by F. E. Penny
CHAPTER XV
Eola sat with her brother after dinner as usual at the end of theverandah where there was shelter from the night air. Wenaston read,and Eola finding his society dull, retired early to her room. Theservants had gone to their go-downs at the back of the compound to eattheir evening meal. The cicalas whirred in the foliage of theoleanders, and a brown owl screamed in its shikarring flight over theroof of the house. Above the noises of the night was heard a step onthe carriage drive.
Wenaston rose and went to the top of the verandah steps. Two men stoodunder the portico keeping in the shadow of the ornamental shrubs.
"Who is there?" he asked in a low voice.
One of the visitors came forward into the light and Wenaston recognisedBopaul.
"Oh, it's you, is it?"
"Yes, sir; I have brought Ananda. He wants to see you about Mr.Alderbury's offer."
Wenaston descended the steps and they retreated together out of reachof the lamp light.
"How did you hear of it?" he asked in some surprise.
There was a slight pause and then Bopaul explained that he had heard ofit and had told Ananda.
"From the telegraph clerk, I suppose," said Wenaston. "If he knows itthe whole town knows it."
"Perhaps; but Ananda's people have not been told."
"So much the better; it will make it easier for you to get away," saidWenaston addressing Ananda.
"I have come to see you to-night, sir, to say that I have decided notto accept Mr. Alderbury's invitation. I shall be glad if you willwrite and tell him so. I have sent a letter which Bopaul posted forme; but it will be as well if you will add your word to mine."
Wenaston listened in surprise. He had concluded that the visit wasmade for the purpose of raising money for the journey. It had notcrossed his mind that the invitation would be refused. He gazed at hisvisitors in the darkness as though he had not heard correctly.
"Are you wise to remain here after the hostile demonstration we haveexperienced in the college? I am afraid it won't end there."
"It would be cowardly to run away," said Ananda in a firm voice thatbetokened determination backed by courage. "I have reasons forremaining under my father's roof. I am attached to my parents and----"he hesitated for a moment and then added quickly, "and to my wife andchild. If these two would come with me I would go to-morrow, or evento-night; but I won't leave Chirapore without them."
"I am not sure that you are acting wisely; though I can't deny that itis courageous. You need not stay away for ever. You might return atany time. Popular antagonism will die down if you are not here to keepit alive; and your family might become more reconciled to the step youhave taken."
"They might; on the other hand they might consider me as dead; and thenthink of the fate of my wife."
"They would regard her as a widow, you mean."
"The case is exceptional and without precedent in Chirapore. They aremore likely to consider the marriage annulled by my departure, and togive my wife to another man. That shall not be as long as I have anarm to protect her. She is mine; mine by right of past possession andshe shall be mine in the future."
Even Bopaul was impressed by the new attitude of his friend. Theweakness had disappeared in a marvellous manner, and every trace oftimidity had vanished.
"You might gain immediate possession of your wife if you would give upyour new faith, and place yourself unreservedly in the hands of theguru and purohit," remarked Bopaul probing the new found courage withcuriosity.
Ananda turned on him.
"That I will never do. I may have to suffer for it. Others havesuffered for their religious opinions before now. I will keep my faithand I will have my wife and child. My father may disinherit me but hecannot deprive me of my son; and where the son is the mother willfollow."
"You have no power as a Christian over your child," said Wenaston,feeling that it would be wrong to leave him in ignorance of his trueposition. "The law of the State will not give you the custody of him."
"Who says so?"
He named the native lawyer whom Alderbury had consulted.
"As long as you remain in the State of Chirakul you are in the positionof an outlaw, deprived of your citizenship, your legal standing, yourcivil rights. As soon as you set foot in British India you resume yourrights and can claim protection and justice in the courts of lawbelonging to the territory; although of course you can't obtain redressagainst this State. Hadn't you better go where your rights will berespected and where you will have religious freedom?"
"If things grow hopeless I might do so; but at present I wish to remainhere and show my parents that I have no intention of running away. Onthe contrary I am going to fight for my rights."
Again Bopaul's eyebrows were uplifted.
"Were you hurt, by the by, yesterday?" asked Wenaston.
