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ARCOT-VELLORE.

beginning, and is therefore perishable."

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Many of them

prefer to speculate and converse on such subjects, to having their sinful and dangerous condition pointed out to them, and the will of God concerning them stated and enforced.

Intending to visit Vellore, I proceeded from Conjeveram to Cauverypauk, about seventeen miles, where I passed the middle of the day; but, though I went out into the streets, found little even of curiosity among the people of that town, to hear what an European stranger had to say on the subject of religion. In the evening, a journey of about ten miles brought me to the large town and cantonment of Arcot, where I was kindly received by the chaplain as on my former visit.

On the evening of the 5th, I had a small but attentive Tamul congregation, consisting chiefly of persons professing Christianity; I am not aware that any Missionary was ever stationed at Arcot, though the place and its neighbourhood are very populous; and less has been attempted there among the natives, than in any quarter offering equal advantages.

The following day, I proceeded to Vellore, where I was hospitably entertained during my stay by Commissary Penn. Within the fort of Vellore, is a large Hindoo temple, containing specimens of native device and sculpture, as admirable as those of any I ever visited it is now entirely out of use as a temple, and occupied as an arsenal by the British.

Vellore has long been visited by the Missionaries of the Society for promoting Christian Knowledge, residing at Madras. I found the Rev. Mr. Falke of that Mission, diligently labouring in a large and well conducted school: he seemed to have met with some discouragements during his visit, which he had protracted to several weeks. He had been told on the one hand that he had nothing to do with the English inhabitants; and on the other, had been

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warned against public preaching and conversation among the natives; but his diligent zeal had found means and opportunities of attempting to benefit the inhabitants of all classes. On Sunday the 7th, I heard him read prayers and preach in English; and remained, with considerable part of the congregation, to the celebration of the Lord's supper. In the after part of the day I had attentive congregations, both English and Tamul.

On Monday I returned to Arcot, and in the evening preached in a private house to the same congregation as before. On the evening of Tuesday I again reached Conjeveram, and had many applications for tracts from natives who had seen or heard of those I had distributed the previous week. About eight o'clock at night, I received a polite invitation from A. Maclean, Esq. Assistant Collector and Magistrate, and the only European residing in Conjeveram; on whom I had not waited, because I had no acquaintance with him, or letter of introduction. He was surrounded by his assistants and officers, and diligently discharging his duty as Magistrate; his acquirements in the languages enabling him to do it with ease, and without the assistance of interpreters. I remained with him the following day, and visited the temple of little Conjeveram, a place of great celebrity among the natives, but containing nothing superior to those temples I had already seen.

Whilst resting at Amrambaidoo, on my way to Madras, on the following day, I was recognised by a native brahmin, who said he had heard of me from a great distance as distributing tracts and conversing about religion. I think I was applied to by all in the village who were able to read.

In the evening of Thursday the 11th of September, I reached the Mission House in Royapettah, having travelled about six hundred miles, and been absent nearly ten weeks; during which I had been chiefly engaged in conversing with strangers. In few parts of the world could I have

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travelled so long with so little annoyance; and though a professed teacher of a strange religion, which I was anxious to propagate, my movements seemed to excite no jealousy among the people. May "the bread" thus widely "cast upon the waters, be found after many days."

CHAPTER XVII.

SEPTEMBER TO DECEMBER, 1823.

Labour in Madras-Deficiency of native help-Arrival of Mr. England-Teloogoo language—Teloogoo brahmin -Conversation with natives-Chintadrypett-Journey -Poonamallee-Tripassoor-Chellampatri CotoorWallajahbad-Erection of Chapel-Encouragement in labour-Puthucheri-Wandewash-Gingee-Visit to the ruins-Anantapooram-Hindoo under a vowTricaloor.

RETURNED to Madras, I again entered into the regular work of the station, and found cause for encouragement and perseverance. In the native department especially, an increase was apparent both in the number of hearers and in the interest felt by the congregations. At the Tamul service in Black Town on Friday evenings, the doors and windows were usually occupied by heathens or others who desired to hear the scriptures read and explained, but did not dare to enter our place of worship, either on account of their own scruples, or because they feared persecution or inconvenience if they identified themselves with us.

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TELOOGOO LANGUAGE.

Some of these were regular in their attendance, and though I never saw them except on those occasions, I hope the 'partial knowledge of Christian doctrines and principles they must thus have acquired, will not have been entirely in vain.

In our labours among the natives, our principal deficiency at that time was an active native assistant, who might follow up, by conversations and familiar intercourse with the people, the public and stated exertions of the Missionary. Those members of our native society whose acquirements qualified them to act as schoolmasters, were already engaged in that capacity, and we could only hope and pray that the help we required, in this important work, might in some way or other be raised up for us.

On the 14th of September, we were gladdened by the safe arrival of Mr. England, a brother Missionary sent to our assistance by the Committee in London.

The relief from considerable part of the English work, afforded to me by Mr. England's arrival, gave me an opportunity of commencing the study of the Teloogoo language.

In my late journeys, I had found that a knowledge of that language would have enlarged my sphere of usefulness while travelling. A great part of the population of Madras also use this language, but none of the Missionaries at that time residing there had paid any attention to it. Another reason which urged me to the acquisition of Teloogoo, was its similarity in many respects to the Cannada language, vernacular in the Mysore country, whither I was directed to proceed by the letters Mr. England brought with him from the Committee; and although it would then have been impracticable for me entirely to quit our native societies and congregations in Madras, for want of a Tamul supply, I did not conceive it improbable that circumstances would in a short time favour my proceeding

NOTIONS OF THE HINDOOS.

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thither, to recommence our exertions in the neighbourhoods of Bangalore and Seringapatam.

My Teloogoo teacher was a poor brahmin of the neighbouring village of St. Thomè, whose chief peculiarity seemed to be, a thorough and sincere belief of all the absurdities of the Hindoo system. I think he was the only native of tolerable education I ever met with, so blind and entire in his attachment to idolatry and all its concomitant observances. He was generally unwell from bathing every morning in the public tank, because, in his opinion, it was more meritorious to bathe in cold water and in the open air, than to use warm water within the house, though the latter was permitted in case of indisposition. He was one day taken very ill whilst attending me; but though apprehensive of the Cholera Morbus, which at that time was raging dreadfully on every hand, his scruples would not permit him to take the specific I offered him, though he knew it had been successful, in other instances, in checking the disorder.

The laxity of the notions of some Hindoos, and the miserable subterfuges with which they quiet their minds on religious subjects, may be illustrated by the following cir

cumstance.

An old acquaintance of mine, a brahmin moonshee of the college, came to see me with one or two others: they found me in the burial ground, contiguous to the chapel in in Royapettah, superintending the opening of a grave. Desirous of improving the opportunity, I adverted to the solemn subject naturally occurring to our minds from the appearances of the place in which we stood, and pressed on them the importance of ascertaining whether our systems of faith and practice were calculated to promote and secure our happiness in the eternal world. My friend did not seem much at ease whilst I talked on this subject; but replied that one religion was as good as another, that every

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