Missionary Observer. PREACHING IN AND AROUND | which holiness in life is demanded RUSSELL CONDAH. We have paid our long anticipated visit to Russell Condah, and fulfilled the promise which we gave to our brethren assembled in last year's Conference, viz., to do all that lay in our power for this new station during the coming rainy season. Our stay was necessarily limited to one month, and the uncertainty of the weather in the month of August still further curtailed our opportunities of preaching to the people. Notwithstanding, however, circumstances were somewhat adverse we were able repeatedly to visit the adjacent villages in the mornings and in the evenings to preach in the bazaar. Our native brethren gave us a hearty welcome as fellowlabourers, and were much encouraged with the prospect of having our co-operation for a few weeks, and even the heathen were anxious to see us again, and had frequently asked them when the sahibs were expected. The name of the first village we visited was "Baungsa Nundi," and although the entrance was knee deep in mud and looked far from inviting, the people received us gladly. Several of the villagers had left their homes and gone to the rice fields before our arrival, consequently our listeners were not very numerous. The few, however, who remained, manifested a readiness to listen and an anxiety to understand, which were very encouraging to the preacher. Remarks were made by several, which evinced a high appreciation of the purity of the religion of Jesus, and an inclination to despise the impurities taught in their own shasters. None of the distinguishing characteristics of christianity arrest the attention of the thoughtful among the heathen more than its absolute holiness, and the pertinacity with of its professors. When our heathen congregations ponder over what they hear, and are ready to test the truth of our teachings, we see a spirit of inquiry awaking that brightens our hopes for the future. In another village we visited, resides a middle aged man, who, in addition to a considerable knowledge of the Scriptures evinces a decided attachment to the truths they inculcate. Being the Pradhan, or head of the village, his affection for our native brethren, whom he often visits, and his new religious sympathies expose him to considerable annoyance from those under his authority. As he requested us to come to his village and preach, we went, but unfortunately that morning he was unavoidably absent. He told the villagers we had promised to come, and they evidently prepared themselves for us, by resolving to exhibit a quiet indifference to us and our message. I passed a weaver who was lazily working, and invited him to come and hear what the Lord had done for him, but he was silent and gave me no answer. On reaching the middle of the village we saw a number of people sitting in front of their houses, apparently ready to go to their work in the fields, but native-like, their resolution to move in that direction was inadequate. One man who sat with his "katti," or rative billhook in his hand, strove to make himself particularly impracticable, and rather skilfully parried any remark directed to himself. The solemn subjects of death and judgment were advanced, to which he coolly replied, "Such matters may concern sahibs and natives who eat their (the sahib's) rice, but with them I have nothing in common.' While I am labouring to procure food to eat and cloths to wear, why should you come, and by preaching about death and the future, trouble my mind and lead me to [ left of the river running to the attempt to secure that which is far beyond my reach. The responsibility of my present existence, that is procuring food for supporting life, is my own, and I freely accept it, but what lies beyond this world rests with Krushna. This is all I know, and all I care to know about religion." These words and their questionable philosophy furnished our native brother Tama with an excellent text, and his address which teemed with attractive illustrations, for fertility in which he is remarkable, rivetted the attention of his opponent and those sitting near him, and although the former repeatedly said to the latter "I am going, I am going;" he remained until we took our departure, and appeared much pleased with what he had heard. When leaving the village our friend shouted after us-" You may look out, our Pradhan will join you by and by, his heart is with you already." Duah Chi, another village we went to rather disappointed us. The people were not so ready to flock around us when we appeared, nor did those who came listen to us with the same eagerness that had characterized them in our previous visit. Unmistakable signs of brahminical influence were apparent. A young man we had often seen when itinerating in the neighbourhood was absent. On inquiring where he was, a brahmin pointing to his house, which was burnt to the ground, said, his wife had been bewitched, and that in consequence he had left the village, and was residing with a relative. The house had been burnt after their departure, to drive out the evil spirit with which it was supposed to be haunted. Our informant did not fail to throw the onus of the calamity upon the influence which our books had excited over the mind of the youth. With this exception, we found brahminical authority far below par in Goom east of Russell Condah, we found our native brethren had taken time by the forelock and were busily engaged in preaching when we arrived. Among the crowd of listeners was a young man the son of the Pooraheet, or village priest, of Bellamootah. He is one of several intelligent young brahmins in that district who evince no inclination whatever to walk in the footsteps of their idolatrous forefathers. While we were preaching this young man showed no backwardness in acknowledging his disbelief in the absurdities of hindooism. His sincerity was not to be questioned, and the readiness with which he anticipated remarks