"Nothing to speak of. I had a nasty blow on my head; but beyond a headache I am none the worse, thank you, sir. We won't keep you anylonger. I shall be glad if you will let Mr. Alderbury know that I amgrateful. At the same time make him understand that I have made up mymind to adopt this course, and that I am not likely to change. I thinkhe will approve of my facing the situation instead of running away fromit. And tell him also that I mean to fight for my wife and child."
Wenaston turned back into the verandah and took up his book; but hisattention wandered, and a little later he gave up attempting to read.As he extinguished the lamp he said to himself; "I wonder how muchendurance the man has; and how much he will require to carry himthrough his troubles. Where would the Christianity of some of us be ifwe were outlawed; and bashed on the head; and deprived of our wives andchildren?"
After bidding Dr. Wenaston good night Bopaul and his companion walkedhome by unfrequented paths to avoid chance pedestrians. There was notmuch danger of molestation unless Ananda deliberately put himself inthe way of it. No concerted action was likely to be taken at present;and his prompt disappearance from the college went far to allay theirritation that had sprung up so suddenly among the students.
The two friends parted in silence except for a few whispered words fromBopaul to the effect that he would look him up on the morrow.
Bopaul's attitude towards his friend was curious. He had no sympathywith his conversion to Christianity. He regarded the action asinexpedient and bordering on foolishness. His opinion was that it hadbeen carried out in haste, and without due consideration of all thedifferent issues involved.
His friendship with Ananda was of long standing, dating from earlychildhood, and the two men were attached to each other by ties ofaffection that could not be easily broken. It grieved Bopaul to seehis friend living in discomfort, and he was ready as far as he was ableto render any little service that might be within his power. TheEnglish training had fostered an independence of thought with tolerancefor the opinions of others; and it showed its effects in Bopaul'scharacter. He took an independent line of action with regard to hisfriend as well as his sister. According to the unwritten law of castethe widow and the outlaw should have been ruthlessly thrust from hislife. Instead of abandoning them to their fate he maintained abrotherly love for one and a friendly affection for the other.
Of the two Ananda interested him the more. He found himself studyingthe development of his friend's character under the fire of adversity.Obstinacy had already given birth to courage, and courage was breedingpatience. Ananda's refusal to take flight roused his admiration. Thefirmly expressed determination to gain possession of his wife and childappealed to the romance that is inherent in all human beings, and ofwhich Bopaul had a full share. In addition curiosity as to how theaffair would end helped to retain his attention and interest.
Bopaul continued his habit of taking Mayita for a walk every day. Thisdaily outing, sometimes in the morning, sometimes in the evening, wasthe breath of life to the girl. She lived for it; it was the one rayof veritable sunshine that entered her darkened life. Perhaps it wasthe knowledge of
this fact that made the brother sacrifice everythingelse to the little daily act of charity.
They were a strange couple, the brother and sister; and more than onepair of inquisitive eyes looked after them as they strolled towards theforest. At first his mother shook her head over the arrangement. Sheeven went so far as to try and stop it by setting Mayita tasks thatwould keep her occupied when her brother called for her to come.Bopaul with his casual manner, that was none the less insistent for allits apparent indifference, over-ruled his mother by seeking out Mayitaand carrying her away from her unfinished work regardless of herprotests.
"Let be, wife; and trouble not yourself. You need have no fear thatour son will offend against the laws of caste," said his father.
"It is not that which I fear; it is the bad luck the widow may bringupon him," returned the anxious mother.
"Many men who have travelled have learned to disregard our omens. Aslong as the boy doesn't follow in Ananda's steps I am content."
"He is not likely to do that if we may believe the guru. The swami wassatisfied that his faith in our gods was not shaken."
"If it had been shaken he would not have performed all the ceremoniesthat were necessary on his return. Be content and let the boy go whichway he pleases. A little liberty in the field will keep the bullockfrom straying into the forest where the tiger lies."
Bopaul's mother was of too indolent a disposition to seek unnecessarytrouble. Having spoken to her husband she rested in the comfortableassurance that responsibility was shifted on to his shoulders. She putno more obstacles in the way of the walks, and they were continued toBopaul's satisfaction and the girl's intense delight.
She was in her fourteenth year, but she looked older. During the lastfew months she had lost all trace of childishness and had matured likemost Hindu girls of that age.
