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Title: Old Daniel

Author: Thomas Hodson

Release date: October 20, 2007 [eBook #23123]

Language: English

Credits: Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England


*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OLD DANIEL ***




Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England




Old Daniel; or, Memoir of a Converted Hindoo and Description of Village
Life in India.

By Thomas Hodson, with Introduction by the Rev W. Arthur, M.A.

Published about 1877.

________________________________________________________________________
The title of this book is somewhat odd, for, though certainly greatly
about the life and doings of Chickka the washerman, and his conversion
to Christianity, the memoirs are certainly not his, and indeed it is a
little difficult to see whose they are. Not apparently those of Thomas
Hodson, who is mentioned frequently in the third person, and who appears
to be as much of an ordained minister as the Reverend W. Arthur.
Strange also is the fact that the title page promises an Introduction,
but what we actually get, on the very next page, is a Preface.

However, these are minor grumbles, because what you do get is a head-on
description of village life in India, as promised, and some very nice
illustrations.

As Editor, I must hasten to say that Thomas Hodson, the author of some
of the short chapters, is no relation of mine.  In fact my ancestor
Thomas Hodson, who also worked in India, but as an administrator, was
only a small child in England at the time the book was published.  But
my family have had a long connection with India, and that has led to my
own great interest in the Indian sub-continent.  I was very interested
to read and edit this book, and commend it to anyone who would like to
know more about Indian Village Life 150 and even 200 years ago (the hero
of the tale was born in 1799).

Although this book is constructed from pieces written by devoted
Missionaries, and although they deride the local Gods and religious
practices, I do not think the book is very convincing as an argument for
Christianity, although I describe myself as a Christian.  N.H.

________________________________________________________________________
OLD DANIEL; OR, MEMOIR OF A CONVERTED HINDOO AND DESCRIPTION OF VILLAGE
LIFE IN INDIA.

BY THOMAS HODSON, WITH INTRODUCTION BY THE REV W. ARTHUR, M.A.



PREFACE.

I can now, in my mind's eye, see Chickka, the washerman, as if I had met
him yesterday; and I can see the mud houses of Singonahully, the mud
wall of the village, and the temple of Runga, as if they were all before
me.  Yet five and thirty years are passed and gone since the afternoon
when, in quest of medical aid, I rode past the village, hoping yet to
see it the abode of many follower's of Christ, not knowing that I was
never to see it more.  At that time Chickka was still a heathen.  He was
then between forty and fifty years of age, a grey-headed, resolute,
self-controlled looking man.

At the mission-house of Goobbe we knew Chickka well.  He was often
present at our family prayer, but gave no signs of any religious
conviction; and I cannot remember that he ever expressed more
disapproval of idolatry than many did, who to this day have continued in
their heathenism.  Certainly I had no idea of the processes through
which the mind of the washer man had passed.  It would have been hard to
conceive that one so ignorant and so simple, had as a boy, all untaught,
seen as clearly the vanity of idols as well-instructed men could do, and
had in his own simple way taken practical and striking steps to convince
others of the justice of his views.

In the lifelike narrative of Mr Hodson,--where every touch is that of
one who has lived among the people, till their sayings and their doings,
their surrounding scenes and modes of thought, are all familiar,--the
reader will find a very curious light upon the processes of thought
which, in the deepest night of paganism, may be passing in the mind of a
labourer's lad who knows not a letter.  We may feel assured that similar
lights are shining in the darkest places now, and that millions of young
minds are being prepared, as was the mind of Chickka, to turn from dumb
idols to serve the living and the true God.  Even were the incidents
detailed in the following pages those only of the life of a single boy,
they would be of great interest.  But it is not as incidents that give
interest to the story of an inward change of one mind, or of the outward
windings of one life, but as a sign of what is going on in multitudes,
and as a foretoken of the changes that are to come, that the highest
interest attaches to such scenes as that of Chickka breaking the
serpent-gods, turning the sword-gods into plough-shares, refusing to bow
to the idol, or speaking lightly of the great god of the vicinity when
his car was burned.  Even the procession, which in all forms of
idolatry, from that of India to that of Rome, forms an important
instrument of public impression, failed to command the feelings of
Chickka.  How many men in countries where weeping Madonnas are exhibited
have been tormented with the same curiosity which seized Chickka on
seeing the tears streaming down the cheeks of Mari, the goddess of
diseases!  But seldom have courage and opportunity combined to carry the
inquirer to a conclusion so decisive as that which rewarded the research
of the poor washerman's son.  I seem now as if I could trace the boy, in
the struggling grey of the morning, down the gentle slope, till he
reached the tank, found the spot where the idol had been cast into it,
and, daring to break its head, laid bare all the mystery of the tears.
That, too, was a step preparing him for the great change when he was to
turn to One who is not the work of men's hands, but is the Maker of the
mighty and the weak.  And the same influences which prepared Chickka,
and which eventually changed him into Daniel, are now at work in, I
repeat it, millions of minds, where the influences are as much unseen
and unsuspected as were at the time those of which the reader will find
the account so striking.

Good Edward Hardey, whose words were the first that were sent home to
the heart of the washerman with the power that quickens dry corns into
sprouting seeds, and good Matthew Trevan Male, who baptized him as the
firstfruits unto Christ in Goobbe, are both gone to their rest.  Many
others who have sowed on that field are also gone.  Daniel has ended his
course in peace.  And still the harvest is not reaped.  But the harvest
is to come.  In such a work delay, disappointment, and the deferring of
hope are to be taken as but a call for more faith and more prayer.  If
the lights struggling in the heathen mind of Chickka were but an example
of what is taking place in the minds of many, so also the change by
which Chickka became Daniel, the steadfast Christian, was but an example
of thousands of thousands that are yet to come.  `Behold, I make all
things new,' says He who caused the light to shine out of darkness; and
in the Mysore He will yet bring forth a new and glorious creation.  In
that country, at this present time, a terrible famine is making ravages.
Even that calamity may be overruled for good.  At all events it gives
fresh emphasis to the call for all followers of Christ to enter in and
work for God, where the harvest indeed is plenteous and the labourers
are few.  It may be that even in times of trial the Spirit will be
poured out from on high, and that God will yet gladden with tidings of
great joy the hearts of some to whom those fields are unutterably dear,
and who have long waited for the full corn in the ear.

                                                              W. ARTHUR.


CHAPTER ONE.

DANIEL'S PARENTAGE.

Before Daniel was baptised his name was _Chikkha_, but we will call him
Daniel from the beginning to the end of this little memoir.  He lived
sometimes at Goobbe, and sometimes at Singonahully.  Goobbe is a large
market town in the kingdom of Mysore, and Singonahully is a small
village about two miles from Goobbe.  The Wesleyan Mission premises are
situated between these two places.  If my young readers, for whom this
little book is written, will take a large map of India, they will see
`Goobbe,' in Latitude 13 degrees 19 minutes North, and Longitude 77
degrees East.  It is fifty-five miles north-west of Bangalore, and about
seventy north-east of Seringapatam.

Many years ago,--it is not known exactly how many--a man of the
Washerman caste left his native village and came to Singonahully.  He
brought his family with him, but left behind a box containing an idol
and some other sacred things, in charge of the village priest.  This man
was Daniel's grandfather.  In Singonahully he entered into friendly
relations with the old village washerman, who was nearly blind, and
helped him in his work.  In due time one of the blind man's daughters
was given in marriage to Daniel's father, whose name was Veera Chickka.

Daniel was born May 4th, 1799, or according to his own phraseology, "I
was born on the day Seringapatam was taken by the English."  It may here
be observed that many of the middle and lower classes of the Hindoos do
not keep any correct record of the time when their children are born, so
that if no event of importance happens about that time, there is
generally no means of ascertaining the age of anyone in such families.

Daniel's father was always a poor man, so that his son was never sent to
school; and he was never able either to read or to write; but, when
quite a child, he manifested a very clear judgment in many things, and
especially in the view he took as to the worship of idols.



CHAPTER TWO.

DANIEL'S FIRST PROTEST AGAINST IDOLATRY.

One day when Daniel was about ten years old, and living with his father
in Goobbe, a relation of the family came from Toomcoor, on what, to him,
was a very important matter; and he said to Daniel's father, "Well,
Veera Chickka, your father shut up our goddess in a box and left it, in
his village, in care of the temple priest, and there she now remains.
The goddess has had no worship paid her from that time to this; she is
angry, and a great calamity has, in consequence, come upon me and my
family.  Come now, let us fetch the goddess from our ancestral home, and
worship her here in this place."  The goddess referred to was Lakshmi,
the wife of Vishnu, the goddess of wealth and prosperity.  When little
Daniel heard this proposal, it seemed foolishness to him, and at a
favourable opening in the conversation he said to his relation, "The
goddess Lakshmi has blessed you with wealth, but she has left us in
poverty; when she gives us prosperity we will worship her, but not till
then."  Both Daniel's father and his visitor looked at the boy angrily,
but said nothing; however, in the end his father decided not to fetch
the idol.

The following is another proof of Daniel's decision; and it shows what a
clear view he had of idolatry before he ever heard a word of Gospel
truth.  The account is given in his own words.



CHAPTER THREE.

SNAKE-WORSHIP.

When I was about eleven years old, my brothers and sisters were
suffering from boils, and my parents asked a fortune-teller what they
should do to get rid of them.  He told my parents that the boils had
come in consequence of their neglect of serpent-worship, and that the
children would be cured if my parents would again worship snakes.  These
reptiles often take up their abode in white-ant-hills, after the ants
have vacated them.  My parents had been in the habit of worshipping
serpents two or three times a year.  Their custom was to pour milk,
clarified butter, curds, etcetera, etcetera, into the holes of a
white-ant-hill, when they knew there was a venomous serpent inside.  The
libations were accompanied by fastings, prayers, prostrations, and many
ceremonial purifications.  And now to remove the boils from their
children they resolved to comply with the fortune-teller's directions,
and go through a grand performance of serpent-worship.  They accordingly
consecrated two old stone idols, made in the shape of serpents, and
commenced the worship of them.  I thought this was all foolishness, and
before the whole of the ceremonies could be completed, watching my
opportunity, I broke each snake-stone into two or three pieces, and
threw them away as common stones.  When my parents saw the broken
images, and knew that it was I who had broken them, they were
exceedingly angry, and my father said, with fury, "Son! is it proper to
do so?  Other gods may be false, but the Serpent-god is not.  The
children are suffering from the anger of the Serpent-god, and now you
have broken his images, so that his wrath is increased; and what
calamity will happen to us it is impossible to say."

