The herald., 1897-05-05
BRAMACHARIN'S PROTEST

des. whose official designation appears
in the caption only recognized the dizzy
immensity of the task that he under
took when he bearded a woman's con-
gress in the hall Of its sessions, he might
today be comparatively happy Brah-
min. This exponent Of philosophy
that is older than the pyramids, and
quite as mysterious to the average
western scholar, has been the recipient
Of great attention wherever he has
in California. Being high-caste
Brahmin at home and a sort of meta
physical lion abroad. he became in some
degree, impregnated with that sin by
which the angels fell. In other words,
the Brahmacharin became ambitious to
dictate. This ambition was not in it.
self unworthy. and might have focused
in Some of our western shortcomings
with telling effect if it had been directed
by good judgment But the Brahmin's
judgment was bad, and his discretion
was worse than his judgment. No man
OF even average Judgment would
ever attempt to raid a live
cyclone with an expanded um-
brella in the hope Of changing its
direction, and this is about the equiva-
lent of the Brahmin's onslaught in the
womans congress. OF course the Brah-
min was right in his reference to the
modern society hat. Half the newspa-
pers of the country have been waging
an unavailing war against the befeath-
cred f1ower-garden hat for half life
time. Ministers of the Gospel have de-
nounced it; theater-goers have INDUCED
in profane thoughts in its presence: leg
islatures have prescribed it, and even
nature. represented IN the incarnated
poetry of her myriad feathered song
sters. Slaughtered to make Roman
holiday" records her mute protest
against the ghastly adornment.
In another direction the impolitic
Brahmin was probably right. He found
himself in the presence of a convention
Of reformers. The speakers were decid-
edly able and learned. Excepting only
the paper read by Mrs. Gardener, the
discussions were temperate. Unfor-
tunately, Mrs. Gardeners paper was of
the "tyrant man" order. Its side allu
sions, also, tended to proclaim the per-
sonality of the speaker somewhat OBJ
trusively. Now. the eastern reformers,
like all the reformers of the west who
have ever succeeded in producing any
permanent good results, have invaria
bly, been persons Of great self-denial.
whose first acts in the sphere of refor-
nation were the renunciation of every
feeling ard every sentiment of selfish
superiority. The Brahmin believes, as
we of the west have been taught, that
precept can have but little effect ex
cept as it is enforced by example. Here
he found precept Of a high order, with
the Oriental example of humility left
out. Not only was the example that
his special training demanded wholly
absent, but he found instead that
which he regarded as worse than non
existent example. He found minus
example expressed in dress and in ad-
dress. In the presence of so much
pomp and circumstance at home in
India, he would have soliloquized:
White parasols and elephants mad
with prlde!" Little wonder that the
simple, sincere, mendicant Brahmin
should have lost his self-control! But
this he surely did, and elapsed into
rudeness descending to abuse. Yet he
said nothing that our western evangel-
ist, Sam Jones, has not said and said
with greater emphasis.
There can be no manner of doubt
that among the members of the woman's S
congress are to be found some Of the
grandest characters of today and if the
Hindoo's wild reproof should impel some
of these to examine the logic of his
protest, the work might not be alto
gether improbable.