Henry L---- was born at Dinapore, in the East Indies. His father was an officer in the Company's service, and was killed in an attack upon a mud fort belonging to a zemeendar, [a landholder] a few months after the birth of his son. His mother also died before he was a year old. Thus little Henry was left an orphan when he was a very little baby: but his dying mother, when taking her last farewell of him, lifted up her eyes to Heaven, and said, "O God, I leave my fatherless child with thee, claiming thy promise in all humility, yet in full confidence that my baby will never be left destitute; for in thee the fatherless find mercy." The promise to which she alluded is to be found in Jeremiah 49:11. "Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let thy widows trust in me."

After Henry's mother had died, a lady who lived at that time in a large puckah [brick or stone] house near the river between Patna and Dinapore came and took little Henry, and gave him a room in her house, giving strict orders to her servants to provide him with every thing that he wanted. But as she was one of those fine ladies who will give their money (when they have any to spare) for the relief of distress, but have no idea how it is possible for any one to bestow all his goods to feed the poor, and yet lack charity; she thought that when she had received the child, and given her orders to her servants, she had done all that was necessary for him. She would not afterward suffer Henry to give her the least trouble, nor would she endure the smallest inconvenience on his account: and thus the poor child, being very young, and unable to make known his wants, might have been cruelly neglected, had it not been for the attention of a bearer, [a servant whose work is to carry a palanquin, but who is frequently employed to take care of children] who had lived many years with his father, and had taken care of Henry from the day that he was born.

When Henry was a very little baby, Boosy (for that was the bearer's name) attended him night and day, warmed his pap, rocked his cot, dressed, and undressed, and washed him, and did every thing for him as tenderly as if he had been his own child. The first word that little Henry tried to say was Boosy; and when he was only ten months old, he used to put his arms round his neck, and kiss him, or stroke his swarthy cheek with his delicate hand.

When Henry was carried to the lady's house, Boosy went with him, and for some years the little child had no other friend than his bearer. Boosy never left his choota sahib, [little master] except for two hours in the twenty-four, when he went to get his khauna [food]. At night he slept on his mat at the foot of the child's cot; and whenever Henry called, he was up in a moment, and had milk or toast-and-water ready to give him to drink. Early in the morning, before sunrise, he took him out in a little carriage which was provided for him, or carried him in his arms round the garden. When he brought him in, he bathed him and dressed him, and gave him his breakfast, and put him in his cot to sleep: and all the day long he played with him; sometimes carrying him in his arms or on his shoulder, and sometimes letting him walk, or roll upon the carpet. Everybody who came to the house noticed the kindness of Boosy to the child, and he got presents from many people for his goodness to Henry.

When Henry was two years old, he had a dreadful illness: so alarming indeed was it, that for many days it was thought he would die. He had another very severe illness when he was four years old, for he was never a very healthy child. During the height of these sicknesses his bearer never left him; nor would he take any rest, even by the side of his bed, till he thought the danger was over.

These things considered, it cannot be a matter of wonder that this little boy, as he grew older, should love his bearer more than all the world besides; for his bearer was almost his only friend, no one else taking much thought about him. Henry could not speak English, but he could talk with Boosy in his language as fast as possible; and he knew every word, good or bad, which the natives spoke. He used to sit in the verandah [an open gallery or passage] between his bearer's knees and eat sweetmeats. He wore no shoes or stockings; but was dressed in panjammahs [trousers] and had silver bangles [ornaments] on his ankles. No one could have told by his behaviour or manner of speaking that he was not of Indian origin; but his delicate complexion, light hair, and blue eyes at once showed his parentage.

