the congregation, but only one budded. There are, at the present time, many modifications of the religious element, which claim to be regarded as par excellence the truth of God in some of them intellectualism prevails; in others formality: but there is one thing they cannot do-they are unable to bring men to repentance. That is reserved for the revealed truth of God, preached as it has been given us, in its purity and simplicity. It was the rod of Aaron that budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds."

MISSION WORK IN KUNAWUR, LAHUL, &c.

In an article on Central Asia, published in the "Church Missionary Intelligencer" of last month, allusion was made to the Missionary operations which are carried on by the Moravian church among the Thibetan Buddhists, and we now propose to give our readers an insight into the locality of their stations; the character of the people among whom their Missionaries are at work; the religious opinions with which they have to contend; and the climate to which they are exposed.

We shall first notice Kunawur, where the most recent Mission has been established. This country is the middle district of the Sutlej, and is the chief thoroughfare for the traffic which exists between Ladak on the north, Cashmere on the north-west, Chinese Tartary on the north-east and the lower provinces. Through the midst of this country flows the Sutlej. From Ladak it is separated by mountains covered with perpetual snow, and from 18,000 to 20,000 feet above the level of the sea; on the south it is bounded by a range of the Himalayas of almost equal altitude; while on the east a lofty range, pierced with passes, divides it from the high plains of Chinese Tartary. The scenery is stupendous. Snowy mountains, rugged crags and dense forests cover the face of the country. Travelling is beset with difficulties. Narrow footpaths skirting almost unfathomable precipices; niches cut in the smooth surface of a rock, which inclines rapidly to a fearful chasm, and affording but a treacherous foothold; at times, perhaps, a descent of three miles, at an angle of almost forty-five degrees; these often present themselves to the traveller as his only road. Nor are they the only difficulties. So rarefied is the atmosphere on the high mountain passes, that respiration is attended with extreme pain, followed by utter prostration, headache, and an unpleasant feeling of suffocation.

Such is Lower Kunawur; a striking contrast to Upper Kunawur, in which the Mission station is situated. There arid desolation takes the place of stupendous scenery, and barrenness and solitude seem to reign undisturbed by the voices of men and nature. Nor is it merely a contrast of landscapes. The inhabitants of Lower Kunawur are Kunawurese; those of Upper Kunawur are Tartars; yet, while differing widely in physical features, they are alike distinguished from the cunning natives of the plains of India by their frank and open disposition. They are generous, hospitable and wealthy, for though the agriculture of the country is poor, their numerous flocks furnish them with abundance of wool, which they exchange for grain and other necessaries.

The inhabitants, however, are few in number, for climate and the custom of the country are unfriendly to human life. The inhospitable nature of the region, together with the existence of polyandry and celibacy, are obstacles so fatal to the increase of population, that, with an extent of more than 2000 square miles, Kunawur possesses less than 10,000 inhabitants, or about four and three-fourths to the square mile. The census of 1861 gave to England an average population of 344 to the square mile.

It is at Poo, in Upper Koonawur, that the most recent Mission has been established, and here a Missionary and his wife have laboured for some years, but no visible results have as yet rewarded their efforts. A school, however, has been established, and through

this channel, and by means of his medical skill, the Missionary is gradually winning the confidence of the people.

But the oldest and most important station is at Kyelang, in Lahul. This country was formerly a district of Ladak, but is now under British rule. Like Kunawur, it is Indo-Tibetan in its language and inhabitants, as well as in climate and productions, but is favoured with a milder climate and a more kindly soil. Here, at Kyelang, a Mission station was established in 1857, and a little flock has been folded. Two services are held every Sunday. One is open to all; the other is only for the baptized; while three times a week evening meetings are held for the reading and exposition of the Scriptures. Two lithographic presses have been at work during several winters, and the Gospels according to St. Mark and St. John, the Acts of the Apostles, the Epistle to the Colossians, and various other books have been printed. Brother Jäschke, who has hitherto acted as translator for the Mission, has also prepared a grammar of the Tibetan language in English, and a Tibetan-English dictionary.