relating to the "true incarnation," showed his familiarity with the leading incidents in the life of Christ. Indolence ofttimes leads a hindoo to give a cold meaningless assent to what he hears, to relieve himself of the exertion necessary in upholding opposition; but, when, with an earnestness which proves his words to be the outgrowth of his belief, he upholds our views and opposes those of his idolatrous brethren, we cannot fail to regard it as indicative of his sterling love for the truth. The last village visited was Bhigi Puta. As it is near to the Mission bungalow, and we had been to those more distant first, the people were afraid we were going to leave Russell Condah without preaching to them. "When will the sahibs come and preach to us they inquired of one of our native brethren. We will promise to hear them if they will come ?" Such an invitation was not to be slighted, and accordingly we went. After being listened to very attentively for a considerable time, we were about to leave, when our attention was arrested by some one singing in a building in the middle of the village. On going we found an old man sitting on his heels singing various stanzas from a shaster he was holding in his hands. The morning we visited Nuá"Well old gentleman what have you Ghwi, a large village. large village on the go there? we asked. 'Only a soor. 66 66 Preaching in and around Russell Condah. shaster, sahib." Then sing a verse. This was done. Now for an explanation. After a little hesitation he gave the interpretation of one as follows, "Only touch a Roosi and your sins will disappear, and your happiness be secured." These "Rossias," or hindoo sages are supposed to dwell on the summits of mountains, and are said to be immortal. The ignorant among the heathen manifest great fear of, and respect for them. A brahmin who was present gave his hearty approval of this doctrine, and as an additional evidence of their immortality, affirmed that no tiger would or could eat a Roosi. “I have myself," he | said, seen a tiger come suddenly upon a Roosi, and away it ran into the jungles to hide, terribly alarmed.' He was reminded of a line in the brahminical code, forbidding a brahmin to lie; which remark led to a long and warm discussion between one of our native preachers and our poitered friend, in which, the latter being defeated, allowed his wrath to break from restraint, and gave us a liberal share of curses, charging us with being devourers of the riches of others. When leaving, I told him our religion taught us to return good for evil, blessing for cursing, and urging him to forsake his wicked practices, and wishing him everlasting happiness through faith in Jesus, we returned to our homes. While not an advocate for indiscriminate attacks upon either brahmins or their religion, I have often seen a wellsupported exposure of an ignorant, arrogant brahmin surrounded by his superstitious admirers, materially damage his long-established religious prestige, and for the time being at least turn the common sense of the people against him. The reception we met with in the bazaar was full of hope for the future. The shopkeepers near our preaching stand, not only often leave business to listen to the preacher, but have very frequently called to our native brethren when they have been passing, and asking them to | sit down, have wished them to explain several difficulties they (the shopkeepers) have met with while reading our books. When entering the bazaar we often found our native brother Tama sitting in a shop eagerly discussing with its owner the relative merits of hindooism and christianity. While an absence of a fondness for caviling is characteristic of those composing our bazaar congregations at Russell Condah, they could by no means be denominated " a dead sea. Many intelligent questions were asked, and so long as the answers failed to enlighten the inquirer, again and again would the preacher be interrogated. We never returned from our evening labour there with any other feeling than one of gratitude to our Divine Master for the favour he had given us in the eyes of the heathen, and for the gladness with which the common people listened to His Gospel. The recent baptism of Ram Chundra will always be pleasingly associated with our late visit to Russell Condah. He is the first offering to the Lord in this important part of Goomsoor, and the pledge of yet more liberal gifts to the church of Christ upon earth. For sometime we looked forward to this event with deepening interest. Of his sincerity we have long since dismissed all doubt, and while indications of the increase of Divine light in his soul, and of his steady progress in christian experience were apparent, we have been desirous that precipitancy should in no way characterize his reception into the church. From first to last the work in his heart has been of the Lord; and what He was gradually accomplishing by the agency of his Holy Spirit we dare not seek to hasten, lest our impatience should mar the whole. When we stood by his side on the morning of his baptism and looked upon the people assembled, and knew that such scenes were witnessed by eyes purer than our own, from the fulness of our hearts did we thank that Holy our SOME years ago the people of England were shocked at the daring impiety of that wretched trader in Birmingham, who sent out to this country a large quantity of gods and goddesses. It seemed almost incredible that the nation, which had sent forth so many of her sons and daughters in the great missionary enterprize, should contain even one so deeply fallen as to engage in such an iniquitous traffic. This morning a native cloth dealer called at house, and on his opening his bundle, my attention was drawn to rather a strange looking figure on a pea green label attached to a piece of Manchester calico. I had seen a good many labels attached to goods sent to this country, but not one like this. After a moments examination I was