n had done reading, I
gave a short address on the plan of salvation, and an exhortation to
repent and believe in Christ." When this first little sermon was
preached in Goobbe, Daniel and his wife had been living there several
years. This day was the commencement of a new era in Daniel's life.
Hitherto, from his youth up, though he despised idol-worship, he knew
nothing about the one true God. Like his neighbours, he believed there
were millions of gods, who filled various offices in the government of
the world. He had heard of many incarnations of the chief deities,
whose good and evil actions are recorded in books held sacred by the
Hindoos. He had very confused notions about a future state, but thought
there would be a `judgment' of some kind, followed by rewards and
punishments. Also, like all other Hindoos, he was of opinion that when
a man dies his soul does not go direct to heaven or to hell, but that it
passes into some other body: it may be the body of a human being, or it
may be into that of a beast, a bird, a fish, or an insect. And then,
after millions of migrations like these, the soul either finds a
permanent state of existence according to its fate, or its identity is
lost by being absorbed into deity.

Shortly after Daniel heard the first Gospel sermon, Mr Franklin, an
assistant Missionary, was sent by Mr Hodson from Bangalore to Goobbe,
to make certain arrangements for building a mission-house. With him
Daniel had long and interesting conversations. He says: "I was walking
one morning with Mr Franklin outside the town of Goobbe, looking at
some land which he thought would be suitable for building a
mission-house upon, and, turning, he saw some tombs. He took hold of my
hand, and said, `What are those?' I replied, `They are tombs--that is,
the place where the dead are buried.' He added: `You and I must die and
be buried. We shall turn to dust; but there will be a resurrection of
the bodies of all men, the raised body will be re-united with its soul,
and dwell for, ever either in happiness or in misery. The true
worshippers of the one true God will go to heaven, and the others to
hell. These truths are written in the Christian's _Shastras_. Mr
Hodson and I intend coming to live at Goobbe, and then we will teach all
the people the way to heaven.' I was not much impressed with what he
said about the Christian Scriptures, but replied, `When Mr Hodson
comes, I hope I shall be employed by him a