as is always the case,' said he, with works treating upon occult and pernicious sciences;' and strongly recommending them to destroy, or otherwise get rid of it, as it was a great sin to keep so pernicious a book in their possession."

It will not fail to strike the reader, that, from the manner, in which this story is told, it is not altogether clear, that the ignorance displayed is to be ascribed to the bad translation. There were, it seems, five or six Christians, who could read the Telinga tongue, but none even of them understood the meaning of the passages, which they read. Now really one would think, that if they were to be at all entitled to the name of Christians, they could not have failed, even the most ignorant, to understand the general import of the gospel of Matthew, when it decribes the birth, life, and sufferings of our Saviour. If they had never before heard of such a Saviour, or of such a work as the New Testament, then how came they to have been baptized, admitted into the Christian church, and called Christians? If again they had heard of our Saviour, and his ministry on earth, orally from their teachers, then, when the history of these was read to them, how could they be altogether ignorant of the meaning of the version, except that it was so miserably executed, as not to convey the sense of the original, as before viva voce explained?—and if this be Dubois' meaning, why has he not distinctly said so? He has indeed said: "This anecdote will give you some idea of the versions of the holy Scriptures, now extant in the country, and of their utility.” But it does no such thing-at least, it may equally give us some idea of the profound ignorance of those, calling themselves Christians in Southern India. In the sense, in which Dubois would no doubt have us to understand it, it proves a great deal too much: for it is totally impossible, that any version could have been sent abroad in any language, so absolutely unintelligible, that when read in the presence of two or three hundred Christians, speaking that language, it should have been so much a sealed book, that they were obliged to apply to a Pagan astrologer, to expound it to them. The Abbe says, it was a version in the mother tongue of those, to whom it was given, and these were Christians and some of them could read, and yet they were all "unable to understand the meaning of a single chapter!"

It certainly would not express all that we feel, to say, that the language of Dubois is unbecoming, when he describes the method of attempting to spread Christianity by means of the dispersion of the Scriptures, as most aburd, and "most ridiculous." We think it has been premature, and so far we agree with Dubois; but can any thing be more puerile in an argument of this kind, than to whine out: "When the belly is empty, and the back bare, the best disposed, even among Christians, feel themselves but very little inclined to peruse the Bible." The argument, that because the natives require to be fed and clothed, therefore it is "a scandal" to offer them a Bible, is too contemptible to deserve attention. Had they really a desire to peruse the sacred volume, and the ability to read and understand it, we should certainly commend those, who bestowed it upon them; and that for this, among other reasons, that they would be taught in this book, to regard poverty and wretchedness in this life, as the discipline of a kind and indulgent Father, bringing up his children for another and a better. It is otherwise, however, inconclusivethose, who bestow Bibles, are generally among the foremost, also to give alms of the kind required by the Abbe, although their reward from such men as Dubois is not unfrequently to be upbraided with attempting to bribe the Hindoos into the profession of Christianity, and to hear their converts sneered at under the name of Rice-Christians. We must leave the learned Jesuit to reconcile, in the best way he can, his admission, that the Bible is the foundation of Christian belief, and the only foundation, with his sweeping declaration, that the circulation of this Bible among the heathen is "palpably absurd." But we cannot dismiss another inconsistency and contradiction, without some farther notice, as the statements in regard to the character of the Hindoos are made the foundation of the argument, that we ought to desist from the attempt of even educating them. When treating this subject at page 159, it is of consequence to the Abbe's doctrine to maintain, that the Hindoos are excellent, good, moral people, requiring no instruction from us. But this does not satisfy our author: he moreover asserts, that they are far better instructed than ourselves, in what we would teach them: and he puts these sentiments into the mouth of a Hindoo, to give some.

what of dramatic effect to his argument. But let us hear him sum up the matter:

"On the other hand, the Hindoos are not in want of improvement in the discharge of social duties among themselves. They understand this point as well as, and perhaps better than, the Europeans. They might even be said to be rather excessive in this respect in several instances. They will never suffer the needy, who has implored their charity, to go unassisted. Their hospitality among themselves, it is well known, has no bounds. Even the humble, the distressed pariah, as long as he has a measure of grain in his possession, will cheerfully share his pap of millet with the weary traveller of his caste, who may happen to take shelter in his hut; and in all their wants and distresses, the Hindoos of all castes, will readily assist each other, more effectually than the Europeans would do in the same circumstances. What the European possesses, he keeps for himself. What the Hindoo possesses, he is always disposed to share with those who have nothing. In fact, it might be said that a wealthy Hindoo considers himself as the depositary, or the distributor, rather than the proprietor of his fortune, so greatly prone is he to acts of charity and benevolence; and it is chiefly from this cause, that those frequent revolutions in the fortunes of the Hindoos, and those frequent passages from extreme opulence to extreme poverty, arise."