Thus his life passed till he was five years and a half old: for the lady in whose house he lived (although he was taught to call her mamma) paid him no kind of attention; and it never occurred to her that it was right to give him any religious instructions. He used to see his bearer and the other natives performing poojah, [ceremony - offering] and carrying about their wooden and clay gods; and he knew that his mother sometimes went to church at Dinapore: so he believed that there were a great many gods, and that the God to whom his mother had prayed at Dinapore was no better than the gods of wood, and stone, and clay which his bearer worshipped. He also believed that the river Ganges was a goddess, and called Gunga; and that the water of the river could take away sins. He believed, too, that the Mussulmauns were as good as Christians; for his mother's khaunsaumaun [a kind of house-steward] had told him so. Henry was moreover taught by the servants many things which a little boy should not know: but the servants, being heathens, could not be expected to teach him any thing better; and therefore they were not so much to be blamed as the lady who had undertaken the charge of him, who might have been ashamed to leave the child of Christian parents under the care of such persons.

When Henry was five years old, a young lady who had just arrived from England, came to reside for a while with his mamma. She was the daughter of a worthy clergyman in England, and had received from him a religious education. She had brought with her from home a box of Bibles, and some pretty children's books and pictures. When she saw poor little Henry sitting in the verandah, as his custom was, between his bearer's knees, with many other native servants surrounding him, she loved him and was very sorry for him for indeed it is a dreadful thing for little children to be left among people who know not God. So she took some of the prettiest coloured pictures she had, and spread them on the floor of the room, the door of which opened into the verandah near the place where the little boy usually sat. When Henry peeped in and saw the pictures, he was tempted by them to come into the room; but at first he would not venture in without his bearer. Afterward, when he got more accustomed to the lady, he was contented that his bearer should sit at the door, while he went in. And at last he quite lost all fear, and would go in by himself: nay, he never was more happy than when he was with this lady; for she tried every means to gain his love, in order that she might lead him to receive such instructions as the time of her intended stay with his mother would allow her to give him.

She was very sorry when she found that he could not speak English: however, she was resolved not to be checked by this difficulty. She taught him many English words by showing him things represented in the coloured pictures, telling him their English names; so that in a short time he could ask for any thing he wanted in English. She then taught him his letters in one of the little books she had brought from home, and from his letters she proceeded to spelling: and so diligent was she that before he was six years old he could spell any words, however difficult, and could speak English quite readily.

While this young lady was taking pains, from day to day, to teach little Henry to read, she endeavoured, by word of mouth, to make him acquainted with such parts of the Christian religion as even the youngest ought to know, and without the knowledge of which no man can be a Christian: and she did not like to wait until Henry could read his Bible before she would instruct him in subjects of so much importance.

The first lesson of this kind which she strove to teach him was, that there was only one true God, and that all things were made by him: namely, the glorious heaven, to which those persons go, who have been made the children of God on earth; and the dreadful hell, prepared for those who die in their sins; the world, and all things in it; the sun, the moon, the stars, and all the heavenly bodies. And she was going to teach him the following words from Colossians 1:16. "For by him were all things created that are in heaven, and that are in earth--" but no sooner did little Henry understand that she meant to teach him that there is but one God, than he got very angry, and told her that she did not speak a true word; for his mother had a God, and his bearer had a god, and there were a great many gods besides: and he ran out into the verandah, and told his bearer what the chootee beebee [young lady] had said; and down he sat between his bearer's knees, and would not come again to her that day, although she brought out her finest pictures and a new book on purpose to tempt him.

The young lady did not fail to pray very earnestly for little Henry that night, when she had withdrawn to her room, and her door was shut. And her Father, on whom she called in secret, in the name of his beloved Son, heard her prayer; for the next day little Henry came smiling into her room, having quite forgotten his ill-humour; and she was now enabled to talk to him with advantage on the same subject. And she made him kneel down, and pray to God to give him sense to understand the truth. She had also provided herself with one of the Hindoo gods, made of baked earth; and she bade him look at it, and examine it well: she then threw it down upon the floor, and it was broken into a hundred pieces. Then she said, "Henry, what can this god do for you? it cannot help itself. Call to it, and ask it to get up. You see it cannot move." -- And that day the little boy was convinced by her arguments.

