of opinion that she was possessed of an evil spirit. This troubled
Daniel, for he loved his mother very much. The remedy for such cases
was prescribed, and the foolish ceremonies were duly performed by
Daniel's father. After several months the poor woman recovered, and it
was supposed by all the friends and neighbours that her cure was
produced by the ceremonies, charms, and incantations which had been
made. It does not appear that Daniel raised any objections to the
performance of these superstitious ceremonies, or, on the other hand,
that he had any faith in their efficacy; but he rejoiced greatly when
his mother was restored to soundness of mind. Daniel says: "When I was
about nineteen years of age, I gave myself up to many wicked practices,
and my conduct for many months was very immoral. Our family was poor,
and I determined to leave Singonahully for some place where I might get
on a little better in the world. But one of my uncles, who was a
wealthy man, interposed, and took me to his house. He set me to work in
his fields, and assist him generally in agricultural operations. Whilst
so employed, I wished to be married, but met with two difficulties: the
first was poverty. My father had no money; and as the marriage
ceremonies and feasts are always expensive, I knew not what to do. Then
there was another hindrance: the father of my intended wife withdrew the
consent he had formerly given to the marriage, on account of my conduct
in connection with the cholera goddess. But my generous uncle
interposed, and induced him to give his consent. And then he removed
the other difficulty by paying all the marriage expenses himself. With
this uncle we lived many years in Goobbe; and when he became an old man,
I managed his farm for him, and at the same time I carried on my work as
village washerman."
CHAPTER TWELVE.
THE FIRST SERMON PREACHED IN GOOBBE.
On the 1st of September, 1836, Goobbe received the first visit of a
Protestant Missionary. The following is an extract from Mr Hodson's
Journal: "After spending a few days with Captain (now General) Dobbs at
Toomcoor, I rode over to Goobbe, a distance of twelve miles. When I had
arrived within about a mile of the town, I was met by a number of the
principal inhabitants, who expected Captain Dobbs. On finding out their
mistake, they politely paid me the compliments intended for their local
governor. They accompanied me to the `gate of the city,' and their
trumpeter gave notice to the whole town that `a person of distinction'
had arrived, and it was very soon known to every one who loved to hear
news that the visitor was a Missionary. After breakfast, which Captain
Dobbs' servant had prepared for me, I went into some of the principal
streets of Goobbe to make my observations on the suitability of the
place for a mission-station. In one of the streets I met with a
Christian young man, who had been schoolmaster at Toomcoor, who rendered
me some assistance. After taking an extensive survey of the place, I
returned to the first gate, and seeing a large shop, open to the street,
unoccupied, I took possession of it, and requested the young man above
mentioned to read part of a Canarese tract which he had in his hand. A
few people entered the room, but the greater number stood in the street,
about two feet below the shop. Novelty brought a congregation of about
one hundred, to whom, after the young native man had done reading, I
gave a short address on the plan of salvation, and an exhortation to
repent and believe in Christ." When this first little sermon was
preached in Goobbe, Daniel and his wife had been living there several
years. This day was the commencement of a new era in Daniel's life.
Hitherto, from his youth up, though he despised idol-worship, he knew
nothing about the one true God. Like his neighbours, he believed there
were millions of gods, who filled various offices in the government of
the world. He had heard of many incarnations of the chief deities,
whose good and evil actions are recorded in books held sacred by the
Hindoos. He had very confused notions about a future state, but thought
there would be a `judgment' of some kind, followed by rewards and
punishments. Also, like all other Hindoos, he was of opinion that when
a man dies his soul does not go direct to heaven or to hell, but that it
passes into some other body: it may be the body of a human being, or it
may be into that of a beast, a bird, a fish, or an insect. And then,
after millions of migrations like these, the soul either finds a
permanent state of existence according to its fate, or its identity is
lost by being absorbed into deity.
