THE LIFE AND LIFE-WORK BEHRAMJI M. MALABAR! DAYARAM GIDUMAL LL.B., C.S. Ex Libris C. K. OGDEN THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES AXIELL IV* III k/ THE / HlFE AND SlFE-WORK OF BEHRAMJI M. MALABARI (BEING A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH, WITH SELECTIONS FROM HIS WRITINGS AND SPEECHES ON INFANT MARRIAGE AND ENFORCED WIDOWHOOD, AND ALSO HIS, "RAMBLES OF A PILGRIM REFORMER"). BY DAYARAM GIDUMAL, LL.B., C.S. ACTING ASSISTANT JUDGE, AHMEDABAD. O Father, touch tho East, and light The light that shone when Hope was born. TENNYSON'S In Ulemoriam. 1MMNTKD AT THE EDUCATION SOCIETY'S PRESS, BYCULLA. 1888. All Ji'Ultfii Reserved. /H- *. c/ TO THE MEMORY OF RAM MOHAN ROY 5 DAYANAND SARASYATI, AND KESHUB CHUNDER SEN 5 THIS BOOK PREFACE. MEN of originality are apt to 6e misunderstood. While some consider Malabari sufficiently en- thusiastic to be a " Western Reformer," there are others who, utterly ignorant of the almost ascetic life he leads, have dubbed him "a Luther of rose and lavender." It occurred to me that a plain unvarnished narrative of his career was likely to do good, and I therefore induced Malabari to permit me to publish what I knew about it. I also thought that a selection from his writings and speeches on the Hindu Social Reform question would be welcome to all interested in it. It seemed an anomaly that while the opinions elicited by his writings should be before the public in two bulky volumes, the writings themselves should lie scattered in the files of the Indian Spectator. It was no part of my plan to publish all his writings on the subject, and this volume contains only what appeared to me to be worth preserving. The net proceeds of this book, should there be any, will be set apart as a nucleus of a fund to be handed over to any Social Reform Association or Mission which the educated Hindus might organize. It is sad to see that, in spite of so much talk about social reform from within, during the past three years and a half, nothing has yet been done to create a machinery for carrying out such reform. The creation of such machinery means self-sacrifice, and self-sacrifice ought certainly to be the distinguishing characteristic of all really educated men. I trust they may still fulfil the just expectations of all our well-wishers, and found a National Association, equipped with even larger funds than the Countess of DufFerin's Association, and sustained by a genuine unselfish missionary spirit, without which there is no hope for India. TABLE OP CONTENTS. / BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH ... i cxx 1884. PAGES Note on Infant Marriage 1 Note on Enforced Widowhood ... ... ... ... ... 6 The Problems explained ... ... ... ... 14 Wife Murders ... 20 Compulsory Widowhood and Theosophy ... 21 A Single Suggestion 23 The Necessity of Government Co-operation ... ... ... 24 Why not Tax Child-Marriages ? 26 Significance of Coroners' Inquests ... ... 27 Why Vidiasagar failed ... ... 27 What Panchayets can do 28 Government Neutrality ... ... 29 Is Concerted Action Possible ? ... ... ... 30 Widows for Widowers ... ... ... ... ... ... 32 Widow Shaving ... 32 Causes of Infant Marriage ... ... ... 33 The Unnaturalness of Infant Marriage 34 The Priest, the Pandit and the Graduate 35 Revised Note on Infant Marriage ... ... ... ... 38 Revised Note on Enforced Widowhood 43 The Weak Side of the Native Reformer 46 Our Patriots 46 The East and the West 46 The Attitude of "Non-possumus" 43 Why Unity of Action not possible 49 Other Sides of the two Problems 49 Is there no Enforced Widowhood? ... ... ... .. 4 52 Wanted not Government Coercion but Co-operation ,,. ... 54 The Attitude of some Officials and Reformers 54 Odious Comparisons ... ... ... 56 11 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 1884 continued. PAGES How to set the Right Fashion ... ... ... 57 Widows nnd Caste ... ... ... ... 58 Reform and Reformers ... ... ... ... ... ... 58 Figures, if you please ... ... ... ... ... ... 60 The Parsan and the Hinduani ... ... ... ... ... 64 Silk Bandages ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 65 The Extent of the Evils 66 What is Law? 67 A Cry for Co-operation ... ... .. ... ... ... 68 Social Reform and Political Progress ... ... 70 1885. Suggestions, Old and New ... 73 The Ahmedabad Tichborne Case ... ... ... ... 76 How Education aggravates the Evil of Infant Marriage ... 78 The Evils of Fashion ... 79 The Widow in Trouble 83 The Panacea of Benevolent Visionaries... ... ... ... 83 The Real Question 84 Social Reform Ways and Means ... ... ... ... 86 The Surat Widows' Appeal 89 Save the Widow ! 92 Who is to do it? 93 An Explanation ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 95 Society and the State ... ... ... ... 96 One more unfortunate ... ... ... ... ... ... 102 More sinned against than sinning ... ... 102 One Result of Swayamavara (Self-choice) ... ... ... 103 Lord Ripon on Social Reform in India ... ... ... ... 104 Baby Marriages and Physical Education ... ... ... 105 Why Hindu Women die early ? ... ... 105 A Strange Defence ... ... ... ... ... ... 106 A Social Phenomenon ... ... ... ... 108 An Uneducated Hindu Reformer... 108 " A Hindu Lady " and Her Woes 113 John Lawrence on Social Reform in India ... ... ... 118 TABLE OF CONTENTS. Ill 1885 continued. PAGES The Englishwoman and the Hinduani ... ../ ... ... 119 Hints to Hindu Husbands ., ... ... ... ... 121 .The Saturnalia of Carnality in Modern Babylon and the Social Reform Question in India ... ... ... ... ... 123 India and Natal ... ... ... ... ... 125 Why not a Widows' Home ? ... 127 Who is to do it? 129 Rnkhmabai's Case ... ... 131 Rukhmabai and Damayanti ... ... ... ... ... 132 Dr. Blaney Reforming Hindu Caste ... ... ... ... 134 The Kapol Bania Meeting ... ... ... 135 Some Facts 138 1886. Professor Wordsworth on Social Reform in India ... ... 139 The Parsi Girl of the Period-an Argument in Favour of Infant Marriage ... ... ... ... ... 141 Distinction without a Difference ... ... ... ... 143 A Principle Vindicated ... ... ... ... ... ... 145 A Hard Case 140 The Woes of Widowhood 146 Some Results of Infant Marriage ... ... 150 Why not Boycott the Opponents of Reform ? ... ... ... 152 As it ought to be and as it is ... ... ... ... ... 153 Education and Reform 157 Old Reformers and Modern Reform-mongers ... ... ... 158 How Little They can do 159 True and False Sati, and Free and Enforced Widowhood ... 162 A Scientific Reformer 162 "Widows are not at all ill-treated by any" ... ... ... 1G4 The Bearing of the Crawford-Dilke Suit on Social Reform in India 166 A Word with Our Misguided Patriots ... 167 A Brief Analysis 1/0 The Situation reviewed ... ... ... 171 " At the Present Moment " 178 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS. 1886 continued. PAGES Philosophical Hodge-podge ... ... ... ... ... 180 History of a Remarriage ... ... ... ... ... 184 To the Shastris of Poona ... ... ... 190 The Marriage Question treated historically ... 192 Fashionable Marriages ... ... ... ... ... ... 195 " The Liberty of Individuals " 196 Mr. llbert on Hindu Social Reform ... ... ... ... 197 A Word with the Right Honourables and the Honourables and with Respectable Reformers ... ... ... ... 199 What is a Widow ? 204 " Our Widows never care to remarry, and they are never ill- treated" 205 This is how they do it 207 A Child-widow 209 1887. What more can Widows say and do? ... ... ... ... 211 Another Evil of Infant Marriages ... ... ... ... 212 A Blind Seer of Gujarat 215 Charity begins at Home ... ... 217 The Queen's own Wards 220 Vaccination and Infant Marriages ... ... ... ... 220 Dadaji versus Rukhmabai ... ... ... ... ... 222 Stereotyped Errors ... ... ... ... ... ... 224 Cause and Effect a Confusion of Ideas ... ... ... 226 Our Devis 22; Some Cockney Croakers ... ... ... ... .,. 229 On the Horns uf a Dilemma ... ... ... ... ... 230 The Hindu and the Red Indian 233 Prof. Monier Williams on the Marriage Customs of India, Ancient and Modern ... ... ... ... ... ... 234 ' Secret ' and 'Silent' Reform ... ... ... ... ... 236 A Child-wife of six branded OQ the Soles of Her Feet ... 237 New Defence of an Old Evil 238 The Climate Argument ... ... ... ... ... ... 241 The Majority Craze 241 TABLE OF CONTENTS. V 1887 continued. PAGES Infant Marriages for and against ... .,. ... ... 242 Unanswerable Arguments ... ... ... ... ... 244 Advantages of Infant Marriage a Present to Advocates of the System 246 Another Infant Marriage Case worse than Rukhmabai's 247 SPEECHES Speech at Lahore ... ... ... .. ... ... 249 Speech at Agra ... ... ... ... ... 256 Speech at Aligarh ... ... ... ... ... ... 258 Speech at Lucknow ... ... ... ... ... ... 261 Speech at Allahabad 266 Speech at Mathura 274 RAMBLES OF A PILGRIM REFORMER Gay Ahmedabad 282 Mr. Grant Duff 282 Recruiting in India ... ... ... ... ... ... 285 Homo3opathy ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 286 Ignorance .., ,.. ... ... ... ... ... 287 A Missionary and His Work ... ... ... ... ... 288 The Pull-up 290 Dining out 291 That Wretched Night 292 A Word about Simla 293 Dinner and Death ... ... ... ... 294 Lahore 295 Amritsar 296 Meerut 297 Delhi 298 Delhi Its Dark Side 300 Neglecting a Milch Cow... ... ... ... 303 Agra Its Social Politics 304 A Whole Man ami a Fraction of a Mao 305. VI TABLE OF CONTENTS. PAGES. The Meeting ... ., 308 Passing Remarks ... ... ... ... 309 The Purdah and His Preys ... 310 Mine Host 310 A Combustible Patriot ... 312 An Arabesque Patriot ... ... ... ... 312 And Others .... 313 Light Reading ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 313 Tea and Tea 314 A Day at Aligarh 316 Race Amenities ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 318 Bans Bareilly ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 319 The Dancing Girl , 320 A Fashion ... ... ... ... ... 321 Lucknow ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 322 Allahabad 322 A Sad Reminiscence ... ... ... ... 324 Benares Men and Things ... ... ... ... ... 325 Back to Allahabad 327 Muthra and Its Chowbes 328 I. BOYHOOD. My boast is not that I deduce my birth From loins enthroned, and rulers of the earth But higher far my proud pretensions rise, The son of parents pass' d into the skies Howe'er it be, it seems to me, 'Tis only noble to be good. Kind hearts are more than coronets, And simple faith than Norman CHAPTER I. BOYHOOD (1853-1866). A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF KALAHARI'S EARLY LIFE. I think I had better begin with a bird's-eye view of Malabari's early life. The Bombay Review and the Hindoo Patriot published, in 1878, a short extract from the Jam-i-Jamshed, which, though there are a few inac- curacies in it, is useful for this purpose. Here it is : " The Jam-i-Jamshed, a respectable Parsee paper, gives a very interesting account of the early days of Mr- Behramji Merwanji Mala- bari, the well-known young poet and journalist. According to our contemporary, Mr. Malabari, whose original name is Mehta, was born at Baroda in 1853, whence in less than two years after his mother had to escape with him to Surat under domestic persecution. At five the boy was put to school, where he was remarkable for nothing but perpetual listlessness and mischief. Having thus made the school too hot tor himself, he was apprenticed to carpenters and other mechanics, who soon found him out to be a good-for-nothing- pupil. His pranks and frolics are still remembered at Nanpoora in Surat. People also remember the sensation he made there by sing- ing impromptu songs of a controversial nature, called Khials by natives. It is in this exhibition of poetical powers at the early age of eight or nine that we find the promise of his future literary suc- cesses. At nine he bethought himself to go to school again. For a year and a quarter he studied Gujarati, and was then admitted to the English school, where, though his progress was incredibly rapid, still he was not at all behindhand in recklessness and wandering about the town. Having been once caught in the act of some unusual mischief, the boy was ordered to be flogged. This mode of punish- ment he declined to undergo, having never done so before ; but though the Assistants interceded in his behalf, the new Head-Master was inexorable. The boy had at last to hold out his hand ; but after the very first stroke his features and his whole frame became convulsed. Further punishment was remitted, and the boy was refreshed with water. The first thing he did, however, on coming to, was to turn wildly on the master, and after rating him soundly bolt from school. II On his way home he resolved to complain to his mother of what ho thought to be his barbarous usage at school ; but when he reached home he found the mother laid low by a fell malady. The poor fellow now forgot his own misery, and night and day he ministered to the comfort of his dying parent who did not, after all, survive. The boy's life here underwent a complete change. All the fun and frolic of youth and all love of mischief left him in one day. It is many years since he lost his mother ; but he has not yet done mourning her loss. In after-life he says, speaking of her untimely death : " God punished me most severely for my disobedience to my master ; it is a punishment more bitter than death." The boy of twelve now made up his mind to prosecute his studies and als to earn his own living. He joined the Surat Mission School, and took in pupils of almost twenty. In less than three years he became very popular. The late Rev. Mr. Dixon, the Principal of the School, has written of his English progress as "wonderful," and of his conduct as " most exemplary." The same gentleman used to say " if any boy is destined to make a name in the world, it is he." The Head-Master of the school writes : " He possesses great natural powers, and I cherish a very high opinion of him. I hope he will meet with success in the world." Before sixteen Mr- Malabari went to Bombay, where, for want of interest, he had to struggle for some time as teacher at a private school. At this time ho had with him a volume of verse in Gujarati and English, which he did not shew to any one till he was eighteen. At last our worthy townsman, Mr. Sorabji Shapurji Bengali, happened to read tbeni ; and he wrote to the author a warm and encouraging letter. Shortly after the verses were submitted to the worthy and learned Missionary, Mr. Taylor, who was so much pleased with them that he forthwith intro- duced the author to the late Dr. Wilson. Mr. Malabari published his verses, and made his name. He was introduced by Dr. Wilson to the leaders of the European and native communities. How much his English verses have been appreciated by Her Majesty the Queen-Empress and others, a particular friend has explained in these columns. Not only native but European writers are known to hanker after such honours as Mr. Malabari has attained. And though he has attained these honours at the tender age of 25-26, they have not in the least elated him. He is really a very quiet, Ill letiring and good-natured man. He has not left off his simple habits. He is very studious and has a fair knowledge of several languages. He is not at all vain of bis great talents, but anxious as any school- boy to learn, he goes about his business with Iris books under his arm. He has given up the pleasures of life, and is never seen to mix with the public on a holiday. Many people avail themselves of his interest, but his name is always held back. He spends the larger part of his well-earned income for the relief of the poor invalid and the student. For the last two or three years Mr. Malabari has been contributing to English journals and periodicals, and it is known to all that his writings are the admiration of the English reader. He explains by public and private writings the greatness, worth and bene- volence of the English, and what good they are capable of doing to ihis country. He corresponds with several great and influential men in England, and devotes much of his time to the welfare of others. Such a life is indeed worthy of imitation. Mr. Malabari's career teaches three things : 1st, a child should be left to learn when and what he likes ; 2nd, natural talent will rise from the very depth of obscurity ; 3rd, a good mother is a priceless blessing to the child." MALABARI'S FATHER AND ADOPTIVE FATHER. The name of Malabari's father was Dhanjibhai Mehta. He was a poor clerk in the service of the Gaekwar of Baroda, on a salary of Rs. 20. I know nothing more about him than that he was a mild, peace- loving man, with a somewhat feeble constitution and not overmuch force of character. Malabari lost him at the age of six or seven. Malabari's adoptive father was Merwanji Nanabhai Malabari. He was a relation of Malabari's maternal grand -mother, had consigned two wives already to the Towers of Silence at Surat, was in 1856 about 50 years old, and in easy circumstances He had a large grocery hop and was an importer of sandalwood, sugar, scents IV and spices from the Malabar Coast hence his surname Malabari. He had no issue and therefore thought fit to adopt the little child who has made his family name famous throughout India and favourably known even in Europe and America. Merwanji also married the boy's mother a union she accepted from a sense of filial duty and which turned out very unhappy. Merwanji is not highly spoken of. A few years after his adoption of little Behram, a serious misfortune fell upon him. A country vessel bringing an uninsured cargo for him from the Malabar Coast sank in the sea, and Merwanji was reduced to great straits. He had to cut down his business and take to humbler pursuits,, practising for some time as a sort of Hakim.* This latter accomplishment he had been in the habit of exer- cising even in his palmy days, but now it became a source of a small income which was exceedingly wel- come. His adopted son had often to do a great deal of pounding and pulverising for him in both the branches of his calling, the Hakim's and the grocer's, and at the age of twelve was able to bring him 10 or 12 rupees a month, besides keeping his accounts and assisting him generally. The first concern of the young man when he came to Bombay was to redeem the family house which had been mortgaged for Ks. 300 ; but the money was not forthcoming for a long time, and when it was, the house could not be redeemed, the mortgage having been foreclosed. The mortgagee seems to have borne a grudge to Merwanji's next-door neighbour, and as soon as he was master of the house had it pulled down * Native doctor. in order to make the neighbour's house shelterless. For the same reason he refused to sell the plot for any consideration, or to build on it. An eccentric man this ! I do not know what provocation he had received. Let us hope it was not as bad as his retaliation. Merwanji passed his latter days in peace. He died about six years ago. MALABARI'S MOTHER, Malabari owes a great deal more to his mother than either to Dhanjibhai or to Merwanji. For Bhikhibai was no ordinary woman. .Rather undersized, like her son with the same light brown complexion, but a rounded face and big almond-like eyes, she was a homely humble housewife, handy at all kinds of domestic work an expert in cookery, a deft-fingered sempstress and a first-rate nurse. She had what her husband lack- ed a strong will, a masterful mind, and an irrepres- sible energy. With these she combined a tenderness for the poor she was one of them and a large-hearted- ness not rare in her sex. She had truly " a tear for pity, and a hand open as day for melting charity." She was often to be seen in the sick-room of her neighbours, Hindu or Parsi, with little Behrarn toddling behind her, or holding on to the skirts of her simple sari. She knew many of those well-tried herbs which bring almost in- stant relief to ailing children, and her skill was seldom exerted in vain. She was freely consulted by the women in her street in their troubles. What was most admirable in her was her catholicity and impulsive unerring goodness. I know of no Hindu woman who would care VI to tend, far less to suckle a gasping little waif lying in a basket near her house, without first inquiring to what caste it belonged. But Bhikhibai did such a thing one day, though she had to brave a scandal, for the waif turned out to be the street scavenger's child. It was a very small infant, and so weak that one would be almost afraid to handle it. But the good woman at once yielded to her first impulse when she heard it moaning piteously, and taking it up tenderly, put it to her breast. It's mother came up shortly afterwards and relieved our heroine of her charge. But Bhikhibai had a bad time of it for several days with her Parsi neigh- bours.* Still few could help loving this utterly un- selfish woman, and when she died she was sincerely mourned by all who had known her. Her memory remains embalmed in her son's poetic tributes of affection. ,. .. FIKST LESSONS IN PRAYING AND WEAVING. Little Behram was finally weaned some time after he was sent, to. school. This may sound curious, but it is a fact. He w.as the only solace of his mother, and she loved him as only such a mo.ther could love. The boy was fond, too fond of his mother's milk and he has too> much of it in him. He would cling to her breast even after returning from school; and his school, I am afraid, was not a particularly pleasant one. The school-master was believed to have been a centenarian, for he had taught not only old Merwanji but Merwanji's father * This incident forms the subject of a poem in Malabari's Indian Muse in English Garb. It is headed " Nature triumphant over Caste. " The merit of the act is given to a Hindu widow. VII also. His son was a greybeard, and it must have been a sight to see this patriarchal family assembled at their meals. Our *' old Antiquity's " name was Mino- chehrdara. He sat in a small room with about twenty little Parsi boys, among whom was our Behram. He held a mighty long elastic bamboo cane in his hano* y which worked quite like an automaton, and could put a girdle round the little flock in less than a second. It is a venerable face, Minochehr's, but his eyes are 'awful'. His limbs are rather stiff, and he cannot move about freely ; so he has a comfortable seat which he seldom leaves, especially as his wiry cane does everything for him. It is his dainty Ariel in a way ; but he has, unlike Prospero, not a library full of magical lore, but a common, primitive, humdrum loom, and the boys have to weave as well as to pray our schoolmaster did not teach out of the educational primer, but the Parsi prayer- book. As soon as all the boys have mustered, after doing some domestic drudgery in Minochehr's house, and the threads have been ranged lengthwise the veteran centenarian is out with his monotonous sing-song, and you hear twenty little throats repeating at the top of their voice the sacred formula Ashem Vohu,* the master and his favourite disciples plying their shuttles at the same time. The little ones do not know what these mysterious words mean, or that scholars have differed about their meaning. They only know that * This celebrated formula has been variously translated. My friend Mr. Navroji Dorabji Khandalevala has discussed the various meanings and comes to the conclusion that the right translation is as follows : " Purity is the best good, a blessing it is blessing to him who ( practises) purity for the sake of the Highest purity." (Vide ' Primitive Mazdayasnyan Teachings." p. 18.) VIII any mistake made in following their Dominic means a taste of that tingling ubiquitous cane, and they have a salutary dread of it. In this way Behram learned to make pretty little wefts out of warp and woof and to mumble the mystic words of " Ahuno Vairyo*" and " Ashem Vohu " and such others. Before we take leave of Minochehrdaru, we might as well read a little sketch of this worthy by Malabari himself. " White flowing beard, small chirping voice ! White white his all, but red his blinking eyes I A man mysterious of the Magus tribe A close astrologer, and a splendid scribe A faithful oracle of dread Hormuzd's will A priest, a patriarch, and a man of skill. A master weaver, and to close details, He weaved long webs and lord ! he weaved long tales. Hard murd'rous words, that wisdom's lips defied, Would thick portentous from his nozzle glide ! And here we stuck, tho' long and hard we tried ; He curs'd, and can'd by turns, we humm'd and cried ! This could not last ; our mutual failings seen, He left his preaching and we left our dean.f * There is more conflict regarding the meaning of this formula than that of " Ashem Vohu ". Mr. Khandalevala's translation is as follows: As is the Will or ( Law ) of the Eternal Existence so (its) Energy solely through the Harmony ( Asha) of the perfect mind is the producer ( Dazda) of the manifestation of the Universe and (is) to Ahura Mazda (the Living Wise one) the power which gives sustenance to the revolving systems." The accomplished and genial Bishop Meurin gives another rendering of this most ancient for- mula, and establishes a common origin between "Ahuno Yairyo" and one of the oldest Christian prayers* f Indian Muse, p. 82. IX FIRST LESSONS IN GUJARATI. Behram's next teacher was Narbheram, a nephew of Jivanram Mehta who was then a well-known astrologer and mathematician. Here is a picture by Malabari of his little school which was quite a curio- sity in its way. I am not " the oldest man living." But it may surprise the oldest man living to know something of my first school and earliest schooldays. What a marvellous improvement is 1885 upon I860 in matters educational ! And yet it -would be scarcely fair to call the change an improvement in all respects. Let the reader judge for himself. My first school was just behind oar house at Nanpura, Snrat, and Narbheram Mehtaji was my first teacher. He was a Bhikhshuka Brahman tall, majestic and taciturn, the ort of man who inspires awe by his Shivalike habits. Tn his nature, as in name, he was truly a Nirbhaeram fearless and fear- inspiring. He made a most efficient teacher. The school was a commodious little shop, with the floor strewn over with street dust and an elevated square for the master. On the square squatted the master and on the floor squatted his flock, Hindu and Parsi. There was no fee to be paid for the instruction only a handful of grain, a few flowers or some fruit now and then. There were no tables nor benches, nor slates nor pencils, nor books nor maps, not one single item of the literary paraphernalia of the modern school-room. Each pupil had a wooden board, pati, which served him for slate, and a pointed stick, lekhana, which he used as pencil. He also carried with him a rag. With this piece of cloth he sifted the dust over the board, and on that bed he traced figures and numerals, wrote letters, petitions, &c. This task work was submitted every noon to the master, who held a rod in his hand, with one end pointed. Glacicg over the dust work, he would now give a grunt of satisfaction, and strike the board with the pointed end of his stick. The figures of dust would at once disappear, and so would the lucky pupil for tiffin. If unluckily the task was badly done, Narbhe- ram would apply the butt end of the rod to the pupil, instead of to his board, often gently, sometimes heavily too. The pupil was condemned for the day. There were worse methods, of coarse, the sharp and supple cane, the thong, the pebble under the knee, the- stone across the shoulders, the twisting of the nose, the shaking by the neck or by a knot made with the delinquent's topi,* or chotli.f Worse still, sometimes the little urchin was swung across the beam, and at times stripped of his scanty dress. Oh the tortures'"of the mid-day ordeal ! How my heart sank within me as I crawled up to- the master's ga3i\% Life or death what is it^to be? I died on. an average two deaths a month. That was because I was"too small to deserve attention, quite a beginner. Besides, was not Narbhe- ram's uncle and patron, Jivanram the one-eyed, the famous mathe- matician, astrologer and match-maker, a particular friend of my foster-father's? But for all that, whenever Narbheram condes- cended to notice me, he did it heartily. I have not yet forgotten his heaviness of hand and ferocity of looks. What added to the misery of the situation was the inviolable silence on both sides. It was something like a struggle between the lion and the mouse, the one too proud to roar, the other too timid even to squeak- But to return to the school-room. The written work was gone through in the forenoon. Everything was done on a versified sys- tem. The numerals were drawled out in versified form. The different processes addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, were gone through in the same manner. Rigid accuracy was enforced throughout. The system of multiplication was elaborate to a degree. Integers and fractions were alike treated from the minutest to the most magnificent scale. The boy was expected to say by rote the , the |, the f , the 1, the 1|, the 2|, and 3-J- of any number up to 100. These were respectively called pay a, ardha, pauna, savaya, dohda, adliiya and utlia. A good deal of this system was gone through by the boys on their boards in the forenoon, and verbally in the afternoon. The dux of a group was now and then challenged by the dux of another group,, the master arbitrating. th of 95, 3| of 79, f of 65 ? the ques- *Cap. t Tuft of hair in the centre of the head. Cushion, XI tions had to be answered no sooner than they were asked. And woe be to the poor wight who halted or made a slip. Like the fractions came the integers up to 10UX 100. Thus, Pachi pachiram chha pachisa (25x25=625), and so on, from 1x1=1 up to 100 X 100= 10.000. The process was apowerful aid to memory. I doubt if the ablest Professor of Mathematics or even the readiest Finance Minister of the day commands such an elastic and almost intuitive power of manipulating figures. We had quite an exhibition of mnemonic wonders every afternoon. I am not sure if this mode of acquiring knowledge is a permanent aid to memory. I myself happen to have a weak memory so far as the form of things is concerned, though the spirit is easy enough to catch and retain. I cannot recite from memory ten lines of even my favourite poets, bat can reproduce the image of a whole poem in my own words. But, speaking generally, the discipline above referred to is found most useful in after-life- The Native system of accounts is immense- ly superior to the European system. In dealing with the heaviest and the most intricate figures the Native accountant has merely to sing a verse, and there the result is ready to hand ! We learnt the Alphabet also on the same plan. Every letter had a nickname and a familiar versified description. That is to say, the form of the letter was likened to some object of common use and thus impressed upon the mental vision. It was what I may call object lessonkako kevelo, khakho khajelo, &c. Europeans are coming to that system, judging from recent publications of juvenile literature. There was a fair amount of literary instruction, too, imparted at Narbheram's school. Some verses from Ramayan and Mahabharat, done into simple Gujarati for the occasion, served as history as well as poetry. I excelled in this as also in letter-writing orally, so to gay. What splendid letters I dictated to my seniors, myself ignorant of the art of writing ! Letters from wife at Surat to husband at Mumbai Bunder, now gushing, now whining, now asking for re- mittance, now threatening to go to the parents' house. Letters from the principal of a firm at Cambay to his factotum at Karachi, ad- vising the departure of the good ship Buparel, laden with pearls and precious stones. Letters from father at Broach to his son at Delhi, with the love of the distracted mother and with basketfnls of advice as to how to live in "this remote and foreign country." I enjoyed these XII studies exceedingly well, and was often presented with fruit or flower and the cheering words ja bacha aj tana cliliutti cJihe (go, boy, you are free to-day.) But when it came to figures, I was usually an "uncle of the camel," "born of blind parents," and other things indescribable. I was bad at receiving the rod, also, so that the flogging of a neighbour would send me directly into fever. Nar- bheram knew this, and was kind enough usually to send me out of the room when a culprit had to be hauled up. In asking for permission to retire boys had to hold up the thumb, (for a drink of water) to raise the least finger, to bend down the middle with the forefinger (for the other purposes) and so forth. One day a refractory boy had to be brought to his senses. Narbheram had tried all his punitive regulations on him. This time, therefore, he made him kneel upon pebbles and placed a heavy slab on his back, and over the stone he himself pretended to sit. This was the last straw, and the boy gave such a shriek of agony and fright that his male relatives, who knew he had to be punished, canje running into the school. But Narbheram was no respecter of persons ; he took up his rod of office and kept the men at a distance. The boy, in the meantime, was shrieking at the top of his voice, and I was very nearly fainting. It may be mentioned that the stone was by no means too heavy for the fellow, the agony was all mine, his was merely the shrieking. But it brought his mother and grand-mother to the scene : they lived next door to the school. These dames were well known for their muscular develop- ment and the free use they made of it. They went up to Narbhe. ram, gave him a good deal of Billingsgate and some clawing, and released the boy. He was withdrawn that day. I too went home, never to return to the school again. At night I was in high fever, and shortly after in the clutches of Sitla-mata, the goddess of small- pox. For weeks I was confined to bed, dreaming of the boy who had been, as 1 felt, crushed to death. I was not expected to out- live the shock, but was somehow brought round, as my poor mother said, by daily prayers and sacrifices on her part, and by nightly vigils before a small silver figure sprinkled with red ochre, the Mata. For weeks together she had lived upon parched rice and XIII water once a day.* And this was her reward, she explained to our friends, in meek thankfulness, when they met at our house to do justice to the good things prepared in honour of my second birth. One of the first things I heard on recovery was the death of poor Narbheram Mehtaji, from cholera. I was informed of it in a whisper.. It was hard to realize how a man like my dear old guru,f born to command and to conquer, could have succnmbed to even such enemies as Cholera and Death. Narbheram had appeared to me to be a special dispensation from Providence to lick the youth of Nanpura into public usefulness. Strange that such a mighty one found one who was more than a match for him! My respect for the great man underwent a sudden diminution, but my love for him remains. J THE PARSI PANCHATAT SCHOOL AT SURAT. Having taken his first lessons in Gujarati, we next find our little man in the Parsi Panchayat School which gave religious as well as secular instruction. The religious education was in the hands of a Parsi priest another J3aru w ho was about 45 years old and was, according to Malabari, " a very ungodly-looking man of God, and the terror of all city imps and street arabs." Surat house- wives called him by a Gujarati sobriquet which may be translated " urchin-herd," if such a compound is allowable. He certainly deserved the title. Here is a description of this terrible teacher : A zealous man he was, a man of parts, With scanty science, but a host of arts. * "I too had a very strong attack of small-pox, and my mother prayed and watched and sang for over a fortnight. She was a strong- minded woman, but yielded to superstition during my illness." Private letter. t " Guide and philosopher," though not friend. J Indian Spectator, January 3, 1386, p. 10-11. Indian Muse, p. 82 Note. XIV With pointed paws his fierce mustache he'd twirl, And at the culprits the direst vengeance hurl. His jaws he'd rub, his grizzl'd beard peck, Till rubb'd and peck'd, the whole appeard a wreck. A wag by nature and a stoic sour, * Tis hard to fix his equivocal pow'r. Good cheer he lov'd, and oft a dainty dish His wrath diverted, as we well could wish. When thus begorg'd, joy, joy was all his work, His air all blandness, and his face all smirk ! But woe betide the hour, if e'er his meal Was late ; that would his hidden traits reveal. His zeal rose higher, as his stomach fell ; And hard his fervour on our skins would tell ! Sharp went the whizzing whip, fast Hew the cane, And he fairly caper'd in his wrath insane ! He chanted pray'rs, oh Lord ! in such gruff tones 'T would set on rack the hoar Zoroaster's bones ! He shriek'd and stagger 'd on his zealous rage, Till he looked an actor on a tragic stage ! And when our whines the neighbouring women drew, The man of zeal at once persuasive grew ! Expounded doctrines, in a fervid breath, Preach'd patience, virtue, truth, and tacit faith ! Thank God I'd then too small religious wit To understand that canting hypocrite."