in the bread, move it about, and as soon as it becomes a pale brown take it out with the skimmer and throw it on a piece of paper to absorb unnecessary fat. If the bread is properly fried it will be done in less than a minute after it is put into the fat, and will be crisp without being hard. Bread thus fried is nourishing, and less meat is required when it is served.

Fried Potatoes.

As soon as the bread is taken out of the fat put in the potatoes, prepared as follows. Wash and peel four large potatoes, cut them into slices half an inch thick, and divide them into strips of an equal thickness. Put the potatoes as you cut them, into cold water, dry on a cloth; then, when the fat is ready, throw them in; stir the potatoes about in the fat, in order that they may brown equally. When done, take up with the skimmer, throw them on to paper, and when ready to serve, sprinkle over lightly with pepper and salt. The potatoes will take about ten minutes to fry; like fried bread they are nourishing and digestible, and largely supply the place of meat.

Macaroni Cheese.

Break up six ounces of Naples macaroni into inch lengths, throw it into a saucepan containing two quarts of boiling water and a table-spoonful of salt. Let it boil fast for twenty minutes, drain it in a colander, put it back into the dry saucepan, and toss it over the fire, with a spoonful or two of milk, for a minute; add salt if necessary.

Have ready two pennyworth of cheese grated, place a quarter of the macaroni on a hot dish, sprinkle over this a quarter of the cheese, and so on until all is used. Some

per, mixed with the cheese, and these can be used according to the taste of the family.

If a sweet dish is preferred to one of cheese, when the macaroni is boiled put a little sugar, ground cinnamon, or other spices, and toss it over the fire, with a spoonful of milk.

Black-cap Pudding.

Grease a basin and sprinkle at the bottom two ounces of cleaned currants. Pour in gently a batter made as follows, observing that the secret of having it light lies in mixing the flour smoothly at first, and in well beating the yolk and white of the egg separately. Mix half a pound of flour smoothly in a gill of cold water, add by degrees a pint of milk, a pinch of salt, and the yolk of an egg. If the batter has been properly mixed there will be no lumps, but should there be any it must be strained. When ready to put the pudding into the pot, beat up the white of the egg to a very strong froth, and add to the batter. Cover the pudding with a cloth and boil it for an hour and a quarter, only having enough water in the saucepan to reach half way up the basin.

If preferred the pudding can be baked, either with or without the currants.

Glimpses of Indian Women.

BY A ZENANA WORKER.

THE HINDOO ZENANA. 'Give light, more light, for light brings rest and gladness.'

a tribe of that Aryan race which, descending from the mountains in the interior of Asia, spread themselves in old times over the greater part of the Continent of Europe westward; one tribe alone pushed down to the south-east, and possessed themselves of the country, rich and beautiful, surrounding the upper Indus. Here in the land of the five rivers' (the Punjaub), they became a great nation, and with all the vigour of northern blood in their veins, they drove before them with ease the swarthy natives, who, both in courage and physical development, were much their inferiors. In course of time the conquerors pressed on southward, and overran the peninsula, which is now called by their name, driving the native inhabitants in some cases to their hill fortresses, and compelling some to serve them as slaves.

The religion of the Hindus, though in earlier ages a pure theism, and giving evidence of much earnest searching after truth, is now as a popular religion, under the sway of the Brahmins, one of the most degraded in the world, and one sure evidence of its depravity is its treatment of women; the very name by which they are commonly called, 'Katla' (chattels), denotes the way in which they are too often looked upon as having no individual existence to be cared for, no dignity of womanhood to be maintained.

The soul of a Hindoo woman, according to their religious codes, is so far beneath that of the twice-born Brahmin, that it is worth very little consideration; it is so impure that it must pass through millions of transformations before it is deemed worthy to enter the poor sensual Paradise, utterly empty of pure and holy joy, which alone she is taught to look forward to; she is treated alternately as a slave and a toy; her higher nature trampled on and ignored. Her religion, such as it is, is entirely a religion of fear, without one ray of hope to elevate and give meaning to her life. Many an hour she spends in fruitless pujas, and sometimes in weary pilgrimages to ward off

the judgments of which she lives in constant dread. If her boy is sick, it is an angry God punishing her for sins committed in her former life; she strips him of his ornaments to endeavour to deceive this god into the notion that she does not value him much, and then perhaps he will be spared to her; for she knows well that should she lose her darling boy and become a childless wife, she has too often neglect and scorn, and even ill-treatment, to look forward to.

