he left bank of the river with the Trunk road on the right, leading to
Behar and Bengal. Near this place the most of the native craft employed
in the city traffic is moored. Many of the vessels are of considerable
size.

For hours Benares had been in sight, but owing to the strength of the
stream our progress had been slow. It was early afternoon by the time of
our arrival. In so public a place as Raj Ghat there are always a number
of people, but the early afternoon is a time when few bathe, and there
is a lull in the stir of the community. As the afternoon comes on, and
the evening advances, there is fresh activity. We therefore, on landing,
saw little of the scene with which we were afterwards to become
familiar.

Word of the approach of our steamer and flat had reached Secrole, the
European suburb of Benares, three miles inland, and no sooner had we
come to anchor than the agent of the Steam Company and the friends of
expected passengers came on board. Among these was the Rev. William
Smith of the Baptist Mission, whose house was on the high bank
immediately above Raj Ghat, and who had been requested by my brethren of
the London Missionary Society to be on the look-out for me. This good
man gave me a kindly welcome, and took me with him to his house, built
very much in the native fashion, with flat roof, with small, low rooms
entering from one into another, and a verandah extending along its
front, from which a commanding view was obtained of the river and craft
below, the country on the other side of the river, and a part of the
front of the city. Immediately behind the house was the chapel, in which
daily worship was conducted.

[Sidenote: PREACHING TO BEGGARS.]

The first thing I saw on getting to Mr. Smith's house was the chapel
crowded with very poor-looking people, of whom a number were blind and
lame. I was told these were beggars, who came every Lord's-day to
receive a dole, either pice or dry grain, from the missionary and his
wife, and who listened very patiently to an address before the dole was
given. This service was kept up for many years, and there was no falling
off in the attendance. Those who have read the life of Henry Martyn, and
others of the early missionary period in India, know that they
ministered to this class. Here were persons whose destitution appealed
directly to the Christian heart, and who were content to be present when
the gospel message was delivered, while little access to othe