Chapter XII
RESCUE WORK DURING THE FAMINE OF I9OO
" The servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the
heart." Eph. vi. 7. WHEN Ramabai was making her garden at the
Sharada Sadan in years gone by, she plan-
ned to have a fernery around a fountain.
Ferns were brought from the Ghauts at Lanouli, or
Khandalla, where in the rainy season they adorn in
profusion the sides of the rocky hills, clothing their na-
tive barrenness with a garment of tender and lovely
green. Baskets of these ferns can always be purchased
for a few annas at the railway stations on the Ghauts,
and many people take them home and transplant them,
but they rarely survive the operation—they are rock-
grown, and will not root in ordinary garden soil. This
was also Ramabai's experience. But she meant to have
a fernery, and nothing daunted by failure, she hired two
bullock carts, and went off one day to a river-side some
twenty miles distant, where she knew she would find
what she wanted. She brought back quantities of
146 PANDITA RAMABAI
beautiful maiden-hair, roots, soil, and all, and planted
her fernery, which flourishes to this day.
It is this characteristic of determination and perse-
verance that has been a large factor in the human side
of her work. Ramabai ascribes all the glory to God,
and looks upon herself as solely an instrument in His
hands. But she is a polished instrument, and will have
the reward of those who have placed all their talents out
at highest interest in God* service. Her versatility is
a constant source of wonder to her friends. In a recent
Report of the Ramabai Association, Mrs. Andrews
wrote
" Do you ask if she is equal to doing so many things,
and doing them well—of buying and building, of plan-
ning and executing, of farming and teaching? Dr.
Hale's words, uttered years ago, are as true now as then,
and will answer the question : * This little woman, who
has had this remarkable success with audiences; who
has had the wit to think out this combination of circles
which work together so well, goes back to India. The
chances were ninety-nine out of a hundred that she
would have wasted the whole of her money. There are
very excellent people, who can do something of what
she has done, who have not the slightest executive ca-
pacity; and it ought to be said that. most people who
talk well, as she does, are singularly destitute of the
power of working well. . . . But here this wonderful
RESCUE WORK 147
little woman who has roused the whole country, and has
raised this sum of money, and has organized all this
thing, goes out there and proves to be a first-rate edu-
cator. And she proves to be a first-rate buyer, and a
first-rate person to get on with contractors/ "
We may add to this that she is a capable farmer, and
a poet of no mean order. In the Kindergarten, which
is a part of her educational work, training the older
girls to teach the little ones, many of the action songs
used in English schools have been aptly translated into
Marathi by Ramabai. She has also enriched the song
of the Marathi Christian Church with a number of
beautiful hymns to English as well as Indian tunes.
And the spring of all her inspiration is love to God
and man, kindled by that love of Christ which con-
strains to spend and be spent, and to suffer for others. Ramabai tells how in one part of her father's house, when she was but nine years old, there lived a poor
family. The family consisted of a man of thirty years
of age, his girl-wife of sixteen, and his old mother. The mother-in-law was all the worst that is implied by
that name in India—a heartless old hag, always beat-
ing, abusing, and cruelly treating her daughter-in-law. One day when the girl was spinning, a monkey stole her
cotton. For this carelessness the girl was abused by
the mother-in-law, who nagged the husband on to beat
her. Ramabai adds : " I was an eye-witness to all
148 PANDITA RAMABAI
this. Her piercing cries went right to my heart ; and I
seem to hear them now after nearly thirty years. My
childish heart was filled with indignation. I was
powerless to help. But I have never forgotten that
poor girl's cries for help ; and I suppose it was the first
call I received to enter upon the sacred duty of helping my sisters according to the little strength I had. But
I never realized the extent of grief and suffering and
the need of my sisters just as long as I remained in
darkness, and had no love of God in me."
The funds raised in England in the autumn of 1899
for the new rescue building were doubly welcome. An-
other famine had broken out in India, and this time the
country around Khedgaon was more deeply affected.
This money came in time of need to employ many starv-
ing people in the erection of the rescue home. And
Ramabai found herself obliged to make the needs of
her starving neighbours known, and to help many with
work and the more helpless with alms. This new
famine increased in severity, and added trouble was
caused by the scarcity of water. Still Ramabai's heart
went out to the poor wandering and starving high-caste
widows.
