Press, Oxford); "Aids to Belief" (Elliot Stock), a series of studies
on the divine origin of Christianity by the Rev. W. H. Langthorne;
and a volume of sermons by the late Charles H. Spurgeon, which have
been published by Messrs. Passmore and Alabaster under the title
"The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit."
A Wolf-Boy.
[Illustration: (_Photo supplied by the Missionary Leaves Association._)
AS A BOY. THE WOLF-BOY OF SECUNDRA. AS A MAN.]
What was to be done with such a boy! The magistrate sahib of
Bulandshahr had heard of Romulus and Remus, but rational people
rejected the legend of their infancy. Yet here was a child of five
or six years of age, crawling on the ground before him, and the
statement of several witnesses that he had been smoked out of a
wolf's den could not be disputed. These men were natives of India.
Whilst travelling in a jungle of the Bulandshahr district, they
saw a queer though undoubted specimen of humanity crawl into a
hole. By the magistrate's order a fire was lighted at the mouth.
Out sprang a snarling and indignant mother-wolf, which, after
scattering the bystanders, fled for life. Behind her ran on all
fours a little boy, who was speedily secured and conveyed to the
magistrate. He was imbecile. He would eat no food but raw meat,
and he tore any clothing placed on him into shreds. The magistrate
sent him to the Church Missionary Orphanage at Secundra, a refuge
for between four and five hundred children, nearly all infants
picked up in the streets or by the roadside. There this child,
who was found on Saturday, February 4th, 1867, grew up into
manhood. On the same principle that Robinson Crusoe called his man
Friday, the wolf-boy was named Sanichar, or Saturday. By degrees
a certain amount of intelligence and a decided religious instinct
developed. He became gentle and sociable, and ready with cheerful
unselfishness to share the many little presents he received with
his companions. He attached himself with great affection to one of
the caretakers. On the death of this man, Sanichar in dumb sorrow
and bewilderment looked from one to another of his friends for an
explanation. They pointed to the grave, and then to the sky. The
boy was deeply impressed, and ever afterwards, if he felt ill, he
would feign sleep, and point first to the ground and then to the
sky. He never learnt to speak, but perhaps he was trying to convey
the impression that he looked forward to following his dear friend.
Two other wolf-boys and one wolf-girl were brought to the Secundra
orphanage, but they died soon afterwards. Whether they had been cast
out by their parents or kidnapped by the inveterate robber-wolves
of the district could not be discovered. They were a witness that
tenderness, too often lost in heathenism, may be found in one of
the most rapacious beasts. With hundreds of little outcasts under
Christian care, they tell of a Father above who remembers even
though parents may forget their children.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account