The next morning I was to celebrate the Holy Eucharist, which, of
course, had to be in the church, in spite of the intruders. I went at
the appointed hour and found the Indian priest just beginning to make
preparations. Vestments and altar linen and many other things were
mixed up in a box, in complete disorder, and it took him a long time
to sort out what was needed, and when at last all was ready, the
result would have been heart-breaking to an English sacristan. Service
necessarily began long after the proper time, but that created neither
surprise nor annoyance. The fact being that defects of the kind are
not felt to be such by an Indian congregation, so that they did not in
any way diminish the influence for good of this excellent priest.

It is often the very stiffness and rigidity of English methods which
hinders their acceptability amongst Indian people. On the other hand,
the Indian priest is more patient in dealing with the people's
difficulties. Rustics in England relate the history of a quarrel, or
sickness, or death at great length. But their tale is brevity itself
compared to the Indian's story of a grievance, and he expects to be
listened to patiently till he has had his full say. This the Indian
priest readily does, and he himself is not wearied by the recital. But
the English priest, even before the end of the preface, has probably
said that he has no time to listen to all these details, and that they
must settle the matter amongst themselves.

The circumstances of the country at its present stage of development,
with a certain number of English, mostly official, gathered into
cantonments, or scattered here and there in isolated places, and a
limited but steadily increasing number of Indian Christians, who are
for the most part not in touch with the European element, make an
Indian bishop for any of the dioceses as at present constituted out of
the question. But there are certain country districts covering a wide
area in which the number of Indian Christians is very great. An Indian
suffragan bishop might well be given jurisdiction over one of these
areas. There are certainly some Indian priests fitted for such a
trust. The result would probably be a great growth of spiritual life,
and wholesome church organisation, and self-support. The tradition of
an Indian bishop for Indians getting established in this way there
would eventually, if he acquitted himself well in his limited sphere,
be no difficulty