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[Illustration: UNION CHURCH, RANEE KHET.]
LIFE AND WORK IN BENARES AND KUMAON
1839-1877
BY JAMES KENNEDY, M.A.
Missionary of the London Missionary Society, Author of "Christianity
and the Religions of India," &c.
WITH AN INTRODUCTORY NOTE
BY SIR WILLIAM MUIR, K.C.S.I., LL.D., D.C.L.
Late Lieutenant-Governor North Western Provinces of India
ILLUSTRATED
CASSELL AND COMPANY, LIMITED
NEW YORK
1885
PREFACE.
The history of this volume can be given in a few words. Months ago I
said to a beloved relative that during the greater part of my life I had
more to do than I could well accomplish, and that now, with health and
strength in a measure restored, I sometimes thought I had not enough to
do. He said: "Why not write the reminiscences of your Indian life?" The
counsel struck me as good, and I have acted on it.
My theme has not the advantage of novelty: I cannot tell of a new
country explored, and a new people brought within the knowledge of the
world; but it has the advantage of greatness and variety. I am not aware
that any book on Indian Missions has achieved signal success. I do not
think, however, a single one has been written in vain. That must have
been a singularly poor book on so great a subject which has not had
something in it fitted to interest and inform readers. That must have
been a very solitary, lonely missionary, who has had no friends ready to
listen to what he has had to say. These books may have received little
general attention; but here and there, as the result of their perusal,
there has been a more intelligent apprehension of our work, deeper
sympathy with us, and heartier support rendered to us. I have ventured
to add a volume to those already published in the hope that it may do
some good before it passes into the oblivion which necessarily awaits
most of the productions of the press.
A glance at the contents of this volume will show it takes up a number
of subjects, some of which are merely touched in most books on Missions,
and others not at all. Reminiscences, especially when they spread over
many years, and embrace great events, admit of very discursive
treatment. They leave the writer unfettered to take up any subject
within his wide scope which he may deem fitted to interest his readers.
I have allowed myself the freedom thus afforded me. My aim has been to
take my readers with me to our Indian home, to see us at our work, to
hear us conversing with the people, to accompany us on our journeys, to
surround them in thought with our surroundings, so that they may realize
our position, trials, difficulties, and joys. I have throughout
maintained the standpoint of one whose Indian life has been devoted to
Mission work. My two spheres of labour--Benares during the greater part
of my course, and Ranee Khet, in the Hill Province of Kumaon, in later
years--have come in for extended remark.
My attention has not, however, been confined to Missions. I have
endeavoured to write as one interested in everything which ought to
interest a resident in the land. I have given some account of the
climate, aspect of the country, condition and character of the people,
changes which have taken place, modes of travelling, and the British
Government. I have again and again travelled in the North-West, and some
account of these journeys has been given. On one occasion I spent the
greater part of two months in Ceylon, and to that beautiful island a
chapter is devoted.
I have recorded at some length my experiences of the Indian Mutiny of
1857. No one who was in that terrible storm can ever forget it; and the
European inhabitants of Benares at that time have special reason for
thankfulness for their marvellous escape.
I have found it convenient to follow, as a rule, the chronological
order, but I have not kept closely to it. When recording the more remote
past, the nearer past has been continually coming into view, and the
contrast has found expression.
Indian names are written as ordinary English readers would pronounce
them, in preference to using the diacritical marks with which I have
been long familiar in the writing of Hindustanee in the Roman character.
The term "Hindu" is so established that I have used it in preference to
"Hindoo."
At the end of this book the reader will find statistics fraught with
interest to all who wish to understand the great Indian problem in its
many aspects.
It is impossible to keep one's self out of view in a work like this; but
I hope the candid reader will give me credit for saying as little of
myself, family, and doings as is compatible with the conditions under
which I have written.
I beg to dedicate this book to the friends of Christian Missions, in the
hope it may increase the interest of some in that great Continent, with
its teeming population, which has in God's providence come under the
rule of our land, and has special claims on our prayers, sympathy, and
efforts. I cannot doubt that my Indian friends, both those who have come
back to England and those who are still in India, will give a kindly
reception to the volume. They will, I believe, confirm the general
accuracy of my statements, and to a large extent acquiesce in my views.
