Page images
PDF
EPUB

• Nov. 23. Lord's-day. Went with brother Carey to the new pagoda, at the upper end of the town. About ten brahmans attended. They behaved in the moft fcoffing and blafphemous manner, treating the name of Chrift with the greateft fcorn; nor did they difcontinue their ridicule while brother Carey prayed with them. No name amongst men feems fo offenfive to them as that of our adorable REDEEMER!' Ibid. p. 138.

Dec. 24. The governor had the goodness to call on us in the course of the day, and defired us to fecure the girl, at leaft within our walls, for a few days, as he was perfuaded the people round the country were fo exafperated at Kriftno's embracing the gofpel, that he could not anfwer for their fafety. A number of the mob might come from twenty miles diftant in the night, and murder them all, without the perpetrators being discovered. He believed, that had they obtained the girl, they would have murdered her before the morning, and thought they had been doing God fervice!' Ibid. p. 143, 144.

Jan. 30. After speaking about ten minutes, a rude fellow began to be very abufive, and with the help of a few boys, raised fuch a clamour that nothing could be heard. At length, feeing no hope of their becoming quiet, I retired to the other part of the town. They followed, hallooing and crying, “ Hurree boll!” (an exclamation in honour of Veeshno.) They at laft began to pelt me with ftones and dirt. One of the men, who knew the house to which brother Carey was gone, advised me to accompany him thither, faying, that thefe people would not hear our words. Going with him, I met brother C. We were not a little pleased that the devil had begun to beftir himself, iaferring from hence that he fufpected danger.' Ibid. p. 148, 149.

Feelings of an Hindoo boy upon the eve of conversion.

Nov. 18. One of the boys of the fchool, called Benjamin, is under confiderable concern: indeed there is a general fir amongst our children, which affords us great encouragement. The following are fome of the expreffions ufed in prayer by poor Benjamin

"Oh Lord, the day of judgment is coming: the fun, and moon, and stars will all fall down. Oh, what fhall I do in the day of judg ment! Thou wilt break me to pieces. [literal] The Lord Jefus Chrift was fo good as to die for us poor fouls: Lord keep us all this day! Oh hell! Gnafhing, and beating, and beating! One hour weeping, another guafhing! We fhall ftay there for ever! I am going to hell: I am going to hell! Oh Lord, give me a new heart; give me a new heart, and wash away all my fins! Give me a new heart, that I may praise Him, that I may obey Him, that I may speak the truth, that I may never do evil things! Oh, I have many times finned against thee, many times broken thy commandments, oh many times; and what fhall I do in the day of judgment !' p. 162, 163. Alarm of the natives at the preaching of the gospel. From feveral parts of Calcutta he hears of people's attention being excited by reading the papers which we have fcattered among them.

L 3

Many

Many begin to wonder that they never heard these things before, fince the English have been so long in the country.' Ibid. p. 223.

Many of the natives have expreffed their astonishment at seeing the converted Hindoos fit and eat with Europeans. It is what they thought would never come to pass. The priests are much alarmed for their tottering fabric, and rack their inventions to prop it up. They do not like the inftitution of the college in Calcutta, and that their facred shaf ters fhould be explored by the unhallowed eyes of Europeans. Ibid. P. 233.

Indeed, by the diftribution of many copies of the fcriptures, and of fome thousands of fmall tracts, a fpirit of inquiry has been excited to a degree unknown at any former period. Ibid. p. 236.

As he and Kristno walked through the street, the natives cried out, "What will this joiner do? (meaning Kriftno.) Will he deftroy the caft of us all? Is this brahman going to be a Feringa?" Ibid. p. 245;

Account of success in 1802-Tenth year of the mission.

Wherever we have gone we have uniformly found, that fo long as people did not understand the import of our meage, they appeared to liften: but the moment they understood fomething of it, they either became indifferent, or began to ridicule. This in general has been our reception.' Ibid. p. 273. Hatred of the natives.

Sept. 27. This forenoon three of the people arrived from Ponchetalokpool, who seemed very happy to fee us. They inform us that the brahmans had raised a great perfecution against them; and when they fet out on their journey hither, the mob affembled to hifs them away. After brother Marfham had left that part of the country, they hung him in effigy, and fome of the printed papers which he had diftributed amongst them.' Ibid. p. 314.

Difficulty which the Mission experiences from not being able to get

the converts shaved.

