the headquarters of the Brahmin faith, and one-eighth of the population are priests of that church.  But it is not an overstock, for they have all India as a prey.  All India flocks thither on pilgrimage, and pours its savings into the pockets of the priests in a generous stream, which never fails.  A priest with a good stand on the shore of the Ganges is much better off than the sweeper of the best crossing in London.  A good stand is worth a world of money.  The holy proprietor of it sits under his grand spectacular umbrella and blesses people all his life, and collects his commission, and grows fat and rich; and the stand passes from father to son, down and down and down through the ages, and remains a permanent and lucrative estate in the family.  As Mr. Parker suggests, it can become a subject of dispute, at one time or another, and then the matter will be settled, not by prayer and fasting and consultations with Vishnu, but by the intervention of a much more puissant power—­an English court.  In Bombay I was told by an American missionary that in India there are 640 Protestant missionaries at work.  At first it seemed an immense force, but of course that was a thoughtless idea.  One missionary to 500,000 natives—­no, that is not a force; it is the reverse of it; 640 marching against an intrenched camp of 300,000,000—­the odds are too great.  A force of 640 in Benares alone would have its hands over-full with 8,000 Brahmin priests for adversary.  Missionaries need to be well equipped with hope and confidence, and this equipment they seem to have always had in all parts of the world.  Mr. Parker has it.  It enables him to get a favorable outlook out of statistics which might add up differently with other mathematicians.  For instance: 

“During the past few years competent observers declare that the number of pilgrims to Benares has increased.”

And then he adds up this fact and gets this conclusion: 

“But the revival, if so it may be called, has in it the marks of death.  It is a spasmodic struggle before dissolution.”

In this world we have seen the Roman Catholic power dying, upon these same terms, for many centuries.  Many a time we have gotten all ready for the funeral and found it postponed again, on account of the weather or something.  Taught by experience, we ought not to put on our things for this Brahminical one till we see the procession move.  Apparently one of the most uncertain things in the world is the funeral of a religion.

I should have been glad to acquire some sort of idea of Hindoo theology, but the difficulties were too great, the matter was too intricate.  Even the mere A, B, C of it is baffling.

There is a trinity—­Brahma, Shiva, and Vishnu—­independent powers, apparently, though one cannot feel quite sure of that, because in one of the temples there is an image where an attempt has been made to concentrate the three in one person.  The three have other names and plenty of them, and this makes confusion in one’s mind.  The three have wives and the wives have several names, and this increases the confusion.  There are children, the children have many names, and thus the confusion goes on and on.  It is not worth while to try to get any grip upon the cloud of minor gods, there are too many of them.