thrown open, reconciliation proclaimed with acclamation, and the lord of the world after a tedious journey enters his temple cheered by the loud salutations of his worshippers, and even smiled upon by his jealous wife.

About four P. M. we all repaired to the large road and took possession of a large pakká house with a front verandah raised about seven feet above the ground. From this verandah we distributed tracts to the number of about 1,500 small and great in Oriya, Bengálí and Nágarí. The crowd was immense and the eagerness to obtain tracts very great. Some pressed for an hour together to obtain a tract with a degree of labour, I may, venture to say, which they never exerted before. The length of the house admitted of our distributing the books in three places without interrupting each other. After each half hour's distribution, we stayed our hands, and addressed the people. Sometimes we were heard with attention and seriousness. Some tracts were torn up and scattered in the street by the Bengálí 'people, but their number was trifling, compared with the numbers given away. Several people came to beseech me to assist them in recovering their property which had been stolen or forced from them by the pandas, whose names they mentioned. One man had his blanket stolen from him, and another his lotá; I promised to write to the magistrate about the blanket and a few pice were acceptable to the owner of the lotá, to assist him in getting another. The cars of Jagannath and his sister moved past us as we were distributing tracts, surrounded by a vast multitude of people. The living mass moved on with the cars, and in consequence of their being loaded with people they too seemed to be living, the scene was sorrowfully grand. Many of our hearers were carried along with the multitude, and the pandás as the cars passed us came to our side of the cars and gave us "Hari bol"! and "Jagannath bhaja!" with a sneer of bitterness and triumph. After they had passed we again applied ourselves to our work and our congregation settled. There must have been 150,000 people around the cars. A good many dead bodies were being eaten near the road by which we went to the town, which have been thrown out since last night.

27th-Early this morning I walked with Gangadhar to the Atharanalá gate, where we distributed tracts to the outgoing pilgrims. We addressed a few words to them as they passed. Afterwards we walked down to the cars on the large road; the scene was gay, the front of the houses decorated with flowers and evergreens, the people were moving about in their gayest attire, the cars were decorated with English broad-cloths of the most brilliant colours, and ornamented with glittering

tinsel, the morning was fine and the plain dry. This however was surface, the dead were thrown out of the hospitals and lay upon the adjacent sands, while many a wretched object lay concealed from public view; some we saw with the glare of death in their eyes, and others again watched by their nearest relatives. One especially attracted my attention,-it was a mother sitting over her daughter, nearly dead with the cholera. I said to her, Is your daughter ill? "Yes sir," she replied, "and her disease will not stop." Stood in the large road and spoke to some apparent effect to a number of people. Distributed some books among them. The rest of our forces were employed in the verandah we occupied last evening: great numbers heard them and received tracts. In coming from the Atharanalá I met a number of respectably looking persons forcibly leading a woman who was weeping aloud. I inquired what was the matter, supposing she had lost a relative, but was informed she was weeping in consequence of being obliged to leave the idol to whom she was greatly devoted.

As soon as the day became a little cool we repaired into the large road in the afternoon. It was almost filled with people: we formed several parties among them. Brother Stubbius and Gangadhar made one, myself and Purusuttam another, and Rámchandra, Bámádeb and Bhikári a third. Purusuttam addressed the multitude which surrounded us with clearness and affection on the existence and attributes of God. He spoke particularly on his goodness, and exposed the guilt of sinning against such a Being. He finally dwelt on the gospel he has sent for the belief and salvation of sinners, and pressed them to repent and look to Christ. Before he had done Rámchandra joined us and followed Purusuttam, and I closed the opportunity. Thus we spent about two hours very usefully, much information was dispersed among the people. We distributed no tracts as we have but few left, and those will be best disposed of at the Atharanalá. Some old Telingá inquirers came up while we were engaged. They profess to be trusting in Christ, and worshipping God; an open profession of Him would expose them to loss and shame, their wives and children would forsake them: on this account they say they are not prepared to profess Christ openly. Purusuttam told them they must regard Christ outwardly as well as inwardly, if they would enjoy his salva

tion.

28th. We were pretty early at the Atharanalá, but many had passed out before we arrived. For about two hours we distributed books to all who could read them, and would receive. them; at the same time keeping up useful conversation with the people. We returned home by way of the hospital and got

among the people, but it was now grown too hot to make it prudent to remain. Some few books were distributed among the people in the road as we passed through them. Several cases of cholera were lying about the streets and by the road side. We stopped a few minutes to watch some vultures eating a corpse. These creatures are peculiarly fitted for such work, they thrust their long sharp and hooked bills under the skin for 10 or twelve inches and tear away the flesh in masses and gorge it instantly. Two hours would suffice for twelve of these birds to make clean work of a corpse. They exhibited a disgusting tameness, and would hardly move out of our way. As we returned, the people were busily preparing for the enraged Lakshmi to visit her run-away husband. I inquired of one of Lakshmi's pandás, how her goddessship was. He answered, that she was in a great rage, and was so very justly, for as she was the great proprietress of the whole universe and had nothing while the black-faced wretch got every thing, how should he be better than a thief while Lakshmi was unjustly deprived of all? The people who were making preparations for her passage through the town appeared very serious, and without even a smile told us Lakshmi was going to smash the car of Jagannath. She commences her journey this evening about eight o'clock. Our native brethren have departed for Cuttack, commended to the care of providence.

