The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1913-06-09
A Transmigration
Story !.
BY F. A. mitchell

Il one Kadur, an old man, lay dying His
4 wife knelt by his bedside-there were
q no children--waiting for the end and
4 praying to yishnu In his behalf. In
!; India they believe In the transmigra-
|; ton of souls, and the woman prayed
|: that In order that she might have her
I husband near her his spirit might pass
!; into the body of one of her pets, OF
I which she had a great many. When
! she was satisfied that he was dead she
left the body where it lay and, weep
I ing, went out to another room. AS she
opened the door she saw In the middle
: of the floor a tiny monkey that had
just been born looking up at her with
; peart face and pair of bright eyes.
Whether or not 1t was her imagination
/ that made this human-like countenance
appear In her eyes to resemble her late
husband it is impossible to say. Ger
tain it is that she took the little crea-
ture up in her arms and Rugged 1t to
her bosom, at the same time thanking
her god that he had answered her
prayer for she did not doubt that the
soul of him she loved had passed into
the body of the monkey Just born.
Now, the woman was rich, and this is
what she did She made will, leav-
ing all her property to the monkey so
4 long as 1t lived, and at its death 1t
was TO go to her nephew, Rustom,
boy of whom she was very fond. She
also bequeathed the monkey to wo-
| man In whom she had great confidence,
! who was TO have large sum for its
| care as hong as II lived. 1t was thus
made the interest of its keeper to pre-
serve its life as long as possible.
| The widow lived three years after
her husbands death. When she died
her nephew. Rustom, was about eight
| cen years old and had a sweetheart.
Naturally he wished to marry and
needed the money.
But the woman, Dulmara. who was
getting large pay for taking care of
her ward. realizing that Rustom was
Interested in its death, redoubled her
efforts to keep the monkey alive. She
put it In a wing of the house, had
iron bars put on all the windows. and
no one was permitted to go in to 1t
without passing through apartments
occupied by herself.
But these precautions were not nee
essary, for Rustom had been brought |
up to believe that his uncle's soul was |
in the monkey and IL he killed 1t he |
would be guilty of crime But Agya, /
the girl he wished to marry. had been
to a Christian mission school and did /
not believe In the transmigration theo-
~. She could not see why n monkey i
should prevent her and the youth she
loved from enjoying a fortune. In
deed, she thought no more of killing
monkey than dog. Besides, 1t was
plain that Dulmara might at the mon
keys death substitute another monkey II
In its place and keep on thus substi-
tuting monkeys till the crack of doom.
She therefore determined that the lit
tie beast should die.
Fortunately for her intention, Rus
toms love for her was not known to
Dulmara, nor had Dulmara ever seen
her.
One day Agya appeared to Dulmara
and said that she had a singular dream.
But before she told the dream she look
ed about her at the pets which were
around. A hen was sitting
on some eggs. upon seeing which Agya
told her dream. She said that woman
had appeared to her in her sleep and
said that her husbands soul was In a
In house which she describ-
ed The woman herself had died and
passed into the body of cow sacred
In India. The COW was about to die.
and the womans spirit had been per
mitted by Vishnu TO be born in the o
house where her husband lived in a
body. She would come out
II an egg The girl was instructed to
20 to the house described. and the first 4
.hicken Matched in that house would
contain the spirit of the wife of the
nan whose spirit inhabited the mon
,ey She was to have the care of the
hicken.
There is no end to the superstition in II
he people of India, and Dulmara be- n
ieved the story. While the two were
alking a wee chick picked through
he shell of an egg. and this settled the
natter. Dulmara did not dare TO turn
Igya away for fear of the wrath of the
my bird which might contain the soul
+ her from whom she drew her sti-
end. The girl was at once taken into
he household and given the care of the
hicken. she took IL in to see the mon
ey. but the little brute evidently did v
OF recognize il as its wife, for If per
lifted TO get at 1t would have eaten 1t.
Agya. having effected an entrance TO q
ne household as well as access to the
donkey. lost no time in carrying out
he rest of her plan. Soon after her a
rival the monkey sickened and died
he next day.
Though Aeya did not admit that she
ad poisoned the monkey. she threw of
le sham she had put on and. leaving II
er little ward to take care of itself II
ent TO Rustom and told him that he
Id succeeded TO his fortune. she be-
G witness 10 the death of the mon
y, he had no trouble in securing his
'operty. The two were married. but
gya did not then dare to tell her hus-
md that she had killed the monkey
81 he consider her a murderess
Years after. when she had converted