution and give her some lotion or powder or ointment, to apply from time to time, which will facilitate the healing of the wounds, even while the strings remain. By these means WITHIN THE PURDAH 43 we shall be able at least to relieve the sufferings of our little patient, though we cannot wholly remove them ; whereas, if we were to cut the strings, the mother would never again return to the dispensary with her child, and it would be allowed to suffer on without relief. If this little girl baby is so unfortunate, as we would consider her — so fortunate, as the natives of India would consider — as to have an elder brother, she will be left upon her stone bed from morning until evening, and from evening until morning. She will be fed upon goat's milk if her parents are wealthy; if poor, rice, chapati, or any food that it is convenient to give. If she cry, and thus annoy the family, she will be dosed with opium, while her brother — two, three, four, five, or six years of age, perhaps a large boy nearly as tall as his mother — will sit astride his mother's hip and receive from her the natural nourishment which God Almighty provided for the young infant. Whatever the mother is doing, however laborious her task, she can never be rid of this great, strong child, which hangs continually upon her side. If she put him down for a moment, he will kick and scream, tear her hair, scratch and bite her until she is obliged to take him again upon her thigh. She dare not strike him or punish him in any way, for he is her husband's son. If you question her as to this strange partiality between her two children, she will reply, " O, the baby is only a girl, but this — my son! " 44 WITHIN THE PURDAH You will naturally judge from this that Indian parents love their sons and hate their daughters. I believe this, also, to be a mistake. Where there is any love it is felt just as much for the daughter as for the son. I have seen this exemplified in many cases. I remember one instance in which the little daughter had fallen from an upstairs ve- randa and received fatal injuries. The mother told us about it with many tears, and my interpreter said to her: '' What does it matter? Slie was only a girl!" The mother replied, " Yes, she was only a girl; but then what about my mother-heart?" The fact is that where 3^ou find heathen people who know nothing about Christ, nothing about the one great God whose name is Love, nothing about his revealed truth, which teaches love, there is very little love to be found ; and this difference in the treatment of the daugfhter and son comes throuo^h no partiality for the son, on his own account, but from a purely business and mercenary principle. The son, from the day of his birth to the day of his burial or burning (for, if he be a Mohammedan, his remains will be buried ; if a Hindu, they will be burned), is a source of great honor and large income to his parents. Indeed, among these people the birth of a son is considered to be well-nigh equiva- lent to receiving a fortune; whereas the daughter, from the day of her birth to the day of her burial or burning, is not only a source of tremendous ex- pense — an expense which never ceases while she lives — but she is also a source of possible disgrace WITHIN THE PURDAH 45 to her family and caste. If she be not married before she arrive at the age of twelve, she can never marry, as no^ native man will marry a girl over that age, and her parents and all their family are irrep- arably disgraced. Indeed, nothing can happen to a native family which will bring them such disgrace as this. The parents are supposed to have failed in their duty to their child. A girl thus unmarried is in a worse condition than a widow. She is stripped of her jewels and silken apparel ; a single scant garment of coarse texture is all that is allowed to her, and her beautiful hair is cut. She is not al- lowed to mingle with the other members of the family during any festivity or anniversary occasion. If there be rejoicings in the home at the birth or marriage of a son, or on account of any other good fortune, she may not participate in it. She must sit alone in a little dark place nursing her miseries, and never showing her face to mother, father, brother, sister, or guest. Even on ordinary occa- sions she may not show her face in the morning to any member of the family until they have each and all looked into other faces of happier fortune ; for she is supposed to be cursed by the gods, and for one to behold her face before seeing the faces of others would, in the opinion of natives, invariably bring bad luck. She does the drudgery of her father's household, and receives kicks and abuses from any and all of its members, and often upon the slightest provocation. Should she fall ill, no physician is consulted and no effort made to restore 46 WITHIN THE PURDAH her health or to prolong her life. Her death is earnestly hoped for not only by her family and friends, but by herself also. On one occasion a native zenana worker who taught one of the respectable married sisters of one of these little unfortunate unmarried girls begged the father to allow her to bring a physician, not with any hope of restoring health, or even pro- longing life, but simply with the object of relieving the intense suffering which this daughter, who was far gone in consumption, was so patiently enduring. On several occasions the zenana worker had begged permission to do this, but the father was not willing to pay any medical fees, and still less willing to have the health of his daughter restored or her life pro- longed. Finally, however, she obtained permission to bring a lady physician, with the understanding that no fees should be charged and no effort made to restore the health or prolong the life of the patient, but only to relieve the pain. The native zenana worker then explained the case to me, and I readily agreed to the terms, consenting to pay the visit without charge and with the sole object of re- lieving the most distressing symptoms. I can never forget my visit. The expression of utter hopeless- ness, despair, and misery on this young girl's face beggars description. The memory of it haunted me for many days afterward. During a subsequent visit, and through my interpreter, I carefully de- scribed to my little patient God's great plan of sal- vation. I assured her that she was immortal — that WITHIN THE PURDAH 47 she could never die. I said, ''The part of you that thinks, that feels, that suffers, that rejoices, that understands — that part must live forever, and for- ever, and forever." I told her Christ would prepare a place for her in heaven, and that he would take her to himself if she would only believe on him and give her heart to him. She listened with intense eagerness, her eyes dilating, her face flushing and then growing pale again. She had been taught to believe that she had no soul, being a woman, and that her only hope would have been in marriage, which the gods had denied her. A married woman may hope, by the faithful discharge of her duties to her husband, obedience to her mother-in-law, etc., etc., some time to be born again in the form of a man, and after that, perhaps, she may merge into the great God, and thus lose her individuality and identity ; but a woman who has been cursed of the gods, and for whom a husband could not be found, has no hope in this life or in the next. When, however, she heard the true story of the creation, the fall, the redemption of the world through the death of Christ, the immortality of the soul, and God's great plan of salvation, she accepted it with the simplicity of a young child, and, trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ for her eternal salvation, she re- ceived him into her heart gladly, joyfully. How can I tell it ? No words can describe the wonderful change which swept over her pale, sad face. If she had ever known joy, if there had ever been a ray of hope in her heart, it had left no trace upon 48 WITHIN THE PURDAH her poor, wan countenance. Now, for the first time, her face was lighted up with joy and hope and peace ; and in her large dark eyes a wonderful love-light came, and remained until all light was gone and her spirit was with God. As soon as a female child is born in any house- hold the preparations for rejoicing, which had been made in anticipation of a son, are put aside, and no one is allowed to partake of food in that house for some time thereafter, as there is now cause for sad- ness and not rejoicing. The father begins immedi- ately to cast about in his mind for some one to whom he may betroth his new-born daughter. This is arranged as quickly as possible. He will betroth her to an infant boy if convenient, or to a boy in his childhood, or in his youth, or in his young manhood ; or to a man in middle life, or even to an old man with many wives. The only imperatively necessary thing is that she be be- trothed to some boy or man in her own caste, and that without delay. Of course, in any case, the bridegroom may die before the wee girl is yet old enough to be married, and thus she will be left a widow. This, however, would not be so dire a catastrophe as for her to remain unmarried until she pass the age of twelve. In the former case vshe only is disgraced, and is supposed to have incurred the curse of the gods ; whereas in the latter case her parents and all their family are disgraced, deeply and irreparably, among all their caste people. The betrothal involves much expense to the little Wealthy Hindu Bridegroom and his Child-Bride WITHIN THE PURDAH 51 p-irl's father. He is expected to make a feast for the bridegroom's family and friends. To the future bridegroom's father, mother, brothers, and sisters he is expected to give bakhshish (gifts). We hear a great tamashi (noise, sound of rejoicing) m the street, and, rushing to the door, we see a horse, if the family are in good circumstances, otherwise a bullock, donkey, or goat, adorned with wreaths of flowers, gold and silver trappings, and carrying upon his back the bridegroom, who is also adorned with gold, silver, and flowers in the most striking manner. If his parents be wealthy, he may also be adorned with jewels of many sorts and colors Men and boys crowd about, and there is a soundof beating of drums, cymbals, and various musical in- struments of native device. Somewhere behind in the crowd there is a bullock cart, closely curtained on all sides, and in this purdah -carriage is the baby o-iri whose betrothal is now being celebrated. Ot course it may be that she has arrived at the age of one, two, three, four, or five years, and that her parents have been unable to arrange for this be- trothal eariier ; but whether she be an infant of a few days only or a little giri of five or six years, she will be closely concealed in the purdah-carnage, accompanied by her mother or nurse, or both, nei- ther of whom can be seen by the people who throng the carriage. After this ceremony the wed- ding day must not too long be postponed. ' ' How lono"? " do you ask? A few years ago the English gov^'ernment passed a law to the effect that no bride 52 WITHIN THE PURDAH should go to the house of her mother-in-law before she arrived at the age of twelve years. I am a witness, however, as is every practicing physician in India, that this law is utterly ignored. Of course a law is useless unless it is enforced ; but who can enforce such a law as this? Who knows the age of the little girl-wife when she goes from her mother's home to the house of her mother-in- law? She is a zenana woman. No European, no man, except her nearest relatives, has ever seen her form or face. No one knows her age except her nearest relatives, and they all acquiesce in the practice of child-inarriage. Should the English authorities suspect the true age of this little bride to be less than that required by the law, and prose- cute the parents, the father of the child would take his affidavit unhesitatingly to the effect that she has passed the age of twelve, even though she were really only six, seven, or eight years of age. Often and often have I treated little women patients of five, six, seven, eight, and nine years, who were at that time living with their husbands, and came to our dispensary accompanied by their mother-in-law, which is in itself a proof of the fact. The wedding ceremony involves the father of the bride in many additional and very heavy ex- penses. He must again give a dinner to the bride- groom's family and friends; he must again give gifts to every member of that household. He must purchase for his daughter many gold and silver ornaments. Her ears must have gold and WITHIN THE PURDAH 53 silver rings all around, every eighth of an inch. She must wear necklaces that begin tightly about the neck, increasing in length until they well-nigh cover her chest and reach down to her waist. Her fingers must have rings upon them, and her toes must have rings also. The latter must be solid silver, with blue enamel on the diamond-shaped tops, in the center of which there is a little hook holding a tiny silver bell, which renders the little woman incapable of moving without starting the jingle of silver. It is said that this custom was invented in order that the mother-in-law might know the exact whereabouts of her daughter-in- law. Upon her ankles she wears heavy silver anklets, so heavy and angular in shape as to soon cause the slight ankle to become quite callous all around. Through her left nostril she wears a gold ring of small size. In the septum there is also a gold ring, to which is attached a long pendant, which droops over the mouth, and requires to be lifted whenever she eats or drinks. The wed- ding ring must be of pure gold, made in the shape of a bugle, the most slender part of which passes through the right nostril. It is always very large, often ""interfering with the sight of the right eye. If the parents are poor, the wedding ring may be hollow ; but if they are wealthy, it must be solid, in which case it is very heavy. Indeed, any of them are sufftciently heavy to tear out the nostril, so that it is a common thing at our dispensary to repair noses thus rent ; although this ring is usually supported 54 WITHIN THE PURDAH in part by a braid of hair brought from the back of the head down over the forehead and along the bridge of the nose. Her arms are covered with tight ivory bangles, extending from the wrist close down to the hand and up to the bend of the elbow. At this point a small space is left, to allow flexion and extension of the joint. Just above the elbow the bangles begin again, extending to the shoulder. The bangles are made to fit the arm so tightly as to badly callous the wrist and, what is worse, to inter- fere with the circulation of the blood, so that the hands become swollen, purple, and very painful, while the uncovered space at the elbow joint swells enormously, often forming abscesses which require to be lanced. These abscesses are intensely painful, and yet the mother-in-law will on no consideration allow even two or three of the bangles to be re- moved in order to relieve this terrible suffering. They (the bangles) are a sign of the child's re- spectable married condition, and to remove them would be a disgrace, indicating her widowhood. Indeed, they can never be removed during her life, unless her husband first die. Now, if you remem- ber that on her wedding day she is a mere child, you will know that she must grow, and is almost sure at one time or another to take on some additional flesh, and in either case the pain recurs, abscesses forming again and again. However large she may become, these bangles, which have cost her father the considerable sum of eighty or ninety rupees, are never exchanged for a larger size. When they WITHIN THE PURDAH 55 are first placed upon her arms they render her almost helpless for a week or more ; she is unable to feed herself, to dress her hair, or to make her own toilet; so that a friend must wait upon her until the tender flesh shrinks away from this firm, unyielding