Shortly after Daniel heard the first Gospel sermon, Mr Franklin, an
assistant Missionary, was sent by Mr Hodson from Bangalore to Goobbe,
to make certain arrangements for building a mission-house. With him
Daniel had long and interesting conversations. He says: "I was walking
one morning with Mr Franklin outside the town of Goobbe, looking at
some land which he thought would be suitable for building a
mission-house upon, and, turning, he saw some tombs. He took hold of my
hand, and said, `What are those?' I replied, `They are tombs--that is,
the place where the dead are buried.' He added: `You and I must die and
be buried. We shall turn to dust; but there will be a resurrection of
the bodies of all men, the raised body will be re-united with its soul,
and dwell for, ever either in happiness or in misery. The true
worshippers of the one true God will go to heaven, and the others to
hell. These truths are written in the Christian's _Shastras_. Mr
Hodson and I intend coming to live at Goobbe, and then we will teach all
the people the way to heaven.' I was not much impressed with what he
said about the Christian Scriptures, but replied, `When Mr Hodson
comes, I hope I shall be employed by him as his washerman?'"
CHAPTER THIRTEEN.
WESLEYAN MISSION COMMENCED AT GOOBBE.
In April, 1837, Mr and Mrs Hodson went to live at Goobbe. At first
they dwelt in tents, and then they built a little cottage, of which the
accompanying sketch gives a fair representation. The walls, about six
feet high, were made of mud, the roof was thatch, and the rooms were
small and few. But the Missionary and his wife found it very
comfortable when the weather was fine, though when it rained they were
subject to many little inconveniences. This mission cottage, situated
on the brow of a rising ground, commanded a pleasant and extensive
prospect. In the front there was a view over hill and dale, wood and
water, for fifty or sixty miles. On one side the low flat lands, well
watered from a large tank, were covered with rich crops of rice. On
other sides there were patches of varied cultivation, interspersed with
clumps of trees, as well as large tracts of uncultivated land, used as
common pasturage for all the cattle of the town. To these unenclosed
grounds cows, sheep, etcetera, were driven out every morning, and after
grazing all day, were brought back into the town of Goobbe every
evening. Occasionally, a shepherd's boy, reclining on the ground near
his sheep, played sweetly on an instrument, newly made by himself out of
some hollow vegetable stalk, but which in an hour or two, on its
becoming dry or injured, he would break and throw away as a useless
`bruised reed.' The Missionary has often sat at his cottage door
admiring these beauties of nature, when unexpectedly a few graceful
timid antelopes have run across the garden in front of him, adding life
as well as beauty to the scene. On a Sunday morning he often fancied
every thing appeared clearer, brighter and more beautiful than on other
days. There was, however, one dark cloud hanging over all this
loveliness, in the fact that the town of Goobbe, just at the foot of the
hill was wholly given to idolatry:
"Every prospect pleases,
Only man is vile."
The Missionary and his assistant went forth daily from their poor abodes
carrying the riches of the Gospel either into one of the streets of
Goobbe, or to some of the numerous villages within seven or eight miles
of the mission cottage, and preached in the open air to as many people
as they could collect; and when a congregation could not be obtained,
they went from house to house, and thus made known the plan of
salvation. When they went the first time to any village the people
stood in the attitude of attention, but what they heard was so new, that
more of wonder than intelligence was manifested by all. After a few
visits, when information had increased a little, there was still a
manifest disinclination to accept the truth. Because, for a Hindu to be
told that in order to salvation he must forsake the idols which his
forefathers have worshipped for hundreds of years, and adopt the creed
laid down in the _Shastras_ of another nation, is to him the height of
absurdity. And it very frequently happened that at the conclusion of a
sermon the Missionary would hear some one say, "Very good, all very
true; your religion is good for you, and ours is good for us."