This afternoon was very usefully spent, more so than any we have yet had among the people. The cars were all up near the Gandicha temple, and the pandás with them, which accounts for people hearing better than usual. The common people heard gladly, and all tolerably. I spoke for an hour with pleasure and liberty. I directed my observations to the understanding of the hearers reasoning on grounds which they admitted. A devotee stood and heard all the time with great attention and afterwards followed us home. As he walked with us in the street with our books in his hand, he became the object of remark and threatening. One young fellow told him he had no business with those books, and that if he threw them not away he would inform his superior and get him turned out of his convent or math. The man was not however an inmate of a Púrí máth. After we had taken dinner and rested a little while, we walked over to the cars for the purpose of witnessing the contest between Lakshmi and her husband. She remained till about midnight. About eleven o'clock the procession of Lakshmi appeared with torches, drums, &c. and the people began to be in commotion. She presently arrived and encircled the car of the lord of the world, Some negociations were commenced, and the sound of canes on the car and loud conversa

Sri Lakshmi and her

tion among the pandás was heard. accompanying Mahádebs placed herself in defiance in front of the car of her husband. Here he presented her with a beautiful necklace of scented flowers, and this was hung tastefully on her neck by a priest. Lakshmi is a golden image about eight inches high. After some trifling delay she took her departure.

29th. This morning for the last time we started to the Atharanalá and gave away about 150 tracts, the last we had. We retreated when the sun became hot, completely exhausted by walking over the loose hot sand. Here our labours close for this season at Púrí. A great number of persons have heard the word of God, and 11,000 books have been taken away which contain the word of God able to save the soul. This allows 500 for loss by tearing up, &c. And may God bless and succeed His word by imparting the Holy Spirit which is promised in connection with the preaching of the gospel. This Spirit was given in the first times of the gospel, and hence the glorious success which succeeded; this Spirit is now promised, and until it shall be poured forth, we shall preach in vain and labour in vain. O for a universal effort of prayer, faithful believing prayer, instead of coldness and disbelief. I leave Púrí for Cuttack this afternoon.

30th. After a tolerably comfortable journey arrived at Cuttack this morning about nine o'clock, and found all well, thanks to our gracious Preserver. There was a pretty considerable number of dead in the bed of the Catjoorey river, pilgrims who had died of the cholera.

W. LACEY, Missionary at Cuttack.

IV.-Facts illustrative of the Government connexion with Idolatry.

Since our last and more lengthened publications on this subject, we have gathered a few scraps which we have much pleasure in laying before our readers. A correspondent at Madras writes as follows, respecting

THE CONJEVERAM PAGODAS.

"I have heard of a fact lately upon this subject in connexion with the Conjeveram pagodas, which clearly proves that a certain annual feast is kept up there at the expense of government; that for the 10 years preceding 1825, it was stopped: but after that period it was actually revived again, and obtained the full sanction of government, and that on one occa sion when the heathen government of Mysore requested permission to conduct this feast, at its own cost, this request was denied by the Madras

government on the ground that as the rulers of the country, it was more fitting for this government to perform the ceremony, than that it should be at the expense of any other!! Can you imagine any thing to equal this? A Christian government actually Contending with a heathen one, which shall have the honor of holding an annual feast to a base idol." We have much pleasure in transferring the following docu-. ment to our pages from our excellent contemporary the Oriental Christian Spectator respecting

THE YELAMA TEMPLE.

"This sumt lately formed the net profit; but from it, we conjecture, the pilgrim tax realized from the Yelamagud temple, amounting to about Rs. 5000 annually, and which already has been very properly abandoned by the Bombay Government, will fall to be deducted.

"The following notice of the Yelama temple is from a report of the Belgaum Missionaries, lately printed. ' In July, Mr. Beynon visited for a second time this year, the Yelama jatra and witnessed the most horrible and revolting scenes. The remark which a native Christian who was with him, made in reference to them was, 'Come, let us flee, this is Sodom and Gomorrah.' Among other disgusting spectacles, was that of males and females, promiscuously and indiscriminately walking the distance of about a mile; some with girdles made of the branches of the neem or margosa with their clothes loosely thrown over them, other with girdles without any clothes, and others in an entire state of nudity, which together with their dishevelled hair and bodies besmeared with a mixture of turmeric, gave them a most frightful appearance. In passing through the crowd; they received the same homage from the deluded spectators as Yelama herself. When reasoning with them and showing to them the debasing nature of their ceremonies; many appeared to feel, and many declared that they would not fulfil the vows they had taken upon them, some of swinging, others of going naked, &c. We are happy to say that Government has relinquished the revenue which it derived from this festival ; and it would be well if it had nothing to do with it. In consequence of some disagreement between the pujaris, who are shudras, and the kulkarnfs, who are brahmans, about the apportioning of the fees; Government has appointed four brahmans as a kind of trustees to collect and take charge of the offerings. The pujáris are dissatisfied with the arrangement, and say, they have a claim to all, and receive nothing. The impression produced in consequence on the mind of the people, was that the fees were collected by the authority of Government.'

"As we have formerly mentioned, we ourselves visited this shrine about eighteen months ago. The hereditary Pujáris, (beadles,) we found to be Lingawants, and the trustees appointed by government, to be adherents of Brahmunism. These trustees are required by Government to divide the free-will offerings of the pilgrims between the hakdárs (shareholders) of the temple, the pujáris, and the hereditary kulkarnís, according to the use and want of the establishment. Any party supposing itself injured may prosecute the trustees in the Adálat.

"These arrangements we have no doubt, were considered by the Government to be the best which could be made in the circumstances of the case. We have no hesitation, however, in declaring that they are among the worst which could have been imagined.

* See an account of this in the May No. of the C. C. O.-ED.

Rupees 9,519, the net loss which the Bombay Government would sustain by the cessation of its interference.