After my father was a little calm, I said to him, "Father, I believe
that this worshipping snakes and their stone images is all nonsense.
What connection can there be between boils on a human body and the image
of a serpent?  Have patience; no calamity will happen.  Should any
trouble come, we will then conclude that the serpent is a true god; and
I will, in that case, get two other images made, and putting them in the
place of the two broken ones, they shall be consecrated and receive
regular worship."  My father thought I was a strange child.  However, in
a few days, my brothers and sisters were quite well, and the belief of
my parents in snake-worship died away.



CHAPTER FOUR.

BIBLE IN THE CANARESE LANGUAGE.

Daniel, at that time, had no teacher but the Holy Spirit.  There were no
Bibles in the Canarese language, which was the language spoken by
Daniel; there were no Protestant Missionaries where he lived; no schools
in which Hindoo children could be taught to read the Word of God; and no
means whatever for acquiring a correct knowledge of the way to heaven.
Had these means of salvation been in existence when Daniel was a boy, he
would have been taught to worship the true God, and might have been
instrumental in the conversion of many people.  But his youth was spent
in ignorance and in the service of Satan.  Thank God, there is now a
change for the better.  There are Missionaries who preach the Gospel in
many parts of the Mysore country; there are schools for children, and
also for those converted young men who wish to be taught how to preach
the Gospel to their own countrymen.  The Scriptures are translated into
the Canarese language, and may be had everywhere at a very cheap rate
indeed.  A copy of the Canarese Bible, printed at the Wesleyan Mission
Press, in Bangalore, and beautifully bound, was presented, with Bibles
in other oriental languages, to His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales,
on his late visit to Madras.  This is a very different state of things
from that which existed when Daniel was a boy.  But there is very much
yet to be done.  The Missionaries have made a good beginning, but the
work has to be completed; every man, woman, and child has to be
converted; and therefore the young Missionary collectors all over
England, have need to renew their efforts, that many more Missionaries
may be sent to India every year.



CHAPTER FIVE.

DIALOGUE BETWEEN A GENTLEMAN AND A SHEPHERD.

We will now return to our history of the boy Daniel.  In the same year
that he broke the stone serpents, he played a trick on some impostors
who were taking part in a religious procession, which the shepherds of
Singonahully and the neighbourhood had got up.  The shepherds in the
Mysore country are very ignorant and very superstitious.  This may
partly be accounted for from the fact that they live with their flocks
in the open fields daily, from morning to night, associate little with
their fellow-men, and seem shut out from all means of instruction.  A
very learned Brahmin, who was at one time the Reverend William Arthur's
Canarese teacher, wrote a number of `Village Dialogues,' and in one of
them the shepherd is most admirably described.  The following extract is
made in order to show the shepherd's ignorance, his creed, and his mode
of worship.  It is a fit introduction to the Shepherds' procession which
little Daniel interrupted.  The extract is part of a supposed dialogue
between an English gentleman passing through the country and a shepherd,
whom he happens to see near the public road:

The shepherd had a handkerchief round his head, a grey woollen blanket
tied like a hood, and a six-cubit piece of cloth round his loins.
Behind him came a flock of sheep, and behind the flock, in front, and on
both sides there were barking dogs.  The shepherd had a stick in his
left hand, which he laid upon his left shoulder; in his right hand he
had a long switch, and under the armpit a bag, in a small net of
hemp-cord network; the net hung from the shoulder on the left side.
Calling "Hus-si, hus-si, kiy-yo," to the sheep which were straggling on
all four sides, he brought them together and drove them along; going
sometimes before, and sometimes behind.  Whilst he was going behind, he
saw an English gentleman coming along in a travelling carriage, and said
to himself, "Who in the world is this?  A gentleman coming, as I'm
alive!  Why should I stay in his way?  I'd better hide myself a bit."
So he got behind a hedge, and fearing lest the sheep should stray, as he
kept peeping and looking out every now and then, and huffing them with
his cry, "Hus-si, hus-si," this gentleman saw him, and called out, "Ho
Sir, _Gowda_, come here."  _Gowda_ is the head man of a village, and the
word was used on this occasion respectfully.  Hearing which, the
shepherd said to himself, "What trouble has come now?  He's calling me
to come to him.  If I go to him, I cannot tell what he may do to me.
And if I don't go, I cannot tell what will happen.  But they say that
English gentlemen never do harm to anybody.  Though I hear him, I'll
just keep quiet as though I didn't hear, and if he calls again, I'll
go."  The gentleman, seeing the shepherd's great perplexity, and knowing
that it was through fear that he did not come, again called out, "Ho
Sir, Gowda, Gowda, come here; don't be afraid; I won't do anything to
you; you need not give me anything; come here, come and have a talk."
On which the shepherd thinking within himself, "If I don't go to him
after this, he may get angry, and I can't tell what he will do," delayed
a little, as though driving his sheep; when the gentleman again called,
"Come."  "There is no getting out of it, I must go," said the shepherd
to himself; and came near, and stood with the stick across his
shoulders, holding the ends of the stick on both sides with his hands,
swinging the switch that he held in his right hand, stooping, moving his
head from side to side, and shuffling his feet.  Seeing the shepherd,
who thus came and stood, the gentleman entered into conversation with
him, as follows:

G.  "Well, Sir, _Gowda_, who are you?"

S.  "I am a shepherd, my lord."

G.  "What is your name?"

S.  "My name is Bit-tare Shikkanu, Sir."  (The words mean, "If you let
him go, you won't catch him again.")

G.  "Bravo!  If one let go your name, he won't catch it again, eh?
Well, what is your god's name?"

S.  "_Bir-ap-pa_ is our god, Sir."

G.  "_Bir-ap-pa_, eh? what is he like?"

S.  "That's good, Sir.  What should god be like?  It is in this temple."

G.  "How do you worship your god? and how often?"

S.  "We worship our god once a year, or once in two years, or if we miss
that, once in three years.  When the worship is made, there is a great
gathering, numbers of people come--wind instruments, cymbals,
tambourines, drums, flags, beggars, devotees, stoics, bearskin-capped
shepherd-priests,--and as for brahmins, they are without number; they
abound wherever you look.  Besides these, shops, cocoa-nuts, plantain
bunches, and bundles of betel leaves, innumerable mountebanks,
ballad-singers, tumblers, companies of stage-players; all these, a great
gathering, Sir.  Then worshipping god, presenting flowers, lighted wave
offerings, offerings of money, of ornaments, votive offerings, and
consecrated cattle; persons who give their hair, cocoa-nut scramblers,
lamp bearers, offerers of fruit and flowers,--many people come together,
and we worship our god _Bir-ap-pa_."

G.  "Is the temple, where your god is, very clean?"

S.  "Yes, Sir.  If god's place is not clean, what is?  God is set up in
a stone temple.  Once a year, or once in six months, if we open the door
we open it; if we don't, we don't.  Nobody goes there at all except at
the feast.  If a temple like this is not clean, what is, Sir?"

G.  "But don't you sweep the floor and sprinkle it with water every
day?"

S.  "Who is to sweep it every day, eh?  Once in six months, once in
three months, or once a year, the priest opens the door, and if there be
a feast or full moon, he sprinkles and sweeps a little, colours and
whitewashes the walls with red earth and with white earth, streaks them,
brings mango leaves and makes them into festoons over the door; and if
we worship and bring flowers, we do; and if we don't, we don't.  Such a
god is our god, Sir."

G.  "Bravo! a very fine god indeed!  But what do you do to this god at
the feast?  Tell us a bit, and let us hear."

S.  "What can I tell you, Sir?  We are silly shepherds; all our language
seems queer to you."

G.  "Never mind, tell me, _Gowda_."

S.  "Well, Sir, eight days before the feast, the priest must get his
head shaved, bathe himself in water, and take but one meal a-day.
Having thus taken but one meal a-day for eight days, he, on the
feast-day worships the god in the temple, praises it, prostrates
himself, and begs it to do us all good.  He then comes out and kneels in
the court of the temple, near a stone pillar in front of the god.  He
shuts his eyes, and rests on his hands and knees.  When he has taken
this position, all who have come to the festival to worship our god
_Bir-ap-pa_, bring cocoa-nuts, and going up to the pillar where the
priest is kneeling, they take the cocoa-nuts in their hands, and press
upon one another, each crying, `I am first, I am first.'  Then ten of
the most respectable people come out, stand apart from the rest, make
the people who are pressing forward stand back, and take the cocoa-nuts,
which the people have brought, into their own hands.  Four others,
strong men, stand near the priest; the elders hand the cocoa-nuts to
them; and they keep on breaking them on the priest's head; the priest,
all the time, having his eyes shut, is down on his hands and knees
before _Bir-ap-pa_, holding out his shaven head, until great heaps of
cocoa-nut fragments are piled up as high as an elephant on both sides of
him.  And though so many nuts are dashed against his bare skin, the
priest feels no pain, and never utters a sound which indicates
suffering.  Such a glorious god is our god, Sir.  No matter what trouble
threatens he wards it off.  He always takes care of us."

G.  "How is it, master shepherd, that you do such a silly thing as this?
There is a trick in breaking the cocoa-nuts on the head of the priest.
The people who break the cocoa-nuts are clever jugglers.  They have a
store of cocoa-nuts which have been previously broken and stuck together
again.  They substitute one for the other, and so deceive the people."

S.  "How it is, Sir, I don't know.  You are a gentleman and you
understand it.  I only say what everybody says, Sir."

The above dialogue shows a shepherd's creed, his ignorance, and his mode
of worship.  And it was a festival, a procession, and worship such as
this that the shepherds of Singonahully were celebrating when Daniel
interfered.  The following is his own account.



