Page:On the Coromandel Coast.djvu/258

 congregation had also settled down, and showed no sign of departing. Leaning from her pew towards the catechist she whispered in Tamil :

‘Why don't you conclude the service ?’

‘Because we are waiting for your sermon, madam,’ was the embarrassing reply.

Robert Caldwell's experiences as a missionary before he became bishop were varied, and must often have aroused his sympathy for St. Paul when the apostle was dealing with his converts. One of the difficulties, which still remains with native Christians, is the position which the religion of Christ gives to woman. In the eyes of the Hindu she is an inferior creature whose chief duty is child-bearing, and she accepts this position, shaping her conduct accordingly. It is almost impossible in the present generation to persuade a modest, gentle Hindu woman who has embraced Christianity that she does not still occupy this traditional position.

The height of becoming conduct on the part of a Hindu bride at a heathen wedding is an exhibition of overwhelming modesty. The more shyness she can display the more admiration does she evoke. She neither speaks nor smiles from beginning to end of the ceremony. The consequence of this assumption of shyness is to make the bride late. It takes time to overcome her modesty sufficiently to allow of her being dressed. While her toilette is in progress she frequently has to be propped up against a wall; and even then, if not supported on either side by assistant bridesmaids who are usually drawn from the elder women of the family she allows herself to collapse and roll over helplessly, to the great admiration of the feminine portion of the family circle looking on.

In Christian weddings the old Hindu customs cling, and there is a difficulty in bringing the bride to church ;