With them so long as my heart beats it will go forth in heartiest wishes
and fervent prayer for the land with which our past has so inseparably
bound us.
J. K.
ACTON, August, 1884.
[Illustration]
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
_From 1838 to 1839. Voyage to India and the City of Palaces._
Voyage. First Impressions of Calcutta. Changes since 1839. Messrs.
Piffard and Lacroix. Schools. Visit to Serampore. 1
CHAPTER II.
_Voyage to Benares--March, 1839._
Various Modes of Travelling. The Sunderbuns. Fellow-passengers. Storm.
Study of Hindustanee. Scenes on the River and its Banks. 9
CHAPTER III.
_Arrival at Benares._
The Rev. William Smith. Congregation of Beggars. The Rev. W. P. Lyon.
Native Service. Settling down. 15
CHAPTER IV.
_Missions in Benares from 1816 to 1839._
The Baptists first in the Field. Eurasian Agents. The Church Mission.
London Mission. Orphanage of the Church Mission. 20
CHAPTER V.
_1839 and 1840. First Year in Benares._
Views Enlarged and Modified. Study of Hindustanee. Undue Complacency.
Study of the Native Character. Evangelistic Work. 27
CHAPTER VI.
_First Year in Benares (continued)._
Class-feeling among Europeans. Eurasians. Climate in the North-West
Provinces. Variety of Scenery and Climate in India. Experience of
Climate during First Year. The Sufferings of Poor Natives in Winter.
Homesickness. 34
CHAPTER VII.
_The City of Benares._
Sherring's "Sacred City of the Hindus." Residents and Visitors.
Commerce. Antiquity. Gautam's Ministry in the Sixth Century B.C. The
Success of Buddhism. Its Overthrow. The Devotion of the City to Shiva.
Muhammadans. A Trip on the River. The Principal Temple. Heathen Temples
and Roman Worship. The Mosque of Aurungzeb. The Present City Modern.
Beggars. Macaulay's Description of Benares. 49
CHAPTER VIII.
_Benares as a Mission Sphere._
Hostility to the Gospel. Apostolic Labour in Great Cities. Robert
Haldane's Project. Benares brought under British Rule in 1781. The Door
opened for the Gospel. Bishop Heber. Benares as a Centre of Mission
Work. 77
CHAPTER IX.
_Second Year in Benares._
Marriage. The Vicissitudes of Indian Life. Celibate Missionaries.
Different Departments of Work. 88
CHAPTER X.
_The Religious Gatherings of the Hindus._
Their Saturnalia. The Play of Ram. The Eclipse of the Moon. Mela at
Allahabad. The Peculiarities of a Hindu Gathering. Sanitary Precautions.
Cholera. Ascetics. Influence of Melas in strengthening Hinduism. 94
CHAPTER XI.
_The Object of Christian Missions._
Necessity for Different Modes of Action. _Preaching_. Questions,
Objections, and Replies. Polytheism and Pantheism. Muhammadan Hearers.
108
CHAPTER XII.
_Mission Schools._
Primary Schools. Secondary Schools. College Department. Indian
Universities. The Danger of Christian Instruction being thrust aside.
The Value of Higher Schools in a Missionary Aspect. Conversion. Public
Opinion. 124
CHAPTER XIII.
_Orphanages._
Pressing Need in 1837 and 1838. Sanguine Hopes. Difficulties.
Advantages. Native Agents obtained. The General Result. 135
CHAPTER XIV.
_Mission Tours._
Voyaging in the Ganges. Trust in Ganges Water. Serpents. Journey to Agra
at the end of 1842. Tents. The Appearance of the Country. Roads and
Groves. Walled Villages. Traffic. Immunity from Thieves. Kindness from
Missionaries. Agra. Evangelistic Work. Kunauj. An Interesting Inquirer.
