R OF PAGANISM. UNA light, urged the car along. After a few minutes it stopped again. An aged minister of the idol then stood up, and with a long rod in his hand, which he moved with indecent action, completed the variety of this disgusting exhibition. I felt a consciousness of doing wrong in witnessing it. I was also somewhat appalled at the magnitude and horror of the spectacle; I felt like a guilty person on whom all eyes were fixed, and I was about to withdraw. But a scene of a different kind was now to be presented. The characteristics of Moloch's worship are obscenity and blood. We have seen the former. Now comes the blood. "After the tower had proceeded some way, a pilgrim announced that he was ready to offer himself a sacrifice to the idol. He laid himself down in the road before the tower, as it was moving along, lying on his face, with his arms stretched forwards. The multitude passed round him, leaving the space clear, and he was crushed to death by the wheels of the tower. A shout of joy was raised to the god. He is said to smile when the libation of the blood is made. The people threw cowries, or small money, on the body of the victim in approbation of the deed. He was left to view a considerable time, and was then carried by the Hurries to the Golgotha, where I have just been viewing his remains," on the road, in an oblique direction, so that the wheel did not kill her instantaneously, as is generally the case, but she died in a few hours. This morning as I passed the Place of Skulls, nothing remained of her but her bones. "And this, thought I, is the worship of the Brahmins of Hindostan, and their worship in its sublimest degree! What then shall we think of their private manners, and of their moral principles! For it is equally true of India as of Europe; if you would know the state of the people, look at the state of the Temple. "I was surprised to see the Brahmins with their heads uncovered, in the open plain, falling down in the midst of the Sooders, before the horrid shape,' and mingling so complacently with that polluted cast.' But this proved what I had before heard, that so great a god is this, that the dignity of high cast disappears before him. This great king recognizes no distinction of rank among his subjects; all men are equal in his presence.' "Juggernaut, June 21, 1806. "The idolatrous processions continue for some days longer; but my spirits are so exhausted by the constant view of these enormities, that I mean to hasten away from this place, sooner than I at first intended.-I beheld another distressing scene this morning at the Place of Skulls; a poor woman lying dead, or nearly dead, and her two children by her, looking at the dogs and vultures, which were near. The people passed by without noticing the children. I asked them where was their home. They said they had no home but where their mother was.' O, there is no pity at Juggernaut! no mercy, no tenderness of heart in Moloch's kingdom! Those who support his kingdom err, I trust from ignorance. They know not what they do.' "As to the number of worshippers assembled here at this time, no accurate calculation can be made. The natives themselves, when speaking of the numbers at particular festivals, usually say that a lack of people (one hundred thousand) would not be missed. I asked a Brahmin, how many he supposed were present at the most numerous festival he had ever witnessed. How can I tell,' said he, how many grains there are in a handful of sand?' "The languages spoken here are various, as there are Hindoos from every country in India: but the two chief languages in use by those who are resident are the Orissa and the Telinga. The border of the Telinga country is only a few miles distant from the tower of Juggernaut."* "Chilka Lake, 24th June. "I felt my mind relieved and happy when I had passed beyond the confines of Juggernaut. I certainly was not prepared for this scene. But no one can know what it is who has not seen it.-From an eminence on the pleasant banks of Chilka Lake (where no human bones are seen) I had a view of the lofty tower of Juggernaut far remote; and while I viewed it, its abominations came to mind. It was on the morning of the sabbath. Ruminat ing long on the wide and extended empire of Moloch in the heathen world, I cherished in my thoughts the design of some Christian Institution, which being fostered by Britain, my Christian country, might gradually undermine It will give pleasure to the reader to hear, that a translation of the Holy Scriptures is preparing in Orissa and Telinga, the languages of Juggernaut. this baleful idolatry, and put out the memory of it for ever.'"* JUGGERNAUT IN BENGAL. Lest it should be supposed that the rites of Juggernaut are confined to the temple in Orissa, or that the Hindoos there practise a more criminal superstition than they do in other places, it may be proper to notice the effects of the same idolatry in Bengal. The English nation will not expect to hear that the blood of Juggernaut is known at Calcutta; but alas! it is shed at the very doors of the "That • Appended to these Extracts are the items of the annual expenses of the idol Juggernaut, presented to the English Government, extracted from the official account. The sum is in Rupees, 69,616; English money, £8,702. part of the province of Orissa which contains the Temple of Juggernaut, first became subject to the British empire, under the administration of Marquis Welles. ley, who permitted the pilgrims, at first, to visit Juggernaut, without paying tribute." Dr. Buchanan observes, in a note, "that it was proposed to his Lordship, to pass a resolution which had been adopted by the Bengal Government in 1806, for levying a tax from pilgrims resorting to the Temple of Juggernaut; and for the superintendence and management of the temple;" but he did not approve of it, and actually left the Government without giving his sanction to the opprobrious law. “When the measure was discussed by the succeeding Government, it was resisted by George Udney, Esq. one of the members of the Supreme Council, who recorded his solemn dissent on the proceedings of Government, for transmission to England. The other members considered Juggernaut to be a legitimate source of revenue, on the principle, I believe, that money from other temples in Hindostan had long been brought into the treasury. It is just that I should state, that these gentlemen are men of the most honourable principles, and of unimpeached integrity. Nor would any of them, I believe, (for I have the honour to know them), do any thing which he thought injurious to the honour of his religion, or of his country. But the truth is this, that those persons who go to India, in early youth, and witness the Hindoo customs all their lives, seeing little at the same time of the Christian religion to counteract the effect, are disposed to view them with complacency; and may sometimes be in danger of at length considering them as proper or necessary." English, almost under the eye of the Supreme Government. Moloch has many a tower in the province of Bengal, that fair and fertile province, which has been called "The garden of nations." Close to Ishera, a beautiful villa on the river's side, about eight miles from Calcutta, once the residence of Governor Hastings, and within view of the present Governor-general's country house, there is a temple of this idol, which is often stained with human blood. At the festival of the Rutt Jattra, in May, 1807, the author visited it, on his return from the South of India, having heard that its rites were similar to those of Juggernaut. "Juggernaul's Temple, near Ishera, on the Ganges, Rutt Jattra, May, 1807. "The tower here is drawn along, like that of Juggernaut, by cables. The number of worshippers at this festival is computed to be about one hundred thousand. The tower is covered with indecent emblems, which were freshly painted for the occasion, and were the objects of sensual gaze by both sexes. One of the victims of this year was a well-made young man, of healthy appearance, and comely aspect. He had a garland of flowers round his neck, and his long black hair was dishevelled. He danced for a while before the idol, singing in an enthusiastic strain, and then rushing suddenly to the wheels, he shed his blood under the tower of obscenity. I was not at the spot at the time, my attention having been engaged by a more pleasing scene. "On the other side, on a rising ground by the side of a tank, stood the Christian missionaries, and around them, a crowd of people listening to their preaching. The town of Serampore, where the Protestant missionaries reside, is |