The next discourse which the young lady had with Henry was upon the nature of God. She taught him that God is a Spirit: that he is everywhere; that he can do every thing; that he can see every thing; that he can hear every thing; that he knows even the inmost thoughts of our hearts; that he loves that which is good, and hates that which is evil; that he never had a beginning, and never will have an end. She also taught him, that in this one only and true God, there are three Persons, namely, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost; and that these three Persons, although none is before or after the other, perform different works or offices for man.

Henry now began to take pleasure in hearing of God, and asked many questions about him. He next learned that God made the world in six days, and rested from his work on the seventh: and that he made man and woman innocent at first. He then was taught how our forefather Adam was tempted, with Eve his wife, to eat the forbidden fruit: and how by this means sin entering into the world, and the nature of Adam becoming sinful, all we his children, being born in his likeness, are sinful also.

Henry here asked what sin is?

"Sin, my child," answered the lady, "is whatever displeases God. If your mamma were to desire you to come into her room, or to do something for her, and you were to refuse, would she not have reason to be displeased with you?"

"Yes; I suppose so."

"Or, if you ask Boosy to fan you, or to carry you in your palanquin, and Boosy does something quite different; or if you desire him to carry you one way, and he carries you another: would he not do wrong?"

"Yes; to be sure."

"Well, then; whatever you do contrary to the commands of God, displeases him, and is sin."

But the lady still found great difficulty in making Henry understand the nature of sin: for he had been so neglected that he did not know right from wrong. He did not consider a lie sinful; nor feel ashamed of stealing, unless it was found out. He thought, also, that if people hurt him, it was right to hurt them in return. After several days, however, she made the subject clear to him; and then farther explained how sin has corrupted all our hearts; and she made him repeat the following words till he could say them quite well: "The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are altogether become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no not one." Psalm 14:2,3.

She next made the little boy understand that eternal death, or everlasting punishment, is the consequence of sin: and he soon could repeat two or three verses to prove this: one was, "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God," I Corinthians 6:9a; and another, "They shall go forth, and look upon the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh." Isaiah 66:24.

And now the lady had brought Henry to know that he and all the world were sinners, and that the punishment of sin is eternal death; and that it was not in his power to save himself, nor for any thing on the earth to wash him from his sins; and she had brought him several times to ask her with great earnestness what he must do to be saved, and how his sins could be forgiven, and his heart freed from evil tempers -- her next lesson, therefore, was to explain to him what the Lord Jesus Christ had done for him: how "God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory;" I Timothy 3:16: and how "we have redemption through his blood ... [he] having made peace" for us "through the blood of his cross." Colossians 1:14-20.

Little Henry was particularly pleased whenever he heard of our Saviour: and, by Divine grace, his heart seemed to be wonderfully filled with love for his Redeemer; and he was so afraid of offending him, that he became careful of every word he said, and of every thing he did; and he was always asking the young lady if this was right? and if that was right? and if God would be angry with him if he did this or that? so that in a short time his whole behaviour was altered. He never said a bad word, and was vexed when he heard any other person do it. He spoke mildly and civilly to everybody. He would return the salam [health : salutation] of the poorest coolie [a low caste of men, who have no trade, but work at any kind of common employment] in the bazar. If anybody gave him a rupee [a silver coin of the value of half a crown], he would not spend it in sweetmeats or playthings; but he would change it into pice [pence] and give it to the fakeers [beggars] who were blind or lame, or such as seemed to be in real distress, as far as it would go.

One day Henry came into the lady's room and found her opening a box of books. "Come," said she, "Henry, help me to unpack these books, and to carry them to my bookcase." Now, while they were thus busy, and little Henry was much pleased to think that he could make himself useful, the lady said, "These books have different kinds of covers, and some are larger than others, but they all contain the same words, and are the book of God. If you read this book, and, with God's help, keep the sayings written in it, it will bring you to heaven; it will bring you to where your beloved Redeemer is, to the throne of the Lamb of God, who was slain for your sins."