* " Indian Muse," p. 83-84. XV There was one characteristic of the man which has not been well brought out in these lines. It was this. Whenever he wanted to administer a flogging, he used to order his class to pray vociferously in order to drown the cries of his victim. The school contained both boys and girls, and Malabari well remembers how the ruffian used sometimes to seize a girl by her long- hair and whisk her violently about in the air, as if she was a lifeless marionette, while the room was resound- ing with invocations to Ahuruiazd recited by her school-fellows. Another favourite amusement of this monster of a school-master was to roll up an erring boy in a carpet-piece or put the poor wretch under his capacious Jama,* and then strut about from one end of the school-room to the other. His gesticulations on such occasions used to send a shiver through the little ones who witnessed his performances. Often, when angry, he would dash off his turban, and glare so fero- ciously with his bull eyes and contort his face into such frightful grimaces, that some of the more nervous children would swoon at the sight of these exhibitions. If any boy was late this zealous priest was forthwith at his door and walked off with him without notice, though the boy might be just washing his face, or taking a morsel of food from his mother. I have said he had a capacious Jama. That sufficed not only for kidnap- ping little boys but even for confining the diminutive master who used to teach reading and arithmetic in the last class. Behram and his class-mates, after having their turn with the Daru, used to go upstairs to this * The long robe worn by Parsi priests. XVI diminutive teacher. Once it so happened that they went up later than the appointed hour, as they had been detained by the Daru, and of course assigned this reason to their teacher. Shortly afterwards the Daru carne up and the teacher addressing him rather roughly inquired why the boys had not been sent up at the usual time. The Daru's reply was a swift and sudden jerk which sent the inquirer flying into space, follow- ed by another which sent him softly under the folds of the Daru's Jama, and thus enveloping the Lilipu- tian knight of the three R's. he stood, with a Harlequin's grin, in the midst of the amazed children. Of course since that day little Chagan lost the respect of his boys while the Daru continued to be dreaded, if possible more than formerly. He had influential friends among the visitors and was moreover a priest, a silk mercer and a toddy-seller, and thus he always managed to escape scot-free. Such teachers were not very rare in those days, and may even now be met with in some indige- nous schools in out of the way villages. ANOTHER SCHOOL. Having learnt a little Gujarati, Behrani was sent to the Sir Jamsetji Anglo- Vernacular School at Surat. His first master was a Parsi getting the handsome pay of Us. 4 a month ; but he made up for this scanty allowance by employing his pupils to " hew wood and draw water " for his household, and even to shampoo his legs. He appears to have been a snob of the first water, although one would hardly expect snobbery from such a low-paid teacher. Behram was about a year under him. XVII The boy's next teacher was Mr. Dosabhai. He is still working as a teacher and on very friendly terms with his former pupil. Malabari also remembers Mr. Hal- devram > a Brahman, who spoke excellent English, and Mr. Fakirbhai, a Bania, who was a first-rate arithme- tician. This latter was deaf, was often deceived by his pupils, as he could not make out if the oral answers given to him were right or wrong. Mere motion of the lips sometimes sufficed for him and the little ones used often to have a laugh at the expense of their worthy master. Behram had a lift frcm the 2nd Standard class to the 4th. He wrote a pretty hand, and Mr. Curtis, the Educational Inspector, liked it so much that he sent the boy's copybook to all the schools in his Divi- sion as a model. But in the 4th Standard class the teacher was a martinet and a pharisee. His pupils had to fetch his tiffin and do other little menial services for him. He used often to come late, and then go to prayers. In short, he had no idea of his duty, and the boys consequently made but little progress under him. Life, " a light and lasting frolic " ' marred by the presence of the school-master. I have purposely given no dates above, as exact dates are not ascertainable. But I take it that Mala- bari was born in 1853, went to school when six years old, was for two or three months with Minochehrdaru, about as many months with Narbheram, about a year and a quarter in the Gujarati school, then about a year with a carpenter to learn carpentering (his mother belonged * Indian Muse, p. 81. B XVIII to a bhansali or house-building family) and about two or three years in the Anglo-vernacular school. He lost his father when he was six and his mother when he was in the twelfth year. These facts taken together might lead to an inference that he could not have led a gipsy life for a long time, but the truth is that Behram, before the death of his mother, was quite a different being from what he became after his sad bereavement. Upto eight he liked nothing so well as fun and play. He was skilful in flying kites and in other boyish sports. When he was nine Merwanji lost his little fortune, and Behram and his mother had to look poverty in the face. But the spirit of the boy was no way damped, and he apparently did not see why a poor boy should not be merry on even nothing a day. He had a capital voice, that of " a lark and of a nightingale together" and he could sing. The streets of Surat were in those days frequented by the Khialis, and the poor dear itinerant minstrels who ought to be (but are not) the pride of the country. The Khialis are now dead at Surat, and the minstrels are probably singing their last lays. But Malabari remembers both yet, and is not likely to forget them. These Khialis^ his mother and the missionaries were the three potent forces which have made him what he is, and we may therefore pause for a minute or two to see what manner of men the Khialis and the street-singers were in those days. The street-singer, fortunately, is not yet an extinct species, and may, therefore, be studied by anyone who does not deem it infra.dig. to talk with such a humble creature. He can sing you historical ballads XIX and religious myths, love tales and devotional songs. His dress is generally ragged, and he has often, nay almost always, to live from hand to mouth. He timidly approaches your door, strikes up a tune on his one-stringed guitar, and then breaks out into a ditty of Premanand or Dayaram, of Kabir or Tukaram, full of lively or pathetic music or diving into aphoristic philo- sophy, speaking " To mortals of their little week ; Of their sorrows and delights ; Of their passions and their spites ; Of their glory and then- shame ; What doth strengthen and what maim." Sorrow knows not how to sit heavily on this hum- ble " bard of passion and of mirth," who is content with a largess of a pice or two, who cares not for the smiles or frowns of fortune, and though in this world appears to be hardly of it. The Surat Khiali was of another breed. Khial, which literally means 'thought' or ' fancy,' is one of the varieties of what is called the Desi system of music, as opposed to the Margi. A learned Hindu expert in musical lore would call the Margi system ' classical ' and the Desi system ' romantic.' Mr. Balwant Trimbak Sahasrabudhe, an undoubted authority on Hindu music, writes : " Desi with its numerous ramifications is the system now obtaining in India The Desi system first acquired importance from the Buddhist musicians, and received fuller development from Mussalmans who introduced khial from the Hindu Dhruvapada system.'* In Gujarati khial is a particular kind of metre. The Surat Jchiali was a poet-philosopher. There were two sects of these wonderful men the Kalgiwa- las and the Turrawalas, so called from the instrument of music used by them or the dress worn by the leaders. The Kalgiwalas were Sakti worshippers, in other words, they held the female energy to be superior to the male, and, therefore, the Hindu goddess Parvati superior to her husband Shiva. The Turrawalas, on the con- trary, held Shiva superior to Parvati, and the male energy superior to the female. Curious as it may seertb though much of the poetry and thought of the khialis was Hindu, their creed was eclectic and knew no dis- tinction of caste, race, or colour. Indeed, the tradition is that Alahbax, a Borah, who used to sew gunny-bags, was the leader of the Kalgiwalas at one stage of their career, while Bahadursing, a small gatekeeper at Line- no-rasto (Soldiers' Lines) at Surat was his rival. Baha- dursing was, of course, a Turrawala and a disciple of Maharajgir who was a disciple of Tukangir, the founder of that system. In Malabari's days, the Kalgiwalas were in the ascendant, but as usual with Malabari in after-life, he attached himself to the weaker party. An opium-eating pupil of Bahadursing took kindly to him and taught him about 2,000 JZhials, Ghazals and Thwnris. Some of the Khials or controversial songs of Bahadursing and Alahbax, it is said, were almost Miltonic in their grandeur. Socrates had his symposia, and the Khialis had theirs. Let us go to one of these, and see what takes place. Bahadursing and Alahbax are of course no more, but their disciples are alive, the initiated as well as the XXI uninitiated. In a prominent part of the Bazar, a carpet is spread and the Khialis of one school seat themselves on it and commence their songs. It is a still evening or twilight gray, and the people have leisure to listen. A large crowd assembles, but the singing at first goes on smoothly enough. The leader of the singers, how- ever, suddenly espies a Khiali of the other school, and without naming him, challenges him in an impromptu verse to answer a knotty question in history, science or metaphysics. After a few minutes there is a reply and a rejoinder follows, and a sur-rejoinder, all in ex-tempore verse. The smaller fry take their part in the contro- versy, and soon descend from high and dry philosophy to vulgar satire and abuse. Our Behram is among the Turrawalas, and he is often trotted out on special oc- casions. Like the others he has his shoes in his hand, in order to display the better part of valour in case the stronger side should show their teeth makes an impromptu attack on the Kalgiwalas, not philosophical but sarcastic, and then takes to his heels with the other young Khialis, followed by the enraged Kalgi- walas. And so the symposium ends. It must, however, be remembered that this picture does not belong to the palmy days of Khials. The initiated Khialis, when they took care to ex- clude the uninitiated, used to have calmer sittings some- times extending over a week or two together. My idea is that their difference mainly turned upon whether the Creator should be worshipped as our Father in hea- ven or as our Mother in heaven. The Vaishnavas imagined the relation of the human soul to the Eternal XXII Spirit to be that of wife and husband or lover and beloved, but unfortunately they embodied this concep- tion in the loves of Krishna and the Gopis. Our Khialis drew on the mythological biography of Shiva and Parvati and their children, Ganesh and Okha, and thus like the Vaishnavas, found themselves in a vortex of materialistic legends. Every pure fresh current of religious thought has fared in India (as in other countries) like a pellucid stream descending from mountain heights to the plains below, and growing mud- dier and darker in its progress to the sea. The Ganges in the Himalayas is quite different from the Ganges at Hardwar, Benares, or Calcutta. The farther it goes from its lofty source, the more has it to mingle with the dirt and debris of the lowlands, and the more im- pure it becomes. Similarly, when a "towering phantasy" has given birth to a great religious truth, its dissemina- tion would seem to keep pace with its corruption. The history of Latin Christianity, as well as of Buddhism, bears out this view ; but the history of Hinduism' more than that of any other religion, affords its aptest and saddest illustrations. It ought, therefore, to sur- prise nobody that the latter-day Khialis often indulged in ribald and obscene songs unworthy of the founders of their schools unworthy of philosophers as much as of poets and that at times they ended their contro- versies with the unanswerable argument of fisticuffs. Behram was not one of the initiated, and did not then understand the philosophy of his sect. But he appreciated their poetry, and could compose his own Jchialis. There are several good ones in the Niti Vinod* XXIII They are on homely subjects for the Khialis often/ descended from their altitudes to discuss the affairs of every-day life or the merits of their city or river or their places of pilgrimage. But we have had enough of Khialis now. Suffice it to say, that they exercised a more powerful influence on Behram than all his. masters, excepting the Revd. Mr. Dixon. JUVENILE PICNICS. We have seen Behram at a Khiali symposium. We may now accompany him to a picnic. It is as strange as the symposium. He has a rival improvi- sator e among the Kalgiwalas, a Borah boy of the name of Adam. Though rivals, the two, unlike other rivals, are great friends. Both have good voices Behram's was noted for its volume and its melody and both have not much of pocket money. They can, however, afford a pice between them, and with this they have bought some parched rice and now proceed on a moonlight night to enjoy themselves on the bank of the Tapti. The parched grains are thrown on the sand, and the two friends are picking them up one by one and singing away for dear love. Behram has a rude flute or a sarangi and he varies his singing with instrumental music while his companion keeps time on a thali (a metal platter). Women turn up and take an unconscionably long time to fill their pitchers from the river, for they are filling their ears with the music of the two boys. Women in Gujarat have a song-literature of their own, and they are obliged to sing on certain occasions. Their songs are- mostly garbas, and I have occasionally seen a mother XXIV with two or three water-vessels well balanced on her head hearing her little daughter repeat a garba taught on the previous night, as the two wend their way home from the Sabarmati. These garbas are well worth study. I would specially commend them to the attention of those who deny that there is any premature marriage among the Hindus or that such marriage is an evil. The Garbas and Khials of Gujarat are full of this sub- ject. They mostly take the form of a lament by a widow who has lost her husband in her prime, or by a girl married in infancy to a greybeard, or by a grown- up bride whose wedded lord is yet in his cradle. It was only the other day that I heard of a Visa Nagara Brahmin girl married at the age of a year and a half who is now a widow at two. Behram was fond of these garbas and Tchials and could sing them with an irresistible pathos, and I take it this was the best pre- paration for the future campaigner against social vices. SWIMMING AND DRINKING AND WALKING. Behram was an early riser, especially when he had to go to school in the morning. His house was very near the Tapti, and I am sorry to say he learned swimming and drinking almost at one and the same time. I have not kept back the fact that our hero before he lost his mother for we are now talking of that period only took part sometimes in obscene songs, and I am bound to state that once upon a time he tossed off no less than nine copper cups containing not under a half pound each of that seductive liquor called Surti Daru ( i.e. Mhowra liquor ) though now he is as good as a tee- totaler. His antidote and that of his companions for XXV he took care to sin in company was generally a plentiful quantity of lemons a plunge into the Tapti from the parapets a swim across to Adajan on the opposite bank a deep draught of toddy there (Adajan is famous for its toddy) and a swim across again. Many of my readers perhaps do not know what a Parsi jasan or ghambar is. I am only concerned with the jasan, for Behram. was more than partial to this " rouse before the morn" though his means would not permit of his indulging in it except occasionally. Slices of pomegra- nate, pameloes, pine-apples and guavas in the first place, a piece of unleavened bread in the next, and last but not least the " all-softening, over-powering" Daru were the three courses of Behram'syasan, and after taking his antidote he did not seem to be much the worse for his dissipation. He would dry his clothes with his little fellow-sinners, and quietly walk to the school, as if nothing had happened. Behram also used to join walking matches and would tramp it to Nau- sari from Surat. Even now, he is a splendid walker and climber, doing 15 to 20 miles at a stretch and climbing the steepest ascents when in health. RIDING ON THE SLY. It goes without saying that Merwanji, and there- fore Behram, had no horse, and yet the boy taught himself to ride. Here, too, it is necessary to make a confession. There was a timber-seller in Surat of the name of Abdul Kadur. He did not sell his timber himself, but employed agents. He kept also several ponies for hire, but did not give them out on hire himself. He was a religious man, busy with his God, XXVI and while so busy, Behram and his friends used often to take out the ponies for exercise and have a ride free of charge. The good man never even once resented these trespasses, but on the contrary often did a kind- ness to those who offended against him and his property. " He was," Malabari tells me, " my boyhood's hero," and later on we shall see him quoting Abdul Kadur's famous prescription against fever : " Starve out thy fever, my son, and make her sick of thee by constantly moving about." Abdul Kadur was certainly a remark- able man. His business throve, though he did not attend to it. It was his ancestral trade, and he kept it up. But what right had he to the income ? It was given by God, and to God's wards, the poor, it must go ; and Abdul Kadur with such thoughts kept little of his earnings to himself. But they were not his earnings and there was no merit in giving them away. Hence this strict bondsman of his conscience used to put on a cooly's coarse garments every second night (in those days steamers used to leave Surat for Bombay every second night), earn a few pice by carrying loads inthe har- bour, buy a little oil and milk, with these return to his Mosque, distribute the milk among the blind and the maimed at the Mosque, give some drops of it to the old dog there, and then lighting a little lamp with the oil offer his meed of praise and prayer to Allah. No wonder he excited the admiration of Behram. THE LITTLE KNIGHT OF LA MANCHA. " The child," it has been said, " is father of the man," and it is instructive to see Behram in the morning of his life interesting himself in the cause of the widow XXVII and the child-bride. The following two instances re- lated by Malabari speak for themselves ; It may amuse, but will scarcely surprise, the reader, to hear of me as a match-maker. I have had fair training in the match- making line, and have at times tried my hand at match-breaking ) too. The first match that I helped, in a humble way, to render happy was in the case of Manchhn. Manchha was a Hindu maiden of the milk-seller caste at Surat. She happened to have lost her boy-husband when only a child, and at about 20 she was married to a widower of her own caste. The remarriage was, of course, very strongly opposed by her people. But her husband had some means, and was the wife's brother of a wealthy money-lender, Tapidas. So Mr. and Mrs. Tapidas patronized the match and in- stalled Manchha and her husband in a new milk shop at Nanpura, so that they might be out of harm's way. But here the pair were no better off than they might have been elsewhere. The rival shop-keepers kept aloof from them, spreading all manner of ru- mours to their discredit. The new shop was virtually boycotted. When this came to the knowledge of the Parsis of Nanpura (includ- ing schoolboys) they swore a big oath to befriend Manchha. They transferred their patronage almost in a body from Dullab and Vallab, hitherto their favourite milk-sellers, to Manchha. Thus Manchha's shop was besieged every morning by scores of Parsi customers in search of milk and cream and curd and butter. Well do I remember her smile of gratitude as she dispensed the products of her dairy. She was particularly kind to us schoolboys, because it was we who had brought her case to notice. For a time all went merrily with Manchha and her spouse, as merrily as a mar- riage bell. But all this while their enemies were hatching a plot against their peace. Now Manchha was a big strapping body, not particularly proud of her lord. She was handsome, too, and ex- tremely sociable in an innocent sort of way. So, unhappily for her, she made friends with an elderly Parsi who monopolised her afternoons, whom she served with pansupari, and with whom she discussed local scandals. There was nothing wrong in all this* Manchha was not to her husband what Anarkali was to Akbar, XXVIII whom the old stupid is said to have ordered to be buried alive for having unconsciously returned a smile from Mirza Selim. Manchha flirted with her venerable beau in open day, as the jolly milk- maids and the malans and the tambolans of Surat often do. But in this case her caste people made it too hot for the poor girl, and one morning we found Manchha's shop deserted by her and her husband. Whither they went we could never find out. For months we grieved over the loss and thought it was a shame that our Manchha should have eloped with Tier husband without taking friends into confidence. Her aged lover took to bod the day after the elopement, some said from unrequited love, others said because Manchhabai had forgotten to return sundry ornaments she had borrowed from him. This latter was, I think, an inventiou of her enemies. My next lesson was in match-breaking, or rather an attempt at it. An old tamboli (pan supari seller) one day surprised his customers by bringing up from the district a girl whom he repre- sented as his wife. She was about 15, whilst he was over 50, besides being a morose, taciturn, miserly beast whom nobody liked to exchange words with except by way of teasing. The school- boys of Nanpura found in the girl an excellent handle for perse- cuting her husband. Returning from school they would go up to him, and one of them would ask " Kaka, where is your daughter ? " and he would reply " you fool, she is your mother." Then would the boy retort " very well, Kaka, I'll inform my forgetful father about it " at which the outraged husband would shriek like mad, flourishing his chunam stick. Many were the annoyances to which the boys subjected him they sang songs in his wife's honour, they praised her beauty, they advised her aloud not to throw away her charms on a scare- crow, a mumbling opium-eater, and so forth. One evening they collected copper pieces amongst themselves, had them converted into a four-anna silver piece, and then went to the tamboli's shop. The spokesman went forward, and holding out the silver coin, said : " Kaka, let us have four annas worth of pan, supari, chuno and katho look sharp there is to be a singing party." The tamboli executed the order cheerfully, advising the boys in a fatherly spirit not to be truants and not to tease elderly men like XXIX himself, &c., &c. They listened to him with bowed heads, but as soon as he held out the packages, asking for the coin, the leader of the gang remarked: "Not this way, Kaka, I must have the packages from Kaki's hands." A shout of cheers from his com- panions greeted the remark. Thig was too much for the unsus- pecting tamboli. " You son of a she-demon," he yelled, " why were you born to be the plague of my life ? ; at your birth you ought to have been turned into a stone. Have you no shame in speaking thus of an honest man's wile ? " " Don't I pay for it ?" replied the young profligate, with an insolent leer which maddened his opponent, and exhibiting the silver coin. " But you black- faced villain, she is in the kitchen above," explained the tamboli half relenting. ' Send for her, Kakaji, send for her shall I call her down ? " that was the boy's rejoinder. The tamboli again lost his temper, and remarked sulkily, "go away, I don't want your custom." " Very well," said the boy, " I'll go to the other shop." Then followed a struggle in the tamboli's breast between jealousy and avarice, and in a minute or so avarice, the stronger passion, triumphed. He called out his wife, abusing her as the cause of his misery, and so on ; she came down, half crying, half smiling } protesting against the old man's injustice. In answer he thrust the packages into her hands with the injunction " give these to that dog." The boy reached out his hand eagerly, but as the fair tambolan's hand approached his, he slowly withdrew his hand, till he made her lean more than half her body forward. He then pre- tended to kiss her hand, took the packages and gave her the four anna bit with a smile she con Id not help returning. The old man sat all this while grinding his teeth and cursing everybody before him, including his innocent wife. It may be mentioned here that the boys were too young to be serious. But light-hearted as these frolics were, they were a terror to many a jealous husband or cruel father. The young women, as a rule, encouraged their little gallants.* FAST AND FURIOUS FUN. These merry-makings were innocent enough, but|I can't Bay the same thing about some other achievements * Indian Spectator, p. 533. XXX of Behram. For example, he and ten or eleven of his school-chums going early to school see a Bania shop- keeper snoring away on a cot lying outside his shop. Instantly they put their shoulders to the cot and re- move it to the Killa maidan. That was too bad for the Bania was sure to think his house was haunted by hobgoblins or perhaps start some equally beautiful theory to account for his translation. Curious to say, the policemen on the beat often enjoyed this fun. One of them was a special friend of Behram, and I am sorry to say taught him some questionable songs. Another amusement of these little imps was to tease Borah Jamalji " one of those noble fellows, you know," Malabari told me, " who seldom dun you for debt." But woe unto the poor old Borah if he ever dunned Behram and his merry band. Early in the morning before he was up from his bed, they would stealthily remove the little ladder used by him for getting down from his shop, and place it against the stall of his rival on the opposite side. Jamalji coming to the edge of his shop would, as usual, make for the ladder and have a fall to the delight of his tormentors awaiting this event in a corner. Then there would be a ringing voile}'- of curses upon all and sundry, but the Borah, not much hurt, would soon pick himself up and seeing the boys would inquire about the lost ladder. " Have we the ladder in our pockets, Jamalji ?" the ringleader would ask " look about you and then foul your tongue." He would look about him, and noticing the ladder at the opposite shop-keeper's would kick up a row with him, and the naughty boys would then hasten to school, having had enough of mirth for the day. XXXI A CANING AND WHAT CAME OP IT. But of all the naughty deeds of our hero perhaps the naughtiest was his treatment of the new head-master of his school. It happened in this wise. Behram was a good pugilist and a good wrestler. He had strong muscles and strong bones, and his animal spirits, as the reader might have already concluded for himself, were abnormally high. While studying for the Fourth English Standard Test, he was one day, during the half-hour recess, challenged to force open a door held from the other side by four or five other boys. None of the boys knew that the hinges were rotten, and none therefore anticipated the catastrophe that ensued. Behram accepting the challenge, pressed against the door with all his might when the hinges gave a creak, and the door all of a sudden gave way and fell down upon the poor boys on the other side with his own weight upon it. Fortunately, no serious injury was done, but the crash frightened the school masters. The new head-master, Mr. Jevachram (the old one had been transferred ) was a rigid disciplinarian, though not an unjust man. The boys were marched up as criminals before him, and after a long trial he sentenced them to receive each a dozen stripes on the hand. But Behram would not submit to this order. His other masters tried their influence with the head-master in his favour. But Mr. Jevachram being a stickler for his authority adhered to his decision, while Behram, equally obdurate, adhered to his own. At length Mr. Dosabhai pro- cured a concession that the school-peon should not in- flict the punishment on Behram but Mr. Dosabhai XXXII himself. This was something, and Mr. Dosabhai in his most persuasive tone came up to the culprit, and " now my boy," said he, " you won't feel my caning you, would you ? Do be a good boy, and hold out your hand." Behram held out his hand but with the first stroke the over-sensitive lad was in a tremor and wa& about to fall down in a swoon. The masters were frightened and did their utmost to revive him. The boy did revive, but the first thing he did on coming to was to throw his books at poor Mr. Jevachram and bolt. He had to descend a staircase of about thirty steps, but three or four plunges brought him to the landing, and he rushed frantically home to complain to his mother. AN IRREPARABLE Loss AND ITS LESSON. But his mother was laid up with cholera. She had had an attack some time previously and had recovered, but that day she had experienced a relapse. To this day Malabari remembers the revulsion of feeling call it rather a mental cyclone which swept " the offending Adam " out of him and sobered him down to the gra- vity and stillness which have since then been his main characteristic. I do not think that there was much dross in his nature. Those who know him as he is now can never believe that his instincts could have been other than good even in his boyhood. Boys of course will be boys and who is there among us who can blame him for being often up to a lark ? But unless I have misread him egregiously, I am sure he was a loveable boy. Indeed, the man who could not have loved this frank, genial, gifted little one, singing like XXXIII a bird and pouring out his melody so freely, must have had little " music in his soul " and still less of human nature. Let us not, therefore, uncharitably judge the remorse-stricken boy for disobeying his master. Let us rather give him our best sympathy, while he is standing, shame-faced, cr?st-fallen, and almost dazed, beside his mother's bed. Behram ministered to his dying parent as only such an affectionate son could for two nights and three days. She was all in all to him, and she was dying. He could not go to bed even though his mother would implore him to take rest. He sits there fascinated rubbing her feet and watching watching watching ! At four o'clock in the evening of the third day her head and feet grow cold, then the chest, then the hands one of which holds Behrarn's to the last. She hovers between life and death for half an hour, and then the boy first sees the sight of death. He does not weep for the tears have frozen at their fount and there is a mist before his eyes. He is not able to realize for some time that his mother, who had just now passed her hand over his head, is no more. He sits like a statue until the neighbours come and the body is re- moved. He follows it and returns with the neighbours,, and sits again like a statue. " Next morning," he tells me, " I became an old old man. All my past asso- ciations were discarded."* * There is a touching allusion to his mother's death in the Indian Muse, p. 86-87. " One day the snn as his decline began Declin'd the sun of this my earthly span ! Her latest breath below my safety sought: To bless her orphan was her dying thought ! No tear I shed, when first my loss I view'd; My sense was smother'd, and my soul subdued. She'd clasp'd a child, with sad emotions \van ; But when the clasp relax'd, there was left a man."" She was only thirty-three when she died. C XXXIV CHAPTER II. YOUTH (1866-1876.) Malabari's life may well be divided into three periods. The first period is one of play and song ; the second of study and poetry ; the third of politics, lite- rature and social reform. The third thus overlaps the second to some extent. But the division is convenient. MALABARI A PUPIL AND A TUTOR. With his mother's death the orphan boy of twelve found himself utterly friendless in the world, for Merwanji in his old age had become cantankerous and was in straitened circumstances. Fortunately the people in his street and thereabouts knew of the lad's astonishing powers, and so it came about that although he was yet in pupilage himself, he found no difficulty in securing pupils some of whom were his seniors in ao-e. He, however, devoted only his mornings and evenings to their tuition, for he was himself now hunger- ing and thirsting for knowledge and was anxious to go to school again. The Anglo-vernaculr School would have been only too glad to take him back, but he pre- ferred to join the Irish Presbyterion Mission School, then under the supervision of the Revd. Mr. Dixon. Mr. Dixon, an exemplary Christian and a gentleman in the best sense of the word, took the boy by the hand, and gave him every encouragement. The head master of the school, Mr. Navalkar, and also Mr. Mo- tinarayan thought highly of the newcomer and were very friendly. Thus, under sympathetic guidance, Beh- ramji commenced his study of English in real earnest. Mr. Dixon as head of the school used to teach Shakespeare to the boys in the first class. Behramji 5I YOUTH. The prize is in the process ! knowledge means Ever renewed assurance by defeat That victory is somehow still to reach : But love is victory, the prize itself : Love trust to ! Be rewarded for the trust, In trusts 1 mere act BROWSING'S Ferishtah's Fancies. "As if there were sought in knowledge a couch whereupon to rest a searching and restless spirit ; or a terrace for a wandering and variable mind to walk up and down -with a fair prospect ; or a tower of state for a proud mind to raise itself upon ; or a fort or commanding ground for strife and contention; or a shop for profit or sale; and not a rich storehouse for the glory of the Creator , and the relief of man' s estate. BACON'S Advancement of Learning. Half grown as yet, a child, and vain, She cannot fight the fear of death. What is she, cut from love and faith, But some wild Pallas from the brain Of demons ? fiery hot to burst All barriers in her onward race For power. Let her know her place ; She is the second, not the first. TF.SSVSOK'S In Afemoriam. XXXV had been put in the third class and was at this time in the second, but was, nevertheless, allowed the benefit of these lessons. This was a great privilege, and the boy was grateful for it. He made very rapid progress in speaking and understanding English, and one day surprised Mr. Dixon by giving a lucid explanation of a very difficult passage in Shakespeare which had puzzled the master himself. His admiring teacher foretold the boy's greatness and heartily helped him in his pursuit of knowledge. MALABARI'S STRUGGLES. But the pursuit of knowledge was no easy task to one situated as the poor boy was. Imagine a lonely orphan who, in his thirteenth year, has to earn his own livelihood, who has sometimes to cook for himself, who has none at home to speak to but a snappish old man, who has to attend his school from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and to school others often from 7 to 9 in the morning and 6 to 8 in the evening ; and you have an idea of Mala- bari's hard lot in those days. He seldom slept more than four hours, for his nights alone were his own, and he spent many an hour in poring over the pages of Shakespeare and Milton, Wordsworth and Tennyson, Premanand and Akha, Samal Bhat and Dayaram. He was given to musing, and would often take up a scrap of paper to jot down those "short swallow-flights of sono-" which come so naturally to born poets. It is a remarkable fact that most of the Gujarati poems in the Niti Vinod and several in the Sarod-i-Ittifak were composed about this time. On the whole, though chilled by poverty, Malabari at this period of his life was not XXXVI quite unhappy, and he often longs to move again in those " shadowy thoroughfares of thought " and imagination, amidst which his prime was passed, to weave again those- wreaths of poesy which were the delight of his youth, and to prove himself what Colonel Olcott once wished him to be " the song- writing redeemer of his country." SCHOOLBOY- AMBITION. This, however, is the dream of his after-life. In those hard days when he was toilng for bread his one ambition was to matriculate. This may look like an anti-climax, but it is a fact. Matriculation in 1866 -was considered by many a young scholar as the be-all and end-all of study, and as an unfailing portal to preferment in Government and private ser- vice. Behramji set his heart on matriculating and studied all the subjects prescribed for this examination -with commendable assiduity, except arithmetic. He could not conquer his aversion to arithmetic, and used often to despair of passing the test on this account. But his teachers used to hearten him to his work by assuring him that he would make up the necessary marks in other subjects, if he only succeeded in securing the minimum number in the intractable science of calculation. This minimum number, however, proved tantalisingly unattainable for several years, as we .shall see. His GUARDIAN ANGELS. " I have somehow had more sympathy from the angels than from the brutes of my own sex begging your pardon." So wrote Malabari some time ago. He .speaks of many women, European and Native Hindu, XXXVII Mahomedan as well as Parsi who " have been kind to me, kind as mother's milk." This was, I presume, in early life, for Malabari is not now a society man. He studied in the Mission School for about two years only, as he went up for his matriculation from the second class, but I have no doubt that the example of the good missionary who presided over it, and of his noble wife, deeply influenced the young student's life. This is clear from his first book which abounds with the loftiest sentiments, and from the tenour of his own life. Malabari still corresponds with Mrs. Dixon, now at Belfast, with her son who is studying for the Bar and whom. Malabari still remembers as the " little Willie " of the happy mission-house. Mrs. Dixon had another child a little girl who died in her infancy at Surat, and whom her father followed shortly after- wards lamented by the whole town. I have sometimes speculated as to what Malabari would have been if those benevolent men who founded the Irish Presby- terian Mission had never thought of India, and provided no mission school or closed it on seeing no visible, tangible results. I feel little doubt that his good in- stincts would have asserted themselves sooner or later ; but I have as little doubt, that Mr. and Mrs. Dixon evoked and fostered these instincts much sooner than would otherwise have been the case. There were other lady friends who often cheered the sadness of the lonely boy. He fondly recalls the days he spent at Munshi Lutfullah Khan's. Munshi Lutfullah, whose "Autobiography" is well known, had & son, Fazal, who studied in the mission school and be- XXXVIII came a fast friend of Behramji's. The two boys used* often to spend their evenings together, and on those nights when Behram had not to attend to his pupils, he enjoyed the pleasure of hearing Fazal's sister sing and play. She had a sorrow of her own, and perhaps felt drawn to the the pensive orphan. The accom- plished old Munshi was himself particularly fond of entertaining Behramji, Vijiashankar and other school- boys who frequented his house. Malabari gratefully remembers the friendship of two of his ow r n cousins as also of several Parsi and Hindu ladies. JlVAJI, THE GENEROUS JEW. Nearly two years have now elapsed since that " dark day of nothingness " when Malabari's, mother breathed her last. He is now fairly ready for his matriculation, though he is doubtful about his arithmetic. But there is no money forthcoming for his passage to Bombay where the examin ition is to be held. Mr. Dixon tells him " mind, don't fail to pro- secute your studies after you matriculate. Draw upon me for money, if need be ; " but the good Padre does not know that his favourite pupil is almost despairing of going to Bombay for w r ant of money. The boy is too proud, too sensitive to take a loan ; but he is the admiration of his class, and his class-mates know his circumstances. Curiously enough, help came to him from a quarter the least expected. There was an old Parsi gentleman, Jivaji, at Nanpura a remarkable man who had burnt his fingers in the Share Mania of 1864-65, but who had sufficient money to lend, especially to butchers. He was, however, by reputa- XXXIX tion such a tight screw to deal with that he had himself come to be nicknamed after the class with whom he had business relations. He was Malabari's opposite neighbour and one of his sons was in the mission school. Learning how the case stood with the boy, old Jivaji behaved with a generosity which few would have given him credit for. He sent for the youth, wormed out his secret, and thrust Rs. 20 upon him. This was all that was wanted. " Don't be sad, my lad," said the good old Jivaji, " your honest face is security enough for my money/' and he actually took no bond or note of hand. His confidence was eventually well rewarded. Meanwhile let us follow Malabari to Bombay. He had to pay Rs. 10 for the usual examination-fee, and he required the remaining Rs. 10 for his passage. So with this little amount in his pocket, and with a little bed and a few books he left Surat for the capital of the presidency. AT THE DOOR OF A BOMBAY DIVES. Behramji was barely fifteen when he came to Bom- bay, and so green was he that he did not realize the enormous gulf between the rich and the poor in that great city. He knew how Jivaji had treated him, but he forgot that Jivaji had started in life with perhaps a couple of rupees, and had known what it was to be poor. Our Surati ingenue had heard of a rich Parsi at Bombay, and had read some of his public utterances and of his public charities. Surely such a man would be but too glad to help an orphan. Old Merwanji was very unhappy owing to the mortgage of his house. He had found out the sterling worth of his adopted son, XL and this latter on his side was anxious to see the house redeemed. It was a matter of Us. 300 only, and sure- ly a boy ready for his matriculation, with such excellent testimonials from Messrs. Curtis and Dixon, could get this trifle on his word