Did space permit, I should like to tell you more about this wonderful religion of Hinduism, now holding more powerful sway than any other in the continent of India, appealing as it does to the instincts of the heart, true alike in the midst of civilisation as in the most uncultivated nations; it treats men as sinners seeking salvation at the hand of an offended God, and endeavours to solve the problem, allimportant to mankind, how is happiness to be secured at the last. Thus, like bright crystals peeping out here and there in a mass of unformed and useless clay, we find sparkles of truth gleaming in the mass of many superstitions.

The Hindus acknowledge one great spirit, supreme over all; but this is of little practical avail in preserving any purity of worship, for their theology acknowledges no less than 330,000,000 gods! Their idols are very numerous, from the elaborately carved and gilded image in their temples, to the rough, unshapen stones, with a dab of red paint on them, which are met with along the road-side, and 'under every green tree.' These, as the workman hurries along to his work, or the Rajah journeys on his way, are invoked with the universal appellation of 'Ram! Ram!' Ram is one of the most popular of their deities, and of him and his high-minded wife Seata there are many interesting legends, showing too that in older days the women of India were held in estimation very different from that to which they are now degraded.

You will come with me now to a Hindoo

zenana to visit a woman whom I know very well. I have visited her and taught her for two years, and her face and house show a wonderful change in that time. We pass through the outer door, and soon see her eager face, as near as she dare come to the men's apartments, watching for our coming. She takes my hand, and leads us in through the inner court, and soon we are seated in her little room, which is now bright and cheerful. Her books and work are spread on a low wooden table;

hardly speak. However, she had a great wish to learn, and as her husband did not object to my visits, she soon began to improve. To be able to read and write gave her great pleasure, as well as learning to do pretty fancy work. But what she really loved most was her Biblereading. The loving words of the Gospel seemed to come into her soul like dew in the wilderness. Those precious words, 'Come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest,' seemed specially to soothe

the walls, which used to be covered with hideous pictures of the Hindoo gods, have now one or two Scripture prints hanging up, and underneath these a card containing a prayer-the ten commandments in short form-some texts, and a hymn. This card, she says, she loves to read as she goes about her work. This woman's life has not been a happy one; she had two little sons, and lost them both, and no more were given her. When I visited her first she was in deep sorrow, and so nervous and frightened, she used to stand far away from me and

[By kind permission of the S. P. G.

and comfort her, and she never let me leave without singing with me the hymn, Art thou weary? art thou languid ?'

Poor thing! I think a joy and peace has come into her life, which, by God's grace, she will never lose. I have not yet described to you her dress and appearance. Her face is not so delicately cut as that of the Bengalee ladies; her features are rather thick, but she is fair and well made. Her dress differs slightly from those I have already described. She wears a full skirt of white or striped material, a very

short boddice, and a white chuddar thrown over her head and shoulders. Her ornaments are massive and beautiful; the most distinctive of these is a silver girdle, from which her keys are suspended. She is scrupulously cleanfor the Hindoo religion commands frequent washings and daily scouring of the house.

Before our visit is over, another woman comes in and sits near the door on the ground. Her face is full of sadness, her hair is shaved, she has no ornaments whatsoever, and she is clothed in one coarse garment; her appearance and manner tell her tale. She is a Hindoo widow, and her lot is indeed a sad one. From the day that she loses her husband, joy and peace depart from her life; she is accounted under the curse of the gods. She must eat only one meal a-day, and that of the coarsest kind; and on her fast days, which are very frequent, not one grain of rice or drop of water must enter her lips; she is never again allowed the luxury of a bed, but must sleep on the ground. She must occupy herself in all the menial work of the house, and her very presence is considered a contamination to the rest of the family. The thought of a widow's life is all the sadder from the fact that this kind of life may have begun when she was still a joyous, happy child, and she may have lost a husband whom she has never seen. There are computed to be at the present time about 20,000,000 widows in India, enduring this living death.