"Oh! I wish," said Henry, "that I had one of these books! I will give you all my playthings, ma'am, and my little carriage, for one of them."

The lady smiled, and said, "No, my dear, keep your playthings, and your little carriage too: you shall have any one of these books you like best."

Henry thanked the lady with all his heart, and called Boosy in to give his advice whether he should choose a book with a purple morocco cover, or one with a red one. When he had fixed upon one, he begged a bit of silk of the lady, and carried it to the tailor to make him a bag for his new Bible; and that same evening he came to the lady to beg her to teach him to read it. So that day he began; and he was several days over the first chapter of Genesis; but the next chapter was easier, and the next easier still; till, very soon, he was able to read any part of the Bible without hesitation.

With what joy and gratitude to God did the young lady see the effect of her pious labours! She had, in the space of a year and a half, brought a little orphan from the grossest state of heathen darkness and ignorance to a competent knowledge of those doctrines of the Christian religion which are chiefly necessary to salvation. She had put into his hand the book of God, and had taught him to read it: and God had, in an especial manner, answered all her prayers for the dear child.

The time was now coming on very fast, when she must leave little Henry; and the thoughts of this parting were very painful to her. Some days before she set out on her journey, she called him into her room, and questioned him concerning the things she had taught him: directing him, as often as he could, to give his answers from the Bible. Her first question was, "How many Gods are there?"

HENRY. "There is one God; and there is none other but he." Mark 12:32.

LADY. Do we not believe that there are three Persons in this one God?

HENRY. "There are three that bear record in heaven; the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one." 1 John 5:7.

LADY. What do you mean by the Word?

HENRY. The Word is the Lord Jesus Christ.

LADY. Do you know that from the Bible?

HENRY. Yes: for St. John says, in the first chapter of his gospel, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not."

LADY. Did God make man good at first?

HENRY. Yes; for in the first chapter of the Bible, the last verse, it is written, "God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good."

LADY. Are men very good now? Can you find me one person that deserves to be called good?

HENRY. I need not look into the Bible to answer that question. I need but just get into the palanquin, [a conveyance formerly used in eastern Asia especially for one person that consists of an enclosed litter borne on the shoulders of men by means of poles] and go into the bazar, and show you the people there: I am sure I could not find one good person in all the bazar.

LADY. But I think, Henry, you might spare yourself the trouble of going into the bazar to see how bad human creatures are: could you not find proofs of that nearer home?

HENRY. What, our servants you mean? Or, perhaps, the ladies who are in the hall with my mamma? they laughed at the Bible at breakfast; I knew what they meant, very well; and my mamma laughed too: I am sure nobody can say that they are good.

LADY. No, my dear; those poor ladies are not good: it would be misleading you to say that they are. But as we cannot make them better by speaking ill of them in their absence, it would be as well not to mention them at all, unless it were in prayer to God that he would turn their hearts. But to return to my question -- You need not go so far as the hall for an answer to it. There is a little boy in this very room, called Henry: can he be said to be a good boy? A very few months ago, that little boy used to tell lies every day: and only yesterday I saw him in a passion, because the sais [A servant who has the charge of a horse] would not let him go on the back of one of the coach-horses; and I think, but I am not sure, that he gave the sais a blow.

HENRY. I know it was very wicked and I hope I did not hurt him. I hope God will give me grace never to do so again. I gave the sais all that I had left of my rupee, this morning; and I told him that I was very sorry.

LADY. I mentioned it, my dear, that you might know where to look for an answer to my question.

HENRY. Oh! I know that I am not good. I have done many, many naughty things, which nobody knows of; no, not even Boosy. And God only can know the naughtiness of my heart.

LADY. Then you think yourself a sinner?

HENRY. A very great one.

LADY. Where do sinners go when they die?

HENRY. "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God." Psalm 9:17.

LADY. If all wicked people are turned into hell, how can you escape?

HENRY. If I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, I shall be saved. Stay one moment, and I will show you the verse. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." Acts 16:31.

