When more than ninety, he retired from his profession, and used to hold up the palsied hand that had painted lords and ladies for upwards of sixty years, and smiled, with unabated goodhumour, at the vanity of human wishes. Take him with all his faults and follies, we scarce "shall look upon his like again!"

Why should such persons ever die? It seems hard upon them and us! Care fixes no sting in their hearts, and their persons "present no mark to the foe

man."

Death in them seizes upon living shadows. They scarce consume vital air: their gross functions are long at an end---they live but to paint, to talk or think. Is it that the vice of age, the miser's fault, gnaws them? Many of them are not afraid of death, but of coming to want; and having begun in poverty, are haunted with the idea that they shall end in it, and so die-to save charges. Otherwise, they might linger on for ever, and "defy augury!

IN a preceding number we introduced to the public the Abbé Dubois' Letters on the State of Christianity in India, adducing this intelligent author's arguments on the hopelessness of successful proselytism in India, and the prevailing obstacle to the circulation of the Bible. As opposed to the efforts of missionaries, the Abbé states instances of native feelings not less powerfully operative.

"Being at Carricaul, about twentyeight years ago, I preached on a Sunday to the assembled congregation a sermon in the Tamul language, on the divine origin of the Christian religion. Among other topics to prove my subject, I insisted on the intrinsic weakness and inadequacy of the means employed in the establishment of this religion, generally hated and persecuted every where, quite destitute of all human support, and left to its own resources amidst every kind of contradictions. I several times repeated, in treating this topic, that the Christian religion had for its founder a peasant of Galilee, the son of a humble carpenter, who took for his assistants twelve lowborn men, twelve ignorant and illiterate fishermen. These words, the son of a carpenter! twelve fishermen ! many times repeated, gave offence to my audience, which was entirely composed of native Christians; and the sermon was no sooner finished-than three or four of the principal among them came and informed me, that the whole congregation had been highly scanda

lized by hearing me apply to Christ the appellation of the son of a carpenter, and to his apostles that of fishermen; that I could not be ignorant that the castes both of carpenters and fishermen were two of the lowest and vilest in the country; that it was highly improper to attribute to Christ and his disciples so low and abject an origin; that if pagans, who sometimes come through motives of curiosity to their religious assemblies, heard such objectionable accounts of our religion, their contempt and hatred of it would be considerably increased, &c. &c. Finally, they advised me, if in future I had occasion to mention in my sermons, the origin of Christ or his apostles, not to fail to say that both were born in the noble tribe of kshatrys or rajahs, and never to mention their low profession.

"Another instance of the kind happened to me a few years ago in this part of the country, when, in explaining to the congregation the parable of the Prodigal Son in the Gospel, I mentioned the circumstance of the prodigal's father having, through joy, killed the fatted calf to regale his friends, on account of the return of his reformed son. After the lecture some Christians told me, in rather bad humour, that my mentioning the fatted calf was very improper, and that if, as sometimes happened, pagans had been present at the lecture, they would have been confirmed, on hearing of the fattened calf, in the opinion they all en

*Concluded from page 37.

tertained of the Christian religion being a low, or pariah religion. They advised me, in the mean time, if in future I gave an explanation of the same parable, to substitute a lamb instead of the fatted calf.

"In fact, even with our native Christians, we are careful to avoid all that might wound their feelings to no purpose, and increase in the public mind the jealousy and contempt entertained against them and their religion. For example, as the use of intoxicating liquors is extremely odious to all wellbred Hindoos, and considered by them as a capital sin, when we explain verbally or in writing the sacrament of the eucharist, we are cautious not to say openly that the materials of this sacrament are bread and wine, or charayam, (literally, wine,) which would prove too revolting to their feelings; we have therefore the precaution to soften this coarse term by a periphrasis, saying that the materials of the eucharist are wheaten bread, and the juice of the fine fruit called grape; which expressions become more palatable to their taste."

The Neophytes are after all very odd sort of Christians.

"The greater part (continues the writer) exhibit nothing but a vain phantom, an empty shade of Christianity. In fact, during a period of twenty-five years that I have familiarly conversed with them, lived among them as their religious teacher and spiritual guide, I would hardly dare to affirm that I have any where met a sincere and undisguised Christian.

"In embracing the Christian religion, they very seldom heartily renounce their leading superstitions, towards which they always entertain a secret bent, which does not fail to manifest itself in the several occurrences of life; and in many circumstances where the precepts of their religion are found to be in opposition to their leading usages, they rarely scruple to overlook the former, and conform them selves to the latter.

