“Sunday, April 11th.—About nine o’clock, while the native Christian children and servants were at worship, a venerable old man, who says he is ninety years of age, came from the Tage to Abdool’s. The tears began to roll down his cheeks, as they proceeded in the service: toward the end, he repeated ‘Amen’ heartily, after each petition. When prayers were ended, he went up to Abdool, and embraced him; who said, ‘Do you know that I am a Christian?’ He answered, ‘Yes: I heard so yesterday. I have often seen the English at worship, but never understood their language; but your prayers are most excellent, and my soul has been greatly refreshed by them.’
“May 5th.—To-day a Mohammedan physician sent to request that Abdool would visit him in the evening. He accordingly went, and found him as an attendant on the Royal Family at Jondpore. He has leave to visit Agra, owing to sickness in his family, which required change of air. He had heard of Abdool’s conversion yesterday, and could not believe he was the person he pretended to be. He offered to bet 2000 rupees, that a person of the family described, could not change his religion. He moreover said, if he were such a one, he must know him, for they were at school together; and he would send for this person, (viz. Abdool Messeeh,) and prove him to be an impostor. On Abdool’s going to his house, nothing could exceed the physician’s astonishment, to find him the very person described, and his own school-fellow. They had a long and friendly conversation about their former intercourse, and read several chapters in St. Matthew, and other parts of the New Testament. On Abdool’s answering his objections, he said, ‘This is the way I understand you did yesterday, silencing every body by reference to their own customs: and so I perceive Islam will not stand.’ He took a copy of St. Matthew, and desired to have the whole New Testament.
“Sunday, May, 9th.—In the evening, out of the fort, a greater number than ever was collected, with evident desire to hear the Word. They checked one another, in order to preserve silence. One, impatient at the noise around him, cried aloud, ‘Keep silence, ye accursed, and let us hear the Word! Ye have six days in the week, have ye not, to babble and talk?’ The subject was, ‘This is a faithful saying.’ Several were in tears. One man came forward, and declared he would be a Christian. He was sick, had long been ill, did not expect to live long, and these words comforted him. He had never before heard such comfortable words.
“One evening, during the preceding week, Abdool went into the city. A number of people collected round him, and entered into conversation; at length, they begged that he would sit down, and read them a chapter. He did so, and read the eleventh of John. One of them told him, ‘if you would have us become Christians, you must come among us, and teach us the gospel. Come and live among us, and we will attend you daily.’
“Sunday, June 6th.—The attendance in the fort was as usual; and in the evening, without the fort, the crowd was beyond all former example. Even the tops of some of the houses, were covered with Mohammedans; but those of the crowd who could not hear, by their pressing and eagerness to get forward, prevented much of what Abdool said from being heard.
“June 7th.—The whole day was passed by Abdool in the city; and his house was like an exchange, from morning till night. More copies of the scriptures were sought for; and one moonshee began to read St. Matthew with Abdool. Three children were brought to school, and the people speak with much admiration of the establishment of a free school.
“June 9th.—Numbers of people visited Abdool again to-day, and many interesting conversations took place. An old Mohammedan, uncle to one of the principal men in the city, was asked, on going away, what he thought of Abdool. He answered, ‘What can I say? He says nothing amiss; and nothing can be objected to the Gospel; what can I say?’
“June 10th.—To-day the doctrine of Christ witnessed a triumph. For three weeks past, a faqueer, of the Jogi tribe, has come frequently to our morning worship, in the school. On Tuesday the chapter to be read in order was John xvii. The subject of it, and our Lord’s manner toward his disciples, arrested the attention of the Jogi, and the tears flowed plentifully down his cheeks. To-day he brought his wife and child; said he was a convert to Jesus, without reserve; and began of himself to take off his Faqueer’s dress. He first took the beads from off his neck; then broke the string to which the charm given him by his gooroo was suspended; then broke off an iron ring worn round his waist, and to which an iron rod, about two feet long, was attached. He then put on some old clothes, which we had by us, and said, now he wished to be instructed in the Gospel, and to get employment. A rupee was given to procure food for the family, with which the wife went and bought a spinning wheel, saying, she would spin and earn their livelihood. These are wonders in the history of a Hindoo. The whole family afterward ate their dinner with Abdool, of their own accord.
“To-day, also, an old woman who has constantly heard Abdool on Sundays, brought her little all from the house of a Mohammedan, where she had long lived, and took up her abode among the Christians, expressing a heart-affecting sense of her value for the Gospel of Christ.
“A leper too, who has spent years in religious observances, without finding rest to his mind, and who has been some time in constant attendance on the means of grace, took up his abode with us, saying, Jesus would cure the inward leprosy of his soul.