The Monitor. [volume] (Woodstown, N.J.) 1884-1892, 1890-07-18
Mission Work In India.

interesting letter received yesterday Us
Mrs. Harry Hewitt. from her brother, Rev.
VIM. II. Stephens, who has for the past
ten years been engaged in mission work
ia India. He is now located in hamptee
Central Province.
This is the busiest year @e have had
since coming TO this part OF India. Oar
work is growing and the whole burden of
it falls ON Mary Mr.. Stephens aifel and
myself. Mary has six assistants-one
European and five rative-and they man
age the girls school, Bible woman' work,
and Zenonua HoIk. l have nine school
teachers, two preachers and one eolpor-
teur, SO you sec we have good-sized staff
10 look after.
We have over go pupils under regular
instruction. About 50 OF them are girls
you will understand the necessity of girls
schools when you know that, according to
tue last census (for this district only one fe-
male ina thousand is able to read and rite.
As small as this proportion may seem to
you, it is large when you remember that 80
years ago not one in a hundred thousand
could read and write. TIE position Of woman
III heather lands is not an enyiable one.
Christianity is the only religion that allows
oma her true position and one needs to
see the darker side of the world to rightly
appreciate the blessings of Christianity.
Trying TO educate the women of India is
uphill work. In the large cities where the
European element is strong We find it less
difficult. Here, where Europeans are few
and old-fashioBed Hinduism is in full blast,
we have 10 work very slowly. However,
the work moves onward, and every year
the difficulties grow less and the time will
come when the India women will enjoy the
samepriyileges as their Western sisters-but
will not come soon. The people are salts
fed to walk in the old ruts of Hinduism,
and four thousand years have worn
them very deep. II was slow work carv-
ing Christian notions out Of heather Eu-
rope, and is will be slower work in India, for
caste blocks the road. In all my work am
cheered by the assurance that there is no
doubt as to results. India will take her
place among the Christian nations, but
it will be the result of patient working and
praying.
This work is not all to be done by the
inissionary-there are a great many in
direct agencies at work here. One of the
most effective preachers against caste is
the railway train. A few years ago it
would have been deadly pollution for a
high caste man to sit with a low
caste; now you may see them sitting side
by side on the same seat, as If they were
brethren. The Hindoo is bound to do Just
what his father did--the carpenters son
must be carpenter, and so IN through all
trades. Now the thousands of govern
ment ehools scattered over the land offer
education for almost nothing, and the sons
Of carpenters, etc, are filling other posi-
tons, some employed OF the railways,
some with merchants, and many occupy
responsible government positions, All
these new things coming in are breaking
into the old grooves, and the low-caste
man has discovered that he can be educa-
ted as well as the favored Bralmiu, aud
has fully as good opportunities of securing
coveted places.
Far away from the great centres, the
people are Ignorant as you can never un-
derstahd the meaning Of the word. Ia my
village visiting | 20 into many towns
there not one able to read and write can
be found. DR.. Middleton did a z good stroke
Of missionary work when he sent US that
beautiful magic Lantern. 1t is an exceed
ingly fine one and the natives think it is
well-caIled a magic" lantern. They can
never understand how the wonderful pic
tuIes are produced. 4 few weeks ago |
did some touring among the villages, tax
ing the lantern with me. AT one place
we put our screen ON an open plain, near
several villages, and had a splendid au-
dience. At another place-a town of 1000
people-we got the government school,
aud the largest of the rooms vas 25x30
feet in size. Into this We packed $50 peo-
pie. The hot weather has commenced ard
yon may know it was hot work for me oy-
er the lantern.
We have it hat hotter here thar
you at Woodstown. | don't suppose you
know much of a heat like 111o in the
shade-we nave not yet reached that this
year, but it will be there before the rains
break. We now have it ll43 on our
shady yerandah, on the shadiest side of
the house. The { is a dry heat, so We
d. not sutfer-such heat with you would
kill you all OF. With seven months Of
perfectly rainless weather and SO far in
land, we have a dry climats that enables
US to endure the heat. We cannot sleep
indoors, of course-our bed room is our
comfound (yard) as far from the house as
we can get. | find 1t a little more trying
this hot season, as we are rebuilding a