pressure, and she becomes accustomed to the stiffness, and is thus able to resume her daily duties. These, however, are not the only nor the greater of the many expenses which the father is expected to meet on the day of his daughter's marriage. He must pay into the hands of his daughter's father- in-law the, to him, great sum of two thousand rupees. His income does not, in all probability, exceed five dollars a month, and with this he must support his family, which is probably large. In order to raise the two thousand rupees at one time he will need to mortgage the ornaments of his wife, his daughters-in-law, if he be so fortunate as to have any, and perhaps his brothers and other near rela- tives will need to do the same in order to enable him to raise the required amount. To liquidate this debt and to redeem the ornaments mortgaged will probably require the remainder of his life — un- less he be so fortunate as to have a son or two who may marry and thus get back the two thousand rupees, together with ornaments, and secure a daughter-in-law who will serve as family drudge and slave. Nor does the father's expense cease when he has his daughter safely married and sent to the home of her mother-in-law. If she fall ill at 56 WITHIN THE PURDAH any time, it becomes liis duty and the duty of his wife to pay her regular visits at stated intervals, and on every such occasion his wife must pay into the hand of this daughter's mother-in-law a sum of money not less than eight annas. Should the parents not visit their daughter when ill, or should they visit her seldom, they will be considered by their caste people to have failed in their parental duty, and will be in disgrace as a result. On the other hand, the son is a source of income and honor to his parents as long as he lives. He may be betrothed at any time after his birth ; and this, as shown above, brings a feast and gifts to his father's family. Later on he is married, which means two thousand rupees — a small fortune — to his father. Besides this, all the jewels with which the little wife is adorned may be mortgaged or sold by her father-in-law, as they are all of pure gold or silver. Moreover, the little daughter-in-law ac- tually serves in her father-in-law's house as a family drudge and the slave of her mother-in- law. This is the only hope of the Indian woman. If she be blessed with a son, she looks forward to the time when he will marry and her labors cease, and when she will be respected and en- vied by all the native women because she has a married son and a daughter-in-law to serve her. Moreover, this same son may be married several times, even if his wives all live ; or if one or more of them die, it affords him still greater op- portunity for marrying, and each new wife will WITHIN THE PURDAH 57 bring to his father a small fortune. Besides all this, he must of necessity follow the occupation of his father, and early in his life he may begin to earn a regular salary, which in every case he passes over to his father, who is the head of the house as long as he lives. Thus a son in India is a source of increasing wealth and respectability to his par- ents, while the daughter is the reverse. To return to our dispensary. We find several little women waiting to have their ears repaired ; for not only does the nose ring tear out the nostril, but it is a more common occurrence to have the ears torn through. The earrings worn in this part of the country by the poor and middle classes are solid silver rings of immense size, and covered with great, sharp protuberances. These rings pull the upper half of the ear down over the lower half until the whole ear is stretched and distorted so that you would scarcely recognize it. Thus the great silver rings are piled one upon another ; being inserted, as has already been stated, every eighth of an inch all the way around the rim of the ear, and standing out from the head two or three inches like great horns. Whenever one of these rings tears its way through the ear, so that it drops to the floor, the mother-in-law will immediately pierce another hole and put the ring back in its place ; and this she will do as long as there is any space left. When, finally, there is no longer any sound part through which a hole can be bored in the little woman's ear, when the entire rim of that delicate organ is 4 58 WITHIN THE PURDAH slitted and slashed like the ragged edge of a frayed garment, then the mother-in-law will bring her to the hospital to have her ears repaired. Not that she cares in the least for the disfiguration thus caused or for the deformity; that is a matter of no consequence. The chief object of lading the wife with ornaments and jewels is not that she may be adorned, that her beauty may be enhanced — it is a business arrangement. The wife is the bank of her husband. He is distrustful of Englishmen and of English banks ; he fears to bury his gold in the earth, lest its hiding place be discovered by robbers ; but his wife is in purdah, kept in close seclusion; no robber can get at her without great difficulty. He therefore invests every spare rupee in a solid gold or silver ornament to be hung upon his wife's person. This can be mortgaged or sold at any time, and is just so much cash to him. They are not careful that the gold and silver ornaments be beautifully molded or carved. It is a common thing to see a very rough gold nugget made into a necklace, the several parts of which are beaten out in the crudest manner. The natives of India object to anaesthetics, and think it quite unneces- sary to administer anything for the, to them, trifling operation of repairing such rents. It is an everyday occurrence to have several such patients at our dispensary, and to see one after another sit down quietly and have two, three, or more rents in each ear denuded and sewed up, and one or two such in the right nostril. During the whole opera- WITHIN THE PURDAH 59 tion, which is really a very painful one, the little patient will never wince, nor cry out, nor make any sign of pain. She is so inured to suffering that this is easily borne. Here comes another patient from the clerk's office. She resembles the others in size, but seems to be rather older than the first-mentioned, though still young. She is very lame, and walks with difficulty. Her mother-in-law precedes her; a young native woman is never permitted to leave her husband's house except she is accompanied by her mother-in-law. Presently they stand before us, and the mother-in-law begins to explain that her daughter-in-law is a very bad, ill-tempered, naughty child, and that recently, in a fit of temper, she threw herself from the roof of the house and lamed herself badly. We turn to the little patient for her version of the story. She repeats almost precisely the words just spoken by her mother-in- law. She confesses herself to be very ill-tempered and naughty, and declares that she injured herself in leaping from the roof of the house. After making a careful examination of my patient I am convinced that both mother-in-law and daughter- in-law have lied; and so I determine, for once in their lives, to separate this mother-in-law from her daughter-in-law. Bidding the former remain where she is, I take the little wife into my private consulting room, and the door is fastened; then I bring a chair and persuade the little woman to sit down upon it. This she is very loath to do, as she 60 WITHIN THE PURDAH has never been allowed to sit in the presence of any person whom she respects. Finally, however, she takes the chair by my side. I now assure her that I am her friend. I tell her about my happy home in America ; that I have a father who loves me and brothers who love me and are kind to me, but that I heard of her ; I knew her life was unhappy, that her friends were not gentle and kind to her as mine were to me, and because of my love for the dear Lord, who came to earth to suffer and to die for her and for me, I left my home in the far-off land, and came across the waters, away over to India, in order that I might somehow Jiclp her. I ask her if she believes all this ; if she believes that I am her friend ; but long before I have reached this point the little woman is convulsed with sobs. Indian wom- en, especially in Sindh, seldom weep on account of harsh words, unkindness, or pain of any sort, how- ever severe. They are inured to suffering; but when you declare yourself to be their friend, when you speak to them kind, tender words, it is not difficult to find their hearts. And so, as soon as she is able to speak, she confesses that she believes me to be her friend ; that she never had a friend or anyone to love her, and that no one ever talked to her thus before in all her life. In reply I tell her I am her physician ; that I wish to make her well and strong, but cannot do so unless I know the facts of her case. I tell her that I am fully aware that both she and her mother-in-law mis- represented the case to me in the general consulting WITHIN THE PURDAH 61 room. I know from the character of her wounds that she never got them by jumping from the roof of a house. "So now," I say, ''won't you tell me the truth? Won't you tell me just how you got these wounds and bruises? I shall not tell your mother-in-law. I shall not tell any of your caste people, but I want to know all about it ; the whole truth." She promises to tell me the truth, and then begins by saying that she is a very naughty girl and very ill-tempered. I stop her and remind her of her promise to tell me the truth. She assures me again that she will tell me the truth. She fully believes this to be true. She has been told all her life that she was the worst and most ill- tempered creature on the face of the earth, and she has no doubt of its truth ; and so she begins again with the same confession, after which she proceeds to say that on one occasion a brother-in-law asked her to do something which she felt herself really too weak to do. She was so tired, so weak, and so hungry that she did not instantly obey his com- mand, perhaps she even answered back, whereupon he felled her to the earth. Another came along and kicked her, and still another member of her hus- band's family beat her with a club until she became unconscious. She does not know what happened after that, but she imagines they thought they had killed her, and were frightened on account of the English government; at any rate, after she came to herself she found they had dragged her behind the house, in the narrow space between it and the 62 WITHIN THE PURDAH great wall which surrounds it. When she raised her head and looked about she saw her mother-in- law peeping around the corner. As soon as she was able she dragged herself out where she could get a drink of water. All this happened two weeks ago. Since then she has been gradually improving, but has not yet been able to work much, and be- cause of this latter her mother-in-law, judging her to be so far recovered that the doctor at the hospital would believe her story about leaping from the roof of the house, determined to bring her to the dispen- sary in order that she might be made well enough to work. This is one case only ; many such have I treated in Hyderabad. Little frail creatures come into the hospital all black and blue, and maimed from head to foot, from brutal kicks and club beatings which they have received at the hands of mother- in-law, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, and other members of the husband's household ; and this often upon the slightest provocation. Do you question why the English government permits such outrages? It is plain enough. The English government does not and would not permit it if the English government had any power to pre- vent it. Suppose that I, as an English government physi- cian, in charge of this dispensary, were to prosecute the perpetrators of this outrage. A day would be appointed for the hearing. The case must needs be tried in a small-cause court, as all such cases WITHIN THE PURDAH 53 come under this head, and these courts are all presided over by native judges. On the day of hearing the father-in-law, his sons, brothers, and other relatives, together with perhaps fifty or more outside witnesses (who for two annas each are willing to swear to anything), all give evidence to the same effect; that, from such, or such, or such a distance, he saw this little woman leap from the roof of her father-in-law's house and had personally heard her cries, knowing that she must have been injured by the fall. They would each and all testify to the perfectly upright, honorable, and re- spectable character of the father-in-law's family. After such overwhelming evidence as this, all coming from eyewitnesses (?), what weight would my evidence have? I testify that on a certain occasion, in my private consulting room, this little child-wife gave a very different explanation as to the cause of her wounds. Perhaps my in- terpreter is also present, and confirms my evi- dence. To overbalance this, however, the little child-wife herself, in her close purdah garment, is brought into court, and there takes her affidavit that she leaped from the roof of her father-in-law's house in a fit of anger, and thus wounded herself. She will perhaps also testify that she is very ill- tempered and bad, and that her husband's family are all very good and kind to her. She dare not, for her life, testify otherwise. Of course the judge will dismiss the case. It may be that away down in his hea,rt he is convinced that the little American doc- 64 WITHIN THE PURDAH tor somehow must have gotten a confession of the truth from this little Indian woman, but he is, never- theless, glad that she has not sufficient evidence to prove the facts in the case. For he himself would treat his own daughter-in-law in like manner ; in- deed, he considers that the husband or father-in- law has a perfect right to take the life of his wife or dauo'hter-in-law if he feels vSo inclined. As already intimated, the daughter-in-law is a drudge and slave in her husband's home. Early in the morning, before any other members of the family are awake, she is up ; and sitting in front of the door on the ground, she grinds the wheat for the day's consumption. The wheat is ground be- tween two great stones, the upper one having a hole in its center, through which the wheat falls from the hand of the grinder. The upper stone has also a wooden handle at one side by which it is turned around and around. This is the same sort of a mill as that referred to in the Bible : ' * Two women shall be grinding at the mill." If there are two daughters-in-law in the family, the two will share this labor, one sitting on either side of the mill. They are supposed to sing a grinding song while engaged in this task, and for the song to cease before the wheat is ground would be sufficient offense to justify a blow from any member of the husband's family. This is very arduous labor, and the slight little women sometimes faint away while engaged in the task. Later in the day the degchas (brass and copper cooking utensils) must be scoured A Little Daughter-in-law Scouring the Degchas WITHIN THE PURDAH 67 with the palm of the hand until they shine like mir- rors. Common soil from the front of the door is used for this purpose. In this part of India the fashion allows the daughter-in-law, in the early, early morning, be- fore anyone else is astir, to break her fast with any cold food, rice curry or chapati (pancake, made of flour and water), which may have been left over from the day before. If there chance to be no such cold food in the house, which is often the case, then her fast must remain unbroken during the long hours of that hot, sultry day. Though she prepare all the food for the family, no particle may pass her lips. She prepares the food and stands serving while the others eat, but she has nothing to satisfy her own hunger until late at night, nine or ten o'clock, when all the family have eaten, smoked the huqqa (native pipe), gossiped, and retired