LADY. What if you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, shall you go to heaven with all your sins? Can sinful creatures be in heaven?

HENRY. No; to be sure not. God cannot live with sinners. He is "of purer eyes than to behold evil." Habakkuk 1:13. But if I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, he will take away my sin; for His "blood cleanseth from all sin:" 1 John 1:7. and he will give me a new heart, and make me a new creature, and I shall be purified as he is pure. 1 John 3:3.

Now the lady was pleased with little Henry's answers: and she thanked God in her heart for having so blessed her labours with the poor little boy. But she did not praise him, lest he should become proud: and she well knew that "God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble." James 4:6. So she refrained from commending him; but she said, "What do you mean, my dear, by being made quite new again?"

HENRY. Before I knew the Lord Jesus Christ, I used to think of nothing but naughty things. I loved myself more than anybody else. I loved eating fruit and sweetmeats; and was so greedy of them, that I would have told a hundred lies, I do think, for one mouthful of them. Then I was passionate and proud. I used to be so pleased when anybody bowed to me, and said, Sahib [Master, or gentleman]. And you cannot think how cruel I was to all kinds of little creatures I could get hold of, even the poor cockroaches: I used to kill them just for my own pleasure. But now I do think my heart is beginning to change a little, I mean a very little, for I gave all my last sweetmeats to the matre's [a sweeper: a person of low caste] boy. But still I know that my heart is far from being clean yet; but God can make it white and clean when he pleases.

LADY. You must pray every day, and oftentimes in the day, and in the night when you are awake, my dear child; that God will send his Holy Spirit into your heart, to make it clean and pure, and to lead and direct you in all you do. Blessed are those, my dear child, who love the Lord Jesus Christ: for unto them "the Spirit of truth" is given, to dwell with them and be in them. John 14:17.

She then shut the door of the room; and she and the little boy knelt down together, and prayed to God, that he would, for his dear Son's sake, create a clean heart in the child, and renew a right spirit within him. Psalm 51:10. When the young lady arose from her knees, she kissed little Henry, and told him, not without many tears, that she must soon go away from him.

When Henry heard this news, for some moments he could not speak; at length he cried out, "What shall I do, when you are gone? I shall have nobody to speak to but my bearer, for my mamma does not love me; and I shall spend all my time with the servants. I shall never more hear anybody talk of God. Oh! I very much fear that I shalt become wicked again."

"My poor child," said the lady, "do not doubt the power of God. When our Saviour was going to leave his disciples, he said, 'I will not leave you [orphans]: I will come to you.' John 14:18. And do you think, my child, after the blessed Lord God has made himself known unto you, and adopted you as a dear son, that he will leave you comfortless? Think how good he was to call you from the paths of destruction, and from the way of hell. You knew not so much as his holy name, and were living altogether among the heathen. It was by his providence that I came here; that I remained here so long; that I loved you, and endeavoured to teach you; and that I had a Bible to give you. 'Faithful is he,' my beloved child, 'who called you.' 'He will preserve your whole spirit and soul and body blameless unto the coming of the Lord Jesus.'" 1 Thessalonians 5:23, 24. She then sang a verse of a hymn to him; which he often repeated, and would try to sing, when she was far away from him.

Jesus sought me, when a stranger,
  Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to save my soul from danger,
  Interpos'd his precious blood.

Now it would take more time than I have to spare to repeat the several conversations which this lady had with little Henry before she went away. He cried sadly the day she went. He followed her down to the river side; for she was going down to Berhampore, where she was soon afterward married to a very pious young man of the name of Baron.

Henry went on board the budgerow, [a kind of barge] to take leave of her. She kissed him many times before they parted; and gave Boosy, who was with him, four rupees, as as backshish, [a present] that he might continue to behave well to his little sahih. The last words almost that she said to Henry were these, "You must try, my dear child, with the grace of God, to make Boosy a Christian; that he may be no longer numbered among the heathen, but may he counted among the sons of God."