The woman who has just come in is the sister-in-law of my pupil. She often sits by the door and listens, but I have never been able to induce her to learn, or to speak more than in monosyllables.

After this short glimpse into a Hindoo zenana, you will be glad to hear that there are now many Hindoo women being taught by English ladies, many now breaking through the trammels of ' dustoor' (custom) which so long have

held them bound, and learning the Gospel of Christ, and with the Gospel the true place of woman. Many are beginning to find that there is something beyond the grave worth

dying for, which alone can make this life worth living; and so they can perform the duties of their several stations with cheerfulness, looking forward to the time when the distinctions of caste, and race, and tongue, shall be no more-when the light shall break for them unclouded, and they may rejoice as ransomed souls before God and the Lamb for ever.

Teaching the Deaf and Dumb. THAT is there that makes the time

pass so pleasantly as talk with a dear friend? What does us so much good as words of advice, or teaching, or comfort? Surely nothing. And yet there are many who by the affliction of deafness are cut off from all these, who have never heard the word of love nor the merry jest which makes the heart light.

Those who are quite deaf have been also called dumb, or speechless, because-not hearing the voice of men-they could not learn how to speak. But they are not without the power of speaking; no one who has a tongue is without that power; and although, as you know, the deaf and dumb have long been taught to make signs and spell words on their fingers, yet that is a very slow, poor way to express thoughts and wishes.

You have read how Jesus Christ, taking a deaf and dumb man by the hand,* led him aside, so that the curiosity of others should not draw the poor man's attention from Himself; and then, fixing His loving, expressive eyes on his, Jesus spoke by signs, touching the deaf ears, the speechless tongue, and looking-we may be sure-so strong, and helpful, and kind, that the man was certain

* Mark, vii. 31-37

some good thing was to come, and then, as if from His own blessed tongue, Jesus by His touch gave the man the great gift of speech.

This was a miracle, and you will say that miracles are not worked in these days. But what did our Lord do before He gave speech to the dumb? He looked up to heaven. Even He drew power by prayer for this work; and when He ascended up on high, He left to men His example to bid them try, too, by prayer and skill to heal their fellow-creatures, not suddenly as He did who was God, but by study and pains, and His help from on high.

Now I must tell you that in some foreign countries persons had long ago begun to teach the deaf to use their organs of speech; and of late years a Christian gentleman in England, whose little daughter had lost her hearing by a fever and so never spoke like other children, resolved to turn this great sorrow into a blessing for others by studying how to help those who had the same affliction. And so he has, with the help of others, founded a College near London where English teachers are trained to teach English children who are deaf and would be dumb but for this means of help.*

The other day I visited this College and saw the children there,-such a bright, merry little party! Their eyes seem all the brighter because they are fixed on every motion of their kind teacher's face; for they cannot hear a word he says, they read the words from the movement of his lips.

Suppose you were to try this: ask some

*All information can be gained from A. Kinsey, Esq., Training College for Teachers of the Deaf, Castle Hill, W. Help is greatly needed to extend this work to the poor.

friend to form a sentence with the lips without letting a sound come forth. You would find it very hard to understand; and yet these children who are never allowed to use signs, come at last to read from the lips as quickly as we can hear with our ears; so that persons who cannot hear at all are now engaged in business, some even managing a large establishment, God having by the skill and patience of men worked a miracle on them.

You will ask how they are taught. Well, the children are sent to this school, sometimes seeming like idiots, understanding nothing, unable to utter a sound that can be understood. Then, by great patience, they are taught to use their breath (for it is with our breath we make our words heard). They blow at a feather and go through other exercises till they know how to send the breath out properly; and then they learn letters,letter F first, and so on and on till they car. say words. They also learn to obey, which is the best thing any of us can learn.

There was one little pet at this school, a girl of seven with a dear little rosy, round face, brown curls, and merry, brown eyes. She came running in, laughing and happy, and so fond of her teacher; she did not know her loss, poor child! The teacher gave her little orders: 'Go to the door.' She repeated each word after him,-'Go to the door,' and then she went, running and laughing all the time. Then there was a little boy with a bright, loving face, who could understand what we said to him and wrote very nicely from dictation, and showed altogether that he was being taught as well. as boys who have hearing and natural speech. These children go to church and are brought up as Christian children should be.