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and beckonings of His hand, and voices saying, "This is the way, walk ye in it.”

Of course the bishop took great interest in education. At almost every station that he visited he had to take part in some school inspection or distribution of school prizes, but his work for higher education is of more importance. More frequently than ever he gave lectures to educated natives. The subjects as before were sometimes historical, sometimes missionary, and sometimes directly and avowedly on topics of religion and morality. His influence as bishop gained him better hearing and freer access to the higher classes, but his insistence on punctilios of etiquette detracted somewhat from this added power. Thus he wrote from Hyderabad in February, 1879:

'I addressed a packed room on the supernatural life, its origin, growth, and supports. I don't know when I have felt so deeply interested in any assemblage. The room was gaily decorated with mottoes, devices, coloured hangings, curtains, and flags, to welcome me on my first visitation. I got into a little trouble with some of the native gentlemen for having asked them to take their shoes off in calling on me, which I thought a proper thing as between man and man, since they do not, like ourselves, doff the hat or turban. Government in court allows both shoes and turban not to be taken off, but I always maintain that in friendly visits this should be done, I mean either the one or the other taken off. I expounded my views to them in the local newspapers, and the little stir has ceased; indeed, I hope it has had the effect of drawing us together rather and making us understand each other better.'

The bishop had been fiercely attacked in the papers on the subject, and it is probable the hope he here expresses was too sanguine. He had on his side logic; the natives law on theirs; and less insistence would have gained him greater influence, although his known affection and respect for natives tended to modify the wrong impression formed. It cannot but seem curious that one so eminently humble should fail in judgement upon such a point, yet without laying stress on such details they cannot be entirely omitted in the presenting of a faithful portrait. Here is another

case in which the shoe question appears, and the same mark of honour was exacted, but this time with good reason for a sacred building.

He wrote to Mrs. Sheldon from Gurgaon on October 22, 1880, when scarce recovered from a sharp attack of fever:-

'I have been so far better yesterday and to-day as to have some long chats with an old pupil of my Agra first class, Hira Lal. I., whom I have so often wished to see again for religious instruction, but never have till to-day, now twenty years have elapsed. He is still a strict Deist, I believe, having even got some light he says at times from a Mohammedan fakir, who made him promise once, within forty days, to repeat one particular name of God forty million times, which he said he accomplished though it was hard work, and then 4,000 times the next four days as a lighter burden, after which he says that he saw such a strange, unearthly, beautiful light as he cannot describe, which made him beside himself and led him to be indifferent to the world (though he seems to have tried to improve his worldly prospects pretty often since). We have gone over the old grounds of Christian truth again, but I think that his heart was never opened to its influence, though his mind seems simple and unbiassed; but as he was seven years a personal pupil, one cannot help feeling an interest in him. He has begged me to give a little sermon to himself and his friends in the little church of this station, sweetly situated in a shrubbery garden, and I have promised to do so, if they will come and take their shoes off.'

In July, 1886, the bishop lectured at Simla on ‘Uganda and Bishop Hannington's martyrdom.' Mozumdar, leader of the Brahmo Samaj, was one of the audience, and a conversation the bishop held with him afterwards led him to ask him to his house to tea. The bishop thus described their social intercourse :

He opened his mind very fully, and seems very hopeful, and puts Christ very far ahead of all other teachers, only not beyond the Unitarian position, I fear. I put the main Gospel truths before him as pointedly as I could. Dean Stanley seems their great authority. I told them he had been my tutor in early days. I wish they would adopt Bishop Wilkinson instead!'

Besides these independent local lectures the bishop took a leading part in the new Punjab University. During the first years of his bishopric he even took a working oar by

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throwing himself heartily into the routine toil of an examiner. His intellectual activity in these matters may be seen by extracts from his letters. On May 6, 1879, he wrote to Mrs. Sheldon ::

'For the last fortnight you would have seen my tables strewn with Hallam, Bacon, Shakespeare, Spenser, Chaucer, Macaulay, and such like books for the purpose of drawing up examination papers for our Lahore university. It will be over in a week more if all is well. These little interludes must come occasionally in the work of public servants in India. As I have so much preaching and dealing with educated natives at times, it may be useful and furnish a fresh stock of helpful ideas, but a cold has settled in my eyes, and I find them weak for such a multiplicity of incessant labour. I have a work by Mr. Hooper on the Revelations in Hindustani to read large portions of, as the S. P. C. K. requires the bishop's imprimatur. It is nicely and thoroughly done.'

A few days later, writing to his brother Valpy, who was leaving Stratford-on-Avon for Llanmartin, he said :

'I seem to know more than I did of Stratford from having to write examination papers on the English drama, and so to study I don't know how many histories and varied estimates of Shakespeare and his contemporaries. Otherwise I might as well have examined on the "Composition and Population of the Moon." Hallam and Schlegel were my great holdfasts. I have had to work at Chaucer as I never did before, and I think I see how true a father of English poetry he was. . . . My favourites will always be, I think, Spenser, Tennyson, and Wordsworth, after Shakespeare. Those studies I have interspersed with readings from Godet, Cardinal Newman's sermons, Lacordaire and his fellows, so grand in the depth and breadth of their biblical studies.'