As they walked, Mayita's hand in his, he told her of that wonderfulcountry in the west where he had lived for more than three years amongwhite people; where there was no caste; where widows after two years ofmourning dressed themselves like other women with gold and jewels, andmarried again if they chose. She interrupted him to express her horrorof such depravity on the part of widows in any country civilised orsavage. She herself would sink into the earth with shame if she wereasked to pursue such an outrageous course. He described the life onboard the big ship; the wide blue water with no land visible; the stormand tumbling waves with their white crests. Then he took her inimagination to Bombay where the pictures he drew were easier torealise; and he told her of the crowded streets, the tall houses andthe magnificent carriages of the Governor and native princes.
Now and then they stopped. Bopaul seated himself upon a boulder or afallen tree and read a book. Mayita gathered flowers, and had it notbeen for her sad condition the sweet blossoms would have been pushedinto the strands of her hair; but the luxuriant black locks were goneand the bare shaven pate in its widowed condition offered no temptationfor floral adornment.
Sometimes she played a little game by herself with sticks and stonesand leaves to represent the feast at which she would never again bepresent. She bade the imaginary guests welcome and served them withmake-believe dainties. She paid them compliments and dismissed themwith gifts of attar of rose and pan-supari, as she had seen her mothertreat her real guests in the old days before Coomara died.
Then Bopaul would close his book and call to her to come home. Ontheir way they sometimes stopped at Pantulu's house; and Bopaul leavingher under the trees by the compound wall sought Ananda in his littleroom. The solitary man responded eagerly, and joined his friend withan alacrity that showed how the little act of kindness was appreciated.They paced to and fro at the end of the compound furthest from thehouse, till it was time for Mayita to return once more to the women'squarters of her father's house.
No one interfered to stop the intercourse. If Bopaul liked to seek outhis friend, he was welcome to do so; and if he brought his widowedsister with him there was no one to say him nay. He was at liberty toplease himself; but to those who happened to observe the trio it seemeda strange way of amusing himself, to choose a widow as his companionand to visit an out-caste.
Unknown to Ananda one of the most interested watchers of his movementswas Dorama his wife. Hidden from all eyes she gazed through the chinkof a shutter at the familiar figure in the distance. The boyishnesswas gone; it was the form of a man, a strong well-set-up man who wouldfind favour with any woman. In spite of all that had happened he wasstill her husband. The thought thrilled her with a strangerestlessness and longing. It was very hard--it was almost unbearableto be separated thus. Did he yearn for her as she yearned for him? Hecould not or he would break down every barrier and come to her. Hewould submit to the ceremonies for the restoration of his caste. Hewould obey every order given by guru or purohit. He would allownothing, nothing!--nothing!--to stand between them and keep them apart.
The tears coursed down her cheeks in anger and disappointment. At onemoment she could have scratched and bitten him for the contumacy thatwas costing her so much misery; at another she could have devoured himwith passionate kisses.
Meanwhile all unconscious of the secret watcher Bopaul and Anandatalked. They spoke in English mindful of listening ears. A littlecross-examining of Mayita would elicit all she knew of what passed inconversation. It was best for those concerned that there should be notale-bearing.
"You don't realise the greatness of your old faith," Bopaul was sayingas they strolled under the shade of the trees that bordered thecompound.
"How can it be great when it fails to satisfy?" objected Ananda.
"First let me show you that Hinduism is great by the light of its pasthistory," said Bopaul eagerly.
He plunged into much the same story as Alderbury had told Eola. Hedescribed the antiquity of Hinduism; its marvellous organisation; itspower of absorbing the conquered races; and he extolled the system ofcaste.
Ananda listened and at the conclusion he remarked, "Caste and the powerof the Brahman are being already undermined."
"In what way?"
"We have apologists for their existence. If either were divine inorigin there would be no necessity for an apology."
"I deny that the system of caste is being undermined. It may haveovergrown itself and need pruning. Some of the senseless subdivisionsshould be broken up; and we want reform in our marriage laws----"
His eyes sought the figure of his sister as she gathered some starryblue flowers growing among the rank grass.
"Even if the caste system were reformed," objected Ananda, "and thegreatness of Hinduism established in the world, there are certaintenets of its faith that seem to me impossible for an educated andenlightened man to accept."