New Mission Church in Benares. Tour to Kumaon in 1847. Journeying
Troubles. Return by Meerut and Delhi. 145
CHAPTER XV.
_From 1847 to 1857._
Work at Benares. Voyage to England in 1850. Return to India in 1853.
Calcutta to Benares. From 1854 to 1857. Increase of Native Christian
Congregation. Mission Tours. Visit to the Fort of Rohtas in February,
1857. Biblical Examination. Missionary Conference. 168
CHAPTER XVI.
_The Mutiny, 1857 and 1858._
Causes. Peculiarity of our Position. The Native Army. Grievances
alleged. Dissatisfaction outside the Army. Threatenings of the Storm.
The Cartridges. Outbreak and Progress of the Mutiny. Berhampore and
Barrackpore. Meerut. 174
CHAPTER XVII.
_The Mutiny (continued)._
The Christian Community at Benares. The Fanaticism of the City.
Precautions. The Fourth of June. Mutiny of the Native Regiments. Flight
to the Ganges. Escorted to the Mint. Retribution. The Panic of July 6.
At the Mint on Sunday Night, July 5. Marriage of a Native Couple. Alarm
and Panic. Strange Bed-fellows. After the Panic. Family left for
Calcutta and England. From July to December. Lucknow. Mud Fort. The
Steadfastness of Native Christians. India in 1857 and Egypt in 1882.
Visit to Allahabad. Desolation. The Kindness of English Officials. 185
CHAPTER XVIII.
_Visit to Ceylon--1858 and 1859._
Galle, Colombo, and Kandy. The Cocoanut Palm. The Cinnamon Gardens.
Coffee Plantations. Perpetual Summer. Visit to Newera Ellia. The
Christian Zeal of the Dutch. Great Outward Success. Collapse. Missions.
Buddhist Temples. 205
CHAPTER XIX.
_From 1859 to 1868._
Work at Benares. Increased Attention to the European Population. Visit
to Cities in the North-West. Allahabad. Cawnpore. Lucknow. Incident on
the Ganges. Visit to Delhi in 1861 on our Way to Kumaon. Visit to
England, Return to India, and Appointment to Kumaon. 213
CHAPTER XX.
_From 1868 to 1877. Kumaon._
_Its Scenery and Products._ A Sub-Himalayan Region. Scenery, Climate,
and Products. New Products. Tea. Inhabitants, Hindus and Doms. Gods and
Temples. Local Gods. Demons. The Character of the People. Want of
Cleanliness. The Plague. History. Native Dynasties. The British Rule.
Progress. Tea Planting. The Irrigation of the Bhabhur. Wild Beasts.
Treaty with the Ghoorkhas. Modes of Travelling. Journey to the Pindaree
Glacier. 232
CHAPTER XXI.
_Almora Mission._
Schools. Female Education. The Leper Asylum. English Preaching. 252
CHAPTER XXII.
_Ranee Khet._
Schools. Wooden House. Rain and Rats. Pioneer Work. The Erection of
Buildings. Work among the English. Among Natives. Educated Young Men.
Doms. Night School. Itineracy. A Hill Mela. Bageswar. 260
CHAPTER XXIII.
_Habits and Condition of the Hill People._
Sanitary Regulations. _Yearly Visit to Nynee Tal._ The Missions of the
American Episcopal Methodist Church. Retirement from the Indian
Mission-field. Helpful Friends. Return to England. 279
CHAPTER XXIV.
_The Missionary in India._
Extent and Variety of the Indian Field. The Greatness of the Missionary
Office. The Contrast between Ministerial and Missionary Work. The
Relations of Missionaries to each other, to their respective Societies,
and to Missionaries of other Societies. Their Relation to Europeans. 289
CHAPTER XXV.
_The Missionary in India (continued)._
The Mode of Living required by the Climate. Missionary Theology. The
Radical Opposition of the Gospel to Heathenism. The Example of our
Lord and His Apostles. Hindu and Buddhist Views of the Future. The
Doctrine by which Mission Success has been achieved. The Necessity of
Sin being considered in the adjustment of Doctrine. _In Memoriam._ 297
CHAPTER XXVI.
