A WREATH OF INDIAN STORIES.
A WREATH
OF
INDIAN STORIES.
By
A. L. O. E.,
HONORARY MISSIONARY AT AMRITSAR,
Author of “The Young Pilgrim,” “Rescued from Egypt,” &c., &c.
LONDON:
T. NELSON AND SONS, PATERNOSTER ROW;
EDINBURGH; AND NEW YORK.
Preface.
The following stories have been written byA. L. O. E. since her arrival in India, for theuse of native readers. It is deemed mostdesirable by those who thoroughly know thepeople, that their minds should be trained in the firstprinciples of morality, as well as of religion, by meansof amusing fictions, as they are particularly fond of stories.A. L. O. E. desires, therefore, to devote her pen to theservice of the land of her adoption, as there are, comparativelyspeaking, hardly any writers who enjoy the advantageof having the peculiar habits and failings of Hindus,Mohammedans, Sikhs, and native converts, perpetuallybrought before their notice, as is, or should be, the casewith a member of a missionary band.
If her little “Indian Stories” be acceptable in her dearnative land, she will be thankful; but the object whichshe chiefly aims at is to write in a way to amuse, andthrough amusement to instruct, the people of the countryof her adoption.
As stories placed in the hands of Oriental readers wouldbe comparatively useless unless written in an Oriental[6]style, and describing scenes and customs familiar to natives,A. L. O. E. has tried to adopt such a style, and depictsuch scenes. When she reviewed her work, with themental question, “What would be thought of this inEngland?” she felt how fanciful and affected her writingsmight appear to European readers, and almost gave up allidea of sending them home. And yet, as quaint and oftengrotesque ornaments brought from the East are not despisedin Britain because they are unlike our own manufactures,but are sometimes even prized for their very quaintness,it is possible that a few of A. L. O. E.’s Oriental stories maynot be unacceptable in her native land. They may evenserve to awaken a little interest in a vast country likeIndia, where a Native Church is struggling against surroundingevil influences,—a Church as yet small comparedwith the myriads of its opponents, yet gaining strength yearby year. That infant Church needs tender care and indulgencefrom those who have been brought up in a landbathed in the light of Christianity,—a land where childrenare taught almost from the cradle the value of honesty andtruth, and where little is known of the fearful difficultiesand trials which beset converts to the pure faith of thegospel.
Contents.
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