"Such as----?"
"Transmigration."
"Ah, yes; I remember. That was the rock you split on."
"I cannot accept the weary round of those cycles of rebirths."
"You accept a cycle of existence of some sort?"
"Existence; life; immortality of the soul; yes."
"Which implies existence prenatal and after physical death?"
"Certainly; Mr. Alderbury says that the germ of that idea lies hiddenin most religions."
"If you admit so much, why can't you accept the transmigration theory?It accounts for all the suffering that exists. It is a retributivesystem of perfect justice. The pains you suffer now are due solely toyour own actions in a previous embodiment; and your conduct now willpredetermine your pleasure and pain in your next incarnation. To me itis an acceptable theory relieving one of an enormous responsibility."
"If you really believe such a theory in its entirety, why do youattempt to give that child pleasure?"
Bopaul laughed but made no reply, and Ananda continued:
"The hopeless retributive character of the theory of transmigrationseems to militate against our faith in the transcendence of God. Thesystem imposes limits not consistent with His Infinitude.Transmigration may see
m just and right from a human point of view; butit is too full of tragedy to be seriously regarded as the deliberatework of an unlimited Deity."
"It does away with injustice," persisted Bopaul.
"And grinds existence down to a mechanism," added Ananda."Christianity gives something infinitely superior--a good and perfectGod. The knowledge of this Deity has come to us through Jesus Christ.He has shown us not a retributive mechanical Deity, but a great andwonderful Father who deals with us better than we deserve. Though menmay by their freedom of choice choose what ought to bring them to ruin,the desire of God expressed through Christ, the great teacher, is tosave them from the consequences of their actions."
"What good can pain and suffering do if it is not a mill ofretribution?"
"It is an education and a discipline in the government of self. Ispeak personally for I have felt my position in my father's house morethan a little. You may not see any change in my character, but I knowthat my views on the brotherhood of man and the Fatherhood of God havealtered. I don't mind confessing that my attitude towards the pariahwho acted as my servant by my parents' orders has modified. Theythought to humiliate me, but they have taught me a lesson. I recognisehis humanity and his good qualities."
"Yet you can't take the food he brings you?"
"No, I can't; to my shame be it said; for it distresses him to see mestarve. There's a wide gulf between theory and practice in his case,and for the present I prefer to starve."
"Poor, weak, human nature!" said Bopaul with a laugh in which Anandajoined, although the subject was no laughing matter.
"And if pain comes into the life of a child who is not old enough tohave sinned; how do you account for it?" asked Bopaul returning to thecharge.
"To reply in detail to this and similar objections would require agreater knowledge of the spiritual world than even the apostlesthemselves possessed. 'Now we see through a glass darkly,' said St.Paul. Later illumination will assuredly come. The curtain was partlylifted when Christ was born. At His second coming it will be entirelyraised, and by that time our eyes will be strong enough to bear thelight."
There was silence which Bopaul broke with another question.
"Does the missionary teach you that after death comes sleep?"
"No; there is no stagnation in the spiritual world any more than thereis in the material world. The souls of the departed are possessed ofconscious memory, and they have a sense of pain and pleasure. Ibelieve," he spoke solemnly and with shining eyes that seemed to lookbeyond the limit of the Hindu's mental vision, "that Coomara instead ofbeing reborn as a dog or a reptile in this world has entered into newpowers of vitality and energy in a spiritual world that far exceeds thelimitations of this world. He lived a blameless life according to hislights, and he has entered into another life in which there will beprogression and development. With his entry into that new life he willacquire new powers of comprehension. There will be a great movementforward in spirituality between his state here on earth and the newestate in the world he has entered. The step will be as great orgreater than if a dog entered the human life and were endowed withhuman privileges."
"Excepting that he died under the ban of broken caste, Coomara waswithout faults," acquiesced Bopaul. "But I cannot disregard theteaching of the guru who says that because of that broken caste he mustsuffer."
"And I say in all honest hope," cried Ananda in ringing tones thatcaused the widow to glance at him in surprise. "I say that through thepower of the Christian's Man-God, Jesus Christ, the Great All-Father inHis mercy and love will receive Coomara to Himself, and preserve himfrom the fate you anticipate. I think upon his prospects almost withenvy. There was a time when I could only shudder in terror at what waspromised by our faith; but now I am satisfied that he is happy."
