Thus the tyranny of caste extends from the most trifling to the most important affairs of Hindu life. It cripples the independent action of individuals, sows the seed of bitter discord between the different sections of society, encourages the most abominable practices, and dries up all the springs of that social, moral, and intellectual freedom which alone can secure greatness, whether to individuals or nations."

'Oh God, have mercy on our fallen-countrymen. Give them true knowledge of thy Fatherhood, and their brotherhood; that our countless millions may be bound by one social tie, and joining hand with hand, and heart with heart, move onward in the path of freedom and righteousness, knowledge and glory, and national regeneration."

It may be objected that there is a great deal of caste feeling even in England. Different classes keep aloof from each other to a large extent, as in India. But there is a very important distinction. According to Hinduism, caste depends upon birth and is indelible. A man of one caste can no more become of another caste than an ass may be changed into a horse. In England, however, the lowest may attain the highest rank. A shoemaker, by his talents, has raised himself to the peerage. No one is polluted by the touch of another. At the same time, it must be allowed that in England there is too much pride of rank and wealth. Mr. Justice Talfourd, in some of his last words, lamented" that separation between class and class which is the great curse of British society, and for which we are all, more or less, in our respective spheres, in some degree responsible."

Instead of arbitrary and absurd caste rules, let society be guided by the will of God, and what is right in itself. Injustice and cruelty can never promote the true well-being of any people. It is not proposed to obliterate distinctions of rank. On the

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contrary, respect is due to office, age, learning, and Where this is withheld, society falls into a

virtue.
state of anarchy.

It is true that the fetters of caste are loosening. A few years ago, an association was formed in Calcutta, of which a respected Sudra was Honorary Secretary. In old Hindu times, he might have been seen standing at the door with a vessel of water, waiting to wash the feet of some Brahman member. The words of Burns have been hailed with enthusiasm by an assembly of Hindus :—

"For a' that, and a' that,

It's comin' yet for a' that,

That man to man, the world o'er,

Shall brothers be, for a' that."

One of the greatest obstacles to the abolition of caste is, that, as a rule, the most enlightened leaders of native society, however much they may disapprove of its absurd and unjust rules, meekly bend their necks to its yoke. Did they act with firmness, it would soon become a thing of the past, and Hindus would no longer be looked upon as fools by other nations on account of its retention.

In the world there are only two great castesthe good and the bad. Let the reader join the former by seeking forgiveness from his Heavenly Father through Jesus Christ, and by striving, through the help of the Holy Spirit, to live as becomes an adopted son of God. And let it be one of the great objects of his life to endeavour, with the Divine blessing, to reclaim those who are wandering in the paths of sin.

XVIII-DUTY TO COUNTRY.

Patriotism.-Max Müller says, "The Indian never knew the feeling of nationality." The Hindus love their children, they are zealous for their caste;

but, except in the case of the enlightened, their sympathies do not extend beyond these narrow limits. The remark of Max Müller implies, that Hindus do not think of their country as a whole.

The ancient Greeks and Romans were intensely patriotic. A Latin poet expressed their feelings in the words, "It is sweet and honourable to die for one's country." The same spirit has characterised many other nations.

But the patriotism of the Greeks and Romans was defective. "Outside the circle of their own nation," says Lecky, "all men were regarded with contempt and indifference, if not with absolute hostility. Conquest was the one recognised form of national progress, and the interests of nations were, therefore, regarded as directly opposed. The intensity with which a man loved his country was a measure of the hatred which he bore to those who were without it."

Christianity, by teaching that we are all children of the same Great Father in heaven, who should "love as brethren," has enlarged human sympathies. Still, selfishness is natural to man's corrupt heart, and acts as a barrier to the noblest principles. There are remains of the old spirit even in the most enlightened countries. Smiles says, "A great deal of what passes by the name of patriotism in these days consists of the merest bigotry and narrow-mindedness; exhibiting itself in national prejudice, national conceit, and national hatred. It does not show itself in deeds, but in boastings."

The same writer thus describes true patriotism: "But as there is an ignoble, so is there a noble patriotism-the patriotism that invigorates and elevates a country by noble work-that does its duty truthfully and manfully-that lives an honest, sober and upright life, and strives to make the best use of the opportunities for improvement that present them

selves on every side." A true patriot feels an interest in all his countrymen. He does not seek to trample upon certain classes, and to exalt the section to which he belongs himself. His aim is the "greatest happiness of the greatest number." It is far more conducive to the welfare of a nation that wealth should be diffused, than that it should be concentrated in a few. There must be rich and poor in every country; but it is highly important that there should be a large middle class.

True patriotism is quite consistent with a desire for the prosperity of other nations. The selfish feeling of the Greeks and Romans is as opposed to political economy as it is to sound morals. A French king once asked a traveller about a certain country in the East which he had visited. The reply was,

Sire, it produces nothing, and consumes nothing." The people raised just sufficient food for their scanty subsistence. They had no produce to export, and no money to pay for articles which they could not manufacture themselves. Compare, on the other hand, England and the United States, the two richest countries in the world. The commerce between them is greater than between any other nations, and the more prosperous either country is, the more is the other benefited.

"We live," says Huxley, "in a world which is full of misery and ignorance, and the plain duty of each and all of us is to try and make the little corner he can influence somewhat less miserable and somewhat less ignorant than it was before he entered it.”

The Common People.-In all ages of the world and in all countries, there has been a tendency on the part of the rich and powerful to enslave the masses. Nearly three thousand years ago Solomon wrote, "So I returned and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun, and behold the

tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power, but they had no comforter."

This state of things existed in ancient times even among nations the greatest lovers of liberty. In Greece there were only a few freemen; all others were slaves, treated often with great severity. The feelings of the Romans were expressed by one of their greatest poets, odi profanum vulgus, I hate the ignorant multitude.

For untold generations, India presented similar features. Rajahs and their wives blazed with jewels; the people generally were sunk in the deepest poverty. The Brahmans sought to monopolise all learning. They compared the sayings of wisdom in the mouth of a Sudra to butter in the mouth of a dog. A Hindi proverb shows how ryots were regarded. "By two things you may distinguish a bullock from a ploughman, by its horns and its tail.”

There is now some desire to improve the condition of the masses. The question is, what means can best be employed for this purpose?

When

1. Education is one of the most powerful agencies.-The ignorant are like poor dumb cattle, which, however ill-used, bear all in silence. men are educated, they acquire a knowledge of their rights as human beings, and will not tamely submit to oppression. A person unacquainted with accounts may easily be defrauded. The illiterate often yield to unjust exactions. A petty official once said to some ryots that, if they gave him a present, he would make such and such a representation about their lands. The ryots had attended school; so, instead of giving the bribe, they told him who asked it, that if he made a false statement, they would report him to the collector,