Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1879-04-09
Letters for the Children---NO. 12.

OF the May.
Letters for the Children-.-No. 12.
NJ REV. J. A. BArss, woLcorr.
Did you notice the other day, children,
what faith our Vermont printer has in the
missionaries ? lie makes them so full of
faith, or something else, as to be in friend
ship with the rattlesnakes." ! am glad
he believes in them. But rattlesnakes live
only in Christian America, | believe. IL
was rdt-snake, John, that was out there eat
ing frogs-one of the good snakes tina. never
hurt anybody.
But here we go away from our Chavaga-
cherry home to spend few days on the sea-
shore, till these heavy dews are over. The
road is full of water, and these fields that
few weeks ago were dry and hard, now look
strangely with the bright green rice Just
coming up out of the water. After a ride
of five miles we turn to the left in the midst
of a great crowd of people, who are buying and
selling all sorts of things, and soon we come
to Varany, where we must rest and say
"Salaam ITO few faithful Christian friends
who will gladly welcome us. We will go
into the old mission house, and they will
soon hear that we have come, and will come
to see us. But while we are alone, look at
the house little. 1t was once, as you see,
an immense building-one hundred and
fifty-two feet long and sixty feet wide. See
the walls around us all in heaps of ruins.
saw an old history in Boston few years
ago which described varany as it was in
1865, or two hundred and fourteen years
ago. 1t said that there was then a great
Dutch church here, where the gospel was
preached every Sunday to a congregation
oftwenty-ive hundred people. In the school
bred scholars. But this house was an old
one long before that. Somewhere about
1850, or three hundred and thirty years ago,
this house was built as Portuguese Roman
Catholic church, and soon after their history
says there were more than ten thousand
church members here. But, children, you can
Judge what sort of Christians those Dutch
Portuguese were, when you read that if poor
native was detected in idol worship, he was
at once put to death.
When the English conquered the Dutch,
they proclaimed at once "religious liberty
as they called it, and the idol temples sprang
up very soon all over the country But
that religious liberty" would not for many
years allow missionaries to try to preach the
gospel to these heather people, So this old
house soon went to ruins. Some forty years
ago an American missionary came here
and made new house in one corner of the
old one. And for several years we had
missionary here, but now it is part
of our great Chavagacherry parish. By
| and-by when one of those Vermont boys
comes to decide what he will do for life,
hope he will say he had rather go out TO
varany and try to tell these ten thousand
poor heather how to be saved, than to be a
rich merchant, or even great lawyer, or
even pastor of a city church in New Eng
land. What a chance here is to do good.
We are rested and have had good meet
ing with these few Christian friends here
and now for another ride of twelve miles
Well done, Tom you have noticed those
trees. Yes, they are new ones for us.
suppose it is species of the maugrove. Its
seed is very curious. 1t grows right out OF
the bottom of the beautiful pear-like fruit
The seed is like dart, perhaps, one foot
long. Its lower end is very sharp, and when
ripe it is heavy. So when it drops from the
fruit it sticks right into the mud at the bot
tom of the water in which the tree grows
and from the top of the dart the sproni
and the little tree grow up. Surely a wise
God made the seed of this tree so different
from other seeds that it would grow in this
shallow water where other seeds would decay
All, there is the ocean How beautiful il
looks as its gentle waves come rolling in
and breaking into a narrow line of whit,
foam on the reef of rocks out few rod
from the shore, and then coming in with
only little ripple on the smooth, whit
sand of the beach. think every one wht
reads the Bible always thinks of him who's
sway is in the sea when he sees the ocean
And here is the house where we are t,
live for few days. We call it bungalow
1t is small, and is only fit to be used now il
this season of the year. Now for goo'
nights rest. We are all tired, and the fresl
sea air and the lullaby of the waves will
make us all sleep as we have not been abb
to for a long time.
Bright and early in the morning we ar
up and out. Even little Nellie is read
for run on the beach before breakfast
Oh, how different it is, Tom, from thos
beaches in New England.
We are alone here. No great hotels full
of people. No stylish city carriages.
few children are out there watching us, AN,
here and there we can see fisherman. Ton
must go aud see how they catch fish. Tn
man is walking along very carefully in tn
water looking all around him. There, h
sees fish Now watch him He has
net in his hand. 1t is simply round ne
with little stones tied all around the edge G
it. lie gives it asort Of a whirling throw, all
it flies through the air aud spreads as it goe
1t strikes on the water over the fish, tn
edges first, aud sinks at once to the bottom
all around him. Then the man goes up an
presses the net down on TO the fish, an
grabs him in his hands and carries him of
, Was not that very skilfuly done, Tom
But see the shells. Little Nellie hs
: found beautiful one. Here is another, an
8 another. Did not know there were so man
kinds in the world, Tomp Why, this
nothing, there are several thousands {
I different sorts here; and those are only dea
{ ones. Let us find some live ones. Here
a little hole in the sand let us dig ittl