Page:The Land of the Veda.djvu/477

Rh to the Virgin Mother of the great Peace-maker might have been addressed to the Futtyghur martyrs, and the victims of Cawnpore and Bareilly, as well as to those who lived to see the great victory of deliverance, “Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” They did not suffer nor die in vain. Their endurance unto blood, and the valor of those who, against such odds, fought their way to their rescue, have taught the men of Hindustan a lesson that can never be forgotten. They have been whipped into the alarming consciousness that their colossal and venerable systems of religion, in which they trusted, are utterly powerless; that with civilization is strength; and that Christianity is both invincible and inevitable. They have lost confidence and hope in their own systems, and the “thoughts of their hearts” are “revealed” in the candid and singular remark made to us one day by an aged native, when we pressed him upon this subject, as with a sigh he exclaimed, “It is so, Sahib; for some reason that we don't understand God has left us and gone over to the Christian side! I suppose what you say is true. My children, or grandchildren, will probably be of your way of thinking. But I'm too old to change; I want to die in the faith of my fathers!” The tears flowed as he closed his remarks. They were shed because he felt that Hindooism is dying! And so it is; for already, thank God! the blood even of the Sepoy race flows in the veins of the Methodist ministry in Oude and Rohilcund, while their children are singing in our Christian schools and churches, “Hosannah to the Son of David!”