"The Hindu faith does not deny a progression towards a better stateafter death," said Bopaul.
"May be; but it limits improvement to merit; and the merit is made todepend not only upon the past deeds of the dead, but also upon thevoluntary deeds of the living descendants of the dead. A neglect ofthe shraddah ceremonies by the grandchildren to the fourth generationcondemns the soul to inferior rebirth. Those rites for the repose ofthe dead are monstrous in their assumption and ridiculous in theirchildish nature."
"All rites seem ridiculous and meaningless if you judge them by theiraction alone," said Bopaul.
"Yet you perform them slavishly," said Ananda turning on him.
Bopaul laughed as though he shook off all responsibility for the reasonof his actions.
"I am what that Englishman called his friend, do you remember? 'ablatant ritualist.' I love ceremonies. They give me a comfortablesense of having done my duty to the gods and to men. I feel as if Ihad got out of debt and was starting afresh with a clean page."
"Do you really believe in them?" asked Ananda searching the face of theother in a vain endeavour to penetrate the superficial lightness withwhich Bopaul touched these matters.
"The purohit and the guru believe in them. My father pins his faith tothem, and I am content to take their word for it."
"And I am not! To my mind the three great props of Hinduism arecrumbling away in spite of your blind faith--transmigration, theimmaculate authority of the Brahmans and their Vedas; and the castesystem."
"Rank treason!" cried Bopaul roused at last into something approachingexcitement. "It is as well that the guru doesn't hear you! Caste willnever die; it will change its constitution and become more social thanreligious. The Vedas will have new exponents and the germs that liehidden in them will be brought to light and understood. Transmigrationwill be modified with a new theory of progression in a life in otherspheres under different conditions of corporality from the earthlylife; and Hinduism reformed will be greater than ever."
"It can only be done through Christ," responded Ananda with theenthusiasm of the convert. "Christianity will develop all the germsthat lie fallow in Hinduism and will throw light in the dark places.Why is the west to monopolise a revelation that was originally given tothe east? Why is the west to appropriate to itself the emancipationand promises made by that revelation? We have a right to claim Christfor ourselves," he concluded. "I for one make that claim and no oneshall deny me!"
Again there was silence. Then Bopaul, without any outward sign ofexcitement, remarked:
"Haste is an evil counsellor. You are asking for trouble and you willget it. Tell me, have you had a decent lodging or meal since you havebeen under your father's roof?"
Ananda calmed down under the material inquiry after his bodily welfare,and he replied in a subdued voice:
"No, and I am not likely to get one as far as I can see unless, as Isaid, I accept it at the hands of the sweeper."
"How do you exist?"
"I have some biscuits and I buy a draught of water from the castewaterman in the town. Mr. Alderbury very kindly brought me some foodwhen he came to see me."
"I can't bring you any food I am sorry to say. My mother wouldconsider it an unfriendly act towards your parents. How is your moneylasting?"
"It is nearly finished."
"And then?"
"I haven't thought about it," replied Ananda, a troubled expressionovershadowing his face.
"I can lend you a little. I brought it to-day, a ten rupee note. Itis all I have that I need not account for. I can get plenty from myfather, but he takes good care to inform himself of how and where itgoes. The note is in this envelope. Don't let my sister see it; shemight tell my mother. Just slip it into your pocket as quickly as youcan."
He held out his hand to Mayita. "Come, little one, it is time we wenthome."
At the entrance to the compound Bopaul stopped.
"Take my advice and go to Mr. Alderbury," he said suddenly.
"Not without my wife."
"She will never join you."
"That remains to be proved," replied Ananda unconvinced.
"And remember that as a 'vert you have no con
jugal rights," to whichremark the other did not reply.
Dorama still furtively watching saw Ananda return slowly and enter themean little yard into which his still meaner room opened. The smell ofthe curry prepared for the midday meal of the household met hernostrils.
"How does he continue to live and look so strong and handsome? Herefuses to eat the food sent by the sweeper. Ah! it should be given bymy hand, the hand of his wife. It is my right. Husband! come to me!In your need, your hunger, cannot you hear the voice of your wifecalling!"