The Outcaste. F. E. Penny

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СКАЧАТЬ turned from the speaker to the silent Professor, and gathered strength from his steady gaze.

      "Don't wait, Bopaul; I am not going out this morning."

      With a lifting of the shoulders the other left the room, shifting responsibility on to the Englishman. Silence was maintained for some seconds after his departure. Ananda broke it.

      "If only I could believe that this endless cycle of rebirths need not be, I should be happier," he said.

      The pathetic appeal for some ray of hope went straight to Twyford's heart. Pity and an intense desire to help in spiritual trouble roused the man, and he poured forth the doctrines of comfort that console the dying Christian. It was not done with the intention of converting, but in the merciful desire of bringing some small consolation to the despairing man to whom the fear of the future made life in the present intolerable. The fate that had overtaken Coomara might at any moment, whether at home or abroad, be Ananda's.

      For more than an hour they talked, and the gloom on Ananda's face lightened.

      "It is most comforting as you put it, but—it is not my creed," he said. There was a pause, and he added, "I cannot change my faith."

      "I do not ask you to change it. Is it not possible, however, in these days of advanced thought that you may be able to modify some of the fossilised tenets of your religion? The spirit of reform is abroad, and a Hindu may become a member of the Brahmo-Somaj or the Ayra-Somaj without losing caste, without cutting himself adrift from his community, his family. There is no hurry. The fathers may rest content to think of these things. Their sons will act."

      There was a sound of a footstep outside. The door opened, and Bopaul appeared.

      "Lunch is ready, sir. I am sure you must be tired talking so long. You should have driven that foolish Ananda out into the air and sunshine, instead of letting him waste your time."

      "I don't think that the time has been wasted," replied the Professor, kindly.

      Bopaul shot a swift glance at Ananda, but learned nothing except the fact that the latter was ill at ease under his scrutiny. The lunch bell rang, and Ananda hurried to his room. As he disappeared Bopaul said in a tone that was unusually earnest for him.

      "Sir, remember your promise to his parents. Forgive me for reminding you of it. I know his people, and what a terrible thing it will be for them if his faith is shaken. He is their only son."

      "Believe me, I have not broken faith with them. I have been preaching reform rather than conversion, although I admit that it would please me better if it had been the other way about. Ananda must have led a very sheltered life in his youth, and this I fancy is his first great trouble. He needs help, and it is difficult to give it under the peculiar circumstances in which I find myself."

      *****

      The Professor was not far wrong when he said that Ananda's childhood had been sheltered.

      Born of wealthy parents and the only son, surrounded with every luxury that love could devise, he had been guarded from trouble of all kind. He, on his part, had been amenable to his parents' wishes, obedient and gentle, always ready to be guided. Content to be ruled, his will power lay dormant, and there seemed little likelihood of it being roused into activity; for the desires of those whose authority he recognised never clashed with his own. The life of his father, Pantulu Iyer, had been smooth, as is the case with many men of high caste families. The life of the son promised to be the same.

      At the age of twelve he was married to Coomara's sister, three years his junior. When he was seventeen the marriage was consummated, and the girl took up her residence with his parents. It was a happy home, free from strife, and the daughter-in-law found no difficulty in fitting herself into her place. She shared the love that the parents in the fullness of their affection showered upon their son.

      When Ananda was nineteen and Dorama, his wife, sixteen, she presented him with a son. If anything could have been added to the cup of joy that was already full, it was this.

      "Now we are assured of the completion of our happiness and the fulfilment of our desire," said his father. "We may allow ourselves to consider your future. One day we hope to see you take a prominent part in the government of the country. Possibly you may rise to occupy a place on the Maharajah's council. These honours cannot be attained without a journey to England."

      "Is it necessary, my father?" asked Ananda, watching his young wife as she sat on the fine grass matting with the baby on her lap. He would have been more than content to continue in the pleasant backwater of domestic life without seeking new scenes.

      "It is necessary in these days of progress. His Highness himself takes occasional voyages across the ocean to see the western world with his own eyes."

      "His caste is not our caste," objected Ananda, with the unconscious superiority of a man of better birth.

      "Still, his example is to be imitated."

      "Not without loss of caste."

      "Caste can be restored on your return. The penances and penalties are lighter than they used to be."

      "But the breaking of caste is none the less serious for the lightening of the penalties."

      "That may be," assented Pantulu. "All the same, it is imperative in these days that men should see something of the world outside their own State; and there is no doubt that those who have travelled in Europe, and lived for a time in England, are preferred in the council to those who have had no experience. Having thought the matter well over, my son, your mother and I have decided on this step. You will sail from Bombay in April next; and it is proposed by their families to send Coomara and Bopaul with you."

      Ananda's father consulted with Wenaston, who had recently been appointed as Principal of the large college at Chirapore, as to the best place of residence in London; with the result that the three Hindus found themselves committed to the care of Professor Twyford.

      Bopaul had no qualms over his broken caste. He accepted the decree of exile with pleasure, and determined to make the most of his opportunities. He intended to amuse himself as well as read with the Professor; and he carried out his programme, the only shadow to cross his path later being the death of Coomara.

      Shortly before they left for England, the guru paid them a visit. The Vedas were quoted and the laws of Manu repeated with many warnings against falling away from the faith.

      "You are going to a foreign land, the home of revolutionary teaching. Be careful how you listen, and let no one undermine the instructions that I with divine authority have given you. Attempts will be made; you must resist them. Here in this State of Chirakul we still enjoy the great boon of an hereditary ruler. Under his government we have successfully repelled the innovations that have been introduced into British India. If fate should decree that any of you enter the service of our Maharajah, it will rest with you to help to preserve our ancient faith."

      Coomara looked up at the tall figure that stood before him, and his glance fell beneath the fiery eyes. He dropped at the feet of the teacher and pressed his forehead to the ground with words of worship and adoration such as might have been addressed to the Deity. In his eyes the guru was God Himself, neither His messenger nor prophet; and as such he bowed himself in deep humility and worshipped. As he lay there a voice like the voice of a god reached him.

      "My son, I do not forbid your ears to listen nor your eyes to see. What you hear and see will СКАЧАТЬ