IV-North India.

THE LEPER ASYLUM AT ALMORA.
BY THE REV. JAMES KENNEDY, M.A.

ALMORA, the capital of the province of Kumaon, is built on

the ridge of a hill 5,500 feet high, and stretches out to the
slope on both sides. The residences of the civil and military officers,
and the English fort and cantonments, are in the south-western por-
tion of the ridge, and the native town on its north-eastern portion,
with the old Ghoorkha fort, now used for the public offices, in its
centre. It has a population of 6,000. As approached by the most
direct route from the plains, it is seen for miles from a hill higher
than that on which it stands, but between the two hills lies a very
deep valley, so narrow that it ought rather to be called a ravine. As
the traveller, after a very steep ascent, finds himself close to the
town, he sees within a short distance of the road, on a spur below, a
large village, which by the regularity with which it is built; its
substantial houses, and its clean appearance, is unlike the hamlets
and villages he has seen in his mountain wanderings. A prominent
object in the village is a building with no chimney, rising above the
other houses, and evidently intended for a public purpose. On
inquiring what this peculiar village may be, the stranger is told it
is the Leper Asylum of the Province, and the most prominent build-
ing in it is at once its school house and its church. He has proof
before him that benevolence-he may safely conclude Christian
benevolence has been at work, providing for the support and relief
of persons afflicted with the most loathsome and incurable of diseases.
Lepers are found in all parts of India, not in such numbers as to be
an appreciable portion of the population, but in such numbers as to
be well known. They are regarded by the Hindoos as objects of
Divine displeasure, not on account of wickedness in the present life,
but on account of wickedness committed by them in a former birth.
While thus regarded they are not excluded from society, as was the
case with the Jews, and is still the rule in some parts of the world.
They are allowed to move about, and to ask alms of those they meet.
At Benares I have sometimes seen them sitting on a native bedstead
with persons who, if they did not touch them, showed at least no
dread of their immediate neighbourhood. Magistrates have done all

in their power to prevent these poor afflicted creatures from moving about, by making provision for their support, but their efforts have had only partial success.

In the Hill Province of Kumaon the number of lepers seems proportionably greater than in the plains, owing, I suppose, to the less attention given to cleanliness by its inhabitants. Like every other form of disease originated by a want of attention to the laws of health, leprosy tends to perpetuate itself in descendants, however careful they may be in following sanitary regulations. While Kumaon was under native rule lepers were buried alive, their nearest relatives heaping earth on them, but since the establishment of British rule in 1815, this atrocious custom, as well as other customs equally inhuman, has been suppressed. Since that time lepers, unable to work for their bread, and expelled from their homes, have wandered, so far as their limbs could carry them, over the hills and valleys of the country, and have lived on alms given to them. An asylum was at length provided for them in Almora, but by whom or at what time I cannot say.

The Almora Mission was formed in 1850, at the request, and for a time entirely at the expense, of Captain Ramsay, and a few other Christian friends, and was entrusted to the charge of the Rev. J. H. Budden, who, from its commencement down to our day, has conducted it with great ability, vigour, and success. No mission has been more highly favoured in its local supporters, and scarcely any so much. The Captain Ramsay of 1850, then Assistant to the Commissioner, now Sir Henry Ramsay, for many years the Commissioner, has been throughout its most liberal and faithful supporter; and other influential friends, bent on promoting the good of the province, have been associated with him. The visitor to Almora, I will not say if he is a friend to missions, but if he has any desire to know the place, is sure to make his way to the School House, by far the finest building in the town, and one of the finest buildings in the province, the Orphanages for Boys and Girls, the Book-house, and the Mission Church; but he has a hard heart if he is not touched in his tenderest part by a visit to the Leper Asylum.

I have before me an account of the Almora Mission from its formation in 1850 to 1872, drawn up by Mr. Budden. I cannot do better than give a quotation from his statement about the asylum:

"This institution originated in private benevolence some years before, but in 1851 it was transferred to the mission. There were about twenty-five inmates, and a small debt on the funds. The numbers have largely increased, and at one time recently were 120, but have since been reduced, by deaths and removals, to 109. As the original buildings did not afford sufficient accommodation, and from the nature of the ground could not be enlarged, a new site was chosen, and new buildings erected, which are now complete, with accommodation for 120; all the necessary out-offices, a store room, a chapel, and a dwelling-house for the native Christian superintendent. For many years religious services have been conducted with the inmates, and about twelve years ago the fruits began to appear. Two or three expressed a desire to receive Christian baptism, and were soon followed by others. It would seem that their freedom from the trammels of caste, and from the pernicious influence of idolatrous associations, together with the pitiful circumstances of their painful malady, have made them more amenable than others to the offices of Christian love, and more open to the invitations and consolations of the Gospel. The applications for baptism have been entirely spontaneous, and have been complied with only after a period of probation, many conversations, and a faithful statement of the religious obligations involved in the step; upwards of 180 of both sexes and all ages have been baptised. Many of these have died in the faith of the Gospel, cheered by Christian hope and the conscious presence of the Saviour, whom they loved and trusted. There has been a marked improvement in the general character and conduct of the community since the open profession of Christianity was made. Many of them have learned to read, and are employed in teaching others."

I cannot state how many have been baptised since 1872, but since that time the good work among them has gone on with increasing success. Many have lived Christian lives, and have died, we have every reason to believe, in the the faith and hope of the Gospel.

The asylum is supported by the proceeds of an endowment, invested in Government securities, and by the contributions of the benevolent. Less than half the income comes from the endowment, formed, we believe, by the liberality of some of its founders, and the remaining portion is supplied by donations and subscriptions. At times natives have contributed liberally, but, in the last report before us, we are

sorry to find the name of only one Hindoo subscriber. The supporters of the asylum are mainly the supporters of the mission, thus showing that those who seek the spiritual good of the people are those who do most for their temporal welfare.

The management of such an institution, as may be easily supposed, makes a great demand on the time, effort, wisdom, kindness, and patience of those who conduct its affairs and arrange its support.

There is no part of my missionary life to which I look back with greater interest, and with more tender feeling, than to my work for a short time in this asylum.

Our first visit to Almora was in 1847, when there was no mission. By preaching in English on Sabbath, by conversation with natives, and preaching in the street of the native town, we endeavoured to promote the spiritual good of those to whom we had access.

Our next visit was in 1861, eleven years after the formation of the mission. During the months of our residence I went occasionally to the Leper Asylum with the native preacher, but I was in bad health, and the sight of the lepers was more than I could bear. The first time I saw them I was so shocked by the sight of some of their number that I felt as if I was ready to faint.

We spent the summer and autumn months of 1867 and 1868 at Almora. In 1867 Mrs. Kennedy took charge of one of the girls' schools, and I gave myself mainly to evangelistic and school work. On our return from Benares, in the spring of 1868, in arranging our work with Mr. Budden, at our own request, among the duties assigned us was the holding of a service with the lepers every Sabbath morning, and this service we were able to keep up without a break till our departure from the town in May, 1869.

No sooner were Mrs. Kennedy and myself seen approaching the asylum on Sabbath morning than the bell was rung, and the lepers made their way to the chapel. After a service of reading, prayer, and preaching of less than an hour, Mrs. Kennedy went to one side of the building to instruct the women, while I took the men on the other side. We went over the address I had given, asking questions, endeavouring to find out to what degree it had been understood, and seeking to unfold and enforce its lessons. Often we were agreeably surprised to find how much was understood and apparently appreciated by those who had been some time in the asylum. The book language