56 LETTERS FROM MADRAS, [ier. xr. eee
LETTER THE THIRTEENTH,
Rajahmundry, October 3tst.
We are very eager about our intended Native School—writing,
and planning, and preparing. The difficulty, as usual, has been
to find a proper master. In this part of India there are no
native Christians, and ef course we did not wish to have a Heathen
master. On Sunday there came unexpectedly to the service
a half-caste stranger. As we had never seen him there befbre,
A—— made some inquiries about him afterwards, and heard
that he was here only for a couple of days on some business of a
lawsuit; that he understands English well, writes a good hand,
and spells correctly ; and it looked respectable and well-dispased
his taking the opportunity of coming to chureh. He is now
gone back to his own home; but, as he seemed promising, and
we knew of no one better, A has written to offer him the
schoolmaster’s post. if he understands Gentoo; and we are now
waiting for his answer. Meanwhile we are busy giving it out
among the natives, and collecting promises of scholars. To-day
one of the upper Court servants {post-office head writer), called
for a chat, so we decumentized him, and he offered to look for
scholars, A asked whether, if we set upa girls’ school, any
girls would come; but Seenevasarow said, “‘ No: what for girls
learn?” We had « great discussion on the subject, but heended
by saying that if a girl learned te read, some misfortune was sure
to happen to ker relations—most likely her father or mother
would die. We told him that Z had learned both to read and to
write, and my father and mother were alive and well, and that
all European ladies learnt reading and writing, and yet no mis-
fortune happened to any of their relations In consequence ; but
he said, “ Ah! Europe people never mind—never hurt; only
native people hurt.” A. told him that it was a notion the
