. The small _Tulsi_ plant,
the common object of devotion amongst women, was the only visible
indication of idolatry. This plant was growing in one of the
courtyards on the sort of ornamental pedestal of brick and plaster
which is the usual arrangement. It was allowed in condescension to the
prejudices of the minority, and I was assured that it was only the few
who made use of it.

The high-caste Hindu woman has a grave and rather melancholy, lifeless
face, and the inmates of the Home were largely of this type. But they
did not look otherwise than contented, especially the younger ones.
But the impression left upon me, as I left the place and bade farewell
to the gifted and evidently most earnest Indian lady who showed me
over the establishment, was one of intense melancholy. Here was the
husk without the kernel. Consciously, or unconsciously, there was
much in the Widows' Home which was copied from Christian institutions,
and which never could have sprung out of Hinduism. If only Christ,
with all that He has to give, could be received into the Home, what
light and gladness He would bring into the hearts of these poor
gropers after truth! It is impossible to guess whether or no this
effort may be preparing the way for Christ in the distant future. At
present there is no indication that Christianity is a subject of
either interest or inquiry on the part of any of the inmates, except
for that visit which a few of them paid to our village church.

The serious flaw in the project, from a merely utilitarian point of
view, is that the future of these young women appears rather vague.
The demand for female Hindu teachers in India is at present small, and
a few only have found employment in this way. Three or four have
become nurses or midwives. Knitting, weaving, and other industrial
work has taken practical shape and may lead to something. But, so far,
only one student has accomplished remarriage, which is what would make
the Home a real blessing amongst Hindus. There are now a number of
educated men who feel the desirability of an accomplished wife who
could share in their interests and intellectual pursuits. The great
disparity of age between husband and wife, almost universal amongst
Hindus, is beginning to be recognised as an abuse, although the idea
still lingers, even amongst Indian Christians, that the husband
should always be rather the elder of the two. These young widows,
well-educated, trained, and disciplined by