_Native Christians._
Syrian Christians. The Descendants of Xavier's Converts. The Shanars in
Travancore and Tinnevelly. _The Hills of Central and Eastern India._ The
Kols and Santhals. _Bengal._ Krishnaghur and Backergunje. _The
Presidency Cities._ The Social and Educational Standing of the Converts.
_Northern India._ The Drummers in Native Regiments. The Waifs of
Society. Pride in the Christian Name. Orphans and their Descendants.
Converts of our Missions. Baptism sought from Wrong Motives. 307
CHAPTER XXVII.
_Native Christians (continued)._
Unworthy Members. The Sacrifices made by Converts. Difficulty in Forming
a Right Estimate of a Community. The General Character of our Native
Christians. _The Ordeal of 1857._ The Christian Constancy of our People.
Their Loyalty. Their Bearing in Joy and Sorrow. "Everywhere spoken
against." Most Europeans have no Sympathy with us. Unfair to judge by
Individuals. _The Support of Native Christians._ Different Occupations.
Native Christian Contributions. _The Compound System._ 315
CHAPTER XXVIII.
_The People among whom we labour--Muhammadans_.
_A Large Muhammadan Population._ Variety in Position, Culture, and
Character. The Quran and the Bible. Licentiousness of Muhammadans,
Hindus, and So-called Christians. The Estimable Character of some
Muhammadans. Muhammadan Opposition to the Gospel. Its Opposition to
Idolatry. Proselytes to Islam. The Relation of Muhammadans and Hindus to
each other. Hindu Home-life. Muhammadan Reformers. 329
CHAPTER XXIX.
_Hindus._
_Pantheism, Polytheism, and Idolatry, and their Demoralizing Tendency._
Counteracting Influences. _Contradictory Views of Hindu Character._
Professor Max Muller. Sir Thomas Munro. Sir Charles Trevelyan.
_The Caste System._ Its Ramifications and Effects. Its Baneful
Influence. Its Incidental Benefits. _The Patriarchal System._ In the
Presidency Cities Caste greatly weakened. Weakening Tendencies all over
India.
_The Brahmists._ Brahmism and the Gospel. Brahmist Divisions. Successive
Hindu Reformers.
_Girls' Schools and Female Missions._ Access to Hindu Families. Lady
Physicians. Great Importance of Zenana Missions. Behind the Curtain. The
Freedom of Women in Humble Life. The Influence of Women in India.
_Mission Prospects._ Difficulty in gauging Success. Hurtful Influence of
English Infidel Literature. The Strength of Family and Social Ties.
Instance. The Vast Extent of the Field. _Pagani_, Villagers, synonymous
with Heathen.
_Help given in India for the Solution of Great Questions._ 1. The
Immobility of the Eastern Mind. 2. The Genesis and Evolution of
Religion. 3. Comparative Religion. 4. The Migration of Nations. 338
CHAPTER XXX.
_Europeans in India._
_No Sphere in India for European Colonization._ The Climate. The Land
occupied. _India Presents a Wide Field for European Agency._ _The
Difference between Europeans and Natives._ India never called "Home" by
Europeans. Highly Educated Natives. Native Gentlemen. Natives in
Subordinate and Menial Positions. _The Position of Europeans changed._
Advantages and Disadvantages. _Improved Condition of European Society._
The Effect on Europeans of Home Literature. Increased Effort for the
Spiritual Good of Europeans and Eurasians. 357
CHAPTER XXXI.
_The Government of India._
_Our Right to Govern India._ We went as Traders, and were led by
Circumstances to fight. The Conduct of the Native Powers. The Marquess
of Hastings. Not allowed to remain at Peace. Our Comparative
Faithfulness to Engagements. _The Condition in which we found India._
The Muhammadan Empire. Civil Wars. Invasions. _The Dissolution of the
Empire._ Adventurers. No Elements of Stable Government. The Effect of
British Rule.
_The Greatness of the Work entrusted to us._ Character of our
Administrators. Responsibility elicits Capacity. District Officers.
