The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1911-11-29
'CHUNDRA LEILA"
VISITS HONESDALE
lrS. A. S. BurneIl lmper-
SOnateS Hindu PrieSteSS
|ARGE AUDIENCE ENJOYS MON
OLOGUE AT FIRST PRESBY-
TERRAIN CHURCH, SUNDAY
MORNING-SPEAKS ALSO AT
EVENING SERVICE.

TERRAIN CHURCH, SUNDAY
MORNING-SPEAKS ALSO AT
EVENING SERVICE.
Impersonating Chundra Leila, the
hindu Priestess, Mrs. Abby Smell
|urnell appeared before a large au-
&ence Sunday morning in the First
Presbyterian church, arrayed in
lre white drapery, and gave a most
faphic and realistic portrayal of
fe in India.
1t was fascinating story that she
Id with unusual personal and
Fanatic power, as she sank her
wn personality entirely into that
the white-robed Hindu priestess,
L. urneying from shrine to shrine in
pr search for truth. One. could not
blp thinking of Saint Augustine's s
nous saying Thou (God) hast
ade us for Thyself, and our Souls
e restless till they rest in Thee"
she narrated the story of the
fiestess quest for God with such
implicitly and vivid directness that
#e listener was held spellbound by
e sincerity, the Oriental charm
d the underlying pathos of her
a. piction.
In introducing her to the congre-
ton, Doctor Swift, the pastor of
Q Old First church, said that she
hs a niece of Prof. Ebenezer
ell, of Amherst College, whom
cry older graduate honored, re-
red and loved" The story told by
+ is true one. She impersonates
Hindu priestess.'
For 1itt1o uhi1o hnuop Mro
ell, in an evenly modulated voice,
lich she maintained throughout the
rration, forget yourselves, for
your surroundings, forget even
nerica and it's history. Into that
ank let me pour story of a coun-
hoary with age before this coun-
was born, of life among a peo-
p whose conception of God and
omanhood is as far removed from
RS as the East is from the West.
is is to be a story of Nippur, a
tie kingdom.
My father was a wealthy land
ner, and family priest to the Ra-
b. Now l was the daughter of my
hers favorite wife. My name is
undra Leila, which means The
ying of the Moonbeam.' was
lrried at seven to a. son of
althy neighbor. Two years lat
my husband died, and l had be-
3ne the most despised of all Great
= es, child widow.
was instructed in the faith
teachings of our sacred books.
thirteen my family started on a
grimage to the Eastern coast. My
her was suddenly seized with
plera and died. Before expiring
called me to him and said: Leila,
child, l must leave. When you
hch home open the chest and what
u find there is yours My father
eived the proper burning rights.
fellow pilgrims saw that arrived
me safely.
was naturally of a religious
devout nature. l spent the next
pr in the study of the sacred
Pks. l read there that she who
uld visit certain four shrines sit
ted in four cardinal points of In
might be pardoned of sin. India
shaped like a vast kite. Child as
vas, and knowing naught of the
rid, l determined to go. l a girl
IA, started out at midnight.
always counting my sacred
Ids. l took up the pilgrimage.
e first shrine l visited was jug
fnaunt," the Lord of the World.
image is a crude ugly block of
8od. This sacred car is covered
h most obscene images. l made
east. l did all that l could. l
T. uld stop and battle in every river.
Months crept into years before
: cached Ramah, the second shrine
Southern India. l made Rain
L special deity. l offered many
yers. The third shrine / visited
- Krishna, the vilest of all. Of
it is written, 'whosoever shall
this sacred spot shall be for
d of all sim
VI turned my face toward the last
F. inc, the twin peaks of the Himal-
"a S. ! began the 10000 foot as
i. Seven years had passed since
lad begun my pilgrimage. Here
laid, my sin is to be forgiven /
nt five days in worship. AS /
E pit down the mountain the heavi-
burden l carried was a disap-
nted heart. / went to Benares
s. most sacred city of india. /
anne priestess to one of the Ra-
S. After seven years he died,
| made a vow to spend the next
ee years in self-torture."
t was in Assam that Lela's faith
shaken at discovering the Chi
= cry of the priests. Later she
- an American woman, read the
lie, became a Christian, broke
caste by drinking a glass of wa
offered her by low-caste person,
spent her life in saving others,
ong whom was her brother whom
baptized in his dying hours.
t was a wonderful story-this
ry of Chundra Leila whose search
God was finally rewarded after
rs of wandering.
Mrs. Abby Smell Burnell comes
m " a good old New England
~ ck," being a descendant of John
T. en- and Pricilla and a cousin only
W e removed to William Cullen
rant. Her platform ability has
n inherited from father and
ndfather whose two single pas
htes cover practically one hundred