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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9f1a494 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #64697 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/64697) diff --git a/old/64697-0.txt b/old/64697-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 582acff..0000000 --- a/old/64697-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2830 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, Children of India, by Janet Harvey Kelman - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - - -Title: Children of India - - -Author: Janet Harvey Kelman - - - -Release Date: March 5, 2021 [eBook #64697] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHILDREN OF INDIA*** - - -E-text prepared by D A Alexander, David E. Brown, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images -generously made available by Internet Archive (https://archive.org) - - - -Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this - file which includes the original illustrations in color. - See 64697-h.htm or 64697-h.zip: - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/64697/64697-h/64697-h.htm) - or - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/64697/64697-h.zip) - - - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - https://archive.org/details/childrenofindia00kelm - - -Transcriber’s note: - - Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: - _italics_. - - - - - -CHILDREN OF INDIA - - -[Illustration: A VILLAGE STREET] - - -CHILDREN OF INDIA - -by - -JANET HARVEY KELMAN - -With Eight Coloured Illustrations - - -[Illustration] - - - - - - -Fleming H. Revell Company -New York Chicago Toronto - -Printed by -Turnbull and Spears, -Edinburgh - - - - -CONTENTS - - - PAGE - - I. THE STORY OF THE WORLD 9 - - II. THE STORY OF THE GANGES 12 - - III. THE STORY OF LIFE AND DEATH 16 - - IV. THE STORY OF CASTE 17 - - V. THE STORY OF FATE 21 - - VI. THE STORY OF THE PROPHET 24 - - VII. CHILDREN IN HINDU HOMES 27 - - VIII. BOYS AND GIRLS 39 - - IX. THE KING OF INDIA 52 - - X. NEW SIGHTS IN INDIA 56 - - XI. ANANTA, THE SEEKER 65 - - XII. THE PANDITA RAMABAI 72 - - XIII. HORMASDJI PESTONJI 79 - - XIV. SITA THE WIDOW 82 - - XV. DILAWUR KHAN AND THE KING 87 - - XVI. SOOBOO 91 - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS - - - 1. A VILLAGE STREET _Frontispiece_ - - PAGE - - 2. ON PILGRIMAGE TO THE MOUNTAIN 10 - - 3. FAKIRS 18 - - 4. A SNAKE CHARMER 28 - - 5. A WAYSIDE SHRINE 46 - - 6. RESCUED FAMINE CHILDREN 64 - - 7. A SCHOOL FOR GIRLS 72 - - 8. RESCUED CHILD WIDOWS 86 - - - - -CHILDREN OF INDIA - - - - -CHAPTER I - -THE STORY OF THE WORLD - - -India is a very old land, and those who live there look far back into -the past. They listen to the stories that were told of men and gods in -those old days, and follow the customs that were followed then. - -There are many gods in India, and many priests who serve in their -temples and at their shrines. The priests have more power over the -lives of the people than the gods have, but custom has far more power -than either gods or priests. - -No one can tell how many hundreds of years have passed since the -stories that rule the lives of Hindu children to-day were first told. -Long before the earliest time of which we know anything in the history -of our islands, there were wise thinkers and clever workmen in India, -and the men and women of that land think of them and of their customs -with awe and reverence. And because much of the life of a Hindu child -to-day is the result of the thoughts that have come from that far past -time, we must listen to some of those old stories. - -Before America was discovered by Columbus men here had strange ideas -about the shape of the world. Men in India had thought of that too, -long before anyone in Britain did, and this is the picture of the world -they made for themselves. - -They saw a beautiful large lotus flower held up on the back of an -elephant, in the midst of seven seas. One sea was of salt water and -another of fresh, and these two were the only ones that were at all -like the seas of earth. One of the others was a sticky sea, for the -waves that broke on its shores were of sugar-cane juice. Another was -clear and sparkling with dancing waves of wine. Then there was an oily -sea of melted butter, a flat sea of curds, and a beautiful white sea -of milk. But no one had looked at these strange seas, nor had anyone -seen the great elephant that held the lotus flower on his back. Only -the flower itself at the centre of all was seen or known. India to the -south, and the other lands to the north, the east, and the west of the -Himalayas, formed the petals of the world lotus, and at its centre -amongst the great snow mountains the god Siva sat on his throne on -Mount Meru. - -There is one special mountain there, to which pilgrims go, and they -hold it as sacred as if it really were the ancient Mount Meru. It rises -from a grassy plain, and a deep ravine cuts it off from the other -mountains. High up it is covered with snow, but towards the foot great -cliffs of rock stand out bluish purple against the whiteness, in bands -round the mountain. Near the base there is a broad dark band made by -a very high cliff, and the priests point this out to pilgrims. “See,” -they say, “the mark of the ropes of the demon who tried to drag away -the throne of Siva.” - -[Illustration: ON PILGRIMAGE TO THE MOUNTAIN] - -And the pilgrim gazes with awestruck eyes, for he sees not only the -marks of the demon’s rope, but also, in the narrower bands higher up -the mountain, the coils of the serpent that he has often seen in his -images of Siva; and, in the ragged edges of the snow-clad peaks and -the icicles that hang from the glaciers, he sees the matted hair of -the god. He is tired and weary, for it is months since he left his -home in the plains. First he marched through tangled jungle, through -grass three times as tall as himself, and under great cane stalks -and feathery bamboo trees. In these early stages of his walk he sang -and shouted to frighten away the heavy sleepy bear, and to scare the -quick-limbed panther that might be resting on any overhanging branch. -Then he climbed up through forests of dark cedar and pine, with -the white flowers of the magnolia, and the wealth of rhododendrons -bright against the dark tree stems. On and on he went into the cold -grey passes where his fear of wild beasts was lost in the fear of -the spirits of the mountains, and he walked in silence and awe lest -avalanche or storm should prove to him their anger. For he felt that -he was indeed amongst the homes of the gods. Each moment as he mounted -higher new snow-clad peaks rose before him, and those he had already -seen seemed higher and greater. His heart was filled with the dream -of a rich land somewhere amongst these glittering heights to which -his soul might go after death, if only his pilgrimage should win him -merit. So, as the sun sent flashes of light across the snowy peaks, -the weary man plucked up courage and stepped out more bravely, till -at length through a last ravine he saw the hoary head of the mountain -he sought, and as he saw it he tore from his threadbare loin-cloth a -little rag to tie to a bit of scrub. Other rags hung there, for many -pilgrims when they reached that spot had been so poor that they had -nothing left to offer at the sacred bush except a bit of the cloth they -wore. And so he added another, and left the rags to flutter there in -the cold winds of that high land, while he hastened on to finish his -pilgrimage, and walk round the sacred mountain. - -Other places are sacred besides this mountain that stands for Mount -Meru, the centre of the world lotus. Each rock and stream has its -spirit, and everywhere amongst the mountains there are shrines and -temples and far-off holy places to which pilgrims go in their endless -search for rest. Through all the land of India the mountains of the -north are held sacred, and often the eyes of men who will never be able -to reach them as pilgrims look longingly towards those homes of the -gods. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -THE STORY OF THE GANGES - - -Very long ago, though the mountains stood at the world’s centre, and -India lay at their feet, there was no Ganges river, and the plains -lay bare and fruitless. The god Siva then lived on the top of a high -mountain, and spent his time in thought. Up over his head above the -mountains the Princess Ganga lived free as the wind. She was the -daughter of King Himalaya, and the air nymph Menaka, and so her home -was in the air among the heights. - -At that time there lived a very wise man on earth, and, as he looked -at the burning plains of India, and thought of the air princess, he -said to himself, “If she would only give up her freedom and become a -river, how she could enrich and purify the earth.” And when he had -thought this out, he began to pray to the god Siva to send Ganga to -earth. Siva granted his request, and the Princess floated down to -earth. She touched it first at the mountain top where the god sat, but -he caught her in the tangled masses of his hair, and for ages she could -not escape from them, so the wise man could not see the answer to his -prayer. But long long afterwards, she broke away from her prison on the -mountain top, and flowed down under the glacier ice, and over the bare -grey rocks. She made her way through the ravines, and the great pine -woods sprang up as she flowed. Rhododendrons grew on the banks at her -coming, and at the foot of the mountains the jungle stretched down to -be nourished by her waters. But it was out on the open plain that the -Princess Ganga really showed her power. There, fields of wheat and rice -and poppies and lentils grew up wherever she flowed, and wherever the -streams that joined her from the mountains made their way to reach her. -Groups of fruit trees and bamboos grew too, and men came to settle -in villages beside them till the plain of the Ganges became a great, -bright, busy place with herds of buffaloes watched by little boys, with -oxen yoked to the plough, and other oxen carrying the precious river -water to pour it on fields that were far from the banks. - -But the Ganges is far more than the bringer of food and life to the -Hindus, for the sage prayed that the river might flow to bear away the -sin of men, and that is a far greater thing than only to bring food. -But we must remember that sin means something different to a Hindu -child from what we think of as sin. To him it does not mean unkindness, -or cruelty, or lying, or even murder; it means breaking the rules of -custom. - -Because of the sacredness of the Ganges men bathe in it, and pray to -die beside it, that after their bodies have been burned on its banks -the ashes may be scattered over its waters, and allowed to float away -far out to sea. They hope that if that happens, their souls will be -lost in the great unknown spirit in which they believe, as the river is -lost in the ocean. - -Every bend of the Ganges is sacred, and each place where a stream joins -it, is yet more holy. Pilgrims go from its mouth to its source and back -again. If they walk, they take six months to the pilgrimage, but if -they wish to win more merit, they lay themselves down on the ground and -cover miles of the bank with their bodies instead of with their feet, -and that takes far longer. - -There is a great gorge where the Ganges flows out on to the open plain. -Near it stands the town of Hardwar, and on the Hindu New Year’s day -dense crowds of pilgrims gather there in honour of the birthday of the -river. They bring the ashes of the dead whom they have loved with them, -and as they throw them on the flowing water they feel that they have -done for their friends the very greatest thing they could do. Then at a -certain moment each pilgrim struggles to be first to bathe in the river. - -The most sacred city is Benares, and all the year long its streets and -temples and river banks are thronged with pilgrims. They bathe, and -throw sandal-wood, sweets and flowers into the river. Some of them wear -garlands, and, as they bathe, the garlands rise from their breasts on -the water, and float down the current. Then the pilgrims go round the -sacred city, a walk of ten miles, and afterwards they offer flowers -and gifts in as many temples as possible. After all is done, they turn -homewards across the plain, unless they are so old or so ill that they -may hope to die soon. If they are, they stay on in the strange city in -poverty and pain, for to die in Benares is a better thing to them than -to be amongst friends or in the home of their childhood. - -But flowers and ashes are not the only gifts that have been offered -to the Princess Ganga. Once little living babies were thrown to her -waters, and old men and women have been left to her mercy by those who -were too heartless or too poor to feed them. These terrible offerings -are not seen now, for the British Government has forbidden anyone to -throw any living person into the river. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -THE STORY OF LIFE AND DEATH - - -Long long ago, the unknown spirit began to play a game of life and -death, and he is still playing it. That is what a Hindu child is -taught, so life is not a real thing to him, but is only make-believe. -Yet the rules of this game are so hard and fast that none of the -puppets can escape from them. The Hindu story of life and death all -circles round one rule of the game. That rule is that everything anyone -does and everything anyone says must be punished or rewarded in another -life, so that a little Indian child believes that he has been alive on -earth hundreds of times before, and that everything that happens to him -in this life happens because of something he has said or done in a life -that is gone by, and which he forgets. - -He fears too very much to do anything for which he may suffer in -another life, for if he does wrong in this life he may be born a -woman, or a cow, or a frog, or he may be sent to one of the hells to -be tortured by demons there. Because of this, and because, too, the -spirits of his gods may be in trees or animals or stones, he is very -kind to animals, and he worships trees and stones. - -The round of birth and death is very long, for the full number of lives -is eight million four hundred thousand, and if, after the soul has made -many steps upwards, it breaks a rule of life, it may have to go away -back to the beginning. - -The one great hope is that some time in the dim future, by keeping all -the rules of the game in one life after another, the spirit may be set -free from birth and death, and may drop out of the endless game. It may -not seem at first such a very terrible thing to go on living one life -after another, but the thought of it has become an awful thing to those -who believe in it. - -Life to them is very hard. Terrible famines come, and bring hunger and -plague and death. And men and women lay all that is left to them of -food and of money before the gods, and pray them to send rain. Even -when there is no famine in the land the daily observances of custom and -the weary round of toil depress the spirits of men, so that the more -they think of anything beyond the work of the day, the more they long -to give up living altogether. A South Indian folksong says:-- - - “How many births are past, I cannot tell, - How many yet to come no man can say, - But this alone I know, and know full well. - That pain and grief embitter all the way.” - - _Quoted by_ C. A. MASON _in “Lux Christi.”_ - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -THE STORY OF CASTE - - -Far back in the early days four kinds of people sprang from Brahma the -creator, to form the castes of India. The first, the Brahman caste, -sprang from his mouth, to rule all the others. The second sprang from -his arms to be the warriors of the land. The third sprang from his -loins to be the business men and the land-owners, and from his feet -came the fourth to serve the others. - -The Brahmans are still the powerful caste. From amongst them priests -are taken, and they rule all others. But the other three castes have -been broken up into many smaller divisions, till one can scarcely trace -the lines that mark the difference between the four that were spoken of -long ago. And besides all the castes there are thousands of those who -are outside. They are called pariahs, and all the caste men look down -on them and scorn them. - -In some parts of India those who belong to different castes are as far -apart from each other as if the lower caste men were not human beings -at all, and a high caste man will not touch a low caste one even to -save his life. The Brahmans are treated almost as if they were gods. -Many of them live by the gifts of the people, so they do everything -they can to strengthen the old customs and beliefs that make the other -Hindus worship them. They have strange ways of keeping their power. -If a Brahman is angry with anyone he will go and sit on his enemy’s -doorstep day and night without tasting food or drinking water. Even -if the villager does not give in at once, he soon does, because he -knows that the Brahman will rather starve to death than leave his -door, unless he gets his way, and the poor man thinks of all that may -happen to him after death if he allows a priest to die of hunger on his -doorstep. He thinks he may go to one of the places of punishment beyond -the world, and after hundreds of years come back to earth as a worm -or a fly, and so he does what the priest bids him, however hard it is. - -[Illustration: FAKIRS] - -It is caste law that tells Hindu children what sin is, and many of its -rules are about eating and bathing. No one may eat food with anyone of -a lower caste. No one may marry anyone of a different caste. No one may -change his religion. There are many rules about what the people of each -caste may eat, and how their food must be cooked. - -Many of the laws of caste speak of the honour that must be paid to -Brahmans, and of the punishments anyone who does not reverence them -may suffer. Some of these punishments are so cruel that the government -would interfere if anyone tried to enforce them now, but the fear of -the pain that may come after death is strong enough to keep very many -Hindus still in constant fear of the Brahmans, even though they cannot -be punished so brutally in this life as they once might have been. Here -are some sentences from the laws about caste. - -“The Brahman is by right the lord of all this creation.” - -“What being is there superior to him by whose mouth the gods eat -oblations?” - -“When the Brahman is born he is born above the world, the chief of all -creatures, to guard the treasures of religion.” - -“Thus whatever exists in the universe is all the property of the -Brahman.” - -“No greater wrong is found on earth than killing a Brahman.” - -“Certainly the king should not slay a Brahman, even if he be occupied -in crime of every sort.” - -“A Brahman may take possession of the goods of the Sudra[1] with -perfect ease of mind, for, since nothing at all belongs to this Sudra, -as his own, he is one whose property may be taken away by his master. -The leavings of food should be given to him, and the old clothes.” - -“If a man of low birth assault one of the twice-born castes with -violent words he ought to have his tongue cut out.” - -“If he lift up his hand or his staff against him he ought to have his -head cut off.” - -“The dwelling of Chandals[2] and Swapacas[2] should be outside the -village; their clothes should be the garments of the dead, and their -food should be in broken dishes.” - -These are only a few out of many, and some of the laws are too cruel to -quote here. Yet though all that is written in the old law of India, men -have often risen there, who tried to break through the rules of caste, -and there are other ancient writings that show that all Hindus have not -believed in these differences between man and man. - - “Small souls inquire, ‘Belongs this man - To our own race, or class, or clan?’ - But larger-hearted men embrace - As brothers all the human race.” - -But those who have held that caste law is not binding have never been -able to break the power the priests held over the great masses of the -people, and so caste law and not the brotherhood of man still rules. - -In many parts of India a boy cannot choose what trade he will follow. -If his father belongs to the carpenter caste, he must be a carpenter; -if his father is a sweeper, he must be a sweeper; if his father is a -robber, he will be a robber. In one place in the far north, when a -little boy is born his mother swings him backwards and forwards over a -hole in the wall and says to him:-- - - “Be a thief! be a thief!” - -There are castes of robbers and murderers still in India. The caste -of the Thugs was the most famous one of them all, but now the British -Government has taken under its control all those who still belong to -it. They are kept in ground set apart for them, and none of them are -allowed to go out to kill or to steal. - -Yet pilgrims still crowd to the beautiful marble tomb of the man who -founded the caste of the Thugs two hundred and fifty years ago. He is -one of the saints of India, and the priests who guard his shrine cover -the tomb with beautiful cashmere shawls, and lay fresh flowers on it -morning by morning. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -THE STORY OF FATE - - -When a baby is born in India the lines between the bones of its skull -can be traced just as they can be traced in a fair-skinned child. The -mother of a white baby does not notice them much, but they mean a -great deal to an Indian mother, for an ancient story is told about them. - -Very long ago a little daughter was born to Brahma, the creator, and -its mother asked the father to tell her what would happen to the little -child. Then the god Brahma turned his back to his wife and his baby, -and stretched out his hand behind him towards the child. In his hand he -held a golden pen, and he wrote with it on the baby’s head. He could -not see the letters he was writing, but his wife could, and as she read -the words she called out to Brahma to change the writing, because she -would not have so sad a future for her child. Brahma wrote again, and -this time the life he foretold was worse than the first one had been. -Again the baby’s mother refused to let him leave so cruel a fate on the -head of the child, and once more he wrote. But this time Brahma did not -give his wife time to speak. Ere she could say anything he threw away -his golden pen, and since that day he has only written once for each -child that has been born. The future that Brahma writes on the skull is -called the “fate,” and so each Indian mother believes that everything -that will happen to her child is fixed when she first traces on the -little skull those curious markings which she calls the writing of the -pen of Brahma. - -When a baby is born there is great eagerness to know whether it is a -boy or a girl. If it is a boy there is joy in the home; everyone is -glad, and the mother of the little child at once feels that she has -been a good woman, and that the gods are pleased with her because -they have given her a son. But if the baby is a girl everyone is sad, -and the father if he is asked about it may say, “It is nothing,” for -he thinks it a sorrow to have a little girl child born. He would far -rather have a calf, because a cow is a sacred animal, but the birth -of a little girl is a sign of the anger of the gods. Besides that -the father knows that he will one day have to pay a great sum to her -husband at her marriage. When she is still very young her husband will -take her away to his father’s house, so that she will never be able to -do anything for her father and mother in their old age. So there are -many reasons why a little girl is not welcome. She is a sign of the -anger of the gods; she will cost a great deal of money, and she will -never be able to help her parents. - -Sometimes when a father is told that he has a little daughter, he says -nothing, but only clasps his thumb round the fingers of his hand, and -that is a sign that the wee baby girl is to die. It is very easy to -kill a little infant, and where everyone thinks that it is right, it -can be done quietly, so that though those in the house know about it, -no one will say anything. It is sad to think how many little children -are killed in this way still, even before their mother’s heart has -grown tender to them, but some years ago, before the Government of -India set itself to stop this crime, there were hundreds of little baby -girls killed openly every year. - -And if anyone had asked how fathers and mothers could be so cruel the -answer would have been, “It is our custom,” or, “It was her fate.” For -everything depends on fate to the Hindu, and no one can help anything -that happens. If an animal is drowned in a well, he leaves it there. -It was the creature’s fate to fall into the well, and it is not his -custom to cleanse the well. The children of the village may sicken and -die because of the poison in the well, but that too is fate, and no one -pauses to ask whether there may not be some other cause. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -THE STORY OF THE PROPHET - - -There are hundreds of other old stories that affect the life of Indian -children to-day; but if we remember those which tell us of the holy -land--the seats of the gods--amongst the Himalayas; of the sacred river -of the Ganges, whose waters are even said to flow underground to feed -the other rivers of the land; of what life and death, fate and caste -mean to the Hindus, we shall have something to guide us. - -But all those who live in India are not Hindus. Once, long ago there -was an Arabian named Mohammed. He was a camel-driver in Mecca, but -from his early childhood he used to dream strange dreams in which he -had visions of angels who came to speak with him. He had a faithful -disciple, and he used to tell him what he had heard in his dreams. This -man thought the things Mohammed told him were very wonderful, and he -wrote them down. He had not books in which he could write them, so he -took oyster-shells and bits of wood and stone, and sometimes even the -shoulder bone of a sheep, instead of paper, and wrote the teachings of -Mohammed on them. Mohammed believed that there was only one God, whom -he called “Allah,” and he said that he was his prophet. Within his -life-time he conquered Syria, Egypt and Persia, and before fifty years -had passed after his death his followers had marched through the wild -passes of the mountains into India. Since then, there have been many -followers of the faith of the prophet there, and whenever they have -been strong and powerful they have fought against image worship; indeed -one of their great leaders was called the idol-smasher. - -The followers of Mohammed believe in fate as firmly as the Hindus do, -but in other religious things they differ from them greatly. Their -greatest feast day is at the end of the month that they call Ramadan. -During the whole month they hold a fast, and eat only after the sun -sets. Then on the last night of Ramadan they rejoice not only because -the long fast will so soon be broken, but also because it is the night -on which they believe their sacred book, the Koran, came down from -heaven. But the Koran was really gathered after the prophet’s death -from the sentences his disciple had written down on the stones and -oyster-shells and other odds and ends. - -On the morning after this night of gladness all the Mohammedan men and -boys gather to the Mosques to praise Allah for the good that they have -enjoyed through the past year, and to ask for mercy in the coming one. -But sometimes there is not room within the mosque of the city for all -who gather to worship, and then those who cannot get into it spread -their prayer rugs on the ground under the open sky. Everyone is in good -spirits and the beggars know it, and squat on the roadsides ready to -call out to every passer-by for gifts. The followers of the prophet -are prepared for this and they scatter bread and rice and beans, and -handfuls of shells here and there, while the beggars shout and scramble -to get as much as they can. - -Whenever the service in the Mosque is over, everyone rushes to the -shops, where all kinds of Indian foods can be had, for all are -hungry and happy. The scene is like a great fair with picnic parties -everywhere, only there are no women to be seen. There are old men, and -tiny boys; there are farm-servants and wealthy land-owners, but never -a lady nor a girl. All day long while the feasting goes on the streets -are gay with flowers and banners, and at night fireworks flash out -against the dark sky. - -It is only once a year that this great feast takes place, but every -day the followers of the prophet can be seen at prayer. A call sounds -out from the roof of each Mosque, and the Mohammedan when he hears it -spreads his rug on the ground by the roadside or in the open field, -kneels on it with his face towards Mecca, his holy city, and prays to -Allah. When his prayer is done he begins again at his work where he -left off, but while the prayer lasts he seems to know nothing, and to -see nothing of what is around him, but to think only of Allah and his -prayer to him. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -CHILDREN IN HINDU HOMES - - -Even in high caste homes, where the women are never allowed to leave -their own dingy part of the house, little girls, while they are still -very young, play freely with their brothers. They are never thought of -with pride as the boys are, and they must keep in the background when -a visitor comes, for a father does not like to take any notice of his -daughters when a stranger is there, though he will call his boys to -speak to his friends. Yet boys and girls together have a happy time. -They make mud pies and romp about, and tumble over each other all day -long. - -Indian boys are very fond of flying kites. Their kites are square, -and many of them are different from those we see, in another way, for -Indian boys like to make their kites fight with each other, and in -order to make the fight keener they draw the strings through a mixture -of crushed pieces of glass and starch. After the string is dry, they -run off with their kites. If they cannot find a better place, they -climb on to the flat roofs of two houses near each other, and send off -the kites, and then the fight begins. There are the two kites high up -above the trees, a blue one and a green one. The green kite hits the -blue, but neither of them is hurt. Then they dodge about in the air for -a long time, for each boy is managing his kite well, and it seems as if -neither would win, when suddenly the boy of the blue kite gives a sharp -pull. His string has caught the string of the green kite and cut it, -and the green is dropping to the ground out over the rice field yonder! - -There are many curious sights for children to watch in India. One -of these is the snake charmer, as he carries his strange pets in a -basket or wound round his body. It is not only for his own amusement -or for the pleasure of the little crowds that gather round him that -the charmer plays. A good Hindu will not kill a snake, nor any other -animal. But he is greatly afraid of serpents, so if he sees them near -his house, or in his garden, he may send for a charmer to come and play -his weird music till the snakes are fascinated, and wriggle to him, -and let him shut them up in his basket. When he has carried them away -he will take out their poison fangs, and keep them to add to his other -pets. - -Here is another tamer who has only a sparrow. He carries it safely in -the folds of his robe, and when he wishes to show it to anyone he lays -it down on the ground. It does not fly away, but hops about till he -lays down a heap of beads, which have been hidden in another fold of -his garment. Then he holds up a thread in the air. All is ready now, -and the bird catches the dangling end, and climbs up the thread and -down again. Then the little sparrow lifts the beads one by one, and -threads them on to the string. It is all done in the cheeriest way, and -the bird seems as happy as the little children who watch him. - -[Illustration: A SNAKE CHARMER] - -If a boy lives near the jungle he may see the taming of a herd of -elephants. First of all he will help to build two great strong fences -in the forest. At one end the two fences are quite near each other, but -at the other end they are far apart, so that there is a mile or more of -jungle ground between them. At the narrow end of the fenced-in ground, -there is a large enclosed space, and just where the two fences open -into it there is a great scaffolding high up in the air. When all is -ready the fence round the enclosure is tested and tried to make sure -that it will not give way. Elephants roam the forest in herds, only now -and again a lone elephant is found, and he is generally a very fierce -one, whom tamers would not wish to capture. After all is ready at the -Kheddah,[3] the hunters watch for a fine herd of elephants. When the -message comes that there is a herd near, men go out into the forest. -They separate and go quietly till they have formed a ring round the -herd in every direction, except the one towards the wide opening to -the fences. Then when the ring is complete, the men begin to close in -towards the herd with shouts. The shouts come to the elephants from -every direction except one, and as they seem to hear so many foes they -do not know which to attack, and so they rush on wildly in the one -direction from which no noise comes. The men close in towards the -fences very carefully until the whole herd of elephants is within the -wide end of the fenced ground. Each moment the yelling of the beaters -seems nearer, and the herd rushes on wildly. Beyond the narrow end -of the fences, they see what seems like open ground, and they rush -for that. As the last one passes through the narrow space the great -scaffolding is allowed to drop, and the elephants are prisoners. - -But that is only the beginning of the work, and by far the easiest -part. The taming has still to be done. After the herd is captive, tame -elephants with riders on their backs tackle the full grown elephants -of the herd one by one. Even a strong wild elephant is not a match for -two or three tame ones, and the trained ones know their work so well -that they soon get the wild creature they are surrounding close to a -tree. That is their bit of the work. Then the mahout,[4] who has been -on the back of one of the tame elephants, lets himself down to the -ground. The tame elephants still keep the wild one close to the tree, -and hem him in to keep him from attacking the man who is on the ground, -for he is in great danger. He has to slip ropes round the legs of the -wild elephant and fasten him to the tree. The first ropes are the most -dangerous ones, for when the great beast feels that he is caught, he -is desperate, and strikes out in every direction; but the drivers are -quick and clever, and soon their prisoner is tied so tightly to the -tree that he can do no harm to anyone. Then when he is firmly fixed -there, the mahouts try to make friends with him. They bring him fruit -and sugar-cane, and all the things he likes best to eat, and they stay -by him, talking to him and singing till he grows quite at home with -them. Sometimes they