Strict Supervision exercised over them. The Evils springing from the
Institution of Courts. Runjeet Singh's Plan. The Evils Incident to
Civilization.
_Regulation and Non-Regulation Provinces. The Taxation Heavy._ Regular
Payments. The Land-Tax is the Land-Rent. The Native Army. The European
Army. Civil Officials in the Mutiny. Inadvisability of Bengalees holding
the Highest Offices.
_In India we have Different Nations._ Bengalees Strangers in the
North-West. The Preference given to English as Rulers. Trust in our
Justice. The Large Pay of High Officials cannot be justly or wisely
reduced. Opinion of Natives as Litigants.
_The People Mainly Agricultural._ Poverty. Increase of Population.
Sturdy Beggars. Lending and Borrowing. Debt Hereditary. Marriage
Expenses.
_Incidence of Taxation._ Municipal Institutions and Local Government.
Improvement of Cities during Late Years.
_Our Government no Unmixed Blessing._ Unjust Charges and Incorrect
Statements.
_From whom is Improvement to be hoped?_ From no Class so much as from
Indian Officials. The "Gazetteer" of India. Importance of Information
being made Accessible to the English People.
_The best Conceivable Government for India._ The best Practicable
Government.
_The Future of India._ Antagonistic Elements. The Order secured by the
Army. The Greatness of our Responsibility. Good Government Favourable to
Evangelization. 365
STATISTICS 391
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
UNION CHURCH, RANEE KHET. Frontispiece.
BATHING GHAT, BENARES. 48
A JEWELLER AT WORK. 53
THE WELL AT CAWNPORE. 219
RUINS OF THE RESIDENCY, LUCKNOW. 223
THE LA MARTINIERE, LUCKNOW. 227
TEMPLE IN THE HIMALAYAS. 237
MISSION SCHOOL, ALMORA. 253
LEPER ASYLUM, ALMORA. 257
THE SNOWY RANGE FROM RANEE KHET. 263
LANDSLIP AT NYNEE TAL. 281
PREFATORY NOTE.
Neither the author nor his book stands in need of any introduction to
the public. But having been asked for such, I cheerfully respond. During
his long residence in the North-Western Provinces of India, where I
myself happened to reside, ample opportunities were afforded me of
knowing and observing the Rev. Jas. Kennedy and his work. And I am
therefore able, and glad, to say that no man was ever better placed than
he was for gaining a thorough acquaintance with Hindustan and the
various races inhabiting it, during the four decades of which he treats.
I have met with none whose calm and sagacious judgment might more surely
enable him to form correct conclusions, nor whose high and scrupulous
principle should impart to the reader greater confidence in the fair and
truthful statement of them.
I regard this book as possessing a rare interest, not only for the
missionary student, but equally so for the general reader. The amount of
information it contains, descriptive, social, evangelistic, and even
political, is astonishing; and the discursive and, in part,
autobiographical form in which it is written, renders it so easy, that
he who runs may read. The contrast is drawn graphically, and with a
light and lively pen, between the state of things fifty years ago and
that which now prevails: the exchange of slow and cumbrous means of
conveyance for those which enable you in these days to perform the
journey of weeks in, you might say, as many hours; and the not less
marked advance in education and intelligence. The retrospect, material
as well as moral, social, and religious, is useful in many ways.
But that which lends its chief value to this work is the faithful
picture of missionary labour--its trials and difficulties, its results,
rewards, and prospects. During the considerable period brought under
review, standing by, as I did, and looking carefully on, I can
unhesitatingly attest, as a whole, the correctness of my friend's
statements, and the reasonableness of the lessons he would draw
therefrom. This book should be read by every one who wishes to acquaint
himself with the attitude of Christian agencies towards the people of
India, and of these towards the Gospel. There is here a fertile field of
facts and materials for thought. The author resorts to no roseate
colouring, nor any kind of varnish. Nothing is unduly sanguine. All is
tempered by sound judgment and wise discretion.