CHAPTER SIX.

THE CRY OF "SNAKES!  SNAKES!"

After some of the ceremonies had been performed in honour of the
shepherds' god, _Bir-ap-pa_, certain consecrated things were carried by
the priest, and others by his wife, to a particular tank, or artificial
lake, where special washings and other purifying ceremonies had to be
performed.  The shepherds and their relations were accompanied by
musicians, dancing-girls, religious beggars, and many others.  They also
had a Brahman to perform the appointed purifying ceremonies at the tank.
These being completed the procession came back with great pomp.  The
priest, his wife, the hired Brahman, and some others, walked on garments
which had been spread in the way on purpose for them to walk on.  As the
wife of the priest came along carrying a _Kalasha_, a particular kind of
water vessel, which for the time, with its contents, was held to be pure
and sacred, she pretended to be under the influence of some god.  She
began to swing and roll herself about in a most strange manner, trying
to make the multitude believe that _Bir-ap-pa_, or some other god or
goddess, had entered into her.  She struck and kicked those persons who
tried to hold her, and abused many in very foul language.  I saw and
heard all this, and thought the woman was a great hypocrite.  I could
not believe it possible that any god or goddess would compel a woman to
act in such a foolish way.  I said to myself, "What a shameful impostor
this woman is!"  After thinking a little as to what I could do in order
to expose her, and shew the people that she was deceiving them, I
watched for a favourable opportunity, and then cried out, "Snakes!
snakes!" as loud as I could.  This produced immediate confusion.  The
priest and his wife, through fear of being stung by the snakes, tried to
get away; no one knew which way to run; some were knocked down, and the
sacred things which the priest and his wife were carrying fell to the
ground and were broken.  "The worshippers of _Bir-ap-pa_, and the mob of
followers all dispersed in vexation and grief; but I went home greatly
amused."



CHAPTER SEVEN.

SWORDS BEATEN INTO PLOUGHSHARES.

In the second chapter of Isaiah, and the fourth verse, we read, "They
shall beat their swords into ploughshares;" and by the context we know
that these words are part of a description of that universal peace which
will follow the preaching of the Gospel in every part of the world.
This beautiful poetic image made use of by the prophet Isaiah, has been
adopted by many writers ancient and modern, and the words are often
quoted by eloquent public speakers, when referring to millennial times;
but it is probable that none of them ever expected to hear of the words
being literally fulfilled.  This, however, was accomplished in
Singonahully by our little friend Daniel.  We have seen that Daniel's
heathen name was `Chickka,' and his father's name was `Veera Chickka,'
that is _hero Chickka_; but whether any deeds of heroism were ever
displayed, either by Daniel's father or by any of his ancestors, is not
upon record.  However, we do know that when his old grandfather left his
native town and came to live at Goobbe, though he did not bring the
image of the family goddess with him, he did bring some old swords which
had been in the family very many years.  These swords had often been
worshipped by Daniel's forefathers.  We may here observe, in passing,
that all Hindoo mechanics and other workpeople regularly worship their
tools and other instruments by which they gain their living.  They put
up any of their implements as representations of _Vishwa Karma_, the
architect and artificer of the gods, (_Vishwa_ means the World or the
Universe, and _Karma_ means Work), and pray to these tools for success
in business, war, agriculture, etcetera.  Thus a carpenter places a
hammer or a saw before him, and putting both his hands to his forehead
bows to the instrument, and asks for its help in the work to be done.
The barber worships his razor; the blacksmith worships his bellows; and
the farmer his plough, oxen, etcetera, etcetera.  Daniel's forefathers
having worshipped these old swords, Veera Chickka continued the
time-honoured custom.  On a special occasion he invited his relatives
and friends to come and join in the worship, and in the feast which
always followed it.  This happened when Daniel was about thirteen or
fourteen years of age.  Preparatory to the worship, his parents cleaned
the rusty swords, decorated them with flowers, and placed them upright
against a wall.  When the proper time came, they and their visitors made
offerings to the swords, of plantains, cocoa-nuts, rice, etcetera.
After this, they burned incense to their ancestors who were the original
owners of the swords, and then falling prostrate before them they all
cried out, "O, our gods, prosper us: O, our gods, defend us."  After the
worship was over, all the visitors partook of the feast prepared, passed
the evening pleasantly in conversation, and the next morning returned to
their own homes.  Daniel says, "I was much impressed with the
foolishness of all these proceedings, and I said to myself, `What
benefit can be derived from the worshipping of these old swords?  I am
determined to put a stop to this in some way.'"  He thought the matter
over several days, and by that time his plan was formed.  So one day,
when no one saw him, he took the swords, with the box in which they had
been carefully placed, and started for the blacksmith's shop.  But on
the way he met his brother, who stopped him, and the following
altercation ensued, as given in Daniel's own words: "What is that you
have got in the box? and where are you going with it?" said my brother.
I replied, "O, nothing in particular."  But he would not allow me to
proceed without his looking into the box and having a plain answer to
his question.  I therefore said, "Brother, as our people have been
accustomed to worship these old swords, I think they had better be made
into some proper shape.  I am therefore taking them to the blacksmith,
that he may put them into his fire and make an idol of them."  My
brother, on hearing this, was quite shocked, and said, "Do you mean to
say that you are going to break up these sacred relics, which have been
handed down to us from our heroic forefathers?  I think you are mad.  I
will go immediately to our father and tell him what you are doing."  So
saying he went home in great anger, and I went on to the blacksmith.
When I arrived at his shop, I found several men outside waiting to get
something done to their agricultural implements, and they all looked at
me very enquiringly.  I said nothing, but put down my box of swords, and
sat upon it.  At length the blacksmith said: "Well, Chickka, what have
you come for?  What have you got in that box?"  I opened the box and
shewed him the swords.  On seeing them he said, "What have you brought
these things here for?"  I replied, "These old swords have been
occasionally worshipped as gods in our family; but I don't see that any
benefit can be obtained by worshipping such things; in their present
shape they are useless; I think they may be made into something useful.
I have therefore brought them here for you to make ploughshares of
them."  As soon as I had uttered these words, all the farmers present
seemed terrified, and one man exclaimed, "If you do this, your family
will never prosper; these are gods."  I said, "Very well, we will see
whether they are gods or not, we will give them a fair trial.  We will
put them into the fire, and if they are gods they will jump out: and if
they are not gods they will melt like common iron: let us see."  The
blacksmith did what I wished.  He made one ploughshare immediately, and
the others afterwards.  The lookers-on said nothing, but they doubtless
expected some dreadful calamity would happen to me.  When my father
heard what I had done, he was very angry, and said, "This boy is born to
destroy our gods and customs."  For several days he would not allow me
to enter his house: but in two or three weeks my father's displeasure
passed away, and the matter of the swords was not mentioned again.  But
all the members of our family complained that I never bowed to the idol
when I passed the temple as they and all the other people in the village
did.  To this, when questioned, I had only one answer, namely, "I don't
believe that any image made by human hands can be God."  This boy was
evidently taught of God, without the aid of any human means.  He could
not read; the example of his parents and friends was bad, very bad; and
he had never heard one word of Gospel Truth.

Everyone who has seen an English plough will know that a few old swords
would not supply material for one English ploughshare, but an Indian
plough is a very different thing, and is well represented by the
accompanying sketch.  All the iron required is a little bit at the point
which enters the ground.  The plough is very light, and may easily be
carried by a _boy_ from the farmer's house to his field in the morning,
and back again in the evening.  A _man_ may be often seen carrying _two_
ploughs, one on each shoulder.



CHAPTER EIGHT.

INDIAN AGRICULTURE.

We may imagine that the first plough ever used in India was a crooked
branch of a tree; and we may also imagine that when a suitable branch
could not be found, the skill of the best mechanic in the locality was
called into exercise to make something that would do as well as a
crooked branch.  Then, in the course of years, some original genius
improved upon nature by adding, when needed, a harder substance than
wood; and hence the bit of iron now added to form the Indian
ploughshare.  Beyond this the farmer who lived a thousand years since in
the Mysore country did not venture to go; and the present race of
cultivators, relying with implicit confidence on the wisdom of the
ancients, look with suspicion on all proposed improvements.  This
primitive instrument, represented in the engraving, having been tied to
a bar of wood laid across the neck of two bullocks, and placed under the
management of a ploughboy, the ground is scratched a few inches deep
after every shower.  This process prepares the ground for the seed, and
nature being generous, a very fair crop is produced.  In the Mysore
country the farmers were never so prosperous as they are at the present
day.  Thanks to English authority, the people are not oppressed as they
were under the despotic rule of their own native princes.  The
Government is the great landlord; the rent of round has not been very
much increased; the taxes have been reduced, and the produce of the soil
fetches three times the price it did forty years ago.



CHAPTER NINE.

HOW A SCHOOLMASTER BECAME A GOD.