Very few of the people were able to read, so that the distribution of
tracts was very limited. They invited all serious enquirers to the
cottage to talk about Christianity. Amongst the women who came, some
had sickly children with them. On seeing this, Mrs Hodson administered
some simple medicines, which cured several, and their parents
attributing the cure to the favour of the Missionary's God, they were
for a time very anxious to hear more about Jesus Christ. Reports of
these cures were exaggerated, and so mixed up with the New Testament
accounts of the miracles performed by Jesus Christ in raising the dead,
opening the eyes of the blind, etcetera, that one poor woman brought her
child, who had been blind three years, in hopes that Mrs Hodson would
be able to restore its sight. Amongst the more intelligent visitors was
Daniel: and one evening, just after the tent, as a residence, had been
abandoned for the thatched cottage, Mrs Hodson went with her husband to
see Daniel's village, Singonahully. No English lady had ever been in
the village before, so that there was considerable excitement produced
by the visit. Mr Hodson says, "As we drew near to the gate of the
village we saw two or three boys running to let their parents and others
know that the Missionary and his wife were coming. On entering, Daniel
showed us his house, and in a very short time nearly all the people of
the village, men, women, and children, were gathered together." Having
such a large congregation, Mr Hodson preached a short sermon, but with
very little good effect, especially on the minds of the women, for their
attention was evidently much more occupied with the shape, colour and
material of Mrs Hodson's dress than with anything her husband said to
them.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN.
VILLAGE WASHERMAN.
Daniel was by this time regularly installed as Mission Washerman. There
is no such person as a _washerwoman_ amongst the Hindoos. Men do the
washing in India, and their manner of doing it is very different from
the English mode. Instead of using wash-tubs, etcetera, etcetera, as an
English washerwoman does, the Indian washerman loads a donkey or two
with the dirty clothes, takes them to a tank of good clean water, and
there, in the open air, he performs all his purifying operations. Close
to the water's edge there is placed a sloping piece of wood, or a large
flat stone. The washerman standing close to it, dips the cloth or
garment into the water, and taking hold of one end gives the other,
which has been dipped, a good swing in the air and brings it down on the
wood or stone with a heavy splashing thump. This is repeated again and
again, until the cloth or garment is clean. It is then laid out on the
grass or rock to dry. In this way Daniel and his relatives had done all
the washing required by the farmers and others, in Goobbe and
Singonahully, for many years. In their cases ironing or mangling was
never thought of. When, therefore, Daniel was sent for to do the
Mission-house washing and ironing, he expressed his readiness to do the
former, but doubted his ability to perform the latter, and expressed
many fears. But Mrs Hodson shewed him how to wash and also to iron her
dresses in the way she wished to have them done. She made him a present
of an iron, taught him how to use it, so that, in due time, his work was
pronounced satisfactory, and it was acknowledged by all that Daniel
stood at the head of his profession--that his skill exceeded that of any
other washerman within a circuit of many miles round Goobbe. This
little act of kindness in giving the iron to Daniel, was gratefully
remembered by him as long as he could remember anything, and he would
occasionally shew it to visitors. Under other circumstances he would
doubtless have worshipped that smoothing iron as his forefathers did the
old swords.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN.
FIRST MISSION-HOUSE AT GOOBBE.
Mrs Hodson laid the foundation brick of the Goobbe Mission House on the
24th of May, 1838. The building was finished on the 17th of August
following, and cost 180 pounds. A few days after it was finished, Mr
and Mrs John Jenkins, with their child, came to live at Goobbe, and had
half the new house (namely, one large room and two small ones) given up
to them; the two mission families cheerfully sacrificing a few comforts
for the benefit of having an additional preacher in the Circuit. We
have seen how Daniel, even when a lad, and without the gospel, treated
idols and idolatry; but after the gospel had been preached to him and to
his neighbours, the people of his village came round very much to his
opinion, greatly to the encouragement of the Missionaries.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN.
AN ABANDONED HEATHEN TEMPLE.