If I may add a word from my own experience, it is this--Let my
fellow-countrymen and countrywomen in India give their countenance to
the Missionaries labouring around them. They well deserve it, but too
often are allowed to stand alone. The loss is theirs who keep aloof, and
neglect the man and his work. While our people are running to and fro in
the busy whirl of Indian life--some hasting to be rich, others engrossed
in the labours of administration--higher things are too frequently
forgotten. The spiritual life is prone to fade and droop. Many men--and
women as well as men--who would at home be cultivating some corner of
the Master's vineyard, begin to forget that similar obligations follow
after them in their private walk and life abroad. Against these
deteriorating tendencies, to mingle with the missionary band affords a
wholesome antidote. For myself, I can never be thankful enough that in
my early Indian life I found valued friends in the missionary circle,
not only of the highest mental culture, but of a devoted Christian
heart; and was privileged with their intimacy to the end. Among them I
cannot refrain from naming such noble Missionaries as Perkins, Smith,
and Leupolt, French, Stuart, Welland, and Shackell, Owen, Humphrey,
Budden and Watt, Hoernle, and Pfander--that grand apologist to the
Mahometans--all of whose friendship I enjoyed, as well as that of the
Author himself. If some of these were men the like of whom we may not
soon look upon again--a galaxy of rare appearance--yet, as we may learn
from these pages, the field is in the present day stocked even more
plentifully than ever it was before. Opportunities of cultivating in
this field Christian friendship--and may I not add Christian work, and
that for Ladies also--are happily multiplying all around; and I can
promise an ample reward to such as make a faithful use of them.
In conclusion, I will only say that I am much mistaken if this work
fails to take its place as a standard book of reference in every library
of missionary labour and Christian work abroad.
W. MUIR.
16th September, 1884.
CHAPTER I.
VOYAGE TO INDIA.
In 1837 I was accepted by the London Missionary Society as one of its
agents. On September 15, 1838, I embarked at Portsmouth with thirty
other passengers on the _Duke of Buccleugh_, a vessel of 650 tons
burthen, and landed in Calcutta on January 19, 1839, _en route_ to
Benares, to which I had been appointed. The only land we sighted from
Portsmouth to Saugar Island was a rock in the Indian Ocean. The time we
thus spent at sea was four months and five days. Every now and then
speedier voyages were made, but a few years previously this voyage would
have been deemed rapid. The _Duke of Buccleugh_, on her next voyage to
India, went to pieces on a sandbank at the mouth of the Hoogly, but
happily the weather was moderate, and passengers and crew were saved.
The route by the Cape of Good Hope has been abandoned for passengers for
many years, and now Bombay is reached by the Straits of Gibraltar and
the Suez Canal in a month, sometimes in less, while another week is
required for the voyage to Calcutta. Those who travel with the Indian
mails across the Continent of Europe can reach their port in less than
three weeks, and distant parts of India by rail in four weeks or less.
All on board--officials returning to their posts, and persons going out
for the first time--were delighted to find the voyage coming to an end;
but new-comers like myself were under the spell of novelty, which gave
new interest to everything we saw. At Kedgeree, near the mouth of the
Hoogly, the Post Office boat came to our ship with welcome letters from
friends, who were looking out for our arrival. The level land on each
side of the river, with its rich tropical vegetation; the numerous
villages on the banks, with their beehive-like huts; the craft on the
river, large and small, many of them so heavily laden as to bring them
down almost to the water's edge; the little boats, with plantains and
other fruits, which tried to attach themselves to our ship in the hope
of getting purchasers; the strange appearance of the people, with their
only covering of cloth round the middle--all gave us a thrill of
excitement which can be known only in similar circumstances. Then, we
were about to set foot on the great land, of which we had read much, to
which we had looked with the deepest interest, and where we purposed to
spend our days in the service of Christ. Though so many years have since
elapsed, we can yet vividly remember the peculiar feeling of that time.
The day before we landed, the Native agent of the mercantile house to
which our ship was consigned made his appearance with letters and fresh
supplies. To the surprise of us new-comers, roast beef was on our
dinner-table that day. We thought it strange that in the land where the
cow was worshipped, beef should be one of the first things brought to
us.
