The Somerset reporter., 1897-02-04
MONKEYS IN CHURCH.
OPEN AIR CONGREGATION WHICH
THEY VOLUNTARILY JOINED.

Some of Them Brought Their Babies with
Them and Boxed Their Ears When They
Showed Signs of Levity Experience OF
Missionaries In India.
The most singular audience that ]
ever saw gathered to listen to preaching
was an audience of monkeys. says an
India correspondent of the Boston Gold
en- Rule
When | commenced work in the re-
gion which | have now occupied for
more than 30 years, | asked two fellow
missionaries to join me ia a preaching
tour i'll the adjacent taluk, or county.
We first went with three native assist
ants to the taluk town, or county seat
Our tents were pitched III a grove ad-
joining the town. We usually on our
tours went two and two to preach in the
villages; but, this being the taluk town.
and the first of our preaching the gospel
in that region, we went IN a body into
the native city.
Walking through the cloth, spice,
grain and iron merchants bazaar streets,
and then through the Roldsmiths and
silversmiths' street, around through the
temple street, and then through the
street Of Brahman residences, to adver-
tise our presence and incite curiosity to
know what we were about. we finally
took our stand in the Brahman street,
and all joined in singing one of the
beautiful Telugu Christian lyrics and
gathered an audience of interested lis
teners.
We stood upon little raised platform
on one side Of the street against the
house walls. The houses were all of one
story, joined together like city block,
with fat roofs and low parapet along
the front of the roof One If our native
assistants read "a portion from the COS
pels and another preached briefly; then
one of my fellow missionaries followed,
preaching more at length, while |
watched the audience. 10 study the coun
tenances of the people among whom |
expected to work
| had noticed that behind the houses
on the opposite side Of the street there
was long row Of trees growing i'll their
back yards, the branches Of which
stretched ont over the fiat roofs
CHANGING to raise my EYES, | noticed
many branches of these II beginning
to bend downward toward ihp roofs and
saw the faces Of some old Jack monkeys
peering out through the foliage. Soon
some Of them jumped down and came
forward to see what their big broth
ers'' in the street were about, az they
stood gazing so intently at these white
men standing on the platform. Spring
ing upon the parapet, they seated them
selves, with their hind feet hanging
over i'll front. and gazing with fixedness
at the preacher, as they saw the people
in the street doing.
Other monkeys followed, until there
was long row Of them thus seated ON
the parapet The late corners could see
walking along behind the parapet look
ing for a place wide enough to get a
seat Failing to find wide enough
place between two already seated mon
keys, they would put up their hands,
and, pushing each one sidewlse, would
seem to be saying. "Sit along little,
please, and give fellow seat, until
the bench" was crowded.
The audience in the street, standing
with their backs toward that row of
houses, did not notice the monkeys, and
so their attention was mt Distracted by
them.
| had noticed that MAJ other mon
keys had brought their babies to church
with them. These little baby monkeys
sat upon the thigh Of the mother, while
her hand was placed around them in IA
very humaa fashion, but the sermon
was evidently ton high for these little
folks to comprehend. CHANGING up, |
saw one of the little monkeys cautiously
reach his hand around, and. catching
hold of another baby monkeys tail,
give it pull The other little monkey
struck back, but each mother monkey
evidently disapproycd of this levity III
church, and each gave its own baby
box on the ears, az though Saying: sit
down. Don't you know how to behave
in church," The little monkeys, thus
reprmanded, turned the most solemn
faces toward the preacher and seemed
to listen inteutly TO what he was saying.
With tho exception of monkey now
and then trying to catch flea that was
biting him III some tender spot, they
thus sat demurely until the preacher
finished his sermon and until we had
distributed gospels and tracts among the
audience and had started for our tents
Our celestial audience. seeing our
terrestrial audience dispensing, then,
and not until then, left their seats and
demurely walked back and sprang upon
the branches again There were no
monkey capers' as they went. They
were as serious as IA congregation leav-
ing a church and sat upon the branches
in meditatiye mood as though think
ing over what they had heard the preach
er say. And thus we left our unique
monkey audience
First thermometer.