can loosen his cords within a fortnight, and lead -him off between two others. - -There are many other strange sights and sounds in the jungle, and some -of them are greatly feared by Indian boys. Though there are many Hindus -who will not kill any animal because of their caste rules, there are -others who do, and some of them are very clever in catching and killing -tigers. - -The tiger is a very cruel creature that will kill even when he is not -hungry, and if one begins to eat men as well as cattle the villagers -live in terror of him. He watches warily by the roadways for any stray -passer-by, and he will follow a bullock cart for miles in the hope -that some one of those who walk by it will fall behind, and give him -the chance of attacking him alone. And so men learn to fear the “pug” -marks of the tiger with a terrible fear, and to shudder at the thought -of his silent footsteps. When the villagers find that there is a tiger -making his lair near their village, and coming to it day after day to -steal their cattle or to carry off their children, they first find out -where he drinks. That is easily done, for the soft clay near the bank -of the river keeps the marks of his paws. Then when they are sure of -that, they get three strong nets and hang them from upright bamboos -across the path by which he must come to drink. The tiger comes quietly -along, and ere he knows he is entangled in one of the nets and has -pulled down the first pair of bamboo poles. The more he struggles the -more the meshes trouble him, and if he does manage to break through, -all trammelled as he is with the broken net, it is only to dash into -the next one. There he lies wild and helpless, and struggles till he -is worn out. In the evening, the villagers come with their spears and -attack the prisoner, but they do not like him to be too quiet. They -like him to growl at them, and to try to leap at them. It seems too -easy a victory if he is dull and stupid ere they reach him. - -The jungle is full of interesting plants and animals, and we could fill -a large book with their names and habits, but we must only take time -to speak of one other creature. It will form a link for us between -jungle sights and sounds, and the splendour of the courts of the olden -rulers of which children may still see relics in some parts of India. -The animal that links the palace with the jungle is the cheetah, for -six cheetahs have been taken from their wild haunts to guard the Uzar -Bhagh Palace in Baroda. Through the day they are muzzled, and wander -freely in the gardens. They are like small leopards, and they steal -about amongst the trees or lie sleeping in the sun through the long hot -hours. But each evening they are shut up in the palace. Their muzzles -are taken off, and all night long the fierce creatures wander through -the passages and halls. For within the closed doors that they guard, -the jewels of Baroda, the richest in all India, lie. In the collar of -state alone, there are five hundred diamonds, and some of them are as -large as walnuts. Round the edge of this collar three bands of emeralds -run, and each emerald in the outer row is about an inch square, while -a great diamond, that is called the star of the Deccan, hangs down -in front. There are many other treasures there besides the wonderful -collar, and the most interesting of them are a rug and two pillow -covers. The rug is more than ten feet in length and six feet wide, and -it and the pillow covers are made of strings of pearls woven together -and decorated with diamonds. These jewelled cloths brought the present -ruler of Baroda to his throne in a strange way. - -Baroda is a native state, whose princes are called Gaikwars. The word -Gaikwar means cowherd really, but for hundreds of years it has been -the royal title of the rulers of Baroda. These men trace their family -far back into the times of the ancient stories, for they believe that -they descended from a Hindu hero called Rama, who is now worshipped as -a god. This belief strengthened their power, because no one dared to -oppose anything that was done by the children of a god, and sometimes -they used their power very badly. The British Government tries not to -interfere with the Indian rulers, so it honoured this ancient house, -and whenever the Gaikwar came to state ceremonies he was received with -a salute of twenty-one guns. But though the Government acknowledged the -ruler of Baroda, it did not wish cruelty and wrong to go unpunished in -the lands it protected, so there was always a representative of the -Viceroy in each protected state. During the reign of Malar Rao, the -last Gaikwar, Colonel Phayre was the British Representative at Baroda, -and while he was there he heard terrible stories of the heartless -cruelty of the Indian ruler. He was sure that many of these stories -were true, but it was difficult to prove anything against a man who was -so powerful. - -There was an arena at Baroda where elephants, tigers and lions had -fought in former days to amuse the court, and in front of this old -arena, Malar Rao built a palace. It was exquisitely finished and very -costly, and at the main entrance there were two guns of solid gold, -mounted on silver carriages. Not far from the city there was an ancient -idol, and at its shrine the Gaikwar built a splendid temple. Those who -know about these things say that though it is modern, its workmanship -is as wonderful as that of the famous old temples of the land. As -Colonel Phayre saw all this, and far, far more, his heart was hot -within him, for he knew that the Gaikwar was building all these things -with money that he had stolen from his people by taking bribes and by -cruel taxes. But the Englishman did not see that he could prevent it, -until he heard of the pearl and diamond rug. The jewellers of India -searched for three years in order to get the gems that were needed for -it and for the pillows, and when at last all were finished the Gaikwar -made arrangements to give them as a gift to one of his favourites. When -Colonel Phayre heard that the woven jewels, the cost of which had been -wrung from the people, were to be given away, he refused to allow it. -He said that the jewels belonged to the state of Baroda, and were not -Malar Rao’s to give. - -Now the Gaikwar had set his heart on giving this present to his -favourite, and he was so enraged that nothing was too wild for him -to attempt. He asked to see Colonel Phayre, and with every show of -friendship he invited him to drink his health. The cup of pomola juice -was handed to the guest, but an instinctive feeling of suspicion warned -the Englishman, and he refused to drink. And it was well, for in the -cup there was the dust of diamonds. Once before the Gaikwar had served -his end by ground jewel dust. He had killed his brother so, and had -ruled in his stead. When he was brought to trial, this and many other -things were found out, for his brother was not the only man whom he had -killed unjustly. - -When he was condemned, the widow of the brother whom he had poisoned -was asked to adopt a son, to be the ruler of Baroda, and the boy whom -she chose grew up to be a clever and an able man. He has changed the -whole life of the state, for he thinks of his people, and seeks to -give them many things to make life brighter and easier for them. And -as Baroda is called the “garden of India,” the children who live there -enjoy much of what is happiest in Hindu life. Famine scarcely ever -comes there, for the Nerbudda river waters the valley, and the rain -clouds that cross the ocean are never spent ere they reach it. - -Many children in India now go to schools that are much like our own, -but in the far-off villages, the master still sits on the ground, under -a broad tree, with his scholars round him. The little boys sway their -bodies backwards and forwards as they sing out their lesson, or bend -over the sandy ground, to trace the outlines of the Sanskrit letters -there as they shout out the names of them after him. - -So the days of childhood pass when all goes well, but if illness comes -there is terrible suffering. The best that can happen to a Hindu child -when he is ill, is to be left alone to get well or to die. If there is -something very serious wrong with him, his parents may think there is a -devil in the boy, and send for the barber, who does a great many things -in an Indian village besides cutting hair and shaving chins. One little -boy was getting better after a fever, but though the fever was gone his -eyes were still very sore indeed. The barber was sent for, and when he -came he did not bathe the sore red eyes, nor do anything to soothe the -pain. Instead of that he began to burn the top of the wee boy’s black -head, to pull the devil out by the burn! So the poor little fellow -had to bear the pain of the burn as well as the pain in his eyes, and -though the barber’s rough treatment was of no use, the father and -mother tried no other plan. They let the eyes grow sorer and sorer till -the boy was blind, and then they thought that Brahma must have written -with his golden pen that their little son would lose his sight. So they -did not trouble more about it, but began to think how they could make -him earn money. They knew he would never be able to work. So they took -him to a large town that he might beg, and make people pity him because -of his blindness. But the boy need not have been blind. - -Another child called Yogina was very ill indeed. She lay in a fever, -and as the fever raged, she said strange wild things, for her mind was -wandering, and she did not know what she was saying. The other girls in -the house were in terror. They thought some demon had entered into her, -and they feared that it might leave her and go into one of them, so a -priest who said he could force demons to leave those who were ill was -asked to come and cure her. - -This man had learned how to say “Am, Im, Um, Em, Aim, Om, Aum, Tam, -Tham, Dam, Nam, Pam, Pham, Bam, Mam, Jam, Ram, Lam, Vam, Sam, Ham, -Ksham,” over and over again, each of them in a special tone and way, -and that proved to everyone who heard him there that he was a very -marvellous man who could do miracles. His name was Mantra Shastri. -When he came to the house where little Yogina was lying in her fever, -he bade the other women of the house clean out the court, and make a -pattern on the wet floor with fine white powder. When this was done, -little Yogina was dragged into the court, and set down opposite the -white markings on the damp floor. Yogina could not sit up. She was too -weak, but Mantra Shastri would do nothing for her if she lay on the -ground. So the other women of the house gathered round her and held her -up. Then the devil-doctor began his work. He went out and walked round -the house several times, and sprinkled evil-smelling water as he went. -Yogina cried out louder, for the effort of sitting up made her fever -more burning, but all round the house the harsh sounds of tom-toms rose -and the child’s screams could not be heard. Then Mantra Shastri came -into the inner court again, and the women walked in a circle carrying -trays of fruit and flowers and leaves and rice. The tom-toms still beat -on, and their noise only made the sick girl wilder. She did not know -anything of what was going on around her, but she fought blindly with -those who tried to hold her up. - -The priest took little heaps of rice from the trays the women carried, -and set them down in front of Yogina amongst the white marks on the -floor. One heap was of white rice, one of yellow, and one of black, and -when he had laid them there he spoke to the demon in the sick girl and -said:-- - -“Oh Spirit of Evil, where do you come from? What do you want?” The -women who were round Yogina were so eager to hear what she would say, -that they forgot to hold her up, and she fell forward on the rice. - -Even when they raised her she had no answer for the priests’ question. -At last he seized a cane, and beat her to make her speak, and as the -blows fell on Yogina’s back she started up and ran twice round the -court. Then she fell. A shout rose from everyone there, for they -believed that the evil spirit had left her at last. But it was life -that had left her, and the little child, who might so easily have been -nursed back to health, had been killed. - -That is one story of one little girl, but it is not unlike many, many -others that might be told, not only of girls, but of boys and men and -women, who die because there is no one who knows how to nurse them, or -to help them to get well. And many who do not die are ill all their -lives afterwards, because of the way in which they have been treated. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -BOYS AND GIRLS - - -But the children of India have to act as men and women long before -anyone here would think them old enough to do more than learn and play. -Very early indeed a little Hindu child is married. Sometimes a baby -is married in the cradle, but a little girl is generally nine or ten -years old before she goes away to her husband’s house. That does not -mean that she and the little boy to whom she is married have a cottage, -and live there together. It only means that she comes in, a frightened -wee girl, to a houseful of people whom she never saw before. The -oldest woman in the house takes charge of everything. Often she is the -grandmother of the child’s husband, and the little wife must not only -do everything the old grandmother tells her, she must try to please all -the other women there too, if she wishes to be happy. If she makes the -others like her, and if the boy to whom she is married likes her, she -may soon be as happy there as she was at home, but if she does not get -on well with the others, there is no one who can save her from misery. - -One bright little girl called Runabai left her father’s house to go to -her husband when she was eleven years old. Her father had been sorry -when she was born, but she was so loving and happy that everyone had -grown very fond of her, and she went away with beautiful Saris[5] and -many flashing jewels. Her father was a wealthy man, so he sent twelve -maids with his little daughter to wait on her, and keep everything -about her as nice as it had been when she still stayed in his house. -But her husband’s family did not like her. They took away all her -beautiful clothes and jewels, and instead of letting her twelve maids -wait on her, they made her work very hard herself, and do much more -than she had strength for. - -Then before a year had passed they began to starve her. She was only -allowed to eat once a day, and then all the food she was allowed to -have was rice and red peppers. One day she was cleaning the house, and -she saw a little piece of bread on the table. She was hungry, and she -was only twelve years old, so she picked it up and began to eat it. But -before she had time to swallow a mouthful her mother-in-law caught her. -She took the bread and pushed it down the little girl’s throat with a -stick. - -Little Runabai was sometimes allowed to go home to see her people. One -time she begged them to keep her with them, and not to allow her to go -back to the terrible life she had to lead. Her father was very sad. The -tears were in his eyes, but he was afraid of the disgrace it would be -to his family if he kept her from her husband. He knew that his caste -would be broken if he did. So in spite of his sorrow he said, “Go back, -and if you die it will be honourable.” She did go back, and in two -months she did die, and her father and mother mourned for her, but they -comforted themselves with the thought that she had died honourably! - -But though a Hindu wife is often free from the pain and misery that -killed this one, there is always a great fear that hangs over her, for -her husband may die, and then she will be a widow. If a little wife -dies, her husband may marry again, but a high caste Hindu widow must -never marry a second time. Often little girls are married to full grown -men; sometimes, even, they are married to old men, so it very often -happens that a girl becomes a widow when she is only a child, and there -are Hindu widows who are not one year old. At first the child may not -know that there is any change in her life, but as she begins to grow -older she finds that all the hard work is left for her, and that no one -wishes to see her when a feast or a wedding is held, or when anything -bright is going on. Then one day a priest comes to her village, and -to the house where she lives. She is not afraid of him, for she knows -no reason why he should be angry with her. But he is angry with her. -He says her beautiful black hair must be cut off, and soon the barber -comes and shaves her head all over. After that time she is only -allowed to eat one meal a day, and twice a month she does not even get -that one meal. She has to wear a rough Sari that lets everyone know -that she is a widow even if she covers up her little close-shaved head, -and in some cases she only has that one dress for night wear and day -wear till it is so ragged that it will scarcely hold together. - -Besides all that, the friends of her husband think that they cannot -be too cruel to her, because they believe that she must have done -something very wrong indeed in one of the lives she lived long before, -and that it is because of that, that she is a widow. They think that if -their boy had married another wife he would still be well and bright. - -But though girls suffer far more from the early marriages of India -than boys do, the boys have to bear many unnecessary burdens because -of them. They have to work hard in order to help to get food for the -household, and wee boys labour for long days in the rice fields. They -guide the oxen at the plough, and they carry the pots of water from -rivers and canals to fill the little channels that water the fields; -and sometimes, even with all these early years of toil, a young man -finds that he cannot feed his family or give gifts to the gods. Then -he goes to a money-lender, and if he once does that, there is little -happiness for him or for his children, for the money-lender will take -everything from him, his jewels, his wife’s jewels, her clothes, all -but the plainest which she keeps to wear; and then perhaps his fields -will have to go too, and the cruel money-lender will send men to watch -the rice, and the millet, and the wheat as they grow, for fear any of -the crop should be reaped without his knowledge. - -But before a Hindu boy marries he has been taught how he must worship -the gods. A little Brahman boy puts on the sacred thread which marks -his caste, and which he wears over his right shoulder, when he is eight -or nine years old; from that time onwards he must keep all the rules of -his caste. When the thread is first put on a priest whispers into the -boy’s ear the sacred text or “mantra” of his family. He must remember -it well, for he will have to repeat it over and over again each morning -before bathing and then again each evening. He must always repeat his -text and bathe before he tastes food. If he is a good boy, he will say -his text over and over again very often. In some parts of India he must -not stop until he has said it one hundred and eight times. - -The sacred thread is not the only mark by which a boy shows his caste -or the god he worships. He may have a white V marked on his forehead, -or a yellow W, or a wavy line right across, with perhaps a grain of -rice stuck in the centre, and if he is going to a feast he will have a -bright red dot there too. - -Hindu boys repeat the names of their gods as well as the sacred text -of their caste. One little boy who wished to be very careful that he -worshipped his gods well used to say, “Rama, Rama, Rama,” until he had -said the name twelve thousand, five hundred times; and then he said, -“Siva, Siva, Siva,” six thousand, two hundred and fifty times, every -day. - -There are special days and weeks at each shrine and temple, when there -is more merit in offering gifts than at other times, and on these days -people throng to lay their presents before the gods. They bring oil or -camphor for the priest to burn in a censer which has a large lamp in -the centre for the camphor and five small ones round it for the oil, -and when the priest lights the lamps he waves the censer before the -idol, and the sweet scent of the camphor fills the shrine. Others bring -melted butter and rice, and others fruit and flowers. Marigolds are the -favourite flowers to bring, and the temple steps are strewn with them. -But with all the other offerings there must be, if possible, a little -money, for the priest will look eagerly to see if there are any pice[6] -in the offering. - -There is no place to which larger crowds of people go to worship than -Benares, and if a boy is lucky enough to be there he will see many -curious sights. He might see these things in other cities too, but not -so many of them all together. - -The strangest people he will see are the Fakirs. They wander about from -city to city and from temple to temple, and live entirely on the gifts -that are given to them by the devout. Even if a Hindu does not wish -to be kind and generous, he will give a gift to a Fakir, because he -believes that if the Fakir curses him his rice will wither on its stem, -his cattle and his children will sicken and die, and ill-luck will -follow him in everything. So the very shadow of a Fakir is held sacred, -and no one will cross it lest harm should come to him for his want of -reverence. - -The Fakir wears as little clothes as possible, but he covers his body -with mud and ashes, and makes his hair stick out in all sorts of -uncouth forms with gum and clay. He wears a rope or some strings of -beads round his neck. Sometimes he whitewashes his face, and paints -lines on it, and makes himself still more uncanny-looking than he -already is with his thin body and his wild hair. He has a boy whom he -calls his “Chela” with him, and a brass bowl, and nothing else. The boy -goes out with the bowl at breakfast time, and begs till it is full; -then he comes back to the Fakir where he rests on the temple steps, or -under a cart, or by the wayside, to eat the meal with him. The Fakir -himself should never beg, for the gods he worships are supposed to send -him all he needs, and if he receives nothing from them, he must starve. -Some Fakirs are earnest men who seek to live up to the best they know, -and some are only idle loafers who wish to have an easy life, and to -get as much as they can by trading on the hopes and fears of other -people. - -Amongst them there are many men who have wonderful powers of conjuring -and of second sight. No one can explain the tricks they do, and there -is a weirdness about the men that adds to the weirdness of their -doings. Many an English child would run home in terror at the mere -sight of a Fakir. But the sight of a Fakir is not nearly so eerie as -the sight of some of the things he seems to do. One of these men will -suddenly appear to climb up into the air going hand over hand on a rope -that is not there, till he vanishes into the sky. In a few minutes he -will come quietly along the street as if nothing had happened. Another -will take a piece of rope, whirl it round his head, and toss it into -the air, where it will seem to the onlookers to stand so firm and -strong that a man can climb it, though it is not fastened to anything. -One of the commonest of these wonderful things is to make a plant grow -while the crowd watch. The Fakir takes a mango fruit, opens it, and -lifts out the seeds. He has a little tub of earth into which he drops -them, and as the bystanders watch, they see a mango tree grow up, and -bear fruit before them. - -The chela sees these things, and gradually learns the secrets that -belong to them, so that when his Fakir dies he is ready to take his -place and be a Fakir himself. - -The ways in which the gods are worshipped vary greatly. Some of the -idols are washed and dressed and fed each morning, and bathed and put -to bed each night, and there are long rites that are performed in the -temples. But, there are also many wayside shrines where men and women -lay their offerings as they pass, and murmur a few words of prayer. - -Often a new idol is found. For the Hindus think that the spirit of a -god may enter an animal or a stone or a tree as the spirit of a man may -enter any one of these. - -[Illustration: A WAYSIDE SHRINE] - -One day a Brahman priest lay in a temple court, drowsy and troubled. -The reason of his trouble was that plague was in the city and the -people fled from it, and the offerings that were brought to the -temple were poor and small. The priest was full of dread alike of the -plague and of the poverty that would face him, if the gifts to the -temple grew less and less. Soon the drowsiness grew stronger than his -anxious thoughts, and he fell asleep. As he slept he dreamt that a -great goddess appeared to him, and told him that she had come to the -city in a block of stone, but that she had not been worshipped, and so -she was angry with the people, and had sent the plague, and that if -honour were not done to her she would send fire to finish the work that -plague had begun. She wished the people of the place to hold a feast, -and then to carry the stone in which she lived away hundreds of miles -over the country to Benares. - -The priest wakened, and, as he thought of his dream, he remembered a -great block of black marble that lay beside a temple that had just been -built in the city. Ere the women came to gather round him that day -after offering their gifts in his temple, the priest had thought out -the meaning of his dream, and he told it to them, as they gazed in awe -and fear. He said that the stone in which the goddess dwelt should have -been polished, and set up to guard the entrance to the new temple; but -the workmen had not seen that the stone was a special one, and had left -it aside, and the goddess in her anger had burned up the fields. The -women sighed, for this part of the story was only too true. The fields -were hard and bare, because there had been no rain, and the river beds -were dry. Plague had followed famine, and death was at the door. But -the priest told of more terrible things yet, for he said that Mariamma, -the angry goddess, would send fire if she were not honoured speedily. - -The story of the priest was soon known throughout the city, for each -one told it to another. Within a few days fire broke out in the -palace of the Maharajah there. The fire as it raged and destroyed the -beautiful building made everyone sure of the truth of the priest’s -vision, and hurried plans were made to have the goddess in the stone -carried one stage towards Benares. - -The people thronged round the marble block. The new temple stood near, -but all eyes were on the stone, not on the temple. Then the priests -began their work. They washed the stone all over with milk lest -anything might have soiled it while it lay untended. Then they brought -cocoa nuts and limes to lay before it. After that it was wreathed with -garlands and painted with saffron, and lamps were swung backwards and -forwards which filled the night air with the scent of burning camphor. - -The crowd watched eagerly, and when the great stone with its added -weight of flowers was lifted on to the shoulders of eight men, their -joy burst out in shouts, for did they not know that famine and plague -and death would leave their city with the goddess. - -Music and lights marked the great procession as it wound its way -through the narrow darkened streets. Without the city gate eight men -waited to carry the idol forward. Many of those who had followed it -through the streets turned back, but some pressed on to see the stone -pass into the hands of new bearers at the next village. There the -lights, the music, and the gaily decked stone struck awe into the minds -of the village-folk, and they fell in worship before the block, and -hastened to find men to bear it on. So the black marble block travelled -over many miles of the land. It never reached Benares, for a priest on -the way dreamt another dream about it. He dreamt that Mariamma wished -to rest in his village, so he had a shrine built for her; and there, -amidst lamps and garlands, the unused stone received the worship of the -people from the country round, and the priest grew wealthy by the gifts -that were brought to the goddess in the marble. But the other priest, -Ramachandra, died of the plague which he had said would leave the city -with the angry goddess. - -Some Hindu gods look very terrible. One of these that is commonly -worshipped is called Ganesa, and he has a man’s body with an elephant’s -head. Whenever a Hindu is going to begin a new piece of work, or to -do something important, he makes offerings to Ganesa, for he believes -that the elephant-headed god can take obstacles out of the way and give -success. - -There was a little boy in Madras called Ramaswami, who went to worship -Ganesa for the first time. As he trotted down through the bazaar by his -mother’s side he chatted gaily. He had garlands on his arms, and his -hands were full of incense. He had listened to his mother when she -told him how to lay his gifts in the god’s lap, and when to bow to the -god, but he was not thinking much about the god or the gifts. - -The temple was a small place, as Hindu temples often are, for crowds of -people do not worship in them together. One by one, or in small groups, -they bring their gifts, offer them to the idol, and turn away. - -The doors of this temple were wide open, and Ganesa sat in the gloom -inside, right opposite the entrance. The boy saw a black figure as -large as a man on the back of a great stone rat. The eyes, the tusks -and the red mouth of the elephant-head gleamed out of the darkness, and -the trunk was lifted up at one side, as if it would strike anyone who -came near. - -Ramaswami screamed with terror, and hid behind one of the pillars from -the dreadful god. His mother had grown used to the appearance of the -idol, and she only laughed at her wee boy for his fear. She pulled him -from his hiding-place, but before she could drag him to Ganesa he had -slipped from her grasp, and had run wildly down the street. When she -saw that he was gone she hurried after him, and when she caught him she -was breathless and cross. She pushed him back before her and said, “You -little fool. Is your father’s son going to be a coward? The god will -not strike you. Don’t you see he is made of stone and cannot move?” -At last Ramaswami stood close before Ganesa, but his terror was still -as great as ever. He threw down the garlands and the incense, but he -forgot all his mother had told him of the way in which to give them, -and the movements of worship to make before the idol, and when his -hands were at length empty of the offerings he wriggled once more from -his mother, and fled as if the elephant-headed god was at his heels. - -But all Hindu boys are not frightened of the idols. There seem always -to have been those who wished something greater to worship than a -stone, and who could not believe that any good would come of senseless -offerings. One of these was called Chikka. His home was in a village -in Mysore, and one day a friend came to it with an image of Lakshmi, -the goddess of fortune, and asked Chikka’s father to take care of the -idol for him. Not long after that Chikka’s father found that he must -leave the village. He did not wish to carry Lakshmi with him, so he -laid her carefully in a box, and gave her to the village priest that -he might take care of her. Misfortune came to the friend who had left -the idol, and he began to fear that it was because he had not been -worshipping the goddess, so he hurried to the village to which Chikka -and his father had gone, and said to the boy, “Come along with me, and -we will fetch Lakshmi here and worship her together.” Chikka was only -ten years old then, but he had thought out some things for himself, and -he said, “The goddess Lakshmi has left us poor, while you are rich. -When she gives us good fortune we will worship her, but not till then.” -His father was angry when he heard what Chikka had said, but his anger -did not have any effect on the boy, for only a year later he did a far -more daring thing. He and his brothers and sisters were ill, and a -fortune-teller was called in to say what the parents should do to make -them well. This man said that the reason of the illness was that no one -in the house had been worshipping serpents. So two old stone serpent -idols were brought out and consecrated. But though the others did -honour to them Chikka would not. He watched for a time when no one was -beside to interfere with him, and then he broke the stone snakes into -pieces and threw the fragments away. When his father found out what had -been done he was extremely angry. He was frightened too, for he thought -that some terrible harm would come to them all because Chikka had -insulted the idols. But in a few days the children were well again, and -no other hurtful thing had happened to them, so Chikka won his parents -over to his side, and they ceased to believe in the serpent god. