THE CHURCH MISSIONARY GLEANER. MORAVIAN MISSIONARIES IN LADAK. LADAK, or Middle Thibet, is a very elevated and rugged country, lying north of the Punjab, and a part of the dominion of the Maharajah of Cashmere. The inhabitants have Mongolian features, improved by a touch of the Cashmerian. The climate being excessively cold, the men wear close dresses of woollen cloth, and large mantles, which, amongst the poor, consist of sheepskins, with the wool inwards: the women also wear a jacket and petticoat of enormous dimensions, with a sheepskin mantle. The language is Thibetan, and the religion Lamaism, a form of Buddhism, the highpriest of the system residing at Lassa, in Great Thibet, while throughout the lands which acknowledge him as their pope, monastic establishments for both sexes abound. The temples are full of idols. Vain repetitions, which they call prayers, are among the mummeries of their worship, to multiply which as rapidly, and with as little trouble as possible to themselves, they have their praying-machines, containing a number of written prayers, which, as the machine is turned by the hand, revolve with it, and are placed, as prayers said, to the account of the manipulist; or sometimes, as less troublesome, they are placed by the side of a stream, and turned like a water-mill. This country was visited some few years back by two of our Missionaries from the Punjab, and now we find that the Moravian Missionaries from Lahoul have penetrated within its borders. During this journey of two months, performed almost entirely on foot, the Moravian brother visited sixteen large Lamisaries, and about forty villages and encampments. At two only of the convents did the Lamas oppose: at all other places the message of atonement for sin through the blood of Christ was listened to with attention. Passing over the Taglang Pass, which is very abrupt on both sides, and from which there is a grand view of the surrounding mountains, the Missionary reached the first village in the Ladak territory. There, as thus related by him, his work commenced. Soon a considerable number of men and women assembled, and sat in a large circle round me. I began without circumlocution to speak of the great subject, the absolute need of reconciliation with God through Christ. This was something quite new to them, and they looked at each other, 2 MORAVIAN MISSIONARIES IN LADAK. [JAN. smiling, but in silence. The custom-house officer stationed at this frontier-post was also present. I afterwards visited him at the custom-house, and gave him a tract in Urdu, which he, as a Mohammedan, understood. I also met with a Lama of the class who do not live in convents, but in caves, and who therefore are called Ripugpa (cave-dwellers), or Gomtschen (persons devoted to deep, inward meditation). In Lahoul, Lamas of this class are no longer to be met with. I soon found that not much could be done with such persons; for, having seated myself near the Lama in front of a house in which he was about to perform religious ceremonies, I asked him a number of questions, and then dwelt on the impossibility of becoming just before God by our own works. I received no answer. As he could not reach his cave before nightfall, he slept on the open ground. In this village I distributed some bocks. Miru was reached on the 8th. An old man and his wife invited me into their house, and were about to prepare some tea, but their fire smoked so outrageously, that I was obliged to take refuge in the open air. Probably the entire population of the hamlet came together to see me, and I spoke to them for nearly an hour, and gave away some books. All of them pressed round the fortunate recipients of the latter, imploring a blessing, which was bestowed by placing the books on the head of each. My interference, and declaration that such ceremonies could not profit them, were in vain. There were, however, two strangers present, one of whom received a book, and at once began to read in it. These two men were traders, on their way from Lé to their home at Lassa, in Great Thibet, with 100 asses laden with dried apricots. About noon they invited me to tea at their lodgings, in a house belonging to the village. In the course of our conversation, they found great fault with the leader of the rebels in China, saying that he was a bad man; that he had no religion, and that, if he gained the supreme power, he would extirpate the Lamas. I replied, that I had heard that the individual referred to knew the name of Jesus, and appeared to believe in Him, although his faith might be confused, and mingled with much error. I, at the same time, begged them not to let the misdeeds of the rebels deter them from reading the tracts they had received, and seriously meditating on their contents, so that they might be led, with all their hearts, to believe on Jesus as the propitiation for their sins. In return, they presented me with some of their religious books. There are certain rupees coined in Cashmere, and frequently met with in the bazaars of the Punjab, bearing on them, as their inscription, the Cross, and the letters I. H. S., as they appeared on the sacred standard of Constantine the Great. They are called Huree Singh rupees. The way in which these rupees came to be coined and circulated is thus stated-Hari Singh, or, as it usually spelt, Hurree Singh, one of Runjeet Singh's bravest officers, was originally his Khitumhgar, and being a bold and enterprising man, was raised by him from one dignity to another, until he was made governor of Cashmere. This man saw that the English succeeded in every thing they did. He found the Cross and the I. H. S. in some religious work which came into his possession. He knew them to be religious |