Evening star., 1911-05-26
CHAPTER VI-Contiuued.
oe,n.sst lsio TIE Boees-neniu Company.

CHAPTER VI-Continued.
His very surroundings seemed to fortify
| him with their splendor. other parts Of
| the palace bore the grievous traces OF a
| past devastating race hatred crumbling
| pillars. images whose jeweled eyes had
| been made dark and Hfeless by robber
| hands, broken pavements. defaced carv-
| ings-all these pointed to a period In hu-
man life which was gone forever, q period
| OF mad fanaticism and passionate cling
| ing to the old in defiance Of the new.
| Here the new was triumphant. Hands
still living had raised the mighty golden
dome: the fountain whose waters bub-
bled up from the sacred tank within the
| temple was his own creation. The whole
place became a sort Of outward and visi-
BILE sign Of the new life. new era. which
was opening out before him. and the old
relic q piece of clinging wreckage. Yes
terday he had been q wise man whose
judgment and guidance was thing to be
| considered
But between yesterday and today there
is occasionally long night In which
much may happen A life may go out
life may come in: a devil may become
| saint. or saint devil: q man may
swing from one pole Of opinion to an
| other and this last Is perhaps the easiest
of all. For 1t does not require much to
change a mans standpoint. A very little
thing will make him turn on his heel and
| look at a piece of the landscape which he
| has hitherto chosen to ignore or despise.
and probably acknowledge that it is finer
than his hitherto obstinately retained out
| look. A very little thing-like Columbus
egg-if one only knew just what 1t was!
The little thing In Nehal Singhs life had
l INnz,, ~ Goo chn hot n
him and his old gods; it smiled at him
from amid the shadows of his imag-
ination. beckoning him INCREASINGLY to
follow. And he was following-with the
kept inactive too long at the starting
point of life.
Il am weary of all that has hitherto
been." he told Behar Asor. MY palace
has become prison from which / must
free myself. The very air I breathe is
heavy with sleep and dreams. 1t sufro-
Gates me. I must have life-here and
without
| II understand thee too well.' came the
answer from compressed lips. THE curse
| is on thee. Thou wilt go among my enc
mics. and 1t is l, with my mistaken wis
dom, who have opened thy path to them
1t was l who taught thee their tongue,
their knowledge, their law. that when the
| time came thou shouldst stand before
them more than their equal. This Is my
punishment"
"It is no punishment. 1t is the will Of
God"
up his hands with a wild laugh that
echoed among the pillars. 1T is the will
Of the devil. who has been my curse and
shall be thine! Ay. ay. look not at me.
1t is true. Thinkest thou that I have
cause? Thinkest thou that have hidden
thee like a miser his treasure. in the
dark. unseen places, for a whim? Son.
have suffered as pray thou mayest not
have to suffer. and I have within my
| would thou couldst feel" He paused,
biting his lip as though the pain he de-
scribed was actual and physical. 60
not among the unbelievers!" he con-
.defile thee! For their breath is poison.
and in their eyes is a deadly fame-or II
thou goest. let 1t be with steeled breast
and in thy right hand a sword Of VEN
geance!'
II cannot" Nehal Singh answered, i'm
patiently. Nor do believe what thou
| sayest. This people is surely brave and
good. I know. for have read"
Read" the old man interrupted. with
another burst of stormy laughter. What
is 1t to read? To see with the eyes and
feel with the body-that alone can bring
true wisdom. And 1 have seen and felt!
Callest thou a people good who drink
our hospitality and spit upon us-who
steal our honor with their left?'
| Nehal Singh stopped short.
What meanest thou7" he demanded
Il have a meaningl' was the stern an
never told thee before-I will tell thee of
| a young man who. like thyself, was fear
| less. impetuOus, a lover OF the new and
strange, who went out into the world, and
and friend. will tell thee how he flung
| down caste and prejudice to welcome
them, drank in their thought and culture.
| trembled on the brink Of their religion.
| Already the path had been broken for
him. His mothers sister had married
out OF her race-an Englishman-I. know
| not how 1t came about-and their child
| followed in her steps. I will tell thee
how the young man came to know this
cousin and her husband, also an unbe-
| lever. How often these two became his
| guests will not tell thee. He took pleas
| ure in their presence. partly for his
mothers sake. partly because the white
| race had become dear to him. They
| brought others with them, and among
| them an English officer. Hear now
| further.
This young man had one wife. fol-
| lowing the English custom-one wife more
| as man loves but once in life. In his
| madness. in spite Of warnings Of his
| priests. he gave her the freedom almost
| of an Englishwoman. Wheresoever he
went SHe lOIlOWcu Illl1. WIFI ncI dI HIS
| right hand he received his English
| guests: 1t was she who sang to them
He ground his teeth in sudden out
burst of rage. Mad. mad was I! Mad
to trust a woman and to trust the
stranger. Son. the night came when my
wife sang no more to me. and the
strangers shadow ceased to darken my
threshold. Three years 1 sought them
three years: then one night she came
back to me. He had cast her from him.
She lay dead at my feet" His voice
shook I'm vain 1 sought justice. There
is no justice for such things among the
white people-not for themselves and not
for us. l drew my sword and. in hatred
and scorn as deep as my love and rever-
ence had been high, slew my way to the
false devil who had betrayed me. Him
slew-and his pale wife L
who was this MANI" Nehal Singh
asked. heavily.
Il know not. His name has passed
from me. But the hate remains. For
the veil from my blind eyes. and l saw
| that they were all as he-bad. cruel.
hypocrites-'
Not all-not all" Nehal Singh inter-
| rupted. He stopped by the splashing
fountain and gazed dreanaily into the
clear waters His own face he saw there
and another which was neither bad,
cruel nor hypocritical, but wholly beauti-
full. Not ALL" he repeated. You Judge
by one man. There are others. and 1t is
those I will see and know. and"
Il would rather see thee dead at my
feet!"
MY father will Judge them as find
them" Nehal Singh went on, imper-