A LETTER FROM MR. SUGDEN.

To my dear Young Friends in Sunday-schools, and any Young People who are interested in Missions.

சிவமயம

Bangalore, September, 1845.

I

MY DEAR YOUNG FRIENDS,-A young man who is a heathen, is assisting me in learning the Tamil language, that I may speak better to the poor people who worship idols, about Jesus Christ the only Saviour. One day he brought me a paper which he had prepared and written with his own hand. It was to make plain some difficult parts of the grammar. On the top of the first page, about the middle, there was a word written which was quite new to me. You know it is not a good plan to skip over words without asking their meanings, or trying to find them for ourselves. therefore inquired what it meant, and why it was put in that curious place, as the first thing of all. I have cut out the word and pasted it on this sheet. It is Sivamayam, and means, the will of Sceva, i. e., All things are under the power of Sceva, and he permits me to do this." Sceva is, as you know, an idol god, much worshipped in India. This young man is a Scevite, and he told me this was a mark that he thought of God. This practice is very common among the heathen. At the commencement of a book or letter there is generally written: "By the will of Sceva;" 'The victory of Vishnoo." "By the help of Kishna," or Ganapathi, &c., &c.; and at the end, the prayer, May it be well! You are too well taught not to know that young people in England may learn a good lesson from this, that is to pray for the blessing of God on

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our different undertakings, both when we begin them and end them. I shall be very glad if the blessing of God rests on this letter, so that it interests you and leads you to be at all more thankful that you were born, and that you live in dear old England. What shall I tell you? chat with you for an hour or two, and to answer all the questions which many of you, no doubt, would like to ask. Well, I will draw my bow at a venture. On the 25th, 26th, and 27th days of August there was a great heathen feast here, and as it was one in which the young are more closely concerned, I will tell you a little about it. Among the millions of idols here, there is one called Ganeshu, or Ganapathi, or Vignaswaran he has also many other names, but generally goes here by the name of Pilair, which means The child of God. He is much worshipped here by all sects. There is an image of him in almost every house, and daily worship is paid to him. As he is the patron of education, the young are taught to pay great regard to him. If you saw his image in England, and did not know that it was worshipped by poor and ignorant people, I am sure you would laugh very much at it. It is a very queer-looking thing. He is made in the shape of a short fat man with a very big stomach. He has an elephant's head and four arms, and is sitting on a large rat. The feast that I spoke of is held in honour of this idol. I will tell you something about it, and you must remember that many thousands of young people are daily worshipping this silly thing. If a boy begins a new book at school, he must make sacrifices to Ganapathi. The poor girls don't learn to read, &c., at all, but they, too, worship idols in abundance. How grateful you would be to God if you knew your happy, happy state!

Oh that I could be with you to

The feast begins on the fourth day after the new moon, in the month of August, and lasts three days. If they do not worship Ganapathi on the first day of the feast, they cannot look at the moon without being accursed. You will smile at this folly, but it is gravely told in one of their sacred books, and the substance of the tale is this. Inthiran and the moon went to Cayalasam, Sceva's mountain, where they saw Ganapathi, who had eaten plantains and mangoes and other fruits, till he was quite blown out and could scarcely speak. The moon laughed at him as he was panting for breath, and he cursed the moon, saying, "You are like a Pariah." The consequences were so serious, that Brumha and the other gods had to go to Ganapathi and entreat him to take away his curse. He consented to do so, except on this day, the fourth day after the new moon in the month of August. Therefore, the poor ignorant people worship him on this day especially. Now I will tell you what they do. They first buy an image of the god, as they call him. The greatest number are made of mud or clay whitewashed and daubed over and having little bits of tinsel put on them. They are sold in the market at one halfpenny apiece. These are the commonest sort. Others are made of the same material, but much larger indeed; in a heathen school not very far from our house, in which there are several hundred boys, they had one as large as a man, and had all to sing praises to it. Some of the richer people go to great expense in making these idols, having them of more costly materials, and having a very expensive canopy put over them. I have been told that the Rajah of Mysore makes a present of a silver one to each of his chief servants and friends. They are, however, not very large. Though

most of the people here have a stone figure of Ganapathi in their houses, yet, on this occasion another one is bought. When it is bought, the god is not supposed to reside in it. After it is purchased and taken home, it must not be put on the ground, but on some elevated place. After it is set up and the canopy placed over it, a Brahman comes to consecrate the image. He repeats his prayer, or incantations over it, and whilst doing so touches the idol in different parts After this the deity is supposed to come into it. The people then offer, either by means of the Brahman, or by themselves, sundal, that is boiled peas, cocoa nut, &c., &c., as in the usual worship. After the Brahman has gone, they eat what they have offered. The Brah.. man of course receives a fee, 11⁄2d., 6d., 18., 2s., or more, according to the wealth or poverty of the family. But what do you think they do with this god of theirs after all? You will perhaps think that they take the greatest care of it and keep it for a long time and worship it much. After keeping it three days (some keep them rather longer, ten or fifteen days, or even one month) they take them to a large pond. Putting them down on the bank, they offer cocoa nut, &c., and burn incense, and then pop the old gentleman into the water and drown him outright. The children especially delight in this last part of the ceremony, and if you saw them with all their childish glee, you would deeply pity them. But even they are now so taught as to mock and abuse when they are spoken to, and I am sorry to tell you that several times they snatch away tracts and tear them to pieces before us. They are taught to do all kinds of evil, and are ready pupils. I am sure you will wish them to be taught better. They are so in our schools; and when some of you grow to

be rich, I hope you will not forget the schools in India. But you must not wait till that time, but do as much good as you can now. If you are faithful with little, you will perhaps be blessed with more. I should have written out for you the mantrum, or prayer, which the children say to this god, but it is all long names of the idol, and has no sense in it.

I have now only to ask you not to forget us in this country. Pray for us and for all our dear children in the schools, and most of all for those little ones who are taught, and even forced to worship idols. If I hear that you are interested in this note, I shall write to you again, and if there is anything which you wish very much to know about, tell your teachers, and I shall, perhaps, get to know, and I will do my best to send you word all about it. May God bless you and make you all good children, the joy of your teachers, both now and at the last great day, is the affectionate prayer of your friend, JOHN SUGDen.

[The Editor is quite sure that all his young friends will be glad to hear from Mr. Sugden again, and from Mrs. Sugden too.]

LIFE OF J. ELIOT.

FIRST LABOURS AMONG THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS.

Chapter II.-Life at Roxburg.

PERHAPS, dear children, you would like to hear how John Eliot went on among his old friends in their new home. You must not fancy, then, that he lived in such a town as ours in England are. Every one was busy hewing down the fine old forests with which the country was overgrown, and breaking up the wild prairies, which