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -THE KING OF INDIA - - -Once upon a time a boy was born in a manger in Bethlehem. When He -was still a child wise men from the East came to worship and to lay -gifts before Him, because they had seen a star which guided them to -His cradle, and they knew that He was born to be a King. The wise men -worshipped the child and returned to their homes in the East, and the -child grew up to be a man. And when He had reached the full age of a -man He went about in His own land, and taught and healed the sick, -and there gathered around Him a band of men who walked through the -fields and villages with Him. And as they walked with Him, it came to -be known among them that this man was no other than the Son of God, -that He had come to live on earth to save mankind from sin, and that He -was indeed the ruler of all the peoples of the world. By and by wicked -men put Him to death on the Cross, and those who had walked with Him -were in deep sadness. But on the third day they saw Him again, and they -were glad, because they knew now that He was greater than death; and -they knew, what they had only guessed before, that He was indeed God. -These men thought that their own nation was cared for by God more than -others, but after their Master had withdrawn Himself from their sight, -He taught them that all the world is beloved of God, and that in each -land He must reign. So it came to pass that as these early followers -of the King wandered hither and thither, when they came to countries -that they had never seen before, they said each to the other, the -men of these lands too are the servants of the King, though they do -not know Him; let us tell them of His nobleness, and of the glory of -His kingdom. In this manner the subjects of the King grew rapidly in -number, and they came to be called Christians, because of the name of -Christ, or Saviour, by which they spoke often of their King. At that -time there was much commerce between the nations of the East, and great -caravans with the rich wealth of India came to the places in which -the Christians dwelt. And when men saw all these riches, they said let -us also go there, that we may heap up to ourselves gems and gold. So -it came to pass that families of Jews and of Persians bade farewell to -the friends and neighbours of their youth, took the long journey across -the desert, and made their home on the hot shores of India. And amongst -the families who went there, there were some who had owned the Child -of Bethlehem as their King, and because those who truly know Him find -Him so good a King that they wish all men to serve Him, these early -settlers spoke of Him to those with whom they met, and they won many -of the simple folk of India. But the hot airs of the Indian valleys, -and the strange faiths and fears of the peoples there, closed in on the -little bands of Christians. They still named Him their King, but they -did not any longer obey the laws of His kingdom, so the strange worship -they saw around them had power to lessen their first eagerness. Down -through the years they have owned the name of Christ, but much of the -spirit of His kingdom has been lost. - -But elsewhere the subjects of the new King pressed forward. And ever -when they remembered that He had conquered death, and was a living -monarch whom they must obey, they did great deeds to bring in the -kingdom that He had bidden them win for Him. Hundreds of years passed -on, and the countries of Europe all owned the reign of the Son of God -in name, though many of the people there thought but little of obeying -His laws. The commerce of India no longer came to Europe chiefly by -the hot desert routes. Great ships sailed from the ports of Europe -to harbours in India; and Spain, Portugal, Holland, France, Germany, -Denmark and England each held possessions on the shores of India that -had been given to them by those who ruled the greater part of the -country--the warlike followers of the prophet. - -And so, because these nations held land in India, their people spoke -often of the men and women who dwelt in it, and of their trade and -wealth. And the stories of travellers were heard with wonder round the -fires of northern Europe, and under the sunny skies of Spain. - -Now though there were many Europeans who cared for nothing except to -get as much ease and comfort for themselves as they could, and who -would not give up anything for the kingdom of Christ, there were many -others who thought much of that kingdom; and when they heard that a new -bit of land had been given to their country on the Coromandel Coast or -on the Malabar Coast, they longed to know that the people who dwelt in -it had been won for Christ. And when they heard stories of the cruel -and dark deeds that were done to please the idols there, they longed -to have the worshippers know that the real King of the world is served -by good deeds, not by bad ones. And so as these thoughts grew amongst -them, Christ the King came once more to earth, and laid His Commission -on men and on women, and said to them, as He had said long ago to -other followers, “Go ye into all the world, and lo I am with you -alway.” Thus men went from Germany and from England and from Scotland -and from America, and at this day the army of Christ’s followers in -India, who have gone there from other countries, is great and strong, -and throughout the land the tokens of the kingdom that is to be, can be -seen to-day. There are churches where Indian men and women, who have -welcomed their King, meet to worship Him. There are colleges where boys -and girls can learn of the greatness of His work in the world. There -are hospitals and leper homes, where the followers of Him who healed -the sick in Galilee labour to heal and help some of the sore sickness -of India. And still more real beginnings of His kingdom are seen in the -lives of the men and women and the boys and girls who have found Him -and loved Him. - -But though Christ is the King of India, those who own His sway there -are only very very few, and He still needs those who love His thoughts -and His kingdom in other lands to help to carry His message more and -more into the heart of India. - - - - -CHAPTER X - -NEW SIGHTS IN INDIA - - -Men and women have gone to India to tell of the King of the world, and -because of that new things are coming into the lives of the children -there. There is great excitement when a European is seen for the first -time in an Indian village. One day the boys of Holapura heard that an -English lady had entered the house of the headman of the place. They -left their games and hurried to the hut, but ere they got there, it -was crowded to the door, so they climbed on the roof and looked down -through the holes in the thatch. As they looked in they saw the crowded -room and the white lady. A woman was bringing out a blanket from a -dark inner room, and was spreading it on a mound of earth, which did -for a seat, and now the white lady sat down and the boys gazed and -listened. They saw a streamlet of water trickling across the mud floor -at her feet; they saw the little room packed with women and boys and -babies, and in amongst them they saw the household cow, the goats, -and some chickens; but these things did not astonish the boys at all; -they had often seen a crowded hut before, and even when Ruthamma, an -Indian Christian teacher who was with the white missionary, began to -speak, they scarcely listened, for all their attention was fixed on -the stranger. But they began to listen a little when she sang “What a -friend we have in Jesus” in their own language. Before many lines had -been sung a goat made up its mind to go out, and there was so much -bustle amongst the children about his going that Ruthamma had to stop -and begin her hymn over again. The boys listened eagerly, till suddenly -they heard a swoop and a whiz through the air. They shrank back, for -vultures are not nice birds, and this one was coming very near. It -shot past them through the hole in the thatch into the room. A dead -fowl hung from the roof. The bird clutched it and flew away again. The -fowl was gone; everyone rushed out and shouted to make the vulture drop -it. But the bird would not, and when it had flown far far away from the -village, the little group gathered again. But this had spent much time, -and Ruth hurried on in spite of a lively quarrel between two wee boys, -who, when their grandmother tried to catch them, vanished underneath -the cow, to sit and make faces at each other there, and be quite ready -to begin to fight again when the missionaries had gone. - -That is how some children first hear of the King of India. But of -course they understand little of what they hear for a long time. -Sometimes the children catch up the tunes and the words of the new -songs, so unlike their old ones, and remember them. In a town far from -this village, a missionary was riding along the street one day, when he -heard a sound that seemed familiar. He checked his horse and looked and -listened. No one in the side street noticed him. There he saw a little -Hindu boy with Hindu men and women around him. He was singing away -heartily in Telugu:-- - - “Jesus loves me, this I know, - For the Bible tells me so!” - -When the verse was finished a Hindu asked him:-- - -“Little fellow, where did you learn that song?” - -“Over at the school.” - -“Who is Jesus, and what is the Bible?” - -“Oh, the Bible is the book sent from God, they say, to teach us how to -get to heaven; and Jesus is the name of the divine Redeemer that came -into the world to save us from sins: that is what the missionaries say.” - -“Well, the song is a nice one anyhow; come sing us some more.” - -But it is not only when words are spoken or sung that the traces of the -King are seen in India. One of the most important things that happens -there is the digging of a well, and here are some boys who are talking -excitedly about a new well in their village. Let us hear what they are -saying:-- - -“Yes, truly they got water--beautiful clear water, and it rushed in so -fast that the men who dug had to flee for their lives.” - -“And yet they did not have a Brahman to bless it?” - -“No, I have told you they follow Christ. They do not obey the Brahmans.” - -“Tell us what they did.” - -“It was the time of heat! The river was dried up, and the new buildings -of the Christians were almost finished. But as it was not fitting that -this new religion should find shelter in our village, our priests had -tried to prevent them from getting land. They did not succeed in that, -but they forbade the Christian people to drink from the wells of the -village, and behold the river was dry. The face of Raghu, the leader of -the Christian folk, was sad, for what can man do without water? But he -went away to consult the foreign teacher. When he returned, he was no -longer sad, and it began to be said in the village that the Christians -would dig a well within their own ground. Many heads were shaken, for -no one thought that water could be found there. When the Christians -began to dig everyone was still more amazed, for they did not dig at -the lower end where water might soon be reached, if it were to be found -anywhere, but high up, close to the dwellings of the low caste men. It -was at the edge of their ground, and we all gathered to watch; each man -had some taunt to fling at the foreigners, for they did not do anything -to appease the gods; they did not consult with the wise men, nor call -the priests to bless the well; they made no offerings at the temple, -nor did they feast the Brahmans; and everyone was certain that no water -would be found. It is true they did pray to their own God, but everyone -was sure He had not given them good guidance, for a child may know that -a well should not be dug near the dwellings of outcasts. But in answer -to all the Christians said only, ‘We will surely get water.’ And they -believed this, for they worked on day after day through the great heat -until the well was so deep that they had to dig through rock--soft -rock it was, it is true, but still hard enough to break the points -of pickaxes. Weeks went on, and we ceased to watch the well of the -foreigners, or to taunt them. It was an old story in the village, but -when at any time we passed near it we could see that the digging was -well and rightly done, and that if only water had been there, it would -indeed have been a great well. But one day, as the village shops were -quiet in the heat, there came a cry down the street, and the sound was -of men who called, ‘We’ve got water.’ But we would not believe it till -we ran to the well. There, as we bent over, we saw depths of water, -beautiful clear water. The God of the foreign people had given them -water! Come and see the ‘Jesus Christ well,’ and you will know that I -tell the truth.” - -Another boy was bitten by a deadly snake. He was much surprised when -he was bitten. He had gone out with his uncle to work in the fields. -All through the sugar-cane fields there are channels for water, and -if anything falls into these channels to stop the water from flowing -through them the sugar-cane will not grow. Timmaya Reddi was pushing -along the bank of a channel, bending aside the tall cane stems to make -way for himself, when he saw that the flow of the water was checked -by something that he thought was a stick. He struck at it with his -hook, and as he struck, the reddish-brown stick sprang up, for it was -a deadly serpent. Timmaya leapt back, but not in time to save himself. -The serpent bit his ankle, and then glided off into the canes. The -poison was swift and powerful, and the boy fell back and remembered -nothing until he awoke and opened his eyes under a tree beside the -white doctor’s tent. Timmaya did not know what had happened. He had not -felt his uncle lift him and run with him to his mother’s house, and lay -him there as if he were dead. He had not heard the death wail rise from -the village, nor had he heard the rush and clamour when a Christian -shouted, “The missionary doctor! Take the boy to him. He came last -night. He is in his tent now. It is only a mile away by the short cut.” - -Thus the noise went on, but the boy was unconscious of it all. Strong -men carried him by turns, down a steep path into a valley, up the other -side through bushes and then on, over the fields, till they reached the -white doctor’s tent. - -But when they laid him down, it seemed to everyone there too late, and -they said that he was dead already. One man alone thought there was -time still. He was the doctor, who sternly bade the eager crowd be -silent while he fought for the life of the boy. And he won. In half an -hour Timmaya opened his eyes and asked, “Where am I,” and in two days -he walked back across the valley to the village where the death wail -had arisen for him. - -There is another sad time at which many Hindu boys catch their first -glimpses of the King and His followers. It is the time of famine. One -night a little boy lay awake, gazing out at the sky through an opening -in the house. He watched the heavy clouds break and scatter, and as the -stars shone out, they brought sadness to him, not joy, for they meant -that the clouds had broken and gone, and that one more night must pass -without rain. As he lay he heard the sound of the priests chanting the -prayer for rain at the temple, and every now and then the chant was -broken by the clanging of bells that rang out on the still air. The boy -thought of his father, who was spending the night there at the temple -praying for rain. Then he thought of the long days of famine, and of -how old his father looked; and he remembered how little that father had -eaten during those days of famine, and how much he had always tried to -leave to his mother and his brothers and sisters. And so the boy passed -a restless night, and wondered what could come to change these awful -days of famine. - -Then in the early morning he heard his father’s step, and as it came to -the door a wail sounded from his mother within. His brother was dead. -The long misery of famine had been too much, and the eldest son in -the little home had died. The next days passed in a dream to the boy. -He knew that his father could no longer bear the pain of watching his -children die, one by one, and he heard him say that he had made up his -mind to seek the nearest relief camp. He remembered that he was lifted -into a passing bullock cart along with his mother and three other -children, and that his father trudged beside them. The driver of the -bullock cart had been a wealthy man, but his servants were gone, and -he was leading the ox to a patch of prickly pear, the only green thing -that was left in the whole famine land. But the bullock was as weak as -the men, and the sun was high ere they reached the patch of prickly -pear. They all ate the leaves greedily, and would scarcely wait to -pluck out the thorns. Then he remembered lying under the bullock cart -with his mother and the other children, and watching his father and the -bullock driver disappear in the distance, and he remembered no more -until he lay in the clean white shed that had been quickly built to be -a hospital for the famine children. His sisters and brothers were there -with him, but help had come too late to save the lives of his father -and mother. - -In these and countless other ways, the new kingdom of love is seen in -India, and can be judged even by those who do not own Christ as King. -But there are many who do own Him, and find how much He has to give -besides the healing of bodily ills. You remember Chikka, who broke the -serpent idol? He was one of the first who learned to serve Christ, -though he had to wait a long time before he heard of Him. Chikka’s -family was poor, so he could not go to school, nor learn to read or -write, and for many years he had no one to tell him of any god other -than the idols he despised. He was nearly forty years old before he -heard of Jesus Christ, and after he had learned about Him, he saw -that He could do for him all that the gods of stone could never do. -Soon he and the missionaries urged the people of his village to give -up worshipping idols. The villagers had seen that no harm had come to -Chikka, and they began to think that perhaps it was really true, as the -missionaries said, that it was the worshippers that kept the god Runga -safe in his temple, and not the idol that kept them safe. They left the -god alone to see if he could take care of himself. They brought him no -fresh flowers, nor did they see that there was oil in the lamp that -burned before him. Very soon the garlands withered, and the lamp -went out. The temple became dirty and untidy, and worst of all, the -roof fell in just over the god’s head. But though the villagers gave up -the worship of the idol, that did not mean that they were willing to -become Christians. At Chikka’s baptism, they took sudden fright lest -drops of water should fall on them by mistake, and make them Christians -against their will, and they rushed out of the church till they blocked -up the door, and some of them had to climb out by the window. - -[Illustration: RESCUED FAMINE CHILDREN] - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -ANANTA THE SEEKER - - -There have often been learned Hindu men who have lost their faith in -idols, and the story of one of these has so much to do with the lives -of many children in India to-day, that we must not miss it out. - -Ananta Shastri was a seeker for the King of India, though he did not -know it; and his daughter Ramabai is now helping hundreds of little -girls to find Him. - -Many Hindus think that no woman ought to be allowed to learn to read or -to write, or to study the sacred books. Even if a husband is a learned -man, he cannot talk much to his wife about the things that interest -him, because she would not know what he meant. - -Ananta Shastri was a very able man, and he did not think that it -was a good plan to keep girls ignorant, but it was not easy for one -man to do much to change this custom of the Hindus. One day, as he -was travelling, he met another Brahman. The second man had a little -daughter, nine years of age, with him, whose name was Lakshmibai, and -before the two Brahmans parted they had arranged that Ananta would take -the child home with him to be his wife. - -The marriage day is generally a very gay one, and sometimes the -brightness and the excitement help to make the little wife forget that -she will have to leave her own home, and all those whom she has loved, -and go away with a stranger, to be under the rule of her mother-in-law -or aunts-in-law. But there were no marriage gaieties for Lakshmibai. -She was handed over to Ananta, and went away with him, and she never -saw her father or mother again. But though the case seemed a very hard -one, her lot was really much better than a child wife’s often is, even -when all sorts of gaieties and feasting take place, for Ananta was very -kind to her, and took her carefully home to his mother, that she might -teach her all the duties of a wife, and show her how to cook and to -grind. When the daily work was done, Ananta wished to teach his wife -to read and write. He tried again and again, but his own people always -interfered, till he saw that it would be impossible for Lakshmibai to -learn if she stayed in his father’s home. Many a man would have given -in, but he would not give in. He went away from his home, and took his -little wife with him far into the forest. There was no sign of the -life of man where they rested during the first night. The little child -lay in terror on the ground. All the stories she had ever heard of -wild beasts and spirits came back to her, and it did not need memory -to bring fear to her heart, for right across a ravine a tiger roared -and prowled. Ananta watched by her through the long night. Soon he -built a hut to be a home for them. Though Lakshmibai had not been -long with her mother-in-law, she had learned all that she needed to -know for the simple out-of-doors life. Now her other lessons began in -earnest. She was a clever child, and Ananta found great joy in teaching -her. The beauty of the old Indian poems seemed doubly great as he -recited them to his wife, or listened to her repetitions of them. The -days passed swiftly into years. Disciples gathered round Ananta, and -soon a little dark-haired daughter was born and then a son. Both of -them were taught along with the band of disciples just as if they had -both been boys. Then another little baby girl was born into the home, -but by this time, Ananta was so busy with the older two and with his -disciples that he had no time to teach the baby Ramabai, and all her -early lessons were given to her by her mother. But Lakshmibai too was -busy. She had to fetch water, to cook, and to bake, and the only time -at which she could be free to teach her little girl was when the faint -light of the morning stole through the tree stems to the door of the -forest-dwelling. Then Ramabai was wakened and lifted from her bed, and -she learned all her earliest lessons in the dim morning light from her -mother’s lips. - -Sanskrit is not now spoken by any of those who live in India, but all -who know Indian scholarship know it. It was in this language that -Ramabai learned the beautiful Hindu poems, and the stories of the gods. -There is much in these poems and in the stories that is ugly and bad, -but we can feel sure that it was the most lovely parts that were taught -to the child in the wood. - -When Ramabai grew older she joined the others in their studies, and -then her father found to his great delight that this youngest of his -children had a mind that could answer to his own in no ordinary way. - -By and by the time came when the eldest daughter must be married. -Ananta was a Brahman, and he would have been disgraced amongst all his -people if he had not married his daughter while she was still a child, -so she had been betrothed to a Brahman boy when she was very young. -When this took place, Ananta arranged that the little boy was to be -educated as she had been, so that the two might have many thoughts and -interests in common. The wedding day came, and Ananta sought to have -everything as beautiful and costly as custom demanded for the marriage -of his daughter, but his heart was bitter within him, because he found -that the promises that had been made to him about his son-in-law had -all been broken, and he knew that he had given his daughter to one who -could not understand her. And this was not his only reason for sorrow. -Custom had made him give her a large dowry, and spend great sums of -money on the marriage feasting. Brahmans and beggars had been fed too, -and he found that he had left himself and his children poor. This made -him feel more strongly than ever that there was much that was wrong in -Hindu customs. He lectured on the wrongs of India’s women, and tried -to prove that many of the things they suffered were not commanded in -the old writings. But another trouble was before them. Ananta could not -face the thought of giving Ramabai to the same fate that had awaited -her sister. So he resolved that he would not marry her to anyone until -she was grown up. His friends and relations had been very angry with -him for teaching his wife, but they had not made him an outcast for -that, but when they saw that he was not going to arrange for Ramabai’s -marriage, they were enraged, and would not own him as one of them. Then -came the years of a great famine. None of Ananta’s people would give -him work, and no one had money to pay for listening to lectures, so the -little family moved about from place to place. They always hoped that -the gifts they had given to the gods would bring them favour sooner or -later. But one misfortune followed another until at last they resolved -to die. Ananta had ceased to worship idols, but he had never heard of -Christ. Yet, though he had not heard of Him he was feeling his way as -many a Hindu has done, towards that same God whom Christ has revealed. -Yet though this is so, it did not seem to him that it would be wrong -for him to kill himself, for he believed as his fathers had done in the -worthlessness and wretchedness of human life, and that belief made him -think it right to leave it. The family talked in sorrow and bitterness, -and planned how they each in turn would end the life that had become -so sad. But the training that Ananta had given to his children, and -the close bonds of love that had been drawn amongst the forests, were -stirring instincts that he did not dream of. It was a terrible thing -to Hindu minds for a Brahman to do labourer’s work, but Ananta’s son -felt that it was a far more terrible thing to see the father whom he -honoured take away his own life, and the lad made up his mind that he -would find work of some kind no matter how humble it was, and so bring -food and life to his father and mother. - -But though they were saved the pain of knowing that their father had -taken his own life, they could not keep him with them much longer. -The suffering and want of these days of weary travel had told on him, -and with anxious thoughts about the future of his children, he died. -Amongst his last words was a special message to Ramabai that she should -always obey and serve God, for though the family still worshipped idols -yet Ananta had come to believe that there was only one God in the -universe, and that He would take care of those who obeyed Him. - -Caste and custom with their grim shadows watched over Ananta’s funeral. -He had put himself outside the bonds of caste, and no one would help -to bury him. At length the sad rites were over, but Lakshmibai was -so ill that her children feared that they would lose her too. They -could not find steady work even of the humblest kind, and the one -thing open to them still, they could not do. They could not beg. The -spirit of Lakshmibai was broken. She could fight no longer. There was -no refuge to which she could be taken. If she had killed both of her -baby daughters, doors might still have been open to her amongst her -caste people and relations, for the mother of a son, even when she is a -widow, is not wholly despised; but because, instead of killing Ramabai, -she and Ananta had taught her and had refused to have her married when -she was still a child, every door was shut against her. There was -no hospital nor home to which she could go. For many a sick man and -woman in India the only hospital has been the waters of the Ganges or -a living grave. It was terrible for Ramabai to see the suffering of -her mother, and one day she started out to beg--only she could not do -it when she came to the point. But the woman to whose house she went -saw the little pinched face and the hungry eyes, and gave her a bit of -bread with which she rushed home to her mother, who was by that time -too weak to eat it, and very soon Ramabai and her brother were left -alone in the world. - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -THE PANDITA RAMABAI - - -Ramabai and her brother were alone, but they had one treasure that very -few Hindu brothers and sisters then had. They had their friendship for -each other, their common interests and hopes and fears. - -They were still very reverent to shrines and idols, though strange -thoughts and questions were rising in their minds, and the thought -of the one great God of whom their father had spoken to them grew -ever stronger. One day they found that they were near a sacred lake, -in which there were seven floating mountains;--at least they were -called mountains, but they were really only small hills. On the -shore of the lake there were priests, for worship was paid to the -spirits of the mountains. Ramabai and her brother had often heard of -this spirit-haunted lake, for it was a place of pilgrimage, and the -wonderful thing about it was that if the pilgrim who prayed at the -water’s edge was good the mountains slowly moved towards the shore, -but if he was bad the cliffs remained stolidly still, and no prayers -could move them one inch. When Ramabai and her brother reached the lake -they found that what had been called mountains were only wooded island -mounds, but there they were, all seven of them, rising from the still -waters. - -[Illustration: A SCHOOL FOR GIRLS] - -The priests warned everyone who came that they must on no account bathe -in the waters of the lake because of the crocodiles. They seemed to -be so much afraid that any of the pilgrims might be eaten up, that they -kept a very strict watch all round the lake. - -Ramabai and her brother knelt by the shore. They had been true -worshippers of the gods, and they felt that if they were to be judged -by the best of the old books of India they were good. It is true that -their caste-fellows had disowned them, but, though many of their old -beliefs about idols and shrines still lingered with them, they did not -believe that a good god could be angry at their father’s treatment of -his daughters. So they worshipped eagerly, and looked to see if the -mountains were moving to the shore. But the water lapped against the -banks as calmly as before, and not an extra ripple could be seen. They -slept that night near the lake, and very early in the morning, before -the priests were on the watch, the boy made up his mind that if the -mountains would not come to him he would go to the mountains! Ramabai -watched him breathlessly, for had he not the anger of the spirits to -dread, as well as the hungry crocodiles? He swam out to the nearest -mountain, swam right round it, and back to the shore. No crocodile had -touched him, and the look in his eyes as he returned to Ramabai was a -look of anger, not of fear. He had seen, when he reached it, that the -mountain was only a sham. It was cleverly built of mud and earth, on a -floating raft. Trees and creepers were stuck into the clay as if they -grew there. Behind, out of sight of land, there was a little boat. It -was all clear to him now. Some signal must pass from the priests on -shore to the priest in the boat, and if the pilgrim gave enough of -money to the priest on shore, the boatman pushed the floating mountain -towards the land; so it was not virtue but money that moved the spirit -of the mountain. This discovery opened their eyes to many other things. -If the worship of the gods was only kept up in order to give money to -the priests; and if, in order to keep up this great system, the priests -had to call to their aid the gloomy spirits of caste and custom, then -there might be escape for India from these terrible things. And with -eyes open to all she saw, Ramabai began to notice more than ever before -what a terrible life high caste Hindu widows had to live when they were -not the mothers of sons. Gradually she and her brother gathered groups -of people to listen to them as their father had done. Soon the days of -poverty were over, for Ramabai had found out where one of her great -powers lay. Crowds gathered to hear her speak, and to wonder at her -knowledge. But this relief came too late for her brother, who had been -so much worn out with want that his strength gave way, and though he -saw his sister safe from the fear of poverty it was very hard for him -to leave her alone. But though Ramabai’s faith in idols had gone, her -faith in God grew stronger through the years, and she cheered the dying -boy with the words, “God will take care of me.” - -Ere her brother’s death the fame of Ramabai had come to the ears of -the learned men of Calcutta, and they asked her to come and meet with -them. They questioned her, and listened to her answers, and they sat -in amazement as they heard her quote the ancient writings. They were -so moved by her learning that they gave her the right to use the title -Pandita,[7] which no woman had ever been allowed to use, and they -called her also Sarasvati, “goddess of wisdom.” - -About this time a Hindu gentleman, whose ideas were like those of -Ananta, and who shared Ramabai’s horror when he thought of the life of -many Hindu women, asked Ramabai to be his wife, and very soon after her -brother’s death she was married to him. They were very happy together, -but they were not content to be happy alone. They dreamed and planned -what they could do for Hindu widows, and they even thought of opening -their own happy home to them. Soon a little daughter was born to them -to add to their gladness, and the plans for the widows were going -forward brightly, when death crossed the threshold, and Ramabai was -left a widow--a widow with no son. But the shadows of caste and custom -had already wreaked much of their vengeance on her, and now when she -might have suffered most severely, she was nearly out of their power. - -Her whole thoughts were for Manorama, her little daughter, and for -Hindu widows, and her one desire was to be fit to do the best for them -she could. English women lived in happiness with their brothers and -friends. English people had opened schools and colleges in India, and -she resolved to cross the sea that she might learn from them in their -own land, things that would help her to brighten the lives of Indian -women. So the young Hindu widow with her little baby came to England. -At Wantage the wonder of Christ broke on her, and she saw that the God -in whom she had blindly trusted was He who had been shown to men in the -life and death of Jesus Christ. As Ramabai saw how great a difference -this made to her, her thoughts went out to the memory of her father, -and she answered his last words as she could not when he died, “Yes, I -will serve Him always.” - -To-day Ramabai is surrounded by children. She has two homes, and they -are quite different. When she gave up her life to Christ the first -great piece of work she did in service to Him made many people think -that she was not faithful to Him, because in her first home, a home -for Hindu widows, the great shadows of caste and custom are admitted. -Perhaps at first it seems wonderful that this should be. But as Ramabai -looked round the land she saw that many other servants of Jesus Christ -had opened homes for high caste Hindu widows, and that no inch of the -door of these homes was open for caste and custom. She saw too that -only very few Hindus were willing to let their daughters learn from -those who would not allow them to follow caste rules. So she made up -her mind that she would open one home to which little Hindu child -widows might come, although they still sat in the shadow. At first -very few were allowed to come, but soon the number grew greater. The -little ones were taught many things and they were kindly cared for, -and none of their many customs were interfered with. They were allowed -to go to the bazaar to buy offerings to carry to the gods, and to have -the barber shave them in his rounds. They might fast when they wished, -and they need never hear of the faith of Jesus Christ. Ramabai did all -that she could to rob the shadows that lay on them of their darkness, -only she did not say that they must leave the shadows before they came -to her. But ever as the children lived in the Sharada Sadan, they saw -that there was one woman--a Hindu widow--on whom the shadow did not -rest, one room in which there was no gloom. The woman was Ramabai, and -the room was hers. Night and morning she held service there with her -servants and Manorama, and the door of the room was always open. It -is not easy for shadows to linger round a glowing light. Ramabai knew -that, and she waited and hoped. She did not wait in vain, for soon her -pupils began to wonder what it was that made her so different from -others, and they came to ask her about Jesus Christ and His religion. - -Some of the little girls who came to her had been terribly ill-used, -and often it was a long time before she could bring a smile to the dim -eyes that had lost their