Page:The Land of the Veda.djvu/233

Rh us from America. On the Sabbath we had two services—at eleven o'clock in the Hindustanee language, conducted by Joel, at which our family and a few natives attended; after this service we had our class-meeting, led by myself, six persons (Mrs. B., Joel and his wife, Ann, and Isaac, and Maria) being present, Joel translating for me what had to be said in Hindustanee. In the afternoon I held a little English service, at which a few of the officers and civilians attended. On Tuesday evening, also, we had an Hindustanee service, and an English one on Thursday. Thus our work opened, but it was truly “the day of small things.”

The year in which I arrived in India saw the introduction of new arrangements for arming the Sepoy army. Instead of the old “Brown Bess,” or regulation musket, with which they had hitherto fought the battles of the British, the rulers of India concluded to arm their Sepoys with the new Enfield rifle. For this weapon a peculiar cartridge had to be prepared, samples of which had been sent out from England to be manufactured at the arsenal of Dum Dum, eight miles from Calcutta. The rifles were distributed to the forces, and the wily Fakirs, ever on the look-out for something new to foment disaffection and distrust, at once declared that these, too, were a part of the insidious plan to injure their faith. The Sepoys received them with suspicion. Lock, stock, and barrel were taken asunder and carefully scrutinized, but nothing dangerous to their faith could be discovered. Yet the Fakirs had assured them there was danger, and that settled the matter.

Then came the intense excitement about the “greased cartridges” for these guns, the purpose being, I suppose, to lubricate the bore of the rifle. It was given out that this grease was “a compound of hogs' lard and bullocks' fat.” Only those who have lived among these people, and realized what a horror the Mohammedan has of the hog, and what a reverence the Hindoo has for the cow, can appreciate the storm of excitement and frenzy this simple announcement caused through the whole Bengal army. The Fakirs exultantly pointed to the alleged fact as corroborating all they had asserted of the designs of the English against their religions.