In questions of policy and principle the advice of Bishop French was felt to be of special value both by the Government and University.

On April 21, 1882, he wrote to Miss Mills at Clifton:

'Education is now advancing with strides: the Punjab rings with it, and the Government, under Lord Ripon and our new Lieut.-Governor, Sir Charles Aitchison, is stirring itself with the utmost vigour and industry to grapple with the question. The present idea (in which I do not quite sympathize, not at least to the extreme to which it is carried), is to push forward primary

education, and promote far and wide village schools, and to with draw Government support from high-class schools for the young men seeking to raise themselves to high employments and salaries in the service of the State. Yesterday I had imposed upon me by the university senate here a formidable task, which I must blame myself for, as I pushed Government rather hardly perhaps (in a lecture I gave on "Our New University") to promote the highest moral teaching of the youth in their schools. I proposed also to the senate that two volumes of the most striking and forcible passages from various sources should be issued by them, leading up to God and to His faith and fear and love, though not teaching Christianity exactly, which our Government (rightly or wrongly) is pledged not to do. I want to get the Delhi brotherhood to compile such a work, to be followed by a third volume of distinctly Christian ethics for Christian schools.

It

'It was curious in the senate committee yesterday to see how the native (non-Christian) members pushed this forward. perfectly amazed me, and filled my heart with thankfulness. A clever man, a Brahmo, hearing me remark that the third volume, being of purely Christian ethics, would be for Christian schools alone, replied, "Oh, but we shall want to have that too." "But it all leads up to Christ," I said, "draws all from union and fellowship with Him; you could not adopt that." "Oh, we are quite prepared to do it," he said-and that in the presence of Hindus and Sikhs, and (what is more) of Europeans too, who would thus be witnessed to by non-Christians, speaking up for Christ as they themselves certainly would not have done, I fear.

'It has been such joy to me to be a herald of Christ's truth in so many towns, both Delhi itself and other large places all round it, and to see how Christianity grows in popular esteem and honour, and how men fear because of it, though they will not in any large number of cases embrace it. Doubtless a great struggle must come before the great fortress of Hinduism falls flat before the ark of God. It is a time when we want some first-rate chaplains like Martyn and Corrie, for our university senate is now holding out the hand to God-fearing men who, by their linguistic and scientific attainment and force of moral and religious character, can influence native youth. The tone of the better class of the native mind seems to be, "If we can't have Hinduism and Sikhism, let us at least have good solid Christian character in our rulers and teachers, not false and empty Christian profession without practice." It is a great time of God's own preparing. Would that England would know the time and recognize the beckoning finger!'

Six weeks later, on June 8, he wrote to his brother Valpy :

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The Punjab Government is full of the subject of extending education through the masses of the people, and we are being examined before committees, and long wearisome papers of inquiries have to be filled up. There is some greater approach to unanimity than formerly, but Hindus and Mohammedans will have their jealousies and heart-burnings, and the English civilians care little about the matter as a whole. I have had to decline the Vice-Chancellorship of the new university here, for I felt it would really overpower me; a Mr. Lyall has been appointed, a brother of the Lieut.-Governor of the North-West Provinces. Lord Ripon is full of the subject, and would gladly embrace religious education in the scheme if he could and were not so pressed from home. In spite of him and Sir Charles Aitchison, our new Lieut.-Governor, a firm ally of the Gospel of Christ, and a disciple and old pupil of Tholuck and Hengstenberg, agnostic influence is very strong, and its negative influences sadly paralyze action. Still the truth cannot be buried out of sight, and ever and anon lives and stands up upon its feet.'

On July 13, 1882, he wrote to Mrs. French from Dugshai

:

Think of the Pioneer printing verbatim all my written paper on the educational question, the only one it has taken the trouble to print! It has an article in which it declares I have burst the whole bubble of Government education, unless the counsels given are taken. Of course I shall get attacked on the other side. I only hope the honours gained this year, so far beyond any other year almost, may be laid at the feet of Jesus, and that Christ may be put in the place of self. My main wish is to gain souls, and as my main wish is so little gratified, I cannot set much store by the lesser honours acquired. However, if Government could see their way to follow out the lines and counsels I have suggested, it might be a real abiding blessing to the Punjab.'

A few extracts from his evidence before the Commission will further explain his views:

'It by no means appears to me a self-evident fact that a smattering of knowledge is valuable to the masses and improves the character of men, except where, as in European countries, there has been for a long period a permeating and leavening influence of intelligence and enlightenment from the reading and thinking classes down to the lower. . The popular cry among enthusiastic Englishmen (at home chiefly) for mass education in India