"Besides, in order to make true Christians among the natives, it would be necessary before all things, to erase from the code of the Christian religion,

the great leading precept of charity: for, try to persuade a Hindoo that this religion places all men on equal footing in the sight of God, our common Maker and Father ;-that the being born in a high caste, authorises nobody to look with indifference or contempt on the persons born in a lower tribe;that even the exalted Brahmin, after embracing Christianity, ought to look upon the humble pariah as his brother, and be ready to bestow upon him all marks of kindness and love in his power; try to prevail upon theChristian Hindoo to forgive an often imaginary injury, such as would be that of being publicly upbraided with having violated any one of their vain usages ;-try to persuade even the low-born pariah, that after turning a Christian, he ought forever to renounce the childish distinction of Right and Left Hand, upon which he lays so much stress, and which he considers as the most honourable characteristic of his tribe;-tell him that as that distinction of Right and Left Hand proves a source of continual quarrel, fighting, and animosity, it becomes wholly incompatible with the first duties imposed upon him by the Christian religion, and must altogether be laid aside;-try to prevail upon parents, in opposition to the established customs, to permit a young widow, their daughter, who, on account of her youth, is exposed to dishonour both herself and family, to marry again; so to act in opposition to any of their leading usages and practices; your lectures, your instructions, your expostulations on such subjects, will be of no avail; and your Christians will continue to live the slaves of their Antichristian prejudices and cus

all times a subject of shame. Accompanied with hundreds of tom-toms, (small drums,) trumpets, and all the discordant noisy music of the country; with numberless torches, and fireworks the statue of the saint placed on a car, which is charged with garlands of flowers, and other gaudy ornaments, according to the taste of the country, the car slowly dragged by a multitude shouting all along the march -the congregation surrounding the car all in confusion, several among them dancing, or playing with small sticks, with naked swords; some wrestling, some playing the fool; all shouting, or conversing with each other, without any one exhibiting the least sign of respect or devotion. Such is the mode in which the Hindoo Christians in the inland country celebrate their festivals. They are celebrated, however, with a little more decency on the coast. They are all exceedingly pleased with such a mode of worship, and any thing short of such pageantry, such confusion and disorder, would not be liked by them."

As a proof how lightly they prize their faith, the Abbé states than when in 1784 Tippoo Saib seized 60,000 Christians (all that could be found in bis dominions in one day) and carried them to Seringapatam, not one of the whole number refused to abjure and be circumcised-not one of them "possessing resolution enough to say, I am a Christian, I will die rather than renounce my religion!""

Summing up his reasoning as far as his own experience goes, the Abbé honestly declares

"For my part, I cannot boast of my successes in this holy career, during a period of twenty-five years that I have laboured to promote the interests of the Christian religion. The restraints and privations under which I have lived, by conforming myself to the usages of the country; embracing, in many respects, the prejudices of the natives; living like them, and becoming almost a Hindoo myself; in short, by being made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some,'-all this has

15 ATHENEUM VOL. 14.

proved of no avail to me to make proselytes."

"During the long period I have lived in India, in the capacity of a missionary, I have made, with the assistance of a native missionary, in all between two and three hundred converts of both sexes. Of this number twothirds were pariahs, or beggars; and the rest were composed of sudras, vagrants, and out-casts of several tribes, who, being without resource, turned Christians, in order to form new connections, chiefly for the purpose of marriage, or with some other interested views. Among them are to be found some also who believed themselves to be possessed by the devil, and who turned Christians, after having been assured that on their receiving baptism the unclean spirits would leave them, never to return; and I will declare it, with shame and confusion, that I do not remember any one who may be said to have embraced Christianity from conviction, and through quite disinterested motives. Among these new converts many apostatised, and relapsed into Paganism, finding that the Christian religion did not afford them the temporal advantages they had looked for in embracing it; and I am verily ashamed, that the resolution I have takeu to declare the whole truth on this subject forces me to make the humiliating avowal, that those who continued Christians are the very worst among my flock.

"In fact, the conversion of the Hindoos, under existing circumstances, is so hopeless a thing, and their prejudices against it are so deeply rooted, and so decidedly declared, that I am firmly persuaded, that if (what has never been the case) the Hindoo Brahmins were animated by a spirit of proselytism, and sent to Europe missionaries of their own faith, to propagate their monstrous religion, and make converts · to the worship of Seeva and Vishnoo, they would have much more chance of success, among certain classes of society, than we have to make among them true converts to the faith in Christ."

Well are we aware that the obsta

cles thus so afflictingly stated, are calculated to excite the warmer zeal of those who cherish the praiseworthy design of spreading Christianity over the earth; and we trust it will be believed that we only array these arguments together in order to show them the extent of their difficulties, not to dishearten them in the prosecution of their benevolent work.

There is another important consideration which ought to be calmly weighed at this period, when we even see petitions presented to Parliament on the subject.