childlike look, or even before she could bring -health back to the beaten, burned bodies that sometimes came into her -loving care. - -It was difficult for Ramabai to get hold of those who needed her help -most. One time she heard of a little widow who was in great misery, but -the child was so stupefied with pain that she did not wish for relief -from it, or think that anyone could help her. Ramabai asked the girl -and the relations of her dead husband to come and visit her, in order -that she might win the love of the young widow, and persuade her to -stay when the others went. The relations were glad to visit Ramabai, -and they stayed for some time in a little house within the grounds -of the Sharada Sadan. Ramabai hoped that the care the child received -while she stayed there would have an effect on her, and that before -her relations left the place the widow would be eager to stay. But the -days went on, and the child was still lifeless and dull, for though -the Pandita did not know it, her relations managed to beat and ill-use -her every day. At last Ramabai felt that she could wait no longer, so -she told her guests in what was understood as the correct way, that -their visit had come to an end. Then she asked the widow if she would -stay behind. The relations did not wish her to stay, but they could -not prevent her if she said she would, and she did say so, though she -was still so dazed that Ramabai feared she would lose her after all. -On that life the early years of pain have left traces that will never -entirely go away. - -When Ramabai had carried on her work in this school for eight years, -a famine broke out in Central India. She read of this famine, and the -thought of all the orphans who were left friendless by it moved her, -so that she hurried off to the famine district, and brought back with -her three hundred girls. The pupils of the Sharada Sadan welcomed the -little waifs, and made room for them within the grounds for that night. - -Some time before this the Pundita had bought a farm in order to provide -for her widows’ school. The famine children were taken to this farm and -nursed back to health there. Though in the Sharada Sadan Ramabai led -the girls to Christ by indirect means only, she did not feel that she -was bound to do so in the farm home. The famine orphans were a gift to -her from God, not a loan from parents or relations, so she has from the -first been free to tell them of the love of Christ the King, for all -children, and for all in sorrow. The new home is called “Mukti,” that -is “Salvation,” and high up over the great entrance the words “Praise -the Lord” in Marathi, tell of Ramabai’s wish to call the walls of her -children’s home “Salvation” and its gates “Praise.” - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -HORMASDJI PESTONJI - - -Before we leave India we shall hear the stories of four others of its -children who found their way to Christ the King. The name of the first -of these is Hormasdji Pestonji. He was not a Hindu, nor a Mohammedan, -but a Parsee. There are not very many Parsees in the world, and most -of them live in India. They are a powerful people, though they are few -in number. Their religion is a worship of fire, and their ideals of -character are high and noble. - -Hormasdji went to a mission college in Bombay. Though no one had to -be a Christian in order to study there, yet each one had to listen to -lessons on the Christian faith, and to take his turn in reading the -Bible. Many of the boys hated the foreigner’s religion. They went to -the classes because they wished to learn English, but they would gladly -have closed their ears when the Bible lesson came. Hormasdji was one of -the fiercest of these. When he saw the name of Jesus he refused to say -it, and he tried to destroy the books in which it was. But he could not -help hearing. - -Parsee women are not treated as most Mohammedan and Hindu women are. -They are honoured and loved, and may go in and out with freedom; and -home life amongst the Parsees is often bright and happy. Hormasdji -was extremely fond of his mother, and she died when he was still very -young. He was in passionate grief as he saw her body carried out, -covered with rich shawls, to the great white towers of silence by -the sea, where the Parsee dead are laid. “O god Fire give me back my -mother, give me back my mother,” he prayed; but his brother came sadly -back without the body he had borne away, and the boys were motherless. - -Hormasdji thought of his prayer, and began to wonder if ‘fire’ really -was God at all. His lessons at school made him wonder still more, for -there were strange experiments with fire and with water, and it did not -seem to him that what he had seen with his eyes could be true if fire -was really God. He became very unhappy. He did not wish to believe -that Christ could be anything to him and he had lost all faith in his -own god Fire. - -One day he went for a swim in the sea. Before he plunged in he saw -a sandbank on which he often rested, clearly marked, but while he -was swimming the rising tide covered the bank and there was no -resting-place for him anywhere. He turned back to swim to the shore, -but it was too far away and he felt his strength failing. As his -strokes grew feebler he thought of Christ and everything seemed -different to him from what he had imagined. He knew that in his heart -he did believe in Christ though he had tried to think that he hated -Him. Those on shore saw that Hormasdji was in danger and set out to -rescue him, but he did not forget the thoughts that had passed through -his mind when he seemed to be sinking. It was in a different spirit -that he listened to the missionaries afterwards. He was not content to -hear only what was taught in school. He wished to know all he could -about the King of India, so he went to the house of a Christian who -lived in Bombay. He met another Parsee there, who also studied in -the college. It was a joy to them both, for neither had known that -the other wished to follow Christ. From that day onwards they stood -together, shoulder to shoulder. When Hormasdji was nineteen years old, -he was baptised, four days after his friend. All Bombay was excited. No -one had ever left the Parsee faith before, and the Parsees stirred up -the Hindus and both together tried to kill the young converts. When a -trial at law was brought on, some of the Parsees clung to the wheels -of the carriage in which Hormasdji drove away from the court and said -that they would willingly die themselves in order to kill the man who -had left their faith. They tried to poison him and to set fire to his -house but all in vain. Hormasdji remained firm and spent his long life, -for he was seventy-one when he died, in seeking to bring the faith of -Christ into other hearts. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -SITA THE WIDOW - - -Sita was only a child but she was very miserable. The other little -girls she knew romped and played about, but she had to work hard and to -bear blows and many other kinds of cruelty. She did not know why this -was, but she could remember a time long before--at least it seemed long -before--when people were kind to her, and she could play and romp about -too. Even in her dim memory of these days one person had been unkind to -her. An old man who had shaken her and told her to be quick and grow -up that she might work for him. But one day he died, and Sita was very -glad. Only she was not allowed to be glad long, for the others in the -house came round her and told her that she had killed him, and from -that time they ill-treated her terribly. She had to draw and carry all -the water that was needed for washing and cooking; and a great deal was -required, for there were nine people in the house. Sometimes she was -terribly tired, and it seemed as if she could not draw up one bucketful -more of water. One day, when she was ten years old, she was more tired -than ever, and she sat down for a little by the well, while happy -careless women drew up their bucketfuls and put them gaily on their -heads. They looked bright in their cotton robes, and their hearts were -bright too for they sang little songs as they clustered round the well. -Sita thought there was a kind look in the face of one woman who came, -and she said to her, “Will you not draw a little water for me, the well -is so deep, and I am tired and ill?” - -The woman started back from the little brown figure with the tattered -clothes and the shaven head. “Widow!” she said. Then she cursed Sita -and told her that she had done her harm by letting her shadow fall on -her, and that she would have to take a bath before she could eat; and -then she cursed her again. - -The child looked up in surprise. She did not know what all this meant. -The tears were in her eyes, and the woman, with a touch of pity, -stopped a moment, when she was safely out of reach of Sita’s shadow, -and asked:-- - -“Why should I help you when the gods have cursed you? See, you are a -widow.” But Sita only gazed at her. - -“Don’t you understand? Did you not have a husband once?” “Yes, I think -so, the old bad man who used to shake me.” “You call him bad?” “No -wonder the gods hate you. You must have been very bad once. So now you -are a widow, and by and bye you will be a toad or a snake.” Then the -woman lifted her water-pots and hurried away. - -Sita hastened too for she knew she had stayed too long, and when she -reached the house she was so tired that she nearly fell, but instead of -a cool drink or kind words her sister-in-law burned her arms and hands -with a hot poker because she did not go to work quickly enough and the -little one had to labour on through all her pain. - -So the days passed one by one. Some were worse and some were better. -But Sita was always hungry for since her head was shaved she was only -allowed to eat once a day and that only of the least pleasant kind of -food. She was lonely too, for most of the children fled from her. But -there was one girl called Tungi, who used to manage to speak to her -sometimes. Tungi was a little wife, but she had not yet gone to stay -with her husband. He was in school, and he had sent word that his wife -must go to school too, till they were both older, because he wished -her to be able to sing and to read books and be happy with him when he -spoke of the things he cared about. - -Tungi’s mother did not like this at all. She thought as very many -people in India think that it is a bad thing for women to read and -write; but Tungi was married, and, just as her mother would not have -thought it right to save her from her husband if he had been ill-using -her, so she did not think it right to refuse to let her go to school. - -Tungi was a bright girl and she quickly took in many of the lessons -that were taught at school. One of these was that it would do her no -harm to talk to a widow, so though she dared not let her mother see her -talk to Sita, she used to sit by her whenever she could get a chance to -do it without being seen. - -It was not a great thing for Tungi to do, for she loved to see the -light steal into the frightened eyes; but if it was only another joy in -Tungi’s full life it was like the gate of heaven to Sita. Even to catch -a passing sight of Tungi made a day a red letter day for the little -widow. - -Sita told Tungi all about what the woman at the well had said to her, -and Tungi told her that many of those who were at school did not -believe such things about widows. She told her too, that there was a -better God than the ones who would treat a child as she was treated, -and so she tried to comfort her little friend. - -Soon Tungi had to go back to school and nine months passed before the -children met again. - -There had been a great contrast between them at the beginning of the -nine months, but it was far greater at the end. - -Tungi’s eye was brighter. She had learned a great deal more, and life -was interesting and glad to her. But poor Sita was sadder and more -worn. Her husband’s family had used her worse and worse. They had -almost forgotten that she could feel, and they treated her as if she -had really killed her husband. - -A beautiful young widow who lived near Sita had drowned herself in a -well when she found how miserable her life was after her husband’s -death. Sita looked into the cool water and wondered how long it would -take her to die if she leapt in. Then she thought of what the woman had -said a year before, and she could see herself jumping about as a little -frog, and she feared that something worse even than that might happen -to her, and that she might go to one of the places of punishment beyond -the world altogether. So she shrank back, and tried to face the dreary -round again--the hunger, the labour and the cruel pain. - -Even the joy of seeing Tungi once more could scarcely raise her -spirits, and the tenderness of her little friend only brought tears to -her eyes. But this time Tungi had more than kindness to offer. She told -Sita of Ramabai’s home. It seemed impossible to Sita that she could -enter there--she, whom no one wanted, and who had never been free to -do what she wished. But Tungi told her that nothing could prevent her -from getting into the Sharada Sadan, if she could reach it. And Sita -did reach it, and what is more she reached it before all the fun and -nonsense in her had been killed, and the happy years that followed -healed the tiredness and the sickness of her arms and body, though they -could not make her forget the darkness of her early days of widowhood. - -Before Sita had heard of Ramabai’s home, Tungi had said to her, -“There’s a better God than that.” And in the Sharada Sadan Sita learned -to know that God. And when she grew up a Hindu gentleman, who had -also learned to know God, asked her to marry him, and Sita who had -been left a widow at the age of four by the death of the “old bad man” -became a happy Christian wife. - -[Illustration: RESCUED CHILD WIDOWS] - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -DILAWUR KHAN AND THE KING - - -Far away in the north of India a little boy was born. He was trained -to two things--to be a robber and to obey the Prophet Mohammed; and he -learned what he was taught thoroughly, for he could steal cleverly and -he was careful to pray five times a day and to fast through Ramadan. -From the high hill side he watched the roads by which men crossed the -country. When poor people passed along he always stayed quietly where -he was, and let his sword lie by his side, though he kept his gun in -his hand to be ready. But, if instead of a poor man he saw a rich -trader pass, he swept down into the valley, and made the merchant a -prisoner. He had hidden haunts in the hills, and he took his prisoner -with him to one of them. There he kept him safely till money was sent -to buy his freedom. If it was a long time before any money was sent, or -if Dilawur Khan did not think that the sum that had been sent was large -enough he would cut off one finger from his captive’s hand and send it -to his friends, to tell them that if they did not send soon it would be -too late. - -A price was set on Dilawur’s head, and one time he was seen by some -horse soldiers. They chased him, but though he ran on foot and they -were on horseback they could not catch him, for he dashed into a field -of tall com and lay there while they rode up and down. - -At another time a government officer met him in a village, but the -Englishman could not capture him there because the village was beyond -the bounds of British India. But though the officer could not take him -prisoner, he tried another way. He looked at the strong man before him -and he felt that in spite of the wild life he was living he was a true -man, so he said to him that he would give him service in the Guide -Corps if he would live an honest life. But Dilawur refused the offer -with scorn and said he would go on with his reckless life whatever the -English said or did. - -He was a faithful follower of the Prophet. Five times a day when the -call for prayer rang out he bowed himself before Allah, and he kept -fast each year through the month of Ramadan. Some Mohammedans have -thought it a good thing even to kill those who do not worship Allah, -and Dilawur Khan believed that in his life of robbery he was serving -God by injuring His enemies. - -But Dilawur could not forget what the officer had said to him, and -the more he thought of it, the more it seemed to him that it would be -better to give himself up to the English than to have them catch him as -an outlaw. Besides he wished very much to get the money that had been -promised to anyone who would capture him, so he found out the officer -whom he had met before and asked for the reward for bringing his own -head! The officer still believed that if once Dilawur gave his word he -would keep it. So, instead of executing him, he allowed him to serve in -the army. - -One day some time after this Dilawur was in Peshawur, and as he passed -through the Bazaar he saw a noisy crowd. He went up to find out what -was going on, and there, to his surprise, he saw a colonel of the -army speaking to those around him. As he listened he found that the -colonel was speaking of the King of India, the Son of God, and he knew -that he was trying to win men to believe in the foreigner’s faith. -Dilawur was sure that he could answer everything the colonel said, -and could show the crowd that there was no truth in the religion of -Christ. So he began to argue, and when he went away he took one of the -colonel’s books home with him in order that he might study it and prove -to everyone who would listen how false it was. But when he read it, -he could not prove that it was false, so he took it to three of the -religious teachers of his own faith. The first one was very angry with -him for reading such a book; the second told him to put it away, and to -remember to pray at the set times for worship; and the third one told -him that if he read such books he would lose his faith in the Prophet. -This surprised him very much, because he had read the Koran, his own -sacred book, for many years, and he believed in it thoroughly, and -thought that any book that would make him lose his faith in the Prophet -of whom the Koran told, must be a wonderful one indeed. - -After some time he heard that the man who had written the book had -come to Peshawur. When he heard it he said, “I would walk many miles -to see that man.” He went to see him and talked with him often, and -from that time he began to attack the faith of those who followed the -Prophet, and to urge them to prove to him the truth of the Koran. And -as he thought and talked, the story of the love of Christ entered into -his heart and the man who had once been a reckless robber, and who was -now a brave soldier, took service also in another army and became a -follower of the King. - -But he had been a leader amongst the Mohammedans and they could not -bear to have him leave them. They tried to kill him in many ways, and -at last Dilawur was so used to attack that he challenged anyone whom he -met after dark, with the words, “If you are a friend stand still!” - -He served the army well, and he served Christ loyally amongst his -comrades. He rose to the highest command that an Indian soldier could -then hold, and he was trusted on special service. At length on one -occasion a secret message had to be carried north through the mountains -into Central Asia. Dilawur Khan was a true man and he knew the passes, -so he was chosen to go on the dangerous errand, but ere it was finished -he died amongst the snow mountains. Though he knew that he was dying, -he was not afraid, but he sent a message to his officers to say that -he was glad to die on duty, and a greeting to his friends. He carried -the spirit of a soldier’s obedience into his service of Christ. “Has He -commanded?” he would ask, and if the answer was “yes,” he would add, -“Then that is enough for me.” - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -SOOBOO - - -It is not only to poor and outcast girls that the sight of the King -of India brings joy. There are women in that land whose lives were -happy and glad before they saw Him, who yet felt, whenever they knew -Him, that there was nothing that could make up to them for missing His -service. - -Sooboo was one of these. She was a young girl of high caste in Madras. -Her father was wealthy and honoured and she still stayed with him, -though she was married, because, though she had all the honour that is -given to a wife, her husband would never take her to his house. She had -been born on a Friday and she was one of twin children, and because of -these things she would bring ill-luck to her husband’s house if she -entered it. She was very happy in her father’s house, and she gave her -time to the worship of the gods. All day long she thought of them, and -planned what she could do to show her reverence for them, and to win -merit by deeds of devotion. - -One of her plans was to build a temple and to have within it an image -of herself bowing before her god, and the image and the god were both -to be made of gold. She had charge of the household gods too, and she -longed to learn to read in order that she might find out for herself -from the oldest Indian writings--the Vedas--what the will of the gods -really was, because different priests and teachers seemed to contradict -each other, and she thought that if she could get away back to the -sacred books she would know better how to worship. - -She tried to find some Hindu woman who would teach her. But there was -not one. There were Zenana missionaries, but her friends were terribly -frightened to let them near her. “They will teach you this new religion -about Jesus,” they said. But Sooboo was so eager to learn to read and -so sure of her own faith in the Hindu gods that she said, “What they -teach me about that will go in at one ear and out at the other.” Sooboo -had said “that.” She meant the religion of the foreigners. She did not -know that the Christians had a real living King whom they knew and -obeyed. She thought they had just another set of rules about life and -stories of gods who could be worshipped but who sat apart and had no -care for the men and women who served them. - -When she saw the King of India she knew Him to be her King, and the -thought of Him entered deep into her heart. At first she hoped that she -might stay at home and win her father and the others there to serve -Christ too. His service was so wonderful to her, so different from -the worship of the idols and so immensely better, that she could not -believe that those she loved so well, and whom she honoured, would not -serve Him too if they could only see Him. - -But she did not know how fiercely her family hated the religion of the -foreigner. They tried every way they could to make her yield, and when -their pleading and their caresses failed, they began to ill-use her. -But she did not flinch. She only thought she must be patient and wait -till those whom she loved saw Jesus Christ for themselves. But one -night she heard an awful thing. She heard that her people were planning -to send her away to a far distant city to make her a priestess in an -idol temple there. She knew too well that if they took her there, she -would be forced to worship the god and to take part in rites that were -hateful to her, or else to die. She had been willing to bear pain and -unkindness in the hope that she might win her friends to Christ, but -she could not yield to this. So one night she left her father’s house -and reached the home of the missionaries in safety. She would not yield -to the entreaties of her friends who came to seek her, though she still -loved them, and they could not force her to go back, for she was old -enough to be free by law to decide for herself. - -You remember the golden image of Sooboo that was being made to stand in -the Hindu temple. There was another image made of Sooboo now. It was -not made of gold, and it was large--as large as Sooboo herself. When it -was finished it was not set up in a temple. It was laid on a stretcher -like a dead body, and carried through the streets of Madras and -Sooboo’s father and brothers wailed out as they carried it, “Sooboo is -dead!” “Sooboo is dead!” And Sooboo listened as they passed along. She -heard the voices of those she loved wailing out this terrible dirge, -and in her misery she covered her ears with her hands. - -The image of Sooboo was burned on the funeral pyre as if it had really -been Sooboo; and what followed after was even more terrible for the -girl, for she heard that her mother, who had always been so much cared -for, and had enjoyed the comfort and luxury of a wealthy home, and who -had lived away from the sight of all except those of her own family, -had taken the ashes of the image of Sooboo and had started out on foot -to beg her way to the Ganges and throw the ashes on its waters. No one -knew so well as Sooboo how great her mother’s love for her was, when it -could make her venture out into the unknown land to walk, in poverty, -hundreds of miles, in order, if possible, to win forgiveness for her -child. How she longed to fly to comfort her mother. But that could only -be by denying her King! - -Sooboo had a pilgrimage of her own to make, for she carried the -devotion that had made her plan how she could best serve the gods into -her service of the King. Her pilgrimage took her into the villages and -the Zenanas round Madras that she might help the women of her land to -see the King of India. And ever when the sight of a funeral made her -think of that awful wail “Sooboo is dead,” or when some aged pilgrim -brought back the thought of her mother’s weary steps over the burning -roads of India, she turned to her own pilgrimage more eagerly, that -she might hasten the time when India would know that it was life and -not death to find the King, and when its peoples would crowd to Him, -instead of to the Ganges. - -For there is something about the King of India that makes men and women -who have really seen Him feel that there is nothing so great as to -serve Him, and nothing so kind as to help some one else to see Him too. - -But this King of India is the King of all the world, and He still asks -those who have seen Him to help Him in His kingdom. The boys and girls -in India to-day could win all their land for Him if they only knew Him. -But the boys and girls in Christian lands must help, for even those who -are far away have their part to do. Long ago if a boy wished to be a -knight he began by serving a knight. Christ the King needs many knights -to ride for Him in India, to redress wrong, to save the sad and dying -and the sinful; but He needs others to be servants of the knights, and -each boy and girl can find something to do to help the knights of the -King of India. - - - - -FOOTNOTES: - - -[1] Man of low caste. - -[2] Outcast races. - -[3] “Kheddah,” the name given to the enclosed space. - -[4] Elephant driver. - -[5] Woman’s garments. - -[6] Very small coins. - -[7] Feminine of Pandit, teacher. - - - - - * * * * * * - - - - -Transcriber’s note: - -Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. - -Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized. - - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHILDREN OF INDIA*** - - -******* This file should be named 64697-0.txt or 64697-0.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/6/4/6/9/64697 - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it -under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this -eBook or online at <a -href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you are not -located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this ebook.</p> -<p>Title: Children of India</p> -<p>Author: Janet Harvey Kelman</p> -<p>Release Date: March 5, 2021 [eBook #64697]</p> -<p>Language: English</p> -<p>Character set encoding: US-ascii</p> -<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHILDREN OF INDIA***</p> -<p> </p> -<h4 class="pgx" title="">E-text prepared by D A Alexander, David E. Brown,<br /> - and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team<br /> - (https://www.pgdp.net)<br /> - from page images generously made available by<br /> - Internet Archive<br /> - (https://archive.org)</h4> -<p> </p> -<table border="0" style="background-color: #ccccff;margin: 0 auto;" cellpadding="10"> - <tr> - <td valign="top"> - Note: - </td> - <td> - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - https://archive.org/details/childrenofindia00kelm/page/n9/mode/2up - </td> - </tr> -</table> -<p> </p> -<hr class="pgx" /> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> - - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/cover.jpg" width="40%" alt="" /></div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<h1>CHILDREN OF INDIA</h1> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_0"></span></p> -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_frontispiece.jpg" alt="" /></div> -<p class="caption">A VILLAGE STREET</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="titlepage"> -<p><span class="xxlarge">CHILDREN OF INDIA</span><br /> -BY<br /> -<span class="xlarge">JANET HARVEY KELMAN</span></p> - -<p>WITH EIGHT COLOURED ILLUSTRATIONS</p> - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_logo.jpg" alt="" /></div> - -<p><span class="large">FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY</span><br /> -NEW YORK<span class="gap"> CHICAGO</span><span class="gap"> TORONTO</span></p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<p class="center">PRINTED BY<br /> -TURNBULL AND SPEARS,<br /> -EDINBURGH</p> - - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">[7]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CONTENTS</h2> -</div> - - -<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" summary="table"> - -<tr><td> </td><td> </td><td class="tdr"><small>PAGE</small></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">I.</td><td> <span class="smcap">The Story of the World</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_9"> 9</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">II.</td><td> <span class="smcap">The Story of the Ganges</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_12"> 12</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">III.</td><td> <span class="smcap">The Story of Life and Death</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_16"> 16</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">IV.</td><td> <span class="smcap">The Story of Caste</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_17"> 17</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">V.</td><td> <span class="smcap">The Story of Fate</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_21"> 21</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">VI.</td><td> <span class="smcap">The Story of the Prophet</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_24"> 24</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">VII.</td><td> <span class="smcap">Children in Hindu Homes</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_27"> 27</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">VIII.</td><td> <span class="smcap">Boys and Girls</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_39"> 39</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">IX.</td><td> <span class="smcap">The King of India</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_52"> 52</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">X.</td><td> <span class="smcap">New Sights in India</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_56"> 56</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">XI.</td><td> <span class="smcap">Ananta, the Seeker</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_65"> 65</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">XII.</td><td> <span class="smcap">The Pandita Ramabai</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_72"> 72</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">XIII.</td><td> <span class="smcap">Hormasdji Pestonji</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_79"> 79</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">XIV.</td><td> <span class="smcap">Sita the Widow</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_82"> 82</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">XV.</td><td> <span class="smcap">Dilawur Khan and the King</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_87"> 87</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">XVI.</td><td> <span class="smcap">Sooboo</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_91"> 91</a></td></tr> -</table> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">[8]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> -</div> - - -<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" summary="table"> - - -<tr><td class="tdr">1.</td><td> <span class="smcap">A Village Street</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_0"> <i>Frontispiece</i></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td> </td><td> </td><td class="tdr"><small>PAGE</small></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">2.</td><td> <span class="smcap">On Pilgrimage to the Mountain</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_10"> 10</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">3.</td><td> <span class="smcap">Fakirs</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_18"> 18</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">4.</td><td> <span class="smcap">A Snake Charmer</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_28"> 28</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">5.</td><td> <span class="smcap">A Wayside Shrine</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_46"> 46</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">6.</td><td> <span class="smcap">Rescued Famine Children</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_64"> 64</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">7.</td><td> <span class="smcap">A School for Girls</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_72"> 72</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">8.</td><td> <span class="smcap">Rescued Child Widows</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_86"> 86</a></td></tr> -</table> - - - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">[9]</span> - -<p class="ph1">CHILDREN OF INDIA</p> -</div> - - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER I<br /> - - -<small>THE STORY OF THE WORLD</small></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">India</span> is a very old land, and those who live there -look far back into the past. They listen to the -stories that were told of men and gods in those old -days, and follow the customs that were followed then.</p> - -<p>There are many gods in India, and many priests -who serve in their temples and at their shrines. The -priests have more power over the lives of the people -than the gods have, but custom has far more power -than either gods or priests.</p> - -<p>No one can tell how many hundreds of years have -passed since the stories that rule the lives of Hindu -children to-day were first told. Long before the -earliest time of which we know anything in the history -of our islands, there were wise thinkers and clever -workmen in India, and the men and women of that -land think of them and of their customs with awe -and reverence. And because much of the life of a -Hindu child to-day is the result of the thoughts that -have come from that far past time, we must listen -to some of those old stories.