This portion of their work affords much encouragement to the Missionaries, their books having been known to find their way into most parts of Thibet, and even to Lhassa itself. But the work of education is most discouraging. A school has been established at Kyelang, and others have been opened in the outlying districts, which are taught by Lamas, engaged and paid for that purpose, and these are visited and examined from time to time by the Missionaries. But it is up-hill work. The attendance of the children can only be secured in winter, and then the roads are often impassable; the children themselves have no desire to learn; the parents are either suspicious or indifferent; the Lamas are generally hostile, and the country itself is priest-ridden.

The religion with which the Missionaries have to cope is a modification of Indian Buddhism. Introduced directly from India about 2000 years ago, Buddhism continued to be held for many years in its orthodox form. It was not until the fourteenth century that the first great Lama appeared, and, since then, various competition Lamas have arisen from time to time. Sects are innumerable, the most numerous being the Gelupkas (virtuous), who are distinguished by a yellow dress, while next to them come the Dupkas, or believers in the holy thunderbolt, who are dressed in red.

The following description of a Lama may not be uninteresting to our readers, as it has been given by a Missionary—" He wears a long red dress, bound round the wrist with a strip of cotton, in which he carries his effects. Two large sheathed knives are also stuck in this belt, also his flint and steel, his money-bag and amulets. Round his neck he wears a string of beads, which he counts like a Roman-Catholic friar. On each side of his red cap are stuck a large quantity of letters and formularies for prayer. His white boots are also tipped with red." To this description might be added the prayer cylinder, which is an appendage of every Lama. It is a metal cylinder filled with rolls of printed prayers and charms, which revolve as the instrument is turned round, every revolution of a prayer being equivalent to its recitation. The sacred canon consists of two collections, commonly called the Kanjur and Tanjur; but inasmuch as the former consists of 108 volumes folio, and comprises 1083 distinct works, while the latter is contained in 225 volumes folio, each weighing from four to five pounds, a knowledge of their contents is necessarily confined to a somewhat limited circle. The religious services are performed at sunrise, noon and sunset, and' are musical, consisting chiefly in chanting portions of the "do," or precepts. Incense is burnt, and meat or fruit-offerings are presented to Buddha and other deities. In fact, the ceremonial of the Roman-Catholic church has, in great measure, been anticipated by the Lamas of Thibet. In support of this assertion, we adduce the testimony of the late Abbé Huc, who may be considered to be a disinterested witness, being himself a dignitary of the Roman church. We quote his words

"On ne peut s'empêcher d'être frappé", he writes in his "Travels in Thibet, "de leur rapport avec le Catholicisme. La crosse, la mitre, la dalmatique, la chape ou pluvial, que les grands Lamas portent en voyage, ou lorsqu'ils font quelque ceremonie hors du temple; l'office à deux chœurs, la psalmodie, les exorcismes, l'encensoir soutenu par cinq chaines, et pouvant s'ouvrir et se fermer à volonté : les bénédictions données par les Lamas en étendant la main droite sur la tête des fidèles: le chapelet, le célibat ecclésiastique, les retraites spirituelles, le culte des saints, les jeûnes, les processions, les litanies, l'eau bénite: voila autant de rapports que les Bouddhistes ont avec nous," Such unseemly candour on the part of the Abbé was not overlooked by the authorities of the Roman church, and his book was summarily consigned to the "Index."

Such is the character of this Mission field. Against an elaborate system such as this do Protestant Missionaries bring to bear the preaching of the cross, despised, indeed, by the world, yet mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. As yet, however, their labours have been greater than their success. For more than ten years have the Moravians been toiling in Lahul; yet up to the end of 1866 only six persons had been baptized, while in Kunawur, where the Mission is of more recent origin, not a single convert has as yet been brought within the fold; and it is, moreover, a singular fact, that the few converts who have been reclaimed are natives, not of Lahul, but of Ladak.

Certainly the results are so far not encouraging. Yet let it not be forgotten, that, if the results are small, so also are the means employed. This aspect of the question is too often overlooked; and while the results of Missions are freely criticised, the actual power of the machinery employed is not taken into consideration, or, if considered, is often unduly amplified. The carelessness of the statements which are circulated on the subject is often surprising, and they are unfortunately received as genuine by many who have neither opportunity nor inclination to tell their real worth. What is the true state of the case? Take the Church Missionary Society, whose income is by far the largest. Since its establishment at the commencement of the present century it has received and expended in the cause of Missions a sum of money considerably less than this country has expended in the brief Abyssinian campaign, or in the Thames embankment. We do not fear criticism; only let it be generous. Let our work be subjected to the most rigid scrutiny-to the most microscopical analysis. We do not fear the result, if the inquiry be conducted in a fair and unbiassed temper. But there are some who always approach a subject of this kind with minds unfavourably biassed, and, in their eyes, a candid examination of facts is of little moment, compared with ingenuity of criticism.