In Bombay Presidency and the Central Provinces
organized relief work met to some extent the needs of
the people ; but in Gujerat, in which there had been no
famine for one hundred years, and in Rajputana, a ter-
RESCUE WORK 149
rible state of things existed ; and Ramabai felt she must
go and gather some of the poor girls from these places.
She knew that the emissaries of evil were busy already,
and felt she must be up and doing. She waited on God
to know His mind about it. She writes : " The treas-
ury was quite empty; and when the quarterly balance
sheet was prepared in the middle of October, there was
no balance left at all. Reports of the widespread
famine and the wicked traffic in girls reached me from
many sides. Still there was nothing to be done except
to wait and pray. The Lord did not try my faith very
long. The very next day a cheque for Rs.272-2-0 was
sent for Mukti, and another daily need was supplied in
a wonderful manner. It was then made clear to me
that I must step out in faith, and receive as many girls
as the Lord would have me reach. So the work was
begun at once. Workers were stationed at different
places to search for young girls. There was no money
for buying material to build new sheds, so some old
material was gathered, and a shed was prepared to shel-
ter the newcomers."
Ramabai was happy in having some good workers to
send on this errand. They have done the greater part
of the work, though Ramabai paid, at least, three visits
herself to the most terribly afflicted districts. She says
of these women that they have shared all the hardships
in the famine relief work. " Gangabai, who has been in
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this work from the beginning, has gone through many
hardships. She has spared neither strength nor time
to do all she can for the famine girls. She is a splendid
worker, called of God to gather many girls, and seems
to have a special gift in this line of work. Kashibai
and Bhimabai are both converts from Hinduism,
Kashibai gave up her comfortable home, her husband,
and all, for the sake of following the Master when He
called her. She is a very simple woman, very timid
and unacquainted with the wisdom of the world.
Bhimabai was a Hindu Fakir, had travelled a great
deal, visited many sacred shrines, bathed in the sacred
rivers and tanks to have her sins washed away ; but all
to no purpose. At last the Lord took compassion on
her and revealed Himself to her as the Saviour of her
soul ; and now she is a happy Christian, preaching the
Gospel to hundreds of village women.
" These three simple and almost illiterate women,
protected by the strong and mighty hand of God, have
travelled alone for hundreds of miles in jungles, vil-
lages, cities, on highways and byways, in search of
starving and dying young girls. They have walked for
miles in the burning sun; gone without food and rest;
worked incessantly for the salvation of the dying hun-
dreds. Their work will be recorded in the Book of the
Lamb ; for no one who has not borne the hardships of
work among famine-stricken people, and been with
RESCUE WORK 151
them for days and nights, can appreciate their labour and know what they have to endure. I see the Gospel
declaration— i Corinth, i. 26-29 ^—verified when I see
these and other simple Christian women used of the Lord for His service. They are doing a work from which many a mighty man would shrink.
" It is but a small thing to fight a great battle and win
a victory with many titles, compared with the heroism
of such women. They must be truly blind who cannot
see the strength and high courage which the Spirit of
Christ gives to the most timid and despised women of
this country. I have more than one hundred noble young women in my schools alone who are nobly sacri-
ficing their comfort, even their lives, in the service of
their sisters. Since their conversion to Christ they are
so changed that one who was acquainted with them be-
fore they were Christians could hardly recognise them
now. God be praised for His wondrous love, which
can turn the selfish, unruly, and devilish heart, and re-
flect into it the beautiful image of His meek and loving
^" For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: that no flesh should glory in his presence."
152 PANDITA RAMABAI
Son! It rejoices my heart to see some of the girls
saved from the last famine going out into the famine
districts with my workers to save the lives of their
perishing sisters in the present famine [1900].
" It is hard work to gather and save girls and young
women. Their minds have been filled with such a dread
toward Christian people, that they cannot appreciate the
kindness shown them. For instance, many of the un-
converted girls in my homes have a great fear in their
mind. They think that some day after they are well
fattened they will be hung head downward, and a great
fire will be built underneath, and oil will be extracted
from them to be sold at a fabulously large price for
medical purposes. Others think they will be put into
oil mills, and their bones ground. It is only lately that
our girls gathered from the last famine have begun to
lose these dreadful thoughts ; but the minds of the new
one are filled with more dreadful ideas than these.
