they were playing in the garden together, and he would jump on her and soil her frock with his dirty paws; and then, to make matters worse, mistaking her frock for the coat of an enemy in his doggish absence of mind, he shook it, and growled, and tore a great rent. What a rough fellow he was! Poor Grace! she was a very neat little girl, and could not rest if untidy; so she gave Carlo a scolding and a slap, and would not be friends any more with him that day. She came into the house very sad, but in about half an hour she crept out to where he was basking on his mat, unconscious of his disgrace and disfavour, and made peace with him, putting her hands on his great shaggy back, and saying:

"Poor Carlo, you did not mean to be naughty, I know, and I was wrong to be so angry; I will not be so again; so give me your paw, and let us make it up and be good friends."

Of course Carlo was magnanimous enough to do so, and they were soon playing together again.

As we have said before, the servants loved the very mention of her name; for she never spoke an unkind word to them, or treated them rudely. On Sunday evenings Colonel and Mrs.

Ogilvie usually went to church, and left her at home with Tara and the other servants. Then Grace would choose some simple Bible story with which she was familiar, and would tell it to her astonished audience; then, kneeling down, she would pray for them—that they should not serve idols any more, but love the Lord Jesus Christ, and him alone. Simple as the petition was, and childlike, we cannot doubt but that it reached the ear of God; and the passage is true, "Cast thy bread upon the waters, and thou shalt find it after many days."

After these little services the servants always left the room shaking their turbaned heads gravely, and saying:

"Missy Baba berry clebber! berry clebber!"

CHAPTER III.

A HEATHEN FESTIVAL.

"In vain with lavish kindness

The gifts of God are strewn ;—
The heathen in his blindness

Bows down to wood and stone."

HE religious customs of the Hindoos force themselves upon the notice of the travel

ler from the West. There are idols of every shade and hue, from Brahma, Vishnu, and Seeva, supposed to represent the Trinity, down to the many hideous, terror-inspiring creatures adored and venerated by the Hindoo -creatures so horrible and diabolical in their appearance, that you wonder who designed them, and what horrible nightmare he was afflicted with when he first conceived their form. But their appearance is comparatively harmless contrasted with their acts, such as are

related of them; and we can only get a just idea of the purity of the holy Gospel by comparing it with the teachings of Hindoo mythology.

The festivals of these heathen gods are often very frightful. Scenes are enacted at them too horrible to be described. Sometimes the

idol is placed in a lofty car or chariot, decorated with rich cloths, flags, and banners. Long ropes are fixed to the car, and hundreds of persons catch hold of them, and drag it round the temple. The devotees throw themselves on the ground before it, and are often much injured, or even crushed to death, by the ponderous wheels. At other festivals, the worshippers have hooks fixed into their backs, and swing to and fro for half an hour or an hour. The longer they can bear the torture, the more acceptable they suppose it to be to the idol god. The noise of drums, trumpets, and the shouts of the people, add to the frightfulness of the scenes. When at night the darkness is lit up by the glare of torches and fires, it seems as though it was a crowd of demons rather than human beings gathered together. Well may the prophet say that "the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty."

At the time of which I am speaking, an important religious ceremony was exciting great attention amongst the Mohammedans. It was a period of great excitement-one of

the great feasts. Immense paper-pyramids, towering high up into the air, are borne along the streets by the faithful. Formed of silver and bright-coloured papers, adorned

C