center of the grand enclosure
stands a beautiful white pagoda, with wreaths of gold about its graceful
spire. The long rows of little temples, with their attempt to preserve
the holy book in an enduring form, are a monument to the faith of King
Thebaw's uncle who planned it. Few people, however, read the writing
upon the stones. For any practical result it is necessary to have the
law of the Lord written upon the tables of the heart.

The descent from Mandalay Hill was even more hazardous than the ascent,
for we were in continual danger of slipping from our chairs and knocking
over the bearers. We were profoundly grateful when we reached the level
ground again and found that we had survived. Our experiences with
Buddhism were instructive. The saffron robes of the omnipresent priests
and monks undoubtedly cover much laziness and much willingness to depend
for a living upon others. But every Burman boy expects to spend some
time, though it may be only a week or a month, in a monastery. There he
usually learns to read, though his main work is that of memorizing
certain portions of the Buddhist scriptures. So far as I have been able
to learn, there are no positive immoralities connected with Buddhistic
worship. The example of Buddha has in it some worthy elements, such as
the renunciation of earthly and sensual ambitions. But Buddhism, for all
that, is a pessimistic religion. It denies to man the existence of a
soul, and it gives him no hope for anything but practical extinction.
Buddha no longer lives to help his worshipers. In the struggle with sin,
there is no atonement for the transgressions of the past, and no
prospect of perfection in the future. Hence the preaching of Christ,
crucified for our sins and ever present with his people, is to the
Buddhist a revelation so novel and so entrancing, that it captivates and
transforms him. Christianity humbles pride, but it saves the soul. It
shows the impossibility of obtaining salvation by merit of our own, and
our absolute dependence upon the grace of God. Christianity awakens
gratitude, and leads to unselfish devotion. It turns a Saul into a Paul,
and makes him a missionary and a hero.

Gauhati is the present capital of Assam, as Mandalay was once the
capital of Burma. Like Burma, Assam is overrun by Hindus, who seek
employment in the tea-plantations and in every other species of labor.
These Hindus have brought their religion with them, and in Assam the
animistic religio