When the budgerow was ready to sail, little Henry took his last leave of the lady, and came on shore; where he stood under the shade of a Braminee fig-tree [a tree, that takes root downward from it branches], watching the boat as it sailed down the broad stream of the Ganges, till it was hidden by the winding shore. Then Boosy, taking him up in his arms, brought him back to his mamma's house: and from that time he was as much neglected as he had been before this good young lady came; with this difference (and that indeed was a blessing for which I doubt not he will thank God to all eternity), that he was now able to read the book of God; whereas, before, he knew not even God's holy name. And he was a child of God through believing in God's Son, the Lord Jesus.

Sometimes his mamma would let him eat his tiffin [luncheon] with her: but, as she always employed herself at table (when not actually eating) in smoking her hookak, [a kind of pipe, the smoke of which is drawn through water] and as most of her visitors did the same, the tiffin-time was very stupid to the little boy; for, instead of pleasant and useful discourse, there was in general nothing to be heard at these meals but the rattling of plates and knives and forks, the creaking of the punkah, [a large fan suspended from the ceiling] and the gurgling of the water in the hookah; unless his mamma (which not unseldom happened) occasioned a little variety by scolding the servants and calling them names in their own language.

So poor little Henry found no better companion than his bearer; and he never was more pleased than when he was sitting by him in the verandah, reading his Bible to himself.

And now the young lady's last words returned to his mind, namely, "You must try to make Boosy a Christian." But he did not know how to begin this work; it seemed to him that the heart of poor Boosy could only be changed by the immediate interference of God; so fond was he of his wooden gods and foolish ceremonies, and so much was he afraid of offending his gooroo [a religious teacher]. And in this respect Henry judged rightly; for no one can come to God without the help of God: yet he has pointed out the means by which we must endeavour to bring our fellow-creatures to him; and we must, in faith and humility, use these means, praying for the Divine blessing to render them effectual.

The first step which Henry took towards this work was to pray for Boosy. After some thought, he made a prayer, which was much to this purpose: "O, Lord God, hear the humble prayer of a poor little sinful child. Give me power, O God, for thy dear Son's sake (who died for us upon the cross), to turn the heart of my poor bearer from his wooden gods, and to lead him to the cross of Jesus Christ." This prayer he never failed to repeat every night, and many times a day: and from time to time he used to talk to Boosy, and repeat to him many things which the young lady had taught him. But although Boosy heard him with good-humour, yet he did not seem to pay much heed to what the child said; for he would argue to this purpose "There are many brooks and rivers of water, but they all run into the sea at last; so there are a great many religions, but they all lead to heaven: there is the Mussulmaun's way to heaven, and the Hindoo's way, and the Christian's way; and one way is as good as another." He asserted, also, that if he were to commit the greatest sin, and were to go immediately afterward and wash in the Granges, he should be quite innocent. And a great many other foolish things he had to say to the same purpose, so that he sometimes quite out-talked the child. But Henry was so earnest in the cause he had undertaken, that, although he might be silenced at one time, yet he would often (after having said his prayer and consulted his Bible) begin the attack again. He would sometimes get close to him, and look in his face, and say, "Poor Boosy! poor Boosy! you are going the wrong way, and will not let me set you right: there is but one way to heaven; our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, is the way to heaven; and no man cometh unto God but by him." John 14:6. Then he would try to explain who the Lord Jesus Christ is: how he came down to the earth; that he took man's nature upon him; suffered and died upon the cross for the sins of men; was buried, and arose again on the third day, and ascended into heaven; and is now sitting at the right-hand of God, from whence he will come to judge the quick and the dead.

In this manner the little boy proceeded from day to day: but Boosy seemed to pay him little or no attention; nay, he would sometimes laugh at him, and ask him why he was so earnest about a thing of so little consequence? However, to do Boosy justice, he never was ill-humoured or disrespectful to his little sahib.

End of Part 1  to Part 2