Page:The Land of the Veda.djvu/545

Rh which had sent us out would ever be strong enough to attempt more than the limited task which had been proposed by Dr. Butler, and approved by our authorities at home. In those days a favorite idea, which was much talked about, and sincerely cherished by most leading missionary authorities, was that of dividing the heathen world into sections, each of which was to be assigned to some particular branch of the Christian Church in Europe or America, and thus the whole work distributed in such a way as to secure the most rapid consummation of the task, and also the best possible conservation of labor. Our own missionaries accepted this view, without giving it very much thought, and certainly without any misgiving as to its practical wisdom. As we then looked at the situation, the great empire of India was to be evangelized, and our share of the common work was the little field on the eastern side of the upper Ganges, where we had pitched our tents and hoisted our banners.

Before many years had elapsed, it began to be felt among us that the circumstances of the country were changing. Great lines of railway had been projected immediately after the mutiny, and as these, one after another, began to be opened, the people of India were quick to discover that the former isolated conditions, under which they had lived from time immemorial, were giving place to an entirely new order of things. Distant points were brought close together; long journeys could be made in a few hours; the ancient pilgrimages began to lose nearly all their merit when made upon comfortable railway trains instead of being prosecuted by long and painful marches on foot; provinces separated by wide distances of space seemed to be made neighbors, and people who had never seen one another before were brought into close contact. Almost immediately it was perceived that converts to Christianity would inevitably become more active and enterprising than other portions of the community, and that it would be impossible to expect them to remain within narrow provincial limits where their forefathers had chanced to reside. As these converts