to rest; then, if there be cold food left in the house, any which has not been consumed during the day, she may take of this to satisfy her hunger. Consequently — a natural result of this custom— the mother-in-law is often obliged to bring her little half-starved daughter-in-law to the dis- pensary for treatment. She will then stand be- fore you and declare that the girl-wife is very lazy ; that she does not love work ; and that often while engaged in grinding her wheat, or some other domestic task, she pretends a faint and seems to become unconscious. She assures you that this cannot be real ; she is certain that the child is only 68 WITHIN THE PURDAH shirking work, but adds that, though she beat her, she will not resume her task ; and when, finally, she returns to consciousness and goes back to her work she will perhaps faint again. She then instructs you that in case you find any serious disease upon the child which is likely to be fatal it is a matter of no consequence. She does not care to prolong her life if she is likely to die, for she is only a girl, and no good on earth. But if she live, she must work ; so, if you do not find anything serious the matter with her, she will be glad to have you give her something that will make her strong to work. During all this harangue the daughter-in-law's face does not alter in its expression. She has heard such talk as this all her life, and she cannot be more grieved than she has ever been. The same look of settled, helpless despondency remains on her countenance. We examine the frail little pa- tient. Her body is emaciated almost to a skele- ton ; her little pulse flutters and intermits. We find no organic disease present, and we know by many signs that she is in a condition of chronic starva- tion. We interrogate the mother-in-law as to her food — when she eats, what she eats, how often she takes food, and in what quantities. Unblushingly the mother-in-law refers to the above custom, which allows the daughter-in-law to eat the rem- nants of food which are left over from the family meals during the early morning hour and late at night. We tell her that she is starving the child to death ; and ask her if she will not provide at least WITHIN THE PURDAH 69 one Clip of milk every day at noon, or one egg) or at least make sure that the child does get some- thing to eat in the middle of the day regularly. In answer the mother-in-law straightens herself up, and with a sarcastic smile she assures you that that child's small stomach is not able to contain more food than she gets. By this you know that, while for the sake of the work she is willing to bring her daughter-in-law to the dispensary to get medicine which costs her nothing, she will not go to the expense of one extra //^ (a small copper com, worth about one sixth of a cent) for the sake of im- proving her daughter-in-law's health or prolonging her life. We have a secret closet in our hospital, of which I carry the key. It contains beef extract, mutton extract, essence of chicken, soups, and other nourishing preparations. ' 'My Esther," my Christian matron, and one or two of my Christian nurses know about this closet, and so I give to one of them the key, and she understands what is meant. Pres- ently she returns with a large bottle, having upon it a very imposing scarlet label, directing that the patient take one wineglassful of the contents every hour. Of course, if these high-caste natives knew that I was feeding a member of their family upon beef or mutton, or any other meat preparation, my life would no longer be safe in their midst. They do not know it, however, and there is little danger of their ever finding it out, as none of them would know the taste of meat, however prepared, if they were fed upon it. By this means we are able at 70 WITHIN THE PURDAH least to prevent the child from starvation, and to give her a little strength whereby she may perform her daily task without excessive fatigue. I have endeavored to describe a few of my most interesting patients in order to acquaint you with those peculiar pathological conditions which result from the strange and cruel practices of this most barbarous people. I have not mentioned any of the many cases of leprosy which come to our dis- pensary for treatment; nor yet that even more loathsome but unnamable disease which prevails to such an alarming extent throughout this part of India ; nor smallpox, which is sometimes seen ; nor cholera, many cases of which we have during every cholera season. It has not been my object to dis- cuss medical subjects, nor to outline the treatment of diseases peculiar to India ; but rather merely to touch upon those self-inflicted tortures which ac- quaint us with the cruel customs, prejudices, and barbarous practices of these people in their inner home-life. Perhaps, if you were there with me in person, instead of being there merely in imagina- tion, the thing which would leave the deepest and the most indelible impression upon your mind, more than any diseased condition which I have named or could name, is the expression upon the counte- nances of these women — old and young. As we enter together the great front door which leads into the front veranda, and you cast your eyes over the crowd of women and children that sit upon the floor of that veranda, you will see upon their faces WITHIN THE PURDAH 71 an expression of settled, unchanging, hopeless mis- ery, which it is utterly impossible to describe. The children are not playing around with one another. There seems to be no real child-life among them ; it has been utterly crushed out; unless, indeed, there happen to be some little boys in the crowd. The girls, though little more than babes, sit quietly on the floor, like old women, wearing the same look of hopeless despair and wretchedness. You never see these little girls at play ; you never see a happy, joyous expression upon their countenances. And many women at the age of thirty appear to be de- crepit, worn-out, old women. My work in the hospital at Hyderabad was de- lightful. There was nothing difficult or arduous in connection with it. I had a full staff of efficient hospital assistants, who seemed to vie with each other in rendering me the most prompt, efficient, anticipative service. My work was only the purely medical and surgical. Indeed, much of the medical and surgical work I could safely intrust to either ''My Esther," my matron, or my head nurse. The hospital records were prepared by the hospital clerk ; I had only to review, correct, and sign them. Even my prescriptions were written by another at my dictation. My compounder, or druggist, never made a mistake in the putting up of his medicines or in the labeling of them. Only the examination, diagnosis, and prescribing for my medical patients and the performing of major operations devolved upon me ; and, of course, the overseeing and man- 72 WITHIN THE PURDAH aging- of the whole. All this was pure delight to me, as I love medicine and surgery and everything in connection with it ; and yet, I assure you, often and often I have returned home from my dispensary and thrown myself upon my face in utter weariness of body and mind — not because of any work which I had performed, but simply on account of the heartrending stories of suffering to which I had listened and the horrible conditions which I had witnessed, but which I felt myself so utterly helpless to materially better. Indeed, I often questioned in my mind whether there could be any real advantage in relieving the present merely physical suffering, and prolonging human life in cases where the heart, the mind, the soul, writhed in agony, being so much more hopelessly diseased — the heart sufferings ex- ceeding in such great measure any possibility of physical pain. Will you go with me to visit one out-patient? The messenger is a Hindu prince. He comes in a fine English phaeton, drawn by four horses. He has two coachmen on the box, two standing behind. He himself is attired in pure white garments, with the peculiar tall silk hat, with its crown downward and its rim above, which is worn by every wealthy and distinguished native gentleman in the district of Sindh. He is a man of sixty or sixty-five years of age, and his hair is quite white. He informs me that one of his wives is very ill, and that he wishes me to go at once to see her. I take my seat in the carriage, with " My Esther" at my side. We pass (0 o G c -a s B o O C -a G o WITHIN THE PURDAH 75 through the narrow streets of the native city until we reach a great gateway opening through a tall wall which surrounds the premises. At this gate we alight from our carriage and, passing through a very small gate in the center of one of the two doors of which the large gate is composed, we find ourselves in the courtyard of the prince. This court is about thirty by sixty feet in size, and is sur- rounded by a great wall. At the farther end you see a deep veranda with a sloping roof, which ob- structs the skylight so much as to render it quite dark. We cross the courtyard and enter the ve- randa, from which we pass through a large folding door into the one apartment which constitutes the home of this prince. It is a room of about fifteen by thirty feet in size. There is no window in the room., nor any opening except the door through which we entered. The apartment has a ground floor. You see no furniture about, but the place is crowded with women and children of all ages. As soon as our eyes become accustomed to the dimness we are conducted to a corner of the room behind the door, where, stretched upon the floor, we find the emaciated form of a woman of about thirteen or fourteen years of age. vShe is the fourth wife of the prince, though there is such a remarkable dis- crepancy in their ages. I get down on the ground floor by the side of my little patient, in order to examine her carefully. I find no organic disease, but soon perceive that she is starving to death. I prescribe one of the large bottles from the secret 76 WITHIN THE PURDAH closet in my dispensary, and volunteer to supply a trained nurse, without charge, in order that my lit- tle patient may have every attention and may be sure to get the medicine and the other nourish- ments which I prescribe at regular intervals. The prince, however, gladly accepting the medicine, not knowing its ingredients, refuses the services of my nurse, assuring me that his wife shall have every attention and that my minutest orders shall be scrupulously carried out. Thus we leave them. The following day the same carriage stops again in front of my bungalow door. The prince has come to take me again to his home. As we drive along through the streets of the native city he tells me that his wife, my patient, is a very troublesome lit- tle woman, and that vshe has refused to take my medicine and the nourishment which I prescribed. He assures me that she holds me in great reverence, and that if I but exercise my authority over her, scold her a little and command her sternly, she will obey me and there will be no further trouble. Again in the dark corner with my patient, I request " My Esther" to clear the room, which is crowded with women and children as before. This is no easy task. With arms extended, as if she were driving a flock of geese, and with many words she attempts to get the women and children into the courtyard. At my request the prince assists in this process of driving ; but as fast as they are gotten out of the door they slip back again, stooping under the out- stretched arms of " My Esther," and crowding back My Esther," Mrs. Mary Esther Isaac llahi Baksh WITHIN THE PURDAH 79 into some dark corner where they may see and hear all that is going on. At length, however, the room is empty, and I request the lord of the place to stand in the door and guard the way, that no person may enter again. This I do with the double mo- tive of keeping the women and children out and meantime keeping him away also. Of course I cannot close the door, for all the light we get comes through it, and the room would be perfectly dark if the door were closed. Sitting down on the ground by the side of my patient, I take her little emaciated hand between my two large palms, and with low- pitched voice I begin talking to her very much in the same way as I talked to the little girl who had been beaten. I tell her about my home in America, my family and friends there ; I tell her about the Lord Jesus Christ and his love for her and for me; how he left his home in heaven to come to earth, to suffer and to die for our sakes. I assure her of my love for her, my great interest in her, my sym- pathy for her in her sufferings, and my desire to help her. She weeps so much that I feel obliged to discontinue my talk lest she injure herself. When, finally, she is calm again I ask her why she did not take my medicine, and why she refused the nourishment which I had prescribed. At this ques- tion she puts her little emaciated hands together in a respectful salaam and says, while her voice trem- bles with emotion: '' O, doctor, Sahiba, do not ask me to take your medicine ! Do not ask me to take the nourishment ! If I take your English medicine, 5 80 WITHIN THE PURDAH and if I take the food which you have prescribed for me, I shall get well ; and, O, I do not wish to get well ! So don't — please don't — ask me to take it!" 'Tis thus in heathen darkness Fair women crave to die ; Their crushed and broken spirits From direst fetters fly. Such mute appeal, unheeded. Must rend the startled air Till God, in mercy stooping, Avenge that silent prayer. O, haste, ye Christian people, Of every clime and name, Go bear the Gospel message, Its joyful news proclaim ! Haste, haste, the day is passing. The harvest ripe appears ; List to thy Master's calling, Dispel all selfish fears. Go, lift the purdah curtain ! Go, break the iron~bar! Beat down that wall of granite, And shout the tidings far. BOOK II IN THE ZENANA HOMES OF INDIAN PRINCES TO THE BELOVED SON OF MY ADOPTION MR. J. A. ILAHI BAKSH OF THE HIMALAYA MOUNTAINS INDIA THIS SMALL WORK IN THE ZENANA HOMES OF INDIAN PRINCES" IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED BY HIS EVER FAITHFUL AND TRUE MOTHER-FRIEND THE AUTHOR BOOK II IN THE ZENANA HOMES OF INDIAN PRINCES THE TAJ MAHAL THE Taj Mahal, of world-wide celebrity, is situ- ated in the Northwest Provinces of India, about two miles from the city of Agra, on the bank of the Jumna River, and one mile east of Agra fort. It is an extraordinarily beautiful mausoleum, and was built by the Emperor Shah Jahan as a sepul- cher for himself and for his favorite wife, Muntaz- i-Mahal, the " Exalted of the Palace," who died in 1629. The cost of this temple is said to have been about two crores of rupees (about ten million dollars) and twenty thousand workmen were incessantly em- ployed upon it for a period of twenty-two years. The general design of this tomb is extremely complex and graceful, and the workmanship is most elaborate and remarkably beautiful. The chief features of the building are the mausoleum in the center, on an elevated platform, surmounted by a magnificent dome, with smaller domes at each cor- ner, and four very graceful and exquisite minarets one hundred and thirty-three feet in height. The 85 86 WITHIN THE PURDAH building is, for the most part, constructed of pure white marble from Jeypore and red sandstone from Fatehpur Sikri. The mosaic work of the interior is remarkably rich and beautiful in effect. This is the finest building in India, and is acknowledged to be the most exquisitely beautiful structure in the world. A colossal gateway admits you to the inclosure. In front of the tomb is a beautiful garden, contain- ing a great variety of tropical trees, in the center of which is an avenue of tall dark cypresses sepa- rated by fountains. P^rom the foundation of the tomb arises a double platform, the first being of red sandstone, twenty feet high and one thousand feet broad ; the second of marble, fifteen feet high and three hundred feet square. The whole building is