The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1899-12-21


Early one morning In December In the
year 49, left my camp with a pointer
| at my heels to explore the foothills to the
northwest of Nyagong. The region
| abounded with iron ore. and the mining
syndicate I represented instructed me to
| conduct my prospecting in a way that
would not arouse the suspicion OF the
manager of another company that had al
ready established ironworks at Kaladoon-
| gle. So Il speedily became noised about
| in that section OF the Terai that ! was
| one of the many Englishmen who spend
| their leave of absence in the jungle for
| the purposes Of sport.
There was a shrewd nit in the air when
l started, and the barrels of my gun were
| SO cold that was glad had put on
| pair of thick gloves.
The jungle was hardly awake when
| struck into the path that skirted the Bore
| Nuddee. Presently green parrot
| "kr-r-r-d" tentatively MS faint flush ap
peared in the cloudless east. wild boar
| Jumped a fence few hundred yards
ahead of me, followed by the sounder. of
| which he was chief. as they left the fields
they had been marauding during the
| night. A nilghau, with his wicked looking
horns, soon followed and numbered noise
lessly away. These were the thieves of
the Terai. and they were, naturally, hur-
| rying to their coverts before the coming
day should be upon them.
| Suddenly the dewy silence was broken
by the invocation of black partridge
| the muezzin of the jungle. "Sobhan theri
| koodruth." How solemnly and with what
| splcndor of utterance and pause this
voice Of the Terai announces the miracle
| of the morning! The cry was taken up
| and passed on with a significance tina:
| dwarfed the passing of the fiery torch MS
| told by Scott in 1.-The Lady of the Lake"
| And Immediately thereafter the jungle
| was singing its many voiced matin. not
| the least notable note" OF which was
the challenge of the jungle cock, who is
a native of the Terai and whose vigor-
| GUS voice is not raucous with the civilized
| laryngeal affections of the time villatic
| fowl"
| And then, in the awakening of the for
| est, there came-Italian opera. well
| poised soprano voice silenced the jungle
| choir by a brilliantly executed chromatic
scale, as though the singer were trying
her voice. Finding it flexible enough for
| her purpose, she launched into the diff
cut-and ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. "Di tale
| amore che dirsi" in I'll Troyatore." She
suddenly stopped as though she were
ashamed Of the rubbish she sang, and
| after a pause Of half minute my soul
| was stirred by the air of Beethoven's i'm
| mortal Itch Liebe Dich," sung to the
| following words, which were beautifully
enunciated:
| I love thee, dcari All words would fail
| To tell the true and tender theme;
| Such ardent thoughts and passion pale
And humble sui. iondly deem
| Would need a poets rapturous mind
| Oh, II fit words could but be bought,
II loves own speech could not md,
ia sell my soul to express my thought.
So you should In loves tolls be caught
Oh then kindlier sun would shine.
The vermeiled flowers would look more fair,
The common world would seem divine,
| And daily things appear most rarel
| Nv soul, a soaring lark, would rise
To greet the morning OF the love
So sweetly dawning in thine eyes
| And in thy smiles. which should approve.
The tender charm of the sweet old
song, now utterly neglected for more bra
zen utterances and which only Beethoven
could have written, was thoroughly APP
preciated by the singer.
| Wishing to see her without myself be-
ing discovered and hoping to hear her
sing again, / ''stalked" her, and, behold,
she was a Padhanl. ] couldn't be mis-
taken, for she was singing David's ~
| ma maitresse" as l watched her from be-
hind the bole of great huldoo tree.
A little boy about 3 years of age played
beside her, and she sat on fallen tree
trunk and took part in the matin of the
| Terai. There was a noble breadth be-
tween her eyes that reminded one of the
Sistine Madonna and an air OF repose
about her figure which was set off by her
simple garments.
She was, without doubt, Chambeli, the
Padhanl protegee of the Fishers. whose
fight from her husband, the Rev. John
Trusler, Immediately after her return to
the Terai had been the sensation of the
season at Naini Tai few years ago.
Swapping a dry twig with my foot to
attract her attention. l stepped into the
open and approached her. Her first Inn
| pulse was to flee, but she quickly regain
cd her composure and awaited me, stand
ing, her eyes meeting mine without the
least embarrassment.
"Your singing attracted me-" l began,
taking off my hat to her.
"Yssp she replied. evidently not at al
anxious to come to my relief In the awk
ward position had sought.
att was very beautifur'-
sand 1t Is finished" she interrupted
There was a slight tone Of contempt In
her voice as she thus gave me to under
stand that my presence was unwelcome
But rs student Of psychology was moi
so easily to be moved from my design OF
Investigating the case" before me.
"The Rev. John Trusier IL dead"
paused awhile to see how de would b
affected Then, = sha gave ~ ARn 2!