They cannot understand that any one would be kind to
them without some selfish purpose.
" Bad men have succeeded in gathering large num-
bers of girls by enticing them away, and selling them to
a bad life. It is too shocking to the refined feeling of
refined people; but facts are facts, and Christian
mothers ought to know them, that they may be promp-
ted to pray and to work hard for the salvation of young
girls—^perhaps of the same age as their own sweet
RESCUE WORK 153
daughters. Let the thought and love of our daughters move our mother-hearts to come forward and save as many of the perishing young girls as we can. I have found out to my great horror and sorrow that over
twelve per cent, of the girls rescued by my workers have
been ruined for life, and had to be separated from the
other girls and placed in the Rescue Home. The bodies
of some of these poor girls are so frightfully diseased
that there is no hope for their recovery.
" The Word of God says * :
' Open thy mouth for the dumb In the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction.'
And woe will be to me if I do not obey the command,
even at the cost of losing the favour of the high and mighty of this world. Many a careless official has allowed children to be taken away by people who will turn
the boys and girls into slaves and concubines. The poor children who have been sheltered in poorhouses and eaten food from the hands of people of other caste,
will not be taken back into their caste, but will be in
lifelong slavery if they are 'adopted' by Hindus or Mohammedans. The Contagious Diseases Act, which
has again come into force under the name of Cantonments Act is a great power on the side of the devil, and enables wicked people to carry
*pRov. xxxi. 8.
154 PANDITA RAMABAI
on their evil traffic in girls for the * benefit ' of the
British soldiers. Missionaries and others in their res-
cue work have found it much more difficult to get girls
than to gather boys from famine districts. Men and women who are engaged in this traffic in flesh and blood
were very busy for months gathering girls before any
of the relief works and poorhouses were started.
Whenever they saw any of the Christian people coming
to the rescue of the girls, they started such alarms and
told such dreadful stories about Christians, that in many
cases the girls refused to place themselves in charge of
Christians* schools, and have gone to their destruction."
The foregoing vivid description from Ramabai's own
pen is a portion of a Report issued by her in May,
1900. A few more extracts from the same, concern-
ing the present condition and progress of the Mukti
school, will bring my narrative near to its close.
" From a small beginning of temporary character, the
Mukti s.chool has grown into a permanent and large
institution. Three hundred girls rescued from starva-
tion in 1897 have received regular secular and Chris-
tian instruction. They are the children of many
prayers ; much love and labour have been bestowed on
them; and I am able to say, with great joy, that the
workers have not laboured in vain. The money which
so many friends have sent for them has not been spent
in vain. The Lord is very good to let us see the fruit
RESCUE WORK 155
of our labour; and He is giving us abundant joy as we
see the girls growing in grace and proving themselves
worthy of the love and labour bestowed on them.
" Five hundred and eighty in the Mukti Sadan, and
sixty girls in the Krapa Sadan,* are being trained to
lead a useful Christian life. The number of the in-
mates of these homes is doubled, and will increase as
days pass by. God is greatly blessing the work, and
the prayers of our friends in all parts of the world
are answered daily. Including the hundred girls of
the Sharada Sadan, I have altogether nearly seven
hundred and fifty girls under training. It will be easily
imagined that they need a large number of teachers
and helpers to train them. I have only sixteen paid
teachers from outside in these homes. There are
eighty-five other persons to help me in the three in-
stitutions. Thirty-three teachers, ten matrons, and
forty-two workers in different branches of industry,
are daily labouring for the good of their sisters and
their own improvement. Although they are dependent
on these schools for their daily bread, they may be said
to earn their own living, as most of them receive no
pay, or have but nominal pay. The Sharada Sadan
has trained seventy teachers and workers in the past
eleven years; and the Mukti school has trained nearly
'Kripa Sadan—Home of Grace—is the name of the Rescue Home started last year.
156 PANDITA RAMABAI
eighty girls to earn their own living in the past three
years. Eighty-five of the old and new girls have found
work in their own mother institutions; and sixty-five
of the old girls are either married or earning their liv-
ing as teachers and workers in different places.