</p> - -<p>Before America was discovered by Columbus men -here had strange ideas about the shape of the world.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">[10]</span> -Men in India had thought of that too, long before -anyone in Britain did, and this is the picture of the -world they made for themselves.</p> - -<p>They saw a beautiful large lotus flower held up on -the back of an elephant, in the midst of seven seas. -One sea was of salt water and another of fresh, and -these two were the only ones that were at all like the -seas of earth. One of the others was a sticky sea, -for the waves that broke on its shores were of -sugar-cane juice. Another was clear and sparkling -with dancing waves of wine. Then there was an oily -sea of melted butter, a flat sea of curds, and a beautiful -white sea of milk. But no one had looked at these -strange seas, nor had anyone seen the great elephant -that held the lotus flower on his back. Only the -flower itself at the centre of all was seen or known. -India to the south, and the other lands to the north, -the east, and the west of the Himalayas, formed -the petals of the world lotus, and at its centre amongst -the great snow mountains the god Siva sat on his -throne on Mount Meru.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_010.jpg" alt="" /></div> -<p class="caption">ON PILGRIMAGE TO THE MOUNTAIN</p> - -<p>There is one special mountain there, to which -pilgrims go, and they hold it as sacred as if it really -were the ancient Mount Meru. It rises from a grassy -plain, and a deep ravine cuts it off from the other -mountains. High up it is covered with snow, but -towards the foot great cliffs of rock stand out bluish -purple against the whiteness, in bands round the -mountain. Near the base there is a broad dark band -made by a very high cliff, and the priests point this -out to pilgrims. “See,” they say, “the mark of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">[11]</span> -the ropes of the demon who tried to drag away the -throne of Siva.”</p> - - - -<p>And the pilgrim gazes with awestruck eyes, for he -sees not only the marks of the demon’s rope, but also, -in the narrower bands higher up the mountain, the -coils of the serpent that he has often seen in his images -of Siva; and, in the ragged edges of the snow-clad -peaks and the icicles that hang from the glaciers, he -sees the matted hair of the god. He is tired and -weary, for it is months since he left his home -in the plains. First he marched through tangled -jungle, through grass three times as tall as himself, -and under great cane stalks and feathery bamboo -trees. In these early stages of his walk he sang and -shouted to frighten away the heavy sleepy bear, and -to scare the quick-limbed panther that might be -resting on any overhanging branch. Then he climbed -up through forests of dark cedar and pine, with the -white flowers of the magnolia, and the wealth of -rhododendrons bright against the dark tree stems. -On and on he went into the cold grey passes where -his fear of wild beasts was lost in the fear of the spirits -of the mountains, and he walked in silence and awe -lest avalanche or storm should prove to him their -anger. For he felt that he was indeed amongst the -homes of the gods. Each moment as he mounted -higher new snow-clad peaks rose before him, and those -he had already seen seemed higher and greater. His -heart was filled with the dream of a rich land somewhere -amongst these glittering heights to which his -soul might go after death, if only his pilgrimage should<span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">[12]</span> -win him merit. So, as the sun sent flashes of light -across the snowy peaks, the weary man plucked up -courage and stepped out more bravely, till at length -through a last ravine he saw the hoary head of the -mountain he sought, and as he saw it he tore from -his threadbare loin-cloth a little rag to tie to a bit of -scrub. Other rags hung there, for many pilgrims when -they reached that spot had been so poor that they had -nothing left to offer at the sacred bush except a bit of -the cloth they wore. And so he added another, and left -the rags to flutter there in the cold winds of that high -land, while he hastened on to finish his pilgrimage, and -walk round the sacred mountain.</p> - -<p>Other places are sacred besides this mountain that -stands for Mount Meru, the centre of the world lotus. -Each rock and stream has its spirit, and everywhere -amongst the mountains there are shrines and temples -and far-off holy places to which pilgrims go in their -endless search for rest. Through all the land of India -the mountains of the north are held sacred, and often -the eyes of men who will never be able to reach them -as pilgrims look longingly towards those homes of the -gods.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER II<br /> - - -<small>THE STORY OF THE GANGES</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Very</span> long ago, though the mountains stood at the -world’s centre, and India lay at their feet, there was -no Ganges river, and the plains lay bare and fruitless. -The god Siva then lived on the top of a high mountain,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">[13]</span> -and spent his time in thought. Up over his head -above the mountains the Princess Ganga lived free -as the wind. She was the daughter of King Himalaya, -and the air nymph Menaka, and so her home was in -the air among the heights.</p> - -<p>At that time there lived a very wise man on earth, -and, as he looked at the burning plains of India, and -thought of the air princess, he said to himself, “If -she would only give up her freedom and become a -river, how she could enrich and purify the earth.” -And when he had thought this out, he began to pray -to the god Siva to send Ganga to earth. Siva granted -his request, and the Princess floated down to earth. -She touched it first at the mountain top where the -god sat, but he caught her in the tangled masses of -his hair, and for ages she could not escape from them, -so the wise man could not see the answer to his -prayer. But long long afterwards, she broke away -from her prison on the mountain top, and flowed down -under the glacier ice, and over the bare grey rocks. -She made her way through the ravines, and the -great pine woods sprang up as she flowed. Rhododendrons -grew on the banks at her coming, and at the -foot of the mountains the jungle stretched down to -be nourished by her waters. But it was out on the -open plain that the Princess Ganga really showed -her power. There, fields of wheat and rice and -poppies and lentils grew up wherever she flowed, and -wherever the streams that joined her from the mountains -made their way to reach her. Groups of fruit -trees and bamboos grew too, and men came to settle<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">[14]</span> -in villages beside them till the plain of the Ganges -became a great, bright, busy place with herds of buffaloes -watched by little boys, with oxen yoked to the -plough, and other oxen carrying the precious river -water to pour it on fields that were far from the banks.</p> - -<p>But the Ganges is far more than the bringer of food -and life to the Hindus, for the sage prayed that the -river might flow to bear away the sin of men, and that -is a far greater thing than only to bring food. But -we must remember that sin means something different -to a Hindu child from what we think of as sin. To -him it does not mean unkindness, or cruelty, or -lying, or even murder; it means breaking the rules of -custom.</p> - -<p>Because of the sacredness of the Ganges men bathe in -it, and pray to die beside it, that after their bodies have -been burned on its banks the ashes may be scattered -over its waters, and allowed to float away far out to -sea. They hope that if that happens, their souls will -be lost in the great unknown spirit in which they -believe, as the river is lost in the ocean.</p> - -<p>Every bend of the Ganges is sacred, and each place -where a stream joins it, is yet more holy. Pilgrims -go from its mouth to its source and back again. If -they walk, they take six months to the pilgrimage, -but if they wish to win more merit, they lay themselves -down on the ground and cover miles of the bank with -their bodies instead of with their feet, and that takes -far longer.</p> - -<p>There is a great gorge where the Ganges flows out -on to the open plain. Near it stands the town of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">[15]</span> -Hardwar, and on the Hindu New Year’s day dense -crowds of pilgrims gather there in honour of the -birthday of the river. They bring the ashes of the -dead whom they have loved with them, and as they -throw them on the flowing water they feel that they -have done for their friends the very greatest thing -they could do. Then at a certain moment each pilgrim -struggles to be first to bathe in the river.</p> - -<p>The most sacred city is Benares, and all the year -long its streets and temples and river banks are -thronged with pilgrims. They bathe, and throw -sandal-wood, sweets and flowers into the river. Some -of them wear garlands, and, as they bathe, the garlands -rise from their breasts on the water, and float down the -current. Then the pilgrims go round the sacred -city, a walk of ten miles, and afterwards they offer -flowers and gifts in as many temples as possible. -After all is done, they turn homewards across the plain, -unless they are so old or so ill that they may hope -to die soon. If they are, they stay on in the strange -city in poverty and pain, for to die in Benares is a -better thing to them than to be amongst friends or in -the home of their childhood.</p> - -<p>But flowers and ashes are not the only gifts that -have been offered to the Princess Ganga. Once little -living babies were thrown to her waters, and old men -and women have been left to her mercy by those who -were too heartless or too poor to feed them. These -terrible offerings are not seen now, for the British -Government has forbidden anyone to throw any living -person into the river.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">[16]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER III<br /> - - -<small>THE STORY OF LIFE AND DEATH</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Long</span> long ago, the unknown spirit began to play a -game of life and death, and he is still playing it. That -is what a Hindu child is taught, so life is not a real -thing to him, but is only make-believe. Yet the rules -of this game are so hard and fast that none of the -puppets can escape from them. The Hindu story of life -and death all circles round one rule of the game. That -rule is that everything anyone does and everything -anyone says must be punished or rewarded in another -life, so that a little Indian child believes that he has -been alive on earth hundreds of times before, and -that everything that happens to him in this life -happens because of something he has said or done in a -life that is gone by, and which he forgets.</p> - -<p>He fears too very much to do anything for which -he may suffer in another life, for if he does wrong in -this life he may be born a woman, or a cow, or a frog, -or he may be sent to one of the hells to be tortured by -demons there. Because of this, and because, too, the -spirits of his gods may be in trees or animals or stones, -he is very kind to animals, and he worships trees and -stones.</p> - -<p>The round of birth and death is very long, for the -full number of lives is eight million four hundred -thousand, and if, after the soul has made many steps -upwards, it breaks a rule of life, it may have to go -away back to the beginning.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">[17]</span>The one great hope is that some time in the dim -future, by keeping all the rules of the game in one -life after another, the spirit may be set free from birth -and death, and may drop out of the endless game. It -may not seem at first such a very terrible thing to go -on living one life after another, but the thought of it -has become an awful thing to those who believe in it.</p> - -<p>Life to them is very hard. Terrible famines come, -and bring hunger and plague and death. And men and -women lay all that is left to them of food and of money -before the gods, and pray them to send rain. Even -when there is no famine in the land the daily observances -of custom and the weary round of toil depress the -spirits of men, so that the more they think of anything -beyond the work of the day, the more they long to give -up living altogether. A South Indian folksong says:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="first">“How many births are past, I cannot tell,</div> -<div class="indent">How many yet to come no man can say,</div> -<div class="verse">But this alone I know, and know full well.</div> -<div class="indent">That pain and grief embitter all the way.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="indent2"><i>Quoted by</i> <span class="smcap">C. A. Mason</span> <i>in “Lux Christi.”</i></div> -</div></div></div> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER IV<br /> - - -<small>THE STORY OF CASTE</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Far</span> back in the early days four kinds of people sprang -from Brahma the creator, to form the castes of -India. The first, the Brahman caste, sprang from his -mouth, to rule all the others. The second sprang from -his arms to be the warriors of the land. The third<span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">[18]</span> -sprang from his loins to be the business men and the -land-owners, and from his feet came the fourth to -serve the others.</p> - -<p>The Brahmans are still the powerful caste. From -amongst them priests are taken, and they rule all -others. But the other three castes have been broken -up into many smaller divisions, till one can scarcely -trace the lines that mark the difference between the -four that were spoken of long ago. And besides all -the castes there are thousands of those who are outside. -They are called pariahs, and all the caste men look -down on them and scorn them.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_018.jpg" alt="" /></div> -<p class="caption">FAKIRS</p> - -<p>In some parts of India those who belong to different -castes are as far apart from each other as if the lower -caste men were not human beings at all, and a high caste -man will not touch a low caste one even to save his life. -The Brahmans are treated almost as if they were gods. -Many of them live by the gifts of the people, so they -do everything they can to strengthen the old customs -and beliefs that make the other Hindus worship them. -They have strange ways of keeping their power. If a -Brahman is angry with anyone he will go and sit on his -enemy’s doorstep day and night without tasting food -or drinking water. Even if the villager does not give -in at once, he soon does, because he knows that the -Brahman will rather starve to death than leave his -door, unless he gets his way, and the poor man thinks -of all that may happen to him after death if he allows -a priest to die of hunger on his doorstep. He thinks -he may go to one of the places of punishment beyond -the world, and after hundreds of years come back to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">[19]</span> -earth as a worm or a fly, and so he does what the priest -bids him, however hard it is.</p> - -<p>It is caste law that tells Hindu children what sin is, -and many of its rules are about eating and bathing. -No one may eat food with anyone of a lower caste. No -one may marry anyone of a different caste. No one -may change his religion. There are many rules about -what the people of each caste may eat, and how their -food must be cooked.</p> - -<p>Many of the laws of caste speak of the honour that -must be paid to Brahmans, and of the punishments -anyone who does not reverence them may suffer. -Some of these punishments are so cruel that the -government would interfere if anyone tried to enforce -them now, but the fear of the pain that may come after -death is strong enough to keep very many Hindus still -in constant fear of the Brahmans, even though they -cannot be punished so brutally in this life as they once -might have been. Here are some sentences from the -laws about caste.</p> - -<p>“The Brahman is by right the lord of all this -creation.”</p> - -<p>“What being is there superior to him by whose -mouth the gods eat oblations?”</p> - -<p>“When the Brahman is born he is born above the -world, the chief of all creatures, to guard the treasures -of religion.”</p> - -<p>“Thus whatever exists in the universe is all the -property of the Brahman.”</p> - -<p>“No greater wrong is found on earth than killing -a Brahman.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">[20]</span>“Certainly the king should not slay a Brahman, -even if he be occupied in crime of every sort.”</p> - -<p>“A Brahman may take possession of the goods of the -Sudra<a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> with perfect ease of mind, for, since nothing at -all belongs to this Sudra, as his own, he is one whose property -may be taken away by his master. The leavings -of food should be given to him, and the old clothes.”</p> - -<p>“If a man of low birth assault one of the twice-born -castes with violent words he ought to have his tongue -cut out.”</p> - -<p>“If he lift up his hand or his staff against him he -ought to have his head cut off.”</p> - -<p>“The dwelling of Chandals<a id="FNanchor_2" href="#Footnote_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> and Swapacas<a id="FNanchor_2a" href="#Footnote_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> should -be outside the village; their clothes should be the -garments of the dead, and their food should be in -broken dishes.”</p> - -<p>These are only a few out of many, and some of the -laws are too cruel to quote here. Yet though all that -is written in the old law of India, men have often risen -there, who tried to break through the rules of caste, -and there are other ancient writings that show that -all Hindus have not believed in these differences -between man and man.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="first">“Small souls inquire, ‘Belongs this man</div> -<div class="verse">To our own race, or class, or clan?’</div> -<div class="verse">But larger-hearted men embrace</div> -<div class="verse">As brothers all the human race.”</div> -</div></div> - -<p>But those who have held that caste law is not binding -have never been able to break the power the priests -held over the great masses of the people, and so<span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">[21]</span> -caste law and not the brotherhood of man still -rules.</p> - -<p>In many parts of India a boy cannot choose what -trade he will follow. If his father belongs to the -carpenter caste, he must be a carpenter; if his father -is a sweeper, he must be a sweeper; if his father is a -robber, he will be a robber. In one place in the far -north, when a little boy is born his mother swings him -backwards and forwards over a hole in the wall and -says to him:—</p> - -<p class="center">“Be a thief! be a thief!”</p> - - -<p>There are castes of robbers and murderers still in -India. The caste of the Thugs was the most famous -one of them all, but now the British Government has -taken under its control all those who still belong to it. -They are kept in ground set apart for them, and -none of them are allowed to go out to kill or to steal.</p> - -<p>Yet pilgrims still crowd to the beautiful marble -tomb of the man who founded the caste of the Thugs -two hundred and fifty years ago. He is one of the -saints of India, and the priests who guard his shrine -cover the tomb with beautiful cashmere shawls, and -lay fresh flowers on it morning by morning.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER V<br /> - - -<small>THE STORY OF FATE</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">When</span> a baby is born in India the lines between the -bones of its skull can be traced just as they can be -traced in a fair-skinned child. The mother of a white -baby does not notice them much, but they mean a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">[22]</span> -great deal to an Indian mother, for an ancient story -is told about them.</p> - -<p>Very long ago a little daughter was born to Brahma, -the creator, and its mother asked the father to tell her -what would happen to the little child. Then the god -Brahma turned his back to his wife and his baby, and -stretched out his hand behind him towards the child. -In his hand he held a golden pen, and he wrote with it -on the baby’s head. He could not see the letters he -was writing, but his wife could, and as she read the -words she called out to Brahma to change the writing, -because she would not have so sad a future for her -child. Brahma wrote again, and this time the life -he foretold was worse than the first one had been. -Again the baby’s mother refused to let him leave so -cruel a fate on the head of the child, and once more -he wrote. But this time Brahma did not give his -wife time to speak. Ere she could say anything he -threw away his golden pen, and since that day he -has only written once for each child that has been -born. The future that Brahma writes on the skull -is called the “fate,” and so each Indian mother -believes that everything that will happen to her child -is fixed when she first traces on the little skull those -curious markings which she calls the writing of the -pen of Brahma.</p> - -<p>When a baby is born there is great eagerness to know -whether it is a boy or a girl. If it is a boy there is -joy in the home; everyone is glad, and the mother -of the little child at once feels that she has been a good -woman, and that the gods are pleased with her because<span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">[23]</span> -they have given her a son. But if the baby is a girl -everyone is sad, and the father if he is asked about it -may say, “It is nothing,” for he thinks it a sorrow -to have a little girl child born. He would far rather -have a calf, because a cow is a sacred animal, but the -birth of a little girl is a sign of the anger of the gods. -Besides that the father knows that he will one day have -to pay a great sum to her husband at her marriage. -When she is still very young her husband will take her -away to his father’s house, so that she will never be -able to do anything for her father and mother in their -old age. So there are many reasons why a little girl -is not welcome. She is a sign of the anger of the gods; -she will cost a great deal of money, and she will never -be able to help her parents.</p> - -<p>Sometimes when a father is told that he has a little -daughter, he says nothing, but only clasps his thumb -round the fingers of his hand, and that is a sign that -the wee baby girl is to die. It is very easy to kill a -little infant, and where everyone thinks that it -is right, it can be done quietly, so that though -those in the house know about it, no one will say -anything. It is sad to think how many little children -are killed in this way still, even before their mother’s -heart has grown tender to them, but some years ago, -before the Government of India set itself to stop this -crime, there were hundreds of little baby girls killed -openly every year.</p> - -<p>And if anyone had asked how fathers and mothers -could be so cruel the answer would have been, “It -is our custom,” or, “It was her fate.” For everything<span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">[24]</span> -depends on fate to the Hindu, and no one -can help anything that happens. If an animal is -drowned in a well, he leaves it there. It was the -creature’s fate to fall into the well, and it is not his -custom to cleanse the well. The children of the -village may sicken and die because of the poison in the -well, but that too is fate, and no one pauses to ask -whether there may not be some other cause.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER VI<br /> - - -<small>THE STORY OF THE PROPHET</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">There</span> are hundreds of other old stories that affect -the life of Indian children to-day; but if we remember -those which tell us of the holy land—the seats of -the gods—amongst the Himalayas; of the sacred -river of the Ganges, whose waters are even said to -flow underground to feed the other rivers of the -land; of what life and death, fate and caste -mean to the Hindus, we shall have something to -guide us.</p> - -<p>But all those who live in India are not Hindus. Once, -long ago there was an Arabian named Mohammed. -He was a camel-driver in Mecca, but from his -early childhood he used to dream strange dreams in -which he had visions of angels who came to speak -with him. He had a faithful disciple, and he -used to tell him what he had heard in his dreams. -This man thought the things Mohammed told him -were very wonderful, and he wrote them down. He<span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">[25]</span> -had not books in which he could write them, so he -took oyster-shells and bits of wood and stone, and sometimes -even the shoulder bone of a sheep, instead of -paper, and wrote the teachings of Mohammed on them. -Mohammed believed that there was only one God, -whom he called “Allah,” and he said that he was -his prophet. Within his life-time he conquered -Syria, Egypt and Persia, and before fifty years had -passed after his death his followers had marched -through the wild passes of the mountains into India. -Since then, there have been many followers of the -faith of the prophet there, and whenever they have -been strong and powerful they have fought against -image worship; indeed one of their great leaders was -called the idol-smasher.</p> - -<p>The followers of Mohammed believe in fate as firmly -as the Hindus do, but in other religious things they -differ from them greatly. Their greatest feast day is -at the end of the month that they call Ramadan. -During the whole month they hold a fast, and -eat only after the sun sets. Then on the last -night of Ramadan they rejoice not only because the -long fast will so soon be broken, but also because it -is the night on which they believe their sacred -book, the Koran, came down from heaven. But -the Koran was really gathered after the prophet’s -death from the sentences his disciple had written -down on the stones and oyster-shells and other odds -and ends.</p> - -<p>On the morning after this night of gladness all the -Mohammedan men and boys gather to the Mosques<span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">[26]</span> -to praise Allah for the good that they have enjoyed -through the past year, and to ask for mercy in the -coming one. But sometimes there is not room -within the mosque of the city for all who gather to -worship, and then those who cannot get into it spread -their prayer rugs on the ground under the open sky. -Everyone is in good spirits and the beggars know -it, and squat on the roadsides ready to call out -to every passer-by for gifts. The followers of the -prophet are prepared for this and they scatter bread -and rice and beans, and handfuls of shells here and -there, while the beggars shout and scramble to get -as much as they can.</p> - -<p>Whenever the service in the Mosque is over, everyone -rushes to the shops, where all kinds of Indian -foods can be had, for all are hungry and happy. The -scene is like a great fair with picnic parties everywhere, -only there are no women to be seen. There are old -men, and tiny boys; there are farm-servants and -wealthy land-owners, but never a lady nor a girl. -All day long while the feasting goes on the streets are -gay with flowers and banners, and at night fireworks -flash out against the dark sky.</p> - -<p>It is only once a year that this great feast takes place, -but every day the followers of the prophet can be -seen at prayer. A call sounds out from the roof of -each Mosque, and the Mohammedan when he hears it -spreads his rug on the ground by the roadside or in -the open field, kneels on it with his face towards Mecca, -his holy city, and prays to Allah. When his prayer is -done he begins again at his work where he left off, but<span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">[27]</span> -while the prayer lasts he seems to know nothing, and -to see nothing of what is around him, but to think -only of Allah and his prayer to him.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER VII<br /> - - -<small>CHILDREN IN HINDU HOMES</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Even</span> in high caste homes, where the women are never -allowed to leave their own dingy part of the house, -little girls, while they are still very young, play freely -with their brothers. They are never thought of with -pride as the boys are, and they must keep in the background -when a visitor comes, for a father does not -like to take any notice of his daughters when a stranger -is there, though he will call his boys to speak to his -friends. Yet boys and girls together have a happy -time. They make mud pies and romp about, and -tumble over each other all day long.</p> - -<p>Indian boys are very fond of flying kites. Their -kites are square, and many of them are different from -those we see, in another way, for Indian boys like to -make their kites fight with each other, and in order -to make the fight keener they draw the strings through -a mixture of crushed pieces of glass and starch. After -the string is dry, they run off with their kites. If -they cannot find a better place, they climb on to the -flat roofs of two houses near each other, and send off -the kites, and then the fight begins. There are the -two kites high up above the trees, a blue one<span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">[28]</span> -and a green one. The green kite hits the blue, -but neither of them is hurt. Then they dodge about -in the air for a long time, for each boy is managing -his kite well, and it seems as if neither would win, when -suddenly the boy of the blue kite gives a sharp pull. -His string has caught the string of the green kite and -cut it, and the green is dropping to the ground out -over the rice field yonder!</p> - -<p>There are many curious sights for children to watch -in India. One of these is the snake charmer, as he carries -his strange pets in a basket or wound round his body. -It is not only for his own amusement or for the pleasure -of the little crowds that gather round him that the -charmer plays. A good Hindu will not kill a snake, -nor any other animal. But he is greatly afraid of -serpents, so if he sees them near his house, or in his -garden, he may send for a charmer to come and play -his weird music till the snakes are fascinated, and -wriggle to him, and let him shut them up in his basket. -When he has carried them away he will take out their -poison fangs, and keep them to add to his other -pets.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_028.jpg" alt="" /></div> -<p class="caption">A SNAKE CHARMER</p> - -<p>Here is another tamer who has only a sparrow. -He carries it safely in the folds of his robe, and -when he wishes to show it to anyone he lays it -down on the ground. It does not fly away, but hops -about till he lays down a heap of beads, which have -been hidden in another fold of his garment. Then he -holds up a thread in the air. All is ready now, and -the bird catches the dangling end, and climbs up the -thread and down again. Then the little sparrow<span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">[29]</span> -lifts the beads one by one, and threads them on to the -string. It is all done in the cheeriest way, and the -bird seems as happy as the little children who watch -him.</p> - -<p>If a boy lives near the jungle he may see the taming -of a herd of elephants. First of all he will help to -build two great strong fences in the forest. At one -end the two fences are quite near each other, but at -the other end they are far apart, so that there is a mile -or more of jungle ground between them. At the -narrow end of the fenced-in ground, there is a large -enclosed space, and just where the two fences open -into it there is a great scaffolding high up in the air. -When all is ready the fence round the enclosure is -tested and tried to make sure that it will not give -way. Elephants roam the forest in herds, only -now and again a lone elephant is found, and he is -generally a very fierce one, whom tamers would not -wish to capture. After all is ready at the Kheddah,<a id="FNanchor_3" href="#Footnote_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> -the hunters watch for a fine herd of elephants. When -the message comes that there is a herd near, men go -out into the forest. They separate and go quietly -till they have formed a ring round the herd in every -direction, except the one towards the wide opening -to the fences. Then when the ring is complete, the -men begin to close in towards the herd with shouts. -The shouts come to the elephants from every direction -except one, and as they seem to hear so many foes -they do not know which to attack, and so they rush -on wildly in the one direction from which no noise<span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">[30]</span> -comes. The men close in towards the fences very -carefully until the whole herd of elephants is within the -wide end of the fenced ground. Each moment the -yelling of the beaters seems nearer, and the herd -rushes on wildly. Beyond the narrow end of the -fences, they see what seems like open ground, and -they rush for that. As the last one passes through -the narrow space the great scaffolding is allowed to -drop, and the elephants are prisoners.</p> - -<p>But that is only the beginning of the work, and by -far the easiest part. The taming has still to be done. -After the herd is captive, tame elephants with riders -on their backs tackle the full grown elephants of the -herd one by one. Even a strong wild elephant is -not a match for two or three tame ones, and the trained -ones know their work so well that they soon get the -wild creature they are surrounding close to a tree. -That is their bit of the work. Then the mahout,<a id="FNanchor_4" href="#Footnote_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> -who has been on the back of one of the tame elephants, -lets himself down to the ground. The tame elephants -still keep the wild one close to the tree, and hem him -in to keep him from attacking the man who is on the -ground, for he is in great danger. He has to slip ropes -round the legs of the wild elephant and fasten him to -the tree. The first ropes are the most dangerous ones, -for when the great beast feels that he is caught, he is -desperate, and strikes out in every direction; but the -drivers are quick and clever, and soon their prisoner -is tied so tightly to the tree that he can do no harm -to anyone. Then when he is firmly fixed there, the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">[31]</span> -mahouts try to make friends with him. They bring -him fruit and sugar-cane, and all the things he likes -best to eat, and they stay by him, talking to him and -singing till he grows quite at home with them. Sometimes -they can loosen his cords within a fortnight, -and lead him off between two others.