about one hundred and eighty-six feet square. The following description is taken from The Times of India, and was written by William H. Rus- sell: * ' On mounting to the platform of tesselated mar- ble on which the body of the building, surmounted by its dome and slender minarets, stands, the propor- tions of the whole are so full of grace and feeling that the mind rests quite contented with the general impression ere it gives a thought to the details of the building — the exquisite screens of marble in the windows, the fretted porches, the arched doorways, from which a shower of fleecy marble, mingled with a rain of gems, seems about to fall upon you ; the solid walls melting and glowing with tendrils IN THE ZENANA HOMES OF INDIAN PRINCES 87 of bright flowers and wreaths of bloodstone, agate, jaspar, carnelian, amethyst, snatched as it were from the garden outside and pressed into the snowy blocks. Enter by the doorway before you ; the arched roof of the cupola rises above you, and the light falls dimly on the shrinelike tombs in the cen- ter — see glistening marble again — a winter palace, in whose glacial walls some gentle hand has buried the last flowers of autumn. And hark! As you whisper gently there rolls through the obscure vault overhead a murmur like that of the sea on a pebbly beach in summer — a low sweet song of praise and peace. A white-bearded moulvie, who never raises his eyes from his book as we pass, suddenly reads out a verse from the Koran. Hark again ! How an invisible choir takes it up, till the reverber- ated echoes swell into the full volume of the sound of many voices ; it is as though some congregation of the skies were chanting their earnest hymns above our heads. ''The tomb stands in the center. A dome of snowy whiteness, upward of two hundred feet above the level of the platform, with a circumference at the base of more than the same number of feet, rises above the great pediment which constitutes the shrine. It is covered by two gilt balls, which are surmounted by a gilt crescent. At each angle of the building a small dome, the miniature of that in the center, is placed. There is an entrance on each side of the shrine formed by a very beautifully proportioned arch, with pointed top nearly the 88 WITHIN THE PURDAH height of the whole building, and smaller arches at the sides. All this marble is wonderfully inlaid with precious stones, with texts from the Koran, wreaths of flowers, and the richest arabesques. It is in the lower part of the building, and in the body of the terrace, as it were, below the dome, that the tombs of the great shah, ' the King of the World,' and of his consort are placed. The ceno- taph of the latter is covered with profuse ornaments and texts from the holy book of the Mohammedans. Her lord lies beside her, beneath a less costly but loftier monument, and the two tombs are inclosed by a latticed wall of white marble, which is cut and carved as though it were of the softest substance in the world. A light burned in the tombs, and some garlands of flowers were laid over the rich imita- tions of themselves by which the surface was cov- ered. The chamber of the tomb is octagonal, and is nearly in utter darkness. The effect of the rays of the lamps on the white marble railing and on parts of the glistening walls of the tomb is powerful — gloomy and yet bright. On emerging thence we once more enter the Great Chamber, where are placed the unoccupied sarcophagus of the shah and of his wife directly over the real tombs in the cham- ber below, on which are bestowed the most elabo- rate efforts of the extraordinary skill which is dis- played in the building. Flowers in many gems, mosaics, wreaths, scrolls, texts, run riot over the marble surface of the sarcophagus, walls, and vaulted dome rising above us." IN THE ZENANA HOMES OF INDIAN PRINCES 89 The Zenana Home is a small, dark, mud-plastered, unfurnished room where the high-caste and wealthy married woman is kept in lifelong seclusion. It is, practically, a prison-house, a penitentiary cell, the tomb of a living wife. Even the favorite wife of the Em- peror Shah Jahan himself must have known no better home than /^ "\ this during her lifetime ; but after her death the above-described f y/j \ extravagantly expensive monument was erected to her memory. The Tomb of the Dead ) AND V Wife The Tomb of the Living ) The dead wife's tomb is grand and fair, All wrought from snow-white marble rare ; By hand inlaid with mother-of-pearl. Outlining flower and beauteous curl. Its walls and ceilings all are fraught With work mosaic, strangely wrought ; And rich and beauteous in design, More graceful than a clinging vine ; While rainbow colors all combine To glorify this dead wife's shrine — A monument of stately grace Whose brightness rivals heaven's face. Its domes of shining marble rise In bold relief toward the skies. Full twenty thousand craftsmen wrought, To hew from stone this wondrous thought, For two and twenty years, they say. Incessantly they toiled away From early dawn till eventide ; They hewed, and carved, and beautified ; Nor did the daily task decrease, Nor ever did the labor cease. Till full one score of years and more — One score and two — were counted o'er : When, lo ! the temple stood complete, With grace and beauty all replete — 90 WITHIN THE PURDAH And wondering nations still confess And marvel at its loveliness. Ten million dollars, it is said, Were spent for this tomb of the dead. The tomb of living luife, I ween, Zenana home of princess, queen, Is small, and dark, and bare, and mean. As lowest hovel ever seen. The native's horse and goat and cow More precious are, by far, I trow. Unto his " royal " (?) heart than she May ever hope on earth to be ; She but his wife, and one of four — Or one of many, many score. And so she lives in living tomb ; It is her " fate," her bitter doom ; Unloved, unwept, she lives to weep And lifelong, changeless vigil keep. She prays to die, she sighs alone, But no one heeds her bitter moan ; " Only a woman " she. THE ZENANA WOMAN AND HER PURDAH HOME Zenana, properly speaking, means woman; but in a broader, more common sense it has come to be applied more particularly to the high-caste wealthy woman of India. Or it may mean her home, if hers can be called a home — the prison- house where she is kept in seclusion, the sepulcher where she must remain entombed during all the days of her life. Indeed, the term may be applied to IN THE ZENANA HOMES OF INDIAN PRINCES 91 almost anything which pertains to a native, high- caste wealthy woman of India or to her secluded life. Purdah really means curtain, but in common usage it has come to be applied to the zenana home, or house ; to the long, close garment which conceals the face and form of the zenana woman ; or, indeed, to anything which contributes to the seclusion of a high-caste Indian woman. We often speak of a *' purdah woman," or we may speak of a ''zenana woman" as being *' in purdah." Both words relate to the custom of keep- ing high-caste native women of wealthy parentage in seclusion, but the word zenana relates more par- ticularly to the high-caste wealthy native woman herself, while purdah relates to the environments which are adjusted with a view to her seclusion. The very poor and the low-caste women of India, who greatly outnumber the wealthy, are as free as the women of any country ; and may go out and in at their pleasure, carry packages on their heads from the railway station to European homes with the common coolies, sweep the streets, visit the parks with the children whom they have in charge, carry on regular laundry work — going for and bringing back the clothes themselves; indeed, they are free to engage in any occupation which belongs to their caste. The daughter or the wife of a high-caste wealthy native gentleman, however, has no such privilege. She may never wander free over God's green sod. 92 WITHIN THE PURDAH She may never watcli the advancing glory of the rising sun in the eastern horizon nor gaze upon the gorgeous sunset in the west. Her foot may never leave its imprint in the soft, moist sand of the sea- shore. She may not roam the woodland, nor pluck the opening blossom laden with dew in the early springtime, nor inhale the fragrance that fills the air, exuding from every growing thing. She may never wander by the flowing stream, nor climb the mountain height, nor rest in the shade of a tree, nor breathe at early dawn the fresh, cool, perfumed air that fills with joy and life and vigor every living thing. She is a prisoner, condemned to lifelong solitude and close confinement, though guilty of no crime ; though innocent and guileless as an infant. There is no chair in her home, no table, no fur- niture of any kind, no carpet on the mud floors of her dwelling, no picture upon the mud walls ; the mud ceiling of her prison-house is festooned with smoke only. In the courtyard surrounding her prison-house there may be an old, half -dead tree, with its leaves withered and its branches broken. There may be one or two horses, cows, or goats, and a caged parrot also. There is no grass. The place is surrounded by high brick or stone walls plastered over with mud. True, if her eyes are strong enough to bear the terrible glare, she may gaze upon the sun at the noon hour as he passes almost directly over her head. In the morning and in the evening she may look up above her head and see God's blue sky, but it is not the deep blue that IN THE ZENANA HOMES OF INDIAN PRINCES 93 delights and rests the eye in this more temperate clime ; that beautiful deep blue color seems burned out in the awful heat, so that the sky assumes a pale gray aspect, like a bleached and faded gar- ment. During the monsoon weather she may watch the clouds, dark and threatening, as they pass above the dingy walls of her prison-house. Bouquets of cut blossoms may be brought to her to relieve the dull monotony of her_solitary life, but this is all, or nearly all, that she is permitted to enjoy of all the numberless beautiful things which God has given to rest the eye and delight the human soul. She is not, however, altogether alone in her soli- tude. She is one of many wives. If she be the first, or one, even, of the four chief wives, she is fortunate indeed. She may be only one of the hun- dred, or four hundred, concubines in her husband's harem ; in which latter case she is nothing more nor less than a slave — purchased at a price — who may be kicked or beaten at the caprice of her lord and master, and upon the slightest provocation. Who would not choose the hard, half -starved, overworked but free life of the poorest sweeper woman rather than the imprisoned, monotonous existence of a high-caste zenana woman, though hers be royal blood? The Zenana Woman She is a princess, or a queen — She may not see, nor yet be seen. She may not laugh, and shout, and play Through childhood's buoyant, festive day. 94 WITHIN THE PURDAH She may not other maidens know In youth, nor may she skip or row. She has no toys with which to play — No games to while the hours away. She seldom hears a story new ; Of stranger guests she has but few. She cannot knit, nor sew, nor brew, Nor any other task pursue. She cannot write, nor read, you know ; To school she is forbid to go. She may not with the poet soar. Nor study any ancient lore ; Nor scan a paper, or a book. Nor even on a picture look. Within four dingy walls of clay She is forever doomed to stay- Though guilty of no crime, I trow. Her guileless heart and olive brow Must feel a thraldom and a woe Which free-born souls need never know. She ne'er may wander glad and free As any child of God should be. Her foot may never tread the mead Where cowslips grow and wild deer feed. She ne'er may roam the woodland through. Nor pluck the gentle violet blue ; Nor trace the outline of a flower Beneath some sheltered woodland bower. Her foot elastic may not know Nor feel the yielding sod below. She ne'er may list the wild bird's song. Where myriad feathered minstrels throng. She ne'er may hear the echo fall Within God's blue-arched forest hall ; Nor breathe the clover-scented air. Nor watch the bees their sweets prepare. Her foot may never wander free By any stream, 'neath any tree. IN THE ZENANA HOMES OF INDIAN PRINCES 95 She may not climb the mountain steep, Nor watch the cataract's fearful leap ; Nor rest in peaceful valley green, Nor gaze upon a beauteous scene. She may not scent the new-mown hay. Nor watch the golden dawn of day ; Nor see the sun in glory set, Nor pluck the blossoms, dewy wet ; Nor breathe the perfumed morning air, Nor gather shells and pebbles rare ; Nor feel the thrill of dawning light. Nor sadness sweet of gathering night. The holy calm of eventide Is all unknown where such abide. Her pulses may not thrill and glow To see the world clad white with snow. She ne'er may see great forests bow 'Neath pyramids of snow, I trow ; Nor may she see the giant trees, Left naked by the autumn breeze. All clothed in diamonds — as it seems — And shining in the sun's bright beams. She may not sail the deep sea o'er, Nor press the yielding, sandy shore. She may not list the ocean's roar. Nor watch the eagle proudly soar. Nor hearken to the laughing brook. Nor slumber in a shady nook ; Nor feel, nor see, nor hear, nor know The wondrous marvels here below — All things with grace and beauty fraught, Which God's almighty hand hath wrought. Her bleeding heart and aching head Must rest upon a prison bed ; Within four walls her life be passed — Her ashes in the Ganges cast. 96 WITHIN THE PURDAH Mr. Syed Mohammed, Aid-de-camp to His Excellency the Nawab Khurshed Jah. Hyderabad, November, lo, 1887. Miss Saleni Armstrong, M.D. Dear Doctor : I have much pleasure in introducing to you Mr. Syed Mohammed, Aid-de-camp to His Excellency the Nawab Khurshed Jah. Mr. Syed Mohammed desires an interview with you respecting medical attendance to the Begam of His Excellency the Nawab. I am expecting that your skill, under God, will restore the Begam to health. Most sincerely, S. P. Jacobs. The above letter explains itself. Shortly after its receipt Mr. Syed Mohammed, accompanied by several native physicians, was ushered into my presence. They came to engage me as family physician to His Excellency the Nawab Khurshed Jah, of Hyderabad, Deccan. Accordingly, on the 22d day of November, 1887, several visits and let- ters having been exchanged in the interval, an ar- ticle of agreement was drawn up and written on English government stamped paper, according to law, and signed by both parties. The Nawab agreed to pay my professional fee of seventy-five rupees per day, in addition to all inci- dental and traveling expenses of myself and serv- ants, from the time of leaving home until my return. As this agreement may be somewhat curious and interesting in this country, we will here insert a fac- simile of the original document : **^^<*a*,»l-«Ii ^^^JC/^jt-,^ ^^^■■''^'^^^'^-^ A-^r^ l^^-»T--~^ fi/^ /yfu^ ^ ^isitftV ^^C^^^tr'ctoi.ruX'^ -^^7 -cZ^^iyi.^ tf^^-^-^^Uju ^^J^,/^tV<^ .^ '^M/Ua, ^jt^L-^^ r^' diyy^t^/i.^^ yf^Af<^ Z^*^ jCtn^C^ O'Cti^ ^rM*"^ /*,#»u«.