I beg to dedicate this book to the friends of Christian Missions, in the hope it may increase the interest of some in that great Continent, with its teeming population, which has in God's providence come under the rule of our land, and has special claims on our prayers, sympathy, and efforts. I cannot doubt that my Indian friends, both those who have come back to England and those who are still in India, will give a kindly reception to the volume. They will, I believe, confirm the general accuracy of my statements, and to a large extent acquiesce in my views. With them so long as my heart beats it will go forth in heartiest wishes and fervent prayer for the land with which our past has so inseparably bound us. J. K. ACTON, August, 1884. [Illustration] CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. _From 1838 to 1839. Voyage to India and the City of Palaces._ Voyage. First Impressions of Calcutta. Changes since 1839. Messrs. Piffard and Lacroix. Schools. Visit to Serampore. 1 CHAPTER II. _Voyage to Benares--March, 1839._ Various Modes of Travelling. The Sunderbuns. Fellow-passengers. Storm. Study of Hindustanee. Scenes on the River and its Banks. 9 CHAPTER III. _Arrival at Benares._ The Rev. William Smith. Congregation of Beggars. The Rev. W. P. Lyon. Native Service. Settling down. 15 CHAPTER IV. _Missions in Benares from 1816 to 1839._ The Baptists first in the Field. Eurasian Agents. The Church Mission. London Mission. Orphanage of the Church Mission. 20 CHAPTER V. _1839 and 1840. First Year in Benares._ Views Enlarged and Modified. Study of Hindustanee. Undue Complacency. Study of the Native Character. Evangelistic Work. 27 CHAPTER VI. _First Year in Benares (continued)._ Class-feeling among Europeans. Eurasians. Climate in the North-West Provinces. Variety of Scenery and Climate in India. Experience of Climate during First Year. The Sufferings of Poor Natives in Winter. Homesickness. 34 CHAPTER VII. _The City of Benares._ Sherring's "Sacred City of the Hindus." Residents and Visitors. Commerce. Antiquity. Gautam's Ministry in the Sixth Century B.C. The Success of Buddhism. Its Overthrow. The Devotion of the City to Shiva. Muhammadans. A Trip on the River. The Principal Temple. Heathen Temples and Roman Worship. The Mosque of Aurungzeb. The Present City Modern. Beggars. Macaulay's Description of Benares. 49 CHAPTER VIII. _Benares as a Mission Sphere._ Hostility to the Gospel. Apostolic Labour in Great Cities. Robert Haldane's Project. Benares brought under British Rule in 1781. The Door opened for the Gospel. Bishop Heber. Benares as a Centre of Mission Work. 77 CHAPTER IX. _Second Year in Benares._