s den than that man's monastery.

But he is a temple saint, wise in the wisdom of his creed; earthly,
sensual, devilish. Look at him till you feel as if you had seen him. Let
the photo do its work. It is loathsome--yes, _but true_.

Now, put a flower in his hand--a human flower this time. Now put beside
him, if you can, a little girl--your own little girl--and leave her
there--_yes, leave her there in his hand_.

CHAPTER XXV

Skirting the Abyss

"The first thing for us all is to _see_ and _feel_
the great need, and to create a sentiment among
Christian people on this subject. One of the
characteristics of this great system is its
secrecy--its subtlety. So few _know_ of the evils
of child-marriage, it is so hidden away in the
secluded lives and prison homes of the people. And
those of us who enter beyond these veils, and go
down into these homes, are so apt to feel that it
is a case of the inevitable, and nothing can be
done."
_Mrs. Lee, India._

I HAVE been to the Great Lake Village to-day trying again to find out
something about our little girl. I went to the Hindu school near the
temple. The schoolmaster is a friend of ours, one of the honourable men
of the village from which they took that flower. He was drilling the
little Brahman boys as they stood in a row chanting the poem they were
learning off by heart; but he made them stop when he saw us coming, and
called us in.

I asked him about the child. It was true. She was in the temple,
"married to the stone." Yes, it was true they had taken her there that
day.

I asked if the family were poor; but he said, "Do not for a moment think
that poverty was the cause. Certainly not. Our village is not poor!" And
he looked quite offended at the thought. I knew the village was rich
enough, but had thought perhaps that particular family might be poor,
and so tempted to sell the little one; but he exclaimed with great
warmth, Certainly not. The child was a relative of his own; there was no
question of poverty!

We had left the school, and were talking out in the street facing the
temple house. I looked at it, he looked at it. "From hence a passage
broad, smooth, easy, inoffensive, down to hell"; he knew it well. "Yes,
she is a relative of my own," he continued, and explained minutely the
degree of relationship. "