Our missionary friends in Calcutta had heard of the arrival of our ship,
and arranged for our accommodation. Some of them came on board when we
anchored in the Hoogly, off Fort William, and gave us a hearty welcome.
We were right glad to find ourselves on land again.
[Sidenote: THE CITY OF PALACES.]
Calcutta is a hundred miles from the sea, but the country is so level
that the tide runs up in great strength many miles beyond, and the tidal
wave, which comes in at certain times, is very dangerous to small craft,
and requires care on the part of large ships. The great trade of the
city is shown by the vast number of ships at anchor in the river, many
of them stately vessels of large tonnage, of which in our day many are
steamers.
On landing, a stranger gets the impression that Calcutta is rightly
called the city of palaces. On the great plain adjoining the river, at
some distance from each other, are two notable objects--Fort William and
Government House. Beyond the plain lies Chowringhee, a range of lofty
houses extending for more than a mile, with balconies and flat roofs,
giving one an impression of grandeur, which is scarcely sustained when
more nearly seen, as that which looked at a distance like marble is
found to be stucco and plaster. Behind Chowringhee are a number of wide
streets with similar, but generally smaller houses, each apart, with
offices and servants' houses in the enclosure. When entering the city
one sees that strange combination of meanness and dirt with grandeur
with which travellers in Eastern lands are so familiar. In the
neighbourhood of Government House there are a number of shops in the
European fashion, but a very large proportion of the business of
Calcutta, we suppose the most of it, is carried on in bazaars, in which
there are no showy shops, but where there is abundance of goods of every
description. When we went to India, and for many years afterwards, in
front of these shops were open sewers, over which customers had to pass
on slabs of stone. Amidst houses for Europeans, even in the most
aristocratic part of the city, were native houses of every description,
many of them miserable grass huts.
Since the time of which I speak, some forty-five years ago, Calcutta has
been greatly improved. It has been drained, supplied with good water,
instead of being dependent on great open tanks, to which all had access,
which no arrangement could keep tolerably pure, and is lit with gas.
Open sewers are no longer to be seen, and from the best parts of the
city many native houses have disappeared. The changes effected must
conduce immensely to the health and comfort of the inhabitants. There is
no part of India, we suppose, free from the plague of the musquito, but
in all my Indian life I have not been so much tormented in any place by
it as I have been in Calcutta. It adds insult to injury. If it would
only bite, sharp though its bite be, one could put up with it; but
before it bites, and after, it goes on buzzing, as if mocking you, and
evades every attempt to catch it. The last time we were there musquitoes
were comparatively few, and they seemed to have lost much of their
former mischievous vigour. We suppose the improved sanitary arrangements
have not agreed with them.
When in Calcutta everything reminded us that we had left our own country
behind, though not all our own people. We saw them on every side, but
they were a mere handful in the midst of a strange people in a strange
land, where man and nature presented entirely new aspects. The look of
the people, the exceedingly scanty dress of the labouring class, and the
long flowing robes of those in better circumstances, the marks on the
foreheads and arms of the Hindus, showing the gods whose worshippers
they were, their processions with noisy, unmusical music, the public
buildings of the people, the mosques of the Muhammadans, and the temples
of the Hindus, with a church here and there to show that Christianity
had also its shrines--all brought to our view characteristics of the
great land on which we had entered. Bombay, since the opening of the
Suez Canal, has made progress which somewhat affects the pre-eminence of
Calcutta among the cities of India, but it still remains the capital of
British India--I ought rather to say of India--and its position will
continue to make it, what it has been in the past, a vast emporium of
commerce, the abode of a great population, and a place of most stirring
activity. It continues to be the resort of persons of every civilized,
and almost every semi civilized, nation on the face of the earth.