" A question has often been asked, namely : What
is going to become of all these girls? It is not diffi-
cult to answer it. India is a large country, and a vast
amount of ignorance prevails everywhere. Men and women of education and character are needed, to en-
lighten this and the coming generation. I have had a
hundred requests from missionaries and superintendents
of schools to give them trained teachers, Bible-women,
or matrons. I have had quite as many, perhaps more,
requests from young men to give them educated wives.
It will not be difficult to find good places and comforta-
ble homes for all these young girls when the proper
time comes. My heart is burdened with the thought
that there are more than one hundred and forty-five
millions of women in this country who need to have
the light of the knowledge of God's love given them!
All the work that is being done by missionaries and their
assistants in this vast land is but a drop in the ocean.
It will be very small help to add our particle to that
drop. But every particle added will increase the drop;
so it will be multiplied, and permeate the ocean un^il
it becomes a stream of the living water that flows
RESCUE WORK 157
from under the throne of God, to give life and joy
to this nation. My aim is to train all these girls to do some work or other. Over two hundred of the pres-
ent number have much intelligence, and promise to
be good school teachers after they receive a few years'
training. Thirty of the bigger girls have joined a
training class for nurses. Some of them have mastered
the trade of oil-making. Others have learnt to do laun-
dry work, and some have learnt dairy work. More
than sixty have learnt to cook very nicely. Fifty or more have had some training in field work; but want
of rain has stopped that branch of our industry, which
will, I hope, be started again after the rain falls. Forty
girls have learnt to weave nicely; and more than fifty
have learnt to sew well, and make their own garments. The rest, small and large, are learning to do some work
with ' the three Rs.'
" One of the smaller girls rescued from starvation in
the last famine is taking charge of a few of our blind
girls. Miss Abrams very kindly taught her to read
the blind characters. The girl herself is studying
hard while engaged in teaching the blind girls to
read the Scriptures. Besides reading the Scriptures
she teaches them tables, mental arithmetic, and
geography, in her spare hours. She sees to their
bathing, taking meals at proper times, and can be seen
going about her work with her family of the blind and
158 PANDITA RAMABAI
feeble-minded girls. Her heart goes out to the weak
and friendless ; and, as soon as she sees some one who
is not loved by other girls, she befriends her and takes
charge of her at once. She is a truly converted Chris-
tian girl, trying to follow in the steps of her Divine
Saviour. This and other instances of converted girls
endeavouring to do what they can to alleviate the suffer-
ings of their sisters while yet in school and busy with
their work, are a great encouragement to us workers, who thank God for being so good as to let us see that
our labours are not lost.
" Some girls who are not intellectually bright have
a mother's heart, which is full of love for children.
They are appointed as matrons, and have small groups
of children under their charge, and love and care for
them. These very girls, who are so gentle and loving
now, were very wild, greedy, and selfish, before their
conversion to Christ. One would hardly have believed
that they could ever be so changed and become what
they are now. But the Scripture says nothing is im-
possible with God. His love has won their hearts, and He has made them new creatures in Christ. It must
not, however, be understood that our schooland mis-
sion, and the workers connected with them, are models
of perfection. We are all very defective, make many
mistakes, and our flesh many a time gets the better of
us. You will find many faults in us, if you look out for
RESCUE WORK 159
them. The Lord knows that we are nothing but dust.
But He in His supreme love does not give us up for
lost, but chastens and brings us back into the right
way, and lets us know why He chastised us. We thank Him with all our hearts for His unspeakable love and
mercy.
" Most of my helpers have joined the Bible Train-
ing Class taught by Miss Abrams. The daily study
of the Word of God has made them willing workers.
' The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.' We have found that nothing helps so much to make
matters straight as the study of God's Word. Out of
this Bible Training Class I hope there will rise a train-
ed band of Bible-women, who will take the Gospel to
their sisters in their own homes. Some girls have al-
ready begun to go about in the villages around here.
They are working as Zenana Bible-women and Sun-
day School teachers in their spare time.
*' Khedgaon is by no means a romantic place. The
girls have to walk a long distance in the burning sun,
bare-footed and without umbrellas, to go to bathe by
the wells. They have to rise as early as four in the
morning in order to get their day's work done. . . .