of honour from a sympathising benefactor. He would pay it back with interest. So one day, pocketing his pride for the sake of old Merwanji, Behram presents himself at the door of the public-spi- rited Parsi Dives. He is called in, and modestly states his case. The reply is a withering smile and an offer of a cup of tea. But the young man, who had thought so much of his word of honour and read so much of the brotherhood of men, finding his cup of hope dashed to pieces, turns his back on the man of the world and is off. This was one of his first experiences at Bombay. "I felt too stunned even to be able to give him the part- ing salaam," writes Malabari. *' I never met him since but once, when he was in need of my good offices. Little did the poor Sheth know that the man whom he paid such lavish attentions was the same as had come to him for a little loan to help his adoptive father. I do not blame him now ; perhaps he had been deceived by others before I appealed to him." ARITHMETIC REVENGES ITSELF. But a sadder disappointment was in store for him. He failed in arithmetic on going in for the examination. He did well in all the other subjects, but had to give up in despair some of the hard nuts from Colenso which he was asked to crack. Had it been possible to solve a puzzle of decimal fractions with Gujarati or English poetry, our hero would have easily scored the highest ILI number of marks. But there was as little poetry in arithmetic as in the Parsi Dives he had encountered. He had a bulky bundle of poems in English as well as in Gujarati, but then who would believe that a mite of a boy could be a poet. He had no patron and no friends. He had put up at Bombay with a relation of Merwanji's, and must now either return to Surat, or make up his mind to draw on Mr. Dixon. He was however, soon helped out of these embarrassments. A GOOD SAMARITAN. While at Surat, Behram had given free lessons to several boys. One of these was a son of a Parsi lady who was his mother's friend. This lady had a brother in Bombay, Dr. Rastomji Bahadurji, and had com- mended Behram to his care. Well Dr. Bahadurji, who rather liked this shy little stranger from Surat, came to the boy's rescue, and introduced him to the owner of the Parsi Proprietary School in the Fort, who was so pleased with the boy's English and general acquirements that he formed a new class for him. He had to start with only Rs. 20 a month ; but after a few months he was promoted to a post of Rs. 40, and then to one of Rs. 60. The young man also took pupils privately, and was able soon to make between Rs. 100 and 150 from tuitions alone. Behramji was no longer oppressed by poverty. A NARROW ESCAPE. But a new danger turned up at this stage. Having now a moderate income, he was an eligible son-in-law ; .and the wife of the relation with whom he had lived XLII for a year from the date of his arrival, was a great match-maker. She had a widowed sister older than Behramji, and she didn't see why these two should not l)e a happy couple. But Behramji was not quite a greenhorn now, and had eyes to see and understand- ing to judge for himself. He declined the offer with thanks and quietly removed to other lodgings. MATRICULATES AT LAST. Mr. Kavasji Banaji had offered our poet- pedagogue Ks. 40 a month for teaching his son, and Behramji now became a lodger in his house. He was also for a while with Mr. Cowasji Bisney. After some time he commenced to live on his own hook in a house in Dhobi Talao rented for Us. 20 a month, and then in another in Hanuman Lane, Fort. All this time he had not forgotten his matriculation. He had failed first in 1868 ; he failed again in 1869, and for the third time in 1870. But at last in 1871 the goddess of integers and tractions had pity upon the persevering young votary and pulled him safely through his ordeaL He was no longer an orphan now in the educational service. THE REVD. VAN SOMEREN TAYLOR AND DR. JOHN WILSON. If sorrows come in battalions, joys also sometimes come in a goodly band. Behramji had borne the shock of the battalions bravely. Poverty, the loss of his mother, his repeated failure in the matriculation test, were all so many " blows of circumstance " which he had courageously breasted. And now a better day dawned upon him, and he emerged from his obscurity. XLIII One of his examiners had been the Revd. Mr. Taylor whose name is still a household word in Gujarat. He was the author of a standard Gujarati Grammar and some Gujarati poems. Behramji had heard a great deal about him, and one day mustering courage took his own Gujarati poems to him. They were in a neat manuscript written like print, and Mr. Taylor turning over the pages and struck with the beauty of the verses exclaimed : " Do you mean to say you have had this for three years and it has not yet been printed?" No, of course, net. It had not been printed, and was not to be printed for some years yet. But Mr. Taylor's encouraging words put new life into the author, and by Mr. Taylor he was introduced to one who moulded his life and shaped his ends in a remarkable degree. This was the great linguist, the devoted missionary and the enlightened educationist the Revd. Dr. John o Wilson. Dr. Wilson read Behramji's little volume, found ' the versification " remarkably good," and the ideas ex- pressed indicative of "poetical imagination," stood sponsor to the book, named it the Niti Vinod (or the Pleasures of Morality), and exerted himself in its favour. The Government subscribed for 300 copies, Sir Cowasji Jehangir Readymoney for 75, Sir Man- galdas Nathubhai for 50, Sir Dinshaw Petit for 25, and several others followed these gentlemen's example. The book nevertheless came out only in 1875. This requires an explanation, and I give it with reluctance, because I shall have to say that Behramji carried as^ little of the spirit of calculation into his life as he did to his examination ; in other words, to praise him for XLIV what he does not wish to be proclaimed or praised. The truth is, his earnings, except what he sent to Merwanji and what he spent on books and sometimes on good cheer, went to others some of them, I am afraid, idlers who imposed upon the young donor. He had even borrowed money to relieve their necessities. This was one cause of the delay. Another was that lie was shy and knew nothing about printers and publishers. At length, however, he overcame these difficulties with the assistance of his friend, Mr. Sha- purji Dadabhai Bhabha, but before the first born of his genius came into the world an important event took place, which I must not pass over. MARRIAGE. This was his marriage in his twenty-first year. My fair readers, if 1 should have the good fortune to have any, will ask several questions, but they had better put them to Mrs. Malabari, for I cannot answer them. I shall, however, try to satisfy their legitimate curio- sity. Was she pretty ? Yes. Was she young ? Yes, only nineteen. Where did the two meet ? Why, in the house of Malabari's landlady, close to Malabari's own lodgings. Was there any courtship ? A short one. Was it an affair of the heart ? Both thought so. At any rate it was not a question of money there was no dower and no settlement. All that could be gathered now is that it was a matter of intense devotion on one side and intense pity on the other. Was the marriage celebrated in the orthodox style ? Yes. I think this .much ought to suffice. XLV THE "Nm YINOD." By a fortunate coincidence, Malabari brought out the Niti Vinod about the time his first child was born. In a short time a second edition was called for. It was the first work of the first Parsi Poet ;* but it had other merits. The Gujarati of the Niti Vinod is not Parsi Guja- rati, but Hindu Gujarati. The two in many respects differ as much as Hindustani and Hindi. Malabari, thanks to his association with the khialis, and his studv of pure Gujarati poets, had obtained a wonderful mas- tery over Hindu Gujarati. His favourite authors were Dayaram, Premanand and Akho, "the last for apho- ristic wisdom and manly spirit, the second for dignity and true poetic sentiment, and Dayaram for his lus- cious sweetness and captivating imagery. "f He was also very fond of Kabir, Nanik, Dadu, Mira and other minor singers. A natural gift so diligently cultivated could not but produce the very best poetic style. There is another thing remarkable in the Niti Vinod. It is the bewildering number and variety of the metres employed. I am afraid the title of the book is forbidding. It would lead Englishmen to suppose that it is something like Pope's Moral Essays, or Tupper's prosaic verses, or at the most, like Roger's Pleasures of Memory or Campbell's Pleasures of Hope. But the Niti Vinod is almost wholly lyrical. There are few pieces in it which are not pure songs. * East Goftar. t Private letter. XLVI The book is divided into five parts moral subjects, smiscellaneous subjects, questions and answers, short lives of great men, and religious subjects. The first part takes up only thirty-seven pages out of 215 and deals with such subjects as Youth, Friendship, Flattery, Jealousy, Swearing, Procrastination, Idleness, Drunken- ness, Sensuality, Worldliness, Suicide, and Death. But even this purely moral portion is full of gems such as the piece which tells us what things are good to buy in the market of the world, and that other which shows how to prepare to meet death patiently. In this part also there is a faithful and artistic translation of the Indian schoolboy's favourite "You are old Father William. 5 ' Father William becomes " Kaka Karsanji " in Guja- rati, but acquits himself in it as well as in English. There is also " a word of advice to the body " which is worth reproducing as a whole. I quote the refrain of the song which may one day pass into a popular saying, at least with the Salvationists. Dunyd ulat sulat che khel S^tun mukti nun mushkel * The third part contains pithy answers to such questions as " Why God gives happiness," " Who is truly happy " " Who is the true hero," " Where is God," 41 Who is the true God," " Who should weep," " Who should laugh," Whose wife is a widow," and so on. The " Short Lives of Great Men " commence with Mr. Dixon whose untimely death is deplored in pathe- tic verse. * The world is a game of ups and downs, The bargain of salvation is a difficult cue. XLVII Garibo bhanave, suniti shikhave Pashu bal ne je ghadiman rijhave Gayo svarga sadhii kharo lipkari Vidia mdta roti phareche bichari * Then follow the first Napoleon Buonaparte, Kar- sandas Mulji, Lady Avanbai (the first Lady Jamsetji Jijibhoy), Nelson, Wellington, Sir Jamsetji Jijibhoy (the first Parsi Baronet,) Prince Albert, Jagannath Sankarsett, Rustomji Jamsetji Jijibhoy, the great Anstey, and lastly Dr. Bhau Daji. There are also a couple of other poems, one on the murder of Lord Mayo, and the other on the calamities which befell the third Napoleon. The fifth part treats of salvation, devotion to God, prayer and like topics from the point of view of a pure theist. The language is very terse, limpid and musical, and the thoughts are as pure as Keshub Chunder Sen's. But decidedly the best poems in the book are to be found in the second part, and of all his best poems, the pathetic ones on the woes of enforced widowhood and the horrors of infant marriagef are the very best. Here is one of them : * He who taught the poor inculcated morality won the hearts of little children in a moment he, the true saint and philan- thropist is gone to heaven, and the bereaved Mother Learning wanders about weeping. t The headings of some of the pieces on these subjects may be mentioned : 44 How to relieve Bharat Khand (India) of the curse of woman ; " " Contrast between the condition of Hindu women in ancient and modern times ;" "Advice to the leaders of Hindu caste ;" "A heart- XLVIII He hina-hathila, jama jatila, hilatila kema karo ? Shubha avasara pase, ve'mo na'se, kan jitaashe, jiitha varo ? Sau dukhi abalane, marada-bhalane, satapdlane, sonpi do,' Jagasukhahin nari, garib bichari, bedi akari, kapi do. A-'desha sudharshe, ridha sidha vadhashe, papa utarshe, chut didhe, Dinabandhu ke'she, desha videsha, kirati re'she, am kidhe ; Je hashe akarmf, puro adharmf, vipati garmi, nahi talashe, Jo ishwarjaya, karshe sd,hya, to ishmaya, jhat malashe Pashu bala kapaye, tidarmanhe, nahi niklae, mana vati, Ban! mata nirashi, nirashaphansi, ghale trasi, krura mati broken lady's lament ;" "A supplication to the Hindu Mahajan." " The sorrows of a widow on the death of her husband ;" "A sinful widow's prayer to God ;" "A widow's prayer to her father ;" "The Borrows resulting from Infant Marriage." The first four lines of this last song run as follows: Pita bachapanthi na parnavo re Jaldi khiio na lagan no lavo Pita, &o> Prabhu kero didhel hawalo re, tene dbiraj thi sanbhald re Pachi va'li hoe ke va'lo Pita &c. Fathers, do not marry your children in infancy ; Do not be in a hurry to enjoy the pleasures of a marriage (in your family.) (Children are) a sacred charge from God Bear them with patience, whether they be daughters or sons* XLIX Manama* bahii l%e, balta"na"ge ; vidhwa" mage, sukha radf, Behram vicharun, chale martin, to ugdnin, aya ghadi.* To appreciate the beauty and melody of this piece, as also its warmth of denunciation, one should have it sung, and then he would see what deep earnestness has been infused into it. Indeed, it is the young poet's depth of feeling, almost phenomenal, which is the most salient feature of his work. This * Read a as in all, o as in lo, a as in attempt, u as in bull, ii as oo in fool, i as in British, i as ee in eel, The verses may be loosely translated as follows : " Oh ye God-forsaken, perverse fiends of caste, why make you these shuffling shambling excuses ? Good times are near, superstitions must now flee, why (at such a time) do you wed untruth to obtain a (fictitious) victory (over truth) ? Entrust all unhappy women to the care of men good and true. Cut off the miserable fetters of poor weak woman desirous of worldly happiness This country will improve, (its) weal and bliss will increase,. sins will go away, if you liberate (widows from their thraldom. He who does this will be called the friend of the poor, his fame will spread in his country and in foi-eign lands. Ho who is an evil-doer and utterly irreligious, his fire of misery will never be removed. But heaven-born beings rendering help (to the helpless,) will soon attain God's grace. Poor (innocent) infants are cut off" in the womb cannot see the light of day with any welcome. The mother, becoming hopeless, casts the noose of despair (on the infant) through fear, and with a hardened heart Burning in the flames (of sorrow) the widow, with her heart* in distress, weepingly asks for relief. I, Behram, think, if I had the power, I would save her this very moment. (The mention of the poet's namo in the last line is usual ia such songs ) D will not appear at all surprising to those well acquaint- ed with Malabari for he is, by nature, extremely sympathetic, and his is not a " painless sympathy with pain." " When I see a lame person," he once wrote, " I feel lame for a moment ; when a blind person, I feel blinded. I feel corresponding pain or loss in witnessing it. When I first look at a leper or other foully diseased object I feel a shiver, but the feeling passes off, and I have tended many diseased patients."* We have seen how quick his mother's hands were unto good, and there is very little doubt that Malabari inherits his ready benevolence from her. In this second part there are numerous other sub- jects discussed. For example, we have a graphic but chaste description of what an innocent Hindu girl saw at a sensual Vaishnava Maharaja's ; a touching lament by a husband who has lost a good wife ; an amusing analysis of the thoughts of the superstitious regarding the Kali Age ; an appeal to Banias to educate their children ; a scathing condemnation of the high-pressure system pursued in children's schools ; besides, several purely English topics, like the bravery of the English sailor and our Queen's sorrow on the death of her Consort. This last is a most spirited piece of com- position. It may be asked why Dr. Wilson named the book "Niti Vinod" when the bulk of it dealt with other sub- jects than morality. But the truth is that a profoundly religious and moral tone pervades the whole work, and its tendency is certainly to bring home to the reader the delights of virtue and the miseries of vice. Even * From a letter. LI Before he came in contact with Dr. Wilson, Behramji was a " prayerful animal,"* and it was his earnest- ness, as much as his precocious genius, that made him so attractive to Dr. Wilson. The burden of many of his i3ongs is a simple lesson "Do good," and in various ways, and with considerable originality and freshness, he -enforces that, " The gods hear men's hands before their lips And heed beyond all crying and sacrifice Light of things done, and noise of labouring men." How THE 'NiTi VINOD' WAS RECEIVED. The Niti Vinod appeared with some capital testi- monials. One Hindu scholar certified that "the poetry Tvas without prosodical defects ;" another that "the lan- guage was natural and the style graceful ;" while the Parsi High Priest went into raptures over the "pure *Gujarati verses" and stated that they had "no precedent." The book was received by the Vernacular Press gener- ally with equally hearty praise. The East Go/tar wel- comed it as the production of the first "genuine poet" among the Parsis, who had expressed his sentiments "in pure Gujarati" and in "sweet and beautiful verses." The Shamsher Bahadur was struck most with his "sweet and harmonious versification" and his "deep moral tone." The Vidya Mitra wrote : "We are glad to see that, thouo-h a Parsi, the author has succeeded in writ- O ' ing such polished and harmonious lines in Gujarati. The different metres seem to us to be faultless in their construction ; and most of the lines smooth and grace- ful. Some passages are really of the highest order. * From a letter. LII Some subjects have been most graphically treated ; while in some lines the author displays the powers of a painter." The Gujarat Mitra was likewise very ap- preciative. "There is hardly a page," it said, "in which we do not meet with lines which are very good and creditable, and the metre is faultless. Looking to the composition and the language of the verses, one would irresistibly be led to believe that they were the pro- duction of a learned Hindu writer ; he would hardly think a Parsi capable of such chaste and classical lan- guage. We pray that this gentleman may go on making the same laudable use of his pen." The reviewers in the English papers were no- less eulogistic. The book was " an agreeable surprise " to the Indian Statesman, and recommended by it " as a fit text to be placed in the hands of students and introduced as a reading book in families." The Bombay Gazette noticed that the young poet had " displayed an amount of observation which is seldom to be found in works of native authors," and that he was equally "at home in didactic, humorous and pathetic poetry." The Times of India regarded the book as an attempt "to infuse into the Eastern mind something of the lofty tone of thought and feeling which distinguishes the most approved literary productions of the West," and in reviewing the second edition that journal wrote : " These verses display, to great advantage, the author's wonderful command over pure Hindu Gujarati. But that is not their only merit. They evince considerable originality and reflect a lofty tone of moral teaching, We cannot withhold our admiration of Mr. Malabari'& LIII -success in the line of study he has adopted." To crown 4ill these plaudits of the press two living Gujarati poets welcomed him heartily to their ranks. Kavi Shi vial Dhanesh war wrote : " Such wide acquaintance with Gujarati, such beauty of versification, and such a delightful combination of sentiment and imagination would do honour to the pen of an accomplished Hindu poet." And Kavi Dalpatram Dayabhai wrote : " It is a general belief amongst us that Parsis cannot excel in versification, through the medium of correct and idiomatic Gujarati ; but Mr. Malabari's friti Vinod effectually dispels that belief. It will be a proud day for Gujarat, when the odious distinction between Parsi Gujarati and Hindu Gujarati ceases to exist. I concur with the opinions that several competent critics have given of the book, and hope it will meet with greater success than before." There are pieces in the Niti Vinod which will live so long as the vernacular of Gujarat endures. Among their special merits may be mentioned a striking originality, both of thought and expression, and a simplicity and spiritual grace iu which Gujarati literature appears to be very poor. I believe many of these poems will bear an English translation ; they ought certainly to be introduced into the school curriculum. IN THE BOMBAY SMALL CAUSE COURT. The Niti Vinod was a success,* and one would think Malabari was happy. But his life has been truly * There must have been nome critics who could not have found anything good in the book ; but I am sorry I have not been able to *et at their reviews. LIV a " pendulum between a smile and a tear," and just when he was drinking in the delicious compliments of the press and of his brother-poets, he found himself summoned to answer a suit in the Court of Small Causes. It was brought by a person who was under deep obli- gations to Malabari, and who should have been the last to brine- it. He had been a teacher at the same school , where Malabari was still teaching, and having a large family had often been assisted by Malabari. But he was a nettle who ought not to have been so tenderly treated. He had been made to leave the school, and now filed an action to recover Rs. 200 as commis- sion for the sale of the Niti Vinod, for the collection of subscriptions, and for other services rendered in connection with the book, including the revision of the verses themselves. This last count almost maddened our young poet, and, though extremely shy, he resolved to contest the claim. Moreover, Us. 200 was a large sum, and Malabari following the biblical maxim that the love of money was the root of all evil, and having an itch for giving away which amounted almost to a disease, was unable to pay even one-half of it. Fortunately, the judge was a discerning and patient man, and saw through the plaintiff as he gave his evidence in the witness-box. His witnesses also deserted the plaintiff, when they found the case going against him. The revising charge was withdrawn,, and the plaintiff got a decree for Rs. 30, and a reprimand for his sharp practice. The thirty rupees were awarded by the court for service rendered in obtaining subscrip- tions, a service for which Malabari had offered him Rs. 60 LT before the case was taken to the court. Thus our author tasted his first and last law-suit, to which the reader of Gujarat and Gujaratis is indebted for the very amusing " Scenes in a Small Cause Court." The Mehtaji, however, had his revenge. He prompted a Hindu paper to repeat the calumny he had withdrawn. Malabari had had a plentiful share of the ills that assail the life of a struggling poet ; he had had toil and want, the garret and a Small Cause Court suit, and he was not to escape the worst of all these ills envy. He, however, silenced his adversaries by offering to compose as good verses as could be found in the Niti Pinod, under any conditions prescribed by them. The challenge was not accepted, and Malabari was left in peace to bring out a second edition, and to publish his Indian Muse in English Garb. " THE INDIAN MUSE IN ENGLISH GARB." I have said that Malabari when he came to Bom- bay had some English poems with him in manuscript. To compose verses in a foreign language is no easy feat, but Malabari had natural gifts. He has an ear for rhyme and rhythm which few have. He is extremely responsive to good music, and bad music frets his nerves, and makes him unhappy. He had read a good deal of English poetry, and had his favourites. " Wordsworth/* he writes,* ' is the favourite of my soul and intellect ; Shelly, Byron and Burns of my heart. Shakespeare and Milton / admire most, but there is something savagely practical in the former, and something awfully * In a letter. LVI stilted in the latter that keeps one from loving them quite.'' Malabar! studied the works of these poets and of Tennyson,* but he read many more. English numbers, he found, came to him almost as easily as Gujarati, and so in 1876, he published his Indian Muse t and dedicated it to one who had done so much for her sisters in India Miss Mary Carpenter. Before rushing into print, he showed some specimens of his poetry to Dr. Wilson, whose loss he keenly deplores in the verses headed : "To the memory of one of the noblest friends of India." Dr. "Wilson's opinion was that the lines " displayed an uncommonly intimate knowledge of the English language", and were " the outcome of a gifted mind, trained to habits of deep meditation and fresh and felicitous expression.*' The good doctor also spoke of the author as tl a young man of most excellent character and talents, and of rare literary accomplish- ments-" Few knew the young man so well as this venerable scholar. Even in his boyish days, Malabari used often to sing to himself in a meditative spirit, and though he gave up singing after his mother's death, he did not give up meditating. The influence of Dr. Wil- son on his character was very great. He was already earnest, but Dr. Wilson made him more so. He was already prayerful, but Dr. Wilson chastened his prayers. The two used at times to pray together, with another young Parsi, and whenever Dr. Wilson was ill or fati- gued, he loved to hear his young friends read to him the Psalms of David, and some of Bishop Heber's beautiful * There is a beautiful translation of the song in the " Princess," 41 Home they brought her warrior dead," in Malabari's Sarod Ittifak. LVII poems.* They had had many religious discussions, and Dr. Wilson had put forth all his learning, eloquence, and zeal to win over his favourite to Christ. And looking back to those days, Malabari often wonders how he escaped becoming a Christian. His main difficulty was, he tells me, the need of a Saviour. He believed in salvation by faith and by work, but did not think the mediation of another absolutely necessary for salvation. I imagine his heart was as much against changing his religion as his understanding. Bunsen places Zoroaster at least 6000 years before Christ, and the oldest Gatha of the Avesta says about this great Prophet " Good is the thought, good is the speech, good is the work of the pure Zarathushtra," and quotes a saying of his, " I have entrusted my soul to Heaven, and I will teach what is pure so long as I live." A pure, ancient, hereditary creed, with its hallowed asso- ciations, its historical grandeur, its touching memories of persecution and tribulation, would naturally have a greater attraction for a poetic mind than a foreign faith. Zoroastrianism, like its sister (some say its mother, and others, its daughter) Vedism, has been debased by later corruptions, but Malabari looked to its essence and not to its accidents. He did not care for ceremonials of any kind, and his real prayer was " to think well, to speak well, and to act well." He bowed to that Truth which includes all creeds and transcends all. He read or recited, five times a day, little gems of thought which Are commentaries on the original texts, and the under- "A dying man to his soul," at page 24 of the Indian was suggested to Malabari, when so employed. LVIII lying sentiment of which is the worship of the Creator through the noblest of His works, like the Sun and the Sea. Malabari is still the prayerful poet he was in 1876. He has still the same habits. He is not an orthodox Parsi, but a primitive Zoroastrian. None, therefore, need feel surprise that he withstood Dr. Wil- son's powerful attempts to convert him. His compa- nion and class-brother, Shapurji Dadabhai Bhabha, em-' braced Christianity after fearful persecutions, and is now a Doctor of Divinity as well as Medicine, practising in London. Shapurji and our Behram were like twin brothers. The latter stood by his friend amid all his trials. '* If anything could have made me a Christian/* Malabari once told me, " it was Shapurji's example. " "His faithfulness to Christ and his fortitude were most edifying. Dr. Wilson loved Shapurji as a son, and I myself owe much of Dr. Wilson's kindly regard for Sha- purji. I look upon Shapurji's family as my own. His father is one of the worthiest, and yet one of the most unlucky men I have known. " But though Malabari did not become a Christian in form, he is not one of those who think lightly of Christ, or who take a gloomy view of the work of Chris- tian missionaries. This is what he said about them in replying to a passage in Mr. Wordsworth's letter on Hindu social reform : - And how much do we owe to Christian missionaries ? "We are indebted to them for the first start in the race of intellectual eman- cipation. It is to them that we are beholden for some of our most cherished political and social acquisitions. Our very Brahmo Samaja, Arya Samaja and Prarathna Samaja are the offshoots, in one sense, of this beneficent agency. And, apart from its active LII usefulness, the Christian mission serves as a buffer for the tide of scepticism usually inseparable from in tellectual emancipation. Afc a time when doubt and distrust are taking the place of reasoned inquiry among the younger generation of India, I feel bound to acknowledge in my own person the benefits I have derived from a contact with the spirit of Christianity. But for that holy contact 1 could scarcely have grown into the staunch and sincere Zoroastrian that I am, with a keen appreciation of all that appeals readily to the intelligence and a reverent curiosity for what appeals to the heart, knowing full well that much of what is mysterious to man is not beneath but beyond the comprehension of a finite being. A similar generous feeling inspires his poem "To the Missionaries of Faith" in the Indian Muse. Malahari is himself a missionary. Turn to his poems, turn to his prose, turn to the life he is living j ; and you feel he is a missionary with a definite mission. The Indian Muse has something to say on the celebrated " Fuller Case," on the treatment of Malharao G-aekwar, on the time of famine, on the glories of the West^ and on the British character. But the poet is at home when describing the woes of widows, and social tyrannies. He has a stirring poem in imitation of Campbell's " Men of England, " which can only be fully appreciated by those who know what Rajput chivalry, what Aryan ''chastity of honour " was in days of yore, and how low their descendants have fallen in these days. His own ideal is a very high one, and he has kept true to it through all his troubles and sad experiences. This appears from the last poem in his book," Manhood's Dream, " and it forms a fitting conclusion to this chapter. Here it is : " life is but a stagnant sea, a weary trackless main ; Its waves asphaltic, undisturb'd, the soul with poison stain. The glory of good work it is our better part can save ; I'll rush to glory deathless, then, to glory or the grave ! The ice'of silence will the soul to selfish languor freeze ; While mine is yearning for some work of merit here she sees ; So fly to works of charity and love, my spirit brave ! To glory bear me on thy wings to glory or the grave ! There's Pleasure luring me to ruin ; I'll ne'er the siren heed ; If once my soul is wreck'd, she's naught but shame to wed indeed. But no ! IM honest death prefer to being Pleasure's knave ; So up and on to glory, soul !-to glory or the grave !" CHAPTER III. MANHOOD. The Indian Muse made Malabari famous, and se- 'cured him many friends. Professor Wordsworth praised his u skill in versification " and '' the sentiments ex- pressed" in his -verses. Mr. Gibbs congratulated him " on having produced poems superior to any I have yet seen from the pen of a native author." Mr. E. B. Eastwick, the veteran scholar and Orientalist, ''hailed the appear- ance of a true poet and master-mind in India." Wil- liam Benjamin Carpenter acknowledged " the tribute of affectionate .respect " paid to his sister, and Mr. J. Estlin Carpenter wrote : I hare oftea been surprised at the knowledge of the English language and literature displayed by some of your countrymen ; but your verses indicate an even completer mastery, and exhibit MANHOOD. How well in thee appears The constant service of the antique world, When service sweat for duty, not for meed! Thou art not for the fashion of these times, When none will sweat, but for promotion ; And, having that, do choke their service up, Even with the having SHAKESPEARE'S As You Like It. And he, shall he, Man, her last work, who seem'd so fair, Such splendid purpose in his eyes, Who roll'd the psalm to wintry skies, Who built him fanes of fruitless prayer. Who trusted God was love indeed, And love Creation 's final law, Tho' Nature, red in tooth and claw, With ravine shriek' d against his creed. Who loved, who suffered countless ills, Who battled for the True, the Just, Be blown about the desert dust, Or seal'd within the iron hills ? TENNYSON'S In Afemon'am, Thronging through the cloud-rift, whose are they, the faces Faint revealed, yet sure divined, the famous ones of old? tc What" they smile " our names, our deeds so soon erases Time upon his tablet where Life's glory lies enrolled ? Was it for mere fool's play, make-believe and mumming, So we battled it like men, not boy-like sulked or whined, Each of us heard clang God's ' come, ' and each was coming : Soldiers all, to forward face, not sneaks to lag behind! BROWNING'S Ferishtah's Fancies. Lives of great men all remind us, We can make our lives sublime, And, departing, leave behind us , Footprints on the sands of time LONGFELLOW. LXI a quite remarkable power of fulfilling the numerous and complex requirements of poetical composition. * Your lines to Wordsworth prove that you have found jour way into the secret of 'perhaps the deepest poetic influence of this cen- tury, and I rejoice to learn that his profound teachings thus make their way into wholly new modes of thought and feeling with pene- trating sympathy. Throughout your verses I recognise the same high tone of? aspiration which your dedication leads your readers to expect ; and I heartily congratulate you on this early and rich promise of poetic- skill. Miss Florence Nightingale was touched by many of the pieces and ended her letter with a blessino- May God bless your labours ! May the Eternal Father bles* India, bless England, and bring us together as one family, doing each other good. May the fire of His love, the sunshine of His countenance, inspire us all ! The late lamented Lord Shaftesbury bore witness " to the excellence of the work, the high character of its poetry, and its sentiments." Mr. Bright read the- book with interest, and wrote: Though you write in our language, I note that you abound in Oriental compliment.