</p> - -<p>There are many other strange sights and sounds in -the jungle, and some of them are greatly feared by -Indian boys. Though there are many Hindus who -will not kill any animal because of their caste rules, -there are others who do, and some of them are very -clever in catching and killing tigers.</p> - -<p>The tiger is a very cruel creature that will kill -even when he is not hungry, and if one begins -to eat men as well as cattle the villagers live in -terror of him. He watches warily by the roadways -for any stray passer-by, and he will follow a bullock -cart for miles in the hope that some one of those who -walk by it will fall behind, and give him the chance -of attacking him alone. And so men learn to fear -the “pug” marks of the tiger with a terrible fear, -and to shudder at the thought of his silent footsteps. -When the villagers find that there is a tiger making -his lair near their village, and coming to it day after -day to steal their cattle or to carry off their children, -they first find out where he drinks. That is easily -done, for the soft clay near the bank of the river keeps -the marks of his paws. Then when they are sure of -that, they get three strong nets and hang them from -upright bamboos across the path by which he must -come to drink. The tiger comes quietly along, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">[32]</span> -ere he knows he is entangled in one of the nets and -has pulled down the first pair of bamboo poles. The -more he struggles the more the meshes trouble him, -and if he does manage to break through, all trammelled -as he is with the broken net, it is only to -dash into the next one. There he lies wild and helpless, -and struggles till he is worn out. In the evening, -the villagers come with their spears and attack the -prisoner, but they do not like him to be too quiet. -They like him to growl at them, and to try to leap at -them. It seems too easy a victory if he is dull and -stupid ere they reach him.</p> - -<p>The jungle is full of interesting plants and animals, -and we could fill a large book with their names and -habits, but we must only take time to speak of one -other creature. It will form a link for us between -jungle sights and sounds, and the splendour of the -courts of the olden rulers of which children may still -see relics in some parts of India. The animal that -links the palace with the jungle is the cheetah, for six -cheetahs have been taken from their wild haunts to -guard the Uzar Bhagh Palace in Baroda. Through the -day they are muzzled, and wander freely in the gardens. -They are like small leopards, and they steal about -amongst the trees or lie sleeping in the sun through -the long hot hours. But each evening they are shut -up in the palace. Their muzzles are taken off, and all -night long the fierce creatures wander through the -passages and halls. For within the closed doors that -they guard, the jewels of Baroda, the richest in all -India, lie. In the collar of state alone, there are five<span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">[33]</span> -hundred diamonds, and some of them are as large -as walnuts. Round the edge of this collar three -bands of emeralds run, and each emerald in the outer -row is about an inch square, while a great diamond, -that is called the star of the Deccan, hangs down in -front. There are many other treasures there besides -the wonderful collar, and the most interesting of -them are a rug and two pillow covers. The rug -is more than ten feet in length and six feet wide, and -it and the pillow covers are made of strings of pearls -woven together and decorated with diamonds. These -jewelled cloths brought the present ruler of Baroda to -his throne in a strange way.</p> - -<p>Baroda is a native state, whose princes are called -Gaikwars. The word Gaikwar means cowherd really, -but for hundreds of years it has been the royal title of -the rulers of Baroda. These men trace their family -far back into the times of the ancient stories, for they -believe that they descended from a Hindu hero called -Rama, who is now worshipped as a god. This belief -strengthened their power, because no one dared to -oppose anything that was done by the children of a -god, and sometimes they used their power very badly. -The British Government tries not to interfere with -the Indian rulers, so it honoured this ancient house, -and whenever the Gaikwar came to state ceremonies -he was received with a salute of twenty-one guns. -But though the Government acknowledged the ruler -of Baroda, it did not wish cruelty and wrong to go -unpunished in the lands it protected, so there was -always a representative of the Viceroy in each protected<span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">[34]</span> -state. During the reign of Malar Rao, the -last Gaikwar, Colonel Phayre was the British Representative -at Baroda, and while he was there he heard -terrible stories of the heartless cruelty of the Indian -ruler. He was sure that many of these stories were -true, but it was difficult to prove anything against a -man who was so powerful.</p> - -<p>There was an arena at Baroda where elephants, -tigers and lions had fought in former days to amuse -the court, and in front of this old arena, Malar Rao -built a palace. It was exquisitely finished and very -costly, and at the main entrance there were two guns -of solid gold, mounted on silver carriages. Not far -from the city there was an ancient idol, and at its -shrine the Gaikwar built a splendid temple. Those -who know about these things say that though it is -modern, its workmanship is as wonderful as that -of the famous old temples of the land. As Colonel -Phayre saw all this, and far, far more, his heart -was hot within him, for he knew that the Gaikwar -was building all these things with money that he -had stolen from his people by taking bribes and by -cruel taxes. But the Englishman did not see -that he could prevent it, until he heard of the pearl -and diamond rug. The jewellers of India searched -for three years in order to get the gems that were -needed for it and for the pillows, and when at last -all were finished the Gaikwar made arrangements -to give them as a gift to one of his favourites. When -Colonel Phayre heard that the woven jewels, the cost -of which had been wrung from the people, were to be<span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">[35]</span> -given away, he refused to allow it. He said that the -jewels belonged to the state of Baroda, and were not -Malar Rao’s to give.</p> - -<p>Now the Gaikwar had set his heart on giving this -present to his favourite, and he was so enraged that -nothing was too wild for him to attempt. He asked -to see Colonel Phayre, and with every show of friendship -he invited him to drink his health. The cup of -pomola juice was handed to the guest, but an instinctive -feeling of suspicion warned the Englishman, -and he refused to drink. And it was well, for in the -cup there was the dust of diamonds. Once before -the Gaikwar had served his end by ground jewel dust. -He had killed his brother so, and had ruled in his stead. -When he was brought to trial, this and many other -things were found out, for his brother was not the only -man whom he had killed unjustly.</p> - -<p>When he was condemned, the widow of the brother -whom he had poisoned was asked to adopt a son, to -be the ruler of Baroda, and the boy whom she chose -grew up to be a clever and an able man. He has -changed the whole life of the state, for he thinks of -his people, and seeks to give them many things to -make life brighter and easier for them. And as -Baroda is called the “garden of India,” the children -who live there enjoy much of what is happiest in -Hindu life. Famine scarcely ever comes there, for -the Nerbudda river waters the valley, and the rain -clouds that cross the ocean are never spent ere they -reach it.</p> - -<p>Many children in India now go to schools that are<span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">[36]</span> -much like our own, but in the far-off villages, the -master still sits on the ground, under a broad tree, -with his scholars round him. The little boys sway -their bodies backwards and forwards as they sing out -their lesson, or bend over the sandy ground, to trace -the outlines of the Sanskrit letters there as they shout -out the names of them after him.</p> - -<p>So the days of childhood pass when all goes well, -but if illness comes there is terrible suffering. The -best that can happen to a Hindu child when he is ill, -is to be left alone to get well or to die. If there is -something very serious wrong with him, his parents -may think there is a devil in the boy, and send for -the barber, who does a great many things in an -Indian village besides cutting hair and shaving chins. -One little boy was getting better after a fever, but -though the fever was gone his eyes were still very sore -indeed. The barber was sent for, and when he came -he did not bathe the sore red eyes, nor do anything -to soothe the pain. Instead of that he began to burn -the top of the wee boy’s black head, to pull the devil -out by the burn! So the poor little fellow had to -bear the pain of the burn as well as the pain in his -eyes, and though the barber’s rough treatment was -of no use, the father and mother tried no other plan. -They let the eyes grow sorer and sorer till the boy -was blind, and then they thought that Brahma must -have written with his golden pen that their little son -would lose his sight. So they did not trouble more -about it, but began to think how they could make -him earn money. They knew he would never be able<span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">[37]</span> -to work. So they took him to a large town that he -might beg, and make people pity him because of his -blindness. But the boy need not have been blind.</p> - -<p>Another child called Yogina was very ill indeed. -She lay in a fever, and as the fever raged, she said -strange wild things, for her mind was wandering, and -she did not know what she was saying. The other -girls in the house were in terror. They thought some -demon had entered into her, and they feared that it -might leave her and go into one of them, so a priest -who said he could force demons to leave those who -were ill was asked to come and cure her.</p> - -<p>This man had learned how to say “Am, Im, Um, -Em, Aim, Om, Aum, Tam, Tham, Dam, Nam, Pam, -Pham, Bam, Mam, Jam, Ram, Lam, Vam, Sam, Ham, -Ksham,” over and over again, each of them in a -special tone and way, and that proved to everyone -who heard him there that he was a very marvellous -man who could do miracles. His name was Mantra -Shastri. When he came to the house where little -Yogina was lying in her fever, he bade the other -women of the house clean out the court, and make a -pattern on the wet floor with fine white powder. -When this was done, little Yogina was dragged into -the court, and set down opposite the white markings -on the damp floor. Yogina could not sit up. She -was too weak, but Mantra Shastri would do nothing -for her if she lay on the ground. So the other women -of the house gathered round her and held her up. -Then the devil-doctor began his work. He went out -and walked round the house several times, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">[38]</span> -sprinkled evil-smelling water as he went. Yogina -cried out louder, for the effort of sitting up made her -fever more burning, but all round the house the harsh -sounds of tom-toms rose and the child’s screams -could not be heard. Then Mantra Shastri came into -the inner court again, and the women walked in a -circle carrying trays of fruit and flowers and leaves -and rice. The tom-toms still beat on, and their noise -only made the sick girl wilder. She did not know -anything of what was going on around her, but she -fought blindly with those who tried to hold her up.</p> - -<p>The priest took little heaps of rice from the trays -the women carried, and set them down in front of -Yogina amongst the white marks on the floor. One -heap was of white rice, one of yellow, and one of black, -and when he had laid them there he spoke to the -demon in the sick girl and said:—</p> - -<p>“Oh Spirit of Evil, where do you come from? -What do you want?” The women who were round -Yogina were so eager to hear what she would say, that -they forgot to hold her up, and she fell forward on the -rice.</p> - -<p>Even when they raised her she had no answer for -the priests’ question. At last he seized a cane, and -beat her to make her speak, and as the blows fell on -Yogina’s back she started up and ran twice round the -court. Then she fell. A shout rose from everyone -there, for they believed that the evil spirit had left -her at last. But it was life that had left her, and the -little child, who might so easily have been nursed -back to health, had been killed.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">[39]</span>That is one story of one little girl, but it is not unlike -many, many others that might be told, not only of -girls, but of boys and men and women, who die because -there is no one who knows how to nurse them, or to -help them to get well. And many who do not die are -ill all their lives afterwards, because of the way in -which they have been treated.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER VIII<br /> - - -<small>BOYS AND GIRLS</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">But</span> the children of India have to act as men and -women long before anyone here would think them -old enough to do more than learn and play. Very -early indeed a little Hindu child is married. Sometimes -a baby is married in the cradle, but a little girl -is generally nine or ten years old before she goes away -to her husband’s house. That does not mean that -she and the little boy to whom she is married have a -cottage, and live there together. It only means that -she comes in, a frightened wee girl, to a houseful of -people whom she never saw before. The oldest -woman in the house takes charge of everything. -Often she is the grandmother of the child’s husband, -and the little wife must not only do everything the -old grandmother tells her, she must try to please all -the other women there too, if she wishes to be happy. -If she makes the others like her, and if the boy to -whom she is married likes her, she may soon be as<span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">[40]</span> -happy there as she was at home, but if she does not -get on well with the others, there is no one who can -save her from misery.</p> - -<p>One bright little girl called Runabai left her father’s -house to go to her husband when she was eleven years -old. Her father had been sorry when she was born, -but she was so loving and happy that everyone had -grown very fond of her, and she went away with -beautiful Saris<a id="FNanchor_5" href="#Footnote_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> and many flashing jewels. Her -father was a wealthy man, so he sent twelve maids -with his little daughter to wait on her, and keep -everything about her as nice as it had been when -she still stayed in his house. But her husband’s -family did not like her. They took away all her -beautiful clothes and jewels, and instead of letting -her twelve maids wait on her, they made her work -very hard herself, and do much more than she had -strength for.</p> - -<p>Then before a year had passed they began to starve -her. She was only allowed to eat once a day, and then -all the food she was allowed to have was rice and red -peppers. One day she was cleaning the house, and she -saw a little piece of bread on the table. She was hungry, -and she was only twelve years old, so she picked it -up and began to eat it. But before she had time to -swallow a mouthful her mother-in-law caught her. -She took the bread and pushed it down the little girl’s -throat with a stick.</p> - -<p>Little Runabai was sometimes allowed to go home -to see her people. One time she begged them to keep<span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">[41]</span> -her with them, and not to allow her to go back to the -terrible life she had to lead. Her father was very sad. -The tears were in his eyes, but he was afraid of the -disgrace it would be to his family if he kept her from -her husband. He knew that his caste would be broken -if he did. So in spite of his sorrow he said, “Go back, -and if you die it will be honourable.” She did go back, -and in two months she did die, and her father and -mother mourned for her, but they comforted themselves -with the thought that she had died honourably!</p> - -<p>But though a Hindu wife is often free from the pain -and misery that killed this one, there is always a great -fear that hangs over her, for her husband may die, -and then she will be a widow. If a little wife dies, -her husband may marry again, but a high caste Hindu -widow must never marry a second time. Often -little girls are married to full grown men; sometimes, -even, they are married to old men, so it very often -happens that a girl becomes a widow when she is -only a child, and there are Hindu widows who are not -one year old. At first the child may not know that -there is any change in her life, but as she begins to -grow older she finds that all the hard work is left for -her, and that no one wishes to see her when a feast -or a wedding is held, or when anything bright is going -on. Then one day a priest comes to her village, and -to the house where she lives. She is not afraid of him, -for she knows no reason why he should be angry with -her. But he is angry with her. He says her beautiful -black hair must be cut off, and soon the barber comes -and shaves her head all over. After that time she<span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">[42]</span> -is only allowed to eat one meal a day, and twice a -month she does not even get that one meal. She -has to wear a rough Sari that lets everyone know -that she is a widow even if she covers up her little -close-shaved head, and in some cases she only has -that one dress for night wear and day wear till it is -so ragged that it will scarcely hold together.</p> - -<p>Besides all that, the friends of her husband think -that they cannot be too cruel to her, because they -believe that she must have done something very -wrong indeed in one of the lives she lived long before, -and that it is because of that, that she is a widow. -They think that if their boy had married another wife -he would still be well and bright.</p> - -<p>But though girls suffer far more from the early -marriages of India than boys do, the boys have to bear -many unnecessary burdens because of them. They -have to work hard in order to help to get food for the -household, and wee boys labour for long days in the -rice fields. They guide the oxen at the plough, -and they carry the pots of water from rivers and -canals to fill the little channels that water the -fields; and sometimes, even with all these early -years of toil, a young man finds that he cannot -feed his family or give gifts to the gods. Then he -goes to a money-lender, and if he once does that, there -is little happiness for him or for his children, for the -money-lender will take everything from him, his jewels, -his wife’s jewels, her clothes, all but the plainest -which she keeps to wear; and then perhaps his fields -will have to go too, and the cruel money-lender will<span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">[43]</span> -send men to watch the rice, and the millet, and the -wheat as they grow, for fear any of the crop should be -reaped without his knowledge.</p> - -<p>But before a Hindu boy marries he has been taught -how he must worship the gods. A little Brahman boy -puts on the sacred thread which marks his caste, and -which he wears over his right shoulder, when he is -eight or nine years old; from that time onwards he -must keep all the rules of his caste. When the thread -is first put on a priest whispers into the boy’s ear the -sacred text or “mantra” of his family. He must -remember it well, for he will have to repeat it over -and over again each morning before bathing and then -again each evening. He must always repeat his text -and bathe before he tastes food. If he is a good boy, -he will say his text over and over again very often. -In some parts of India he must not stop until he has -said it one hundred and eight times.</p> - -<p>The sacred thread is not the only mark by which -a boy shows his caste or the god he worships. He may -have a white V marked on his forehead, or a yellow -W, or a wavy line right across, with perhaps a grain -of rice stuck in the centre, and if he is going to a feast -he will have a bright red dot there too.</p> - -<p>Hindu boys repeat the names of their gods as well -as the sacred text of their caste. One little boy who -wished to be very careful that he worshipped his gods -well used to say, “Rama, Rama, Rama,” until he had -said the name twelve thousand, five hundred times; -and then he said, “Siva, Siva, Siva,” six thousand, -two hundred and fifty times, every day.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">[44]</span>There are special days and weeks at each shrine -and temple, when there is more merit in offering gifts -than at other times, and on these days people throng -to lay their presents before the gods. They bring oil or -camphor for the priest to burn in a censer which has a -large lamp in the centre for the camphor and five small -ones round it for the oil, and when the priest lights the -lamps he waves the censer before the idol, and the sweet -scent of the camphor fills the shrine. Others bring -melted butter and rice, and others fruit and flowers. -Marigolds are the favourite flowers to bring, and the -temple steps are strewn with them. But with all -the other offerings there must be, if possible, a little -money, for the priest will look eagerly to see if there -are any pice<a id="FNanchor_6" href="#Footnote_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> in the offering.</p> - -<p>There is no place to which larger crowds of people -go to worship than Benares, and if a boy is lucky -enough to be there he will see many curious sights. -He might see these things in other cities too, but -not so many of them all together.</p> - -<p>The strangest people he will see are the Fakirs. -They wander about from city to city and from temple -to temple, and live entirely on the gifts that are given -to them by the devout. Even if a Hindu does not -wish to be kind and generous, he will give a gift to a -Fakir, because he believes that if the Fakir curses -him his rice will wither on its stem, his cattle -and his children will sicken and die, and ill-luck -will follow him in everything. So the very shadow -of a Fakir is held sacred, and no one will cross<span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">[45]</span> -it lest harm should come to him for his want of -reverence.</p> - -<p>The Fakir wears as little clothes as possible, but -he covers his body with mud and ashes, and makes -his hair stick out in all sorts of uncouth forms with -gum and clay. He wears a rope or some strings of -beads round his neck. Sometimes he whitewashes -his face, and paints lines on it, and makes himself still -more uncanny-looking than he already is with his thin -body and his wild hair. He has a boy whom he calls -his “Chela” with him, and a brass bowl, and nothing -else. The boy goes out with the bowl at breakfast -time, and begs till it is full; then he comes back to -the Fakir where he rests on the temple steps, or under -a cart, or by the wayside, to eat the meal with him. -The Fakir himself should never beg, for the gods he -worships are supposed to send him all he needs, and if -he receives nothing from them, he must starve. -Some Fakirs are earnest men who seek to live up to the -best they know, and some are only idle loafers who -wish to have an easy life, and to get as much as -they can by trading on the hopes and fears of other -people.</p> - -<p>Amongst them there are many men who have -wonderful powers of conjuring and of second sight. -No one can explain the tricks they do, and there is -a weirdness about the men that adds to the weirdness -of their doings. Many an English child would run home -in terror at the mere sight of a Fakir. But the sight -of a Fakir is not nearly so eerie as the sight of some -of the things he seems to do. One of these men will<span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">[46]</span> -suddenly appear to climb up into the air going hand -over hand on a rope that is not there, till he vanishes -into the sky. In a few minutes he will come quietly -along the street as if nothing had happened. Another -will take a piece of rope, whirl it round his head, and -toss it into the air, where it will seem to the onlookers -to stand so firm and strong that a man can climb -it, though it is not fastened to anything. One of the -commonest of these wonderful things is to make a -plant grow while the crowd watch. The Fakir takes a -mango fruit, opens it, and lifts out the seeds. He has a -little tub of earth into which he drops them, and as -the bystanders watch, they see a mango tree grow up, -and bear fruit before them.</p> - -<p>The chela sees these things, and gradually learns -the secrets that belong to them, so that when his Fakir -dies he is ready to take his place and be a Fakir himself.</p> - -<p>The ways in which the gods are worshipped vary -greatly. Some of the idols are washed and dressed -and fed each morning, and bathed and put to bed each -night, and there are long rites that are performed in -the temples. But, there are also many wayside -shrines where men and women lay their offerings as -they pass, and murmur a few words of prayer.</p> - -<p>Often a new idol is found. For the Hindus think -that the spirit of a god may enter an animal or a stone -or a tree as the spirit of a man may enter any one of -these.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_046.jpg" alt="" /></div> -<p class="caption">A WAYSIDE SHRINE</p> - -<p>One day a Brahman priest lay in a temple court, -drowsy and troubled. The reason of his trouble was -that plague was in the city and the people fled from it,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">[47]</span> -and the offerings that were brought to the temple -were poor and small. The priest was full of dread -alike of the plague and of the poverty that would face -him, if the gifts to the temple grew less and less. Soon -the drowsiness grew stronger than his anxious thoughts, -and he fell asleep. As he slept he dreamt that a great -goddess appeared to him, and told him that she had -come to the city in a block of stone, but that she had -not been worshipped, and so she was angry with the -people, and had sent the plague, and that if honour -were not done to her she would send fire to finish the -work that plague had begun. She wished the people -of the place to hold a feast, and then to carry the -stone in which she lived away hundreds of miles over -the country to Benares.</p> - -<p>The priest wakened, and, as he thought of his -dream, he remembered a great block of black marble -that lay beside a temple that had just been built in -the city. Ere the women came to gather round him -that day after offering their gifts in his temple, the -priest had thought out the meaning of his dream, -and he told it to them, as they gazed in awe and fear. -He said that the stone in which the goddess dwelt -should have been polished, and set up to guard the -entrance to the new temple; but the workmen had -not seen that the stone was a special one, and had left -it aside, and the goddess in her anger had burned up -the fields. The women sighed, for this part of the -story was only too true. The fields were hard and -bare, because there had been no rain, and the river -beds were dry. Plague had followed famine, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">[48]</span> -death was at the door. But the priest told of more -terrible things yet, for he said that Mariamma, the -angry goddess, would send fire if she were not honoured -speedily.</p> - -<p>The story of the priest was soon known throughout -the city, for each one told it to another. Within a -few days fire broke out in the palace of the Maharajah -there. The fire as it raged and destroyed the beautiful -building made everyone sure of the truth of the -priest’s vision, and hurried plans were made to have -the goddess in the stone carried one stage towards -Benares.</p> - -<p>The people thronged round the marble block. The -new temple stood near, but all eyes were on the stone, -not on the temple. Then the priests began their work. -They washed the stone all over with milk lest anything -might have soiled it while it lay untended. Then -they brought cocoa nuts and limes to lay before it. -After that it was wreathed with garlands and painted -with saffron, and lamps were swung backwards and -forwards which filled the night air with the scent of -burning camphor.</p> - -<p>The crowd watched eagerly, and when the great -stone with its added weight of flowers was lifted on to -the shoulders of eight men, their joy burst out in -shouts, for did they not know that famine and -plague and death would leave their city with the -goddess.</p> - -<p>Music and lights marked the great procession as it -wound its way through the narrow darkened streets. -Without the city gate eight men waited to carry the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">[49]</span> -idol forward. Many of those who had followed it -through the streets turned back, but some pressed -on to see the stone pass into the hands of new bearers -at the next village. There the lights, the music, and -the gaily decked stone struck awe into the minds of -the village-folk, and they fell in worship before the -block, and hastened to find men to bear it on. So the -black marble block travelled over many miles of the -land. It never reached Benares, for a priest on the way -dreamt another dream about it. He dreamt that Mariamma -wished to rest in his village, so he had a shrine -built for her; and there, amidst lamps and garlands, -the unused stone received the worship of the people -from the country round, and the priest grew wealthy -by the gifts that were brought to the goddess in the -marble. But the other priest, Ramachandra, died -of the plague which he had said would leave the city -with the angry goddess.</p> - -<p>Some Hindu gods look very terrible. One of -these that is commonly worshipped is called Ganesa, -and he has a man’s body with an elephant’s -head. Whenever a Hindu is going to begin a new -piece of work, or to do something important, he makes -offerings to Ganesa, for he believes that the elephant-headed -god can take obstacles out of the way and give -success.</p> - -<p>There was a little boy in Madras called Ramaswami, -who went to worship Ganesa for the first time. -As he trotted down through the bazaar by his mother’s -side he chatted gaily. He had garlands on his arms, -and his hands were full of incense. He had listened<span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">[50]</span> -to his mother when she told him how to lay his gifts -in the god’s lap, and when to bow to the god, but he -was not thinking much about the god or the gifts.</p> - -<p>The temple was a small place, as Hindu temples -often are, for crowds of people do not worship in them -together. One by one, or in small groups, they bring -their gifts, offer them to the idol, and turn away.</p> - -<p>The doors of this temple were wide open, and -Ganesa sat in the gloom inside, right opposite the -entrance. The boy saw a black figure as large as a -man on the back of a great stone rat. The eyes, the -tusks and the red mouth of the elephant-head gleamed -out of the darkness, and the trunk was lifted up at one -side, as if it would strike anyone who came near.</p> - -<p>Ramaswami screamed with terror, and hid behind -one of the pillars from the dreadful god. His mother -had grown used to the appearance of the idol, and she -only laughed at her wee boy for his fear. She pulled -him from his hiding-place, but before she could drag -him to Ganesa he had slipped from her grasp, and had -run wildly down the street. When she saw that he -was gone she hurried after him, and when she caught -him she was breathless and cross. She pushed him -back before her and said, “You little fool. Is your -father’s son going to be a coward? The god will not -strike you. Don’t you see he is made of stone and -cannot move?” At last Ramaswami stood close -before Ganesa, but his terror was still as great as ever. -He threw down the garlands and the incense, but he -forgot all his mother had told him of the way in which -to give them, and the movements of worship to make<span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">[51]</span> -before the idol, and when his hands were at length -empty of the offerings he wriggled once more from -his mother, and fled as if the elephant-headed god -was at his heels.</p> - -<p>But all Hindu boys are not frightened of the idols. -There seem always to have been those who wished -something greater to worship than a stone, and who -could not believe that any good would come of senseless -offerings. One of these was called Chikka. His home -was in a village in Mysore, and one day a friend came to -it with an image of Lakshmi, the goddess of fortune, -and asked Chikka’s father to take care of the idol for -him. Not long after that Chikka’s father found that -he must leave the village. He did not wish to carry -Lakshmi with him, so he laid her carefully in a box, -and gave her to the village priest that he might take -care of her. Misfortune came to the friend who had -left the idol, and he began to fear that it was because -he had not been worshipping the goddess, so he -hurried to the village to which Chikka and his father -had gone, and said to the boy, “Come along with me, -and we will fetch Lakshmi here and worship her -together.” Chikka was only ten years old then, but -he had thought out some things for himself, and he -said, “The goddess Lakshmi has left us poor, while -you are rich. When she gives us good fortune we -will worship her, but not till then.” His father was -angry when he heard what Chikka had said, but his -anger did not have any effect on the boy, for only a -year later he did a far more daring thing. He and -his brothers and sisters were ill, and a fortune-teller<span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">[52]</span> -was called in to say what the parents should do to -make them well. This man said that the reason of -the illness was that no one in the house had been -worshipping serpents. So two old stone serpent idols -were brought out and consecrated. But though the -others did honour to them Chikka would not. He -watched for a time when no one was beside to interfere -with him, and then he broke the stone snakes into -pieces and threw the fragments away. When his -father found out what had been done he was extremely -angry. He was frightened too, for he thought that -some terrible harm would come to them all because -Chikka had insulted the idols. But in a few days the -children were well again, and no other hurtful thing -had happened to them, so Chikka won his parents -over to his side, and they ceased to believe in the -serpent god.