“Several years ago, in a village near Madura, a Brahmin named Sokappen read in one of the sacred Hindu books, that near the temple of his village there was a spring far under ground, and that if one would only dig deep enough water would flow at that spring from the Ganges, while the river itself was more than eleven hundred miles away. The Brahmin thought that would be a glorious work to do, and so worked for years, spending all his own money and begging from others, until he had finished a great, tank and walled it with hewn stone, with stone steps leading down to the sacred water. He finally heard of Christ, and of the forgiveness he offered, and since then he has often preached that only the blood of Christ can take away sin. [Illustration: TEMPLE OF THE SACRED FOUNTAIN.] “Though many people of India have now heard the Gospel, there are yet millions who have faith in their sacred bathing places. Those who live too far from the Ganges find some river, if they can, as at Mowli, where two rivers, the Yenna and the Krishna, meet, and where multitudes bathe. The dead, also, are taken there, some to be buried, as was the ‘saint’ whom Mr. Bruce describes, and others to be burned, that their ashes may be mingled with the sacred waters. In the district of Tinnevelly, South India, is a famous artificial tank. It is sometimes called the ‘Sea of Sacred Milk.’ Granite steps lead down to the water’s edge, and in the early morning hundreds of men and women gather to bathe and to worship the sun. The water is stagnant and dirty, though it is esteemed as specially holy. Here the people wash not only themselves, but also their clothes. The cost of building these bathing places is immense, yet the people build them in many parts of India because they think that, at any cost, provision should be made for the removal of sin. They know of no better way than by bathing in these filthy places.” HINDU HOLY MEN, DEVOTEES AND FAKIRS. [Illustration: THE FAKIR OF THE IMMOVABLE FOOT.] [Illustration: THE HOLY MAN WITH THE IRON COLLAR.]