School is always closed on Saturdays, Sundays, and
other festival days. In long holidays, as in May and
December, they have to do some little work in order
to keep their minds busy. The girls who cook in the
i6o PANDITA RAMABAI
morning have to rise as early as two o'clock. Two
classes, having twenty-five or thirty girls in each, have
to cook and serve by turns. Those who cook in the
morning have their rest in the afternoon. Their time
of work is changed after a few weeks. When one
class has mastered the work assigned to it, another
takes up the work, and the former one begins to learn
something else. In this way all the girls are trained
to do almost every kind of work done here. All get
from seven to eight hours' sleep. They are neither
over-fed nor get too delicate food; but none of them
are under-fed. They get three good meals a day, as a
rule. The weak and sick ones, as well as the very
little children, have milk and other nourishing food. We have a regularly trained hospital nurse—a good
Christian woman—to look after the sanitary condition
of the place. She has a large band of girls working
under her. No time, labour, or money, has been spar-
ed to save life and make the girls comfortable. But
weakness produced by prolonged starvation, and the
extreme heat caused by want of rain, have been diffi-
cult to cope with. Yet I cannot but thank God out of
the fulness of my heart for so wonderfully protecting
so many hundreds of lives from plague and famine.
Although life at Khedgaon is hard, the girls look fat
and healthy, and are full of spirits. I find that hard
work makes better women of the girls. The easy and
RESCUE WORK i6i
comfortable city life is, of course, preferred by the
flesh; but life in places like Khedgaon, with fewer
comforts and harder work, is more conducive to bodily
and spiritual health." A member of the Poona and Indian Village Mission, who visited Ramabai about this time, writes : " As we
walked through the extensive grounds of Mukti Home,
I was deeply interested to learn how the Lord has led
this child of His to double the capacity of Mukti in
a few short months. * When I determined to rescue
hundreds in Gujerat last August, I had not a pice
in hand; but after the determination had been made,
the Lord sent Rs.242, she said : * this money was an
earnest of thousands sent during the months to fol-
low.'
" We paused in our walk before a substantially built
stone wall, eighteen inches thick and four hundred
feet long, partially roofed over by tiles ; running parallel
at a distance of eight or ten feet another stone wall
will be built a few feet high, and thus, partitioned at
intervals of fifty feet, eight dormitories will be ready when the monsoons break. These walls were entirely
built of the stones taken from the ground in the excava-
tion of four wells. A little further on, I observed a
temporary building without walls, hedged about with
prickly branches, making an exit impossible. ' This
ward,' said Ramabai, * is for children having infectious
i62 PANDITA RAMABAI
diseases/ In other buildings were children in various
stages of weakness. There were little ones in cots, so
emaciated that one wondered how the spark of life
had been preserved; there were weakly ones able to
totter about—children who had grown prematurely old
through suffering, but who, with careful attention and
nourishing food, such as arrowroot, condensed foods,
and milk, would be able to study and to work in six
months' time. How could one help but praise God
for bestowing such kindness and care upon these waifs ?
It was a pleasure to learn that an Indian Christian
trained nurse was teaching some of the older orphan
girls to serve in that capacity. Out of eighty teachers
and helpers in Mukti Home, sixty-four are old or-
phan scholars, most of whom were rescued in 1897. 'Are they truly converted women?' I asked. I shall
not soon forget the look on Ramabai's face and her
words: *Yes; they are truly converted; it would be
impossible for them patiently to care for such repulsive
and loathsome cases if the grace of God was not in their
hearts.' There was much to praise God for, in all that
one saw and heard that memorable evening. Here in
Mukti Home were scores who had been truly converted
to God ; and in a few months' time there will be proba-
bly a thousand^ in the shelter of a real Christian Home
^On August 3rd, 1900, Ramabai reports having received one thousand five hundred and fifty, and they were still coming.
RESCUE WORK jg,
trained in an eminently sensible way to regard work as honourable, living simply as natives live, and fitted for lives of usefulness.