On the 11th of October, 1839, Mr Arthur joined Mr Jenkins at Goobbe,
and by that time the fruit of past labour was beginning to appear; not
in the shape of individual conversions, but in an extensive neglect of
idol-worship, particularly in Singonahully. Mr Arthur gives the
following account: "About the time of my arrival, the inhabitants of the
place declared that they had abandoned idolatry, and would no more
honour the temple of Runga. To test their sincerity, Mr Jenkins one
morning, asked them whether he might go to the temple. `O, by all
means.' `Might we enter?' `Yes; go where you like.' `Might we enter
without taking off our shoes?' `Certainly; we don't care who goes, or
how: we have given up the idol.' This was strong proof that their old
feelings had vanished; and, accordingly, at the temple we found no
obstacle to our entrance. Shod and covered, we passed up through the
outer apartment to the sanctuary, where sat the grim image of Runga,
incrusted in the congealed oil and _ghee_ of many anointings, with the
lightless lamp before him, faded garlands hanging round his neck, loads
of dust settled on his person, and part of the roof falling in directly
above. No room remained for doubt. The faith which once adored Runga
had changed into contempt; and we rejoiced over that forsaken idol, as
an earnest of better days. On afterwards enquiring what induced them to
withdraw the confidence they had so long reposed in Runga, they
answered, `You,' (meaning the Missionaries), `told us that the god did
not protect us, but that we protected the god; that if we only left him
alone, we should see that he could not take care of himself; and if he
could not take care of himself, how could he take care of us? Now we
thought that was a _buddhi matu_,' (a word of sense), `and so we
resolved to see whether he could take care of himself or not; for we
felt certain that if he could not take care of himself, it was out of
the question that he could take care of us. Accordingly we discontinued
_pooja_ (worship). We soon found he could not keep the lamp burning,
nor the garlands fresh, nor the temple clean, nor do a single thing for
himself. The lamp went out, the flowers withered, the temple became
dirty; and then,' (they added, laughing) `the roof fell in, just over
his head, and there he sat, _soommanay_ (tamely) under it; so we saw
very well he could not take care of himself. Notwithstanding all this,
we had some fears that the return of their annual feast-day would revive
their love for heathenish merry-makings with a force too strong for
their new convictions. The day came, and we watched the village
narrowly. There was no car, no procession, no music: and, when night
came, no _tom-tom_ was beaten, no rocket sent up, nor any other sign
that it was the day of Runga.' One morning, when preaching in the
village, I observed that the old man who used to conduct the services of
the temple, was not in the congregation; and feeling, for the moment, a
suspicion lest he should have returned to his former occupation, I
asked, `Where is the _poojari_?' A young man instantly replied,
smiling, and patting his person, `O, he has gone to the fields with the
cattle: now that the temple is given up, he must do something for his
stomach.'"
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.
AN IDOL THROWN OUT OF A TEMPLE.
Mr Male, who succeeded Mr Jenkins at Goobbe, has left upon record a
further account of what happened to the idol Runga. He says, "One day
in August, 1842, as I was returning from Toomcoor to Goobbe, I overtook
a Brahman, and in the course of conversation he enquired whether or not
I had heard of what had befallen Singonahully _Runga Swami_. I replied
that I had not. He then said, `_Runga Swami_ has been thrown out of his
temple, and is now outside the door among the stones.'
"`Well,' I said, `what do you think will be done?' He answered, `Why,
formerly, a great deal of money would have been collected, and with it
many things would have been done to purify the god; and then he would
have been replaced in the temple; but now the people care nothing about
it, no money will be given and nothing will be done. If anything be
said to the people of the village on the subject, they will say, "What
can we do? We have nothing to give: we did not throw the god out,
etcetera, etcetera."'" Mr Male adds, "The remarks of the Brahman were
very true, for the people did not do anything to reinstate the idol. I
spoke to them several times about the downfall of their god, but they
made very light of the matter. However, after the idol had been thus
degraded for many weeks, some villagers, out of pity to the poor old
priest, promised that they would reinstate the idol when they had money
enough to pay for all the ceremonies. The priest, therefore, in order
to preserve the idol from further indignities, and also to commence the
process of purification, put it into a well near the temple, to remain
there, until the villagers performed their promise." The next event,
cheering to the Missionaries, was the baptism of Daniel.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.
BAPTISM OF DANIEL.