^- ^tA,^-^ e-CKy-A- c*-t- ^tC^ C^-y^Of-'C—aiL.'cC '***,- orest are, I ween, And most to be deplored Their hapless lot, behind the screen Where naught may joy afford. The chains that bind are adamant ; The walls are great and high ; The purdah veil remains unrent — Fair captives weep and sigh. Our God shall break the captive's chain And set the prisoner free ; He'll rend the purdah veil in twain, That blinded eyes may see. Amen ! So let it be ! BOOK III HEROES AND HEROINES OF ZION " Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost : " Teaching- them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you : and, lo, I am with you aiway, even unto the end of the world." — Matthew xxviii, 19, 20. TO THE PEERLESS TRIO MISSES HEWLETT, BARTLETT, AND GROSS OF THE CHURCH MISSIONARY SOCIETY OF UMRITSAR, PUNJAB, INDIA WHO EXTENDED MANY KINDLY, HOSPITABLE AND GRACIOUS COURTESIES UNTO "ONE OF THE LEAST" OF HIS EVEN AS UNTO HIM THIS LITTLE WORK " HEROES AND HEROINES OF ZION " IS VERY GRATEFULLY AND AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED BY THE AUTHOR (D O O T3 :3 o 07 BOOK III HEROES AND HEROINES OF ZION -WHO ARE THEY? Heroes they who, self forgetting. Gladly yield their lives to God ; Seeking not for vain preferment. Meekly bowing 'neath the rod. Heroes they, and heroes worthy, Who, neglectful of earth's gain. Carry to the heathen nations Tidings of the Lamb once slain: Slain for all mankind in common, Slain the nations to reclaim From the dire results of sinning ; Giving glory to his name ; Heroines and heroes noble ; Worthy of our love sincere, For unto the heart of Jesus They are cherished friends most dear. THE METHODIST MISSIONARY OF THE PARENT BOARD There are many phases of missionary work in India. Seventy-three distinct Christian denomina- tions and societies are represented, and each one has many different branches and departments of missionary effort. In our own Methodist Episcopal 179 180 WITHIN THE PURDAH Churcli we have first of all the regular male mis- sionary, sent out by the parent board and sup- ported by our Missionary Society. Upon his arrival in India the first necessity which arises is that of mastering some one of the many languages spoken by the people of Hindustan. It will require one year at least for him to become sufficiently ad- vanced in this study to be able to take charge of a native church. Usually, therefore, he is first ap- pointed pastor of some English-speaking church. He may remain in this church for one, two, three, or more years ; but whether it be a long or a short term of service, he is supposed to put in every spare moment in the study of the particular language which he has selected, and when he becomes suffi- ciently proficient to be able to hold conversation and to preach fairly well in the vernacular he is appointed pastor of some native church. Now his labors begin in earnest. Not only must he perform all the regular pastoral duties which devolve upon every pastor in the Methodist Church at home, such as regular Sabbath services, pastoral visitations, marriages, baptisms, funerals, etc., etc., but he must do much more than this. He preaches two or three times every Sunday, and usually once or twice every day in the week. At four, five, or six o'clock in the morning the butler {hamal) raps at the door of the missionary's bed chamber and cries out, '^ Chota haziri, Sahib f (Little breakfast, sir!) At this summons the missionary goes to the door and receives a little tray containing two cups of tea HEROES AND HEROINES OF ZION i8l or coffee, one for himself and one for his wife, and two or three thin vslices of toasted bread already spread with buffalo butter — white as lard. There may also be two small bananas or two eggs, but these do not usually form a part of the little break- fast. Immediately after this " frugal meal," early, early in the morning, before the heat becomes too great for him to be out of doors with impunity, he is found on some public corner or square in the na- tive bazar preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This he may do even before he has become fluent in the use of the native tongue, through an inter- preter. He takes with him one of his native local preachers or exhorters and they walk to the bazar together. As they approach the market place, or immediately after they arrive and have taken their stand, they begin singing some Christian hymn in the native tongue, and perhaps playing an accompa- niment with cymbals, tambourine, or some other musical instrument of native device. This attracts attention and soon avails to draw a crowd. When a sufficient number have gathered the singing and playing ceases and our missionary begins his ser- mon. It is not a short discourse of twenty, thirty, or forty minutes' duration, but may last for several hours. The congregation is constantly changing; a few going away and others coming almost con- tinually, so that at the close of the discourse, two or three hours after its commencement, the preacher will have an entirely different audience from the one with which he began. The service may be 182 WITHIN THE PURDAH varied from time to time, at the discretion of the missionary, with song, prayer, scripture reading, short addresses, or testimonies by native assistants. Sometimes, especially in large cities, two or three missionaries may go together to the morning street preaching, taking with them several native helpers, and in this case there will be several discourses, inter- spersed with prayer and singing. When the sun's rays become intolerably hot the service is closed and all return home, where they arrive usually at nine or ten o'clock. Bar a Jia^^iri kJiana (big breakfast) is now in waiting — oatmeal, curry and rice, poached eggs on toast, potato chips, bananas, and possibly beef- steak. Breakfast over, the missionary conducts family prayers. This he does sometimes in the native language only, at other times using both the English and native tongues, reading a part of the Scripture lesson in our own language and a part in the vernacular, or reading the same lesson in both languages ; praying first in one language and then in another, or praying in the English tongue and having his prayer interpreted sentence by sentence into the native language. This is done for the sake of the native servants, who have gathered in the large dining room and sit around on the floor with their legs crossed and their heads bowed in the most respectful manner. During prayer they will all lean over until their foreheads touch the floor and remain in this bowed position until the end of the Lord's Prayer, which all Christians in the room repeat in concert. After family wor- Dena's Wife, the Ayah Dena, the Butler Miss Robinson Miss W. L. Armstrong Miss Levermore Three Zenana Missionaries with Servants and Two of Miss Levermore's Little Adopted Native Children, and Chung, Dena's Son HEROES AND HEROINES OF ZION 185 ship the missionary retires to his study, not for rest, but for letter or report writing, private devotions, or study. At one o'clock the butler rings the bell, announcing that tiffiri (luncheon) is ready. This is a light meal, often cold — some cold sliced meat, a cup of hot tea, stale bread with buffalo butter, ba- nanas, oranges, custard, apples, guavas, mangoes, or whatever fruit may be in season. He may also have hot curry and rice, but this is not customary. After luncheon the missionary must see his local preachers, exhorters, and other native assistants, and instruct them as to the best methods of teach- ing the Scripture lesson, etc., etc. At four or half-past four, the native assistants depart, leav- ing our missionary alone in his study. Pres- ently the butler, with bare feet, pure white turban of immense size, spotless kurta and paejaina, and scarlet sash, comes to the missionary's study bear- ing a small tray with a cup of India tea and a few English biscuits. The missionary partakes of these refreshments with relish. At this hour of the day, when the oppressive heat has served to enervate and depress the weary missionary, his afternoon tea seems a necessity. In some missionary homes, however, the afternoon tea is dispensed with and dinner is served at that hour, in which case tea and biscuits are usually served late in the evening. At half -past four or five o'clock in the afternoon, as the heat begins to abate, the missionary leaves his home again. This time he goes to the native city to visit his boys' schools. Of these he may have a 186 WITHIN THE PURDAH large number under his own care. A small upper room in the native city serves as a schoolroom, and a native Christian man, who has been educated in one of our missionary boys' boarding schools, is engaged as teacher. Native boys whose parents are heathen are gathered from all parts of the city to these day schools. Here the rudiments of an education are acquired and the pupils are prepared to enter English government schools of higher grade, but the Bible is the chief text-book and is taught regularly and carefully every day. There may be only one, but if there be ten, fifteen, or more such schools as this in the native city where our missionary is pastor of the native church, he must superintend them all. He visits each of them fre- quently, conducts all the examinations, directs and examines the native teachers, and has oversight and management of the whole. So that our mis- sionary to India must be not only an able preacher of the Gospel and a consecrated Christian man, but he must also be strong and vigorous in body in order to endure the enervating effects of that most trying tropical climate and the strain of his inces- sant and arduous toil. He must also be a scholar, able to teach and to superintend many schools — to manage men, to marshal his converts; a very general. Nor are these all the labors that devolve upon our missionary in India. He may have, in addition to the native day schools in the native city, one or more boys' boarding schools which he must super- J2 o o x: o > c O w o DQ (D O O a. > DC HEROES AND HEROINES OF ZION 189 intend. If his church be strong spiritually, finan- cially, numerically, and in every respect, he will have efficient helpers — class leaders, Sabbath school superintendent, Epworth League president, stew- ards, trustees, Ladies' Aid, and all the auxiliary helpers which a pastor in a Christian land is sup- posed to have. This, however, is exceptional. As a rule our missionary who holds the position of pastor of a native church in India has little, if any, efficient help in his church. He or his wife must superintend the Sabbath school, act as president of the Epworth League, lead the classes, and fill every position of responsibility in the church. After our missionary returns from the native city, where he has been to inspect or examine his boys* day schools, he is usually ready for his khana (din- ner), which is served at six, seven, or eight o'clock in the evening, according to the prevailing custom of the English people of the community in which he lives. No food is found upon the dining table when the missionary and his family first take their accus- tomed places, except, perhaps, the soup, which forms the inevitable first course. After this, fol- lowing in due course, come the fish, the roast and vegetables, the curry and rice, and, finally, the pud- ding or the fruit. Immediately after dinner the missionary conducts family worship, the servants attending as in the morning. During the evening our missionary may have a 11 190 WITHIN THE PURDAH sermon to preacli, an Epworth League service to conduct, a prayer or class meeting to lead, a Bible reading to give, a Missionary Conference to attend, some ill people to visit, or a report to write. In any case liis time is sure to be fully occupied. And thus his busy days go by. Besides the regular pastorates of the English- speaking and native churches there are other posi- tions of trust and responsibility which must be filled by the regular male missionary of the parent board of the Methodist Episcopal Church. There must be presiding elders for the various districts, our Church papers must have editors and agents, our Christian schools and colleges must have presidents and teachers, our various printing and publishing agen- cies must be superintended by competent men, and at any Annual Conference session the regular pastor may be removed from his pastorate to fill any of the above posts left vacant by death or removal. Lat- terly, however, some of these important places, such as presiding elderships and professorships in our Christian schools and colleges, have been and are being ably and efficiently filled by native men. In- deed, some of our best Christian schools in India have but one or two American missionaries in their whole staff of teachers, and there are now many presiding elders in our native Christian Church who have proven themselves able, efficient, and satis- factory in every respect. HEROES AND HEROINES OF ZION 191 THE SERVANT QUESTION Since my return to America strange reports have come to my hearing. A Methodist missionary is supposed by many to be a man of leisure who goes to India on a fat salary and lives at his ease, sur- rounded by servants to wait upon him. No greater mistake than this could be made. The Methodist missionary in India is an overwrought, overbur- dened, careworn man. That he bears his burdens and responsibilities gladly and cheerfully, as unto the Lord, does not alter the fact nor relieve the pressure which is surely telling upon the constitu- tion and shortening the life. That he has servants to wait upon him is true. May I digress a moment while I explain this servant question? Servants in India are a necessity. Not because the missionary is unwilling to work, not on account of laziness or idleness on the part of the mission- ary or his wife, but for reasons which grow out of and are dependent upon the caste system of India and other conditions which are peculiar to that country. To illustrate : You must have water to drink and for cooking purposes. Your cook will not bring it — he will not leave his kitchen for any purpose ; the butler will not bring it — that is not his work ; not one of the house servants will do it — they each have their own peculiar labor and will do but one thing; it is their occupation, their religion, their social standing among the people of their country, and — well — it is their caste ! The biJiishti 192 WITHIN THE PURDAH (water carrier) will bring water in a dressed goat- skin on his back from some distant well, filling all the water chatties in your house once, twice, or three times per day, as maybe needful. But suppose you refuse to be thus served. You declare that you cannot submit to having so many servants about you, and you undertake to bring your own water. Take a bucket, in the early morning, and start for a distant well. You must start early, as in this climate you cannot be out during the middle of the day with impunity. When you arrive at the well (an old-fashioned dug well, with a broad brick wall all around which stands up four feet above the surface of the ground), before you have time to climb to the top of the brick wall, upon which you must stand in order to drop your bucket down into the well, several native bihishtis intervene and, with low salaams and respectful entreaty, beg you to desist. In spite of this you clamber to the top of the brick wall and lower your bucket into the well. The natives look upon all white-faced Sahibs (gen- tlemen) as their superiors, if not their lords, and for this reason they do not resist you further, but stand back in dismay while you pollute their well. After your departure, however, these same bihishtis gather about and fill up the well with soil and stones. This is done lest by any accident some high-caste native, not knowing that the well has been polluted by the hand of a Christian, should drink water from this same well and thus break his caste. It may be that there is no other well for Domingo, the Cook, in the Kitchen of an American Missionary HEROES AND HEROINES OF ZION 195 some miles around, and this may create quite a panic for water, nevertheless the thing must be done — the well is ruined for native use, and forever. The next day you try again, and, finding this well filled up, you go to another. The same result will follow, until you are compelled to engage a bihishti to bring your water for you, which you can do for the nom- inal sum of from two to four rupees (sixty cents to one dollar and thirty cents) a month, and without board. Do you suggest that the missionary's wife herself prepare the family meals, and thus save the expense of hiring a cook ? There is no kitchen in the mission- ary home, no cook stove, and perhaps not even a fireplace, chimney, or stovepipe hole. The kitchen is some distance from the house, in the back yard. It is a small, dark room, with one door and one small square hole, with wooden bars crossing it, which serves as a window. The cooking is