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER IX<br /> - - -<small>THE KING OF INDIA</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Once</span> upon a time a boy was born in a manger in -Bethlehem. When He was still a child wise men from -the East came to worship and to lay gifts before Him, -because they had seen a star which guided them to -His cradle, and they knew that He was born to be a -King. The wise men worshipped the child and returned -to their homes in the East, and the child grew -up to be a man. And when He had reached the full -age of a man He went about in His own land, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">[53]</span> -taught and healed the sick, and there gathered -around Him a band of men who walked through -the fields and villages with Him. And as they -walked with Him, it came to be known among -them that this man was no other than the Son of -God, that He had come to live on earth to save -mankind from sin, and that He was indeed the ruler -of all the peoples of the world. By and by wicked -men put Him to death on the Cross, and those who -had walked with Him were in deep sadness. But on -the third day they saw Him again, and they were -glad, because they knew now that He was greater -than death; and they knew, what they had only -guessed before, that He was indeed God. These -men thought that their own nation was cared for by -God more than others, but after their Master had -withdrawn Himself from their sight, He taught them -that all the world is beloved of God, and that in each -land He must reign. So it came to pass that as these -early followers of the King wandered hither and -thither, when they came to countries that they had -never seen before, they said each to the other, the -men of these lands too are the servants of the King, -though they do not know Him; let us tell them of His -nobleness, and of the glory of His kingdom. In this -manner the subjects of the King grew rapidly in -number, and they came to be called Christians, because -of the name of Christ, or Saviour, by which they spoke -often of their King. At that time there was much -commerce between the nations of the East, and great -caravans with the rich wealth of India came to the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">[54]</span> -places in which the Christians dwelt. And when -men saw all these riches, they said let us also go -there, that we may heap up to ourselves gems -and gold. So it came to pass that families of Jews -and of Persians bade farewell to the friends and -neighbours of their youth, took the long journey across -the desert, and made their home on the hot shores of -India. And amongst the families who went there, -there were some who had owned the Child of Bethlehem -as their King, and because those who truly know Him -find Him so good a King that they wish all men to serve -Him, these early settlers spoke of Him to those with -whom they met, and they won many of the simple -folk of India. But the hot airs of the Indian valleys, -and the strange faiths and fears of the peoples there, -closed in on the little bands of Christians. They still -named Him their King, but they did not any longer -obey the laws of His kingdom, so the strange worship -they saw around them had power to lessen their -first eagerness. Down through the years they have -owned the name of Christ, but much of the spirit of -His kingdom has been lost.</p> - -<p>But elsewhere the subjects of the new King -pressed forward. And ever when they remembered -that He had conquered death, and was a living -monarch whom they must obey, they did great -deeds to bring in the kingdom that He had bidden -them win for Him. Hundreds of years passed on, -and the countries of Europe all owned the reign of -the Son of God in name, though many of the people -there thought but little of obeying His laws. The<span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">[55]</span> -commerce of India no longer came to Europe chiefly -by the hot desert routes. Great ships sailed from the -ports of Europe to harbours in India; and Spain, -Portugal, Holland, France, Germany, Denmark and -England each held possessions on the shores of India -that had been given to them by those who ruled the -greater part of the country—the warlike followers -of the prophet.</p> - -<p>And so, because these nations held land in India, -their people spoke often of the men and women who -dwelt in it, and of their trade and wealth. And the -stories of travellers were heard with wonder round -the fires of northern Europe, and under the sunny -skies of Spain.</p> - -<p>Now though there were many Europeans who -cared for nothing except to get as much ease and -comfort for themselves as they could, and who -would not give up anything for the kingdom of -Christ, there were many others who thought much of -that kingdom; and when they heard that a new bit -of land had been given to their country on the Coromandel -Coast or on the Malabar Coast, they longed to -know that the people who dwelt in it had been won -for Christ. And when they heard stories of the cruel -and dark deeds that were done to please the idols -there, they longed to have the worshippers know that -the real King of the world is served by good deeds, not -by bad ones. And so as these thoughts grew amongst -them, Christ the King came once more to earth, -and laid His Commission on men and on women, -and said to them, as He had said long ago to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">[56]</span> -other followers, “Go ye into all the world, and lo I -am with you alway.” Thus men went from Germany -and from England and from Scotland and from -America, and at this day the army of Christ’s followers -in India, who have gone there from other countries, -is great and strong, and throughout the land the -tokens of the kingdom that is to be, can be seen to-day. -There are churches where Indian men and women, -who have welcomed their King, meet to worship Him. -There are colleges where boys and girls can learn of -the greatness of His work in the world. There are -hospitals and leper homes, where the followers of Him -who healed the sick in Galilee labour to heal and help -some of the sore sickness of India. And still more -real beginnings of His kingdom are seen in the lives of -the men and women and the boys and girls who have -found Him and loved Him.</p> - -<p>But though Christ is the King of India, those who -own His sway there are only very very few, and He -still needs those who love His thoughts and His -kingdom in other lands to help to carry His message -more and more into the heart of India.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER X<br /> - - -<small>NEW SIGHTS IN INDIA</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Men</span> and women have gone to India to tell of the King -of the world, and because of that new things are -coming into the lives of the children there. There is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">[57]</span> -great excitement when a European is seen for the -first time in an Indian village. One day the boys of -Holapura heard that an English lady had entered -the house of the headman of the place. They left -their games and hurried to the hut, but ere they got -there, it was crowded to the door, so they climbed on -the roof and looked down through the holes in the -thatch. As they looked in they saw the crowded -room and the white lady. A woman was bringing -out a blanket from a dark inner room, and was spreading -it on a mound of earth, which did for a seat, and -now the white lady sat down and the boys gazed -and listened. They saw a streamlet of water trickling -across the mud floor at her feet; they saw the little -room packed with women and boys and babies, and in -amongst them they saw the household cow, the goats, -and some chickens; but these things did not astonish -the boys at all; they had often seen a crowded hut -before, and even when Ruthamma, an Indian Christian -teacher who was with the white missionary, began -to speak, they scarcely listened, for all their attention -was fixed on the stranger. But they began to listen -a little when she sang “What a friend we have in -Jesus” in their own language. Before many lines -had been sung a goat made up its mind to go out, -and there was so much bustle amongst the children -about his going that Ruthamma had to stop and begin -her hymn over again. The boys listened eagerly, -till suddenly they heard a swoop and a whiz through -the air. They shrank back, for vultures are not nice -birds, and this one was coming very near. It<span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">[58]</span> -shot past them through the hole in the thatch -into the room. A dead fowl hung from the roof. -The bird clutched it and flew away again. The fowl -was gone; everyone rushed out and shouted to make -the vulture drop it. But the bird would not, and -when it had flown far far away from the village, the -little group gathered again. But this had spent much -time, and Ruth hurried on in spite of a lively quarrel -between two wee boys, who, when their grandmother -tried to catch them, vanished underneath the cow, -to sit and make faces at each other there, and be quite -ready to begin to fight again when the missionaries -had gone.</p> - -<p>That is how some children first hear of the King of -India. But of course they understand little of what -they hear for a long time. Sometimes the children -catch up the tunes and the words of the new songs, so -unlike their old ones, and remember them. In a town -far from this village, a missionary was riding along -the street one day, when he heard a sound that seemed -familiar. He checked his horse and looked and -listened. No one in the side street noticed him. -There he saw a little Hindu boy with Hindu men and -women around him. He was singing away heartily -in Telugu:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="first">“Jesus loves me, this I know,</div> -<div class="verse">For the Bible tells me so!”</div> -</div></div> - -<p>When the verse was finished a Hindu asked -him:—</p> - -<p>“Little fellow, where did you learn that song?”</p> - -<p>“Over at the school.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">[59]</span>“Who is Jesus, and what is the Bible?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, the Bible is the book sent from God, they say, -to teach us how to get to heaven; and Jesus is the name -of the divine Redeemer that came into the world to -save us from sins: that is what the missionaries -say.”</p> - -<p>“Well, the song is a nice one anyhow; come sing -us some more.”</p> - -<p>But it is not only when words are spoken or sung -that the traces of the King are seen in India. One -of the most important things that happens there is -the digging of a well, and here are some boys who are -talking excitedly about a new well in their village. -Let us hear what they are saying:—</p> - -<p>“Yes, truly they got water—beautiful clear water, -and it rushed in so fast that the men who dug had -to flee for their lives.”</p> - -<p>“And yet they did not have a Brahman to bless -it?”</p> - -<p>“No, I have told you they follow Christ. They do -not obey the Brahmans.”</p> - -<p>“Tell us what they did.”</p> - -<p>“It was the time of heat! The river was dried up, -and the new buildings of the Christians were almost -finished. But as it was not fitting that this new -religion should find shelter in our village, our priests -had tried to prevent them from getting land. They -did not succeed in that, but they forbade the Christian -people to drink from the wells of the village, and behold -the river was dry. The face of Raghu, the -leader of the Christian folk, was sad, for what can man<span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">[60]</span> -do without water? But he went away to consult -the foreign teacher. When he returned, he was no -longer sad, and it began to be said in the village that -the Christians would dig a well within their own ground. -Many heads were shaken, for no one thought that water -could be found there. When the Christians began to -dig everyone was still more amazed, for they did not -dig at the lower end where water might soon be -reached, if it were to be found anywhere, but high up, -close to the dwellings of the low caste men. It was -at the edge of their ground, and we all gathered to -watch; each man had some taunt to fling at the -foreigners, for they did not do anything to appease -the gods; they did not consult with the wise men, -nor call the priests to bless the well; they made no -offerings at the temple, nor did they feast the Brahmans; -and everyone was certain that no water would be -found. It is true they did pray to their own God, -but everyone was sure He had not given them good -guidance, for a child may know that a well should not -be dug near the dwellings of outcasts. But in answer -to all the Christians said only, ‘We will surely get -water.’ And they believed this, for they worked -on day after day through the great heat until the well -was so deep that they had to dig through rock—soft -rock it was, it is true, but still hard enough to break -the points of pickaxes. Weeks went on, and we -ceased to watch the well of the foreigners, or to taunt -them. It was an old story in the village, but when -at any time we passed near it we could see that the -digging was well and rightly done, and that if only<span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">[61]</span> -water had been there, it would indeed have been a -great well. But one day, as the village shops were -quiet in the heat, there came a cry down the street, -and the sound was of men who called, ‘We’ve got -water.’ But we would not believe it till we ran to the -well. There, as we bent over, we saw depths of water, -beautiful clear water. The God of the foreign people -had given them water! Come and see the ‘Jesus -Christ well,’ and you will know that I tell the truth.”</p> - -<p>Another boy was bitten by a deadly snake. He was -much surprised when he was bitten. He had gone -out with his uncle to work in the fields. All through -the sugar-cane fields there are channels for water, -and if anything falls into these channels to stop the -water from flowing through them the sugar-cane will -not grow. Timmaya Reddi was pushing along the -bank of a channel, bending aside the tall cane stems -to make way for himself, when he saw that the flow -of the water was checked by something that he -thought was a stick. He struck at it with his hook, -and as he struck, the reddish-brown stick sprang up, -for it was a deadly serpent. Timmaya leapt back, -but not in time to save himself. The serpent bit -his ankle, and then glided off into the canes. The -poison was swift and powerful, and the boy fell back -and remembered nothing until he awoke and opened -his eyes under a tree beside the white doctor’s tent. -Timmaya did not know what had happened. He -had not felt his uncle lift him and run with him to his -mother’s house, and lay him there as if he were dead. -He had not heard the death wail rise from the village,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">[62]</span> -nor had he heard the rush and clamour when a -Christian shouted, “The missionary doctor! Take -the boy to him. He came last night. He is in his -tent now. It is only a mile away by the short -cut.”</p> - -<p>Thus the noise went on, but the boy was unconscious -of it all. Strong men carried him by turns, -down a steep path into a valley, up the other side -through bushes and then on, over the fields, till they -reached the white doctor’s tent.</p> - -<p>But when they laid him down, it seemed to -everyone there too late, and they said that he was -dead already. One man alone thought there was -time still. He was the doctor, who sternly bade the -eager crowd be silent while he fought for the life of -the boy. And he won. In half an hour Timmaya -opened his eyes and asked, “Where am I,” and in -two days he walked back across the valley to the -village where the death wail had arisen for him.</p> - -<p>There is another sad time at which many Hindu boys -catch their first glimpses of the King and His followers. -It is the time of famine. One night a little boy lay -awake, gazing out at the sky through an opening in the -house. He watched the heavy clouds break and scatter, -and as the stars shone out, they brought sadness to him, -not joy, for they meant that the clouds had broken -and gone, and that one more night must pass without -rain. As he lay he heard the sound of the priests -chanting the prayer for rain at the temple, and every -now and then the chant was broken by the clanging -of bells that rang out on the still air. The boy thought<span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">[63]</span> -of his father, who was spending the night there -at the temple praying for rain. Then he thought -of the long days of famine, and of how old his father -looked; and he remembered how little that father had -eaten during those days of famine, and how much -he had always tried to leave to his mother and his -brothers and sisters. And so the boy passed a restless -night, and wondered what could come to change these -awful days of famine.</p> - -<p>Then in the early morning he heard his father’s -step, and as it came to the door a wail sounded from -his mother within. His brother was dead. The long -misery of famine had been too much, and the eldest -son in the little home had died. The next days passed -in a dream to the boy. He knew that his father -could no longer bear the pain of watching his children -die, one by one, and he heard him say that he had -made up his mind to seek the nearest relief camp. -He remembered that he was lifted into a passing -bullock cart along with his mother and three other -children, and that his father trudged beside them. -The driver of the bullock cart had been a wealthy -man, but his servants were gone, and he was leading -the ox to a patch of prickly pear, the only green thing -that was left in the whole famine land. But the -bullock was as weak as the men, and the sun was high -ere they reached the patch of prickly pear. They -all ate the leaves greedily, and would scarcely wait to -pluck out the thorns. Then he remembered lying -under the bullock cart with his mother and the other -children, and watching his father and the bullock<span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">[64]</span> -driver disappear in the distance, and he remembered -no more until he lay in the clean white shed that had -been quickly built to be a hospital for the famine -children. His sisters and brothers were there with -him, but help had come too late to save the lives of -his father and mother.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_064.jpg" alt="" /></div> -<p class="caption">RESCUED FAMINE CHILDREN</p> - -<p>In these and countless other ways, the new kingdom -of love is seen in India, and can be judged even by -those who do not own Christ as King. But there are -many who do own Him, and find how much He has -to give besides the healing of bodily ills. You remember -Chikka, who broke the serpent idol? He -was one of the first who learned to serve Christ, though -he had to wait a long time before he heard of Him. -Chikka’s family was poor, so he could not go to school, -nor learn to read or write, and for many years he had -no one to tell him of any god other than the idols he -despised. He was nearly forty years old before he -heard of Jesus Christ, and after he had learned about -Him, he saw that He could do for him all that the -gods of stone could never do. Soon he and the -missionaries urged the people of his village to give up -worshipping idols. The villagers had seen that no -harm had come to Chikka, and they began to think -that perhaps it was really true, as the missionaries said, -that it was the worshippers that kept the god Runga -safe in his temple, and not the idol that kept them safe. -They left the god alone to see if he could take care of -himself. They brought him no fresh flowers, nor -did they see that there was oil in the lamp that burned -before him. Very soon the garlands withered, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">[65]</span> -the lamp went out. The temple became dirty and -untidy, and worst of all, the roof fell in just over the -god’s head. But though the villagers gave up the -worship of the idol, that did not mean that they were -willing to become Christians. At Chikka’s baptism, -they took sudden fright lest drops of water should -fall on them by mistake, and make them Christians -against their will, and they rushed out of the church -till they blocked up the door, and some of them had -to climb out by the window.</p> - - - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XI<br /> - -<small>ANANTA THE SEEKER</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">There</span> have often been learned Hindu men who have -lost their faith in idols, and the story of one of these -has so much to do with the lives of many children in -India to-day, that we must not miss it out.</p> - -<p>Ananta Shastri was a seeker for the King of -India, though he did not know it; and his daughter -Ramabai is now helping hundreds of little girls to find -Him.</p> - -<p>Many Hindus think that no woman ought to be -allowed to learn to read or to write, or to study the -sacred books. Even if a husband is a learned man, -he cannot talk much to his wife about the things that -interest him, because she would not know what he -meant.</p> - -<p>Ananta Shastri was a very able man, and he did not<span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">[66]</span> -think that it was a good plan to keep girls ignorant, -but it was not easy for one man to do much to change -this custom of the Hindus. One day, as he was -travelling, he met another Brahman. The second -man had a little daughter, nine years of age, with him, -whose name was Lakshmibai, and before the two -Brahmans parted they had arranged that Ananta -would take the child home with him to be his wife.</p> - -<p>The marriage day is generally a very gay one, and -sometimes the brightness and the excitement help to -make the little wife forget that she will have to leave -her own home, and all those whom she has loved, -and go away with a stranger, to be under the rule of -her mother-in-law or aunts-in-law. But there were -no marriage gaieties for Lakshmibai. She was handed -over to Ananta, and went away with him, and she -never saw her father or mother again. But though -the case seemed a very hard one, her lot was really -much better than a child wife’s often is, even when -all sorts of gaieties and feasting take place, for Ananta -was very kind to her, and took her carefully home to -his mother, that she might teach her all the duties -of a wife, and show her how to cook and to grind. -When the daily work was done, Ananta wished to -teach his wife to read and write. He tried again and -again, but his own people always interfered, till he -saw that it would be impossible for Lakshmibai to -learn if she stayed in his father’s home. Many a man -would have given in, but he would not give in. He -went away from his home, and took his little wife with -him far into the forest. There was no sign of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">[67]</span> -life of man where they rested during the first night. -The little child lay in terror on the ground. All the -stories she had ever heard of wild beasts and spirits -came back to her, and it did not need memory to bring -fear to her heart, for right across a ravine a tiger -roared and prowled. Ananta watched by her through -the long night. Soon he built a hut to be a home for -them. Though Lakshmibai had not been long with -her mother-in-law, she had learned all that she needed -to know for the simple out-of-doors life. Now her -other lessons began in earnest. She was a clever -child, and Ananta found great joy in teaching her. -The beauty of the old Indian poems seemed doubly -great as he recited them to his wife, or listened to her -repetitions of them. The days passed swiftly into -years. Disciples gathered round Ananta, and soon a -little dark-haired daughter was born and then a son. -Both of them were taught along with the band of -disciples just as if they had both been boys. Then -another little baby girl was born into the home, but by -this time, Ananta was so busy with the older two and -with his disciples that he had no time to teach the baby -Ramabai, and all her early lessons were given to her -by her mother. But Lakshmibai too was busy. She -had to fetch water, to cook, and to bake, and the only -time at which she could be free to teach her little -girl was when the faint light of the morning stole -through the tree stems to the door of the forest-dwelling. -Then Ramabai was wakened and lifted -from her bed, and she learned all her earliest lessons -in the dim morning light from her mother’s lips.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">[68]</span>Sanskrit is not now spoken by any of those who live -in India, but all who know Indian scholarship know -it. It was in this language that Ramabai learned the -beautiful Hindu poems, and the stories of the gods. -There is much in these poems and in the stories that -is ugly and bad, but we can feel sure that it was the -most lovely parts that were taught to the child in the -wood.</p> - -<p>When Ramabai grew older she joined the others -in their studies, and then her father found to his great -delight that this youngest of his children had a mind -that could answer to his own in no ordinary way.</p> - -<p>By and by the time came when the eldest daughter -must be married. Ananta was a Brahman, and he -would have been disgraced amongst all his people if -he had not married his daughter while she was still -a child, so she had been betrothed to a Brahman boy -when she was very young. When this took place, -Ananta arranged that the little boy was to be educated -as she had been, so that the two might have many -thoughts and interests in common. The wedding -day came, and Ananta sought to have everything as -beautiful and costly as custom demanded for the -marriage of his daughter, but his heart was bitter -within him, because he found that the promises that -had been made to him about his son-in-law had all -been broken, and he knew that he had given his -daughter to one who could not understand her. And -this was not his only reason for sorrow. Custom -had made him give her a large dowry, and spend great -sums of money on the marriage feasting. Brahmans<span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">[69]</span> -and beggars had been fed too, and he found that he -had left himself and his children poor. This made -him feel more strongly than ever that there was much -that was wrong in Hindu customs. He lectured on -the wrongs of India’s women, and tried to prove that -many of the things they suffered were not commanded -in the old writings. But another trouble -was before them. Ananta could not face the thought -of giving Ramabai to the same fate that had awaited -her sister. So he resolved that he would not marry -her to anyone until she was grown up. His friends -and relations had been very angry with him for -teaching his wife, but they had not made him an outcast -for that, but when they saw that he was not -going to arrange for Ramabai’s marriage, they were -enraged, and would not own him as one of them. -Then came the years of a great famine. None of -Ananta’s people would give him work, and no one had -money to pay for listening to lectures, so the little -family moved about from place to place. They -always hoped that the gifts they had given to the gods -would bring them favour sooner or later. But one -misfortune followed another until at last they resolved -to die. Ananta had ceased to worship idols, -but he had never heard of Christ. Yet, though he -had not heard of Him he was feeling his way as many -a Hindu has done, towards that same God whom -Christ has revealed. Yet though this is so, it did -not seem to him that it would be wrong for him to -kill himself, for he believed as his fathers had done -in the worthlessness and wretchedness of human life,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">[70]</span> -and that belief made him think it right to leave it. -The family talked in sorrow and bitterness, and planned -how they each in turn would end the life that had -become so sad. But the training that Ananta had -given to his children, and the close bonds of love that -had been drawn amongst the forests, were stirring -instincts that he did not dream of. It was a -terrible thing to Hindu minds for a Brahman to -do labourer’s work, but Ananta’s son felt that it -was a far more terrible thing to see the father -whom he honoured take away his own life, and the -lad made up his mind that he would find work of -some kind no matter how humble it was, and so bring -food and life to his father and mother.</p> - -<p>But though they were saved the pain of knowing -that their father had taken his own life, they could -not keep him with them much longer. The suffering -and want of these days of weary travel had told on -him, and with anxious thoughts about the future of -his children, he died. Amongst his last words was -a special message to Ramabai that she should -always obey and serve God, for though the family -still worshipped idols yet Ananta had come to believe -that there was only one God in the universe, -and that He would take care of those who obeyed -Him.</p> - -<p>Caste and custom with their grim shadows watched -over Ananta’s funeral. He had put himself outside -the bonds of caste, and no one would help to bury -him. At length the sad rites were over, but Lakshmibai -was so ill that her children feared that they would<span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">[71]</span> -lose her too. They could not find steady work even -of the humblest kind, and the one thing open to them -still, they could not do. They could not beg. The -spirit of Lakshmibai was broken. She could fight no -longer. There was no refuge to which she could be -taken. If she had killed both of her baby daughters, -doors might still have been open to her amongst her -caste people and relations, for the mother of a son, -even when she is a widow, is not wholly despised; -but because, instead of killing Ramabai, she and -Ananta had taught her and had refused to have her -married when she was still a child, every door was -shut against her. There was no hospital nor home -to which she could go. For many a sick man and -woman in India the only hospital has been the -waters of the Ganges or a living grave. It was -terrible for Ramabai to see the suffering of her mother, -and one day she started out to beg—only she could -not do it when she came to the point. But the -woman to whose house she went saw the little pinched -face and the hungry eyes, and gave her a bit of bread -with which she rushed home to her mother, who was by -that time too weak to eat it, and very soon Ramabai -and her brother were left alone in the world.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">[72]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XII<br /> - - -<small>THE PANDITA RAMABAI</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Ramabai</span> and her brother were alone, but they had -one treasure that very few Hindu brothers and sisters -then had. They had their friendship for each other, -their common interests and hopes and fears.</p> - -<p>They were still very reverent to shrines and idols, -though strange thoughts and questions were rising -in their minds, and the thought of the one great God -of whom their father had spoken to them grew ever -stronger. One day they found that they were near -a sacred lake, in which there were seven floating -mountains;—at least they were called mountains, -but they were really only small hills. On the shore -of the lake there were priests, for worship was paid -to the spirits of the mountains. Ramabai and her -brother had often heard of this spirit-haunted -lake, for it was a place of pilgrimage, and the -wonderful thing about it was that if the pilgrim -who prayed at the water’s edge was good the mountains -slowly moved towards the shore, but if he was -bad the cliffs remained stolidly still, and no prayers -could move them one inch. When Ramabai and her -brother reached the lake they found that what had -been called mountains were only wooded island -mounds, but there they were, all seven of them, rising -from the still waters.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_072.jpg" alt="" /></div> -<p class="caption">A SCHOOL FOR GIRLS</p> - -<p>The priests warned everyone who came that they -must on no account bathe in the waters of the lake<span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">[73]</span> -because of the crocodiles. They seemed to be so -much afraid that any of the pilgrims might be eaten -up, that they kept a very strict watch all round the -lake.</p> - -<p>Ramabai and her brother knelt by the shore. -They had been true worshippers of the gods, and they -felt that if they were to be judged by the best of the -old books of India they were good. It is true that -their caste-fellows had disowned them, but, though -many of their old beliefs about idols and shrines still -lingered with them, they did not believe that a good -god could be angry at their father’s treatment of his -daughters. So they worshipped eagerly, and looked -to see if the mountains were moving to the shore. -But the water lapped against the banks as calmly -as before, and not an extra ripple could be seen. They -slept that night near the lake, and very early in the -morning, before the priests were on the watch, the -boy made up his mind that if the mountains would -not come to him he would go to the mountains! -Ramabai watched him breathlessly, for had he not -the anger of the spirits to dread, as well as the -hungry crocodiles? He swam out to the nearest -mountain, swam right round it, and back to the shore. -No crocodile had touched him, and the look in his eyes -as he returned to Ramabai was a look of anger, not -of fear. He had seen, when he reached it, that the -mountain was only a sham. It was cleverly built -of mud and earth, on a floating raft. Trees and creepers -were stuck into the clay as if they grew there. Behind, -out of sight of land, there was a little boat. It was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">[74]</span> -all clear to him now. Some signal must pass from the -priests on shore to the priest in the boat, and if the -pilgrim gave enough of money to the priest on shore, -the boatman pushed the floating mountain towards -the land; so it was not virtue but money that moved -the spirit of the mountain. This discovery opened -their eyes to many other things. If the worship of -the gods was only kept up in order to give money to -the priests; and if, in order to keep up this great -system, the priests had to call to their aid the gloomy -spirits of caste and custom, then there might be escape -for India from these terrible things. And with eyes -open to all she saw, Ramabai began to notice more -than ever before what a terrible life high caste Hindu -widows had to live when they were not the mothers of -sons. Gradually she and her brother gathered groups -of people to listen to them as their father had done. -Soon the days of poverty were over, for Ramabai -had found out where one of her great powers lay. -Crowds gathered to hear her speak, and to wonder at -her knowledge. But this relief came too late for her -brother, who had been so much worn out with want -that his strength gave way, and though he saw his -sister safe from the fear of poverty it was very hard -for him to leave her alone. But though Ramabai’s -faith in idols had gone, her faith in God grew stronger -through the years, and she cheered the dying boy with -the words, “God will take care of me.”