Page:Life in India or Madras, the Neilgherries, and Calcutta.djvu/332

288 parted and met around the car like waters around an island. The old, the middle-aged, and the young were there. Aged Brahmins with white hairs were there; and there, too, were infants lying on the necks of delicate women.

"Among the deluded worshippers, I saw some who bore votive cocoanuts in their hands. These they cracked, and then held the dissevered portions with uplifted arms before their idol-god. I saw others, who stood at some distance in advance of the car, throwing themselves flat upon their faces in the hot sand to do homage to the senseless image. My soul was filled with horror at this sight. Having been occupied for several days, together with my father, in preaching against idol-worship, and proclaiming the true God, I felt a little apprehension, before going out, lest I might meet with some insult or violence; but, when I witnessed this scene, indignation took the place of apprehension. I felt that if there was aught for which I could lay down my life, it would be possible for one to do it in testimony against this abominable idolatry.”