In the beginning of 1843, the mind of Daniel was brought under a very
powerful and gracious influence of the Holy Spirit, which produced an
ardent desire for salvation. Hitherto he had been an opponent of
idolatry, and he had manifested an interest in the doctrines of
Christianity, but he had never shown any deep conviction of his
sinfulness and danger, nor any desire to obtain pardon and purity. He
had been a diligent hearer of the Word of God, and he had studied its
truths well. The Missionaries had established a school in Singonahully,
and visited it regularly to examine the boys. At these times many of
the parents attended, and took great interest in the progress of their
children. Daniel used very frequently to sit in the school listening to
the lessons, and, though he was never able to read himself, he had his
children taught, and made them read the Scriptures to him day by day for
many years. He was blessed with a very retentive memory and with good
common sense, so that he had a very fair acquaintance with the history,
the biography, and the doctrinal teaching of both the Old and the New
Testament. And now, to this knowledge, there was added that special
working of the Holy Spirit, which produced deep conviction of sin, and
an anxious desire to escape eternal punishment. He says, "I regularly
attended the preaching of the Missionaries, and always felt interested
in what they taught, but I did not feel any serious concern for
salvation until Mr Hardey came to live at Goobbe. Under his teaching
and prayers I was brought to a better mind; but even then there were
some sins which I did not wish to give up. I wanted to save my soul and
yet retain some pecuniary advantages connected with heathenism. I and
my family had often conversed about our all becoming Christians, and
they, everyone of them, always declared that they would follow me. This
cheered and comforted me. But, for a long time, as often as I decided
to go and open my mind to the Missionaries, so often did some strong
temptation turn me aside. I feared my uncle who had been very kind to
me. And then I thought, all my relations will disown me, and they will
unite with other heathens in persecuting me, so that my life will be
made miserable. Thus I went on month after month. But at length, in
answer to prayer, I received power to decide for Christ and against the
world. I went immediately and told Mr Hardey all that was in my heart.
After this, he and Nallamuttoo, the Catechist, daily instructed me and
prayed with me for many weeks. I felt the benefit of this teaching, and
by Divine aid I was able to say, `I give up all for Christ.' One day
while under this course of instruction, I felt very anxious to be
baptised without further delay, and I asked Mr Hardey to fix upon a day
for the baptism. This being done I went home and told my wife and
children what I had done: and they all said, `we will do as you do.'
Mr Male was at this time living in Mysore, but as he had known and
instructed me before Messrs. Hardey and Sanderson came to live at
Goobbe, he was requested by them to come and perform this sacrament of
baptism. On his arrival he had a long conversation with me. He asked
me many questions, warned me as to coming persecutions, and exhorted me
to watchfulness, prayer, and faith. I said, `I believe that in every
difficulty God will be my friend and protector. By Divine help, I shall
be able to endure: and I am prepared to give up all for Christ.'"
The day fixed for the baptism was Sunday, the 13th of August, 1843; and
the place was the Goobbe chapel, near the fort gate, not the present
chapel, but the one which was first built in that locality. Out of
curiosity many came to see a baptism, and amongst them several of
Daniel's relatives. Mr Male conducted the usual Sunday morning
service, and the large congregation was very attentive, both during the
sermon and whilst he read a portion of the baptismal service; but when
by his movements it became evident to those natives in the congregation
who were nearest to him that he was about to make some use of the water,
which was in the vessel on a table in front of him, they shrunk back
upon the people behind them, and in a moment there was a panic. Some,
not knowing exactly how the water would be used, and fearing that a drop
or two might by chance fall on them, so as to make them Christians
without their consent, rushed to the door; others, in ignorance,
followed; and as all tried to get out of the chapel at once, the doorway
was soon blocked up. Then a few men scrambled out at the windows; and
in the scuffle two or three children were knocked down, but no one was
seriously hurt. The confusion and noise put a stop to the sacred
service for several minutes. But when all the congregation had gone out
except Daniel and his four sons, Mr Male proceeded with the service
without further interruption. The people who had escaped out of the
chapel remained near to it in the street until the service was over. A
few peeped in at the open door and windows to gratify their curiosity.
The father was named Daniel, and his four sons were named respectively
John, Peter, Timothy, Samuel. There were some hindrances in the way of
Daniel's wife being baptised with her husband and children; but as Mr
Male happened to be passing through Goobbe six months afterwards, he
baptised her then, giving her the name of Sarah, as previously fixed
upon. After the baptism of Daniel and Sarah they continued to live in
the village of Singonahully, without any serious persecution from their
heathen neighbours. This may, perhaps, be accounted for on the ground
that the villagers having no love for idolatry, generally approved of
Daniel's conduct in embracing Christianity.
CHAPTER NINETEEN.
DANIEL AND THE VILLAGE PRIEST.