done on sev- eral little handmade mud stoves. These are made in the shape of a horseshoe, one foot or less across the top and six inches in depth. In the middle of the horseshoe the wood or charcoal fire is made, and on its rim, above the fire, is placed the degcha (a copper cooking utensil about the shape of an or- dinary tin basin, only deeper, and of graduated sizes), which contains whatever food is to be cooked. Of course there is no pipe to this stove, and the smoke goes in the face of the cook and fills the room. During the hot season no English or Amer- ican woman could cook in such a place as this with- out imperiling her life. 196 WITHIN THE PURDAH In some parts of India the above-described hand- made cook stove has been supplanted by an elevated fireplace or grate, built up with mortar and brick to about the height of an American cook stove and having several round openings in the upper surface which reach down to the open fireplace beneath. These are a decided improvement on the first- described stove, but having no chimney, stovepipe, or other means of escape for the smoke, they are still very unsatisfactory. Thus it is with every department of domestic work. There are no modern improvements, no machinery, no conveniences of any sort. All do- mestic labor is performed in the same crude and laborious manner which prevailed in Bible times. For our missionary's wife to undertake to do her own housework in India would not only shorten her days, but would consume every moment of her time, every particle of her strength, and would thus render her incapable of assisting her husband in his missionary labors or of carrying on an inde- pendent mission work of her own, while for the nominal sum which one would pay an ordinary hired girl in America (say $2.50, $3, or $4 per week) one may support six, eight, or ten domestic servants in India and board none of them. Besides this, for you to do your own work in that country offends the natives. They regard you as a low-caste, mean individual, who has come to their country to rob them of their rightful occupation and means of support. Moreover, having the serv- HEROES AND HEROINES OF ZION 197 ants in your own home affords another opportunity of usefulness — you are enabled to show, to at least your own servants, what a Christian home is like, and to live before them a Christian life. They gather at your family altar every day, hear the Bible read and explained, and listen to the prayer for them as well as for others. This is the most powerful of all preaching, and it is a common thing to see servants of the missionaries converted to God and living upright Christian lives through the influ- ence of their missionary master and mistress. Much more could be said in regard to this servant ques- tion ; indeed, a volume could be written in justifica- tion of the practice of employing servants in India, but more is unnecessary, except perhaps to intimate the fact that the servants are paid from the private salary of the missionary, and this expense therefore brings no additional outlay to the Missionary Society in the home land. The salary of a Methodist mis- sionary in India is about equivalent to the average salary of a Methodist pastor in America. Many of our English-speaking churches in India are entirely self-supporting, paying the entire mis- sionary salary, all the incidental expenses of their church, giving to the missionary cause, and in many cases supporting native preachers and other workers in addition; other English-speaking churches are able to meet only a part of their own pastor's salary, the remainder being paid by our Missionary Society. Many of our native Christian churches, also, are self-supporting, while others are so in part. 198 WITHIN THE PURDAH THE ASSISTANT MISSIONARY In America there are certain duties which de- volve upon the wife of a Methodist pastor. She is supposed to fill a place in the church and commu- nity which is peculiarly her own, and in some cases, especially where she has a family of small children, and ill health, she finds the requirements by no means light, and at times the people of her hus- band's church seem to be somewhat exacting. In India, however, the wife of the Methodist mission- ary is herself also a missionary and has her own peculiar missionary labors to perform, although for these services she receives no separate, independent salary from any source. True, a married mission- ary receives a somewhat larger salary than the single missionary, and at the birth of each child the salary is again increased some fifteen or twenty rupees, and this sum may be supposed to meet all the actual re- quirements of his living expenses. It may be that the missionary's wife was formerly a regular missionary, sent out by the Woman's Foreign Missionary So- ciety of the Methodist Episcopal Church and sup- ported by them. Her salary was then equal to the salary of any unmarried male missionary supported by the parent board. On her wedding day, how- ever, she ceases to receive her regular salary from the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society, and on that day she becomes an " assistant missionary" of the parent board. Her duties are designated by the Conference, and she is expected to report her work HEROES AND HEROINES OF ZION 199 in the regular manner. Her missionary labors re- quire all her strength and all her time, so that, as the little children come to her home, she is obliged to hire an ayah (native nurse) to care for them. Nevertheless, she receives no compensation for her missionary labor except in the consciousness of help- ing on the great cause which she has learned to love so dearly. Is her husband's salary sufficient to meet all the family needs ? Yes; under ordinary circumstances it is. While both parties keep well and strong, and there are no children to be educated, the mission- ary's salary is sufficient. If the health of husband or wife become seriously impaired, the parent board will pay their passage home to America, and possi- bly, in the former case, the husband may receive half his regular salary during his leave of absence. If, however, there are children to be educated, there are no means sufficient to meet this emergency. There comes a time when both missionary and mis- sionary assistant break down in health and must re- turn to their native land. In this case he must of necessity take one of the small appointments in his home Conference. He has been long away from home, and there is now no place for him in his own Conference. Younger men, who have been in the Conference during all the years of his absence, have crowded him out. He is now broken in health. During his absence he has not been cultivating his oratorical powers, but rather striving to simplify the Gospel of Jesus Christ in such a manner as that the 200 WITHIN THE PURDAH ienorant natives could understand the messa^^e. He is not a " star preacher; " and the probabilities are that before he has been long in his native land he will be ranked among the superannuated of his Conference. In this case he has nothing laid up, and no income sufficient to support himself and fam- ily. Had his wife also received a salary for the work which she actually did for the parent board, as an assistant missionary in India, all this would prob- ably be different. The injustice of such an arrange- ment must be apparent to all. And yet I never heard that any missionary's wife ever intimated a desire to receive compensation for her misvsionary toil, or dreamed that there could be any injustice in her being expected to give her strength, time, and labor to help on the great cause to which she and her husband have both consecrated their lives. On the contrary, she feels it to be a great privilege and joy to be permitted to thus spend and be spent for the blessed Master. Indeed, I very much doubt whether these noble, consecrated, self-sacrificing women would, at first, and readily, accept a salary from the parent board, even if it were offered. And yet is it not the least that we at home can do, to recog- nize the injustice, the self-sacrifice, and the heroism involved ? Instead of circulating, or helping to cir- culate, a damaging report to the effect that mission- aries go out to India on a fat salary, to live at their ease and to be waited upon by servants, should we not appreciate the fact that, while our Missionary Society pays a moderate, reasonable, sufficient HEROES AND HEROINES OF ZION 201 salary for the service of one missionary, that Society actually receives in return for this one salary the consecrated, earnest, devoted service of two effi- cient missionaries instead of one. In the secular world no such thing would be expected or endured. If the husband is employed by any firm in this or any other country, he is paid for his labor, of course, and is paid a sufficient sum to enable him to support his family, but nothing is expected of his wife. If he fill a chair in any college or university, he only is expected to teach. If his wife take a class, or classes, she is paid for the labor which she actually performs. Why should not the missionary's wife be treated with equal courtesy and consideration, not to say justice? Perhaps you'll affirm, in reply, that the wives of missionaries are not all efficient workers; that many of them are not even thor- oughly consecrated, earnest Christian women ; that their work is by no means universally satisfactory either in quality or quantity ; and that even the most efficient are liable to be disqualified for service by impaired health, household cares, and other domestic causes. All this we readily concede ; but is it not equally true that when a young man presents him- self to the Missionary Society of our Church as a candidate for the foreign field his wife's character and qualifications are taken into consideration al- most as much as his own? And at each Annual Conference, when the appointments are to be made, is it not a fact that the qualifications and efficiency of the missionary's wife have much to do with the final 202 WITHIN THE PURDAH decision ? Certainly no reasonable person could re- quire that a salary be paid indiscriminately to the wife of every missionary who is employed by the parent board of our Church. It is only where ac- tual service is rendered, and service which is ac- ceptable and satisfactory to the board, that we feel compensation is due. Of course the Missionary So- ciety must always be free to employ whom they will, and to be judge of qualifications and of efficiency. The missionary's wife, or '' assistant missionary," as she is called by the parent board, has charge of all the Bible women in connection with her hus- band's church. They meet in her home several times a week, and receive instruction from her. This is practically a normal school on a small scale. She teaches these Bible readers how to do their work, how to read and expound the Scriptures to the na- tive women whom they visit in their zenana homes. Often she goes with them to these zenana homes, teaches for them, sings and prays with the native women, and has the whole under her immediate care and supervision. Besides this, she is also a zenana missionary, and personally visits a large number of zenana homes regularly, doing the same work that is done by the regular zenana missionary who is sup- ported by the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society, except that she does not have assistant zenana workers under her charge. In many cases she also has charge of native girls' schools, like the native boys' schools which her husband superintends ; and she engages native Christian women to teach, such HEROES AND HEROINES OF 2I0N 203 as have been educated in girls' missionary board- ing schools. She may have from one to a dozen or more of these day schools in the native city, for the daughters of heathen parents. She conducts all the examinations, keeps in touch with the teachers, visits the schools often, and superintends the whole work. In addition to this she may have in her own home a girls' boarding school, where she acts as matron, chief teacher, superintendent, friend, mother, and guardian to all the inmates. It is not usual that the wives of missionaries do street preach- ing in the public bazar; but some of them do this also, and with great success. THE MISSIONARY EVANGELIST The work of the missionary evangelist, or pioneer missionary, in India is different from evangelistic work in America, although in some cases it may appear to be similar. The missionary evangelist, however, whose work we are about to describe, is not an assistant ; he does not go to churches which are already organized and in good working order to hold revival services, and thus render assistance to the regular pastor in charge. He is an inde- pendent missionary, and a pioneer. He may be a presiding elder or the regular pastor of some native church, devoting himself to this specific pioneer evangelistic work during certain seasons of the year only. 204 WITHIN THE PURDAH In a canvas-covered cart or wagon, containing a supply of provisions for his own use, a small medi- cine chest, a few tools, a change of apparel, a sup- ply of tracts for distribution — translated into vari- ous Hindustani languages — his Bible and hymnal, and accompanied b}^ one or two missionary associates and perhaps several native Christian assistants, together with a servant or two, he travels from village to village, stopping at each place a few days or a week, as the work opens up before him or as each particular case may require, preaching the Gospel, distributing tracts, organizing churches and Sabbath schools, establishing missions, and healing the sick. There may or may not be a medical mis- sionary in the company ; in any case the missionary evangelist has sufficient knowledge of ordinary dis- eases and their remedies to be able to use to advan- tage a small supply of simple drugs, and the poor, suffering natives are glad enough to enjoy the benefits which they can derive from these medi- cines. There are no English physicians or sur- geons in any of these native villages, nor are there educated native doctors ; so that all the sick of the community are obliged to suffer on without relief until the disease spends itself and they recover, or until their sufferings are cut short by death. There is no farm life, no country life, in India which can be compared with or is in any respect similar to the farm and country life of America. The land is owned by a few wealthy natives. No poor workingman is able to own a foot of land in HEROES AND HEROINES OF ZION 205 his own right. He rents his farm, which is meas- ured by feet or by rods and not by acres. He also rents a tiny room, ten by ten feet square, or twelve by twelve, in some village near by, where all the farmers or country folk like himself are crowded together as closely as they are found in the great cities. The farm which they have rented is not large enough to afford them room for a dwelling, and even if it were,^they dare not live upon it on account of the many venomous serpents which in- fest the jungles and the wild beasts which prowl about. Early in the morning these farmers, with their wives, sons, and daughters, all who are old enough to work, go to the little patch of ground which they have rented and there they labor during the whole day, tilling the soil or gathering the grain according to the season of the year. With the crudest kind of plow, merely two sticks fastened together, and with the help of two bullocks, the sod is broken up, and the wheat, rice, gram, or other seed is sown. Even if the season is favorable and the harvest abundant, the poor farmer realizes but a meager sum for his labor, as a large percent- age of his crop must go to his landlord to pay the yearly rental for his mud hut and small piece of ground. During the night the villagers for the most part sleep on the ground out of doors, in the roads, alleys, and lanes of their small country village as it is too hot in the tiny little room which