* I thank you too for your good wishes for myself. I fear it is not possible for any Englishman to do much for your unhappy country. The responsibility of England with- regard to India is too great it cannot adequately be discharged. Max Miiller acknowledged a copy with the fol- lowing letter: I am much obliged to you for your kind present. It is certainly highly creditable to you to be able to write English verse. To me also- English is an acquired language, but I have never attempted more than English prose. However, whether we write English verse or English prose, let us never forget that the best service we can ren- * This applies only to the first three or four poems welcoming the Prince of Wales to India, &c LZII der is to express our truest Indian and German thoughts in English, -and thus to act as honest interpreters between nations that ought to understand each other much better than they do at present. Depend upon it, the English public, at least the better part of it, likes a man who is what he is. The very secret of the excellence of English literature lies in the independence, the originality and truthfulness of English writers It is in the verses where you feel and speak like a true Indian that you seem to me to speak most like a true poet. Accept my best thanks and good wishes, and believe me Tours Sincerely, P. MAX MULLER. The Poet Laureate also sent a most encouraoino 1 o o little note. My dear Sir, I return my best thanks for your " INDIAN MUSE IN ENGLISH GARB." It is interesting, and more than interesting, to see how well you have managed in your English garb. I wish I could read the poems which you have written in your own vernacular ; for, 1 doubt not they deserve all the praise bestow'd upon them by the newspapers. Believe me Your far-away but sincere friend, A. TENNYSON. The Crown Princess of Germany and Her Majesty the Queen-Empress communicated to him their gracious thanks, and the Princess Alice, through her Secretary, wrote as follows: Dear Sir, H. R. H- The Grand-Duchess of Hesse has ordered me to ex- press Her Royal Highness* most sincere thanks for the copy of your " INDIAN MUSE." Her Royal Highness has read a part of the poems with deep interest ; and it afforded Her Royal Highness great pleasure to see a foreigner write English with so much taste and feeling, and the expression of such loyal sentiments. LXIII Her Royal Highness equally appreciates the motives which prompted yon to dedicate to Miss Carpenter the work which Her Royal Highness accepts with the greatest pleasure. Believe me to he, dear Sir, Tours very Sincerely, BARON KNESEBECK. All these honours brought our poet into great pro- minence. Sir Cowasji Jehanghir Readymoney had become his friend long before the publication of the Indian Muse, and by him and by Dr. Wilson, Malabari had been introduced to the highest functionaries as well as to influential citizens. Had the young poet been ambitious or sordid -minded, he could have easily made a name for himself and won a fortune in other walks than those of literature or journalism. But Malabari prized his independence, and was proud of his poverty. He lived altogether by his pen, and has up to date faithfully adhered to his vocation. He con- tributed to newspapers and periodicals, and cultivated his genius for poetry. He was always at the disposal of the poor and the aggrieved, and spent no small por- tion of his time in writing memorial B and appeals for the latter, with a tact and ability which seldom failed with the authorities. His reputation as an adviser and interpreter brought him into close acquaintance with some of the Native States, but he was often cheated by unprincipled officers in their service. Once he went to a State on the sea-coast during the monsoons, at the risk of his life. The Parsi Diwan had implored him to come and promised him a large sum for a represen- tation to Government ; but this worthy did not scruple to trick him by giving him an empty bag supposed to LXIT contain currency notes. Malabar! was so trustful and so careless in money matters, that it was not until he reached home and opened the bag that he discovered the fraud. He wrote to the Diwan, and the Diwan made an apology and begged for time. Malabari replied by sending him back the promising letters and releasing him from all obligations. He has done this in several other cases. If his constituents had been honest he would have been today worth at least half a lakh. MALABARI AS A JOURNALIST. Early in 1876 a couple of enterprising schoolboys and a clerk in the Bombay Municipality started a cheap weekly under the name of the Indian Spectator. Malabari used now and then to assist them. Later on he was made a co-editor with another friend who went in for politics, while Malabari was all for social subjects. There is a humorous account of this un- dertaking and its termination in Gujarat and the Gujaratis. While this strange literary partnership continued, Malabari fell in with a proposal of Mr. Martin Wood, who had then left the Times of India, to start a new paper devoted to the advocacy of the rights of Native States and of the masses at large. He had been introduced to this veteran publicist by Sir Cowasji Jehanghir, after the publication of the Indian Muse. Mr. Wood took very kindly to him and gave him his journalistic training. He became now Mr. Wood's coadjutor, and at his own expense undertook in March 1878 a journey to Gujarat and Kathiawar, in order to interest Native Princes in the enterprise, and to secure their support. Gujarat and the Gujaratis LXV was the result of this tour, besides about Rs. 2,000 in cash, and promises of some Rs. 15,000 more, which were never fulfilled. Mr. Wood started the Bombay Review, a small weekly of the size of the Pall Matt, in which many of the descriptions of places and people that are to be found in Gujarat and the Gujaratis were first published. The Editor set a high value on Malabari's writings, and paid him at the rate of Rs. 20 to Rs. 25 a column. Malabari has had offers of the same rate of remuneration from other proprietors, but has seldom or never contributed for money. The Bom- bay Review, in spite of the great abilities and experience of its conductor, was financially a failure, and after a couple of years ceased to exist. The Indian Spectator t too, had had its struggles, and eventually the pro- prietors became so sick cf it as to be glad to sell the plant as well as the goodwill to a Bori, who some time after sold the goodwill to Malabari for Rs. 25 ! Thus, about the beginning of 1880, Malabari entered upon his journalistic career with plenty of brains, but a plentiful lack of the sinews of journalistic enter- prise money. In fact, he would not have undertaken the task but for the promise of pecuniary aid from a wealthy and enlightened Hindu gentleman. The two entered into a contract, the one to supply brains, the other money. The profits were to be shared in equal proportion. But here arose a difficulty. To make the .story short, Malabari was startled by a proposal to send his sub-editor twice a week to the Seth for instructions. On objecting to the proposal, our journalist was curtly told : "You see, two men have to ride one horse. One of E LXVI us must ride behind." "Well," replied Malabari as laconi- cally, " I am not going to be that one ;" and without further parley he left the astonished sowcar. Unfor- tunately, he had borrowed one month's expenses in ad- vance from the partner that was to be. But he sold a trinket and paid off the debt. " For the first few months," writes Malabari, " I struggled with the Spec- tator only to show that money was not everything. It was a cruel hardship, and there were moments when I almost felt the Walpolian theory to be correct. But I struggled on, writing, editing, correcting proofs, at times folding and posting copies and even distributing them in town, going the round in a buggy with the driver to deliver the copies as instructed by me." Malabari had started on his tour with borrowed funds. He never had recourse to professional lenders, but though his creditors were his friends, the money had of course to be repaid. The Indian Spectator added to his embarrassments. It had hardly fifty bona-fide sub- scribers. Only a couple of ornaments were left, and these were now sold to pay at least the interest due to the clamorous creditors and to support the paper. There were many to whom Malabari had given pecu- niary help ; some who had used him as their security for loans which he had to liquidate. None of them came to his aid, and it was at this time that Malabari realised fully why prudence was counted one of the cardinal virtues. His devoted wife and children (he had a daughter and a son now) shared his privations. But there is a silver lining to every cloud, and although Malabari had found many for whom he had toiled and borrowed, ungrateful, he came across one as un- LXVII selfish as himself at this crisis of his life. This was the Parsi gentleman to whom the Sarod Ittifak is dedicated, and who acted like a brother. He helped the young journalist on hearing from a friend of the struggles he was undergoing. " Though he lent me the money, he showed as if he were borrowing it of me, " writes Malabari. Some years after, the money was thrust upon him by force ; and he had to take it back, though with great reluctance and with even bitterness of feeling, as Malabari was unwilling to keep it when, he no longer needed it. Malabari, before he was relieved, was in a very pessimistic mood. He thought he was unfit for town- life and had better be in the jungles. But he could not retire on nothing a year, and there was his family to be maintained. Moreover, there was a vast field of usefulness open to him in his new career. He had taken up the Indian Spectator to make it " the people of India's own paper." He was " a people's man " himself, and understood the poor the great majority of the nation as very few have understood them. He could also do justice to the acts and motives of the rulers, being in touch with official opinion. He wanted to be a political, social, and even religious reformer. There were moments when he thought his songs and his poetry would be a better lever, a better organ for this purpose than a newspaper. But the Indian Spectator was alive, and like Frankenstein, refused to die. The little paper that was a rag in 1879, after a creditable early career, rose into fame, and compelled its editor to remain in LXVIII harness. To kill the work of one's own hands is very much like killing one's own children. That has been Malabari's feeling at least about the Spectator ; other- wise, I am afraid, he would have preferred the obscu- rity of a village with his muse than the celebrity of a city life with its attendant evils. The Bombay Review, shortly before its surcease, spoke very favourably of the new journalist. "The editor," it wrote, "is peculiarly fitted for being a trustworthy interpreter between rulers and ruled, between the indigenous and immigrant branches of the great Aryan race. It is easy to see that he thoroughly understands the mental and moral characteristics of those two great divisions of the Indian community, not only as pre- sented in Bombay, but in other provinces in India- We have al- ways felt confidence in the sincerity and independence of its editor. His knowledge of the various castes and classes of society in West- ern India is full and exact, while in aptitude for discussion of social questions he displays a discrimination and aptness in picturesque description and a genuine humour, sufficiently rare." When it is noted that the Indian Spectator has often had to try conclusions with Anglo-Indian and English contemporaries the compliments paid to it by these journals may be better appreciated. The Indian Mirror praised the " brilliant and pithy paragraphs " of the new paper, and the Hindoo Patriot " its refreshing and trenchant style, " and " the force and independence " of its views. The Amrita Bazar Patrika passed even a higher encomium : In wit, humour and satire, and in the complete mastery of the English language, our contemporary stands pre-eminent. His smart and playful sayings, so full of meaning, pass current in the country. Week after week the columns of our contemporary are filled with the treasures of a rich and versatile mind. LXIX The Indian Statesman called it in 1882 " the best paper in India." The Pioneer called it " the ablest native paper in the Bombay Presidency." The English- man bore testimony to its " idiomatic English " and its " bold trenchant style." The Indian Daily News eulogized its remarkable ability and fairness. "In politics," said this paper, "its tone is moderate, and it is thus a very safe guide to native readers, its criticisms having mostly a practical turn, and showing a ready acceptance of facts as they stand. Looking at its very varied and often clever contents, the Spectator is a marvel of cheapness. It often gives a sketch of some typical class or caste, which, by reason of the special information it affords, as well as by its piquant style, is alone worth the small subscription to the paper for the whole year." The London Times in 1882 wrote : A considerable portion of. the English Press of India is written "by natives ; and many of these so-called Anglo-Native papers are written with great ability and in excellent idiomatic English. Such tire the Indian Spectator of Bombay, the Hindoo Patriot and the Indian Mirror of Calcutta. The Academy considered the Indian Spectator " no unworthy rival of its London namesake," and Allen's Indian Mail spoke of it as a journal representing in the highest degree not only the intelligence but also the moderation and liberality of educated natives. The Re rue Critique of France in 1883 wrote as follows : The Indian Spectator has rapidly assumed a foremost place in the Indian Press and is not wanting in interest for a European reader, although unluckily it comments on the events of the week more than it shoivs them. Its language is remarkable for its bril- liant strokes, its vigour, and pungency of style, and is very idioma- tic. LXX And the U Economists Frangaise in 1885 wrote : The Indian Press, notwithstanding its infancy, counts in its - ranks men remarkable as much for their abilities as writers as for their sagacity and .courtesy. In support of what we say it will be sufficient to cite the Editor-in-chief of the Indian Spectator of Bombay. By persevering efforts he has to-day become one of the most influential men of the true Indian liberal party which, while maintaining the general tendencies of the policy of Lord Ripon, ia not slow to recognise that this latter sometimes erred through excess of liberalism in wishing to move too fast. This political party, which does the greatest honour to the good sense of the Indian race, demands earnestly the gradual enfranchisement of their country. The fame of the paper travelled even to America, . for in 1883 the New York Sun said : There is many an American newspaper written less correctly than the Indian Spectator ; and there is probably not a British scholar living who could use any of the Indian vernaculars with the ease and idiomatic precision displayed by Mr. Malabari in dealing with the English tongue. The highest officials in India have recognized the merits of the journal. Lord Ripon admired it, and Sir E. Baring wrote : I always read your paper with interest for two reasons first, because it represents the interests of the poorer classes ; secondly, because it is opposed to class and race antagonism. The last point is especially important in this country. The Hon'ble Sir Auckland Colvin, his successor, . called it some time ago " the leading native journal," and in a resolution of the Government of Bombay it has been styled " the foremost native paper in the Bombay Presidency." General Sir LeGrand Jacob, Sir Erskine Perry, Sir George Birdwood, Colonel Robert LXXI D. Osborne, Sir Arthur (now Lord) Hobhouse, and others also warmly praised the paper for its high character and its ability. But what perhaps Malabari prizes most of all is a letter from the late lamented George Aberigh Mackay (Sir Ali Baba) in which he wrote : I Lave I'ead a number of your paragraphs and short sketches with the greatest interest and pleasure ; they have point and humour and are charmingly expressed. I heartily -wish every success to the Indian Spectator. Thus the Indian Spectator has grown to be one of the ablest public journals in the country, certainly the most influential Native journal. Its voice pene- trates into the Councils of the Empire. The secret of its success lies mainly in its rigid impartiality between class and class, as also between the rulers and the ruled. It may be mentioned that in conducting the paper Malabari was valiantly supported, till lately, by one of his intimate friends and advisers, Mr. Dinsha Edulji Wacha. Mr. Wacha contributed some of the most not- able articles in the Spectator, displaying an amount of political and economical study, and an aptitude for think- ing which are most creditable to him. "But for Dinsha, "writes Malabari, "I would have been nowhere,, and so also the J.6. He not only gave us most valuable literary assistance, but brought us more than once pecuniary help from friends as disinterested as himself. My own money affairs are even now managed entirely by Dinsha. " MALABARI AS A TOURIST. The Indian Spectator did not absorb all the energy of its editor. He was very fond of leading a kind of LXXII Bohemian life at least for a month in a year, and had his tours. This is how he describes his peculiar system of travelling. I am now and then asked by European friends how often I have been to England, and how long I have stayed there altogether. And when I protest that I have never been out of India, my friends look at me in blank astonishment. The fact is, I have my own ideas of travel, as more or less of everything else. The first tour I remember having made was round grand-mother's kitchen. Thence I transferred my attention to the front-yard of the house, thence to the street, the neighbouring street, the whole suburb of Nanpura, and the surrounding suburbs Rustampura, Salabatpura, Gopipnra, and many others ; next the Camp and the villages beyond Umra and Dumas, and so on. The climbing of trees and roofs in search of paper kites was another round of useful tours. (Kite- flying is one of the best Indian sports, and I am sorry to find it discouraged. I think it is an aid to the sight, and it undoubtedly steadies the hand, and sharpens presence of mind). Well, then, next to climbing of trees and roofs, swimming or fording the Tapti, and running over to Bhatha, Rander, Adajan and other gaums* was also a means of touring. My early local tours were often extended to Udna, famous for toddy, and some miles from Nanpura. My last long tour from Surat was a -walking match to Nowsari when poor Mr. Kus. tomji Jamsetji gave his savoury and succulent malidalr feast. From Surat and its districts I have passed on to Gujarat generally, and from Gujarat, of course, to Kattyawar and Kutch. I have seen much of India during the last seven years, but Gujarat andKattyawar I know best. Much of these two provinces I have done on foot and with my eyes open. I know so much about them, that if I were to sell my knowledge at retail price, so much for the page, I think I could makejin honest penny out of it. And I tell you again, my dear res- pectable Bombay reader, that much of my experience is the result of good hard tramping. If yon want a real guide, one who would make you profit by your travels, consult me. One peculiarity about my travelling is that I seldom return the same way I have gone. * Villages. t A confection made of flour, ghee, sugar, and spicea. LXXIII This is a somewhat inconvenient habit, but it has grown npon me, and I think, on the whole, I have gained by it. I hope one day to finish India from end to end ; and then, who knows that I may not go to Europe, America and the rest of the -world ? Less likely things have happened. But whether I go to Europe or not, I will never give up my habit. In study, as in travel, I wish to begin at the very beginning ? and to proceed by slow stages, gaining something at every stage ? and that something such as to be of immediate practical use on the next stage. This is the best way of travelling and studying. Your globe-trotter will laugh at my antiquated method, but he cannot deny its advantages. "When you travel or study by degrees, every fresh step or item of knowledge is a keen enjoyment. "You are prepared to receive it, and thus received, your knowledge will fruc- tify. But when knowledge is thrust upon you without previous discipline, that is, without your being made fit for it, it will be inert and unleavened. What is the use of visiting foreign conn- tries when you know nothing of your own ? When you go to Europe, ignorant of your own national life, you will miss those thousand points of comparison and contrast, those thousard shades of difference, those thousand beauties and blemishes that modern European civilisation presents. At the best, you will looJc at things, not see or see through them. Knowledge is best acquired, take my word for it, by the comparative method. And what will you compare your new acquirements with, when there are not half a dozen home ideas in that empty head of yours ? You go to se e the Windsor Palace and are lost in admiration at the sight. Have you seen Agra ? Had yon seen some of the architectural glories of your own country, you might at any rate have controlled your faculty for admiration. You might have been quite at liberty to admire the modern structure, but at the same time you could have seen what beauty it has which the palaces of India do not possess, and vice versa,. The same is the case with study. If you learn Greek after learning Sanskrit, Persian or Arabic, you will enjoy the process, recognize the advantage of one over another, and though you may admire the European classic as much as you likei you will have no reason to be ashamed of your own. I honour you for your desire to examine the arts, sciences and philosophies of LXXIV the West, but you cannot do this with advantage to yourself and the world, unless you have already made yourself familiar with the national systems. The worst result of this method of travel and study that I am complaining of is, that it gives a man poor ideas of everything in his country, in proportion to the exaggerated notions he imbibes about other countries. This is a charge from which very few of our England-returned men can escape. It makes me sick to hear a man rave about this thing or that 10,000 miles away, when a much better, perhaps the original thing, is lying unnoticed in his own land- Bah ! I hate your Anglicised Aryan.* It must be admitted that no Anglicised Aryan has yet produced a work like Gujarat and the Gujaratis or the charming sketches, so brimful of humour, which Malabari sent to his paper, when with Max Miiller's " Hibbert Lectures" on his brain, he went about collect- ing funds for translating them into the principal vernaculars of India. He travels with a small quan- tity of luggage, but always with a chest of homoeo- pathic medicines. In 1878 while at Wad wan, he was snatched from the jaws of death by a Hindu practi- tioner, Dr. Thakordas, who gave him his first lessons in homoeopathy, and ever since Malabari has gone in strongly for it, and done his best to popularize it in Bombay. He was instrumental in starting the largest Homoeopathic Charitable Dispensary in that city, and is its Honorary Secretary. The medicine chest is extremely useful to him in his travels. It has often served to give relief not only to him, but to many a fellow traveller and to many a patient in the places visited by him. Malabari on tour is at his very best. A keen lover of nature, with observant eyes and a sympathetic heart, he finds true poetry in the homeliest * Indian Spectator, 1-7-83, p. 411. LXXV scenes and every-day incidents. Many of his sketches are bright little idylls in prose, not unworthy even of Wordsworth. Gujarat and the Gujaratis has won great fame, but to my mind, the free and easy " round- about papers " which are to be found in the Indian Spec- tator of 1882 and 1883 are far better. They abound with sparkling and incisive sayings, witty anecdotes, humorous comparisons and charming observations. One example of these last might be quoted. At Rutlam, Mala- bari put up at the Musafir Bunglow, and he writes : " Musafir Bunglow was a few yards from the Dharam- sala. Khansama an old man. I have never known a young Khansama in these parts. The explanation is that when a Saheb cannot afford to pension his old butler, he provides a place for him in this manner. The Khansama had a large family of children and grand-children, all ready to serve ; but he kept a very spare table only curry rice for breakfast, the town being so far. Had to make shift with milk. About 2 p.m., came Khansama's little grand-daughter, with broom and duster. She moved sofas and lifted chairs with an agility that would horrify Bombay girls of twice her age. ' What is your name, child ? ' ' Pyari' Darling. What a name \ ' Whose darling are you, betta T * 'Ajisahebf I am God's darling, my mother's darling, my father's darling, whose else ? ' So God before mother and father. Not bad for a girl who has never attended the Alexandra School.^ Whatever their failings, the Mahomedans are remarkable for their * Child. t Oh Sir. J Afc Bombay for girls- LXXVI ready wit, and for those amiable accomplishments which Hindus and Parsis find it so difficult to acquire or exhibit. Pyari sang one or two little songs at my request, which were decidedly more intelligible than the pathetic buffalo-song I had at Indore. " * It is this familiarity with the poor, and his heart- felt sympathy with them, that endear him to the reader. MALABARI AS A LITERARY MAN. After suffering '-twitches, aches, swellings, rawness, thirst and hunger " during a twenty-six hours journey by a Dak Tonga to Kolhapur, Malabari wrote : "Mo- tion is the poetry of life, and so long as you are with- in an inch of suicide, you can enjoy motion. And much good may it do you." I don't know whether it did him much good, but I have no doubt that he enjoyed writing poetry as much as living it and walking it. In 1878 he published his Wilson Virah, in memoriam of Dr. Wilson, and dedicated it to the Revd. Mr. Taylor. Its contents may be described in the words of the Bombay Gazette : " It opens with a pathetic lament of Saraswati,f and its interest is throughout maintained with great power. Under the heading SatishiromaniJ is given a picture of the amiable and accomplished wife, Margaret Wilson. He then tenderly touches the period of Dr. Wilson's marriage, and recounts the united efforts of Dr. and Mrs. Wilson for the good of the people. Much of what follows is taken up by a spirited descrip- * Indian Spectator, 5-8-83, p. 491. f The Hindu goddess of learning. J The best of virtuous wives. LXXTII tion of Dr. Wilson's services to Bombay his visit to Scotland, his return, illness and death. Then follows a series of eulogistic verses devoted to the enumeration of Dr. Wilson's erudition and personal merits." " Altogether," concluded the Gazette, " Wilson Virah is- a remarkable work of its kind, and we hope that the setting forth of this great man's life in a captivating- form, and in the author's own vernacular, may not be lost upon all who may read it." Wilson Virah is mainly lyrical, and it moves its reader to feel keenly the sorrow of the poet at the loss of his friend and benefactor, and to appreciate, fully the worth and virtue of the great philanthropist and savant. " Dr. Wilson was the patron of thousands of the poor, the supporter of the unfortunate indigent, the advocate of the people, the adviser of the State."* Malabari had enjoyed his friendship for three years, and could do justice to his exemplary life in all its manifold relations. The result was a work occupying a unique position in Gujarati literature, as it was the very first which gave an attractive picture of a true Christian with almost an unapproachable standard of duty, a marvellous amount of solid learning, a genuine modesty, and a rare sense of self-sacrifice. It was received by the Press with a chorus of compliments which were certainly not undeserved.-)- Malabari's next *Rast Goftar. f " The language of Wilson Virah," wrote the Jam-e-Jamshed, " is simpler and more racy than of Ifiti Vinud, and its original thoughts, descriptive power, and genuine poetic expression reflect credit on the author's genius." " His readers," wrote the Gujarat JUitra, " are not only Wing Parsis, but admiring Hindus 1 . And no wonder. For Mr. Malabari's language is not only pure it LXXVIII attempt was in English verse. It was a series of son- nets, in memory of the late Princess Alice, in which he drew a noble picture of her womanly excellence with a " pathos and sympathy very warm and deep." He received the following appreciative acknowledgment from Her Majesty the Queen-Empress : Captain Edwards presents his compliments to Mr. Behramji M. Malabari, and begs to inform him that he is commanded to acknowledge the receipt of the sonnets which accompanied his letter of the 7th instant. They have been laid before the Queen. Her Majesty sincerely appreciates the very kind expression of sympathy conveyed in Mr. Malabari's letter and thanks him for his condolence on the death of her dear daughter, the Princess Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse. Osborne, 30th January 1879. " This," wrote the Bombay Gazette, " is a great compliment to a young Parsee author, and will prove a stimulus to him to assiduously cultivate the great talent which he undoubtedly possesses, and strive to achieve greater triumphs." The Calcutta Statesman wrote in the same strain. " This is a great compliment to the poet's genius and character. From what has been written by Mr. Malabari, and from what has been written of him, we believe him to be a genuine poet ; and his writings certainly evince all the earnestness and enthusiasm of a poetical temperament. The youthful poet and journalist has our best wishes for his future success." is the purest of the pure." " His language is very pure and simple, his poetry is very sweet and readable," wrote the ghamsher Bahadur. " Mr. Malabari's poetry is so touching and impressive that we are tempted to read it over and over again. His works are the ornaments of our libraries." LXXIX The Madras Athenceum, the Madras Mail, and several other papers noticed the sonnets very favour- ably, and the Calcutta Englishman in its issue of April 5, 1879, had these generous words about him : He is, we understand, a constant contributor to English newspapers and periodicals ; and his writings are characterised by great felicity of diction and vigour of expression. He takes keen interest in the moral and social progress of his countrymen ; and his earnest and manly endeavours in that direction, as also in faith- fully interpreting the relations of India to England, ought to be appreciated by both countries. Such men are all too few in this country. In 1881, Malabar! published his Sarod-i Ittifak, and dedicated it to his "dear Jehangir," the friend who had helped him in sore need. It contains a number of beautiful songs. The Gujarati, a critical Hindu weekly, wrote rapturously, of " the best harmony and the best poetical spirit " it displayed, and thus dilated on its merits. When it is seen that many of these verses were written some fifteen years ago, it will be granted that Mr. Malabari was born with all the powers of a first-rate Poet. The fire of Religion, the aspirations of Love, the strengthening of Virtue, the yearning after Friendship, and contempt of this false World these subjects have been treated in spontaneous language and in metres that could be rendered into music What heart will not overflow with enthu- siasm and delight by a perusal of the dramatic romance, Pakdaman (Lady Chastity) and Shah Narges (Prince Narcissits) ? The lines on Fortune may adorn the Musician's art and may breathe hope into those who are discontented with their lot Bioga Bilap and Prablm Prarthna will prove refreshing to two intoxicated souls the love-intoxicated and the faith-intoxicated These noble lines will work powerfully upon the singer as well as the hearer In short, the highest forms of Poetry abound in these verses, and they are sure to fascinate the student of Nature with their deep LXXX meditative spirit like that of Wordsworth or Milton. The work is got up in the best style, contains the highest thoughts and the finest poetic expressions, is dedicated to some excellent friend " JeLangir" an admirable work altogether, tending to do credit to the author and to strengthen the powers of Friendship. The Deslii Mitra, the Gujarat Mitra, the Jami Jams/ted, the Dnyan VardhaJs, and several others wrote almost as admiringly. The language of Nitl Vinod and Wilson Virah was what is called Sanskrit Guja- rati ; that of the Sarod in many pieces was Persian Gujarati, and the little work contained some ghazals (odes) after the Persian model, and also some pieces in Hindi. The book was financially a greater success than either the JVzVi Vinod or the Wilson Virah. MAX MULLER'S HIBBERT LECTURES IN THE VERNACULARS OF INDIA. In 1882 came out the first of a series of transla- tions of Max Muller's celebrated Hibbert Lectures on the Origin and Growth of Religion as illustrated by the Religions of India. In 1880 Malabari had under- taken to bring out this series after several Indian scholars who had been invited by Max Miiller to translate the lectures into one or two only of the vernaculars had declined the honour. The purpose of the Lectures was thus explained by Max Miiller in a letter to Malabari, dated Oxford, February 2, 1882. " As I told you on a former occasion, my thoughts while writing these lectures were far more frequently with the people of India than with my audience in Westminster Abbey. I wanted to tell those few at least whom I might hope to reach in English what LXXXI the true historical value of their ancient religion is, as looked upon, not from an exclusively European or Christian, but from an historical point of view. I wished to warn them against two dangers, that of undervaluing or despising the ancient national religion, as is done so often by your half-Europeanised youths, and that of overvaluing it and interpreting it as it was never meant to be interpreted of which you may see a painful instance in Dayananda Sarasvati's labours on the Veda. Accept the Veda as an ancient historical document, containing thoughts in accordance with the character of an ancient and simple-minded race of men, and you will be able to admire it and to retain some of it, particularly the teaching of the Upanishads, even in these modern days. But discover in it steam-en- gines and electricity and European philosophy and morality, and you deprive it of its true character, you destroy its real value, and you break the historical con- tinuity that ought to bind the present to the past. Accept the past as a reality, study it and try to un- derstand it, and you will then have less difficulty in finding the right way towards the future." Why Malabari considered the translation of these Lectures a necessity was interestingly explained by him in the following maiden speech delivered- by ^hini at Jeypore on May 5, 1882, at a meeting presided over by Major Jacob. The speech is well worth reading, and I therefore make no apology for reproducing it : I must thank you in the beginning, Major Jacob and gentle- men, for your interest in the passing visitor, or, it may be, in his project. That interest is implied by your kindly presence here this evening. It may be as well, gentlemen, to tell you here that I am P LXXXII not going to give yon a lecture or an address ; all that I have agreed to do is to make a general statement before yoa of matters connected with my scheme of translations. I am not given to speak- ing in public, and am opposed to it on principle. My idea is, that a young man } and a young woman too, for that matter, are best judged by silence. Silence is golden in their case. I have always acted up to this principle, gentlemen, and if I deviate from it now, it is to show to you that I may stop at no sacrifice in popularising my project. I hope this may be the last time, as it is the first, when I have to address a public meeting. I assure you, gentlemen, that if any of you were to write to a friend at Bombay and tell him of my perpetration this evening, it would be taken either as a hoax, or as one of those phenomena which now and then tax human credulity. (Laughter-) Max Miiller's theory of Language and Religion I may place before you in a line. Language, he thinks, has arisen out of four or five hundred roots or germs. These roots have been developing in number and in strength since the beginning, with the result that the human race possesses this day so many different and copious forms of speech. Religion, Max Miiller thinks, may be gradual development or elaboration of Sense and Reason into Faith, that is, the power to comprehend the Infinite- Gentlemen, you will observe that there is nothing gross or revolting in this view, whatever may be our estimate of its value. This is called the theory of Evolution, or, what I would call by preference, the theory of Historical Deve- lopment. You will forthwith see, gentlemen, that my little scheme too, which I have the honour of submitting to your consideration, is the result of a series of evolutions. It is now seven years since I published a book of Gujarati verse. It was well received, among others, by my venerated and all -worthy friend, the late Dr. Wilson- The main feature of the book was that in it the author had attempt- ed to infuse the spirit and tone of some of the most approved literary productions of the West. Here I am quoting the Times of India. Well then, gentlemen, you see that this infusion of something of the modern Western thought into Gnjarati verse marked the beginning -of my literary career. Some time after I published a little volume of English verse- That book, though a very indifferent performance, proved a blessing in its way. Gentlemen, it brought roe acquainted LXIXIII -with some of the noVest Englishmen and Englishwomen. The Earl of Shaftesbury, Miss Nightingale, Tennyson, Gladstone, Max Muller, Le Grand Jacob, Erskine Perry and many others wrote to me ap- proving, suggesting, correcting, and advising. It is no business of mine, gentlemen, t:> tell you how a local critic decried our -ambitious young versifier ! Take that as granted ! Many of the English worthies sent me their works in return ; and it was then that I began to realise what doing public good was like ! (Cheers.) Gentlemen, if there are any saints treading God's earth, we may fairly take that venerable nobleman, noble in birth and in life and conversation, Lord Shaftesbury, and such incomparable Englishwomen as Florence Nightingale and Mary Carpenter, to be such. (Hear, hear.) The other notables you know better than I do, except, perhaps, General Sir Le Grand Jacob, whose nephew and heir here has done me the honour of presiding on this occasion ; and Sir Erskine Perry, whose death only last week all India deplores and will ever deplore. Their enthusiasm of huma- nity was something phenomenal, gentlemen : but India was their first and best love ; it was the object of their constant, lifelong love. (Applause.) But I must not wander. Well, gentlemen, some of my English verses were liked, because therein I had expressed myself as an Indian thinker. I was true to myself and my country- Pray observe, gentlemen, that in my Gujarati verse I had tried to intro- duce some element of Western thought in my English verse I introduced more or less of purely Indian interest- In this fact, good friends, you may trace the germ- of my theory, my pet theory, that the means thus silently suggested are among the best calcu- lated for a true and lasting union between West and East. Max Muller seems to have grasped this idea, though in me it was lying crude and inert. He wrote to me very kindly, and sent me a copy of his Hibbert Lectures. A perusal of his letters and his Lectures breathed life into that inert idea of mine, and made it & definite tangible entity. My latent purpose was roused, and I longed to realise it. The Hibbert Lectures . came as a godsend to me ! You all know who and what Max Muller is. In our parts we call him a Muni, a Eishi, an inspired sage. Gentlemen, the East Goftar calls Max Muller a prophet. I dare Bay there is some amiable exaggeration in that ; but you will grant, that the man's LIXXIV intellect is luminoti; that his powers of investigation and ex- pression are equally marvellous. At times one feels that that man almost penetrates the mysteries of our life and birth ! (Cheers.) Then, he possesses keen catholic sympathies. He is as much in request with the Archbishop of Canterbury as with the Hottentot priest. He had laboured all his life to bring about a union amongst nations. That union has long been aimed at. A marriage between East and West was arranged even before the days of the illustrious William Jones. Even the silver wedding is gone and past. In- that work of union you trace the hand of a higher power than of man. Modern Indian history teaches you that. But I may say that Max Miiller and his contemporaries have contributed largely to bringing to the surface the practical results of that process of, let us hope, progressive union. By his Rig-Veda Sanhita, and other works Max Miiller has given new birth, so to say, to Sanskrit : he has resuscitated, I say he has helped to regenerate, the language and literature of our land. (Loud cheers.) He has his faults, too, I allow. You often wish that a man in his commanding position- could be a little more decided, a little more assertive. But, worthy critics, let me tell you that the more a man knows, the more ignorant he will feel ; knowledge does not breed confidence so much as ignorance does, believe me. And thus where you and I will blurt out what we feel to be the truth, this man will halt and hesitate and discriminate. For these reasons, and others, I felt that the Hibbert Lectures were just the thing for me to begin with. In these splendid dis- sertations the author gives us back our own, modernised, if I may so call it, and spiritualised. We badly want " character" in our modern vernaculars- Here you have as much character and origi- nality as you may wish for. You will readily grant that, by reason of his special study, Max Miiller is best fitted of all his contem- poraries for a work of this nature. And let me tell you, gentlemen, that he is decidedly better qualified than the best of our Indian scholars, because he is unbiassed and disinterested. (Hear, hear.) His chief recommendation is his catholicity. Different systems of faith are so many paths leading to the same goal, namely, to the source of Truth. Well, gentlemen, I have proposed to myself to LXXXV Ihave these Lectures translated into Sanskrit, GajaratL, Marathi, Bengali, Hindi, and Tamil. The Gujarati is already done by my friend, Mr. Nowrojee Mobedjina, and myself ;~the other translations are more or less advanced. The work is entrusted to the best available hands, and their labours are to be revised by competent scholars before passing on to the printer. And I trust that, when published, these vernacular versions may do some good. If I succeed, it is my ambition to form a standing association for pur- poses of translation from and into Indian languages a service peculiarly acceptable to the unlearned the people- And now you will have seen, gentlemen, that, like Max Miiller's theory, my little scheme too has grown up after a series of evolutions, and that all I have just told you has not been evolved out of the depths of my own inmost consciousness ! It may be that I am growing a mono- maniac on this subject ; but pray see, there is some method in the madness. Besides, the mania cannot be so very rabid after all, since I have some of the best European and native friends in sympathy with me, as also the Press of the country. It is no less encouraging than significant to know that my respected friends Messrs. "Wood, Wordsworth, Ryan, Birdwood, Macnagten, Candy, the Hon. Mr. Kemball, Hon. Mr. Gibbs, the Hon. Major Baring, the Hon. Mr- Hunter, Babu Keshub Chunder Sen, Babn Eajendralala Mitra, and others have, from the beginning, evinced a common interest in my experiment. The Government of Bombay have generously strengthened ray hands with a pecuniary grant, and I reasonably expect similar encouragement from the other Govern- ments. I cannot, of course, be sure that the scheme will succeed. Upto now very little practical success has attended my arduous itinerary save the Maharani Shurnomoye's munificent little gift of Us- 1,000. But I have sown the seed, and in good time I hope to reap a harvest. I have spared no effort and no expense; will spare none. Others too have been working, especially my brothers and .friends of the Hindoo Patriot and the Indian Mirror. And now, gentlemen, I appeal to you to work with and for me. Make my scheme your own, Ibeg. It