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crowd than on the former occasion, some of them with children in their arms, or hanging at their side. One man stood listening, with a burden on his back and a little child sitting on it, whom he kept up by holding its legs, one on each side of his neck. A number of little boys mingled with the adults, their dark eyes shining like diamonds. Some Brahmans looked on at a little distance, and refused at first to come forward; but gradually, and as the scene became more animated, they came and sat down on the pyal of the little temple, and one or two even came into the thick of the crowd. The washerman stood with the bundle of clothes on his back, the cultivator with the Indian spade on his shoulder, the maistry, the goldsmith, and the young carpenter with his instruments in his hand. In the course of the meeting a Brahman young man espied his little brother in the crowd, drew him out roughly, pulled his ears, and, with the help of another, led him off to the precincts of the large Vishnuvite temple, where they have their dark idolatrous abode. Mr Braidwood presented one or two respectable men with a "Telugu Almanac," which pleased them greatly. It is an interesting work, prepared, we believe, by a civilian, and contains many points of useful information, both secular and religious. Some of our old friends who got books before were present, and heard attentively,

Venkataramiah, addressing the lame man, asked, "What temple is that?" Ramasawmy's," said he, "where they make bajana (adoration)." "Is that an

idol that is inside of that temple ?" "No, there is no idol, but a picture of Ramah." "Where did they get that picture was it made here ?" "No, it was brought from Madras." "Who brought it ?" "The maistry brought it." "How did he bring it-in a bandy ?" "No; in a bandy he might have brought eighty-it is a small thing, they brought it in their hand." "Then you say it was made at Madras, and the maistry brought it thence, and it was so small that it did not need even a bandy to bring it: what is the use of it-what do they do with it ?" "They keep it there, and boys and others come and make bajana." Why do they make bajana since it is only a picture, and of no use ?" "In order to keep away cholera from the place." "What! to keep away cholera from the place! Can that picture keep away cholera from

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the place ?" "No, it does not do that, but people make bajana there," "But why do they make bajana at the time of cholera, since that picture cannot deliver you from cholera?" "We keep making a noise there, in order to keep away cholera from the minds of the people; the fear of cholera is something greater than cholera itself; when several people keep talking together at night, that encourages each other and keeps up their spirits." "Then this picture does not deliver you from cholera-what then delivers you from cholera?" "Is it that Vencateeswaroodoo (pointing to the temple of an idol)?" "No." "What is the name of the village goddess?" "Tallummáh." "Where is she-where is her temple ?" "About a mile from this place." "Is she in a small temple like this (pointing to the one in front) ?" "No, it is a better one, it is a devastanum (place sacred for the goddess).” “Has that idol any eyes ?" "Yes, very big eyes (opening wide his fingers)." "Can she see?" "Yes, she seems as if she did see us. ""What! does she see you?" "We think she sees us (quibbling.") "Has she hands?" "She has hands." "Does she do any work?" "No." "Has she any feet?" "Yes." "What, has she legs? I thought that these gramana devas (village deities) had only so far as the neck, and she seems to be a complete image-What kind of stone is she made of?" "No, she is not stone, she is a wooden idol, she is painted." "What, is she painted also? What wood is she made of, tamarind wood, or margosa wood ?" After hesitating a little he said, "Margosa wood." "Who made it?" "O, it might have come of itself." "How can she have come of herself, has she life?" "Yes, she has life." "What, you told me just now she was made of a margosa tree, how can she have life?" "Do you not see the trees have life, they grow, they are shaking?" "Yes, the trees have life, they shake. But has this stick in my hand life, because it was cut from a tree ?" "No." "How can the idol have life, then?" "The idol speaks." "Can the stick speak? do you hear any sound or breath from the stick ?" "No." "Neither do I: how then can the idol speak, which also is a piece of wood?" "Can it see?" "Yes." "Here is my stick, which "No." has these two eyes in it: does it see you?" "How then does the idol speak and see? did the idol ever speak to you?" "No, she did not speak to me,

but I heard she speaks to others." "What does she speak?" "When they don't give sheep and proper offerings, then she speaks through some people, and asks them why they have not given them." "Then the idol must eat, because you say when the people do not give offerings she asks: did you ever see her eating ?" "No, she cannot eat, they only show her the offerings and then take them away." But why does she ask things which she does not need, and why do the people give to her when she does not need?" does not eat, they just give."

"She

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"You told me she speaks; when does she speak ?" "At nights." "Where is her temple ?" mile off from this place."

Is there any pujali (officiat"Yes." "Is the temple "Yes." "Who has the

ing priest) for that temple ?" door locked every night?" key ?" "The pujali." "Does he sleep in the temple, or in his own house ?" "In his own house."