My stay in Calcutta of six weeks was longer than I had anticipated, but
my time was very pleasantly and profitably spent. A few days after
arrival a united prayer-meeting was held: missionaries of all societies
were present, the attendance was large, the spirit was earnest and
devout, and I then began to realize, what it was my happiness to realize
more fully afterwards, the uniting power of the missionary enterprise. I
had the happiness of attending services with Native Christians, and of
joining them in spirit, though not with understanding. I was especially
interested in the noble Missionary Institution of the Church of
Scotland, and in the smaller, but promising, school of our own Society.
I felt as if the sight of such a number of boys and young men, many of
them with most pleasing and intelligent countenances, all learning our
language, and, what is vastly better, all taught from the Word of God,
was enough in itself to repay one for the long voyage to India. I heard
them examined, and was surprised at the knowledge of English possessed
by some of them, at the extent of their Biblical knowledge, and at the
Christian tone with which they gave replies to questions. I asked a
tall, slightly built young man, with a most intelligent face, dressed in
the flowing white robe of his people, who had spoken with what struck me
as the accent of conviction, "Are you a Christian?" to which he replied,
"Yes, in heart; but I fear persecution." To this subject of schools I
shall have often occasion to revert in the course of my reminiscences.
During my stay in Calcutta I had much pleasant intercourse with
missionaries of different Societies. I was the guest of Mr. Boaz,
afterwards Dr. Boaz, of Union Chapel, by whom I was treated with much
kindness. Mr. Gogerly had been my fellow-passenger to India. Mr. Lacroix
and Mr. Piffard were, at that time, the senior missionaries of our
Society in Calcutta. Both were admirable men. Mr. Piffard was a
gentleman of property, who devoted himself to missionary work, and
laboured for many years most faithfully, without requiring to take, and
without taking, any salary from the Society. A short time afterwards he
was suddenly carried off by cholera. Mr. Lacroix lived for many years. I
had the pleasure of meeting him in my visits to Calcutta, and in his
visits to the North-west, and also of frequent correspondence with him.
He was esteemed and loved as few have been. He was a man with a
commanding presence, tall and well-built, and had a geniality of manner
which won all hearts. He spoke and wrote English remarkably well, with a
slight foreign accent and sprightliness, an _elan_, as our French
friends call it, which told of his French birth and upbringing. He had a
thorough knowledge of the Bengalee language, and used it with a
commanding eloquence, to which his voice, look, and gesture greatly
contributed. His last illness, the result of his long residence in the
enervating climate of Bengal, was borne with Christian patience, and
drew forth the sympathy and kindly inquiry of all classes. At his
funeral such tokens of respect and love were rendered to him by every
class of the community, Native and European, as have been seldom
witnessed in Calcutta.
[Sidenote: SERAMPORE.]
Like all newly-arrived missionaries in Calcutta, I made a pilgrimage to
Serampore. The illustrious trio--Carey, Marshman, and Ward--whose names
are indissolubly connected with that place, as first their refuge and,
for many years afterwards, the scene of their plans and labours for the
evangelization of India, had passed away by that time (January, 1839),
but the Rev. John Mack, who had been long associated with them, and Mr.
John Marshman, Dr. Marshman's eldest son, remained. I was taken by Mr.
Mack to the college, the printing-office, the type manufactory, the
paper manufactory, the mission chapel, the station church, Dr. Carey's
garden, and the native Christian village, indeed, to every object of
interest about the place. I remember seeing an elderly man engaged in
type-making, and observing a little image in a niche above him. I was
told this man had been many years in this department of work, and had
remained so strict a Hindu that he would work only under the protection
of his god. The teaching of the missionaries had had no effect in
weaning him from his ancestral idolatry. Yet many were won to Christ by
the Scriptures and books, for the preparation of which the work of this
man, and of others of his class, was indispensable.
When visiting Serampore, and hearing from Mr. Mack of the doings and
achievements of the great men whose residence at Serampore has given it
a sacredness it will ever retain in the annals of Indian Missions, I
felt as a young Greek would feel on being taken to Marathon and
Thermopylæ. I felt I was entering on a war, where there had been heroes
before me, which demanded courage and endurance of a far higher order
than had ever been enlisted in the cause of patriotism.