“In one of the pagodas at Puttur there resides a learned Pandaram who is generally friendly and does not seem entirely to reject instruction. We both seated ourselves on a bank of earth near a street. This brought together a concourse of inhabitants. The Pandaram said: ‘My chief question to you again and again has been this: How shall I arrive at a knowledge of God whom I cannot see?’ I replied, ‘It has often been stated to you that heaven and earth declare the glory of God. Reflect then attentively on the creation and you will soon be convinced that no other than an Almighty, All-wise and All-gracious Being produced it. This Creator we ought in justice to reverence and adore, but you render this honour to the creature and not to the Creator.’ ‘This,’ said he, ‘is all good but it does not satisfy me, this knowledge is not of the kind I seek.’ ‘Well,’ I said, ‘do you desire to have a clearer and more perfect knowledge? God has in great goodness afforded it. He has taken compassion on ignorant man and given freely to him His word and true law, whenever He has revealed all the doctrines which are necessary to the attainment of everlasting happiness. He has made known to men, rebellious, corrupt, and lost, the Saviour of the world, as the restorer of forfeited blessedness and the way in which that salvation is to be attained. In short, all that can make us holy and happy is in this word of God made known to mankind. Read and meditate upon it with prayer to God, so will it become clear to you. Compare it also with your heathen instruction and the superiority of the Divine word will soon be discovered.’ “‘Still,’ said he, ‘this is not enough, for even if I read this I cannot rightly conceive the idea of what God is.’ “‘Well,’ I replied, ‘one thing is wanting to you, namely, _experience_. Lay your heathenism aside; follow the word of God in every point and pray to Him for light and power. Then I may assure you that you will say “Now I am like one who could not, from any description, understand the nature of honey but now I have tasted it and know what honey really is”.’” Then as now too often the argument against Christianity is the inconsistency of those who profess to believe in it. This strikes a Mohammedan, for instance, very much, and while it is, of course, no logical excuse, he will make much of it to the detriment of the power of the Gospel. Schwartz met with this on every hand; Anglo-Indian Society was not at a very high moral water mark in the days of the Company, and it did not escape the criticism of those dark and watchful native eyes. There is an incident which illustrates the position at Trichinopoly in the year 1768.