is no more my scheme than yours, of the nation ; yes, gentlemen, it has been described as a national project. Life is a precious blessing. What is impossible, with that in us and around us ? With you living, and I living, and the LXXXV1 world living ; "with the English language moulding our thoughts, and' the English rule moulding our destinies, why despair ? Nay, let ua hope for the best. I am not one to despair ; then why should you ? I thank you all, gentlemen, for your patient hearing, and I thank my Bengali friends here,to whose enlightened efforts this beautiful city r beautiful at least from outside, is not a little indebted. I must also thank the Principal of this well-endowed and excellently managed College, which is only one out of the numerous monuments which the late Maharajah has raised unto himself for all time. Maharajah Ram Singh was a Prince in every and the fullest acceptation of the word. Malabar! followed this up, at the President's request,, with a speech in Hindi which he speaks almost as fluently as English. Major Jacob then said a few words to mark the sympathy of the meeting with Malabari's efforts, and the meeting broke up. These proceedings took place while Malabar i was on his way from Calcutta to Bombay. He had visited almost all the important centres of Bengal, and had received a great deal of praise. The leading newspapers in Bengal, Native as well as English, recognized his venture as a " national enterprise," and called upon the Government and patrons of literature generally to sup- port it. The Indian Mirror and others went so far as to recommend the establishment of a permanent national fund to help Malabari in his undertakings. The project was viewed with equal enthusiasm by Keshub Chunder Sen, Rajendralala Mitra and other leaders of thought in India. But no substantial support was given to the scheme in Bengal, except by the Maharani Shurnomoye. The work was extremely expensive, for it was quite clear that these translations would not be popular. Ma- labari knew this well enough, but his object was uot gain or popularity, but a gradual religious revival. "India LXXXVII wants nothing so much as a religious revival, or rather a. restoration. There is no real unity for the nation except through one faith ; political unity is always uncertain. The struggle lies in future between a new religion for the people and a revival of the old. And to a con- summation of the latter, which will be through a natu- ral process, I believe that the labours of Max Miiller- will contribute more than of a ny other living autho- rity,"* This scheme of translations has cost Malabari no end of trouble and sacrifice. Not dispirited by his indifferent success in the North- West Provinces in 1881, and in Bengal in 1882, he started, in January 1883, for Central India, and, travelling very rapidly,, was able to interest many princes and chiefs in his en- terprise. He saw the " Merchant Prince of Indore," the father of the present Holkar, on the 7th of June v reached Dhar, the old capital of Raja Bhuja, anc! Mandu, that " eloquent sermon in stone on human vanity," on the llth, passed on to " Mhow and Mis- anthropy" and the fat bugs of Mhow "as healthy and full of blood as Bhattia millenaries, " on the 13th r missed the train for Rutlam, and went to Ujein, the- capital of Vikram, and thence travelled to Rutlam> where he met the little Pyari, and Raja Ranjitsing (the pupil of Aberigh Mackay) with whom he had a most interesting conference. This tour was not so dis- o appointing as the Bengal one ; but it was not a suc- cess. Malabari said as much to an English friend on his return to Bombay, and this friend advised him to * Indian Spectator, LXXXVIII try the Southern Mahratta Country. No sooner said than done. On July 3, he left for Poona, and thence starting post-haste for Kolhapur on July 5, reached his destination after a most fatiguing journey of twenty- six hours. He saw Colonel Reeves and the Regent, and passed half a week at Kolhapur, and thence di- coursed on "that licensed assasin," that "poisoner-gene- ral of the population" the liquor seller on pottery and poetry, on the Gujri fair, on High Court Judges, military politicals, and secret despatches. On July 9, he left for Sangli, got a handsome little donation from the Chief, and wrote about the water-famine on the G. I. P. Railway, " the insolence of office," " the autocratic obstructiveness of some Collectors, and the " naikins (dancing girls) reciting the mantras of the 5th Veda." On July 10, he left for Miraj, and thence on the next day he proceeded to Bombay, after a short but not unsuccessful expedition. In August 1883, he published the Mahrathi translation, and in the cold season again set out to plead the cause of " Bhat Max Miiller." This time he wanted to attack the Scindhia ; and so passing a couple of days at Agra (this was his third trip to this famous city), he started for Morar, where, unfortunately, he was laid up with fever. Nevertheless, on November 11, he had an interview with the Gwalior prince a fruitless one for H. H. Jioji Rao Scindhia knew nothing of literary charity or of Max Miiller, and quietly " Smole a smile A quarter of a mile" LXXXIX at his young visitor's enthusiasm. The enthusiast re- turned to Bombay, nothing discouraged, and pushed on with the translations. The Bengali version has come out already, and the Hindi as veil as the Tamil is in the press. The Sanskrit is the most difficult one ; attempts have been made costing much labour and money, but without satisfying Max Miiller. But this Sanskrit translation will not be long delayed. Malabari himself translated about one half of the Lectures in Gujarati the other part was done by Mr. Naoroji Mancherji Mobedjina, Manager of the Indian Spectator and prefixed to this translation a lucid essay of his own on Religion. The rest of the translations are the work of Hindu scholars employed by him. " GUJARAT AND THE GUJARATIS." The only other literary performance of Malabari, excepting fugitive poems like the elegy on the death of Lady Fergusson, the sonnets in memory of Aberigh Mackay, the " Lines addressed to a Photograph," the poem on the retirement of our noble ex- Viceroy, that on the unholy gains of Commissariat contractors, and so on, is his "Gujarat and the Gujaratis." This had the honour of being published in London by the well-known firm of Messrs. Allen and Co. at their own risk and cost. It has already gone through a second editioo, and the third would have been out three years ago but for the author's absorption in the social reform crusade. This third edition will appear shortly. The merits of the book have been acknowledged by almost all the leading journals in India, by many in Eng- land, and by some even in France and the United xc States. One of the best reviews appeared in the Civil and Military Gazette of Lahore which, though it perceived in a few places the faults of " over- smartness " and " vivacity occasionally lapsing into vulgarity," heartily praised " the genuine humour" of the writer, " the sincerity which seems inseparable from the gift of humour", his " unforced vivacity and frankness of style", his " unmistakeable strain of comic faculty and sound moral intentions," " The result," it summed up, " though English enough in form, has a fundamental independence, a national idiosyncracy which is its best feature, and is as characteristic and piquant as though it had been written in the flexible Gujarati in which Parsis delight. The fiction, then, that a native of India loses his national characteristics by English education is not true. Nor is it true that his moral sense is blunted. Nor is his affection for the poetry and learning of the East in any way lessened, but rather it is intensified. It would be mockery to ask whether the M. O. L's., B. O. L's and D. 0. L's. of our new University are likely to produce anything in Sanskrit shloka or Persian ode with half the vitality and direct bearing on the difficulties that beset national development, as this little book possesses." The London Press wrote strongly in favour of the book. The Saturday Review alone was of a different opinion. But then critics, like two of a trade, seldom agree.* * The following passage from a review well describes the varied contents of the book : " The writer is truly a humourist in the best sense of the word. He " professes'.', to quote Thackeray, " to awaken and XCI MALABARI AS A POLITICIAN AND PUBLICIST. We have now only to glance at Malabari's poli- tics and then pass on to his last labour his campaign against social abuses. Of a retiring disposition by nature, we do not find his name among the political direct your love, your pity, your kindness, your scorn for untruth, pretension, and imposture your tenderness for the weak, the poor, the oppressed, the unhappy. To the best of his means and ability, he comments on all the ordinary actions and passions of life almost. He takes upon himself to be the week-day preacher, so to speak. Accordingly, as he finds, and speaks, and feels the truth best, we regard him, esteem him sometimes love him." No one vrho reads "Gujarat and the Gujaratis," will fail to have a very high admiration and esteem for its author. It awakens and directs our love for men like Karsandas Mulji and Rustomji Jemsetji, the Rev. Robert Montgomery, Mr. Taylor, and Mr. Birdwood. It rouses our pity for the slaves and victims of caste, the bloom- ing brides married to baby husbands, the youthful widows cut off at an early age from matrimonial bliss and consigned to the tender mercies of a heartless soulless society. We learn to think kindly of the " primitive peace-loving Surtis" and of prodigal Mahomedan nobles of the type of Mir Bakhtawar Khan, The untruth, pretension, and imposture of the Vaish- nara Maharaj, the Parsi Dastur, the Mahomedan Mulla, are here moat trenchantly and effectively exposed and we are made to feel intense tenderness for those misguided creatures,, who, bred in perverted faiths, expect salvation from sensual or superstitious cults. The book is full of pictures from life, whose " photograhic fidelity" we cannot praise too much. The prudish milkmaid of Broach who angrily refers her cus- tomer to her " this " (husband), when asked what she would take for a seer of her beverage the bullock-driver who " kisses, embraces, lashes and imprecates" his animal by turns, the snobs with their ' reserved seat' etiquette, their ' purse-pride' and * power-pride' the naikin with her inseparable appendage who serves as her bear-leader, music-master, and go-between the wrestlers making their make-believe bows and rubbing, XCII orators of Bombay, and it is noticeable that he has sel- dom, if ever, made a political speech. Once indeed he intended, at a Town Hall meeting, to contrast Mr, Justice Bayley's position as President of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, with his attitude scrubbing, curry combing and kneading each other the ultra- patriotic native politician with his maxim, 'Let a hundred people die under native misrule rather than ten of them be saved by British interference' the bloated Banya Railway passenger giving vent to imbecile cries on finding the train was about to move from the station at which he had to alight the * loyal' sneak who curries favour with the Collector in order to terrorise over the people, and is rewarded with a Khan Bahadurship the Parsi Shett, prim, old, well shaved, well washed, well scented, sitting down with a grimace, st anding up with a yawn, walking as if he were a basket of newly laid eggs, and sleeping with a stout cotton pillow tied under his chest the Hindu paterfamilias inviting his young hopefuls, after swallowing plenty of substantials, to pommel and prome- nade on his capacious stomach the orthodox Parsi crying out *' Defeat defeat to Shaitan" after giving a flap to his " triple cord" at daybreak, " mumbling over an extent of jawbreak- ing jargon" near the seashore, and having even while at prayer an eye to business and the main chance the Parsi graduate flattening his nose against the Agiari altar, on the sly the Parsi reformer who in the public is honey-sweet to his family, but does not mind pulling his daughter by the hair if his shoes have not the requisite shine after blacking the Parsi fashionable wife who insists on having a wet-nurse, a dry-nurse, a cook, and a hamal, though her husband earns only 100 rupees a month the guests at a Borah marriage ogling the bride according to the Borah custom with extreme unction the Marwari with his policy of the " long rope" and " centum per centum," lending and lending till his victims are complete- ly in his meshes the village Hajam, barber, torch-bearer, herbalist and procurer, all rolled into one, retailing scandal while plying his razor or his tweezers the mofussil Vakil, that " column of vapour issuing from the ocean of emptiness", with his brass and his bluster, and his combative and obstructive tactics the terrible Aghori besmeared with ordure, with eyes on fire, the nostrils wide-distended, the tongue protruding, the xcm as one of the opponents of the IlbertBiH ; but his design miscarried. Here is a funny account, in Malabari's own words, of what transpired : Pray do not ask me to attend a public meeting, much less make a speech at it. I am a fraud upon three-fourths of the committee meetings I join. What can a fellow do if you put in his name "without so much as asking him ? People seem to have no conscience in the matter. I love peace, except where the weak ia being trampled by the strong. I love silence, except where the wrong cause is "triumphing over the right. In such cases I may strike a blow, and even " make a speech" for a few minutes. But these are spasmodic efforts, the result of a momentary impulse or loss of temper. The only set speech I remember having made was at the Town Hall last year. Having been pressed hard by Mr. K. M. Shroff, I weakly consented. I did not ask about the subject, feeling sure it was the annual meeting of the National Indian Association. So I went over Miss Carpenter's Life by my good friend, her nephew. From it I took a few strik- ing passages and happy thoughts, and inscribed a neat little speech upon the tablet of my memory. Never being able to give out the exact wording of a quotation, I stuck a few choice flowers of speech on my note-book, and turned to them now and again with the longing of a thief who is^also a miser. The day came. I went to the Hall, big with half- stolen fire. On the way I learnt by an accident "that I was hair full of vermin, and the nails an inch long the Vaid with his Mantras and Tantras, his charms and his amulets, and his doses " pottle deep" the mannish ' mother-in-law', a plague to her dear daughter and her dear daughter's lord, stern, med- dling, and mischief-making and last but not least, the Hinduani " saturated with sweet silly domestic legends", singing the garba with her companions, round " a bonny youtlo. and maiden fair" all these are graphic portraits with the un- mistakable lineaments of truth, and tell us much more of native life than your bulky gazetteers and heavy books of travel. XCIT going not to a meeting of the National Indian Association but of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals' Society, Oh my poor similes and metaphors ! My picture of perfect woman- hood ! All blown off like soap bubbles. But cheer up no- thing is impossible to the genius of adaptation. What was to be said of one association might as well be said about another. What is in a name ? especially when you change it. Entering the hall with friends I again forgot the resolution I had to speak to, namely, a vote of thanks to the Committee of manage- ment. Now, the Committee being a vague sort of a thing I took Mr. Justice Bayley, the President, in hand. Yes, Sir, I made a speech that blessed evening on the Hon. Mr. Bayley. It was quite to my taste. Mr. Bayley had poured ridicule over the Ilbert Bill some time ago, and here was a chance to pay him off. I began by paying him all the compliments of the season, thanking him for his generous interest in the lower creatures of earth and hoping to wind up with the remark how curious that an English gentleman who loved animals so well as to make them the equals of human beings, should grudge equality to his fellow-creatures and fellow-subjects in India ? That would have been a good hit. But fates were against me. Be- fore I was half way I saw that there was a division in the camp. The party which did not understand English cheered and applauded the speech loudly. The others appeared to be doubtful. The subject of my oration, Mr. Justice Bayley, grew red and white by turn. The Governor moved uneasily in his presidential chair. What could be the matter ? Were the audience hungry ? But there was no time to speculate. Go on, brave heart. This, however, became impossible. Sir Jamsetji looked at me with a scared face. Mr. Dadabhai Naoroji pulled at my sleeve. My Hindu friends kept up cheering. Was ever speech-maker in such a fix ? At last His Excellency got up and said "Pardon me, but you have to propose a vote of thanks to the Secretaries." I did not feel very friendly towards him then, but saw immediately after xcv that he had meant it all for the best. May he feel the same towards me ! And now I wheeled round by main effort and concluded my speech, mangled and discredited, amidst the applause of an enlightened audience, the majority of whom were in blissful ignorance of the byeplay above referred to. Fancy my victim getting all the praise and myself overwhelmed with self-reproach ! May that be the fate of every intriguer ! The dailies were merciful next morning, and Bombay has no doubt forgotten the little incident. Can /ever forget it ? No that was my first and my last speech pre-arranged. Any one who asks me to make another speech is my natural enemy.* But though not a noisy politician, Malabar! has had no small share in moulding the political history of the last seven years. He was the right hand of Dadabhai Naoroji, and by his moderation, as Editor of the leading native paper, and by his influence with the Native press, did yeoman's service, in critical times. When the Voice of India was started in January 1883, at the instance of that earnest friend of the country, Sir William Wedderburn, Malabari became its Editor while Dadabhai Naoroji found for it the sinews of war. The scheme of sending periodical telegrams to news- papers in England to counteract the effect of those sent by Anglo-Indian politicians owes its success, in no small measure, to Malabari's exertions. Malabari was one of those who kept their heads cool during the agitation which followed the introduction of the Criminal Proce- dure Code Amendment Bill and the Bengal Tenancy Bill. He was in correspondence with the highest in the land, and in touch with the best thought of the country. His services as a thoroughly honest and judicious inter- * Indian Spectator 15-3-85. XCVI preter between the rulers and the ruled, cannot be too highly spoken of. How well his labours as a politician and a public journalist are appreciated may be seen from this testimony given by an English friend of India, who has done more than any other Englishman in shaping the character of what is called the National Party: " But for him Bombay during the late great crisis (the agitation on the Criminal Jurisdiction Bill) would have had positively no voice outside her own narrow limits, and her distinguished citizens, left to the tender mercy of hostile or at best, in our cause, luke- warm European journalists, would have found her position widely different this day from what it is Many brave men, we are told, lived before Agamem- non, but unsung by any Homer, have sunk into oblivion. Mr. Malabari has not only been in this Presidency the voice of the National Party, a voice which has ever been a credit and an honour to the province, but has been the Homer, to whose vaticinations, quite as much as to their own high intrinsic merits, our political leaders owe the wide-spread and distinguished reputation they bear." The same Englishman, writing later, on to a friend, says: " Lord Kipon, who had the highest possible opinion of Mr. Malabari personally, considered the Spectator the best of the Indian papers, devoted to the National Cause. And at home I was pleased to find, that amongst the comparatively small section of intelligent politicians who are interested in India and will stand by us, the Spectator was the one Native Indian paper, read and respected." Great as are Kalahari's literary merits, his scrupu- lous regard for truth is even a greater merit, for a public XCVII man. In his editorial capacity he acts more like a judge than an advocate, and that is why he is trusted equally by the Government as he is respected by the thinking public. During the heat of the Ilbert Bill controversy, for instance, Malabari was the means of preventing a very hostile demonstration against that measure as finally compromised. Distrusting the ver- sion of the compromise as telegraphed to Bombay by partisans, he telegraphed to Simla for correct inform- ation, and*was requested to " suspend judgment" for a time. That message was passed on to responsible politicians in town, who were thus saved from the suicidal tactics of their countrymen elsewhere. Au- thentic information came in time from the seat of Gov- ernment, and Malabari submitted the proposals to some of the soundest jurists and administrators of law in the country, only to find his own opinion confirmed. It goes without saying that a publicist occupy- ing such a unique position enjoys opportunities of usefulness all his own ; and it is equally unnecessary to add that Malabari always uses his opportunities for the public weal. Although Malabari's name is as good as that of any of his contemporaries to conjure with, he is personally little known even to the Bombay public. The reasons are not far to seek. In the first place, he is as shy as a schoolgirl before strangers. He has no taste for the small talk of society, and is generally pre-occupied. Want of time is Malabari's usual complaint, and those who know the life of untiring beneficence he is leading will readily understand it. Besides, he is far from being a G XCVIII methodical worker, and you often find on his table "copy" and " proofs " for the press, lying cheek by jowl with poems and petitions, and pamphlets and papers and currency notes mixed up in admirable confusion with flowers and photographs and a score of other sundries. Another reason why Malabari is so seldom seen In the public is his failing strength. For years he has 'been more or less out of health, suffering from loss of appetite and of sleep. And in this state, with his nerves often on the rack, he has had to meet an increasing strain of work. No wonder that this genial and ever obliging man is so little in evidence. The politics of MaJabari are, what may be called, the politics of the poor not the politics of the rich. He was one of the very few who supported Sir Auck- land Colvin's Income-Tax Bill rather than see the Salt-tax raised. He approaches every political ques- tion mainly from the point of view of the masses, the great agricultural population and the labouring class, be- ing fully convinced that in their welfare lies the stabi- lity of the British rule. Read his "Ramji bin Byroo of Mahableshwar, Bhisti and Guide, Naturalist, Malcontent and Political Economist," and you have not an unfair idea of the opinions Malabari holds regarding the bene- ficence as well as the defects of English administration. " As for an united India," he writes, "a national India, an India kept in peace and order, it is not among the possibilities of the near future. " English sovereignty is indispensable to the progress of India ; but this original publicist would have men like Lord Ripon and Sir E. Baring to come out to India as Assistant Collectors XCIX and not as Viceroys and Members of Council. He thinks we have had enough of good legislation, and that what is now necessary is good administration of the laws. He is not blind to the faults of educated natives, and has had a great deal to say on the educa- tional policy of the Government. He believes that there is too much of head education, and too little of heart education. Referring to Poona, he wrote in July 1883 : " Its educational activity is as great as of Bengal, and I think, more real. Bombay is nowhere. And yet, what has Poona done for its people ? It may be a craze with me that the intellectual elevation of some of our best men has removed them from the sphere of general usefulness. But if this be so, what is the use of a hundred highly developed intellects, where millions upon millions of their fellow beings live only a degree removed from monkeys ? I will not go the length of saying that education breeds selfishness ; but in this country, especially in, Bombay, it does seem to me to tend to exclusiveness. We are raising an intellectual aristocracy which owns to no concern in the fortunes of the vulgar herd. Under the British Govern- ment this class must necessarily grow in wealth and influence. Will it ever give us a Shaftesbury or a Stansfield, a Howard or a Pen, a Nightingale or a Fry ? And unless college education quickens sympathy with the mass, is it worth imparting at a high pressure ? I know that almost all the friends whose opinions I value are in favour of education to begin at the top and to filtrate. The theory is sound and consistent with the law of nature. But though here I am in an inglorious minor- ity, I cannot help saying that the peculiar conditions of life in India require consideration. Mr. Ranade, for instance, is per- haps the ablest Native judicial officer in India ; few know as I do what marvellous sagacity and acumen that man possesses. His judgments would be no way unworthy of a Westropp or a Sausse. Mr. Bhandarkar shines equally well in his line ; he may not yield even to Max Miiller in his special branch. These ara "the forlorn hopes" of the people. Could they do no more for the people than at present ? Poor Ganesh Joshi was just showing the way when his invaluable life ran short of a sudden. India wants more people's men. The country cannot rise un- less its millions are lifted to a higher moral atmosphere and social responsibility. And this will not happen till we have a system of heart-education side by side with head-education. Can colleges give heart-education ? " I believe, they can, but the best heart-education can only be imparted in the family and at home. This is the opinion of the best Indian thinkers, and holding* this opinion Malabar! commenced his crusade against social evils. MALABARI AS A SOCIAL REFORMER. " It was the widow," wrote Malabari in 1885, " who first set me thinking about the whole question. And though I find that her cause is very difficult to win, and that the cause of the girl-bride, on which her own fate largely depends, is comparatively easy of success, still I really cannot give up my widow. And I am sure every Irishman, at least, will sympathize with me." We have seen with what deep feeling Malabari pour- trayed the sorrows of Hindu widows in his Niti Vinod. He knew that there were many exemplary widows, and personally he was in favour of strict monogamy for both the sexes. But then, was it just to enforce widowhood on a girl who became a widow before she had known what it was to be a wife ? And was it just to shave her head, to make her a scarecrow among her CI -playmates and companions, and to rule her life, as it -were, with the iron rod of custom and superstition ? Was it just, again, for the male to marry as many wives as he liked, and for the female to be prohibited from marrying again after her first husband's death even though she might be a child in her teens ? A great Hindu Pandit Vidiasagar had challenged his brother Pandits to prove that enforced widowhood was at all sanctioned by the Shastras. He had fought out his battle almost single-handed, and succeeded in . moving the Legislature to pass an Act enabling those who conscientiously believed that widows could remarry, to translate their belief into action. That declaratory Act had done very little good, for caste had proved too much for remarried widows and their husbands. It had, on the other hand, emphasized the curious anomaly that though unchaste widows could not be deprived of their husbands' inheritance, re- married widows could be. The position of Hindu widows was most unsatisfactory, legally and socially. There was not the least doubt that most of them were unhappy. Their misery was not sung by Malabari alone in pathetic verse. I have said before that the Hindoo widow is ahnoat a stock topic in Vernacular literature. The Native papers often came out with very sad tales of their sorrows, and in 1883 an orthodox journal like the Gujaratl actually proposed that all Hindu widows should be called upon by Government to show cause why they had remained unmarried ! Mala- bari was a constant reader of Native papers, and often .noticed the cases brought to light by them. Let me CII quote a couple of these from the Indian Spectator of 1883. THE HINDOO WIDOW AND HEB WOES. The Qiyarati, reports a case of infanticide at Jetpnr in Katty- war. A ' high-caste' widow, long suspected by the Police and closely watched, gives birth to a child. The new-comer's mouth, is immediately stuffed with hot kitchen ashes. Thus ' religiously disposed of and thrust into a basket of rubbish, its loving grand- mother deposits the child into the nearest river. The village Police THEN come to know about it. A very similar case is reported to us from Viramgaum ; high- caste widow, new-born baby and hot ashes, though no mention is made of the loving grandmother or the basket of rubbish. Three persons are implicated in the former case. It must be remem* bered that the mother is very seldom a party to the ' act of merit.' After all it is her child, flesh of her flesh. Woman's love shines best under trials. The wife of a thief or murderer will cling to him all the closer the more he is shunned by the world ; the mother of a bastard will love him more intensely, perhaps, to make up for the father's neglect. In the Jetpur widow's case, we may say she is no more a murderer than is the head of the local Police. The father of her unclaimed child, whom your humane English law never thinks of calling to account, is the prime mover, with the widow's parents and caste.people as his accomplices. So cleverly is the affair managed that hardly one case out of twenty can be detected. In most cases the child dies before birth. The patient is removed far from her own home, on a visit to a friend's or on a pilgrimage, and there she is absolved of the burden of sin* She is lucky if she escapes with permanent injury to the system' for the village surgeon is but a clumsy operator. If less lucky, she succumbs under the operation. But least lucky is the widow whoso case does not yield to the manipulations of the Dai. And woe be to her if she belongs to n respectable family. Then they get up a ceremony in her honor, what they call a cold Suttee, they serve her with the best of viands, they ply her with sweet intoxi- cants, and they cap her last supper on earth with something that cm will seiile their business. The widow is soon a cold \Suttee and is- forthwith carried off to the burning ground, (the pious Hindu can't keep a corpse in his house for ten minutes). This ' cold. Suttee' means a double murder. Let us hope it is a very rare practice. But a case is known where the widow suspected fbuL play in the midst of the nocturnal festivities in her honor. She- turned piteously to her mother and asked to be saved, but she? was thus urged in reply : 'Drink, drink, my child, drink to cover thy mother's shame and to keep thy father's abm ; drink it, dear daughter, see I am doing likewise' ! The only remedy is to dispossess Caste of its power of excom- municating the widow who marries again. Government sanctions remarriage and Caste opposes it. What a position for the Govern- ment of an Empire ! It is all very well for English Officials to say that the widow and her friends ought to defy caste- They do not know the terrible effect of the Mahajan's curse. The widow and her husband, and very often her and his families, are shunned like- poison- Thus some forty people may suffer for the courage of two. They suffer in life and in death. No casteman joins them- in any domestic ceremony ; nono of them can take part in the social affairs of any casteman. So cruelly rigid is the discipline,, that it drew tears of anguish from that most patient Hindu mar- tyr, Karsandas Mulji. He used to cry helplessly when his wife wanted to know when her family was to be re-admitted into the Caste. Englishmen can have no idea of the bitterness of this social seclusion ; it is worse than the bitterness of death. One result of the persecution is that few remarried couples live hap- pily. They are hunted out of caste, out of profession, and if we are not quite wrong, out of part of their inheritance. And not being sufficiently ed ucated to take to new modes of life, husband and wife pina away in despair, accuse each other of folly, and under a sense of injury they sometimes take to evil courses. What a triumph for Caste ! That the widow marriage movement in.- I iidia is making head in spite of such crashing opposition is a proof of its necessity and its ultimate success- If the Government only rules that Caste has no right to prevent remarriage ; if the pub- *ic prosecutor is instructed to lay heavy damages against the CIV Mahajan for putting a remarried widow out of caste, the reform will have an easy victory over prejudice. Is there no Englishman to put down this unnatural interference with a movement sanc- tioned by the law of God and man ? Is there no Englishwoman to plead for the rights of her unfortunate sisters in India ? An eminent Mahratta Shastri had followed Vi- diasagar's example at Poona and Bombay ; but though Vishnu Shastri spent himself in the cause and did much solid work, he had had scant support. At Mad- ras in 1871 or 1872 a "Widow Marriage Association" had been started by M. R. R. T. Muttasamy Iyer, and in 1880 this was revived by Rajah Sir T. Madava Rao, Dewan Bahadur Ragoonath Rao, and others. At Bombay a Hindu gentleman, who had married a widow, used to afford shelter and support to all poor creatures who wished to remarry, and had by his unostenta- tious friendliness helped not a few widows to happy homes. There was, however, no active sustained organization, and the problem of Hindu widowhood was as far from solution as ever. Malabari had thought about it for at least ten years, and knew well its diffi- culty. But he felt no doubt on one point, and that was this. Infant marriage had a great deal to do with un- happy widowhood. Infant marriage ! Infant betrothal might be tolerated, but Infant marriage irrevoc- able so far as the bride was concerned and leading to the widowhood of children who in some cases had hardly cut their milk teeth, was certainly most un- natural. The Native Press was on the whole alive to its unnaturalness, and often condemned the practice in no measured terms. Here, for example, is a trans- lation of an article in the Hitechhu, which appeared in one of the Spectators of 1883. cv THN HORRORS oir INFANT MARRIAGE. A Brahmin betrothed his daughter in her infancy. The girl never saw her husband or the husband's house. On reaching years of discretion the husband turned out to be worthless and diseased. But knowing all this, the father, bound by caste rules, &o-, to save the honor of the family, married his daughter to the same man. When without free choice one cannot pass a single day happily, how can one pass a whole life ! The girl lived all along at her father's house. Now, when even ascetics at times long for social happiness, how could this young woman restrain herself ? She managed to have private meetings with somebody in the village. But secret intercourse means deception for the woman, and thus shortly after our heroine felt embarrassed. What to do now ? In spite of amulets and threads, and even drugs, her condition continued to grow worse. Then they took her to her father-in-law's house. People there found out the secret. They, therefore, hesitated at first, but agreed to receive the daughter- in-law on condition that her parents should piy hush-money to the outraged husband. Where could the wretched parents procure money from ? They brought back the girl. Days after days passed by and her secret was made public by every waft of wind. The crisis approached nearer, and just a little while before all would be over, the dear mother started with her in a cart with the required amount lor her father-in-law's. But unfortunately, whether through the jostles on the road or otherwise, the girl was overtaken by labour. Where to tnrn now ? without house or home, without relations or friends. But the shrewd mother, telling the driver she had to obey a call, at once made for an adjoining thicket with the daughter. The spot was scarcely reached when the latter gave birth to her child. ! thou unfortunate intruder, thou little knowest thou hast to leave this world within so short a space of time, to be born only to be killed ! In a moment the fragile little thing was despatched and buried, and the heartless woman returned to the cart. Oh Shiva ! Shiva! Shiva! What unnatural cruelty! But wait, reader, say, is this not the result of child marriage ? CVI A man like Malabari, full of sympathy and tender- ness for the suffering, could not but feel the acutest pain on reading all such tales of wrong and misery. This custom of Infant Marriage had worked havoc for a long time among the Parsis who had imitated the Hindus, and it ha4 its votaries or rather victims even among Mahomedans. It sometimes led to evils the very mention of which would make one's hair stand on end. For instance, Malabari knew at Surat of a rape on a Parsi girl often by her husband. Of course, according to law, the husband was not punishable, for such rape was not, and is not, a crime. But the heart-rending shrieks of the outraged child still ring in Malabari's ears. The Parsis thank God have succeeded in making such cases impossible, for under the Parsi Matrimonial Act no Parsi husband can force his wife, who is under fourteen, to live with him. But as the law now stands, no Hindu girl at least can deny herself to her husband, if she is ten years old. Malabari was not a Sanskrit scholar, like Ram Mohan Roy or Vidiasagar, and he was not a Hindu. But he felt vividly the sin, the folly, the unnaturalness of this custom of Infant Marriage, and traced the woes of widowhood to this cause, flow this pernicious custom could be abolished was a question which long perplex- ed him. He knew full well the internal economy of Hindu homes. He was not unaware that many of these were happy homes in a way. But was there not a large amount of misery which could be easily avoided ? And was not this practice a dead obstacle in the way of female education and of national progress ? The evil CVII was admitted all round. And surely it could not be an evil without a remedy. Diffident and distrustful of himself, Malabari did not make his debut as a social reformer with any quack nostrums warranted to cure the distempers of Hindu society. He was willing, to quote his own words, to be a "mere camp-follower," if a Hindu leader would but lead the way. But he was thoroughly fami- liar with the tremendous difficulties of Hindu reformers and the fate which had overtaken some of them. A Hindu sovereign could have easily put an end to such practices, if convinced of their illegality from the Shastric texts. But an alien Government was a Kumbhakaran in social matters, extremely difficult to awake to its responsibility, while the stronghold of Hindu usage and superstition was harder to conquer than Ra van's Lanka. What, then, was an outsider to do for the victims of these baneful customs ? Was he to fold his arms and do nothing because he was an outsider ? Had humanity as a whole any outsiders within itself? Was not this a patent contradiction in terms ? Had those great and good men who had abolished negro-slavery ever felt any hesitation on the ground that they were outsiders ? Was it not the plain duty of every man to do what lay in his power to mitigate the hard lot of his brothers and sisters ? Were not the suffering Hindu widows, the suffering child-brides, with their heads shaved for the sin of losing their husbands, his own sisters, though he was a Parsi ? He had not a particle of vanity in him r but he knew that earnestness was a power in itself, and CVIII that as he felt keenly the sorrows of Hindu women he could plead their cause with eloquent directness and moving pathos. Still there was the question, " what would people say if he placed himself in the front in this fashion " ? Would they not attack him as a presump- tuous youth, and credit him with no other motive but self-aggrandisement and vain-glory ? Yes, they would. He had won golden opinions, as a poet and a journalist. His life had been pure and self-sacrificing. But the world at large knew him only as the editor of a prominent paper and an able writer, and the world at large would listen easily to those who would attribute worldly motives to him. It was an enterprise "of great pith and moment." It would tax all his energy and resources, and would bring him probably nothing but abuse and defamation. But was it manly at all to be afraid of consequences when the finger of Duty pointed clearly to one direction only and to no other ? Was it not clear that female education would never make tiny appreciable progress so long as girls had to be married away in their tender years ? Had not Keshub 'Chunder Sen proved, by the opinions of medical experts in India, that Infant Marriage led to an unnaturally early development of sexual functions, and that such develop- ment was in the long run ruinous to the physical and therefore to the mental strength of the nation ? Was it not Infant Marriage, again, that led mainly to enforced and unhappy widowhood ? And were not unhappy widows as great an object of pity and sympathy as any other unhappy creatures ? Was there any religion or morality, any reason or sense, in shaving and degrading CIX them, and subjecting them to a hard, almost mer- ciless, discipline, as if every one of them was sure to go astray without it ? The picture of poor widowed children undergoing the slow invisible torture of a ruthless custom, bred of iniquity and un-naturalness, was ever present to Malabari, and gave him at length the courage of a hero and the meekness of a martyr. I am usino 1 these words advisedly. Few know how sensitive is this noble Parsi's heart, and how much he has suffered during these three years and a half. He is not likely to live very long. He has been judged most uncharitably by some of his contemporaries ; but posterity will do him justice. Having resolved to devote himself to the eradica- tion of these evils, Malabari next thought about the ways and means,- and about the plan of his campaign. He had studied the question for a long time, and he knew the pros and cons of every remedy that occurred to him so well, that it was impossible for him to be cock- sure about any of them. His main object was, as so often explained by him, to draw the attention of wiser and cleverer men to the two evils, to see if a national asso- ciation could be started, and thus to place at its disposal all the ability that he could command. But how could many minds be brought to bear on the problem ? If he merely went on describing the evils and suggesting the remedies that occurred to him, there might be some academical discussion, but there would probably be no results. Malabari well knew the formidable difficulties which had presented themselves when female education was first taken in hand by a previous generation, and 6T well knew how these difficulties had been overcome ex through official co-operation and sympathy. He had no horror of officials. He knew them too well to suspect them of evil motives. He knew what help he had receded from them in carrying out his scheme of vernacular translations. He knew how official guidance had served as a kamarband for the invertebrates of society in many matters necessary for the well-being of the people. He knew who had abolished Suttee and Infanticide, and introduced Vaccination and Sanitation. He was averse to legislation on the subjects which had interested him so deeply, but he thought the moral support of the State was essential. Jotting down his thoughts, therefore, in the form of Notes, he presented himself one day in May or June 1884 to Lord Ripon at Simla. These Notes will be found in the present volume. The one on Enforced Widowhood is liable to be misun- derstood as advocating legislative interference. But the truth is, Malabari was not well acquainted with technical legal language, and he has several times disclaimed any such intention. There is also a paragraph at the end of the first note regarding marriages brought about by widowed fathers or brothers of infant boys for their own nefarious purposes. This last has been severely criticised as a gratuitous slander. But anyone who reads the para- graph carefully will see that the practice condemned is expressly stated to be ''limited in area." Malabari's in- formant on this subject was one who is the idol of edu- cated natives, and the life and soul of their national progress. The fact is, that the custom is not unknown in some parts of the N.