" Pandita Ramabai is a spiritually-minded Christian, one whose testimony, by life and lip, has no uncertain sound—a woman who believes the Bible to be the inspired Word of God, and whose teaching is untouched by the fatal poison of higher criticism ; one who believes unreservedly in the efficacy of the atoning blood of Christ for the guilt of sin, and who reckons upon the power of the Holy Ghost for service; a woman equipped by God to lead and to organize, and under God's grace to educate and train India's sons and daughters for lives of service along Holy Ghost lines." Ramabai's reference to the necessity of the girls having been really converted before they could care patiently for the newly-arrived victims of famine, is accentuated by a description of some of these cases, written by a missionary who has cared for many of them, and who says
: " Some have had bowel troubles, piles,' etc. These need special attention as to diet. Others have great boils and sores to be washed, cleansed out, bandaged, and treated every day. Others have bad sore eyes. Some have a kind of whooping cough with vomiting of blood.
" But the most dreaded of all, and what is so painful, is the famine sore mouth. When once it has a
i64 PANDITA RAMABAI
headway in the mouth, nothing but prayer can stop
its progress. It eats great lumps of flesh out of jaws,
roof of the mouth, and eats the gums away from the
teeth, and teeth drop out. We have had several of these
cases, and the odour from them is almost unbearable.
While trying to wash their mouths, which was done
every two hours, the effort would almost take away
our breath. Frequently the poor sufferers are released
by death caused from the awful disease eating into the
windpipe. When that is the case no earthly help can
avail. God has wonderfully delivered from pain and
death; but some were in such a frightful condition we
could not but be glad when death released them.
" Some have the famine sore head. This is not so
obstinate, but may linger for months and even years
without entirely healing. The head is sometimes, when we first get them, one mass of blood, pus, vermin, and
scab. It has to be scraped and cleansed, then watched
closely till healed. All have fevers and more or less
pulmonary troubles from exposure to the cold night-
air. Some you can scarcely locate their trouble. They
seem to be in a decline; and though they eat heartily
they waste away."
Another missionary who visited Mukti in May, 1900,
says : " This place has improved much since my last
visit here a yeai^ and a half ago. Many buildings have
RESCUE WORK 165
gone up and more are being built, the plans all drawn up by Ramabai. Palm and other trees have been plant-
ed; flowers and shrubs, also an artificial pond with
water lilies and ferneries, make the place very beautiful and attractive. Things are kept scrupulously clean. One
of the workers told me Ramabai has a real mother's
heart; and when she has to punish one (which is often
necessary), she is miserable until the girl is conquered and comes and asks her forgiveness; then she kisses
her with weeping, and they go away and pray together."
[Ramabai is unique in her methods of punishing as
well as in other things. One visitor relates how she found a shamefaced little girl tied up among the calves. On questioning her as to why she was there, she con-
fessed to having been convicted of pilfering. Her con-
trition was evidently genuine, and the visitor thought
the same punishment would not be twice needed.]
" The pupils are separated into companies : girls of
one size and age being put in one room, and the next
size in another, with several older girls to look after
them. In this way they are marched out to the dining-
room, the little girls of five or six years coming first, two by two, and so increasing in size until the fullgrown girls close up the ranks. In like manner they
are marched out to the well daily, which is some dis-
tance from the house, for their baths. Each one car-
1 66 PANDITA RAMABAI
ries her clean sari on her head which is put on there
after the bath, and the dirty one washed and carried
home to dry.
" It was quite an interesting sight to see the long,
straight line of girls marching down the road, two by
two, the other morning. I fell into line and marched
with them to the well. How they did enjoy plung-
ing into the deep reservoir of water; and what scream-
ing and laughjng and talking as they splashed around
in the water, throwing it on each other ! After bathing,
all fell to washing their clothes; even the little ones
washing away till helped out by their older sisters.
The water is drawn from the well by six strong bul-
locks, a large stream continually flowing into the reser-
voirs and from there out into the fields in which Ram-
abai has large fruit plantations and vegetable gardens.