</p> - -<p>Ere her brother’s death the fame of Ramabai had -come to the ears of the learned men of Calcutta, and -they asked her to come and meet with them. They<span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">[75]</span> -questioned her, and listened to her answers, and they -sat in amazement as they heard her quote the ancient -writings. They were so moved by her learning that -they gave her the right to use the title Pandita,<a id="FNanchor_7" href="#Footnote_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> -which no woman had ever been allowed to use, -and they called her also Sarasvati, “goddess of -wisdom.”</p> - -<p>About this time a Hindu gentleman, whose ideas were -like those of Ananta, and who shared Ramabai’s horror -when he thought of the life of many Hindu women, -asked Ramabai to be his wife, and very soon after -her brother’s death she was married to him. They -were very happy together, but they were not content -to be happy alone. They dreamed and planned -what they could do for Hindu widows, and they even -thought of opening their own happy home to them. -Soon a little daughter was born to them to add to their -gladness, and the plans for the widows were going -forward brightly, when death crossed the threshold, -and Ramabai was left a widow—a widow with no son. -But the shadows of caste and custom had already -wreaked much of their vengeance on her, and now -when she might have suffered most severely, she was -nearly out of their power.</p> - -<p>Her whole thoughts were for Manorama, her little -daughter, and for Hindu widows, and her one desire -was to be fit to do the best for them she could. -English women lived in happiness with their brothers -and friends. English people had opened schools and -colleges in India, and she resolved to cross the sea that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">[76]</span> -she might learn from them in their own land, things -that would help her to brighten the lives of Indian -women. So the young Hindu widow with her little -baby came to England. At Wantage the wonder of -Christ broke on her, and she saw that the God in whom -she had blindly trusted was He who had been shown to -men in the life and death of Jesus Christ. As Ramabai -saw how great a difference this made to her, her -thoughts went out to the memory of her father, and -she answered his last words as she could not when he -died, “Yes, I will serve Him always.”</p> - -<p>To-day Ramabai is surrounded by children. She -has two homes, and they are quite different. When -she gave up her life to Christ the first great piece of -work she did in service to Him made many people -think that she was not faithful to Him, because in -her first home, a home for Hindu widows, the -great shadows of caste and custom are admitted. -Perhaps at first it seems wonderful that this should -be. But as Ramabai looked round the land she saw -that many other servants of Jesus Christ had opened -homes for high caste Hindu widows, and that no inch -of the door of these homes was open for caste and -custom. She saw too that only very few Hindus -were willing to let their daughters learn from those -who would not allow them to follow caste rules. So -she made up her mind that she would open one home -to which little Hindu child widows might come, although -they still sat in the shadow. At first very -few were allowed to come, but soon the number grew -greater. The little ones were taught many things<span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">[77]</span> -and they were kindly cared for, and none of their -many customs were interfered with. They were -allowed to go to the bazaar to buy offerings to carry -to the gods, and to have the barber shave them in his -rounds. They might fast when they wished, and -they need never hear of the faith of Jesus Christ. -Ramabai did all that she could to rob the shadows -that lay on them of their darkness, only she did not -say that they must leave the shadows before they -came to her. But ever as the children lived in the -Sharada Sadan, they saw that there was one woman—a -Hindu widow—on whom the shadow did not rest, -one room in which there was no gloom. The woman -was Ramabai, and the room was hers. Night and -morning she held service there with her servants and -Manorama, and the door of the room was always open. -It is not easy for shadows to linger round a glowing -light. Ramabai knew that, and she waited and hoped. -She did not wait in vain, for soon her pupils began to -wonder what it was that made her so different from -others, and they came to ask her about Jesus Christ -and His religion.</p> - -<p>Some of the little girls who came to her had been -terribly ill-used, and often it was a long time before -she could bring a smile to the dim eyes that had lost -their childlike look, or even before she could bring -health back to the beaten, burned bodies that sometimes -came into her loving care.</p> - -<p>It was difficult for Ramabai to get hold of those -who needed her help most. One time she heard of a -little widow who was in great misery, but the child<span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">[78]</span> -was so stupefied with pain that she did not wish for -relief from it, or think that anyone could help her. -Ramabai asked the girl and the relations of her dead -husband to come and visit her, in order that she might -win the love of the young widow, and persuade her -to stay when the others went. The relations were -glad to visit Ramabai, and they stayed for some time -in a little house within the grounds of the Sharada -Sadan. Ramabai hoped that the care the child -received while she stayed there would have an effect -on her, and that before her relations left the place -the widow would be eager to stay. But the days went -on, and the child was still lifeless and dull, for though -the Pandita did not know it, her relations managed -to beat and ill-use her every day. At last Ramabai -felt that she could wait no longer, so she told her -guests in what was understood as the correct way, -that their visit had come to an end. Then she asked -the widow if she would stay behind. The relations -did not wish her to stay, but they could not prevent -her if she said she would, and she did say so, though -she was still so dazed that Ramabai feared she would -lose her after all. On that life the early years of pain -have left traces that will never entirely go away.</p> - -<p>When Ramabai had carried on her work in this -school for eight years, a famine broke out in Central -India. She read of this famine, and the thought of -all the orphans who were left friendless by it moved -her, so that she hurried off to the famine district, and -brought back with her three hundred girls. The -pupils of the Sharada Sadan welcomed the little<span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">[79]</span> -waifs, and made room for them within the grounds -for that night.</p> - -<p>Some time before this the Pundita had bought a -farm in order to provide for her widows’ school. The -famine children were taken to this farm and nursed -back to health there. Though in the Sharada Sadan -Ramabai led the girls to Christ by indirect means -only, she did not feel that she was bound to do so in -the farm home. The famine orphans were a gift to -her from God, not a loan from parents or relations, -so she has from the first been free to tell them of the -love of Christ the King, for all children, and for all in -sorrow. The new home is called “Mukti,” that is -“Salvation,” and high up over the great entrance -the words “Praise the Lord” in Marathi, tell of -Ramabai’s wish to call the walls of her children’s -home “Salvation” and its gates “Praise.”</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XIII<br /> - - -<small>HORMASDJI PESTONJI</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Before</span> we leave India we shall hear the stories of -four others of its children who found their way to -Christ the King. The name of the first of these is -Hormasdji Pestonji. He was not a Hindu, nor a -Mohammedan, but a Parsee. There are not very -many Parsees in the world, and most of them live in -India. They are a powerful people, though they are -few in number. Their religion is a worship of fire, -and their ideals of character are high and noble.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">[80]</span>Hormasdji went to a mission college in Bombay. -Though no one had to be a Christian in order to study -there, yet each one had to listen to lessons on the -Christian faith, and to take his turn in reading the -Bible. Many of the boys hated the foreigner’s -religion. They went to the classes because they -wished to learn English, but they would gladly have -closed their ears when the Bible lesson came. -Hormasdji was one of the fiercest of these. When -he saw the name of Jesus he refused to say it, and he -tried to destroy the books in which it was. But he -could not help hearing.</p> - -<p>Parsee women are not treated as most Mohammedan -and Hindu women are. They are honoured and loved, -and may go in and out with freedom; and home life -amongst the Parsees is often bright and happy. -Hormasdji was extremely fond of his mother, and -she died when he was still very young. He was in -passionate grief as he saw her body carried out, -covered with rich shawls, to the great white towers -of silence by the sea, where the Parsee dead are laid. -“O god Fire give me back my mother, give me back -my mother,” he prayed; but his brother came sadly -back without the body he had borne away, and the -boys were motherless.</p> - -<p>Hormasdji thought of his prayer, and began to -wonder if ‘fire’ really was God at all. His lessons -at school made him wonder still more, for there were -strange experiments with fire and with water, and it -did not seem to him that what he had seen with his -eyes could be true if fire was really God. He became<span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">[81]</span> -very unhappy. He did not wish to believe that -Christ could be anything to him and he had lost all -faith in his own god Fire.</p> - -<p>One day he went for a swim in the sea. Before he -plunged in he saw a sandbank on which he often -rested, clearly marked, but while he was swimming -the rising tide covered the bank and there was no -resting-place for him anywhere. He turned back to -swim to the shore, but it was too far away and he -felt his strength failing. As his strokes grew feebler -he thought of Christ and everything seemed different -to him from what he had imagined. He knew that -in his heart he did believe in Christ though he had -tried to think that he hated Him. Those on shore -saw that Hormasdji was in danger and set out to -rescue him, but he did not forget the thoughts that -had passed through his mind when he seemed to be -sinking. It was in a different spirit that he listened -to the missionaries afterwards. He was not content -to hear only what was taught in school. He wished -to know all he could about the King of India, so he -went to the house of a Christian who lived in Bombay. -He met another Parsee there, who also studied in the -college. It was a joy to them both, for neither had -known that the other wished to follow Christ. From -that day onwards they stood together, shoulder to -shoulder. When Hormasdji was nineteen years old, -he was baptised, four days after his friend. All -Bombay was excited. No one had ever left the Parsee -faith before, and the Parsees stirred up the Hindus -and both together tried to kill the young converts.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">[82]</span> -When a trial at law was brought on, some of the -Parsees clung to the wheels of the carriage in which -Hormasdji drove away from the court and said that -they would willingly die themselves in order to kill -the man who had left their faith. They tried to poison -him and to set fire to his house but all in vain. -Hormasdji remained firm and spent his long life, for -he was seventy-one when he died, in seeking to bring -the faith of Christ into other hearts.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XIV<br /> - - -<small>SITA THE WIDOW</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Sita</span> was only a child but she was very miserable. -The other little girls she knew romped and played -about, but she had to work hard and to bear blows -and many other kinds of cruelty. She did not know -why this was, but she could remember a time long -before—at least it seemed long before—when people -were kind to her, and she could play and romp about -too. Even in her dim memory of these days one -person had been unkind to her. An old man who -had shaken her and told her to be quick and grow up -that she might work for him. But one day he died, -and Sita was very glad. Only she was not allowed -to be glad long, for the others in the house came -round her and told her that she had killed him, and -from that time they ill-treated her terribly. She had -to draw and carry all the water that was needed for -washing and cooking; and a great deal was required,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">[83]</span> -for there were nine people in the house. Sometimes -she was terribly tired, and it seemed as if she could -not draw up one bucketful more of water. One day, -when she was ten years old, she was more tired than -ever, and she sat down for a little by the well, while -happy careless women drew up their bucketfuls and -put them gaily on their heads. They looked bright -in their cotton robes, and their hearts were bright too -for they sang little songs as they clustered round the -well. Sita thought there was a kind look in the face -of one woman who came, and she said to her, “Will -you not draw a little water for me, the well is so deep, -and I am tired and ill?”</p> - -<p>The woman started back from the little brown -figure with the tattered clothes and the shaven head. -“Widow!” she said. Then she cursed Sita and -told her that she had done her harm by letting her -shadow fall on her, and that she would have to take -a bath before she could eat; and then she cursed her -again.</p> - -<p>The child looked up in surprise. She did not know -what all this meant. The tears were in her eyes, and -the woman, with a touch of pity, stopped a moment, -when she was safely out of reach of Sita’s shadow, -and asked:—</p> - -<p>“Why should I help you when the gods have cursed -you? See, you are a widow.” But Sita only gazed -at her.</p> - -<p>“Don’t you understand? Did you not have a -husband once?” “Yes, I think so, the old bad man -who used to shake me.” “You call him bad?”<span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">[84]</span> -“No wonder the gods hate you. You must have -been very bad once. So now you are a widow, and -by and bye you will be a toad or a snake.” Then the -woman lifted her water-pots and hurried away.</p> - -<p>Sita hastened too for she knew she had stayed too -long, and when she reached the house she was so tired -that she nearly fell, but instead of a cool drink or -kind words her sister-in-law burned her arms and hands -with a hot poker because she did not go to work -quickly enough and the little one had to labour on -through all her pain.</p> - -<p>So the days passed one by one. Some were worse -and some were better. But Sita was always hungry -for since her head was shaved she was only allowed -to eat once a day and that only of the least pleasant -kind of food. She was lonely too, for most of the -children fled from her. But there was one girl called -Tungi, who used to manage to speak to her sometimes. -Tungi was a little wife, but she had not yet gone to -stay with her husband. He was in school, and he had -sent word that his wife must go to school too, till they -were both older, because he wished her to be able to -sing and to read books and be happy with him when -he spoke of the things he cared about.</p> - -<p>Tungi’s mother did not like this at all. She thought -as very many people in India think that it is a bad -thing for women to read and write; but Tungi was -married, and, just as her mother would not have -thought it right to save her from her husband if he -had been ill-using her, so she did not think it right -to refuse to let her go to school.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">[85]</span>Tungi was a bright girl and she quickly took in -many of the lessons that were taught at school. One -of these was that it would do her no harm to talk to -a widow, so though she dared not let her mother see -her talk to Sita, she used to sit by her whenever she -could get a chance to do it without being seen.</p> - -<p>It was not a great thing for Tungi to do, for she loved -to see the light steal into the frightened eyes; but if it -was only another joy in Tungi’s full life it was like -the gate of heaven to Sita. Even to catch a passing -sight of Tungi made a day a red letter day for the -little widow.</p> - -<p>Sita told Tungi all about what the woman at the -well had said to her, and Tungi told her that many -of those who were at school did not believe such things -about widows. She told her too, that there was a -better God than the ones who would treat a child as -she was treated, and so she tried to comfort her little -friend.</p> - -<p>Soon Tungi had to go back to school and nine months -passed before the children met again.</p> - -<p>There had been a great contrast between them at -the beginning of the nine months, but it was far -greater at the end.</p> - -<p>Tungi’s eye was brighter. She had learned a great -deal more, and life was interesting and glad to her. -But poor Sita was sadder and more worn. Her -husband’s family had used her worse and worse. -They had almost forgotten that she could feel, and -they treated her as if she had really killed her -husband.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">[86]</span>A beautiful young widow who lived near Sita had -drowned herself in a well when she found how miserable -her life was after her husband’s death. Sita -looked into the cool water and wondered how long -it would take her to die if she leapt in. Then she -thought of what the woman had said a year before, -and she could see herself jumping about as a little frog, -and she feared that something worse even than that -might happen to her, and that she might go to one of -the places of punishment beyond the world altogether. -So she shrank back, and tried to face the dreary -round again—the hunger, the labour and the cruel -pain.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_086.jpg" alt="" /></div> -<p class="caption">RESCUED CHILD WIDOWS</p> - -<p>Even the joy of seeing Tungi once more could -scarcely raise her spirits, and the tenderness of her -little friend only brought tears to her eyes. But this -time Tungi had more than kindness to offer. She -told Sita of Ramabai’s home. It seemed impossible -to Sita that she could enter there—she, whom no one -wanted, and who had never been free to do what she -wished. But Tungi told her that nothing could -prevent her from getting into the Sharada Sadan, if -she could reach it. And Sita did reach it, and what -is more she reached it before all the fun and nonsense -in her had been killed, and the happy years that -followed healed the tiredness and the sickness of her -arms and body, though they could not make her -forget the darkness of her early days of widowhood.</p> - -<p>Before Sita had heard of Ramabai’s home, Tungi -had said to her, “There’s a better God than that.” -And in the Sharada Sadan Sita learned to know that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">[87]</span> -God. And when she grew up a Hindu gentleman, -who had also learned to know God, asked her to marry -him, and Sita who had been left a widow at the age -of four by the death of the “old bad man” became -a happy Christian wife.</p> - - - - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XV<br /> - -<small>DILAWUR KHAN AND THE KING</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Far</span> away in the north of India a little boy was born. -He was trained to two things—to be a robber and to -obey the Prophet Mohammed; and he learned what he -was taught thoroughly, for he could steal cleverly and -he was careful to pray five times a day and to fast -through Ramadan. From the high hill side he watched -the roads by which men crossed the country. When -poor people passed along he always stayed quietly -where he was, and let his sword lie by his side, though -he kept his gun in his hand to be ready. But, if instead -of a poor man he saw a rich trader pass, he swept down -into the valley, and made the merchant a prisoner. -He had hidden haunts in the hills, and he took his -prisoner with him to one of them. There he kept -him safely till money was sent to buy his freedom. -If it was a long time before any money was sent, or -if Dilawur Khan did not think that the sum that -had been sent was large enough he would cut off one -finger from his captive’s hand and send it to his -friends, to tell them that if they did not send soon -it would be too late.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">[88]</span>A price was set on Dilawur’s head, and one time -he was seen by some horse soldiers. They chased him, -but though he ran on foot and they were on horseback -they could not catch him, for he dashed into a -field of tall com and lay there while they rode up -and down.</p> - -<p>At another time a government officer met him in a -village, but the Englishman could not capture him -there because the village was beyond the bounds of -British India. But though the officer could not take -him prisoner, he tried another way. He looked at -the strong man before him and he felt that in spite of -the wild life he was living he was a true man, so he -said to him that he would give him service in the -Guide Corps if he would live an honest life. But -Dilawur refused the offer with scorn and said he -would go on with his reckless life whatever the English -said or did.</p> - -<p>He was a faithful follower of the Prophet. Five -times a day when the call for prayer rang out he bowed -himself before Allah, and he kept fast each year -through the month of Ramadan. Some Mohammedans -have thought it a good thing even to kill those who -do not worship Allah, and Dilawur Khan believed that -in his life of robbery he was serving God by injuring -His enemies.</p> - -<p>But Dilawur could not forget what the officer had -said to him, and the more he thought of it, the more -it seemed to him that it would be better to give himself -up to the English than to have them catch him -as an outlaw. Besides he wished very much to get<span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">[89]</span> -the money that had been promised to anyone who -would capture him, so he found out the officer -whom he had met before and asked for the reward -for bringing his own head! The officer still believed -that if once Dilawur gave his word he would keep it. -So, instead of executing him, he allowed him to serve -in the army.</p> - -<p>One day some time after this Dilawur was in -Peshawur, and as he passed through the Bazaar he -saw a noisy crowd. He went up to find out what was -going on, and there, to his surprise, he saw a colonel -of the army speaking to those around him. As he -listened he found that the colonel was speaking of -the King of India, the Son of God, and he knew that -he was trying to win men to believe in the foreigner’s -faith. Dilawur was sure that he could answer everything -the colonel said, and could show the crowd that -there was no truth in the religion of Christ. So he -began to argue, and when he went away he took one -of the colonel’s books home with him in order that he -might study it and prove to everyone who would -listen how false it was. But when he read it, he could -not prove that it was false, so he took it to three of the -religious teachers of his own faith. The first one -was very angry with him for reading such a book; -the second told him to put it away, and to remember -to pray at the set times for worship; and the third -one told him that if he read such books he would lose -his faith in the Prophet. This surprised him very -much, because he had read the Koran, his own sacred -book, for many years, and he believed in it thoroughly,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">[90]</span> -and thought that any book that would make him -lose his faith in the Prophet of whom the Koran told, -must be a wonderful one indeed.</p> - -<p>After some time he heard that the man who -had written the book had come to Peshawur. -When he heard it he said, “I would walk many -miles to see that man.” He went to see him and -talked with him often, and from that time he -began to attack the faith of those who followed -the Prophet, and to urge them to prove to him the -truth of the Koran. And as he thought and talked, -the story of the love of Christ entered into his heart -and the man who had once been a reckless robber, -and who was now a brave soldier, took service also -in another army and became a follower of the -King.</p> - -<p>But he had been a leader amongst the Mohammedans -and they could not bear to have him leave them. They -tried to kill him in many ways, and at last Dilawur -was so used to attack that he challenged anyone -whom he met after dark, with the words, “If you are -a friend stand still!”</p> - -<p>He served the army well, and he served Christ -loyally amongst his comrades. He rose to the highest -command that an Indian soldier could then hold, -and he was trusted on special service. At length on -one occasion a secret message had to be carried -north through the mountains into Central Asia. -Dilawur Khan was a true man and he knew the -passes, so he was chosen to go on the dangerous -errand, but ere it was finished he died amongst the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">[91]</span> -snow mountains. Though he knew that he was -dying, he was not afraid, but he sent a message to -his officers to say that he was glad to die on duty, and -a greeting to his friends. He carried the spirit of a -soldier’s obedience into his service of Christ. “Has -He commanded?” he would ask, and if the answer -was “yes,” he would add, “Then that is enough -for me.”</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XVI<br /> - - -<small>SOOBOO</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">It</span> is not only to poor and outcast girls that the sight -of the King of India brings joy. There are women -in that land whose lives were happy and glad before -they saw Him, who yet felt, whenever they knew -Him, that there was nothing that could make up to -them for missing His service.</p> - -<p>Sooboo was one of these. She was a young girl -of high caste in Madras. Her father was wealthy -and honoured and she still stayed with him, though -she was married, because, though she had all the -honour that is given to a wife, her husband would -never take her to his house. She had been born on -a Friday and she was one of twin children, and because -of these things she would bring ill-luck to her husband’s -house if she entered it. She was very happy in her -father’s house, and she gave her time to the worship -of the gods. All day long she thought of them, and -planned what she could do to show her reverence -for them, and to win merit by deeds of devotion.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">[92]</span>One of her plans was to build a temple and to have -within it an image of herself bowing before her god, -and the image and the god were both to be made of -gold. She had charge of the household gods too, -and she longed to learn to read in order that she might -find out for herself from the oldest Indian writings—the -Vedas—what the will of the gods really was, -because different priests and teachers seemed to contradict -each other, and she thought that if she could -get away back to the sacred books she would know -better how to worship.</p> - -<p>She tried to find some Hindu woman who would -teach her. But there was not one. There were -Zenana missionaries, but her friends were terribly -frightened to let them near her. “They will teach -you this new religion about Jesus,” they said. But -Sooboo was so eager to learn to read and so sure of -her own faith in the Hindu gods that she said, -“What they teach me about that will go in at -one ear and out at the other.” Sooboo had said -“that.” She meant the religion of the foreigners. -She did not know that the Christians had a real living -King whom they knew and obeyed. She thought they -had just another set of rules about life and stories of -gods who could be worshipped but who sat apart and -had no care for the men and women who served them.</p> - -<p>When she saw the King of India she knew Him to be -her King, and the thought of Him entered deep into -her heart. At first she hoped that she might stay at -home and win her father and the others there to -serve Christ too. His service was so wonderful to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">[93]</span> -her, so different from the worship of the idols and -so immensely better, that she could not believe -that those she loved so well, and whom she -honoured, would not serve Him too if they could -only see Him.</p> - -<p>But she did not know how fiercely her family hated -the religion of the foreigner. They tried every way -they could to make her yield, and when their pleading -and their caresses failed, they began to ill-use her. -But she did not flinch. She only thought she must -be patient and wait till those whom she loved saw -Jesus Christ for themselves. But one night she heard -an awful thing. She heard that her people were -planning to send her away to a far distant city to -make her a priestess in an idol temple there. She -knew too well that if they took her there, she would -be forced to worship the god and to take part in rites -that were hateful to her, or else to die. She had been -willing to bear pain and unkindness in the hope that -she might win her friends to Christ, but she could not -yield to this. So one night she left her father’s house -and reached the home of the missionaries in safety. -She would not yield to the entreaties of her friends -who came to seek her, though she still loved them, -and they could not force her to go back, for she was -old enough to be free by law to decide for herself.</p> - -<p>You remember the golden image of Sooboo that was -being made to stand in the Hindu temple. There was -another image made of Sooboo now. It was not made -of gold, and it was large—as large as Sooboo herself. -When it was finished it was not set up in a temple.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">[94]</span> -It was laid on a stretcher like a dead body, and carried -through the streets of Madras and Sooboo’s father -and brothers wailed out as they carried it, “Sooboo -is dead!” “Sooboo is dead!” And Sooboo listened -as they passed along. She heard the voices of those -she loved wailing out this terrible dirge, and in her -misery she covered her ears with her hands.</p> - -<p>The image of Sooboo was burned on the funeral -pyre as if it had really been Sooboo; and what -followed after was even more terrible for the girl, -for she heard that her mother, who had always been -so much cared for, and had enjoyed the comfort -and luxury of a wealthy home, and who had lived -away from the sight of all except those of her own -family, had taken the ashes of the image of Sooboo -and had started out on foot to beg her way to the -Ganges and throw the ashes on its waters. No one -knew so well as Sooboo how great her mother’s love -for her was, when it could make her venture out -into the unknown land to walk, in poverty, hundreds -of miles, in order, if possible, to win forgiveness for -her child. How she longed to fly to comfort her -mother. But that could only be by denying her King!</p> - -<p>Sooboo had a pilgrimage of her own to make, for -she carried the devotion that had made her plan how -she could best serve the gods into her service of the -King. Her pilgrimage took her into the villages -and the Zenanas round Madras that she might help -the women of her land to see the King of India. And -ever when the sight of a funeral made her think of -that awful wail “Sooboo is dead,” or when some aged<span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">[95]</span> -pilgrim brought back the thought of her mother’s -weary steps over the burning roads of India, she -turned to her own pilgrimage more eagerly, that she -might hasten the time when India would know that it -was life and not death to find the King, and when its -peoples would crowd to Him, instead of to the Ganges.</p> - -<p>For there is something about the King of India -that makes men and women who have really seen -Him feel that there is nothing so great as to serve -Him, and nothing so kind as to help some one else -to see Him too.</p> - -<p>But this King of India is the King of all the world, -and He still asks those who have seen Him to help -Him in His kingdom. The boys and girls in India -to-day could win all their land for Him if they only -knew Him. But the boys and girls in Christian -lands must help, for even those who are far away -have their part to do. Long ago if a boy wished to -be a knight he began by serving a knight. Christ -the King needs many knights to ride for Him in India, -to redress wrong, to save the sad and dying and the -sinful; but He needs others to be servants of the -knights, and each boy and girl can find something to -do to help the knights of the King of India.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="FOOTNOTES">FOOTNOTES:</h2> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="label">[1]</a> Man of low caste.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_2" href="#FNanchor_2" class="label">[2]</a> Outcast races.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_3" href="#FNanchor_3" class="label">[3]</a> “Kheddah,” the name given to the enclosed space.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_4" href="#FNanchor_4" class="label">[4]</a> Elephant driver.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_5" href="#FNanchor_5" class="label">[5]</a> Woman’s garments.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_6" href="#FNanchor_6" class="label">[6]</a> Very small coins.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_7" href="#FNanchor_7" class="label">[7]</a> Feminine of Pandit, teacher.</p> - -</div> - - -<p> </p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> -<div class="transnote"> -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="ph2">TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE:</p> -</div> - - -<p>Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.</p> - -<p>Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized.</p> -</div> - -<p> </p> -<hr class="pgx" /> -<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHILDREN OF INDIA***</p> -<p>******* This file should be named 64697-h.htm or 64697-h.zip *******</p> -<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> -<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/6/4/6/9/64697">http://www.gutenberg.org/6/4/6/9/64697</a></p> -<p> -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed.</p> - -<p>Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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