As to numérical results, their fallacy as a final test of Missionary success has been often exposed. So far as they are worth any thing, we have no reason to be ashamed of the statistics received from our fields of labour; but we deny the worth of conclusions which rest merely upon the basis of numerical statistics.

The fact is, there is no strict analogy between spiritual work and any other. All other labours we can trace from their first beginning to their ultimate triumph or defeat. But in the case of spiritual work, the motive power, the working power, and the final issue, lie concealed within the region of the invisible. They are subjects neither for ocular nor mathematical demonstration, but for childlike faith. Therefore it is that we do not despair. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed: we are perplexed, but not in despair.

We have said that the only converts who have as yet been gathered in are natives of Ladak, and although to infer from this that there is a disposition on the part of the Ladakese, as a nation, to receive Christianity, would of course be unwarranted, yet the fact itself is sufficiently striking to attract our attention to that peculiar country. Above all, we cannot fail to be impressed with its extreme importance as a

centre for the diffusion both of Christianity and commerce. Situated as it is between Cashmere and India on the south, and the Chinese provinces of Yarkand, Kotan and Kashgar on the north, it is already a considerable entrepôt of commerce, and the trade which flows through the country is by no means trifling. At Leh, its capital, may be found the merchandize of all the surrounding countries. Here tea, shawl wool and tobacco pass on their way from the Chinese provinces to the Indian market; while from Cashmere and India shawls and opium find their way back in considerable quantities. Here, also, may be seen the coinage of various nations, from the golden tilas of Bokhara, and the pierced copper coins of China, to the rupees of India, stamped with the head of our sovereign lady the Queen.

The transit of foreign produce is indeed considerable, and it is from the duties imposed upon this passing traffic that Ladak derives the greater part of its revenue, the inhabitants themselves being for the most part extremely poor; and it is owing to its poverty, no doubt, as well as to its inaccessible position, that it was so long enabled to preserve its independence. From the Chinese governors of Yarkand and Kotan on the north, and the Mohammedan rulers of Cashmere on the west, the kingdom of Ladak had most to fear. But even supposing the extreme poverty of the country to have been an insufficient barrier to their cupidity, nature itself, by interposing almost insuperable obstacles, seemed to defy the approach of the invader. An inroad, we will say, was projected from the north; but the Kara-koram range of mountains had first to be crossed, a single peak of which has been estimated at 24,000 feet, while the average height of the passes is 18,000 feet above the level of the sea. On the western side no doubt the facilities were greater, yet even here the pass of Seo-ji-la, the greatest depression of the Western Himalayas which separate Ladak from Cashmere, is no less than 12,000 feet above the level of the sea, or, in other words, the invader would have to scale a range of mountains, across which the lowest road is twice as high as the pass of Mount Cenis. True, the physical difficulties of the late Abyssinian campaign were well nigh as great; but happily for the Ladakese they had not to fear in the armies of Cashmere the undaunted resolution of our British soldiers; nor was it until Cashmere had been conquered and occupied by a more warlike race, that the little kingdom of Ladak surrendered its independence, and was added, in 1834, to the territories of Gulab Sing, Maharajah of Cashmere.

That the country has benefited materially by the new rule there can be little doubt. Among other improvements, the roads which connect Leh, the capital, with the surrounding country have been kept in excellent repair, good bridges have been built over the Indus and other rivers, and the means of communication generally increased, the importance of which, as regards the advance of civilization and commerce, is of course self-evident. There is now an excellent road from Leh to Cashmere, a distance of 228 miles, crossing the Western Himalaya by the Seo-ji-la pass, while the great southern road connects Umritsur with Leh, from which it is distant about 430 miles; and, lastly, there is the northern road, which crosses the Kara-koram mountains by the pass of that name, at a height of 18,600 feet above the sea, along which there is considerable traffic between Leh and Yarkand, a distance of more than 360 miles.