constitutes their home, and which has no window or other 206 WITHIN THE PURDAH means of ventilation except the one door, and in which the family cooking has been done during the evening. In some parts of India, in Bengal at least, it sometimes happens that while the villagers are sound asleep on the ground their babies, one, two, three, or more, are carried off by a pack of jackals, which have approached the village without arousing the sleepers and snatched away the wee infants be- fore their parents were aware of their presence. Of course the jackals are soon pursued, and in making their flight the infants are dropped, usually badly bitten, scratched, and torn. These infants, torn and bleeding from the teeth and claws of the jackals, are sometimes brought to the missionary evangelist, who tenderly dresses the wounds, inserting stitches where necessary, and bandaging the lacerated limbs as well as possible with the materials at hand. When in such a village as this the news is circu- lated that the white-faced missionaries are approach- ing, a few of its leading citizens will start out on foot to meet the distinguished guests, who are usually tendered a cordial welcome and treated with royal courtesy by these simple country folk. The sick people are brought to him for treatment, and while he ministers to their needs and a few suffering ones are relieved, even in part, his fame spreads abroad and he is reckoned to be well-nigh a god. Early in the morning he begins his song and prayer service in the open air or under the shade of a tree. This soon gives place to the HEROES AND HEROINES OF ZION 207 preaching" of the Gospel, which continues during all the cool part of the day and late into the night, interspersed with Gospel hymns, prayer, and care of the sick. Sometimes a few only are convinced of the truth of the Christian religion, renounce their idols, profess their faith, and are baptized by the traveling missionary. In some cases, however, a few of the leading members of the community are converted to God, and then the revival spreads until the whole village have turned from their idols and accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour, Redeemer, and Friend. In either case, whether only a few or many have been converted to God, it is necessary to establish here a native Christian church, to send a missionary to this village who may live among the people, conduct regular reli- gious services, and instruct these people further in the Christian faith, which they have so recently espoused. Of course they are as yet very ignorant and know but little concerning God's word or his great plan of salvation. If left without further in- struction, help, and sympathy, the probabilities are that those already converted will be persuaded by their heathen friends to return to their heathen be- lief and idol worship. A great difficulty confronts the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church in such cases as this. It is impossible to send a thoroughly equipped and qualified mission- ary to each village of this sort. The regular American missionaries of the parent board and also of the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society 208 WITHIN THE PURDAH are too few in number to supply such appointments as these. They cannot be spared from the more important and responsible positions which they fill in the great centers. We have many native mis- sionary assistants — pastor-teachers, local preachers, exhorters, catechists, Bible readers, zenana workers, etc. — but all of these are, for the most part, fully employed. The policy which has been pursued in cases like the above is that of sending to these villages a native Christian zenana worker, Bible reader, catechist, or pastor-teacher; some one, the best available, who is superior in education and Christian character to the people for whom he or she is to labor. This is the best economy, and it is the only thing to be done under existing circumstances ; and yet it must be apparent to all that these country villages where the people have but recently been converted to God and are still without knowledge, education in divine things, or strength of Christian character — the veriest ''babes in Christ" — sorely need the help and instruction of a strong mission- ary. What is to be done? Unless the Church awaken to the need and send help speedily — more missionaries and more money — the cause of God must suffer and much of the ground already gained will be lost. Who is God's steward? Let him hear the call and obey. Perhaps there is no missionary work in India which is more interesting, more en- grossing, more full of promise, and altogether more encouraging than this evangelivStic work. It has, however, many hindrances, many difficulties, and The New Missionary and her Moonshee HEROES AND HEROINES OF ZION 211 many disadvantages. It cannot be carried on dur- ing all parts of the year. The intense heat of the hot season and the rain of the monsoon render these tours hazardous, if not impossible. While this evangelistic work is carried on in some denominations by evangelists whose work is confined to this field, it is not by any means pecul- iar to them. The regular missionary of the parent board, the assistant missionary of the parent board, the zenana missionary of the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society, the teacher missionary of the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society, and the med- ical missionary of both boards at times engage in this evangelistic work. Indeed, many of them make regular and stated evangelistic tours to the country villages surrounding their missionary homes. MISSIONARIES OF THE WOMAN'S FOREIGN MISSIONARY SOCIETY OF THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH Woman's work in India embraces zenana teach- ing, Sunday schools, high schools, normal schools, boarding schools, orphanages, village or evangel- istic work, medical missions (including hospitals, dispensaries, training schools for nurses, etc.), and every department of Christian work found in Amer- ica or in any Christian country. There are three distinct classes of missionaries sent to India by the Woman's Foreign Missionary 212 WITHIN THE PURDAH Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church — the teacher missionary, the zenana missionary, and the medical missionary. Like the regular male missionary of the parent board, each of these lady missionaries must first master, more or less perfectly, one of the many languages spoken by the peoples of Hindustan. To do this one year is usually allowed, during which time tlie '* new " missionary makes her home in an established mission in some center, where she ren- ders whatever assistance she may be able in connec- tion with the general work of the mission, mean- while pursuing her study of the language which she has selected. Of course everything is new and strange to her, but the zenana teacher or medical missionary with whom she is making her tempo- rary home is always willing and glad to do her part toward initiating the newcomer, and so she pro- gresses, by gradual and easy steps, in her study of the vernacular and also in knowledge of regular missionary methods. After cJiJiota Jiaziri, at about five or six o'clock in the morning, the new missionary, rested and looking fresh in her thin white dress, may be seen with her books and pencil, sitting on the shady side of the house in the deep veranda, in company with her moonshee (the native Mohammedan who teaches the Hindu- stani language), ox pundit (the Brahmin who instructs you in Marathee or Gujarathee). vShe is struggling with one of these strange foreign tongues, and will continue her study for one, two, or three hours. A Moonshee (Mohammedan Teacher) HEROES AND HEROINES OF ZION 215 We need not disturb lier. Here she spends her mornings every day with her teacher until she be- come sufficiently proficient in the language of her choice to take charge of an independent mission. THE MISSIONARY TEACHER OF THE WOMAN'S FOREIGN MISSIONARY SOCIETY Having passed the required examination in the vernacular, our new missionary teacher now takes over charge of the school or schools to which she has been appointed by the Woman's Foreign Mis- sionary Society. It may be that the teacher pre- viously in charge has been removed by death, or has been obliged to return to America on sick leave, and this new missionary has been appointed to fill the vacant place. Otherwise it may be that the field to which she has been appointed is a new one and the school has not yet been organized. In the latter case she rents a bungalow (large English resi- dence), with a more or less extensive compound (grounds) surrounding it. The location of this building is a matter of considerable importance, as it is to serve the double purpose of a missionary home and a Christian girls' boarding school. It must not be too far from the native Christian church nor too near to the native city. It should be, above all things, situated in a healthful part of the English town. Correct legal papers of agreement must be drawn 216 WITHIN THE PURDAH Up between the native landlord and the missionary teacher, otherwise there may be, later on, dispute and disagreement as to the monthly rental agreed upon between the parties. When feasible, how- ever, this property is purchased by the mission, in which case any such misunderstanding with native landlord is obviated and many advantages are gained. In either case the house must now be fur- nished. In some parts of India the floors will be matted by native men, who bring to the house the raw material, reed-grass or split bamboo, braid it to fit each particular room, and put it down as fast as it is ready. Heavy furniture for the house may be rented or purchased. Often second-hand furniture is pur- chased at very reasonable rates. Servants are engaged even before the house is furnished. The news is soon spread abroad that an American missionary lady is establishing a home, and servants come from all directions presenting their credentials and seeking service. Domingo, the cook, is the first necessity; then come the ''boot- lair'' (butler), and the Jiamal, who washes dishes, cleans lamps, dusts furniture, attends the door, etc. ; the dhohie (laundryman), ayah (chambermaid and nurse), the inalee (gardener), and the bihishti (water carrier). There is always difiiculty in securing the service of competent, trustworthy, and efficient servants in the beginning. It requires experience to enable one to examine the credentials and to judge correctly as to the qualifications of each serv- HEROES AND HEROINES OF ZION 217 ant; but soon or late the new missionary will be almost certain to find the kind of servants that she needs, and such as will remain with her for years. When the house is properly furnished and settled, and the servants have adjusted themselves to their several duties and learned the wishes and methods of their new mistress, and all things have been made clean and sweet and wholesome, the pupils begin to gather from all directions, some even com- ing from distant towns and villages. They are the children of native Christian parents, and are taken into this American Christian home as boarders and inmates. Some of the children are orphans, and are adopted by the mission. Others are half orphans, and are given to the mission by the one surviving parent. The next necessity which arises is that of engag- ing competent native Christian teachers for each of the various departments in this growing school. These are usually chosen from the advanced pupils in the older Methodist girls' boarding schools in other parts of India. These Christian teachers may be of native (Hindustan or Mohammedan), Eura- sian, or English parentage. The majority of these assistant teachers are Eurasian and wear English dress, but they all live in European style and sit at the same table with the American missionary who has established the home, organized the school, and who presides as mistress, chief teacher, superin- tendent, mother, and friend. It devolves upon her to decide all matters of importance and to maintain 218 WITHIN THE PURDAH strict discipline among both pupils and teachers. She determines at what hour they shall all retire to rest at night, at what hour they shall arise in the morning, how much time shall be given to recrea- tion, how much to study, and what proportion shall be devoted to domestic service. All letters coming to and going from this home must be first opened and read by her. The children in this school are required to live in native style. There are no chairs or benches in the recitation room or rooms. The children all sit upon the floor in real oriental style, with legs crossed and heads bowed. They are all attired in pure white sari, and none of them are allowed to speak the English language or to take up English studies until after they have passed the matriculation exam- ination in their own native tongue. At night they all sleep together in a large dormitory, or, if the school be large, there may be several of these. In some well-established schools these little native children are provided with native cots. In many cases they are not allowed this luxury, but each little girl wraps her sari about her in native style, and lies down to rest upon a hay mattress or a folded comfortable on the floor. In some schools the children do all, or nearly all, the domestic work. They live on native food, curry and rice, principally. This they cook themselves, the girls taking turns by the day or by the week. They laundry their own sari, have en- tire charge of the dormitories and schoolrooms, and in many cases serve the missionary and her staff of HEROES AND HEROINES OF ZION 221 teachers at table, washing the dishes afterward, and doing many other domestic services in the mission- ary home. Of course it is impossible to describe minutely the exact kind and amount of work which devolves upon pupils in these schools, as each particular school has rules peculiar to itself. Indeed, in some of the Church of England mission schools, and perhaps in those of other denominations also, it is not expected of the pupils that they do any do- mestic work in the apartments of the missionary or of the teachers. In all such schools, however, the pupils are taught ordinary cooking and everything which pertains to the care of an Indian woman's home ; and each little girl is required to do her own sewing. In some schools the wheat is pur- chased unground and the little girls are required to grind it, according to native custom, in the early morning, with the native mill, such as was used in Bible times. In addition to this they have their regular hours for study, for recitation, and for play. On the Sab- bath day they all march together, headed by their teacher or teachers, to the regular services of the native Christian church and to Sabbath school. In addition to the care and superintendency of this home and boarding school by our missionary teacher of the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society, there may be several girls' day schools in the native city which she superintends and has entire man- agement of, such as those we have described above 222 WITHIN THE PURDAH as being tinder the care of the regular male mis- sionary of the parent board. The policy of keeping the pupils in these native Christian girls' boarding schools in native costume and requiring them to live in native style is based upon two conditions and has two objects in view, namely, in cases where these girls continue in school a sufficient length of time to qualify them to serve as Bible readers, zenana workers, or assistant teachers their salary must of necessity be small, and in no case can it be sufficient to maintain them in comfortable English homes provided with chairs, tables, beds, and all the furniture, crockery, pic- tures, etc., which go to make up an ordinary Eng- lish or American home. It will be, however, suffi- ciently large to maintain them comfortably in native style. If during school life they are taught to live in English style, with all the luxuries of English home life, they will become discontented, restive, and unhappy under the privations that must be theirs in future life. In case these pupils marry, before or after the conclusion of their school course, the result is the same. They must marry native or Eurasian men, who receive a salary far too small to maintain them comfortably in English style. The second principle upon which this policy is based involves, to the Missionary Society, a question of economy. The amount of money in the mission- ary treasury is not sufficient to educate a large num- ber of pupils, if they are to be maintained in English style during their school days. There is a very HEROES AND HEROINES OF ZION 223 large number of children of native Christian parent- age who desire the advantages of Christian educa- tion, but whose parents are able to pay little or noth- ing for it. There is also a large number of orphans or half orphans to whom a Christian boarding school is a boon indeed. The question to be con- sidered is, simply, is it better, with the means available, to receive into our girls' boarding schools a small number of pupils, to whom we will supply all the comforts (to them luxuries) of a properly equipped American girls* boarding school, or, on the other hand, shall we maintain these native girls in native style — thereby economizing our money — and thus make it possible to accommodate a very much larger number of pupils? On all ac- counts it is deemed wiser to follow the latter policy ; and thus our mission schools are crowded with pupils, and large numbers of native girls who other- wise must remain in ignorance are housed, clothed, taught, and fitted for lives of usefulness and independence. THE ZENANA MISSIONARY OF THE WOMAN'S FOREIGN MISSIONARY SOCIETY When the zenana missionary has completed her term of apprenticeship, and has successfully passed the Conference examination in the vernacular, she is given over charge of the independent mission to which she has been appointed by the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society. 