Several perfons there feem willing to be, baptized; but if they fhould, the village barber, forfooth, will not fhave them! When a na.tive lofes caft, or becomes unclean, his barber and his priest will not come near him; and as they are accustomed to have the head nearly all over, and cannot well perform this bufinefs themselves, it becomes a fe rious inconvenience.? Ibid. p. 372.

Hatred of the natives.

Apr. 24. Lord's day. Brother Chamberlain preached at home, and Ward at Calcutta: brother Carey was amongst the brethren, and preached at night. Kriftno Prifaud, Ram Roteen and others, were at Buddabatty, where they met with violent oppofition. They were fet upon as Feringahs, as deftroyers of the caft, as having eaten fowls, eggs, &c. As they attempted to return, the mob began to beat them, putring their hands on the back of their necks, and pufting them forward; and one man, even a civil officer, grazed the point of a spear against the body of Kristno Prifaud. When they faw that they could not make our friends angry by fuch treatment, they faid, You fulla; you will not

be

be angry, will you? They then infulted them again, threw cow-dung mixed in gonga water at them; talked of making them a necklace of old shoes; beat Neeloo with Ram Roteen's fhoe, &c.; and declared that if they ever came again, they would make an end of them.' Ibid. p. 378.

A plan for procuring an order from Government to shave the

converts.

After concluding with prayer, Bhorud Ghofe, Sookur, and Torribot Bichefs, took me into the field, and told me that their minds were quite decided; there was no neceflity for exhorting them. There was only one thing that kept them from being baptized in the name of Jefus Chrift. Lofing caft in a large town like Serampore was a very dif ferent thing from lofing caft in their village. If they declared themfelves christians, the barber of their village would no longer fhave them; and, without shaving their heads and their beards, they could not live. If an order could be obtained from the magistrate of the district for the barber to fhave Christians as well as others, they would be immediately baptized.' Ibid. p. 397.

We meet in these proceedings with the account of two Hindoos who had set up as Gods, Dulol and Ram Dass. The missionaries, conceiving this schism from the religion of the Hindoos, to be a very favourable opening for them, wait upon the two deities. With Dulol, who seems to be a very shrewd fellow, they are utterly unsuccessful; and the following is an extract from the account of their conference with Ram Dass.

After much altercation, I told him he might put the matter out of all doubt as to himself: he had only to come as a poor, repenting, fuppliant finner, and he would be faved, whatever became of others. To this he gave no other answer than a smile of contempt. I then afk ed him in what way the fins of these his followers would be removed urging it as a matter of the laft importance, as he knew that they were all finners, and must stand before the righteous bar of God? After much evafion, he replied that he had fire in his belly, which would deftroy the fins of all his followers!' Ibid. p. 401.

A Brahman converted.

[ocr errors]

• Dec. 11. Lord's day. A brahmàn came from Nuddea. After talking to him about the gofpel, which he faid he was very willing to embrace, we fent him to Kriftno's. He ate with them without hefitation, but discovered such a thirst for Bengalee rum, as gave them a difguft.

• Dec. 13. This morning the brahman decamped fuddenly.' Ibid. P. 424.

Extent of Printing.

Sept. 12. We are building an addition to our printing-office, where we employ feventeen printers, and five bookbinders.-The brah. man from near Bootan, gives fome hope that he has received the truth in love. Ibid. p. 483.

L 4

• The

The news of Jefus Chrift, and of the church at Serampore, feems to have gone much further than I expected: it appears to be known to a few in moft villages.' Ibid. p. 487.

Hatred to the Gospel.

The caft (fays Mr W) is the great milftone round the necks of thefe people. Roteen wants having ; but the barber here will not do it. He is run away left he fhould be compelled. He fays he will not fhave Yefoo Kreeft's people!' Ibid. p. 493.

Success greater by importunity in prayer.

With refpect to their fuccefs, there are teveral particulars attending it worthy of notice. One is, that it was preceded by a spirit of importa nate prayer. The brethren had all along committed their caufe to God: but in the autumn of 18co, they had a fpecial weekly prayer-meeting for a blefling on the work of the miffion. At thefe affemblies Mr Thomas, who was then prefent on a vifit, feems to have been more than ufually ftrengthened to wreftle for a bleffing: and writing to a friend in America, he fpeaks of " the holy unction appearing on all the mishonaries, efpecially of late; and of times of refreshing from the prefence of the Lord, being folemn, frequent, and lafting." In connecting these things, we cannot but remember that previous to the out-pouring of the Spirit in the days of Pentecoft, the difciples "continued with one ac cord in prayer and fupplication. " Bap. Mif. Pref. Vol. III. p. vii. What this success is, we shall see by the following extract. The whole number baptized in Bengal fince the year 1795, is farty. eight. Over many of thefe we rejoice with great joy; for others we tremble, and over fome we are compelled to weep.' Ibid. p. 21, 22. Hatred to the Gospel.