We have seen how some old swords were worshipped by Daniel's parents and
friends, and we will now show how, many years ago, a god was made out of
an old schoolmaster, and is worshipped at the present day.  The legend
is that, about two hundred years ago, there lived in Goobbe a very
efficient schoolmaster, who was celebrated all over that part, of the
country for his learning, wisdom, and sanctity.  He lived to a good old
age, and then died.  The respect in which he had been held during his
life was manifested at his funeral, when there was a very large
gathering of mourners.  His death was looked upon as a public calamity.
But he would doubtless soon have been forgotten had it not been for the
gratitude and activity of one of his pupils, named Burree Gowda.  This
man had, during the course of twenty or thirty years, become very rich,
and a person of considerable influence.  He attributed all his success
in life to the teaching and good example of his old schoolmaster, and he
felt disposed to do something to perpetuate his memory.  He therefore
one day called together all the influential men of Goobbe, amongst whom
there were probably a few of Burree Gowda's fellow-students, and to this
assembly he opened his mind fully.  He enumerated the excellencies of
his old teacher, and stated his conviction that the good schoolmaster
was something more than an ordinary mortal; indeed, that he was an
incarnation of some deity; adding that, being divine, he ought to be
worshipped.  To this opinion the assembly assented.  He next proposed
that a temple should be erected, and all arrangements secured for the
schoolmaster being worshipped as the god `Goobbe-appa'--that is,
Goobbe-father.  All agreed to this also, as being calculated to benefit
the people of Goobbe, as well as to do honour to the schoolmaster.  But
when Burree Gowda proposed to meet all the expenses himself, we may
fairly conclude hat the proposal was carried by acclamation.  In due
time the temple was built, an idol (the bust of a man with a face of
gold) was made, and, with the usual ceremonies, "_Prana pratishta_" was
performed.  This is a special ceremony, by which the Hindoos think life
is imparted to an image, or that a god is made to enter into an idol.
Thus they supposed that the deified old schoolmaster entered into the
image of `Goobbe-Appa,' which had been made for him to dwell in.  And
there, in that temple, he is the most popular god of all within twenty
or thirty miles of Goobbe.  He is not only worshipped daily by many who
live in the town, but also once a year by eight or ten thousands of
people who, at the anniversary, come in from all the adjacent towns and
villages.

When Daniel was about fourteen or fifteen years of age, he had to take
part in one of these annual festivals.  It appears that some rich man,
probably a descendant of Burree Gowda, had determined that year to have
a specially grand procession.  He, therefore, months before the time,
began to make preparations.  He had a car, or carriage, made, purchased
fireworks, lamps, torches, etcetera.  The washermen far and near were
told to bring cloths of different colours with which to cover and
decorate the car, and payment for them was promised.  Some people
brought garlands of flowers, evergreens and other foliage as presents;
so that when the procession started at midnight, with thousands of lamps
and hundreds of torches burning, the vast crowds of people gazed with
wonder and delight.  Daniel had to attend and help to decorate the car
with such cloths as his father had been called upon to supply.  This
being done, he had to carry a torch.  The procession had not proceeded
very far before some of the cloths on the car took fire, either from the
lamps or from the fireworks, and a terrible confusion was immediately
produced.  The priest of the temple, who was riding upon the car, was
very severely burned, while shrieks and cries were heard on every hand
from many who had been knocked down and injured.  When the priest was
helped out of the burning car he ran into some deep water to cool
himself.  The idol also was taken out of the flames, and finished its
journey in a palanquin.  Daniel says, "I saw all this: and at the time
when the priest came out of the water, he ordered me to walk by his
side, and light the way for him with the torch which I had been directed
to carry; but as I proceeded, a sharp thorn ran into my foot, and gave
me great pain, so that I could not walk, but was obliged to sit down.
The priest commanded me to get up, and come along with him.  I said, `Be
patient, my lord; I am suffering from a thorn in my foot.'  However, in
a very loud and angry tone he said, `Get up, I command you, and come
with me after the god.'  Then I felt angry too, and replied, `Why do you
bawl out in that way?  The god does not want me; but if he does, I
cannot come; I am lame; he may help himself.'  On hearing these words of
contempt for the god, the priest abused me very much, took the torch
from me, and ordering another person to carry it, he left me on the
ground trying to get the thorn out of my foot.  Whilst I was lying there
in great pain, I heard a cry of `Thieves! thieves!--robbers! thieves!'
and saw many men running back from the burning car to the town.  I
learned afterwards that a great many robbers had laid their plans to
enter the town quietly as soon as the inhabitants had left their houses
and shops to join the _Goobbe-Appa_ procession.  The thieves did not
accomplish all they planned to do, but they stole very much valuable
property."  All that happened at this festival served to convince Daniel
that `Goobbe-Appa' was as helpless as any other idol, and that the
so-called worship was senseless.

This whole account of `Goobbe-Appa' shows how Hindoo ideas as to.  God
and His worship differ from the ideas of Christians who have been
favoured with the Holy Scriptures.  And the account will, it is hoped,
excite pity for the Hindoo men, women and children; and induce the
juvenile collectors, as well as others, to renewed efforts for sending
more Missionaries to India.

At the annual festival, which lasts ten days, the Missionaries are fully
engaged distributing tracts, preaching, and conversing with serious
inquirers who have come from distant towns and villages.  The
accompanying sketch, in which a Missionary is preaching, was taken near
the entrance to the town of Goobbe, close to the `Mantapa' in front of
`Goobbe-Appa's' temple.  A mantapa is an open temple, or halting-place
for an idol on procession days.



CHAPTER TEN.

THE IDOL WHICH SHED TEARS.

When Daniel was about sixteen years of age, the cholera broke out for
the first time in Goobbe.  It prevailed for about eighteen months, and
many persons died of it every day.  The inhabitants of Singonahully, and
of all the other villages round about, were in consequence very much
afraid to enter the town.  One day, during the prevalence of this
disease, an ass belonging to Daniel's father was missing.  It had
strayed, and Daniel went from Singonahully towards Goobbe in search of
it, but without any intention of entering the town.  On his way he met a
great crowd of people.  There was in the crowd something different from
anything of the kind he had ever seen.  He noticed that many of the
people had their bodies painted yellow, and there was to him something
very strange in their appearance, dress, and conduct.  As he was gazing
at the people and walking slowly along, he stumbled, and fell over a
dead body, probably a victim of the cholera.  He was very much alarmed;
and as he got up from the ground in agitation and terror, he saw his
uncle coming towards him, who, thinking Daniel was going into the town
of Goobbe, threatened to beat him, and said, in a very angry tone, "Why
are you going to that cursed place?"  To escape his uncle, Daniel run
into the thickest part of the crowd, and he then determined to go along
with them, and see what was to be done.  As they proceeded slowly
towards the large tank, (lake), he saw that a few men near the front
were carrying an image of clay in the shape of a woman.  She had been
worshipped to avert cholera, and now the worshippers were taking the
idol to throw it into the tank, as the last act of their devotional
ceremony.  Daniel was a close observer of all that was done, and he saw
at one time, when those who carried the idol held it up higher than the
heads of the people, tears run out of its eyes.  Many persons in the
crowd saw the tears, and they all fell prostrate before the image of
clay, and cried aloud, "O mother, why are you shedding tears?  Tell us
what grieves you, and we will do whatever you require."  The priest,
immediately pretending that the goddess had entered into him, commanded,
as if the idol spake, that more sacrifices should be offered.  On
hearing this, all the people stood still.  They did not go on towards
the tank, but remained just where they were, until the animals could be
brought for the chucklers to offer them in sacrifice.  The _chucklers_
are the lowest class of persons in India, and to Europeans it is
unaccountable that, under any circumstances, they should be called upon
to act as priests.  But so it is, in some localities.  They sacrifice to
Mari, as the goddess who sends and takes away cholera and all epidemic
diseases.  There is good ground for the opinion that these outcasts are
the descendants of the original inhabitants of the country, and that
they have been subjected to degradation by a succession of conquerors.
Their invaders found them with a creed, and certain customs to avert
diseases, with which they have never interfered.  Hence the present
practice.  After the Goobbe procession had waited a long time, fifteen
buffaloes and a few sheep were brought and sacrificed near the idol.
This having been done, the weeping goddess was satisfied, as shown by
her shedding no more tears.  The people took this as a very favourable
indication that the cholera would cease from that moment.  They
proceeded to the tank, threw the idol into it, and returned to their
homes rejoicing.  Daniel, who had witnessed all these proceedings, had
his curiosity excited, and thought there must be some deception in the
matter of the idol shedding tears.  And in this sceptical mood he went
home to Singonahully perplexed, but resolving to get at the truth if
possible.  The idol had not been thrown into deep water, and he
determined to rise early next morning, go to the tank, and examine the
head and eyes of the idol.  He did so, and the following is his own
account: "Before daybreak I ran from my father's house to the place
where I had seen the idol thrown into the water, and I found it, just as
it had been left the previous evening.  I saw many plantains,
cocoa-nuts, and other things, which had been offered to the idol,
scattered about on the ground.  Such as were not spoiled, I collected in
order to take them home with me.  Having done this, I commenced my
examination of the image.  I broke its head, and the whole mystery was
revealed at once.  I found in the head an earthen vessel, round as a
ball, with two small holes in it; these corresponded with the eyes of
the image; and I perceived that when the vessel had a good quantity of
water in it, if those who carried the image made it lean forward a
little, a small quantity of water would ooze out of these holes, and
trickle down the face of the image like tears.  I rejoiced greatly that
I had found out the trick by which the people had been deceived; and,
chuckling, I took up the fruit which I had collected, and went back to
Singonahully without anyone knowing what I had done.  I was afraid to
take my load of cocoa-nuts and plantains to my father's house, lest I
should be questioned as to where I had been and what I had done; so I
hid all my booty in a hollow banyan tree outside the village, and
resorted to this store-house whenever I wanted a treat.  However, when
my young friends and others saw that every day I had an abundance of
good things to eat, they were desirous of knowing where I got them.
After a little delay, I told one of my young friends, not only where I
obtained the fruit, but also an that I had done with the idol.  He was
terrified; and running into the village, he published the whole affair.
The villagers were alarmed; they feared some dreadful result, and
wondered at my wickedness.  From Singonahully the news was soon carried
to Goobbe, and I was summoned to appear before the chief magistrate of
the town.  He heard all that my accusers had to say, which I admitted to
be true.  He was very angry, and said to me, `On account of your
wickedness, the cholera has not been removed yet, and as a punishment
you must be imprisoned for a long time.'  I was immediately sent to the
jail; but after I had been confined there two or three days, I had an
opportunity of speaking to the magistrate; and I then told him how the
people had been deceived, and cheated out of their sheep and buffaloes,
and how I had discovered the trick when I broke the head of the idol.
He was evidently annoyed, either at the deception practised on the
people or at the fact being discovered; and after a few minutes'
hesitation, he released me from prison."



CHAPTER ELEVEN.

DANIEL IN TROUBLE.