"On the whole (says the Abbé,) from all that has come within my knowledge, I observe, with sorrow, that the interference of the new reformers to improve the condition of the Hindoos has thus far produced more evil than good. In support of this assertion, I will content myself with citing the two following striking in

stances:

"The first relates to the burning of 'widows on the piles of their deceased husbands. It is an indubitable fact, fully confirmed by the official reports of the local magistrates, that since the clamours raised in Europe and India, and since the country government has judged fit to interfere, to a certain degree, in order to render it less frequent, it has come more into fashion, and more prevalent. I have seen lists of the victims devoting themselves to that cruel superstition; and I have observed, that in the districts of Calcutta and Benarez, where the horrid practice is most common, the number of victims has been of late much greater than it was about twelve years ago, when the natives were left to themselves, and nobody presumed to interfere with their

"When I was at Vellore, four years ago, in attendance on a numerous congregation living in that place, having been informed that the Lutheran missionaries kept a catechist, or native religious teacher, at that station, on a salary of five pagodas a month, I was led to suppose that they had a numerous flock there; but I was not a little surprised when, on enquiry, I found that the whole congregation consisted of only three individuals, namely, a drummer, a cook, and a horse-keeper.

"In the meantime do not suppose that those thin congregations are wholly composed of converted pagans: at least half consists of Catholic apostates, who went over to the Lutheran sect in times of famine, or from other interested motives.

"It is not uncommon on the coast to see natives who successively pass from one religion to another, according to their actual interest. In my last journey to Madras, I became acquainted with native converts, who regularly changed their religion twice a-year, and who for a long time were in the habit of being six months Catholic, and six months Protestant.

"Behold the Lutheran mission established in India more than a century ago! Interrogate its missionaries, ask them what were their successes during so long a period, and through what means were gained over the few proselytes they made? Ask them whether the interests of their sect are improving, or whether they are gaining ground, or whether their small numbers are not rather dwindling away?

"Behold the truly industrious, the unaffected and unassuming Moravian brethren! Ask them how many converts they have made in India during a stay of about seventy years by preaching the Gospel in all its naked simplicity? They will candidly answer, "Not one! not a single man !"

"Behold the Nestorians in Travancore! Interrogate them; ask them for an account of their success in the work of proselytism in these modern times? Ask them whether they are gaining ground, and whether the interests of their ancient mode of worship is improving? They will reply, that so

far from this being the case, their congregations once so flourishing, and amounting (according to Gibbon's account) to 200,000 souls, are now reduced to less than an eighth of this number, and are daily diminishing.

"Behold the Baptist missionaries at Serampore! Inquire what are their spiritual successes on the shores of the Ganges? Ask them whether they have really the well-founded hope that their indefatigable labours in endeavouring to get the Holy Scriptures translated into all the idioms of India will increase their successes? Ask them whether those extremely incorrect versions, already obtained at an immense expense, have produced the sincere conversion of a single Pagan! And I am persuaded, that, if they are asked an answer upon their honour and conscience, they will all reply in the negative.

"The Hindoos are a people entirely different from all others. You may, if you choose, exercise over them the most despotic sway; you may oppress them by every kind of tyranny; you may overload them with taxes, and rob them of their property; you may carry away their wives and children, load them with chains and send them into exile:-to all such excesses they will perhaps submit; but, if you speak of changing any of their principal institutions, either religious or civil, you will find a quite ungovernable people, never to be overcome on this point; and it is my decided opinion, that the day when government shall presume to interfere in such matters, will be the last of its political existence.

"This force of custom is remarked among the native Christians, as well as among the pagans. The former shew in all their religious concerns an apathy or insensibility, a dulness, bordering in most instances on stupidity. Indeed, the education of all Hindoos renders them incapable of acquiring new ideas, and every thing which varies from the established customs is rather odious, or at least indifferent to them.

"It is not that they want wit, penetration, and aptness in the matters in which they were brought up, or those in which their temporal interests are

compromised; but it is impossible to instil new principles, or infuse new ideas into their minds. Besides that, surrounded on all sides by a religion which speaks to the senses, allures and bewilders its votaries by all kinds of sensual gratifications in this life, and in that which is to come, their minds are too gross to understand a religion which speaks only to the spirit, exhibits to them only inscrutable mysteries, and promises them chiefly spiritual enjoyments.

"In fact, in discoursing upon the Christian religion with the Hindoos, your hearers will readily agree with you upon all that you say; but they will feel nothing. When you discourse upon such topics, either among the Christians or pagans, your hearers, sitting down on their heels, or cross-legged, will patiently, and with frequent assenting nods, listen to you. But, after preaching to them in this manner for several days, ask them for an account of your sermons, or moral instructions, and you will find that they have comprehended nothing, and that you have laboured in vain, because instead of speaking to their senses, you endeavoured to speak to their minds.

"The Hindoos may be divided into two classes-the impostors and the dupes. The latter include the bulk of the population of India; and the former is composed of the whole tribe of Brahmins. Now, in a society composed of such materials, we can entertain but very faint hopes of improving the interests, or extending the benefits of the Christian religion.

"The Brahmins, in framing their system of imposture, and in devising the monstrous worship prevailing all over India, not only used every artifice in their power to adapt it to the dispositions of a simple and credulous people, but, above all, they employed all possible means to establish in this way, in a permanent and indisputable manner, the high power and uncontroverted control they have always exercised over the other tribes.

"It is a sin, it is a crime, a sacrilege in every Hindoo who is not born a Brahmin to endeavour to emerge from that state of ignorance, and to aspire