tions are written in glowing language, and under the influence of animated feelings, I allow but the candid Reader, who has travelled over the pages of his "Researches in the East," accompanying him, from Bengal, through the horrid scenes exhibited in Orissa; the darkness, superstition, and misery, of other intervening Provinces; and arriving with him at last in South Travancore; will not be surprised at the warmth of his emotions, on discovering an isolated body of Christians among the mountains of that kingdom. And, when he finds that, amidst every local disadvantage, in the face of successive and obstinate persecutions from the Papists, and under the dominion of Idolatrous Rulers, they had, for many centuries, retained much of their Primitive Faith, and an unqualified reverence for the Word of God and implicit deference to its authority; he will, I think, allow, that no language can adequately express the feelings which such circumstances must excite in the mind of a Christian, panting, as Dr. B. did, for opportunity to promote the glory of God, and the best interests of man. I confess, that I thought his representations of that interesting people highly coloured; and did not venture to anticipate all the pleasure from a visit to them, which

his account seemned to promise. But, when travelling amongst them, and visiting their Churches, I compared his statements with all I heard and saw: and the result was, that in no instance did I find that the Doctor had overstated facts; and, on more than one occasion, his description did not equal my own feelings on the spot.

But, before M. Dubois had presumed to charge a man, of the late Dr. B.'s principles and character, with publishing "exaggerations" to the world, he ought to have been certain of the accuracy of the information upon which his accusations were founded. He says, "he has heard that some Protestant Missionaries had recently prevailed upon many of the Syrian Clergy to marry; and that it was the only success they had to boast of." (p. 60.)

Previous to exposing the inaccuracy of this assertion, I shall correct his statements in reference to two or three points, which I do not remember to have seen answered in any other Publication*.

* I had marked for insertion M. Dubois' accounts of their Origin, Name, Creed, Sacraments, &c. &c., and shewn their inaccuracy in many respects. But, as this is not necessary to my purpose, and the Abbé is so ably confuted, on these and several other points, by the Author of a "Brief History of the Syrian Churches,” given

in

66

He says, They have numberless Fasts during the year; they use candles, tapers, incense; and have many more external Ceremonies than the Catholics, in the exercise of their religious functions," &c. (pp. 59, 60.)

That there is much of superstition in their. Religious Services, I admit ; and was pained to witness so close a resemblance in them to the Ceremonies of the Roman-Catholic Church but that they "have many more external Ceremonies than the Catholics," is true only of the Roma-Syrians, i. e. those who have embraced Popery altogether, or incorporated Popish Superstitions with the Forms of the Syrian Church. But of those Syrians who adhere to their ancient Ritual, it is not true. In the midst of their Service on Sabbath Morning, I witnessed what I never heard of in a Roman-Catholic Chapel, either in India or Europe, viz. the reading of the Lesson appointed for the Day, in the Vernacular Tongue.

He says, that their Clergy "use the Syriac in their Liturgy and Religious Ceremonies:" (p. 60.) This, if intended as an objection, comes with a very from a

ill

grace

in the Appendix to the Seventeenth Report of the Church Missionary Society, I shall refer the Reader to that able and interesting article, for the information required on those subjects.

Roman-Catholic Priest; who, in common with the rest of his order, uses the Latin "in the Liturgy and Religious Ceremonies" of his Church; a language equally unintelligible to the Laity in India, and to the majority even in Europe.

This objection is less formidable, in reference to the Syrians, than to the Roman-Catholics. For it is contrary to the laws of the Roman Church to pray in public in any other language; whereas the Syrian Metropolitan informed me, upon my putting the question to him, that they had no Canon which prohibited the translating of the whole of their Liturgy into the Vernacular Tongue, for the use of the Church; except, indeed, a few Prayers, which are addressed to the Virgin Mary.

But when the Abbé goes on to assert, (p. 22,) that "all the science of their Clergy consists in being able to read, or rather spell, this language, in order to be qualified to perform their Religious Ceremonies"-and says, that "he has been assured that there is at present no one amongst the Catholic or the Nestorian Clergy capable of properly understanding or explaining two phrases of the Syriac Books"I answer, that this is an unfair representation of their present state. That, at the time he

received his information, few of them knew more than is here asserted, may have been the case. But they have always had some Syriac Doctors (Malpans) amongst them; and in 1820, when I visited them, the Catanars read the Prayers with fluency, and I conversed with several who were masters of the language. And as to M. Dubois not being able to "see of what utility the project of supplying them with Syriac Bibles can be," (p.60.) -this arises from his neglect to inform himself better as to their ability to make use of them. Upon the presumption that "no one amongst them is capable of understanding that ancient language," his surprise that the Bible Society should think of sending them Syriac Bibles is not unnatural. But, then, all this is mere presumption-not fact. The Priest who officiated at the Syrian Altar, on the occasion just alluded to, made use of one of the Bible Society's Syriac Testaments, when he read the Chapter in the vernacular language: and as his eye passed over the Syriac page, he rendered it into Malayalim with such facility, that I thought the book before him was written in that tongue, until informed to the contrary. Two Missionaries and myself spent an evening with the same man, when we discussed some of the princi