The climate of Ladak is singular in the extreme. The heat of day is intense, the noon-day sun being often twenty-five degrees hotter than in any other part of India; this is succeeded invariably by freezing cold at night; yet cereals ripen at a height of 15,000 feet above the sea. Rain falls on an average for an hour three times a year, so that the crops are of course dependent on artificial irrigation, which is ingeniously supplied by means of dams and aqueducts. Sheep form the measure of wealth in Ladak, and supply the inhabitants with food, clothing, and the means of transport, it being no uncommon thing to see several thousand sheep laden with wool and other commodities

wending their way along the southern road to the Indian market. Major Cunningham, to whose interesting work on Ladak we are indebted for much of our information, purchased a small flock of twenty-eight of these sheep at one rupee each, which were sent to England, and presented by the Court of Directors to the Prince Consort, by whom they were exhibited at the Zoological Gardens, and afterwards distributed among various sheep-breeders throughout England. Moorcroft, says Major Cunningham, was of opinion "that the British cottager might keep three of these sheep with more ease than he now supports a cur dog; and that every small farmer might maintain fifteen or twenty of them without any extra expense, as they would be entirely supported on that kind of produce which now runs wholly waste, or is thrown out on the dunghill." The population of Ladak is only about 125,000, or about 4.333 persons to the square mile, and of this number no less than 3000 are nuns or Lamas. The census shows a considerable decrease during the last thirty years, nor can any increase be expected while polyandry and celibacy prevail in the country. The physical appearance of the natives is not interesting, according to Dr. Gerard-" In figure they are stout, waddling and dumpy; in face they are not beautiful, even when young; when past their climacteric, very unseemly; and, when old, a picture of horrid ugliness." Their physiognomy is peculiarly Mongolian, the faces being wide and flat; the nose broad, retroussè and bridgeless; the eyes are generally black, and invariably drawn downwards at the corners; the ears large and prominent; the mouth wide; and the hair, which from childhood is never washed or combed, is black, coarse and matted; indeed, personal ablutions are strictly limited to an annual performance. Their food is of the plainest description, the poor contenting themselves with barley cakes and turnip broth, while wheaten cakes, washed down with a strong decoction of tea and soda, seasoned with salt and churned with butter, form the ordinary repast of the upper classes: whether this potion is imbibed of free will, or whether in Ladak, as in more civilized lands, rank has its peculiar responsibilities, and noblesse oblige, is at least questionable.

We have, in our account of Kyelang, already described the religion of this country. The language is Thibetan. Major Cunningham points out some singular resemblances to the English language; thus, brang means "to bring;" kyan is a “can ;” dal means "dull;" tuk, "thick;" thunpo, "a lump ;" rog, "a rogue ;" ihhug, is a "hiccough." Another similarity to our language is the capricious mode of pronunciation. In concluding this sketch, we cannot but dwell upon the importance of this country as a field of Missionary operations, and once more draw attention to the opportunities which its central situation offers for the diffusion of Gospel truth. Hitherto it has been jealously guarded, not only from all evangelistic attempts, but from general intercourse with our British Indian empire. At length, however, the wedge of civilization has been inserted. Until lately, British subjects in Lahul who wished to enter the Leh market were not only compelled to pay an annual tribute to the Maharajah of Cashmere for this privilege, but were fleeced of twice the amount of duty which was imposed upon other traders. Repeated representations were made upon the subject by Mr. J. B. Forsyth, C.B., Commissioner, Jullundur Division, and, owing to his perseverance, Dr. Cayley has received the appointment of British Agent at Leh, the capital of Ladak. The wisdom of this step is already apparent, inasmuch as the Maharajah has consented to reduce the exorbitant duties levied on goods passing through his territory to a uniform duty of five per cent. ad valorem, and a British officer will be stationed in Ladak each season, whose business it will be to see that no unnecessary difficulties are offered to British subjects passing through this territory.

We hail the dawn of civilization, and mark with interest the progress of the stream, watching for the moment when it shall be sufficient to bear upon its bosom the ark of God's truth into the trackless ocean of Central Asia.