startled to find that the figure was intended for Seeb, the third person in the Hindoo Trinity, the most disgusting of all the Hindoo deities. One wonders whether the firm of D- and Co., who have made their name so conspicuous by having it printed in English, Bengallee, Arabic, and Sanscrit, know anything of the strange character they have not only printed on their labels, but stamped on their calicoes? The life of Seeb cannot be described to an English audience, but we should like to whisper into the ears of the members of this firm a few of the dark deeds he committed during his supposed residence upon earth. We presume that D- and Co. are not aware that crimes innumerable were heaped upon the head of this god, that he was doomed to dwell amid the ashes of the funereal fires, and that Bysadabe, the first of Hindoo sages, affirmed that “it were better to be devoured by a tiger than take refuge in the temple of such a god!" We have stamped on this Manchester calico as well as on the very conspicuous label, Seeb, according to the heathen idea, riding on a bull almost in a state of nudity. From his trident a streamer is flying with the following inscription in Sanscrit: "The religion of the ascetic that is victorious;" which really means the religion of Seeb is victorious. Manchester men eager for gain may thus pander to the superstitions prejudices of the people, but will the end be accomplished? By such degrading acts will they ingratiate themselves into the good wishes of the heathen? Not so. The Hindoos do not believe in proselytism and the Englishman, who becomes Hindooized for the sake of popularity is generally the least respected. Bad as the people are in this land, for the most part they do honor to the man that leads an upright life; and it is an indisputable fact that the men who have ruled in righteousness have been the most popular governors in India. W. BAILEY. THE JUGGERNATH FESTIVAL, 1862. This year the Juggernath festival fell on Sunday, June 29th, and was more numerously attended than for several years past. For four years in succession I have visited this annual festival, but the The Juggernath Festival, 1862. 66 un present festival was the largest I have seen. As usual a large proportion of the pilgrims-sixty or seventy per cent.-were Bengali women, not a few of whom were widows. The latter are easily distinguished as they wear no ornaments, these being entirely and for ever cast aside on the death of their husband. | Of up country pilgrims there appeared to be more than the average number. We met with men from Benares and Delhi, Oude and the Punjaub, so that these had travelled from five to fifteen hunderd miles. Hindee was the language which the majority of them spoke, so fortunately we could not understand much of each other. They knew, however, that we were padries," and that our religion was diametrically opposed to idol worship. On several occasions they endeavoured to say a word in favour of the gods, and assigned various reasons to prove that they were true and proper objects of worship. One man said Juggernath was true because he had come 800 kos or 1,600 miles to worship him. I reminded him, however, that according to this kind of argument he must be false, because whereas he had come only 1,600 miles, I had come 16,000, and that to tell him Juggernath was false and Jesus the only Saviour. The people admitted that the distance argument was certainly in my favour. Another up country pilgrim, to prove that the gods were true, asserted that a commissioner sahib in the Punjaub offered the gods 5,000 rps. to quiet the mutiny. We expressed our disbelief in this statement, and said that even if it were true it did not prove the gods divine any more than an act of forgery, recently committed by an English attorney in Calcutta, proved forgery to be right. Instances like the above show how the conduct of officials is watched and misconstrued by the natives. The conduct of a collector at Pooree, many, many, years ago, is exerting an influence in favour of idolatry even to this day, and at every festival we are 37 reminded of the sahib who paid homage to Juggernath. The moral and spiritual blindness of the people is truly amazing, and anything, with shape or without, they will worship as a god. Take an illustration of the above remark. Several years ago, when a ship was wrecked at Pooree, the figure head, Britannia, was recovered and set up by an officer on some masonary on the beach. The figure, it must be confessed, has a beautiful appearance, as, with composed features, and outstretched hand, it stands erect "ruling the waves." But sad to relate the poor benighted pilgrims in passing along the beach actually worship this as divine, and I saw droves of them, when coming up to the figure, first raise their eyes and hands towards it, and then bow down their heads to the masonry on which it stands. By the residents it is called the "matra ranee," or great queen. Mr. Buckley was not able to join us till afterwards; but for a week prior to the festival, in company with Mr. Taylor, who had spent the hot season at Pooree, and the native brethren, I had the opportunity morning and evening of witnessing for Christ. In consequence of a very heavy fall of rain we were unable to visit the town on the Sabbath, the day of the festival. Wet or fine, however, out must come the idols on the day appointed, and out they did come, to the great risk of having their faces disfigured and their features washed away. The rain commenced on Saturday, and continued with scarcely any intermission till Monday, when part of the "great road' was under water. The unfavourable weather, in connection with hard and insufficient food, told fearfully upon the pilgrims, and cholera, deadly cholera, was the result. The dead and dying lay together in the streets, and extra men had to be employed to carry the dead to the dogs, the jackalls, and the vultures; and the sick to the hospital. Many cases prove fatal |