Kangra Mission will then be made up to what it was before. We wish to see another catechist in Palampore or Beijnath. A Native Minister is also very greatly required, both to be a Pastor of the Native Christians in Kangra and Dhurmsalla, and also to itinerate in the towns and villages of the populous district. A Bible-woman is needed for Kangra and also for Dhurmsalla. Some help is required also for the girls' schools. We hope that the Zenana Missionary Society will supply this.

Authentic history points back to what Kangra was at the time of the Greek invasion, more than 2,000 years ago, when Nagarkot was the capital of a flourishing state, more than a thousand years before William the Conquerer invaded England; when the Kangra Rajah, the chief of eleven other Rajaships, of which the names are given, governed in his best days the whole country from the Sutledge to the Ravi; when Kulu, Mandi, Sukeit, Chumba, Badrawar, Basahir, Belaspur, and Nurpur (so-called a long time after this, from Nur Jahan, the celebrated wife of the Emperor Jehangir) were amongst its dependencies. Kot Kangra was conquered by Mahmud of Ghuzni, in 1009 a. D., who, it is said, "plundered the temple of incalculable wealth." It was recovered by the Brahmins some thirty-five years afterwards; and a fac simile of the idol which was carried away by Mahmud was then replaced in the temple. It was again conquered and plundered by Feroze Shah Toghluk, who threw this fac simile idol on the high road, to be trodden under foot by all passersby. It was then permanently occupied by Akbar the Great (in 1556, about the time of our Queen Elizabeth), whose great financial minister, Todor Mull, reported to his master, that he had "cut off all the meat, and left to the Hindus the bones"; meaning that he had taken all the rich lands of the plains, and left to the Hindus the hills. We read again of Kangra in the time of Jehangir, from 1615 to

1628; and then again we read of the great Hindu Rajah Sunsar Chund, Katokh, who, in 1786, ruled from Kulu to Hoshiarpur. It was seized by Runjeet Singh, in 1828; and came into our hands after the first Sikh war, when dynasties which had lasted for 2,000 years, came permanently, as it would seem, to an end.

The Kangra fort is one of the strongest fortresses in the Punjab. And what did the English do when they wanted to take Kot Kangra? What did Edward Lake, the Deputy Commissioner, and John Lawrence, the then Commissioner of the Jullundur Division, do, when the country rose up against the English arms? Did they retire from it, when they saw its strong walls and bastions, which were held by the great army of the enemy? No; they dragged their guns with elephants and men up to the heights above the fort, from which they could breach its walls; and when the people saw that they were at their mercy, they then surrendered. The Kangra temple is now the strongest fortress of Hinduism in the Punjab. And what shall Christ's soldiers do, when they see before them this strong fort of Hindu ignorance and idolatry, with all its army of priests and devotees? Shall they retire from it, and leave this fort to the enemies of Christ, who kept saying tauntingly to us, when we had no Missionary to send to them, "Where is now their God? Their God can do nothing against our idol gods. Their Missionaries die one after another and are buried; and the Christians have none others to send in their place"? Nay, rather let our Christian Church put forth its strength, and win the fort, and then have rest. When they see that they are at our mercy, they will then surrender at discretion, and become obedient to the faith of Christ, as they have become obedient to the government of our Queen. We will not give up our attempt. We will not retire. The fort must fall; and until the flag of Christ is flying above its

walls, we will go on. Though it be as strong as Delhi was at the time of the Mutiny, it must yield to the army of Christ. It may be that more soldiers may die before its walls, as others have already honorably yielded up their lives; but Idolatry must fall before the Cross of Christ, and then there will be peace.

It may be that this time is nearer than we suppose. The people surely feel their need of something better than what they now have, their bulls and Brahmins, their monkeys and snakes, and horrible idolatries. As we passed their golden temple and saw a fair, pretty little girl pouring water out of a vessel for the pilgrims' use; it seemed to us that we had here before us a germ and type of the innate desire for woman's ministries, which may soon be manifested in Kangra for Christ and for His Church. These boys and girls, who are now receiving a Christian training, will soon want something more than idols and bulls and monkeys. "A few more steps onwards" (as the old Greek General Epaminondas said at the battle of Leuctra), and it may be that the victory is ours." But whether sooner or later, we know that the "kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever;" even unto the uttermost parts of the world.

The number of Native Christians in Kangra and Dhurmsalla now is 67; namely, 20 men, 16 women, and 31 children.

*Kangra seems to be celebrated for four words beginning with B: for Buts and Beils, Brahmins and Bandars (its idols and sacred bulls, its Brahmins and monkeys); just as Multan is celebrated for its four G's: Gard and Ghurba, Garmi and Goristan (dust and beggars, heat and graves.)

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CHAPTER X.

CASHMIRE.

WE pass on to our next Mission, Cashmire. It was in the year 1854 that Colonel Martin and the writer of these pages made an exploratory tour through Cashmire, Ladak, and Iskardo. They were received with much kindness by the Maharajah Gulab Singh, the Chief of those countries; who gave his willing consent, that Missionary work should be carried on in his dominions. The Cashmiris, he said, were so bad, that he was quite sure the Padres could do them no harm. He was curious to see if they could do them any good. The Missionaries were entertained courteously and hospitably; and presents were given to them, which were sent home. We are reminded of King Ethelbert's reply to Augustine in A. D. 597, when he replied to the Missionaries who had come to England from Rome: "Your words," said he, "and promises are very fair, but they are new to us, and I cannot approve of them, so far as to forsake that which I have so long followed with my whole nation. But because you are come far into my kingdom, and, as I conceive, are desirous to impart to us those things which you believe to be true, and most beneficial, we will not molest you, but give you favourable entertainment, and supply you with necessary sustenance; nor do we forbid you to preach, and gain as many as you can to your religion."

Would that every Chief and Prince and King in India, who desires that his country should become as great and powerful as England now is, would use the means to make it so; and would say to the present teachers of Christianity what King Ethelbert nearly 1,300 years ago said to the Chris

tian Missionaries of his time: "We shall do you no hurt; we shall show you all hospitality; and you shall convert whom you can."

The Maharajah Gulab Singh was in this respect a wise ruler, and a great man.

One of the results of this first journey to Cashmire was the establishment of the Moravian Mission of Lahoul in Thibet, through the influence and pecuniary assistance of Colonel Martin. The Mission has been carried on, and has prospered, ever since.

It was in 1862 that the first serious thoughts were entertained of establishing permanently a Christian Mission in Cashmire; during a visit to the country of the Revd. W. W. Phelps and the Revd. R. Clark. A sermon was preached in Murree, and published by the desire of Sir Robert Montgomery, the Lieutenant-Governor; and his signature was the first one which was attached to a requisition to the Church Missionary Society to ask them to commence Missionary work in Cashmire. This requisition was afterwards signed by almost every leading officer then in the Punjab. Subscriptions were collected, to which Sir Robert contributed Rs. 1,000, and many other friends gave large sums; so that in a short time Rs. 14,000 were collected.

In the meantime the Punjab Missionary Conference was held in the winter of the same year, at which it was decided, chiefly by the advice of Sir Donald McLeod, Dr. Cleghorn, and General Maclagan, that a Medical Mission should be united with the Clerical one in Cashmire. The Revd. W. Smith of Benares was deputed to Cashmire in 1863; and in 1863 and 1864 the Mission was established permanently. Preaching was openly carried on throughout the city and neighbourhood by the Missionaries; and a Hospital was established by Mrs. Clark in the city, which was often attended by 100 patients a day.