About that time Daniel's mother became insane, and her friends were all
of opinion that she was possessed of an evil spirit.  This troubled
Daniel, for he loved his mother very much.  The remedy for such cases
was prescribed, and the foolish ceremonies were duly performed by
Daniel's father.  After several months the poor woman recovered, and it
was supposed by all the friends and neighbours that her cure was
produced by the ceremonies, charms, and incantations which had been
made.  It does not appear that Daniel raised any objections to the
performance of these superstitious ceremonies, or, on the other hand,
that he had any faith in their efficacy; but he rejoiced greatly when
his mother was restored to soundness of mind.  Daniel says: "When I was
about nineteen years of age, I gave myself up to many wicked practices,
and my conduct for many months was very immoral.  Our family was poor,
and I determined to leave Singonahully for some place where I might get
on a little better in the world.  But one of my uncles, who was a
wealthy man, interposed, and took me to his house.  He set me to work in
his fields, and assist him generally in agricultural operations.  Whilst
so employed, I wished to be married, but met with two difficulties: the
first was poverty.  My father had no money; and as the marriage
ceremonies and feasts are always expensive, I knew not what to do.  Then
there was another hindrance: the father of my intended wife withdrew the
consent he had formerly given to the marriage, on account of my conduct
in connection with the cholera goddess.  But my generous uncle
interposed, and induced him to give his consent.  And then he removed
the other difficulty by paying all the marriage expenses himself.  With
this uncle we lived many years in Goobbe; and when he became an old man,
I managed his farm for him, and at the same time I carried on my work as
village washerman."



CHAPTER TWELVE.

THE FIRST SERMON PREACHED IN GOOBBE.

On the 1st of September, 1836, Goobbe received the first visit of a
Protestant Missionary.  The following is an extract from Mr Hodson's
Journal: "After spending a few days with Captain (now General) Dobbs at
Toomcoor, I rode over to Goobbe, a distance of twelve miles.  When I had
arrived within about a mile of the town, I was met by a number of the
principal inhabitants, who expected Captain Dobbs.  On finding out their
mistake, they politely paid me the compliments intended for their local
governor.  They accompanied me to the `gate of the city,' and their
trumpeter gave notice to the whole town that `a person of distinction'
had arrived, and it was very soon known to every one who loved to hear
news that the visitor was a Missionary.  After breakfast, which Captain
Dobbs' servant had prepared for me, I went into some of the principal
streets of Goobbe to make my observations on the suitability of the
place for a mission-station.  In one of the streets I met with a
Christian young man, who had been schoolmaster at Toomcoor, who rendered
me some assistance.  After taking an extensive survey of the place, I
returned to the first gate, and seeing a large shop, open to the street,
unoccupied, I took possession of it, and requested the young man above
mentioned to read part of a Canarese tract which he had in his hand.  A
few people entered the room, but the greater number stood in the street,
about two feet below the shop.  Novelty brought a congregation of about
one hundred, to whom, after the young native man had done reading, I
gave a short address on the plan of salvation, and an exhortation to
repent and believe in Christ."  When this first little sermon was
preached in Goobbe, Daniel and his wife had been living there several
years.  This day was the commencement of a new era in Daniel's life.
Hitherto, from his youth up, though he despised idol-worship, he knew
nothing about the one true God.  Like his neighbours, he believed there
were millions of gods, who filled various offices in the government of
the world.  He had heard of many incarnations of the chief deities,
whose good and evil actions are recorded in books held sacred by the
Hindoos.  He had very confused notions about a future state, but thought
there would be a `judgment' of some kind, followed by rewards and
punishments.  Also, like all other Hindoos, he was of opinion that when
a man dies his soul does not go direct to heaven or to hell, but that it
passes into some other body: it may be the body of a human being, or it
may be into that of a beast, a bird, a fish, or an insect.  And then,
after millions of migrations like these, the soul either finds a
permanent state of existence according to its fate, or its identity is
lost by being absorbed into deity.

Shortly after Daniel heard the first Gospel sermon, Mr Franklin, an
assistant Missionary, was sent by Mr Hodson from Bangalore to Goobbe,
to make certain arrangements for building a mission-house.  With him
Daniel had long and interesting conversations.  He says: "I was walking
one morning with Mr Franklin outside the town of Goobbe, looking at
some land which he thought would be suitable for building a
mission-house upon, and, turning, he saw some tombs.  He took hold of my
hand, and said, `What are those?'  I replied, `They are tombs--that is,
the place where the dead are buried.'  He added: `You and I must die and
be buried.  We shall turn to dust; but there will be a resurrection of
the bodies of all men, the raised body will be re-united with its soul,
and dwell for, ever either in happiness or in misery.  The true
worshippers of the one true God will go to heaven, and the others to
hell.  These truths are written in the Christian's _Shastras_.  Mr
Hodson and I intend coming to live at Goobbe, and then we will teach all
the people the way to heaven.'  I was not much impressed with what he
said about the Christian Scriptures, but replied, `When Mr Hodson
comes, I hope I shall be employed by him as his washerman?'"



CHAPTER THIRTEEN.

WESLEYAN MISSION COMMENCED AT GOOBBE.

In April, 1837, Mr and Mrs Hodson went to live at Goobbe.  At first
they dwelt in tents, and then they built a little cottage, of which the
accompanying sketch gives a fair representation.  The walls, about six
feet high, were made of mud, the roof was thatch, and the rooms were
small and few.  But the Missionary and his wife found it very
comfortable when the weather was fine, though when it rained they were
subject to many little inconveniences.  This mission cottage, situated
on the brow of a rising ground, commanded a pleasant and extensive
prospect.  In the front there was a view over hill and dale, wood and
water, for fifty or sixty miles.  On one side the low flat lands, well
watered from a large tank, were covered with rich crops of rice.  On
other sides there were patches of varied cultivation, interspersed with
clumps of trees, as well as large tracts of uncultivated land, used as
common pasturage for all the cattle of the town.  To these unenclosed
grounds cows, sheep, etcetera, were driven out every morning, and after
grazing all day, were brought back into the town of Goobbe every
evening.  Occasionally, a shepherd's boy, reclining on the ground near
his sheep, played sweetly on an instrument, newly made by himself out of
some hollow vegetable stalk, but which in an hour or two, on its
becoming dry or injured, he would break and throw away as a useless
`bruised reed.'  The Missionary has often sat at his cottage door
admiring these beauties of nature, when unexpectedly a few graceful
timid antelopes have run across the garden in front of him, adding life
as well as beauty to the scene.  On a Sunday morning he often fancied
every thing appeared clearer, brighter and more beautiful than on other
days.  There was, however, one dark cloud hanging over all this
loveliness, in the fact that the town of Goobbe, just at the foot of the
hill was wholly given to idolatry:

  "Every prospect pleases,
  Only man is vile."

The Missionary and his assistant went forth daily from their poor abodes
carrying the riches of the Gospel either into one of the streets of
Goobbe, or to some of the numerous villages within seven or eight miles
of the mission cottage, and preached in the open air to as many people
as they could collect; and when a congregation could not be obtained,
they went from house to house, and thus made known the plan of
salvation.  When they went the first time to any village the people
stood in the attitude of attention, but what they heard was so new, that
more of wonder than intelligence was manifested by all.  After a few
visits, when information had increased a little, there was still a
manifest disinclination to accept the truth.  Because, for a Hindu to be
told that in order to salvation he must forsake the idols which his
forefathers have worshipped for hundreds of years, and adopt the creed
laid down in the _Shastras_ of another nation, is to him the height of
absurdity.  And it very frequently happened that at the conclusion of a
sermon the Missionary would hear some one say, "Very good, all very
true; your religion is good for you, and ours is good for us."

Very few of the people were able to read, so that the distribution of
tracts was very limited.  They invited all serious enquirers to the
cottage to talk about Christianity.  Amongst the women who came, some
had sickly children with them.  On seeing this, Mrs Hodson administered
some simple medicines, which cured several, and their parents
attributing the cure to the favour of the Missionary's God, they were
for a time very anxious to hear more about Jesus Christ.  Reports of
these cures were exaggerated, and so mixed up with the New Testament
accounts of the miracles performed by Jesus Christ in raising the dead,
opening the eyes of the blind, etcetera, that one poor woman brought her
child, who had been blind three years, in hopes that Mrs Hodson would
be able to restore its sight.  Amongst the more intelligent visitors was
Daniel: and one evening, just after the tent, as a residence, had been
abandoned for the thatched cottage, Mrs Hodson went with her husband to
see Daniel's village, Singonahully.  No English lady had ever been in
the village before, so that there was considerable excitement produced
by the visit.  Mr Hodson says, "As we drew near to the gate of the
village we saw two or three boys running to let their parents and others
know that the Missionary and his wife were coming.  On entering, Daniel
showed us his house, and in a very short time nearly all the people of
the village, men, women, and children, were gathered together."  Having
such a large congregation, Mr Hodson preached a short sermon, but with
very little good effect, especially on the minds of the women, for their
attention was evidently much more occupied with the shape, colour and
material of Mrs Hodson's dress than with anything her husband said to
them.



CHAPTER FOURTEEN.

VILLAGE WASHERMAN.

Daniel was by this time regularly installed as Mission Washerman.  There
is no such person as a _washerwoman_ amongst the Hindoos.  Men do the
washing in India, and their manner of doing it is very different from
the English mode.  Instead of using wash-tubs, etcetera, etcetera, as an
English washerwoman does, the Indian washerman loads a donkey or two
with the dirty clothes, takes them to a tank of good clean water, and
there, in the open air, he performs all his purifying operations.  Close
to the water's edge there is placed a sloping piece of wood, or a large
flat stone.  The washerman standing close to it, dips the cloth or
garment into the water, and taking hold of one end gives the other,
which has been dipped, a good swing in the air and brings it down on the
wood or stone with a heavy splashing thump.  This is repeated again and
again, until the cloth or garment is clean.  It is then laid out on the
grass or rock to dry.  In this way Daniel and his relatives had done all
the washing required by the farmers and others, in Goobbe and
Singonahully, for many years.  In their cases ironing or mangling was
never thought of.  When, therefore, Daniel was sent for to do the
Mission-house washing and ironing, he expressed his readiness to do the
former, but doubted his ability to perform the latter, and expressed
many fears.  But Mrs Hodson shewed him how to wash and also to iron her
dresses in the way she wished to have them done.  She made him a present
of an iron, taught him how to use it, so that, in due time, his work was
pronounced satisfactory, and it was acknowledged by all that Daniel
stood at the head of his profession--that his skill exceeded that of any
other washerman within a circuit of many miles round Goobbe.  This
little act of kindness in giving the iron to Daniel, was gratefully
remembered by him as long as he could remember anything, and he would
occasionally shew it to visitors.  Under other circumstances he would
doubtless have worshipped that smoothing iron as his forefathers did the
old swords.