"Does

he take the key with him, or leave it in the temple ?" "He takes the key with him." "Then how can the goddess come out, seeing she is locked up in the temple, and the pujali takes the key with him and sleeps in his own house?"

Here the respondent was completely silenced, and the people looked on with a kind of stupid wonder.

The native preacher then seized the opportunity of showing them the uselessness of having an idol like that as their goddess. "There," said he, "I have a stick in my hand; it was given me by a friend; it is a very good stick. I take it with me wherever I go, because it is a good strong one; but if it breaks and becomes useless, will immediately cast it aside. So your goddess is of no use to you; it is only an idol of wood; she cannot give you any rain, neither can she deliver you from your troubles: why do you give her offerings so extensively as you told me-every house a sheep some part of the year?"

The crowd was now considerable, and at this point another man came forward and said, "We do not believe that this idol is able to do any thing for us; we do not think that the idol eats any of the things that we offer." "What! what do you mean? this goddess does nothing for you?" "No, nothing for us." "But are there any other idols that you have that will do any

thing for you? will this Ramasawmy or this Vencateeswaroodoo do any thing for you?" 66 "No, none of them can do any thing for us, they are all equally useless," said a stout man. "Then why do you offer every year in this village, as that man told me every house gives?" "O we wish to eat them; but as a matter of custom we set them before her and then eat." "Then you declare that these idols are of no use?" "Yes, I think so; I believe so."

When this declaration was made, one thin, tall, energetic man, darted from the crowd, and said, "Is it your own belief, or that of the thousands that you are declaring? "I state my own belief," said the stout man. "But," said the other, "we must not be guided by what this man believes, but by what the thousands believe."

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"What is the belief of the thousands about this idol ?" said Venkataramiah. "They believe," said the tall man, "that she has life and divine power." "Has she life? I heard just now from this man that she is made of a margosa tree. Who cut down the tree and made her ?" He quibbled here, and gave no proper answer. "When did she come there into existence ?" "She has been there always." "She could not have been there always; she must have been cut down from the tree after it was grown; has your goddess any bottoo (an ornament of gold tied to the neck and worn by every married woman) ?" "Yes." "Who tied that on her

neck ?"

He understood quite well the meaning of the question, but began to evade; then he said, "The goldsmith made it," pointing to the goldsmith before us. The crowd laughed. "Yes," said V., "I know that the goldsmith made it; but I did not ask who made it, but who tied it to her neck: there must be one that tied it to her neck: who is that, and what is his name ?"

Here the man would not give any answer, because he saw the evident inference that would be drawn from it, but went round about and round about, and at last said, "Authipoorooshoodoo." "That means," said V., "the first man or husband; but what is his name ?"" Óh!” said he, "his name is just the person that tied the bottoo ;" and then, after various shifts, he said, "It is Narraidoo, the Supreme Being." "Then the Supreme Being must have a wife, and that

a wooden one! but I always believed that he is a spirit, and never can have such relations as these; and you also told me a little while ago that you believed in one Supreme Being. Here, then, we hear for the first time in this village that there are two-a god and his wife."

The man evidently felt the difficulty of the assertion he had made, and withdrew it, saying, There must have been one that tied the bottoo. Then what was his name?" He gave no answer. "What would you think." said V., "when you inquired of me my name, if I said, My name is my name?" The man then tried to laugh away the effect of this, and moved up and down. V. then appealed to the crowd. "You see that man; I put one question to him. "Did he give me a right answer or not?" Several people then turned to him and said, "Tell the name." And a stout old man said to him, archly, "Give the direct name; why are you going this way and that way? Tell the name." Why should we give the name ?" said he, "it is not so easy. Why should we give it out quickly ?" Another man said to him, "If you know the name you should give it out quickly." Mr Johnston said, "If any one cannot give a direct answer, he should say, No."

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Many of them now saw that this champion of the goddess was defeated and ashamed. If he had not been drawn firmly up, he would no doubt have given us trouble with his noise.

Venkataramiah then read, "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotton Son," &c., but was interrupted by such questions as these, "How do you know that this is the Word of God? has God spoken to you?" They were told to listen now, and all these questions would be answered in due course. The audience now exceeded a hundred of all ages and sexes. V. took occasion from the previous conversation to explain the darkness that they were all in, how they needed the true light and one to teach them, and set forth to them the utter uselessness of idols to reconcile them to God their maker. "You all admit," said he, "that you are sinners, and that God is just. It is impossible for any man to escape his wrath. What is the use of offering fruits and sheep and other things to idols? Will these be an atonement for sin? Will any works of charity take away your sins? There must be one mighty and

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