" The Rescue Home here is by itself, and has seven-
ty-five women now. They grind their own flour, do
their own cooking, and have their own hospital. As I,
entered their compound, I was surrounded by a com-
pany of contented-looking women, all speaking to me
at once and all trying to touch my hands. My heart
was melted in pity for them. Some looked healthy
and strong, and others were smitten with consumption,
and others with still more dreadful diseases. I thought
what a wonderful and broad salvation this is, to take
in these low outcasts, and prepare a home of refuge for
RESCUE WORK 167
them, as well as for the respectable and moral. It be-
ing the hour for prayer, they all sat down on the ground
and commenced singing. Some of the older girls come
in with Bibles—and one read a chapter ; another pray-
ed. As I showed a kindly interest, eyes moistened and
faces softened, and I thought how much might be done
with a little sympathy. I felt that Jesus had been near." But to return to Ramabai's Report. She goes on
to tell of a time of testing and trial in temporal sup-
plies. " The storeroom was almost empty, and the
saries of our girls and most of their blankets had
turned into old rags—there was no money to buy new
saries and blankets. But saries had been ordered from
the cloth merchants, with the understanding that they
were to take all back if by a certain date their bills were
not paid ; not one of them, however, was touched. Grain
and other necessities of life were not ordered for the
month. Many people could not understand why I had
to make certain changes in food, etc. But the Lord knew all about it. He let the trials come at certain
times, and let the house and treasury be quite empty
only to fill them again. He made me realize from time
to time that His ' hand is not shortened, that it cannot
save ; neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear.'^ No
one was informed about the needs at times of trial;
but according to the command of God^ all requests
*Isa. lix. i. 'Phil. iv. 6.
1 68 PANDITA RAMABAl
were made known to Him, and He did keep my mind
in perfect peace in Christ, and sent help in His own
good time, to buy not only grain, but saries and blan-
kets, etc., for the old and new girls.
" The work of rescuing girls went on and is still
going on, in spite of all difficulties and trials ; for God
m^kes it very plain to me from time to time, by re-
moving obstacles when they come, that it is His will
that this work should not be stopped until He Himself
stops it. Agur's prayer^ is being answered in our case. We are not allowed too much or too little of food and
clothing and other comforts. Moreover, the Lord is
teaching our Christian girls to deny themselves a little
for the sake of others, that they may meet the expenses
of their Christian instruction and other church ex-
penses. He sent us a message one day to give up one
of our meals on Sundays to save money to feed the
hungry and poor, and to help His work in other mis-
sions. Most of the girls very cheerfully came forward
with the request to cut off one of their meals on Sun-
days, and the money thus saved has been used to feed
the Lord's poor and to help on His work in other places.
" The question of self-support of Indian Christian
Churches is becoming a very serious one. The Indian
Christians are very poor, it is true, and will not be able
to pay the high salaries and bear the heavy expenses
*Prov. XXX. 8, 9.
RESCUE WORK 169
of fashionable churches. But as Hindus neither they
nor their parents looked to some other nation, or to the
high priests, for the support of their temples and their
priesthood. As Christians there is no reason why they
should not train themselves and their children to deny
themselves, and to systematic giving. The Lord show-
ed me this was my opportunity to practise and teach
what I believed; and I am very thankful to say that
the experiment has proved to be a success, and the
Lord's promise in Mai. iii. 10 has been literally fulfilled.
Some of us perhaps give one-fiftieth or One-hundredth
part of our income to the Church, and that too with
great reluctance, and call it tithe ; but little realize that
the tithe is no less than one-tenth of the whole; and
that is the income tax God would have us give Him for
His poor. If we give one-twentieth or fiftieth part and
call it a tithe, or give very little with great reluctance,
we are robbing God of His dues, and robbing ourselves
of great blessings which He is eager to give us if we
only accept them by fulfilling the conditions. This,
to me, seems to be the true cause of the material pov-
erty of the native Christian Church in India. We must
not expect that God will give us many spiritual and
temporal blessings unless we cheerfully fulfill the con-
ditions on which He has promised them to us."
Ramabai concludes her most interesting recital of
the condition and growth of this wonderful work with
170 PANDITA RAMABAI
a paragraph which will do equally well for the close of
this volume ; and here we must leave her.
" God gave me a special message from His Word a
few days ago to give all the friends who are help-
ing the Lord's work at Mukti and other missions, which
I pass on to you. It is this : * He that giveth unto
the poor shall not lack.' ^ You have denied yourself in
many ways for the sake of giving money for the poor women and children sheltered in our homes, but you
have this rich promise from the Lord as your reward.
God bless you all. As for me, I have His sure word
to depend upon. ' He that spared not His own Son,
but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with
Him also freely give us all things ? ' Now, * Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto
God, and His Father; to Him be glory and dominion
for ever and ever. Amen.*
*Prov. xxviii. 27.
OCT 22 1900