CHAPTER FIFTEEN.

FIRST MISSION-HOUSE AT GOOBBE.

Mrs Hodson laid the foundation brick of the Goobbe Mission House on the
24th of May, 1838.  The building was finished on the 17th of August
following, and cost 180 pounds.  A few days after it was finished, Mr
and Mrs John Jenkins, with their child, came to live at Goobbe, and had
half the new house (namely, one large room and two small ones) given up
to them; the two mission families cheerfully sacrificing a few comforts
for the benefit of having an additional preacher in the Circuit.  We
have seen how Daniel, even when a lad, and without the gospel, treated
idols and idolatry; but after the gospel had been preached to him and to
his neighbours, the people of his village came round very much to his
opinion, greatly to the encouragement of the Missionaries.



CHAPTER SIXTEEN.

AN ABANDONED HEATHEN TEMPLE.

On the 11th of October, 1839, Mr Arthur joined Mr Jenkins at Goobbe,
and by that time the fruit of past labour was beginning to appear; not
in the shape of individual conversions, but in an extensive neglect of
idol-worship, particularly in Singonahully.  Mr Arthur gives the
following account: "About the time of my arrival, the inhabitants of the
place declared that they had abandoned idolatry, and would no more
honour the temple of Runga.  To test their sincerity, Mr Jenkins one
morning, asked them whether he might go to the temple.  `O, by all
means.'  `Might we enter?'  `Yes; go where you like.'  `Might we enter
without taking off our shoes?'  `Certainly; we don't care who goes, or
how: we have given up the idol.'  This was strong proof that their old
feelings had vanished; and, accordingly, at the temple we found no
obstacle to our entrance.  Shod and covered, we passed up through the
outer apartment to the sanctuary, where sat the grim image of Runga,
incrusted in the congealed oil and _ghee_ of many anointings, with the
lightless lamp before him, faded garlands hanging round his neck, loads
of dust settled on his person, and part of the roof falling in directly
above.  No room remained for doubt.  The faith which once adored Runga
had changed into contempt; and we rejoiced over that forsaken idol, as
an earnest of better days.  On afterwards enquiring what induced them to
withdraw the confidence they had so long reposed in Runga, they
answered, `You,' (meaning the Missionaries), `told us that the god did
not protect us, but that we protected the god; that if we only left him
alone, we should see that he could not take care of himself; and if he
could not take care of himself, how could he take care of us?  Now we
thought that was a _buddhi matu_,' (a word of sense), `and so we
resolved to see whether he could take care of himself or not; for we
felt certain that if he could not take care of himself, it was out of
the question that he could take care of us.  Accordingly we discontinued
_pooja_ (worship).  We soon found he could not keep the lamp burning,
nor the garlands fresh, nor the temple clean, nor do a single thing for
himself.  The lamp went out, the flowers withered, the temple became
dirty; and then,' (they added, laughing) `the roof fell in, just over
his head, and there he sat, _soommanay_ (tamely) under it; so we saw
very well he could not take care of himself.  Notwithstanding all this,
we had some fears that the return of their annual feast-day would revive
their love for heathenish merry-makings with a force too strong for
their new convictions.  The day came, and we watched the village
narrowly.  There was no car, no procession, no music: and, when night
came, no _tom-tom_ was beaten, no rocket sent up, nor any other sign
that it was the day of Runga.'  One morning, when preaching in the
village, I observed that the old man who used to conduct the services of
the temple, was not in the congregation; and feeling, for the moment, a
suspicion lest he should have returned to his former occupation, I
asked, `Where is the _poojari_?'  A young man instantly replied,
smiling, and patting his person, `O, he has gone to the fields with the
cattle: now that the temple is given up, he must do something for his
stomach.'"



CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.

AN IDOL THROWN OUT OF A TEMPLE.

Mr Male, who succeeded Mr Jenkins at Goobbe, has left upon record a
further account of what happened to the idol Runga.  He says, "One day
in August, 1842, as I was returning from Toomcoor to Goobbe, I overtook
a Brahman, and in the course of conversation he enquired whether or not
I had heard of what had befallen Singonahully _Runga Swami_.  I replied
that I had not.  He then said, `_Runga Swami_ has been thrown out of his
temple, and is now outside the door among the stones.'

"`Well,' I said, `what do you think will be done?'  He answered, `Why,
formerly, a great deal of money would have been collected, and with it
many things would have been done to purify the god; and then he would
have been replaced in the temple; but now the people care nothing about
it, no money will be given and nothing will be done.  If anything be
said to the people of the village on the subject, they will say, "What
can we do?  We have nothing to give: we did not throw the god out,
etcetera, etcetera."'" Mr Male adds, "The remarks of the Brahman were
very true, for the people did not do anything to reinstate the idol.  I
spoke to them several times about the downfall of their god, but they
made very light of the matter.  However, after the idol had been thus
degraded for many weeks, some villagers, out of pity to the poor old
priest, promised that they would reinstate the idol when they had money
enough to pay for all the ceremonies.  The priest, therefore, in order
to preserve the idol from further indignities, and also to commence the
process of purification, put it into a well near the temple, to remain
there, until the villagers performed their promise."  The next event,
cheering to the Missionaries, was the baptism of Daniel.



CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.

BAPTISM OF DANIEL.

In the beginning of 1843, the mind of Daniel was brought under a very
powerful and gracious influence of the Holy Spirit, which produced an
ardent desire for salvation.  Hitherto he had been an opponent of
idolatry, and he had manifested an interest in the doctrines of
Christianity, but he had never shown any deep conviction of his
sinfulness and danger, nor any desire to obtain pardon and purity.  He
had been a diligent hearer of the Word of God, and he had studied its
truths well.  The Missionaries had established a school in Singonahully,
and visited it regularly to examine the boys.  At these times many of
the parents attended, and took great interest in the progress of their
children.  Daniel used very frequently to sit in the school listening to
the lessons, and, though he was never able to read himself, he had his
children taught, and made them read the Scriptures to him day by day for
many years.  He was blessed with a very retentive memory and with good
common sense, so that he had a very fair acquaintance with the history,
the biography, and the doctrinal teaching of both the Old and the New
Testament.  And now, to this knowledge, there was added that special
working of the Holy Spirit, which produced deep conviction of sin, and
an anxious desire to escape eternal punishment.  He says, "I regularly
attended the preaching of the Missionaries, and always felt interested
in what they taught, but I did not feel any serious concern for
salvation until Mr Hardey came to live at Goobbe.  Under his teaching
and prayers I was brought to a better mind; but even then there were
some sins which I did not wish to give up.  I wanted to save my soul and
yet retain some pecuniary advantages connected with heathenism.  I and
my family had often conversed about our all becoming Christians, and
they, everyone of them, always declared that they would follow me.  This
cheered and comforted me.  But, for a long time, as often as I decided
to go and open my mind to the Missionaries, so often did some strong
temptation turn me aside.  I feared my uncle who had been very kind to
me.  And then I thought, all my relations will disown me, and they will
unite with other heathens in persecuting me, so that my life will be
made miserable.  Thus I went on month after month.  But at length, in
answer to prayer, I received power to decide for Christ and against the
world.  I went immediately and told Mr Hardey all that was in my heart.
After this, he and Nallamuttoo, the Catechist, daily instructed me and
prayed with me for many weeks.  I felt the benefit of this teaching, and
by Divine aid I was able to say, `I give up all for Christ.'  One day
while under this course of instruction, I felt very anxious to be
baptised without further delay, and I asked Mr Hardey to fix upon a day
for the baptism.  This being done I went home and told my wife and
children what I had done: and they all said, `we will do as you do.'
Mr Male was at this time living in Mysore, but as he had known and
instructed me before Messrs. Hardey and Sanderson came to live at
Goobbe, he was requested by them to come and perform this sacrament of
baptism.  On his arrival he had a long conversation with me.  He asked
me many questions, warned me as to coming persecutions, and exhorted me
to watchfulness, prayer, and faith.  I said, `I believe that in every
difficulty God will be my friend and protector.  By Divine help, I shall
be able to endure: and I am prepared to give up all for Christ.'"

The day fixed for the baptism was Sunday, the 13th of August, 1843; and
the place was the Goobbe chapel, near the fort gate, not the present
chapel, but the one which was first built in that locality.  Out of
curiosity many came to see a baptism, and amongst them several of
Daniel's relatives.  Mr Male conducted the usual Sunday morning
service, and the large congregation was very attentive, both during the
sermon and whilst he read a portion of the baptismal service; but when
by his movements it became evident to those natives in the congregation
who were nearest to him that he was about to make some use of the water,
which was in the vessel on a table in front of him, they shrunk back
upon the people behind them, and in a moment there was a panic.  Some,
not knowing exactly how the water would be used, and fearing that a drop
or two might by chance fall on them, so as to make them Christians
without their consent, rushed to the door; others, in ignorance,
followed; and as all tried to get out of the chapel at once, the doorway
was soon blocked up.  Then a few men scrambled out at the windows; and
in the scuffle two or three children were knocked down, but no one was
seriously hurt.  The confusion and noise put a stop to the sacred
service for several minutes.  But when all the congregation had gone out
except Daniel and his four sons, Mr Male proceeded with the service
without further interruption.  The people who had escaped out of the
chapel remained near to it in the street until the service was over.  A
few peeped in at the open door and windows to gratify their curiosity.
The father was named Daniel, and his four sons were named respectively
John, Peter, Timothy, Samuel.  There were some hindrances in the way of
Daniel's wife being baptised with her husband and children; but as Mr
Male happened to be passing through Goobbe six months afterwards, he
baptised her then, giving her the name of Sarah, as previously fixed
upon.  After the baptism of Daniel and Sarah they continued to live in
the village of Singonahully, without any serious persecution from their
heathen neighbours.  This may, perhaps, be accounted for on the ground
that the villagers having no love for idolatry, generally approved of
Daniel's conduct in embracing Christianity.



