One missionary receives his friends at
breakfast, a second at dinner, the third at tea, several equipages
and a number of servants stand in the court-yard.
Business is also attended to: the gentleman generally retire for
half an hour or so; but the greater part of the time is passed in
mere social amusement.
I do not think that it can be easy to gain the confidence of the
natives in this way. Their foreign dress, and elegant mode of life,
make the people feel too strongly the difference of rank, and
inspire them with fear and reserve rather than confidence and love.
They do not so readily venture to look up to people of wealth or
rank, and the missionaries have consequently to exert themselves for
some time until this timidity is overcome. The missionaries say
that it is necessary to make this appearance, in order to create an
impression and command respect; but I think that respect may be
inspired by noble conduct, and that virtue will attract men more
than external splendour.
Many of the missionaries believe that they might effect a great deal
by preaching and issuing religious tracts in the native language in
the towns and villages. They give the most attractive report of the
multitude of people who crowd to hear their preaching and receive
their tracts, and it might reasonably be thought that, according to
their representations, at least half of their hearers would become
converts to Christianity; but unfortunately the listening and
receiving tracts is as good as no proof at all. Would not Chinese,
Indian, or Persian priests have just as great troops of hearers if
they appeared in their respective national costume in England or
France, and preached in the language of those countries? Would not
people flock round them? would they not receive the tracts given out
gratis, even if they could not read them?
I have made the minutest inquiries in all places respecting the
results of missions, and have always heard that a baptism is one of
the greatest rarities. The few Christians in India, who here and
there form villages of twenty or thirty families, have resulted
principally from orphan children, who had been adopted and brought
up by the missionaries; but even these require to be supplied with
work, and comfortably attended to, in order to prevent them from
falling back into their superstitions.
Preaching and tracts are insufficient to make religious doctrine
understandable, or to shake the superstitions which have been
imbibed in infancy. Missionaries must live among the people as
fathers or friends, labour with them - in short, share their trials
and pleasures, and draw them towards them by an exemplary and
unpretending mode of life, and gradually instruct them in a way they
are capable of understanding. They ought not to be married to
Europeans for the following reasons: - European girls who are
educated for missionaries frequently make this their choice only
that they be provided for as soon as possible. If a young European
wife has any children, if she is weak or delicate, they are then
unable to attend any longer to their calling, and require a change
of air, or even a journey to Europe. The children also are weak,
and must be taken there, at latest in their seventh year. Their
father accompanies them, and makes use of this pretext to return to
Europe for some time. If it is not possible to undertake this
journey, they go to some mountainous country, where it is cooler, or
he takes his wife and family to visit a Mela. {287} At the same
time, it must be remembered that these journeys are not made in a
very simple manner: as mine has been, for instance; the missionary
surrounds himself with numerous conveniences; he has palanquins
carried by men, pack-horses, or camels, with tents, beds, culinary,
and table utensils; servants and maids in sufficient number. And
who pays for all this? Frequently poor credulous souls in Europe
and North America, who often deny themselves the necessaries of
life, that their little savings may be squandered in this way in
distant parts of the world.
If the missionaries were married to natives, the greater part of
these expenses and requirements would be unnecessary; there would be
few sick wives, the children would be strong and healthy, and would
not require to be taken to Europe. Schools might be established
here and there for their education, although not in such a luxurious
manner as those at Calcutta.
I hope that my views may not be misunderstood; I have great respect
for missionaries, and all whom I have known were honourable men, and
good fathers; I am also convinced that there are many learned men
among them, who make valuable contributions to history and
philosophy, but whether they thus fulfil their proper object is
another question. I should consider that a missionary has other
duties than those of a philosopher.
For my own part, I can only express my obligations to the
missionaries; everywhere they showed me the greatest kindness and
attention. Their mode of life certainly struck me, because I
involuntarily associate with the name "missionary" those men who at
first went out into the world, without support, to diffuse the
doctrines of Christ, taking nothing with them but a pilgrim's staff.
Before concluding my description of Oromia, I must remark that this
neighbourhood is considered to be the birth-place of Zoroaster, who
is said to have lived 5,500 years before the birth of Christ, and
was the founder of the sect of Magi, or fire-worshippers.
On the 1st of August, I rode ten hours to the village of Kutschie,
which lies near the Lake Oromia; we seldom caught sight of the lake,
although we were always very near to it all day.