224 WITHIN THE PURDAH As in the case of our teacher missionary, this may be an old, well-established mission left vacant by death or removal, or it may be a new field where she is expected to establish zenana mission work. In the latter case, property suited to the purpose which she has in view must be rented or purchased, servants engaged, furniture secured, and native or Eurasian zenana missionary assistants engaged. These assistants are usually called from older missions in other parts of India, and are taken, as were the assistant teachers, from among the senior pupils of our native Christian girls' boarding schools. To each of these assistant zenana workers a stipend of ten rupees per month, with board, is considered a good and sufficient salary. In some missions, however, a less sum than this is paid and in some a larger amount. In these zenana missionary homes chJiota Jiaziri is usually served at five, five-thirty, or six o'clock in the morning, the zenana missionary and her assist- ants coming down to the dining room and partaking of their little breakfast together as any other meal is served. Immediately after the tea and toast the missionary and her assistants drive to the native city in their missionary wagon or carriage, a large covered rig, accommodating six or eight persons. Arriving at some central point in the native city, or driving up and down through the narrow streets, the zenana workers separate, each going to her respective zenana home where she is to instruct the HEROES AND HEROINES OF ZION 225 zenana women. She is supposed to teacli these women knitting, sewing, fancywork, reading, writing, spelling, and all the rudiments of an ordinary education. Her principal object, how- ever, is to teach them the truths of our holy Christian religion ; and with this end in view the Bible is her chief text-book. She may have several pupils in one home. Perhaps the master of the house has several wives ; he also may have several sons who are married, and his daughters-in-law make their home with him. All natives of India are bitterly prejudiced against Christian missionaries. They believe them to be spies and proselyters who have been hired by the English or American government to come to India for the express purpose of breaking the caste of the native and of leading away his wife and daughter from their home, from their religious belief, from their caste, and from all that they hold sacred. He holds the Englishman in awe and ostensible respect, as his master and conqueror, but at heart he hates and despises him. He knows very little about the American, but likes him better than the Englishman on general principles, not knowing why. Nevertheless, he has, after much persuasion, con- sented to allow the zenana missionary to visit his wives and daughters at stated hours on certain days of the week, regularly, for the purpose of teaching them. Why does he do this? His women folk are too high-caste and too wealthy to be allowed to 226 WITHIN THE PURDAH soil their hands with work. They have servants who wait upon them — bathing the person, dressing the hair, and making the toilet altogether. They cannot read or write. Many of them have never seen a paper or a book. They are not allowed to go outside of the four great walls which surround his courtyard. There is no variety in their lives, no change to break the dull monotony. They see no strange faces, they hear little or no news, they have little to think about except their own miseries and ailments. Therefore they naturally grow restive, irritable, jealous, and hysterical. They think so much about every ache and pain as to develop each particular ache and pain into a disease, in their distorted imagination. Thus this wealthy man's family becomes troublesome. He is tried and driven to his wit's end, not knowing what to do with or for his women folk. He hears about the zenana missionary lady. He fears her, dis- trusts her, and perhaps even despises her ; but she would teach his wives and his daughters-in-law fancy work ; she would amuse and interest them ; she would serve as a new toy (they never have any toys), and so he decides to allow the zenana mis- sionary to make regular visits to his home for the purpose of instructing his wives and daughters-in- law. Before consenting to visit his home, however, our zenana missionary stipulates that she be allowed to teach the Bible to the women of the household. This, also, he finally agrees to, but takes precaution against its consequences. A Wealthy High-caste Zenana Lady of Bombay HEROES AND HEROINES OF ZION 229 He instructs liis wives and daughters that he has invited the zenana missionary lady from America or from England to visit them ; that she will teach them how to sew, how to knit, how to embroider, and how to do all sorts of beautiful fancywork. Then he tells them that she is a spy and a pros- elyter, and that they must beware of her ; that she has been hired by the English or American gov- ernment to come to India for the purpose of robbing them of their religious beliefs, idols, home, friends, and caste. He assures them that he has consented for her to visit them in order that they may learn the fancywork and because he feels that he can trust them. They must not believe anything she may tell them about her Christian religion ; they must not believe the Bible she reads to them, be- cause it is all false and will lead them astray. Thus are the minds of the little native women poisoned and prejudiced against their zenana mis- sionary teacher before they have ever seen her face. The day for her visit is arranged for, the hour ap- pointed, and all the little women of the native household are in readiness for her reception. They have donned their best silk garments and wear all their jewels. They are in a flutter of excitement in anticipation of the strange guest. Of course they tender her a most warm and cor- dial reception. A native woman is always digni- fied, always courteous, the very soul of politeness ; she is incapable of rudeness. The zenana missionary does little in the way of 230 WITHIN THE PURDAH teaching on the occasion of her first visit ; she must first become personally acquainted with her pupils. She makes herself generally agreeable, answering all their questions, the first of which will probably be, '' How old are you? " Then, " Are you mar- ried? " If she answer in the negative, they do not believe her. It is incredible to the native of India that any man or woman should arrive at the age of maturity unmarried. If she answer in the affirma- tive, the next question is, ' ' How many children have you? " All questions are answered kindly. The zenana missionary allows her new pupils to examine the buttons on her dress, her breastpin, her cuffs, and all the details of her European costume. This is not considered rude among Indians, and, of course, English dress is a great curiosity in such a home as this. When she becomes a little better ac- quainted some of the younger women may take down her hair and toy with it as she goes on with her lesson. They are sweet, gentle women, with a delicate sense of propriety and a dignity so innate, so pretty, and so genuine that even the most refined American or English woman is liable to feel some strange sense of embarrassment in the presence of a company of such charming creatures ; for, indeed, they are charming in person and in manner, and as you come to know them intimately you will find that they are just as sweet i nd just as charming in character, except for the strange heathen beliefs and prejudices, which are the fault of their birthplace and surroundings rather than their own. HEROES AND HEROINES OF ZION 231 The new teacher finds her pupils bright, intelli- gent, quick to learn, and altogether interesting. They ask eager questions and remember readily. They have intelligent minds and are able to reason out and to answer ; so that the zenana worker must be a clever woman in order to give them logical and reasonable answers and conclusions to their argu- ments. When the heat becomes intense, at half past nine, ten, ten-thirty, or eleven o'clock A. M., according to the season of the year and the part of India where this work is being carried on, our zenana missionary workers gather into the mission- ary carriage and return to their home, where break- fast is in waiting. After breakfast family prayers are conducted, the servants attending, as in the case of the regular missionary of the parent board. Breakfast and family worship over, the zenana mis- sionary gives instruction to the servants as to the household duties of the day, meets her zenana mis- sionary assistants, instructs them as to their various tasks, or listens to the report of each. After this she repairs to her room for the purpose of letter or re- port writing. At one or two o'clock p. m. tiffin is served, after which the zenana missionary and her assistants may have a Bible reading together or a prayer service, or they may take a rest for half an hour or so. At four, four-thirty ,j^ or five o'clock p. m. the mis- sionary carriage again waits in front of our zenana missionary bungalozv, and presently the zenana mis- sionary and her assistants start out aofain for other 13 232 WITHIN THE PURDAH zenana homes, where they are to teach, and from which they do not return until six, seven, or eight o'clock in the evening, according to the season of the year and to the part of India in which they are living. After their return the butler announces, ' ' Khana taiyar hat, Miss Sahib " (Dinner is ready. Miss Sir). After dinner there may be a church service to at- tend, or the zenana missionary may meet her as- sistants, hear their reports, and instruct them in the best methods of expounding the Holy Scriptures and of winning the souls of zenana women to Christ. In the beofinnimr the work of the zenana mission- ary is very disheartening, but as these earnest, con- secrated women persevere, going from house to house and spending one, two, or three hours daily in each home, teaching these poor, imprisoned, but really gentle and lovely women the truths of our blessed Gospel, the seed is sown in good ground and must ere long bring forth an abundant har- vest. The minds of these zenana women are far too fertile, their judgment too clear, and their rea- soning faculties too bright for them to be long de- ceived. The day comes when their judgments are convinced of the truth of the Christian religion, and when this at length happens there is no more rest for the little woman until she has taken up her cross, left all, and followed Christ. It means much for her to do this, but she has the courage of her con- victions. Her mind is no sooner convinced than her heart responds, and she soon becomes willing HEROES AND HEROINES OF ZION 233 to sacrifice all that she may gain Christ. She an- nounces to her husband and family the fact that she has espoused the cause of her Lord Jesus Christ and fully believes in the Christian religion, and wishes to become a Christian herself. It is a bold thing for her to make such an announcement in her heathen home. The zenana missionary teacher is now advised that her visits must be discontinued. The little pupil is locked up in a small, dark room and is scourged with many stripes daily in the hope that she will soon renounce her new faith and de- clare her intention of returning to the faith of her family. This, however, she does not do. She is firm. She bears her torture with fortitude, in silence, and with the utmost patience receives all harsh words and cruel treatment. She is, perhaps, half starved and obliged to suffer unutterable tortures. Alone, without the zenana missionary teacher, who has come to be her truest friend, without the privi- lege of making known her sufferings to any sympa- thizing soul, she v/eeps and prays in her dark and solitary room. Finally, however, she makes her escape, or perhaps is beaten, kicked, and thrust out into the street at the dead of night because she will not yield. She is a stranger in the outside world. She never before stood on the street of a city out- side the high walls of her husband's house. All seems strange to her, and she is timid and alarmed. At length, however, in her fear and desperation, she inquires of some passing woman the way to the mis- sionary bungalow. Everybody knows where it is. 234 WITHIN THE PURDAH the zenana missionary home, and she is soon di- rected aright. With fear and trembling she makes her way to the home of her teacher friend. At last she stands at the door, her heart throbbing with mingled feelings of fear and joy. Timidly she knocks, and is ushered into the presence of her teacher, at whose feet she falls, convulsed with sobs. She soon tells her story, and is allowed to remain in the missionary home, at least for the present. Perhaps her friends will come for her within a few hours and tear her away by force, only to renew their beatings and starvation, or perhaps they will allow her to remain with the zenana mis- sionary, threatening her life if she should ever re- turn to her home or be found seeking an interview with any member of her husband's family. If she be a mother, she can never see her children again. Her family consider that she has disgraced them all, broken her caste, and ruined herself and them. In the Church of England Zenana Missionary Home, of Krishnagar, Bengal, there are ten, twelve, or more of these women, who have either been violently driven from their homes in the man- ner above described or who have made their escape by stealth, and who are now glad to labor in any way to maintain themselves while they study the blessed Gospel of Jesus Christ, with the hope that some day they may be able to go to the women of their own caste and instruct them in the blessed re- ligion which they have espoused and for which they have suffered so much and forsaken all else. e o CQ c as w 'w w <