CHAPTER NINETEEN.

DANIEL AND THE VILLAGE PRIEST.

After his baptism Daniel was very consistent in his conduct as a
Christian, and in a quiet way attempted to promote the spiritual
well-being of his neighbours.  He was well qualified by his knowledge of
the Scriptures to set forth the truth as it is in Jesus; and was "ready
always to give an answer to every man that asked him a reason of the
hope that was in him with meekness and fear;" and his word was often
accompanied with divine power.  He had long disputations with the
village priest, (a nephew of the man who was priest when the idol was
thrown out of the temple).  His case is a very interesting one.  He was
a sincere enquirer, and became a regular attendant at Daniel's family
prayer.  He said one day to the Missionary, "Although I have walked
daily several miles to gather flowers, after bathing and putting on my
temple garments; although I have gone into the temple and made offerings
to the idol; although I have done all this in sincerity to the present
time--this idol, neither in my dreams nor when awake, has ever said,
`Thy sins are forgiven thee.'  Although from fear lest the idol should
destroy me, I have fasted and prayed, it never said to me, `Thou shalt
escape hell and enjoy heaven.'  Therefore the idol is a lie, and I
forsake it.  I embrace Jesus Christ as my Saviour and my God."  Mr
Walker gives the following account of him:--"A few days ago, just as I
was leaving the village of Singonahully, after preaching, I saw the
_poojari_ with his guitar in his hand, going off to another village to
beg his bread for the day.  I stopped him, and we entered into
conversation on the sin of idol-worship.  I told him that in order to
obtain salvation it was absolutely necessary for him to abandon his
idols and embrace Christ as his only and present Saviour.  He tried to
appear unconcerned, and said, `It is getting late; I must go for alms,'
and left me.  In a few days he came to the Goobbe Chapel, and after the
sermon I spoke pointedly to him, asking him, in the presence of the
whole congregation, if he was desirous of obtaining salvation.  He said,
`I am.'  I asked if his idols could save him.  He answered, `No.'  I
then said, `If you will, with all your heart, believe in Christ and
become His disciple, He will save you.'  Throughout this conversation
all the people looked at him in amazement.  After a few days I went
again to Singonahully, and saw the _poojari_ in company with Daniel.  I
preached to a small congregation from a part of the eighth Chapter of
Saint Matthew's Gospel; and in my sermon I proved the divinity of our
Lord Jesus Christ from the miraculous cure he wrought upon the leper.  I
showed to them the leprosy of sin; and after dwelling upon the awful
consequences of sin, I exhorted the people to seek for the healing of
their spiritual maladies by faith in Jesus Christ.  This done, the
_poojari_ and Daniel accompanied me to my house.  At Daniel's request I
read the parable of the Pharisee and Publican, and commented on it.  The
next morning the _poojari_ came to my house again, and said he wished to
be baptised.  I exhorted him to stand steadfast, by faith in Christ, and
then prayed with him.  He appeared to be deeply affected.  He came with
Daniel to our next Class-meeting, and joined heartily in our devotions.
In a day or two he came to my house again, and gave me the idol which he
and his family had worshipped for many years."  He then went home, and
told his wife what he had done with the idol, and that he had made up
his mind to become a Christian.  His wife on hearing this began to beat
her breast and cry bitterly.  She threatened to go to the mission-house,
pull out her tongue and die there.  The heathen people in Singonahully,
hearing that the priest had given Mr Walker the idol which he and his
family had worshipped, became alarmed, and secured the keys of a temple
inside the village, where the priest officiated daily, lest the idol in
it should also be taken and given to the Missionary.  After a few days
the priest's wife ceased her opposition, and began herself to converse
with Daniel's wife and others about the truths of Christianity.  The
villagers annoyed the priest in every possible way.  As he could not
remain peaceably in his own house, he left the village, and the
Missionary gave him a room on the mission premises.  Sunday, December
20th, 1846, was the day fixed on for the baptism.  The place was the
chapel in which Daniel had been baptised about three years previously.
The congregation was unusually large, and a solemn awe rested upon the
people.  The interest increased as the service proceeded.  _Vysha Runga_
was the priest's heathen name.  After he had answered all the questions
proposed to him in the presence of the congregation, he was baptised in
the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and was henceforth
known by the name of Abraham.  On the same day he voluntarily took food
with the other Christians, as a public announcement that he had broken
his caste.  The Missionaries considered that Daniel was the chief
instrument, in the hands of God, of this man's conversion.



CHAPTER TWENTY.

DANIEL "MADE A MARRIAGE FOR HIS SON."

In the year 1848 Daniel "made a marriage for his son," and the
Missionaries fearing that he might go to some excess either in
expenditure or in some worldly conformity, gave him special warning, and
watched over the preparations with anxious care.  On the wedding day a
great number of the friends of both families assembled, and amongst them
were many heathens.  There were present some who at one time had
manifested the greatest hostility to Daniel on account of his baptism.
They had refused him access to their houses, and invoked the most
dreadful calamities upon him and his family for renouncing the religion
of his fathers.  However, in many things Daniel had prospered: the
blessing of God upon his diligence had placed him in better
circumstances than he was in when he embraced Christianity.  There was a
cheerful generosity in his manner which was well calculated to remove
unpleasant feelings, whilst respect was gained by his consistent
Christian deportment.  This was an illustration of the proverb, "When a
man's ways please the Lord he maketh even his enemies to be at peace
with him."  After the marriage ceremony was over, all went together to
Daniel's house, which was not large enough to contain half of them.  But
he had, as is usual on festive occasions, erected a temporary covering
at the front part of the house, which was very cool and pleasant.  Here
at eight o'clock in the evening the marriage supper commenced, and
without a drawback of any kind all went on very pleasantly.  But the
Missionaries felt anxious lest there should be, through mistaken
kindness, a yielding in some degree to the customs followed at heathen
weddings.  They therefore determined to go from the mission-house to
Singonahully, so as to arrive about the time when the supper would be
over, and heathens, on such occasions, would commence their music,
dancing, etcetera.  They thought that if any ill-advised arrangements
had been contemplated they would thus be averted; and also that their
presence would be a mark of interest felt in the happiness of the
newly-married pair.  The delight of the Missionaries may be imagined
when, as they approached the house, they not only found all to be peace
and good order, but what was more gratifying, the bridegroom was reading
a Chapter of the New Testament, and Daniel was commenting, at proper
intervals, upon what was read, endeavouring to explain and apply the
words.  The Missionaries sat down in the temporary verandah, where they
spent a happy half-hour with the wedding party in religious conversation
and prayer.  Daniel was full of joy.  This was his "family prayer" on a
larger scale than usual.  He said to all present, with gratitude to God,
"When I became a Christian, my neighbours told me that I should never be
able to get my children married, nor even to procure bread for my
family.  But God has supplied all my wants.  Whatever I have needed He
has given, and I have no fears as to the future."  The Missionaries
returned home truly thankful to God for this instance of His preserving
grace.



CHAPTER TWENTY ONE.

THE GOOBBE CIRCUIT GIVEN UP.

Up to this time Daniel had been sustained by Divine power against all
the opposition of his _enemies_.  He had been tried and found faithful.
But now he had to endure trial from the conduct of his best friends--the
Missionaries and the Missionary Committee.  In the year 1851, the
Society was in debt to a large amount, so that retrenchment was resorted
to, and the Mysore District was one of the sufferers.  In this
difficulty the District Meeting decided to abandon the Goobbe Circuit.
In accordance with this decision, not only were the Missionaries
removed, but the Goobbe mission-house, the Goobbe chapel, in which
Daniel had been baptised, the school-rooms, and all other buildings,
were sold.  When the idol was tumbled out of the temple, _Christianity_
triumphed; and when the house of God was sold, _heathenism_ triumphed.
That was not only a bitter day to good old Daniel, but _a terrible blow
to the cause of Christ in Goobbe_.  Enquirers after the way of salvation
enquired no more.  Some who had taken a few steps in the narrow path
turned back, and never entered it again; while every heathen priest
found in this breaking up of the Mission a powerful argument to keep his
disciples out of the way to heaven.  Whenever Daniel went from his own
village to Goobbe, he was derided by the heathen, as Pilgrim was at
Vanity Fair.  The blasphemy and ridicule with which he was assailed were
almost unbearable.  One day especially he was most severely tried.  As
he was going along one of the principal streets some of the `lewd
fellows of the baser sort' were most insulting and abusive; and a few
shopkeepers joined them in ridiculing the Christian.  His own account is
this: Some said, "What! did your Missionaries leave Goobbe because they
had no food?"  "They had nothing to eat, so they sold the bungalow, and
the schools, and even God's house!  Such is your fate.  Have they given
you any of the money to live upon?"  I replied, "God will not forsake
me.  When I was an enemy to God, He protected and took care of me; and
now I am His child, will He forsake me?  Never!"  They said, "Will your
God maintain you if you sit doing nothing at home?"  I answered, "It is
idleness to sit quietly at home.  God has given me strength and a mind
to work for my living."  One said, "You spoiled your caste when you had
every comfort; you are mad."  One man, without attempting to ridicule,
said solemnly, "All that has happened to him was his fate; it was
written in his forehead; let him alone."  Of course Daniel was much
distressed.  He went home quite cast down, and in tears told his wife
how the people had ridiculed him, and how dejected he felt.  But she
comforted him by saying--"We are called to bear all these reproaches for
Christ's sake, and He will support us under them; He will never forsake
us."  At night he had a portion of God's Word read to him as usual, and
at family prayer he was much comforted: his faith and hope were
strengthened.  In this way he went on for four or five years, without
any human help except an occasional visit from a Missionary, who, on a
preaching tour, turned aside to spend a few hours with him.  Daniel
says, "One day the Reverend Messrs. Sanderson and Hardey called to see
us, and I exclaimed, `O, Sirs, we are left here as sheep without a
shepherd.  You have planted a young tree, but it is dying for want of
water.  The people reproach us, saying, "Your Missionaries having no
food, have sold the mission-house, the schools, and even the house of
God."'" Messrs. Sanderson and Hardey did and said all they could to
comfort and encourage the few forsaken Christians, and their effort was
not in vain.