[ocr errors]

April 2. This morning, several of our chief printing fervants prefented a petition, defiring they might have fome relief, as they were com. pelled, in our Bengalee worship, to hear fo many blafphemies against their gods Brother Carey and I had a ftrong contention with them in the printing-office, and invited them to argue the point with Petumber, as his fermon had given them offence; but they declined it; though we told them that they were ten, and he was only one; that they were brahmans, and he was only a fooder!' Ibid. p. 36.

The enmity against the gospel and its profeffors is univerfal. One of our baptized Hindoos wanted to rent a house; after going out two or three days, and wandering all the town over, he at last perfuaded a woman to let him have a houfe; but though he was herfelf a Feringa, yet when he heard that he was a brahman who had become a Chriftian, the infulted him, and drove him away; fo that we are indeed made the offfcouring of all things. Bap. Mif. Vol. III. p. 38.

I was fitting among our native brethren, at the Bengalee school, hearing them read and explain a portion of the word in turn; when an aged, grey-headed brahman, well-dreffed, game in; and flanding before me, faid, with joined hands, and a fupplicating tone of voice, "Sahib ! I am come to afk an alms. " Beginning to weep, he repeated thefe

words

words haftily; "I am come to afk an ... an alms." He continued ftanding, with his hands in a fupplicating pofture, weeping. I defired him to say what alms; and told him, that by his looks, it did not seem as if he wanted any relief. At length, being preffed, he asked me to give him his fon, pointing with his hand into the midst of our native brethren. I asked which was his fon? He pointed to a young brahman, named Soroop; and setting up a plaintive cry, faid, that was his fon. We tried to comfort him, and at laft prevailed upon him to come and fit down upon the veranda. Here he began to weep again; and faid that the young man's mother was dying with grief. ' Ibid. p. 43.

This evening Buxoo, a brother, who is fervant with us, and Soroop, went to a market in the neighbourhood, where they were discovered to be refoo Khreeftare Loke, (Jefus Chrift's people.) The whole market was all in a hubbub: they clapped their hands, and threw duft at them. Buxoo was changing a rupee for cowries, when the difturbance began ; and in the fcuffle, the man ran away with the rupee without giving the cowries.' Ibid. p. 55.

Nov. 24. This day Hawnye and Ram Kunt returned from their village. They relate that our brother Fotick, who lives in the fame village, was lately feized by the chief Bengalee man there; dragged from his houfe; his face, eyes and ears clogged with cow-dung, his hands tied-and in this ftate confined several hours. They alfo tore to pieces all the papers, and the copy of the teftament, which they found in Fotick's houfe. A relation of thefe perfecutors being dead, they did not moleft Hawnye and Ram Kunt; but the townsfolk would not hear about the gofpel: they only infulted them for becoming Chriftians.' Ibid. p. 57.

Cutwa on the Ganges, Sept. 3. 1804.-This place is about feventy miles from Serampore, by the Hoogley river. Here I have procured a fpot of ground, perhaps about two acres, pleafantly fituated by two tanks, and a fine grove of mango trees, at a fmall distance from the town. It was with difficulty I procured a fpot. I was forced to leave one, after I had made a beginning, through the violent oppofition of the people. Coming to this, oppofition ceafed; and therefore I called it REHOBOTH; for Jehovah hath made room for us. Here I have raised a fpacious bungalo.' Ibid. p. 59.

It would perhaps be more prudent to leave the question of sending missions to India to the effect of these extracts, which appear to us to be quite decisive, both as to the danger of insurrection from the prosecution of the scheme, the utter uafitness of the persons employed in it, and the complete hopelessness of the attempt while pursued under such circumstances as now exist. But, as the Evangelical party who have got possession of our Eastern empire, have brought forward a great deal of argument upon the question, it may be necessary to make to it some sort of reply.

We admit it to be the general duty of Christian people to disseminate

« PreviousContinue »