CHAPTER V.

THE UNITY OF GOD; OR, THE MISSION HOUSE.

QUESTION V. _Are there more Gods than one?_

ANSWER. There is but one only, the living and true God.

——————

BEFORE the evening on which the next lesson of the Catechism occurred, Mr. Dermott unexpectedly returned home. He was welcomed by the children with almost boisterous affection.

And after relating many incidents which had occurred during his absence, Helen exclaimed, "O papa, we do have such nice times at the catechising! I never liked the Catechism before, because I did not understand the meaning of the words. But now you may ask me any question that you like. I mean about those mother has explained to us."

"Indeed!" cried Mr. Dermott, with an arch smile. "I must obtain permission to join this wonderful class; for I confess there is much that I could learn about these sublime truths. What is the lesson for to-night?"

"We don't have to look out any of the references, as we did at the Sabbath school," exclaimed Walter, earnestly. "We only commit the answer to the question; and when it's Belle's turn, mother lets her read it from the book."

Helen, having easily obtained permission for her father to be present, gayly seated him between Isabelle and herself, and clasping his hands affectionately, informed her mother they were ready for her to commence.

Anna having repeated the answer to the question in course, Mrs. Dermott asked, "What are the gods of the heathen called?"

"O mamma!" cried Isabelle. "Ask father first; he is the oldest!"

The lady smilingly nodded assent, and Mr. Dermott replied, "I think it is the prophet Jeremiah who calls them idols and images."

"Of what, Walter, do the heathen make their idols?"

"Of wood and stone."

"That great one, we saw at the Mission House was made of gold," cried Helen, "and another was made of some old straw, stuck all over with elegant red feathers. Some of them were worn off, and I peeped inside. It was an ugly-looking thing."

"Here is an idol made of brass," added Mrs. Dermott, rising and taking from the mantel a small calf, about an inch in length. "Dreadful as it may seem, this little image has had a human sacrifice offered to it. This was afterward given up to the missionaries, who sent it to me. Probably this was made in imitation of the golden calf which the Israelites worshipped; the sight of which caused Moses such wrath that he threw down the tables of stone upon which the commandments were written, and broke them."

"Beside images of every imaginable shape and size," remarked the gentleman, "the poor deluded heathen worship many objects in nature, such as the sun and moon, very many kinds of animals—cows, dogs, crocodiles, and even mice. When I was in India, I saw the Hindoos engaged in offering sacrifices to the sun. Early in the morning, men, women, and children gathered together in an open field, carrying fruits, sweetmeats, pigeons, kids, &c. These were all set in a row, and a small pot of water placed by each person's offering, around the edge of which they wove a kind of wreath in imitation of the sun. They also had a small vessel of coals for incense, and a lamp, which was kept burning all day, by each sacrifice. At sunrise they walked four times around the whole row of offerings, with the smoking censers on their heads; after this they returned to their former station, where, I was informed, they stood erect all day, occasionally throwing a little incense into the fire, but without tasting food. About sunset, when I was told their ceremonies would be concluded, I returned. They again took their censers, and walked three times around the field. The pigeons were thrown into the air, and scrambled after for food, when each one threw his lamp away, and hastened home. This was merely a senseless and foolish idolatry. The next day one of the missionaries invited me to the hook swinging, in which the deluded Hindoos had iron hooks fastened into the flesh of their backs, and swung through the air, to appease the wrath of their gods. I had no heart to witness so cruel an exhibition. But no matter where I went, in every part of India there were idols of wood, stone, and clay; some ornamented with silver and gold, others in forms the most hideous and repulsive."

"How can they be so silly as to worship idols?" inquired the impulsive Helen. "I stuck a pin through that old feather god, and it could feel nothing; it only kept grinning with its two rows of ugly teeth; and I might have screamed in its ears all day, it could never have heard me."

The children smiled, but Mrs. Dermott said, gravely, "In contrast with these senseless images, which have eyes, ears, and hands, but can neither see, hear, nor dispense favors, how great and glorious appears the one living and true God, whose throne is in the heavens, but who is so condescending that he stoops to listen to the earnest prayer of the humblest child!"

"Walter," inquired Mr. Dermott, "is there no duty we owe these poor heathen?"

"Yes, sir; we ought to send Bibles and missionaries to teach them about our God; and then they would throw away their idols, as the Sandwich Islanders did."

"Yes, my child; and we ought to pray for them, that their hearts may be enlightened to see the folly of their worship."

"I pray for the heathen every night," faltered Isabelle, with tearful eyes, "and I mean to save all my pennies to send them Bibles."

"A missionary," said Mr. Dermott, "once gave an account of a poor man who came into his house. 'When he had sat down, he took up a book of missions which lay upon the table, in which were plates of heathen idols, hideous and ugly in their appearance.'

"'What game is this?' he asked my daughter.

"'They are not game,' replied the little girl; 'there are nations who worship those things.'

"'O,' said he, 'how you tell fibs!'

"'No, I am not telling fibs. My mamma said so, and she does not tell fibs.'

"'Well,' he said again, 'tell me what games they are.'

"'They are things that people worship, just as we worship Jehovah and Jesus. If you do not believe it, go and ask papa.'

"He then came to me, and said, 'Look at that!' And repeated what Mary had told him. 'Is it true?' he asked.

"'It is,' was the reply.

"Having gazed at me for a moment, in astonishment, he said, 'I know you do not lie; but how can it be?'

"And laying the book down upon a piece of timber I was planing, he looked at it, putting his hands to both sides of his head, and waving it backward and forward.

"Presently he asked, 'Have those people that make these things of wood and stone, heads like me?'

"'Yes.'

"'Have they got legs?'

"'Yes.'

"'Can they talk and think? Can they explain a difficult thing? Can they speak in a public meeting, like our senators?'

"'Yes.'

"'Then never say that our people are foolish or ignorant.'

"Taking from his neck a whistle, made of ivory, and carved with some device, perhaps a man's face, he nodded his head to it in a most solemn manner, and said, 'If my people should see me worshipping my whistle, which looks much better than those monsters, they would think I was mad. They would throw me over a precipice, and cover me with stones.'"