-~W. Provinces, and Malabari CXI meant as much.* His critics, however, forgetting the words "limited in area," ran amuck against him for traducin"- the whole of Hindu society, and raised a considerable prejudice against him, But I am anticipating events. Lord Ripon, Mr. Gibbs, Mr. Ilbertandthe other members of the Supreme Government were struck by Malabari's fervour, and promised to consider the Notes, and they of course kept their promise. Lord Ripon, on August 20, 1884, wrote to him to say that the two questions of Infant Marriage and Enforced Widowhood were "practically branches of one and the same question, the position of women in India," that the question was "perhaps the most press- ing, at the present moment, of Indian social questions," that the practices undoubtedly led to great evils, but did not in themselves involve crime nor were so necessarily and inevitably mischievous as to call for suppression by law, if they were sanctioned by the general opinion of the society in which they prevailed ; and his Lord- ship concluded his letter as follows : "In snch a case the Government cannot take action without having before it full information as to the sentiment and opinion of the community interested ; and in consulting, as I understand that you are doing, influential persons throughout India on this point, you are, I believe, taking the most practical step, which is at present possible, towards the attainment of the objects which * Compare the opinion given to Government by Mr. Denzil Ibbetson, Director of Public Instruction, Punjab. " The form of marriage by which a woman is for purposes of cohabitation the wife of A., while her children by him are for purposes of in- heritance reckoned as the children of B., in the next generation, is common enough among semi-civilised races, and is by no means necessarily criminal or immoral. But where it is the exception, it probably does lead to immorality.'" CXII you have at heart. I shall rejoice if the result of your inquiries should show that there exists an opening for the Government to mark in some public manner the view which it entertains of the great importance of reform in these matters of Infant Marriage and Enforced Widowhood. " The other members of Government wrote in the same strain, but every one expressed his sympathy with the cause. To obtain the opinions of other influential persons, official and non-official, Malabari had a large number of his Notes printed, and on August 15, 1884, submitted them with a modest printed letter for consideration. The result was their discussion by the press, and their translation by the native papers in almost all the vernaculars of India. The criticisms were generally favourable at first, and on September 11, 1884, the Supreme Government forwarded the Notes to the Local Governments and Administrations for their opinion, and also for consulting representatives of native opinion. It would have been much better if the revised notes published by Malabari in Octo- ber had been so referred, for these latter notes con- tained much more practical suggestions than the first. It is curious to find that in November 1884, Sir F. Roberts, the then Commander-in-Chief of the Madras Army, directed that no recruits would be allowed to marry until three years after their enlistment. This was in effect a recognition of the principle laid down by Malabari, that the State could prefer unmar- ried to married men for its services, in order to dis- courage premature marriage. This suggestion, how- ever, met with no favourable reception. The sugges- tions which were most approved were (1) the formation CXIII of a national association, (2) the introduction of lessons on these subjects in educational books, (3) and the enactment of a regulation by the Universities that after a certain number of years none who were not bachelors would be admitted to the degree of B. A. This last sugges- tion was supported by a gentleman who was an out-and- out opponent of Malabar i in other respects. I mean Mr. Chiplcnkar, the able Secretary of the Sarvajanik Sabha, Poona and by several other distinguished Hindus who admitted that, according to the Hindu Shastras, as well as Hindu traditions, marriage should succeed the completion of the long period prescribed for study. It is unnecessary to dwell on the events that have followed the publication of Malabari's Notes the Surat widows' appeal to the Nagar Shett in January 1885 the Now sari widows' appeal to the Gaekwar in April the campaign of Malabari in the Punjab in September and October the effect pro- duced in India by the revelations of Mr. Stead in November the strong advocacy of legislation on the subject of Infant Marriage by Mr. Ranade in December, in the preface to the publication of papers bearing on the enactment of Act XV of 1856 the speeches delivered by Malabari at Agra, Alighar, Bareilly, Allahabad, Benares and Muthra in Fe- bruary 1886 the memorial of Sir T. Madhao Rao and other leading citizens of Madras to the Viceroy in March 18 86, for fixing the marriageable age of Hindu girls at ten the Viceroy's reply that the prevailing customs were "deleterious to morality" and that the H CXIV luovemetit had " his sympathy and approval" * the Meerut memorial in August 1886 praying that the limit of age might be legislatively fixed at 12 for girls and 16 for boys the Madhava Bagh meeting in Sep- tember, 1886, to protest agains any contemplated inter- ference, legislative or executive, the interview of the Shastris with Lord Reay on September 13-1886 the publication of a paper in the September number of the Nineteenth Century on the Hindu Widow by Mr. Devendranath Dass, and another in the October num- ber of the Asiatic Quarterly Review by Dr. Hunter the final Resolution of the Government of India on Malabari's Notes in October 1886 the publication of the opinions of Hindu gentlemen consulted on the subject in the form of Government Selections in January 1887 the attacks on Malabar! and Ranade by some of the Poona lecturers in February and lastly " H. E. the Viceroy said he was very glad to meet the deputation. The subject which they brought to his notice was a very important one. There was nothing so well engrained in the British system of govern- ment as a fixed determination, a* far as possible, not to interfere in the established national customs of the people. That was the policy of his predecessors and to it he meant strictly to adhere ; but it did not follow that there should be no departure from that policy, and that the present Viceroy and the members of his Government should not watch with sympathy and approval any movement that had for its object the refor- mation of social customs. Personally he thought that no customs could be more deleterious to morality, and fraught with greater evils, than that mentioned in the address. Every European nation would look upon it with horror, and for his own part he would not like his child to enter into so momentous a contract under such conditions. If native opinion was not absolutely unanimo is, there should at least be a general consensus of native opinion in favour of the movement. He had not yet been sufficiently long in the country to gauge the character, force, and extent of native opinion on the movement. More than that he was not disposed to say at present, and they would not expect him to say more. At all events, they might go away with the satisfaction that their movement had his sympathy and approval. He was much gratified to see so many men of position and intelligence taking interest in BO important a movement." CXY the publication of the opinions given to Malabari, in the form of a companion volume to the Selections. Besides, these may be mentioned the extremely thoughtful pamphlet of Mr. Ardesir Framjee and several other interesting publications. Thus those brief notes of Malabari have gathered round them a vast amount of literature, and Malabari has certainly succeeded in brino-ino- the best and wisest intellects to bear on the O O question. This alone is no small achievement, and his worst detractors cannot but admit that this achieve- ment is to his credit. On the other hand, they ought also, in fairness, to admit that they have been guilty of the seven mistakes which Malabari has enumerated in the following extract : " It may bo remembered that every paper I have written upon the subject of marriage reform in India has been marked "Submitted for Consideration." The first Memo, was so marked, and it was for the reader to approve the contents or not, without questioning motives and entering into other personal details. Some people did the latter, solely and simply because I happened to be a Parsi. That was Mistake number One, since magnified a hundred-fold by a hundred false steps, at each of which the man was assailed and his measures almost entirely kept out of sight. (&.) It may also be remembered that I have invariably spoken ot thetsvo specific evils as infant marriages and enforced widowhood, and that my hypercritical opponents have made a point of mistaking them f>r early marriage and widowhood in general. This has in most cases been done on set purpose, and it has exposed me to great annoyance, as it has greatly obscured the points at issue. I have often tried to explain incidentally in the course of the discussion, that ifc is infant marriages alone that I object to, and that it is the pre- vention by social conspiracy of widow marriages, declared valid by Shastras and by the British law, and the endless persecution of widows intending to remarry, that called for a protest. But the opponents knew tha.t their qnly phance wa,s to mislead the ignorant, CXVI and so they went on repeating that I wanted Hindu girls to remain unmarried till 20-25 and all Hindu widows to be remarried ! This was Mistake number Two. (V.) The third mistake was that I had grossly exaggerated the evils. Now this is a matter of difference of opinion. The op- ponents say I have over-stated the case. 1 say I have understated it. Let it be noted that the evils are scattered over a vast area and that all throughout they cannot be the same in extent aud intensity. We have to judge of the matter by caste as well as by tract. Thus, what obtains in one casts or in one part of the country may be more or less absent from another caste or another part of the country Those belonging to the latter, therefore, find it easy, perhaps neces- sary from their point of view, to charge me with exaggeration, libel &c., when I am describing evils as they actually exist in the former. This seems to me to be the secret of the Exaggeration theory which is shared even by two or three European friends. The European is naturally more sceptical than the Hindu, because the former cannot conceive of irregularities which do not occur in European society. The charitable Hindu would be equally sceptical as regards some of the social enormities prevailing in European countries. But because one is not personally acquainted with a particular phase of social evil, is it fair that he should charge another who knows, as libelling him and his people ? My statements are generally made on accurate first-hand information, acquired by personal contact with the vic- tims themselves or a study of the literature of the subject as relat- ing to particular localities- Not to say anything of marriage be- fore the babies are born and while they are at breast, I ask if Hindu girls are not usually married at about 8 ? If a mean average were taken all over the country I fear it would not go beyond 7. If in some parts marriages take place at 11, in many they occur before 9. Where a marriage is postponed, it is done out of sheer necessity, the absence of a suitable match or want of means. Where marriages, as a rule, take place so early, a good deal of harm must necessarily follow. I admit that in some cases parental con- trol may avert this harm. But such enlightened parents iu India are in woeful minority. If you advise an uneducated friend to postpone consummation till a proper age, he will turn upon you with the unanswerable question what were the couple married CXVII for? Then, as to unequal marriages, those between 50 and 10, for instance, are they so very rare in all parts of India ? And what can be the result of such unions, with lifelong widowhood staring the brides in the face ? What are we to think of the public opinion of a country in which such marriages are possible ? On the other hand, there are cases in which the boy-husband is younger than the girl-wife. The latter grows rapidly, while the former has a com- paratively slower growth, and sometimes does not grow at all. Is not this a great wrong to both parties ? But I will not pursue the subject. Let the critics go over different parts of the country and study the different customs, and then come forward to confirm or oon tradict my statements. They have never done so nor attempted to do so, but have contented themselves with ignoring facts not within their personal observation. This is Mistake num- ber Three. (d.) Another mistake on the part of my critics is that I have been clamouring for legislation. As a matter of fact, I declared in the very first Note my aversion to legislative interference. I " submitted" other methods for " consideration," which were approved by some and objected to by others. As the discussion went on, I " submitted" more suggestions made to me by friends, mostly Hindus. It was for the community concerned to accept or to reject those suggestions. Too much stress is being laid in some quarters on the draft bills sketched by Messrs. Afelvill and West. It is needless to refute the assertions of mischief-makers in this regard. The drafts are still before the public, who can see that they were not at all meant for immediate adoption by the whole community or by sections of the community, but were intended to guide those who might in the future think it necessary to appeal to the Legislature. No one, who has read the drafts and the remarks prefacing them, or who has any acquaintance with their authors, would think them amiss for a moment. Let us hope this too was only a Mistake, Mistake number Four. (e.) But why did you at all consult the officials and publish their opinions ? ask my indignant critics. Because I knew my critics too well to trust only to their co-operation. In consulting official opinion I had the example of others before me, What CXVIII would have been the fate of the agitation against Suttee, Infanti- cide, Compulsory Widowhood, Hook-swinging and other pastimes, but for official co-operation ? How far would Ram Mohan and Keshub Clmnder, for instance, have succeeded without the moral support of Bentinck and Lawrence ? As to publishing official and non-official opinions, surely they were not intended to be pigeon- holed ? Those who think so make a bad mistake, Mistake number Five- (/.) The sixth mistake has regard to my motive ; that I undertook this work for cheap popularity. The absurdity of such a supposition is self-evident- I was one of the most popular men in India, if not the most popular of my years, when I took up the question. I took it up with a full knowledge of the sacrifices it would entail. I took it up as my life work. It is scarcely three years now since I began when people are talking about my having become " thoroughly discredited" and abusing me as never was the worst eneiny of the country abused before. All this does not look like popularity, and it constitutes Mistake number Six. (g.) The last and the worst mistake is t> threaten to '' crush that Malabari," Here the opponents hive entirely mistaken their man. There is only one way of silencing him, by showing honest work. He does not care for thair respect or estee ; he never cared for favours from them, has ceased to care even for common justice from sach quarters- But can nothing make these gentle- men see that less than half the labour and ingenuity they spend in attempting to crush a solitary well-wisher might, if otherwise employed, bring about the reformation of a whole community ? What is the moral of Malabari's crusade ? It is that earnestness, like faith, can move mountains, though not in company with high Sanksrit scholarship or scien- tific or philosophic acquirements ; that there is wisdom in guiding and utilizing such earnestness, but crass folly in allowing it to spend itself in vain, if it can ever be in vain. No one can say that Malabari's exertions have been futile or fruitless. He has succeeded CXIX in engaging the sympathies of the ruling class in favour of Hindu widows, and against the practice of Infant Marriage. He is not an iconoclast or a revolutionary patriot. He is not for introducing European customs wholesale, and has repeatedly stated that by infant marriage he means only the marriage of children under twelve, and that he would be quite satisfied if this modest reform could be carried out. It may be that in certain parts of India no such reform is required, though that remains to be proved. But then the educated men of these parts should be the last to say that because it is not required among them, it is not required elsewhere. One of the most disappointing fea- tures of the opinions given to Government is such fallacious generalisations. The educated natives have had some hard hits at Malabari's hand. But they should remember that their treatment of him was not generous or just. I am myself, I am afraid, generalizing wrongly when I say that the educated natives have been ungenerous or unjust to him. I believe that no educated Hindu in his senses can fail to perceive the single- heartedness and the conspicuous ability with which his Aryan cousin has launched this scheme of social reform, and I believe that, excepting a few noisy and irrespon- sible editors, the bulk of educated men are on the side of such reform, however they may differ as to the way s and means. Malabari is not a man who would- desist from doing what he feels is his lifework simply because of unpopularity, and it would be a thousand pities if his agitation were not kept up. The educated natives] ought now to form themselves into a strong organized -Social Reform Association, or start a Mission with the neces- sary propaganda. The eyes of our rulers and of the ruling race, and I may say, of civilized people generally, are up- on them. They at first thought of achieving political pro- gress and then trying their hand at religious and social reform. But by this time they ought to see that social reform would no longer wait upon their sweet pleasure, that they are challenged on all sides to show themselves worthy of higher political rights by adopt- ing more natural and enlightened social customs, and that the advice of their best friends men like Lord Ripon and Mr. Wordsworth is to the same effect. If Malabari has done them any wrong, they ought to show they can forgive him. We ought to rise above petty spite, envy, and jealousy, and ought to band our- selves in the holy spirit of self-sacrifice to do our utmost to bring about the social regeneration of India, remembering that our fathers in the days of our grand epics knew of no such " anthropological curiosities " as baby-brides and virgin-widows, and that the reform sought for is after all a mere return to the customs which prevailed in the palmy days of Aryan India. SELECTIONS Submitted for consideration. NOTE I. INFANT MARRIAGE IN INDIA. The British Government put down Infanticide by law. That was a great gain to society, apart from higher consider- ations. But we find Infant Marriage in practice a more serious evil than Infanticide. For, whereas the latter was one short struggle, in which the victim was almost uncon- scious, an ill-sorted infant marriage entails lifelong miser}' on either or both parties. Infant marriage is the cause of many of our social grievances, including enforced widowhood. The argument, that such an arrangement forbids the exercise of free will on the part of those most concerned, may not com- mend itself readily to all practical reformers. For, parental control is necessary and mostly beneficial even when the parties have come to years of discretion. Absence of choice, therefore, is not my only complaint. But the area of selec- tion is so narrow where society is split up into numerous castes and sub-castes, that practically Hindu parents have to make Hobson's choice of it : to accept the first boy or girl available, or to buy one who comes the cheapest, all things considered. There may be physical defect or moral taint on one side or the other. But so long as this, and no other match, is to be secured, why, it must be secured at all risks. What wonder, then, if many of these forced unions turn out unhappy ? The physical defect may increase with age, the moral taint may grow into a malady. The wife may outgrow the husband, or "the husband may become fit for the grave when the wife becomes fit for his home." There may be total or partial absence of physical adaptability or hopeless disparity of temperament. In any of these events the " married martyrs," as they have been aptly described, are 1 socially alienated from each other, though perhaps living under the same roof. These are some of the many dread contingencies. But let us take the union to turn out happy, as it no doubt turns out in a large number of cases. What follows? A too- early consummation of the nuptial troth, the breaking down of constitutions and the ushering in of disease. The giving up of studies on the part of the boy-husband, the birth of sickly children, the necessity of feeding too many mouths, poverty and dependence; a disorganised household leading perhaps to sin. In short, it comes to a wreck of two lives, grown old almost in youth, which might, in favourable cir- cumstances, have attained to happy and respected age. That this is not an overcharged picture will be admitted by those who have even a superficial acquaintance with the domestic affairs of our people. Last of all comes Death to the relief of the husband or the wife. If the former, it adds one more, widow to the forty million and odd, and two or three orphans to the fraternity of unprotected infants. Here we are con- fronted with that grave economic problem over-population in poverty. If over-population is felt as an evil in advanced and wealthy countries, where natural and artificial means exist to hold it in check, what must be the effect of over- population in a poor and backward country, where the evil is actively stimulated by unnatural means ? Can the State take no cognisance of this economic pha?e of the evil ? apart from the social aspect with which a foreign Government may well hesitate to meddle. We are often told by benevolent Let-Alone-ists that the only remedy possible is to educate public opinion on the subject, and then to set this educated public opinion to cope with the evil in operation. This is no doubt a very sound doctrine. But where such a very small portion of the popu- lation of India have received elementary education after so many years, the chances of bringing educated public opinion as a force to bear upon the question are extremely slender. The higher classes of Hindus, the more educated amongst them, feel the necessity of discountenancing child marriage; and most of these would undoubtedly act up to their convic- tions if they only could. But caste is too powerful even for men in that position. Where the girl's parents are enlighten- ed, the boy's may be the reverse; and as that is the only eligible boy in the caste the former are obliged to sue for terms. Amongst the illiterate mass early marriage obtains most widely, and amongst them, least able to bear the strain, the consequences of such marriage are most far-reaching. They tell disastrously on the physical and social well-being of not only the contracting parties, but even their children and their children's children. We occasionally hear of a debt in- curred by a man towards the marriage expenses of his youngest son having to be repaid by his grandson or great-grandson. I have never heard an argument in favour of infant mar- riage as a national institution, except that it is enjoined by the Shastras. But so far as I have been able to see, no Shastra enforces marriage proper on a girl under 12 years of age, when presumably the boy must be between 15 and 20. So much as to the social or so-called religious aspect of the prac- tice. In India every custom that is unintelligible, or actually indefensible, becomes a religious question, the merits of which we are not supposed to appreciate in this Kali-yuga. But taking infant marriage as a purely economic question, as a source of over-population and consequent disturbances, can the State do nothing to check it ? I would not propose a legal ban to be placed upon it. But an enlightened Govern- ment might well show its disapproval of the practice indirectly. To begin with, the Educational authorities might rule that, due notice being given, no married student shall be eligible to go up for University examinations, say five years hence. This would be some check. Several other departments of the State might also devise similar means to discourage this pernicious custom of modern India. I have little doubt that some such expedient would be welcomed by leaders of Native Society in all parts. An enlightened Hindu friend writes to me from Bengal cordially approving the proposal. Our educated young men can do a great deal to strengthen the hands of authority in this direction. An excellent sugges- tion was made only the other day, that University graduates and others should form themselves into an association and take a pledge not to marry under a certain age. To which another suggestion, equally good, has been added as a rider, namely, that no educated man should marry a girl too much under his age. This would be a fair beginning for the educated class. It appears to me that the State has a right to insist upon having the best available servant, if not the best available citizen. If so, the head of a department may prefer the un- married candidate to the married, all other qualifications being equal. I arh not blind to the risk to which this pro- posal is open ; but the advantages far outweigh every possible inconvenience. Then, again, the Educational Department may give a few chapters in its School Books, describing the evil in its various forms. The State may offer indirect inducements to students remaining unmarried up to a certain age. There are ways in which the Executive can do a great deal towards the mitigation of social martyrdom, without invoking the aid of the Legislature. Let the officer evince personal interest in the matter, keeping his official position in the background. It is such friendly sympathy, in my opi- nion, more than anything else, to which we owe what little progress we have made socially during the last fifty years, especially in the matter of female education. And I suspect that something very like gentle moral pressure had to be exercised by friendly officials when Girls' Schools were first opened in the mofussil and pupils were hard to find. Parents would not allow their daughters to be out of sight for a few hours every day. But the thing had to be done, and we have now a Girls' School in almost every large village. Shut up these schools to-day, and I dare say the villagers will make a grievance of it. The most obnoxious amongst early marriages (which are often unequal in point of age) are : 1, the marriage of an infant girl with an old man the object generally being for the bride's father or relatives to secure money from the bride- groom. This is much the same as selling the child, selling her into slavery and worse. Now the State may not directly interfere with the transaction. But indirectly, I think, it can aim a deadly blow at the practice itself. For instance, by ruling that the money received from the bridegroom, the price of the girl disposed of, is not to belong to the seller, the parent or relative of the victim, but to be safely deposited in her name and for her exclusive use. Some such ruling will discourage marriages of the kind. And where the marriage does take place the money paid by the bridegroom, the cost of the bride's sacrifice, will be a comfort to her in widowhood. For, in all human probability the girl must become a widow, in which case she has at present to be solely dependent on her male relatives. This suggestion was made to an English friend by a competent Hindu authority at Madras about a year ago. 2. Another objectionable form of marriage, so called, is a girl of 12 to 15 married to a boy of 8 to 10. When we know that the marriage is brought about by the father or the elder brother of the boy, who (the father or the elder brother) is a widower, we may guess the object. It is a criminal arrange- ment, leading to sin all round, and to much suffering for the unfortunate girl who must in name remain the wife of the boy. When the boy-husband realises his position, he may murder the wife, the father or the brother. For proof positive the reader may search the records of a Magistrate's Court here and there : of presumptive evidence there is no lack. The evil is limited in area, but it is none the less a horrible thing. How long will Society and the State put up with it ? BEHRAMJI M. MALABARI. Bombay, August 15th, 1884. Submitted for consideration. NOTE II. ENFORCED WIDOWHOOD. I may begin this Note by saying that personally I do not approve of Remarriage in either sex under ordinary circum- stances. Nor do I endorse the vulgar prejudice that the Hindu widow is necessarily a social danger and must there- fore be remarried by force. As a matter of fact the Hinduani is, by blood and tradition, an excellent type of womanhood in all relations of life. But in modern India woman seems to have become, as if by common consent, the inferior of man as a social unit. She is married in infancy. In case of early death of the husband she has perpetual widowhood before her, even though still an infant. Her life is a social failure. In most things she is at the mercy of others, because the average Hindu widow is not able to appreciate and protect her rights as a member of society. To many it is a wonder that the world hears so little of the results of such social inequality. I believe this is so because woman is the sufferer. It is not jn her nature to publish her wrongs, however great. A Hindu woman complains little. But that little, in the present case, is too much for those who know. The widows of Guja- rat and of Maharashtra, of Bengal and North- West, of Punjaub and Madras, have often set forth their grievances, in prose and verse, in odes and elegies, in piteous appeals and memorials to the Collector of the district, to their Mother- Queen, and to their gods and goddesses without number. To be sure there are thousands of young Hindu widows lead- ing pure, if not happy, lives. We hear of a case now and again in which the widow is the guardian angel Jof the house and the street ; who, having lost the sharer of her joys and sorrows while yet a girl, consecrates her womanhood exclusive- ly to works of charity, cherishing the hope of union in a better world. But if there are thousands of such saintly beings in Hindustan, there must be millions of simple mis- guided creatures, exposed to all sorts of trials and temptations, whose lives are a curse to themselves and, in some instances, a standing menace to society. Hindu parents deplore no misfortune so much as they deplore the widowhood of a young daughter. But it is a common misfortune. And its consequences are generally so inevitable, that exposure is a rare occurrence. When every village almost may be covering its shame, or may be in daily dread of having to do so, connivance is the only hope of the community. Direct evidence being nearly impossible in a suspected case, the policeman finds free scope for the exer- cise of mercy or cupidity. Yet, how many cases of infanti- cide do we hear of every month ? And these are only exceptional cases that come to be known. The unknown ones may be twenty times more. There is a regular system of freemasonry maintained for the purpose the removal of the widow in trouble on visits to distant relations or on pilgrimage which baffles detection. When all attempts fail, the mother's health is ruined for life, or she dies with the babe unborn. It is sometimes urged that enforced widowhood must be accepted as a necessary evil. If so, the question arises is Hindu Society reconciled to the evil ? No ; Society is and has long been in revolt against this inhuman custom. Edu- cated young men, and many of the orthodox old, are anxious to be saved from its demoralising effect, if for no higher pur- pose, at least for their own interest. Why don't they, then, shake off the evil ? Because the Hindu is hard to move. Caste exercises overpowering influence. Caste is more potent in its secret persecution than was the Inquisition of Spain. Not only are the offending couple excommunicated, but their relations and friends too may become outcasts henceforth and 8 for ever (unless they can afford to buy readmission) in life and in death. They are shunned like a moral plague. No European can have an idea of the operation of this dread award: it is more bitter than the bitterness of death. Such are the results virtually of the abolition of Suttee by the British Government. Had Mountstuart Elphinstone and Lord William Bentinck anticipated them, they would have paused before enforcing the law without its legitimate corollary. For, whereas Suttee was one single act of martyr- dom or heroism, as the victim conceived it, and an act of religious merit popularly believed, the life which caste im- poses on an unwilling widow is a perpetual agony, a burning to death by slow fire, without any chastening or elevating effect on the sufferer or any moral advantage to the commu- nity at large by way of compensation. Now, my contention is, has caste the power to punish an act which the State recognises as legal and natural, and for which, in fact, the State has presumably rescued the widow from the flames? The plea as to re-marriage of all widows being forbidden by the Shastras has long been known to be untenable. The only rational objection that is urged against remarriage is based on the theory of over-population. But all remarried couples do not necessarily transgress the laws of population. Caste has no objection to the widower marry- ing again, as often as he likes, and more women than one at a time if he so wishes. Its cold-blooded philosophy is reserv- ed only for the woman who has lost her husband, that is her all in life. Here, then, is a conflict between State and Gaste. Who is stronger ? It has often been asked why does not the remarried widow or her friend seek the protection of the Law against her persecutor ? My answer is a simple question why at all da you allow the oppressor to oppress the weak and the innocent? Government saves the widow from compulsory immolation. Henceforth the widow becomes a ward of the State, and has the power, if she have the will, to enter into another honour- 9 able contract. And yet, caste condemns her to an unnatural if not an ignoble course of life, may be for its own purposes, and tramples upon her finer instincts. Why should caste be allowed to do this ? We are again told that the custom has a purely religious bearing. No such thing. It is more a freak of the priestly class and of a set of social monopolists. At any rate, this is what it has come to. And how many bad customs and usages have already been put down which were all alleged to have had their orgin in religion ? Suttee, infanticide, the rolling of the Juggernaut Car: the suppression of these raised a howl of indignation at the time. Government were threatened with mutinies and rebellions. What became of those hostile national demonstrations ? By all means, let us respect and pre- serve all that is good in a custom. But the British Govern- ment belie their cherished traditions in putting up with what is harmful, simply because it is sanctioned by that custom. Now, lam not one of those who are for violent interference by the State or for abrupt reforms from amongst the people themselves. We must move with the times, carrying the' people with us. And I say that in this matter the people are ready to go a step further. Our progress, since the abolition of Suttee, has not been quite perceptible. But still I hold that a move forward has been maintained all along the line. There have been a number of remarriages in Bengal, Madras, Bombay and elsewhere, in spite of the stringent prohibition of caste. But this progress has been far too slow. And there are so many obstacles in the way, that those who have watched the movement closely apprehend a re-action if the people are left much longer to struggle on by themselves. Karsan- dass Mulji, our foremost social reformer on this side, died broken-hearted under implacable persecution. Happi- ly we have Societies and Associations working in aid of this particular reform. The widow's cause has enlisted the sympathy of notable men, official and non-official, European and Native, who think it cruel to take full cognisance of the errors and irregularities incidental to enforced widowhood. 