him as the first victim of their rage, and as a pledge of their future success, when the very appearance of the troops put their courage to flight, and shewed them to be as vile and cowardly when they had power to meet, as they were base and malevolent when they had nothing but reason and intelligence to fear. A slow and tardy execution of the law delivered seven of the insurgents to the gallows; but a retributive justice will pursue many more of them, as the abettors of this horrid murder. At Bangalore scenes of riot and rebellion took place, which threatened to terminate in more dreadful consequences than these. At the festival of Ramsan, they all repaired to their Eedgah, which was situate in a field on the north side of the cantonment. Nothing could be more contemptible as a place of worship and of rendezvous, than was this small and dilapidated wall. But it was a shrine of their religion, and ought to have been respected. On their assembling at the spot, what was the object which filled them with horror and surprise? A pig, at any time and in any place a subject of disgust to Mohammedans, had been killed there; its blood had been sprinkled over the place, to pollute it; and its head, stuck upon the wall, was surmounted with a cross! Without any inquiry, and without any consideration, the whole assembly rushed to the Roman Catholic chapel, as it appeared to them all unquestionable that none but the party who adopted the cross as a badge, could be guilty of such an outrage. In an instant the doors and windows were driven in; the altar and its idols were laid level with the ground; the chandeliers were dashed to pieces; the priest escaped only with his life; and the frantic rage of the spoilers threatened very soon to lay the whole fabric in ruins, when the military were called out, drove them into the bazaar, and restored peace and order. While these things were going on, a Naik, of the Company's service, a Mohammedan, and a disaffected traitor, repaired to the residence of the commandant, to give him the intelligence; and he had only cleared the gate of the premises, when it was ascertained that he was the perpetrator of this deed. After a few months' retreat among the hills in Nugger, a price was set upon his head; he was brought into Bangalore, tried by a court-martial, and shot. But, notwithstanding it was so plain that a Mohammedan was the author of this outrage, and that the views of this part of the community were decidedly hostile to the government; so infatuated were the Madras executive, as to call upon Christian officers to build them a splendid Eedgah, as though they would make it abundantly manifest that they were willing, not only to support idolatry and Mohammedan delusion, but to degrade the religion of the Bible, and dishonour those who believe it and support it, by making them the instruments of erecting this monument of infamy. Such has been the policy which the Indian government has invariably pursued. To patronize idolatry, and to support any system of superstition, no measures have been too unchristian, none too unreasonable. What has been the honour of the Christian name! what the propagation and extension of the true religion! what the feelings, the principles, the conscience, and the morality, of their European army! what the spiritual and eternal interests of the people themselves! what the blessing or the malediction of the Almighty upon their rule and their possessions! when false principles were to be supported, and a spurious and antiquated system was to be maintained? No. These have been but as the small dust in the balance, when compared with the upholding of systems which are ready to vanish away. To the most superficial observer, it must have appeared evident, that there has, for many a day, been a struggle between the authorities in India, on the one hand, to cherish the superstitions of the people, and the events of providence on the other, to annihilate and destroy them. Like the tower of Babel, which, while it remained a monument of the folly and the ignorance of its authors, was the means of scattering them through the earth, and accomplishing the purposes of God; what has been the erection of this Eedgah, and the establishment of similar towers, but so many means which a watchful Providence has employed to expose the folly and weakness of men, to convince the rulers of the earth that though they are careful to build up, he will as certainly throw down, and to shew to all that the heavens do rule, and that He will make the wrath of man to praise him, and the remainder thereof he will restrain ? It is not theory, it is not speculation, but unquestionable truth. What was the effect which was produced by the system of policy alluded to? The very reverse of that which was anticipated. The Mohammedans grew in their own importance, and became more bold in their enterprise. Instead of considering this act as one of conciliation, they regarded it and treated it as one of fear and cowardice, and drew from it the weight of their influence, the assurance of their power, and the certainty of their success. No longer open and public in their attempts, they resorted to secret intrigues and a fearful conspiracy to accomplish their purpose-a conspiracy which, but for the interposition of a gracious Providence, would have rendered Bangalore an aceldama and a sepulchre. It appeared in evidence, that a Fakeer, who assumed the mask of a buttonmaker, was the chief in the confederacy; that great numbers of the army, especially the Mussulmen of the infantry, of the cavalry, and the artillery, were seduced from their allegiance; that mercenaries were engaged to enter and take possession of the fort, the small gate of which was, at the hour appointed, to be under the guard of one of the insurgents; that the horses of the dragoons were to be cut, so as to render them useless in the struggle, the artillery was to be brought to bear and to pour its thunder on the European barracks, and the aid of the Mussulmen servants was not to be wanting in the hour of conflict; that proclamations had been circulated far and wide, denouncing Christianity and a Christian government, calling upon all the faithful to rally around the crescent, and establish their own religion and their own rule; and that the setting of the moon on the night after the discovery of the plot, was to be the signal for massacre and death, and for consigning the whole European community to contempt and oblivion. This plot once exploded, the policy of conciliation was at an end; a dreadful example of vengeance was made; six men were blown away from guns, two were shot by musketry, and great numbers were banished. Notwithstanding the wish and the attempt of the authorities to exalt it, Mohammedanism was laid prostrate in the dust, and, as though Divine Providence had determined, in this last overthrow, to shew that no resources of its own, and no favours granted by others, could preserve it from destruction; one calamity has come upon it after another, and every attempt to rise has only sunk it in deeper disgrace and degradation. It matters not what may be the support and countenance which the Indian government confers upon this system of importune; it matters not though its purse should be ready for its aggrandisement, and its right hand for its patronage; it matters not though Europeans, both civil and military, should subscribe hundreds and thousands of pounds annually, to assist in the celebration of its festivals; and to advance its prosperity throughout the world; its days are numbered-the hand-writing on the wall is against it-it E has been weighed in the balance, and has been found wanting -the decree has gone forth against it, and cannot be reversed— the waters of the Euphrates must be dried up, that the way of the kings of the East may be prepared; and as sure as the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth, the day of its judgment is at hand, and its day of doom is not far distant. The efforts made to uphold Mohammedanism, on the one hand, and the evident symptoms of its decay, on the other, cannot fail to excite our liveliest solicitudes for the unhappy victims of its iniquitous delusion; and while our tenderest sympathies are exercised on their behalf, our efforts for their benefit will be marked by greater vigour, and our prayers will ascend with warmer fervour, that the day of their redemption may draw nigh, and that the set time for their deliverance may soon be fully come. VERSION FROM ST. BASIL'S ORATIONS. When midnight deep and silence reign, Then let thy adorations rise, To Him who formed the earth and skies: L. F. |