CHAPTER TWENTY TWO.

THE GOOBBE CIRCUIT RECOMMENCED.

In the course of three or four years there was an improvement in the
pecuniary circumstances of the Missionary Society, and arrangements were
made for recruiting the Mysore District.  In connection with these
changes, Mr Hodson returned to India.  He landed at Madras January 1st,
1854.  After being detained there several months, he went to live at
Bangalore, and paid his first visit to Goobbe on the 16th of April,
1855.  He found the old mission-house in a very dilapidated state.  It
had become the property of Government, and was used as a travellers'
bungalow--a public rest-house for every traveller passing that way who
needed accommodation.  Mr Hodson and Daniel soon had an interview, and
the past days of trial were brought under review.  In the midst of all
difficulties and persecutions Daniel had `kept the faith.'  In his
conversation with Mr Hodson, he referred to the time when the first
sermon was preached in Goobbe, his being employed by Mrs Hodson, his
conviction of sin, and his baptism.  He stated with wonderful
correctness many events that had happened in the Mission from its
commencement to that day; and some of them were referred to with deep
feeling.  When Mr Hodson said, "We will try to re-purchase this house,
build a new chapel, and put a Missionary to live at Goobbe again,"--the
good man wept with joy.  He said that this revival of the Mission had
been his prayer and hope ever since the Missionaries went away.  The
Government re-sold the mission-house to Mr Hodson for the sum they had
paid the Mission for it.  Under Mr Sullivan's care the house was put
into complete repair, and a good substantial chapel was built in the
town of Goobbe.  Mr Hodson preached the opening sermon, June 12th,
1860.



CHAPTER TWENTY THREE.

A CONVERTED VILLAGE BLACKSMITH.

We have already seen how Daniel tried to bring his heathen neighbours
into the way to heaven; but another instance of his successful efforts
is given by Mr Sullivan, the then resident Missionary: "Runga was a
blacksmith, a very immoral man, who lived in Singonahully.  Daniel
instructed him and warned him.  He told him of heaven and hell; showed
him that unless he repented and believed in Christ he could not be
saved.  Sometimes Runga was attentive, and his case seemed hopeful, but
at other times it was quite the reverse.  At length he yielded to
Daniel's invitation, and attended morning and evening in Daniel's house
at the time for family devotions.  After that he began to attend divine
service in the Singonahully chapel.  He was ridiculed and persecuted by
the heathen, but he held on his way.  These means of grace were blessed
to him.  He became penitent, and brought forth the fruits of repentance.
The reformation in his conduct was evident to all who observed him.
From being a drunkard he became a sober man; and he resolved never to
take another drop of intoxicating liquor--a resolution which he
faithfully kept to the day of his death.  He also became industrious, so
that his wife and children, who had formerly been half starved, and who
were covered with rags and dirt, now experienced a wonderful change.
They had abundance of good food, were well clothed, and their house, as
well as their persons, was always neat and clean.  But Daniel, though
pleased with this outward reformation, was not satisfied; he knew that
something more was necessary.  He persevered in exhortation and prayer
for the man's conversion to God; and he wished him to make an open
confession of his faith by baptism.  As often as Daniel pressed this
duty upon him, so often did Runga declare, `I am not worthy to be called
a Christian; I am not worthy to be as you are.  I believe in Christ for
salvation, but I am too vile to be honoured with baptism.'  One day, by
way of showing that he had done with idolatry, he took a number of iron
things--not idols, but instruments that had been used in idolatrous
ceremonies by himself and his forefathers--and with his own hands he
made them into reaping-hooks and other useful farming instruments,
preceding his work by the declaration, `These things won't be wanted any
more in their present shape, so I will make something useful of them.'
When he was attacked by a fatal disease, some of the villagers said to
him exultingly, `Ah! you have become a Christian; you trust in the
Christian's God; let us see if He will cure you; He cannot; our god will
kill you.'  Daniel said to the sick man, `Do you believe that their god
can harm you?'  He said, `No, no!'  Daniel's wife then added, `But we
all think you will die; are you afraid to die?'  He answered, `I am not
afraid; I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.'  When he became worse, and
it was evident that he had not many minutes to live, Daniel said to him,
`Runga, continue to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.'  He replied, `I
believe ONLY on the Lord Jesus Christ,' and in a few minutes he died.
He was never baptised, but doubtless he was saved through the merit of
Jesus' death, and Daniel was the chief instrument in his conversion."



CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR.

NEW VILLAGE CHAPEL.

Up to the year 1864, one building in Singonahully, had served the double
purpose of chapel and school-room.  This was not according to Daniel's
wish.  He thought there ought to be two buildings.  And he resolved to
erect a school-room at his own expense, and give it to the Mission, as a
thank-offering to the Lord for a good harvest; for by this time he was a
farmer as well as a washerman.  Full of this idea he came to the
Mission-house, and with great modesty spoke of the plan which he had
made.  The Missionary approved of having two buildings, but suggested
that instead of building a school-room, it would be better to keep the
present building for school purposes, and erect a new chapel.  The sum
which Daniel had set apart was 4 pounds, but this would not build a
chapel.  However, the Missionary proposed that Daniel should give his 4
pounds, and that a few friends should be asked to make up the
deficiency.  This was done, and the chapel was built.  Four pounds may,
to some persons, seem a small sum, but He who "searches the heart," and
Who approved of the widow's two mites, rightly estimated the value of
old Daniel's gift; and the Missionary Society would have a larger income
than it now has, if all Christians would give the same proportion of
their income as Daniel gave on this occasion.



CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE.

DANIEL'S SICKNESS AND HAPPY DEATH.

When Daniel was over seventy years of age, he said to a friend, "It has
pleased God to take my wife to himself, and I am _now_ an aged pilgrim
near my journey's end.  I have been spared to see my children's
children, even to the third generation.  I have five sons, twelve
grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.  I commit them all to the
hand of the great God whom I serve.  I pray that He will bless them,
keep them all in the way to Heaven, and that I may meet them all in
glory.  May He help me to wait patiently here until He shall call me
into Heaven through the merit of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.  God
bless the Missionaries and the Mission work abundantly."

About twelve months before his death, Daniel caused the following
testimony to be written, "I was born in sin, and I lived in the practice
of all kinds of iniquity.  I performed the ceremonies and followed the
customs of our people for many years, but I found no peace in them.
Then I began to think about worshipping the _one_ God, of whom I had
heard something, but I was very ignorant and knew not how to worship
Him.  While I was thinking much on this subject, the Missionaries came
and preached the Gospel.  I heard the truth; and by their teaching I was
made to understand the way of salvation.  I believed on the Lord Jesus
Christ with my whole heart, and then I felt that God, for the sake of
Christ's merit, had pardoned all my sins.  Peace and joy sprung up in my
heart: and I now pray for His help to keep me from sin as long as I
live.  I am nearly eighty years old; my days are uncertain; I do not
know when I may die.  I have no delight in this world, and I hope to
enter the world of glory, through the merit of the death of Christ."

He became gradually more and more feeble, and for many weeks before he
died was blind and nearly deaf.  Mr Haigh, who was then at Goobbe,
gives the following account: "On Saturday evening I went with Mr and
Mrs Hocken to see Daniel.  We found him sleeping on a mattress.  He
awoke soon after we entered his room, but the attendants found it
difficult to make him understand who we were.  He did not answer our
questions, but muttered a few short sentences, and then after a long
pause, he said distinctly, `O, Jesus, take me to Thyself, take me to
Thyself.'  When, at length, his son made him understand who we were, the
good old man wept, and said, `Alas!  I cannot see them.'  At this moment
of clearer consciousness, his son, at Mr Hocken's request, asked him if
he had joy in thinking of Jesus.  He replied, `Yes, great joy.'"

Mr Hocken has given the following account: "On Saturday evening,
October 25th, Mr Haigh, Mrs Hocken and myself went from the
Mission-house to see old Daniel.  We found him lying on a mat, and
covered with a white cloth.  He appeared unconscious of our presence,
and murmured as one in a dream, `Jesu, Swamy, (Lord), take me to Thy
feet.'  It was some time before he could understand who we were, and
then he cried because he could not see us.  The villagers crowded round
the door, and watched us with almost deathly silence.  I tried to draw
the old man into conversation, but his mind wandered.  At intervals he
prayed fervently to Jesus, lingering over, and repeating many times, the
name of Jesus.  His mind seemed to be continually running on the thought
that he should soon be with Jesus.  We prayed, and made preparations for
giving him the Lord's Supper.  As soon as I put the sacramental bread
into his hand, a flash of devout _joy_ lighted up his face, and he
lifted the bread reverently to his mouth.  It was a very affecting sight
to see this worthy old Christian taking the Sacrament for the last time.
All his family were deeply moved.  When we took leave of him he started
as he took my wife's hand.  He said, `This is a little one, whose is
it?'  They told him it was Mrs Hocken's.  The old man bent over it and
blessed her."

A few days after this, while the Missionaries were away from Goobbe,
Daniel died; and the Catechist gives the following account: "On the day
of his death he appeared to be much better; his hearing and his sight
were both partially restored.  He could see anyone moving about the
room.  In the morning, being conscious that he was dying, he asked that
all his people might come around him, and when they had assembled he
exhorted them all to follow him to heaven.  He said, `Give my salaam to
the Missionaries, and tell them I die happy; my heart is full of love to
God.'  And when he had said this, he fell asleep."

THE END.








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