10 All that now seems to be needed is the interposition of autho- rity to a small extent. Let Government rule : (I.) That no Hindu girl, who has lost her husband or her betrothed, if she is a minor, shall be condemn- ed to life-long widowhood against her will. Here I need not be reminded of Act XV. of 1856. It is a fairly adequate provision in itself. But what has it done for the re-married widow and her friends in the course of the last 28 years ? Practically it has remained a dead letter. I ask for little more than that the existing provision be made known to the victims and enforced in their favour by all possible means. That the secret opposition of caste be met by some indirect encouragement to them from the Govern- ment. Show your dissatisfaction at the prevailing state of affairs and your anxiety to do something on proper represen- tations being made. At present there is a struggle between caste and the code. It is an unseemly encounter. The prac- tical impunity the feeling that Government cannot and will not interfere encourages the aggressors quite as much as it discourages the aggrieved seeking redress from the tyranny of caste. (II.) That arrangements may be made, in suspected cases, to ascertain whether a widow has adopted perpetual seclusion voluntarily or whether it has been forced upon her. (III.) That every widow, of whatever age, shall have the right to complain to the authorities of social ill-usage (over and above excommunication), and that proper facilities shall be afforded her for the purpose, such as the gratuitous service of counsel, exemption from stamp duty, attendance at Court, and so on. (IV.) That the priest has no right to excommunicate thp relations and connections of the parties con- tracting second marriage, besides excommunicating the principals. 11 Unless some such protective measures are adopted in time, I repeat there is fear of re-action at least on this side of the country. What little progress has been achieved after thirty years of arduous struggles may be washed away by one wave of the returning tide of fanaticism. If Government fail, as guardians of the unprotected, to rescue the widow from this terrible thraldom, they will, in no small degree, be responsi- ble to the Supreme Authority above, and to the civilised world for the results of a vile custom in working. For, there is scarcely a village in India, scarcely a hamlet, whose shrine is not desecrated by murder; where the blood of the innocent does not pollute the sanctuary of its God. Emancipate the woman of India, ye English rulers ! Restore to the widow her birth-right of which she is robbed by usurp- ers who owe no allegiance to God or to man. Give her back the exercise of free will. Is it meet that in the reign of the most womanly Queen the women of India should remain at the mercy of a foul superstition ? Raise the status of our women, and in time England shall be furnished with a Volunteer Corps a million strong. Win the blessings of India's women, the most grateful amongst a grateful nation, You are following in the steps of your predecessors. Then complete the reform inaugurated by them, carry it to its logical conclusion. Declare that the widow, being the State's adopted daughter, shall not be wronged by caste, and that even if custom allows the wrong to be perpetrated, the victim shall be avenged by law. But I arn afraid what I ask in the last paragraph is a ques- tion of time. Government may not at present go beyond the four suggestions made above. Nor would it be advisable to press the authorities. 1 believe an advance would have been made before now by the people themselves, but for certain conditions which have always operated adversely on the pro- gress of the Native community. In the first place, it is a mistake to trust entirely to the 'educated agency. Education by itself has failed to secure influence in the country. Our 12 educated young men want position. They are no match for the priestly class, who are, in a sense, better educated. Nor are the orthodox Pandits so devoid of sympathy as young reformers seem to fear. Be that as it may, it is a fact that the mass of the people look up to the Pandits and Shastris as their guides. The priest is a friend of the caste, the custodian of its honour and integrity. He directs the affairs of many a household, and is instrumental in maintaining the patriarchal relations between old and young, rich and poor. The priest is an institution whom the poor man worships, and the rich man thinks it a privilege to bow to his teachings. Besides, of long has this priestly class been on the defensive against attacks from within and without, that organisation that is the power to work together has become the law of their very existence. Has the average educated man, the young reform- er, any two of these advantages to offer for our purpose ? Modern education has made him impatient and offensive. He has no hold on the popular mind. Not only have his ortho- dox neighbours no confidence in the educated young reformer* but they look upon his doctrines with positive distrust. Then, again, in many cases his acts fall short of his words. Last of all, the educated class lacks the means for organisation the different elements are generally so incohesive. I hope and believe that these are only temporary difficulties. But there they are, and one is obliged to recognise them as seriously interfering with the usefulness of the educated class in matters social. If an earnest reformer, therefore, wishes to carry the mass with him, he finds the support and co-operation of the priest indispensable. And such support he may not seek, in vain. The priest is not so bigoted as to deprecate social progress. But he is rather shy of outside light and wants gentle hand- ling. The reformer must go to him as a friend, and perhaps as a suppliant. At this stage I would propose the establishment of a nation- al association for social reform, with the existing societies as 13 branches, and get most of the prominent members of Govern- ment to join as sympathisers, from the Viceroy and the Governors downwards. I am not without hope that our cause would interest them so far. Indeed, we might look further up, going to England for similar countenance. An institution like that would have a certain prestige people would deem It au honour to be associated with distinguished members of the ruling race. Besides its direct practical advantage, the pre- sence of English friends might deter Native members from backsliding when the time came for action. This wealthy and influential association may then try the usual plans of opera- tion, lectures, tracts, &c., for the people, under the sanction not only of their secular rulers, but also of their spiritual guides- All such attempts in the past have been all but useless as directed upon the small educated class who knew the evils full well but had no power to remedy them. Let the people be addressed directly in their own vernaculars. Let the poet and the pandit go hand in hand, scattering the seeds of true know- ledge broadcast amongst the mass, to bear fruit in time. Let Government move to some extent under a sense of humilia- tion that a hundred years of British rule could do but so little towards the amelioration of the social condition of the subjects. And let the people, too, now move for very shame, remember- ing that there is no hope of political elevation for so long as we live, and apparently love to live, in such social degrada- tion. BEHRAMJI M. MALABAR!, Bombay > August 15M, 1884. THE PROBLEMS EXPLAINED. Some of the suggestions offered in my Notes on the above questions are apt to be misunderstood. It may not, therefore, be quite useless to examine them here one by one. I shall do so briefly and plainly, leaving it to Hindu friends to come to a practical conclusion. In the first place people seem to have very vague ideas about Infant Marriages in India. An infant marriage generally means nothing better than the making over of girls into matrimonial slavery. It is the girl whom the Shastras wish to be so disposed of, and not the boy necessarily. The boy has often to be married before 10 on account of the compulsory marriage of the girl before 9. But caste is not called upon to excommunicate the parents of a boy, as in the case of the girl, if they do not marry him before a certain age. A Hindu male can marry at any age from 10 to 60. But the female becomes un marriageable after reaching puberty, and parents who are unwilling or unable to marry her off before that, have to lose caste. The rule is most rigidly enforced amongst Brahmins. I believe Rajput girls marry at a comparatively later period. Banias, Bhattias, Shrawaks, and other classes also generally wait till 11, by which time children are believed to have survived all infantile ailments, before going out in search of suitable husbands for their daughters. Thus it will be seen that the custom is not so universal as outsiders are led to suppose, nor does it apply to boys. At any rate I do not think infant marriages amongst other classes than Brahmins could be counted at more than 40-50 per cent., whilst amongst Brahmins they reach the proportion of 70-80 per cent, of which full 20 per cent, are kajodds, that is ill-sorted marriages, with wives older than husbands. With the spread of education the feeling has grown strong against infant marriage. Young men pledge themselves not to marry before getting through the B.A.. course. But the parents of the girls do not wait. "Are we to keep grown up daughters on hand on your account ?" they ask. " We would rather bestow them upon the poor and 15 illiterate. What do we care for your education ?" Some brave young fellows tried to put up with this social ostracism. But what about their families? the old father and mother, elder brothers, sisters and their families? Must they all suffer with the young reformers ? At Ahmedabad they started an Association some years ago, and leading reformers pledged themselves not to give or take girls in marriage under a certain age. But practically it came to nothing. One by one the signatories fell away. We may be sure the poor fellows did not do it without a struggle. Only they could not help themselves. The people of India have been morally crippled. It is cruel on the part of Englishmen to say, let the educated class fight out the battle. The struggle is unequal in point of number and influence. Give them a helping hand, and our young men will do their duty. It is in this sense that I suggest a gentle well-directed action on the part of the Uni- versities. If they make bachelorship one of the qualifica- tions for the Entrance examination, the battle will be half won for the struggling minority. Such action no way involves interference with the religious or social prejudices of the people, because the Shastras do not compel a boy to marry before he is quite prepared to undertake a householder's duties. On the contrary, the Hindu scriptures insist upon the boy studying up to at least 25. The present form of marriage before that age is obviously meant as betrothal. If boys refuse to marry before 16-18, girls will have to wait. But this refusal can be based only upon a ruling of such authority as students cannot set at naught. It is quite true that the Hindus cherish the greatest respect for traditional doctrines. But that applies, if at all, only to the orthodox and the illiterate classes. Mann, the ancient sage, is a great authority, and is, no doubt, recognised as such by every Hindu graduate. But the authority of our modern Manu, the Vice- Chancellor of the University, for instance, does not carry less weight with the average B.A. and M.A. A Universty degree is indispensable. To the majority of young collegians it is their means of livelihood. I am convinced the University 16 can do us great service in this way. And I am equally con- vinced that the educated class would be profoundly thankful for the relief. Whether it is practicable to make such a rule it is for the authorities to determine. But I am supported by the general approval of Hindu graduates. And they know what is best for them. I make the same appeal to the Edu- cational Department and to the other departments of the State, also to private offices and firms. Give a long notice, 5, or, if you like more years after which you will prefer the unmarried candidate for employment to the married one, all other qualifications being equal. " Why should the child- ren suffer for the parents' sins ?" they ask me. But there will be little to suffer save amongst fools and idiots, if you give fair warning. And even if the arrangement does cause suffering or inconvenience, what are we to do ? Is it not in accordance with the Divine law that the son must suffer for the father's sin ? And in this very instance, do not children suffer for the sins of their parents the ignorance or cupidity which leads the parents to keep their children in lifelong bondage ? This custom entails much more suffering than would be caused by the arrangement I suggest. And then let it be remembered that once the University Senate has laid down the rule, Hindu parents will be only too glad to avail themselves of it. Even the more ignorant among them will, in their own interest, prefer that their sons should obtain a degree before entering upon the trials of married life. The Hindu father cares quite as much for his son's income as for his marriage. Under this head I make other minor sugges- tions such as offering inducements to girls remaining longer at school than at present, of describing the evils of early marriage in school books, and so on. None of these sugges- tions need legislative interference of any hind whatever. In the seventh paragraph of my Note I refer to the marriage of girls of 8-10 to old men of 50-60. The parents or guar- dians of the girls make money out of these nefarious transac- tions. Let this money be set apart for the victims. I am 17 told that the money paid by the bridegroom is supposed by law to belong to the girl. But in practice it is appropriated by the father. If this is fraud it must be so declared, and the fraudulent parent must be made an example of. Sometimes the bridegroom may present his father-in-law with 10,000, Us. of which the latter may appropriate 9,000 and set apart the remaining 1,000 as the b ride's palla. In this case it may not be impossible to find out if the father sold his girl for a thou- sand rupees only when there were other buyers in the caste offering a larger price. The bribe at times amounts to Rs. 50,000 and even more. Let caste be called upon to regulate this matter. In the 8th and last para. I refer to another kind of infant marriage. I need not here dwell upon that scandalous arrangement. Can no power prevent it ? Side by side with efforts in this direction, the people must also be roused from their apathy of ages. Every locality ought to have an Association in aid of social and domestic reform. To begin with home more value ought to be placed upon the life and liberty of woman. She must be treated in practice as the exact equal of man. The idea of inferiority, which always places the girl next to the boy in the Hindu household, ought to be gradually effaced. Woman's first duty is doubtless at home but she is not therefore to be treated as a drudge and an encumbrance, to be got rid of the soonest that could be. Then some of the habits of the people require to be changed the sleeping in the same room, talking about forbidden subjects in the presence of girls, foul lan- guage and filthy jokes, insane ceremonies at marriage, preg- nancy, birth. The studied segregation of women in their monthly trouble, and other stupid practices, ought to be slowly got rid of. Local Associations could be of immense service in the matter. The school-master, too, can co-operate with advantage. Schools are a hotbed of the vices of youth. Many of these evils will, of course, continue so long as human nature remains the same. But not a few of them are pre- 18 ventible. Rome and Greece suffered from the same social pests as India now suffers, in a more or less intense form, till Christianity softened and humanised a population of very Uttle better than beasts. India is under a Christian Govern- ment. Can the Government do nothing to prevent the out- ward manifestations of man's animal nature, in the form of obscene songs, abusive epithets, and indecent speech and gesture? I dare say the policeman is under instruction to arrest an offender, if he is found disturbing the public peace. But the policeman in India scarcely comes up to his work in such matter. The school-master must take his place if he is at all worth his salt. Who has not heard the language used by our school-boys ? For the slightest difference of opinion, and often out of mere wantonness or force of habit, we hear striplings of 8 and 10 treating each other's female relations to language quite incredible to the European in its gross suggestiveness and amplitude of resource. The schoolmaster ought to exert himself, though in the face of the parent's own default he cannot do much all at once. After all the evil is traced home to the domestic circle, and the father of the family is responsible for it. He must set his house in order. Let him try his best to free his home of such foul atmosphere. Let him take a vow not to marry his sons before 20 (his reli- gion does not force him to do it), nor to attend foolish ceremo- nies, including the performance of an early marriage, nor to countenance them in any way. The Hindu is too sensible not to know that infant marriage is a crime against nature, against manhood, and more especially against womanhood, and that deterioration of a noble race is its direct outcome. It is for the Hindu to profit by the knowledge so far as he can help himself. The problem of compulsory widowhood appears to me to be more easy to solve either by the people or otherwise, although it is quite true that this wretched custom is of a much earlier date than infant marriage which is a comparatively modern growth. Is it possible for any man of sense to believe that 19 the ancient Hindu sages, who prescribed a protracted moral and intellectual discipline for the male student, if not also for the female, could have enjoined or even suggested a practice so destructive, as early marriage is, of national development ? The noble institution. of Stxayamvara gives a lie to advocates of infant marriages, if there are any such advocates. With enforced widowhood the case seems to be different. No Hindu widow in early days could re-marry. But what was the object of the prohibition ? Only to keep the property of the deceas- ed husband in the family. The younger brother of the deceased husband kept his place till a son was born to the widow. That arrangement then went out of vogue and Suttee was substituted. Suttee has been abolished by law, but the Hindu widow, though nominally allowed to remarry, remains in the same position as before without any of the advantages above referred to. I do not ask for a new law even here to ameliorate her condition. All that I seek is that Act XV. of 1856, passed in her favour, may be made fairly operative. If the three suggestions I make in this connection are impracti- cable it is for my Hindu brethren to treat them as they deserve, and find out other means for themselves. They need not be discussed here at length. An important suggestion was made to me the other day that the State may rule or the caste may arrange that the widow shall have a handsome per- sonal allowance made to her out of her late husband's effects. One reason why she is forced to remain in widowhood is that it enables her parents or protectors to appropriate what is meant for her own comfort and independence. If she remar- ries the widow forfeits her late husband's property. Now, if her protectors have actually to make her a liberal allowance, they may very likely think it good business to part with the widow and keep her money. Thus a door would be opened to remarriage. In the case of widows without property a most pitiable condition of life the temptation is far greater to enter into another alliance. But the victim has few friends and a large number of enemies, beginning with parents and relations. The marriage ceremony includes costly formalities 20 and tedious details. The Brahmin refuses to officiate unless heavily bribed. In such cases could it not be ruled that two or three declarations at intervals before, say the Registrar or the Magistrate, should constitute remarriage ? The widow and the man of her choice may go to the official and declare that they wish to remarry. This is merely a suggestion. Another suggestion that I would respectfully submit to the caste is that in case of crime, the betrayer of the widow as well as the unfortunate woman herself should be visited with its displeasure. Abortion and infanticide more prevalent than people have any idea of will never decrease unless the betrayer is made to bear his part of the responsibility. I know this is not done even in England. But the law of the Gaste can reach where the law of the Court cannot or will not. My last suggestion is about a National Association with numerous local branches. I have great faith in the power of such an Association both as a medium of education and as an interpreter between the people and the State. But Hindu leaders can best initiate such a movement; they alone can make it popular. There will be no lack of sympathy from those whose sympathy is worth having. I think I have shown that much at least. Let a dozen Hindus of talent and influence stand up, and let each of them declare before a public meeting that his life shall henceforth be lived for the restoration of woman in India to the position for which nature has designed her, and which the Shastras have themselves determined. WIFE MURDERS. It would be interesting to know how many cases of wife murder happen in Bombay every year, and how many of these cases are due to ill-sorted child marriages. The immediate cause is said to be " infidelity " which includes the unwil- lingness of the girl-wife to render conjugal duties to some hulking ruffian of a husband whose ideas of the matter are sometimes less natural than those obtaining amongst animals. Such is the history of the last two or three cases reported. 21 The*' wife" dreads coming in contact with the lt husband." She is dragged " home " from under the parental roof and there slaughtered with as little concern as if she were a do- mestic fowl. Her parents are helpless : it would be a "shame" unto them to interfere. In other cases the wife may go wrong. Is a young woman, married against her will, so very much to blame if she deserts the miserable old skunk who will lord it over her and force her to find a living for himself and family? When she cannot bear the zulum she yields readily to temptation. Then the husband murders her in cold blood and his friends clap their hands vah shabas. The Government at last hangs the husband and goes to bed, satisfied that it has done its duty to God and to man. Let us have a return, giving the number and history of wife-murders amongst the lower classes.* o COMPULSORY WIDOWHOOD AND THEOSOPHY. I am reminded of a correspondence which passed some time ago between two Theosophists, a Native and an English- man. The former seems to have asked his English friend to prescribe some remedy for the woes of widowhood in India the sins committed by, and often on, the helpless widow ; and the consequences. The English friend prescribed a non-stimulating diet, rebuked his " brother** for his impu- dence in having asked for checks, and then read to him a scathing sermon part of which I quote below: " But, please, don't write to me about your erring country- women, who are altogether more sinned against than sinning. It is you, or your country-Two* who err and who are the *0n 27th March 1887 Malabari wrote: "Girls of 11 are assaulted by their husbands in a fit of jealousy or anger, and the matter sometimes comes before the Court. We had a case last year, in which a man was accused of having murdered his wife of 11 at Parel. Girls of 11 married and living with their husbands, twice, thrice or four times their age, now and then to bo killed when they are not sufficiently obedient or hardworking, according to the husband's ideas of obedience and bard work ! And yet, we are assured that infant marriages do not occur amongst the lower classes, that they do no harm wherever they occur, and that they are a "sacrament" leading to holiness and happiness." 22 persons really to blame for any slips of the weaker sex. Not only does your opposition to widow-remarriage, which is clearly authorized by the Shastras, tend in a climate like that of India to sin, but by refusing or neglecting to develop and cultivate the minds of your women, you retain them in the position of animals, and are directly and distinctly re- sponsible for all the sins into which they are led by their animal instincts. Some of you think that by living, yourselves, chaste lives and otherwise raising your own mental and moral status, you will attain mokhsha but I warn you that it is not so. That karma covers all the effects, all your acts and omissions, and that each and all of you who aid to maintain and keep in force picked and injurious customs, which result in impurity and sin in the persons of your weaker fellow-creatures, will most assuredly share in the reflex vibrations of those evils things. It is all very fine for you men to reprobate the unworthi- ness of your poor, untaught, child-like sisters they at least, even if they do in their ignorance sin, suffer for it here. But you you who by your supineness in this most vital of all questions, by your prejudices or selfishness, are the real source of all this evil are 2/ow, think you, to get off'scotfree? Believe me this is not how the universe is arranged this may be human, but it is not divine justice, and all this evil blots its inevitable stain on your KARMA, and, although you escape here, you will elsewhere pay to the last jot the penalty for that sin of which you are in reality the origin and cause. Do not deceive yourselves the Karma of the most un- worthy of your untaught, semi-anima'l sisters, will be a protecting angel, compared with the retributive demon that will scourge you, pure living, highly intellectual Brahmins, who through indolence, selfishness, prejudice, and what not, aid to keep in force a monstrous system which, as a necessary consequence, leads the poor women too often into evil ways. Let each man who does not resolutely stand up against this system, which degrades half the children of his motherland 23 to the position of animals, remember that his karma shares all the nnimality that results, and when he pretends to lament over the depravity of his injured sisters let him take to his heart the answer of the prophet to David, ( Thou art the man !'" A SINGLE SUGGESTION. A Madras friend thinks it would be better if I made one comprehensive suggestion instead of the half dozen already made. Well, there is no harm in trying. The other day I was closeted with a veteran jurist, who is as conservative and as much a stickler for the law as any Hindu Shastri could be. As he pulled to pieces some of my suggestions, he threw out a hint which struck me as worth serious consi- deration. I have already made use of some of his suggestions for which I must disclaim credit. The cause may suffer by plagiarism of any sort. Now as to the principal suggestion. Suppose a majority of Hindus say that child marriage being a religious institution (which is not true) they cannot practically question its sanctity, the Hindu reformer may meet him somewhat in this wise. Granted, for argument's sake, that his Church obliges every Hindu father to marry his children at an early age. But like the Church the State also has some claim upon him. In justice to society, there- fore, there ought to be a civil ceremony besides the so-called religious ceremony. Marriage is a contract of assent, and having come to the age of discretion (say 18 and 16) the contracting parties may be called upon to make a declaration before some public officer, that they are of one mind. Two children may be married at 6 and 4 respectively, but on arriving at puberty, both of them must declare their willing- ness to abide by the contract made by the fathers or guardians. Circumstances may occur in the interval which forbid the possibility of a happy union, and in that case either or both of the parties may repudiate the marriage, as Mahomedans do now, according to Mr. Maccee, who wrote on the subject to the Times of India last week. The declaration may be made privately, if not before the Magistrate, say before a 24 Native and an English member, of the Council. To avoid fraud, births, adoptions and marriages may be registered. Thus the object of a progressive society may be easily gained, without any State interference with the " religious " usages of the people. This is a mere suggestion, and I know there are difficulties in the way of working it, especially parental coercion and perhaps a forced consummation of the marriage vow. But these could be obviated. At any rate, it seems to me that the dread of the exercise of free will on the part of their children would prevent eight-tenths of Hindu parents from marrying off infants. As it is they consider child marriage to be a very doubtful investment. The new arrange- ment would make it a dangerous experiment altogether. No Hindu would court a public scandal such as is inevitable on his son or daughter refusing to carry out his wishes in the most important concern of life. But let me say again, this is a mere suggestion for Hindu reformers to consider. As to compulsory widowhood I said last week make a fair allowance to the widow from the husband's property, and in many a case you either ameliorate her position as it is, or compel the selfish parent or guardian to get rid of her by remarriage. Hard is the lot of the young Hindu widow and it draws tears of blood from those who watch her career of agony and shame ! THE NECESSITY OF GOVERNMENT CO-OPERATION. The weekly Subodh Patrika of Bombay writes without hope. The writer is afraid of any action either on the part of the University or the State. The argument is that inviting the co-operation of Government shows weakness. I contend that it shows strength. Here is a nation suffering for cen- turies from a disease. If there is a prospect of the chief phy- sician curing the patient, in consultation with the family doctors, is there any shame or harm in applying for an operation? I have observed one peculiarity about the Hindu mind. It spends itself on speculation and stops at 25 the threshhold of action. In this matter the evils are acknowledged on all hands as leading to the deterioration of a splendid race. Are the Hindus wise in trusting too much to their own unaided efforts ? Modern education is not likely to help them much in this direction. And a religious revival under the circumstances is out of the question. It may be worth mentioning that the custom of infant marriage has spread from the Brahmans to the other Hindu castes, and I am told it is now becoming fashionable amongst the Musulmans. Compulsory widowhood, too, began with the Brahmans and has been borrowed by the " lower " classes. The fashion will never go out so long as there is a strong intellectual class ruling the masses socially. And even supposing that five hundred years hence the masses may be sufficiently " educated " to help themselves, are we to do nothing for them in the meantime ? The least that the State can do is to ascertain the popular feeling. I believe not one out of ten Hindus will deny that the customs are ruinous. That done, the State may take the representatives of the people into confidence and devise practical remedies, keep- ing itself as much in the background as possible. Luckily, circumstances seem to be very favourable to this plan of action. There are so many classes affected by the evils. Reform may begin with one or more of these classes least affected, that is not hopelessly wedded to the fashion. The Brahmans, who suffer most, but who are the least willing to be reliev- ed, may be left to themselves. I do not want coercion of any kind. If we can move the people ourselves, well and good. But have we been able to make an impression after a strug- gle for so many years ? And is there any real chance of success in future ? I know of no Hindu paper so jealous of external pressure as the Gujarati. And what does the Gujarati say ? Something to this effect Hindu reformers have done their best to shake off the evils, but they could not succeed without some authoritative arrangement to lean upon. The Indu Prakash, true to its traditions, observes that the time has now come for a combined action on the part of the 26 people and the State. I am myself entirely of that opinion, though I do not wish to force it upon others. But for God's love don't tell me it is ' all right " with the people, and that leaders of society as well as the State have done their duty by the victims of social tyranny. Officials have some excuse for want of spontaneous action, not so our enlightened Hindu brethren?' WHY NOT TAX CHILD-MARRIAGES ? An esteemed correspondent writes to ask why a tax may not be imposed on child marriages. This suggestion, I am told, was made some years ago by a Native gentleman of great judicial experience. I do not know what valid objections may be urged against the proposal. But personally I see no reason at present why a formal ban may not be placed upon a practice which results in such widespread mischief to public interests, and which is so noxious to the best cultivated sense of the community. At any rate, if the Finance Minister promises to apply an Infant Marriage Tax to the education of unprotected widows, he may count upon my support and my blessing. The point is worth considering.* *This suggestion was first made on 12th November 1857 by Mr. Pes- tanji Byramji Dantra to Lord Elphinstone, Governor of Bombay, who brought it to the notice of the Government of India in the following words on 21st 'November 1857, " The scheme under notice seems to the Eight Honourable the Governor in Council to be open to fewer objections than most of those which have been proposed for raising new taxes." At that time a License Bill had been introduced and was one of the burning questions of the day. Mr. Dantra's suggestion was probably not accepted as besides a tax on marriages he had also recommended a tax on the religious ceremonies of baptism, circum- cision, assumption of the Janoi (sacred thread) by the Hindus or of the Sadra by the Parsis, and on other initiatory rites. A Madras Civilian in March 1887 advocated the taxation of infant-marriages as follows : " The Salt Tax is already, to all intents and purposes, a poll tax, and a poll tax of the most iniquitous kind, as I pointed out at some length (but quite in vain) in your journal, some years ago. Why should not the money raised by it be levied on marriages instead ? No one need object to pay a fee for his marriage, and those who choose to spend larger sums on pompous ceremonies merely for the sake of display might fairly be made to contribute part of their voluntary expenditure to the State ; while those barbarians who choose to condemn helpless children to a life of misery might at least be fined heavily, if they cannot be punished as they ought to be. What sort of ideas of liberty can they have, and how far can they be qualified for self-government, who will not even allow a woman to wear her own hair or marry if she wishes to do so ? If the Hindu religion really sanctions any such restrictions on liberty it is high time that our educated Brahmin friends began to reform." 27 SIGNIFICANCE OF CORONERS' INQUESTS. Government decline to interfere with the social or religious concerns of the people in this country. How, then, do they defend Coroners' Inquests? In order to detect crime or trace foul play ? But why insult the victim who is dead in order to punish the living offender? That is because, I suppose, human justice is imperfect. Then how about holding Coroners' Inquests on the bodies of those who have died from accident ? Natives are extremely sensitive on this point. The Parsi especially will give everything he possesses to avert the scandal of the corpse of a friend being ripped open by a Feringhee in the presence of other gentiles. A Coroner's inquest follows every sudden death from whatever cause. Is not this adding sacri- lege to misfortune ? That it is a sacrilege may be gathered from the fact that a Parsi corpse handled by the Coroner has small chance of being deposited in the consecrated Tower of Silence. The orthodox section of the community have to this day been denouncing the inquest as Zulum, How does Government justify it ? WHY VIDIASAGAR FAILED. The Bengalee cannot brook the very idea of State action of any kind. Do I understand my friend to be of the same mind as regards action on the part of the Universities ? That would be unfortunate indeed, coming from an advanced thinker. My brother reminds me of the efforts of Pandit Vidiasagar how he worked without official aid in any form. I am not quite sure if the venerable Pandit scorned friendly co-operation from the rulers. But it is certain that he did not get it publicly. And what was the result? That Pandit Vidia- sagar practically failed. The veteran champion, who has had no equal in point of learning and personal influence over the people, breaks down in mid career, never to rise again. He struggles with the evil genius of the nation till completely exhausted. He spends his strength and his substance. And 28 now we find him almost broken-hearted, with scarcely ten followers to keep up the crusade. What is the cause? the people is an inert mass whom it is impossible to move without some sort of extraneous action. And let me ask the patriots of Bengal what have you done for Vidiasagar ? You ought to have furnished him with lakhs of rupees and thousands of men. Have you so much as made a serious effort to stand by him? What then, becomes of your boast about helping your- selves ? I should like to know the number of University Graduates in Bengal and to be told what each has done towards bettering the condition of women ? There are 7,400,000 widows in the province. Has anything been done for their education, let alone other social benefits ? WHAT PANCHAYETS CAN DO. It is truly gratifying to see that the subject of marriage reforms amongst Natives is occupying the attention of benevo- lent English friends in all parts of the country. Amongst these silent workers of good we may name Mr. C. W. Whish, C.S., of Shahajehanpur, who has drawn up a programme which is likely to meet with general approval. We must say here at once that Mr. Whish has confined himself merely to the public aspects of the question. He wants the people themselves to regulate marriage expenses, dowry and polyga- mous connections; also to obtain an extension of the limit of age in the marriage of girls. " It is well known that the scale of expenses in marriages has been forced up by a spirit of emulation to such an extent, as not only to lead to almost universal indebtedness and the ruin of numbers of old families, but actually to prevent poor people from marrying their daughters at all. The rates of dowry to a bride are also unregulated and excessive, and as a reciprocal expenditure is expected on the part of the bride- groom's family, a further impulse is given to keeping up the excessive scale. 