It cannot but delight the benevolent and philanthropic at home, who take the Abbe's statements as true, to hear so very good an account of the Hindoos: it is, indeed, somewhat calculated to assuage their joy, to be told, in the next page, "the Hindoos are more generally disposed to knavery, dishonesty, AND THEIR CONCOMITANT VICES, than the Europeans." But still, although we might ask an explanation of the "concomitant vices" of knavery and dishonesty, and perhaps find a neglect of "the discharge of the social duties" among them, we shall give Dubois all the advantage, which the ambiguity of his language in this place can afford him ; and we ask our readers to turn back with us to page 112, and peruse the commentary on the Hindoo social virtues, which is to be found there.

"In fact, the inferiority of the Hindoo Brahmins to all other Pagan nations, with respect to religion, is the more striking, as they have not been able to distinguish what is a virtue, and what is not, since they in

general suppose it much more meritorious, to render service to beasts than to men. A pious Hindoo Brahmin, who will make it his imperative duty to share his frugal meal with fishes, snakes, monkeys, and birds of prey, will, on the other hand, behold, with the coldest indifference, a poor wretch starving at his door, without thinking of assisting him.

"Instead of that great leading precept of Christian charity, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour like thyself," which is calculated to convert the whole of mankind into a community of brothers, it might be said that the leading precept of the Brahmins is this, "Thou shalt love brutes like thyself."

Here the philanthropist is led to weep over the good Hindoos; but as his joy on the former occasion was mitigated by the sentence, immediately following those which excited it, so may his grief be now assuaged by being told, in the very same page with the above" the Hindoos in general are by no means strangers to the moral and social virtues." It would seem from this, that the Brahmins alone are anathematized by our author, and held up as the only rogues in India, along, indeed, with the Europeans. We have no very high opinion of the morality of the Brahmins, according to our notion of the term; nor any hope, that we shall ever respect it, so long as they retain their religious dogmas: but we are convinced, that Dubois, in his general sweeping accusations against them, is giving way to vulgar prejudices, to which he ought to have been superior, aud in praising the other castes for social virtues and morality, at the expence of the Brahminical, we think him guilty of injustice to both.

But as the Abbe proceeds, he lets us gradually into his real views on the important subject of diffusing knowledge and education among an ignorant people.

"Your modern reformers seem to be of opinion, that in order to render these people happy and virtuous, it is only necessary to civilize and enlighten them. But the history of ancient and modern times bears testimony, that it is not always the best civilized and most enlightened nations that are the most virtuous and the most just."

We are certainly of the number of those, who think that ignorance is the parent of poverty; and we have no hesitation in admitting, that poverty produces ignorance. The

object of education is to remove both, if we do not much mistake it. We are also disposed to think, that it would tend to remove "dishonesty," which, says the Rev. according to Dubois, "is so familiar to the natives, that a Hindoo will never trust another." This assertion our Abbe pronounces one of the most unfounded, that was ever brought against these people; and again appealing to his own experience, tells us, that a Hindoo, who has borrowed money of another, will frequently run away to escape payment, but rarely will altogether deny the debt. If this is not splitting hairs in morality, hairs never were yet split, by the most ingenious of the disciples of Loyola.

As he approaches the end of his work, the Abbe comes somewhat nearer to ourselves; and having laboured hard to extinguish the lamp of knowledge, now kindling in Southern India, he makes an attempt-a very feeble and unworthy one-to do the same in Bengal. But we must here let Dubois speak for himself.

"From what I have heard or read from time to time, it would appear that a ferment is now at work in Calcutta, and a revolution in the habits and manners of the Hindoos near at hand. If it be really the case, I apprehend that that ferment is rather of a mischievous kind, and that it will operate a change for the worse. For my part, I shall certainly be the last man to interfere with the civil usages and habits, with the social institutions and manners of the Hindoos, and will never join those who employ themselves to make the extremely perilous experiment of changing their national customs and manners for those of Europe; and as a friend of yours, my dear Sir, I shall surely never advise you, after the knowledge I have obtained of the character of the Hindoos, to trust, in any capacity whatever, a native who has renounced, or who slights the usages of his caste, or the prejudices of the country. I shall, above all, never advise you to make such a man your butler, or your treasurer. In the former case, you would soon find that your liquors were fast wasting, and in the latter, you would, ere long, find a large deficit in your chest. For you may at the first outset, and without farther enquiries, judge, that a person of this description is a quite lost character, and that his first steps to improvement, after having renounced the usages and prejudices of his caste, will be to turn a drunkard and a rogue. The more nice and scrupulous a native is in the observance of his usages and practices, both religious and profane, the more worthy will he prove of your trust and confidence. Such is the