religion  at  all"  And  when  the  missionary  related  the  anecdote
to  Lord  William  Bentinck,  the  Governor-general  observed  :
"  This  is,  alas!  the  opinion  of  all  the  natives  all  over  India."*
The  opinion  remains  unchanged  at  the  present  hour. "The
degradation  of  the  native  character,"  says  a  gentleman  \vlio
writes  from  Calcutta  on  the  22d  of  August,  1859,  ''produced
by  the  conduct  of  a  very  large  proportion  of  Anglo-Indians,
cannot  fail  to  cast  a  stain  upon  our  national  character,  and  is
the  worst  obstacle  to  the  introduction  of  Christianity. We  have
lowered  instead  of  raised  the  standard  of  Morality, ."f  We
shall  find  the  same  complaint  of  English  influence  in  other
lands,  though  nowhere  in  more  earnest  language  than  has  been
used  to  describe  its  effects  in  this:  "Of  the  Europeans  in  India
generally,"  says  an  English  writer  in  1852,  "the  truest  account
would  be  the  most  unfavorable. We  have  heard  of  some  who
regard  themselves  as  Hindus  rather  than  as  Christians ;  of
others  who  deemed  Muhammedan  festivals  fit  objects  for  special
patronage;  and  of  others  who  directly  counteracted  the  instruc-
tions of  missionaries,  by  advising  young  men  not  to  become
Christians,  and  teaching  them  that  Deism  was  the  true  religion
for  men. We  have  heard,  too,  of  thousands  who  lived  HS
though  they  regarded  gentleness,  mercy,  and  spiritual  worship
less  than  the  heathen  by  whom  they  are  surrounded."^:

There  are  certain  maxims  implanted  in  the  heart  of  man  at
his  creation, — certain  instincts  which  inform  and  guide  the
heathen  as  well  as  the  Christian, — certain  desires  and  aspira-
tions which  lend  dignity  even  to  the  Hindoo ;  and  all  these,  we
are  told  by  fifty  Protestant  writers,  of  various  sects,  have  been
systematically  outraged  by  the  English  in  India. Of  all  the
sentiments  with  which  they  have  inspired  the  Asiatic  tribes,  in
spite  of  their  affected  humility,  perhaps  none  is  so  universal,
none  so  intense,  as  the  feeling  of  scorn  and  contempt. Ludi-
crous examples  are  sometimes  given  by  Indian  writers  of  the
mode  in  which  they  privately  vent  the  disgust  which  they  dare
not  openly  manifest. Thus,  at  a  great  banquet,  given  by  a
wealthy  civilian,  who  had  a  splendid  establishment,  "  was  ex-
tremely particular  about  high-caste  servants,  and  treated  them
magnificently,"  the  host  went  to  the  kitchen  to  see  why  the
dinner  was  delayed. 