Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1894-12-17
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do they go to?
| Answer THAT depends upon what
they have been doing. If they have been
doing good, to heaven; if they have
been doing evil, to hell.
Q.-But do you not believe in the
transmigration of souls, and that after
death we go into birds or animals Of
some sort?
Ayes; the last creature a man is
thinking of while dying is the one into
which he will CO. If he is thinking of a
bird, he will go into bird, and if he
is thinking of cow he will go into a
COW.
Q.-I thought you said that at death
the soul goes to heaven Or hell?
Ale goes there by gradual proc
ess. It may take him years and years.
Q.-Can any one become Hindoo:
Could I become Hindoo?
Ayes, you could.
GLOW could I become Hindoo?
A.-By doing as the Hindoos do.
But as I looked upon the poor, filthy
wretch, bedaubing himself with the
ashes of the dead, I thought the last
thing on earth would want to become
would be Hindoo. I expressed to a
missionary who overheard the converse
ton between the fakir and myself my
amaZement at some of the doctrines the
fakir announced. The missionary said,
'"The fakirs are very accommodating,
and supposing you to be a friend of
Christianity he announced the theory
of one God, and that of rewards and
punishments. -
There are, however, alleviations for
Benares I attended worship in one of
the Christian missions The sermon,
though delivered in Hindoostanee, of
which I could not understand word,
thrilled me with it's earnestness and
tenderness of tone, especially when the
missionary told me at the close of the
service that he recently baptized man
who was converted through reading one
of my sermons among the hills of In
dia. The songs of the two Christian as
semblages I visited in this city, al
though the tunes were new, and the
sentiments not translated, were uplift-
ing and inspiring to the last degree
There was also school of 600 native
girls, an institution established by ra-
jah of generosity and wealth, gradu-
ate of Madras university. But, more than
all, the missionaries are busy, some Of
them preaching Oh the CHATS, some Of
them in churches, i'll chapels and ba-
zaars. The London Missionary society
has here its college for young men and
its schools for children and it's houses of
worship for all. The Church Missionary
society he's its eight schools, all filled
with learners The evangelizing work
Of the Westeyans and the Baptists is
felt in all parts of Benares. In its
:n1ghtiest stronghold Hindooism is be-
ing assaulted.
Maligned Missionaries.
And now as to the industrious ma
Hgnment of missionaries: It has been
said by some travellers after their return
to America or England that the mis-
sionaries are living life full of indo-
lence and luxury. That is a falsehood
that 1 would say is as high as heaven if
it did not go down in the opposite di
rection. When strangers come into these
tropical climates, the missionaries do
their best to entertain them. making
sacrifices for that purpose. In the city
Of Benares q missionary told me that, q
gentleman coming from England into
one Of the mission stations of India, the
missionaries banded together to enter
tain him. Among other things they had
a ham boiled, prepared and beautifully |
decorated. and the same ham was pass
ed around from house to house as this |
stranger appeared, and i'll other respects
conspiracy of kindness was effected |
The visitor went home to England and |
wrote and spoke of the luxury in which
the missionaries of India wero living
Americans and Englishmen come to
these tropical regions and find mis-
sionary living under palms and with
different styles of fruits on his table
and forget that palms are here as cheap
as hickory or pine in America and rich |
fruits as cheap as plain apples They |
find here missionaries sleeping under |
punkas these fans swung day and night |
by coolies, and forget that cents day
is good wages here, and the man finds |
himself. Four cents a day for coach
man, a missionary can afford to ride.
There have been missionaries who have |
come to these hot climates resolving to |
live as the natives live, and one or two |
years have finished their work, their
chief use on missionary ground being |
that of furnishing for large funeral |
the chief object of interest. So far from
living in idleness, no men on earth work |
SO hard as the missionaries now IN the |
foreign field. Against fearful odds and |
with 8, 600, 900 of Christians opposed to
$50, 600, 900 of Hindoos, Mohananedans |
and other false religions, these mission
aries are trying to take India for God
Let the good people of America and
England and Scotland and all Christen-
dom add 99A per cent to their appre-
citation Of the fidelity and conservation
of foreign missionaries. Far away from
home in an exhausting climate and |