29 This evil, combined with the unreasoning contempt which has sprung up for the relationship of the bride's father and brother (these terms being used as expressions of abuse) is clearly the root of female infanticide. Among some castes marriage assumes the form of a trade and brings infamy." Along with these matrimonial customs Mr. Whish also appeals for the suppression of intoxication and the use of noxious drugs, of gambling and other forms of social immo- rality, the moral training of youth, and improvement in the intercourse between Natives and Europeans. As to means Mr. Whish suggests the formation of local and district committees, composed principally of delegates from each important sub-division of the Caste. He gives a number of practical rules for consideration, and is so confident of success, if the Panchayet works with zeal, that he thinks these Panchayet bodies may eventually obtain the sanction of the Legislature to the solemn decisions of a sub-committee ratified by a district committee, and if need be, by a provincial com- mittee. That is to say, it could be made penal for any indivi- dual to transgress the rules laid down for the benefit of the entire community. Such, we believe, were the Panchayets of old, but the life has gone out of them, and the social inter- ests of the people are presently at the disposal of selfish and irresponsible monopolists. We commend the scheme under notice to every well-wisher of India. It is for the people to make it a success. GOVERNMENT NEUTRALITY. The Government of India professes to be neutral. Why then, does it allow cattle-killing on such an enormous scale ? (This is one of my pet grievances). The cow is sacred to the Hindu ; and a foreign Government is bound to respect his religious scruples. But it is not on this account only that I protest against the slaughter ofkine. India is an essentially agricultural country, and the value to it of its cattle is much greater than to other countries. It is true that Mahomedans use beef; but if the enlightened British Government sets 30 them an example they are sure to desist. Will Government rule that the army is not to be supplied with beef after due notice ? Let the men have good vegetable and other diet with a ration of mutton once or twice a week, if necessary. I am prepared to prove that this would be better for the army and for the country, and what is more, it would end an inter- minable strife between Hindus and Mahomedans, which may lead one day to serious results. Will Government do its duty both from the economic as well as the religious point of view? To my mind the " cow-question," which is so often made light of, involves grave political issues. I said last week that Rajputs do not marry too early now-a- days. This is due, at least in part, to English influence. The Resident at a Native Durbar is at times guardian of one or two minors. And whenever he can, he prevails upon ladies of the zenana to put off the young fellows' marriage. So long as boys do not marry girls must wait. The latter cannot go out of the clan. And what the Chiefs do will be done by the Thakurs and other dependents, though the people, not being of the same race, are slow to follow. If leaders of C5 ' Native communities set the example, the other members, especially of the same sect, are sure to follow. But where is the example? Referring to the proposed Infant Marriage Tax a friend says the people will not mind it. That they will borrow from the sowcar. I doubt this. The sowcar would be very slow to lend money for an unproductive investment (in point of money, of course !) as the marriage of paupers. IS CONCERTED ACTION POSSIBLE? It is an instructive fact that no Hindu correspondent has yet denied the existence of the evils to which I have adverted. A few of them say that 1 have over-painted the picture of misery ; but many seem to take the picture as faithful, if not faintly coloured. This is so far a gain^it is half the disease cured. The difficulty is about concerted action. Such ac- 31 tion seems to be impossible where society is split up into innumerable sects. The number of educated men is pretty large. But they have their way to make in the world. Besides, we must remember that though taken together the number is large enough to be a " force," still when divided into sects and centres of action, as it is necessary to do for practical work, the force becomes useless as a national rege- nerator. For instance, Messrs. Mandlik and Telang appear to work together as brothers and yoke-fellows in political matters ; but for matters social they stand as far apart from each other as I stand from either of them. Neither they nor the ladies of their families could be induced to be of one mind where social amenities are concerned. This is the difficulty. It is all well to blame " lip-reformers" and denounce their t( hypocrisy." But men cannot be more than human (though some of them do abuse me with superhuman energy). The best plan of action, therefore is, as I suggested some time ago, to take up one or two castes readiest for reform and to help such from inside and from outside. The Hindus, as a people, are the mildest and most law- abiding race in the world. And I cannot adduce better proof of this fact than the way in which the nation has been clinging for centuries to a " corrupt and corrupting ; ' social law. In some of its bearings the law of marriage amongst them appears to be not only a one-sided law, but one gene- rally un suited to the times. The people know it to be an unequal law, one which has sapped the vitals of society, which has partly demoralised it and split it up into a thousand sects (from the original four) wider apart from orje another than is Zoroastrianism from Judaism or Christianity from Islam. And knowing this to be so, the people still cling to this old law, the mere carcase of the law that was. Now, I say, help these " children of a larger growth" to a new law, a living, wholesome law, a law suited to the wants of the^ age and based on humanity and common sense, and the people will thankfully discard the old law. Who is to do this ? The Government are wringing their hands in despair. The social 32 leaders of the people won't do it, because it is to their advan- tage .to keep up the ' ' corrupt " law. The intellectual leaders of the people, our only " forlorn hopes," seem to be placed at a disadvantage for the desired reform. Whatever their profession at College in favour of reform, they have to modify them largely on entering upon public life. Our educated young men have to make a position for themselves, and for this they have to depend more upon " the natural leaders" of Caste than upon their own merits and the good sense of the community. Thus, owing to the timidity of the State, the selfishness of the " natural" leaders of society and the helplessness (?) of its educated leaders, the people are condemned to lasting stagnation. WIDOWS FOR WIDOWERS. The Bombay Samachar lights upon a point which will be very useful just now to those who are frightened at the idea of widows displacing virgins in case they remarry freely. To such alarmists the Samachar points out that Nature intends widowers for widows. But even supposing that in some cases widows do displace virgins, there is this considera- tion not to be lost sight of that whereas the virgin hopes to marry some day, the widow has no hope. The result is that the virgin conducts herself well because it is open to her to obtain a husband some day. But the widow, in her despe- ration, is apt to go wrong, disregarding her finer instincts, because she knows she has no chance of remarriage. Make remarriage optional for the widow and see that she does not suffer for taking a second husband ; and you greatly reduce the amount of sin and misery incidental to widowhood. The very hope that she may marry again one day will keep the young creature from harm. She will then know how to respect herself. WIDOW SHAVING. A friend asks why the barbarous practice of shaving widows, is not put a stop to ? The widow is shaved, I understand before the body of her husband is removed, and thereafter 33 she is shaved periodically by the street barber. I cannot say whether this practice is general amongst all classes. But it is one of the cruelest indignities offered to a woman, to de- prive her forcibly of her crown of glory. Surely, the widow does not love to be shaved by the street barber ? My friend says that this shaving is not enjoined by the shastras ; what what is wanted is only a tress of the hair. But Caste will have the head sha'ved clean, to render the victim hideous to look at, and thus to prevent her from thinking of social amenities. Confound these fools who pique themselves so much on their worldly wisdom ! The indignity only drives the girl to desperation ; it kills her self-respect. The woes of widowhood are so keenly felt that if the British Government were to leave India to-day,- they say, Suttee would be thank- fully revived in the country. Now cannot our reformers rescue the widow from the barber's hands? If the hair must go$ cannot the mother or the sister clip it with a pair of scissors? Why heap indignity upon indignity till you almost brutalise a human being ? Well has Altaf Housein of Delhi said: you lock up the girl in a coal room, and still want her to come out spotless ! CAUSES OF INFANT MARRIAGE. One tendency of the present discussion is to show that child marriage is a custom of modern growth and that it has little to do with caste or religion. Is it not so much the easier, then, to shake off the custom ? I believe early mar- riage is opposed to the spirit of the Hindu Shastras. It may have been forced upon the people under the first Mahomedan inroads. But whatever its origin and extent in previous times, it is conceded on all hands that the evil is peculiarly harassing in our present circumstances. The theory of cli- mate calling for early marriages has exploded. The inhabit- ants of Africa and of the islands of the Pacific do not marry early. One cause of the prevalence of the evil in India, as a friend explained to me the other day, is that we Natives attach primary importance to marriage ; we look upon it as the event 5 34 of life, the be-all and the end-all. Now a rational being ought to be prepared for marriage, with its heavy responsi- bilities, before he even thinks of it. He must first acquire the necessary education, moral and physical. He must also learn to make an income and a provision for himself and the future family. And then alone has he the right to marry. Most young men would take this course if left to themselves. But the matter is taken out of their hands by parents or guardians. The dread of caste, the love of display, the desire for progeny these are amongst the causes at work. And as a result marriage is an all-absorbing topic in the Native family. The home atmosphere is saturated with silly notions about marriage. No sooner is baby born than the elders of the family begin thinking about its disposal. Poor little soul ! Born in bondage and in bondage to remain all its days ! So all-pervading is this pernicious idea that it enters largely even into children's play. Little boys and girls playing with their dolls marry them in form and in effect, perform the previous and the subsequent ceremonies, carrying the farce down to the birth of doll's baby I How can you save these children from precocious development ? Here we come home again. We must purify the home first of all. We must think of our country more than of ourselves. To say that a man will be absolved of all his sins merely by begetting a son, is preposterous. By doing so before his time he will only incur more sin and be open to more suffer- ing. A good thought, a good word, a good deed in the cause of the country are more potent to save you than any number of sons and daughters. To marry and beget before the season is very much like suicide and murder rolled together, THE UNNATURALNESS OF INFANT MARRIAGE, What could be more unnatural than that an intelligent Hindu, knowing that widow marriage is impossible, should giveaway his daughter of three or four in marriage? We hear of widows of three now and then. And there is a large number of widows under 9. I believe it was Khanderow 35 Gaicowar who celebrated the 23rd October 1884. 43 ENFORCED WIDOWHOOD. NOTE II. [WITH SUGGESTIONS REVISED AND AMPLIFIED.] As to Enforced Widowhood it is in some points a more difficult and a much more delicate question to deal with. Nobody wishes the young widow to be remarried by force. Only let second marriage be optional with her. This justice has already been accorded to woman under Act XV of 1856. But though the British Government in India has made the remarriage of widows perfectly legal in theory, practically the enactment brings little relief to them. In effect it leaves the widow very nearly where she was before ; and by betray- ing its own weakness, it upholds the pretensions of caste. The struggle between the two parties, as unequal as ever, has now been rendered doubly sharp. This conflict appears to be in- compatible with the avowed object of the Legislature, and it may ruin the cause of reform. The Code sanctions the remar- riage of widows. But Caste tears up the sanction with vindic- tive zeal, and visits with its severest displeasure all those concerned in an act sanctioned by the law of Nature and con- firmed by the law of the land. Europeans cannot realise the full meaning of " excommunication " in India. It means the snapping of cherished domestic ties, the upsetting of close social relations for an essentially home-loving people, the for- feiting of everything that makes life bearable. Let the Courts call upon the Punchayet to show cause for its action wherever it is found to be vexatious, affording some facilities to the victims at the same time ; and excommunication will lose half its terrors. Such a step, necessitated by the ineffectual advance made in 1856, will curb the recklessness of the strong and breathe a sense of security into the weak. To add to the difficulties in the way of widow marriage there are the ex- 44 penses. The priest will not officiate at the ceremony for his usual fee. In view of these and other difficulties I now submit the following revised suggestions : I. That, if possible, the widow be helped to a handsome allowance from her husband's effects, so as to make her inde- pendent of those whose interest it is in many cases to keep her a widow all her life. II. That in the interests of widows ill-provided for, the marriage ceremony be made as inexpensive as possible for instance, by ruling that two or three declarations before the Registrar may constitute marriage. III. That Government may be pleased to make annual grants for a few years to a Widow Marriage Fund in aid of the movement. IV. That special educational facilities be provided for widows, to enable them to qualify themselves as school mistresses, midwives, medical practitioners, and so on. It would be wrong, I submit once more, to trust entirely to the unaided efforts of individuals. Such efforts may have succeeded in European countries where society is more or less compact and homogeneous. But in India, with its innu- merable sects cut off from one another by wide difference in locality, language and other bonds of national unity, and where social life is regulated by the ipse dixit of an intensely conservative and irresponsible priesthood ; where men's minds cling to the glories of the past too tenaciously to be diverted to the more glorious possibilities of the present or the future ; spontaneous and self-helping progress is, to my thinking, im- possible. It is necessary, no doubt, that social leaders should pave the way for action on the part of the State. Rut at the same time it is equally necessary, I hold, that the State should brush away obstacles in the path of progress, listen to the re- formers' call for succour, approve and encourage their appeal, and in short, show itself ready to guide the steps of a nation struggling in second childhood. This has been the character 45 of British administration in India, and this spirit of statesman- ship shall have to be maintained if Britain wishes to vindicate her moral supremacy. Let me not be misunderstood again as throwing the burden of responsibility on the rulers. The sum total of my demand on the State is for temporary aid and co-operation, such as it has more than once extended before to less urgent reforms. This friendly action is of vital impor- tance to the cause, and I cannot therefore lay too much stress upon it or repeat the demand too often or in too many forms. Now whatever the attitude of statesmen, it does not absolve social leaders from their liability which is comparatively heavier. But in the case of the latter it must be remembered that most of them, as individuals, are far from being free agents. And though anxious to take the initiative, they dare not do so unless assured of combination from within and co- operation from without. As to the people I observe that the national conscience is being slowly awakened to the urgency of reform. Signs are visible in some parts of earnest inquiry and discussion. Encouraged by these signs of the times I am arranging to publish in book form all the opinions received for and against my proposals. This compilation will be largely distributed in India and elsewhere. It will also be translated into the principal vernaculars and scattered far and wide over the country. The next step will be to start an Association. If this Association is subsidised by Government, by Native Princes and other friends of the cause, it may do much good by means of pamphlets, lectures, appeals, and other modes of popular education. In the meantime practical suggestions will be gratefully received. If correspondents wish their letters to be treated as private, they have only to express the wish. BEHRAMJI M. MALABARI. Bombay, 23rrf October 1884. 46 THE WEAK SIDE OF THE NATIVE REFORMER. If India is to reform herself, she ought to have an army of martyrs scattered over all centres of activity. Now we know that martyrdom is the highest development of the purest form of patriotism, a spirit of absolute, unconditional self-denial. And what is the present phase of Indian patriot- ism in this connection? Whenever a defect is pointed out the first impulse of our average patriot is to protest, to justify and to conceal. He thinks it a shame to confess his weakness, and acting upon this principle it is but natural that he should resent other views than his own. How can he bear witness to a cause when he is so anxious to hide the truth of it from the world's gaze ? The only way to reach perfection is by getting rid of imperfections at any cost. OUR PATRIOTS. The Subodha Patrika has a hard hit at our patriots. These lovers of their race argue that as in the tropical cli- mate girls cannot be trusted to themselves after puberty they must be married. Otherwise they are sure to go wrong. But in the same breath the patriots oppose the remarriage of young widows ! How consistent ! If maids of 15 are apt to go wrong (which assertion is an unmanly libel on the sex) widows of that age are more likely to err. And yet, while the patriot is anxious to marry away girls before twelve, he can- not brook the idea of widows marrying a second time at any age from 12 to 30. THE EAST AND THE WEST. The Reis and Rayyet publishes some skilful remarks against my ' f theories/' in which remarks I trace the cunning of a well-known hand perceptible in many a pungent para- graph and learned leader. There is nothing wrong in such criticism, and 1 am bound to notice the arguments. To begin with, the writer says that infant marriages in India "are scarcely anything more than mere betrothals." I respectfully 47 ask arc not these "betrothals" binding for life on both parties ? Can either party break the contract ? In fact, is not the " betrothal ; * a. pucka marriage in every sense ? Does not the girl become a widow if the boy dies ? How, on earth, then, can you call such unions " mere betrothals"? As to going to Europe and America to find fault with maids, wives and widows, I must really decline the invitation. I am concerned with the affairs of my own countrymen. I know that they are in a very bad way. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. It is true that knowledge of other people's misery partly reconciles us to our own. But in this respect I will repeat, at the risk of offending social philoso- phers, that there is very little room for comparison between the West and the East. Europe lives in the present, with an eye to the future, at the same time remaining true to her past traditions. India, on the contrary lives only in the past and even therein she is not true to her best traditions. Child marriage was no more a fashion in ancient India than was the drinking of raw brandy and the eating of forbidden food. Europe is far from perfect in her social laws ; but just look at the status of woman there and of woman here. There is no harm if marriage in India takes place earlier than in Europe; but as the Behar Herald shows, the question was thoroughly threshed out some years ago, when the highest authorities in Bengal fixed the limit of 15 for girls and 20 for boys. And to-day I do not find even twenty Ben- galis to confirm this declaration, though there must be hundreds of thousands who accept it. After all, am I not *' only a Parsi"? As to the charge that boys and girls often reach maturity before 20 and 15, the Herald shrewdly re- marks that this is quite likely when we have a custom in force to induce this ruinous precocity. Precisely so. I myself trace this premature development of the sexual instincts more to custom than to climate. And if the fashion of coupling infants continues, why may we not have fathers and mothers at 12, a few generations hence? We already hear of mothers at that 48 even at 11, and those who know the law of adaptation and are guided by practical experience will not set down my proposition as an idle scare. THE ATTITUDE OF "NON-POSSUMUS." I am very far from flattering myself with the hope that success is within sight. But it is something to have roused the official JCumbh-Karana. Now that the evil has been acknowledged as " all but universal " we are bound to find out a cure. Nature provides a remedy for every disease. I do not insist upon the value of all or any of my own sugges- tions. Let men of greater experience take the matter out of my hands. But many of these seem to delight only in oppo- sition. This is a general tendency the easiest way to assert your superiority is to say that your neighbour is wrong. I am not surprised at such opposition local or personal. But what really puzzles me is the attitude of non-possumus assumed by some of the oldest friends of the cause. If this be due to the apprehension that my attempts may take away so much of their fame so well-earned in the same field, I hope still to win them over, showing that mine shall be the work and theirs the credit. May Wisdom guide those gentlemen to whom my notes have been officially submitted ! But if she won't, I trust they will give me the opportunity and the privilege of doing so. As to officials let them by all means ascertain public opinion. But let them go about it with tact and discretion. Public feeling is very strong against the practice. You have only to fraternise with Hindu friends: sit on the otla* any fine evening and hear how they curse caste, how they curse custom, how they curse themselves in the bitterness of despair. But if they are asked to confess publicly, knowing that they will, after all, be left to the tender mercies of caste, the poor fellows cannot help " retiring into their inner shells." * A raised earthen platform iu front of Hindu houses in Gujarat. 49 WHY UNITY OF ACTION NOT POSSIBLE. For unity of action there is absolutely no hope in this mat- ter. A million Hindus may be ready this day for the reform. But each of the leaders may have his own views. They are not likely to agree, and even where they agree they are not likely to work together. The Brahman may not work with the Khshatri, the latter with the Vaishya, and so on. Nay, the Brahman of one part may not work with the Brahman of another. There are numberless sects in the country, and what commends itself to one sect may not com- mend itself to another. It needs but a small knowledge of human nature to see this. The opposing forces are too many and too strong there are the local jealousies, the personal, the social, the religious. What power on earth can cope with these adverse forces except a uniform regulation which shall meet with the wishes of the majority and at the same time strengthen the hands of individuals ? At present a Brahman may be anxious to follow a Vaishya reformer but the very idea that he has to follow another, apart from social consideration, prevents him from adopting the course. Brahman gentlemen like Messrs. Deshmukh and Ranade, who have studied the problem in all its bearings, have lost faith in the reforming power of Caste. No wonder, then, that they call for co-operation from outside. OTHER SIDES OF THE TRUE PROBLEM. Mr. Muzoomdar is quite right in saying " we cannot afford to have love letters, flirtations, rejections, and amorous fancies in our households." Most of these pastimes are cer- tainly undesirable in India ; and I believe they are impossible in our climate and under our social conditions. Now having agreed so far with the Brahmo reformer, may I not put in a few words for the usages poor undefended clients? Are court- ship and engagement always so objectionable as we Asiatics conceive them to be? After all the purest and holiest love on earth is the love between the sexes. Such love is the 7 50 making of a life. The hope of obtaining it one day, of winning and wearing it next one's heart in one's passage through this vale of tears, elevates the moral nature of man and often leads him to the path of glory. These are positive gains. The negative benefits of courtship and engagement are not insig- nificant. They serve as a useful test, and they give the would- be partners an opportunity of withdrawing in time from a venture which might lead to social bankruptcy and ruin. Flirtation is a naughty little amusement. But I suspect (not without some fear and trembling) that it is often a healthy exercise for the heart : it nerves and steadies that incontrol- lable little rebel. As to "amorous fancies " let them by all means be made over to the moral hangman. But are not these plaguy things more likely to haunt the inmate of the zenana than the flirt ? The flame that scorches and consumes is the secret flame. I do not think a genuine flirt is ever troubled with ''amorous" or any other fancies. And now to wind up judgment on these ticklish topics, I may add that with all its drawbacks, marriage after courtship is generally to be preferred to enforced marriage or marriage in which the parties most concerned are least thought of. I must not be misunderstood as sanctioning the usages (for India) which Mr. Muzoomdar so frankly condemns. But the idea that adult marriages marriages of choice are seldom pure, is based purely on that Oriental jealousy which can nev.er dis- sociate woman from sin. I see no earthly reason why the father of a " bevy of undergraduate girls " may not let them alone to marry or not to marry. It is not every father in India who is blessed with educated girls so there is no fear of a universal spinsterhood. I cordially agree with Mr. Muzoomdar that there ought to be " an appreciable number of men and women, disentangled from the anxieties and trials of matrimony for the ministry of sorrow, suffering and other wants of general society." I also heartily concur as to there being numerous sisters of mercy amongst Hindu widows. This is a most satisfying idea. But sentiment apart, are our widows, a decent majority of them, 51 capable of benevolent usefulness ? Are they not generally debarred by their very status in society from such usefulness ^ How can they be better when even the rights of a human being are seldom allowed them by the ignorant and the ortho- dox? We are all agreed that the life of the average Hindu widow is not at all enviable. It is mere euphemism to talk of " men and women " together. The life of the two is ex- tremely unequal its sweetness and light reserved for men and its sufferings for women. Mr. Muzoomdar seems to be in error when he places the number of Hindu widows between fifteen and nineteen at 28,369. The number of Hindu widows up to nine only is 63,557. Up to 14 it is 240,181. The num- ber up to nineteen is 550,732. And the number up to the mean maximum of twenty -nine is 21,22,877 (keeping the vast number of elderly widows out of count). Are these 21 lakhs of souls all expected to be happy or to bring happiness to others, leading the cruelly unnatural life prescribed to them ? I do not plead for remarriage so much as for social emancipa- tion. The mere sense of freedom would spread sunshine over their hearts, and consequently over half the heart of our humanity. Mr. Muzoomdar's letter affords an instructive insight info the operations of the marriage law within the pale of the Brahmo Church. Young Brahmos " will not marry widows when their turn comes," although " they theoretically uphold widow marriage as a reform.* 7 And this because ft all the notions on the subject of the holiness of the marriage tie are absolutely and constitutionally puritanic amongst Hindus." But it is a noteworthy fact, which should not be missed in this connection, that our "puritanic notion" always operates in favour of men and adversely to the interests of women ! A man may marry ten times over and over in spite of this l( puri- tanic notion." It is only when a woman, even though she be a virgin widow, seeks independence, that our "puritanic notion' 1 comes in the way of progress. Mr. Muzoomdar may declaim as much as he can against this unrighteous system of monopoly ; 52 but what can an individual even in his position do ? I can never bring myself to blame individual reformers. IS THERE NO ENFORCED WIDOWHOOD? Mr. Chiplonkar's present contention seems to be this : that out of the 21 lakhs of Hindu widows of a marriageable age ( letting alone Musulmans, Parsis, and others ) full 15 lakhs are at liberty to remarry. This is Mr. Chiplonkar's latest discovery. But in spite of his " fact " the real fact remains that there are in India at this moment 21 lakhs of women under thirty, made to remain widows. Will any man in his senses believe that the majority of these unhappy creatures, more than 5 lakhs of them in their teens, are allowed to marry, but will not do so ? The liberty is only nominal. Talk of " liberty " when the exercise of it means social ostracism of the victim as well as all her friends ! Is not excommunication the unfailing result of widow marriage in all save the lowest castes ? If the widow is always a willing victim, if her widow- hood is not compulsory, what prevents the Widow Marriage movement from growing ? Many widows are no doubt happy. But does Mr. Ghiplonkar dare to assert that all these 21 lakhs of young women live happy in their enforced solitude, often neglected and half-starved under the influence of a vile super- stition ? How does he then account for crimes and sufferings of daily occurrence? What is the raison de etre of so many Remarriage Associations in the country ? Has the venerable Vidiasagar been fighting only a phantom in Bengal for the last forty years ? Was Vishnu Shastri of Bombay a mere visionary ? Did Dalpatram write an essay twenty years ago for nothing, depicting the horrors of enforced widowhood and proving by the weight of Shastric authority, under the patron- age of Pars i friends, that remarriage was allowable? What have Durgaram, Deshmukh and hundreds of others been con- tending for ? In Madras have not Ragunath and his devoted band been struggling against the evil for years past? In Punjab and North West you have Altaf Hussein and others 53 shrieking themselves hoarse. From Rajamundry comes the cry give us the means and we can remarry hundreds of widows. At Lahore they have started the Marriage Adver- tiser in the interest of widow marriage/ Fancy Hindu men and women advertising themselves. The idea is abhorrent, but what will not the desperate sufferer do ? And what is the meaning of Hindu widows seeking shelter from Christians ? Then, again, if this frightful extent of widowhood is not much felt by the people, what means agitation in the shape of newspaper articles, lectures, plays, pamphlets, odes, appeals and official reports? What is the meaning of a careful judge like Mr. Telang saying that the practice of early marriages and enforced widowhood is "all but universal"? Is all this mere hallucination? If so, if the widow has her choice, why can't you avert from her the curse of excommunication ? Now, Mr. Hari Chiplonkar, do you really take me for a fool when you are gracious enough to call my views "foolish," "un- truthful" and "false "? If these are the weapons with which you intend fighting your constitutional battles, I sincerely pity your countrymen. It is such attitude that makes me des- pair of progress from within. Your tactics seem to be to throw a sort of lurid light over Truth and to mesmerise her in half dark. Do you think you can ever succeed? But you are a man of mark, Mr. Chiplonkar,andyou have your followers on the Marathi Press. The same is my trouble in Bengal even outside of Bengal, in Punjab, N. W. and Sind where papers are under Bengali editors, though none of my Bengali brethren, I am thankful to say, has yet called me " false " and "untruthful." I may be weak and foolish, and if there is a combination it may crush me. But how long will it trifle with Truth ? After all I am more or less a spectator and an adviser. Final action rests with you. You are the ultimate arbiters of your fate. It is a responsibility fearful to contem- plate ; and every man, however selfish, will have to account for it in his own person and the person of every one nearest and dearest to him. 54 WANTED NOT GOVERNMENT COERCION BUT GOVERNMENT CO-OPERATION. It is a pity some of my friends are still harping upon ft Government interference." I want no such thing. It is co-operation from the State, and not coercion, that society stands in need of. And I am glad to find that such co- operation will not be withheld if duly applied for. Govern- ment cannot help sympathising with any well-organised movement in the direction of reform. Those who expect popular disaffection in the event of Government expressing sympathy, betray culpable ignorance of the state of enlighten- ed public opinion. That opinion has pronounced itself emphatically against the evils now, for nearly thirty years. And if it has not had its way, it is chiefly because of the absence of a uniformity of action. I am myself convinced that even the masses in India are disgusted with the customs but like their leaders they have no power in themselves to dis- card them. 1 should like to know of a single reform in the East, or for that matter in any part of the world, which the masses have initiated for themselves. It is the representatives who must take the lead, and these must be encouraged by a sympathetic Government. Child marriages are already in ill odour with the intelligent classes; they want only some authoritative regulation to be banished. As to the remarriage of widows, especially virgin widows, I am satisfied that the law shall have to go a step further. Government is only waiting for a suitable opportunity. THE ATTITUDE OF SOME OFFICALS AND REFORMERS. It would be amusing, were it not a melancholy sight, to see some of our best official friends holding back, or limping for- ward in a half-dazed manner, wistfully looking around for escape. The position is really trying, and it is not thought 55 likely to add to one's popularity. I wish I could convince English friends that behind this show of opposition there is an earnest wish for reform. The attitude of our educated friends reminds me of the fair trifler who " whispering I'll never consent, consented." And this is natural. They have to lose everything by a bold avowal, and to gain nothing, not even the countenance of men in authority to makeup for loss of position and prospects. What wonder if a reformer now and then protests against the co-operation of the State? In his heart of hearts I believe he will be only too glad to have some friendly action. He knows that to be his only chance against a combination of adverse forces. And even supposing that this partial opposition is genuine, is it statesmanship, I ask, to be so tremulously anxious to remain in the good graces of the people? Why care so much for a brute majority when you have right on your side ? Thank God there is a very large and intelligent portion of the community in favour of reform, asking only for some regulating influence. But what if this were not so ? For my part I would rejoice in the glorious minority of one provided my cause was just. It is justice, and not popularity, by which men in power ought to be actuated. The world would have known no progress if every step had to be taken with the consent of the unreasoning rabble. Such " popular " management of men may answer for a time, but it is sure to fail in the long run. And, then, will the victims of the hoax bless the memory of their paternal Government? I have greater trouble with some of the reformers. They know the evils to be serious, but will not cope with them seriously. They suggest every abstract remedy conceivable that shall not compromise their credit with caste. Most of all they " trust to education," a delightfully vague expression where 96 per cent, of the mass are unaffected by it, and where even the two per cent, of girls are withdrawn from school at 9. With this infinitesimal ray of hope, our patriot mounts the platform ;and as he deprecates practical action, and denounces those who differ from him, the audience emits a burst of applause filling the hall with an aroma of onion and asafcetida. 56 Then they return home to sleep off the momentary fit of patriotism, and next morning the world finds no trace of this magnificent attempt at reform save perhaps a column or two of reports in the newspapers. The subject is laid aside for another year or two, and meantime the voice of the baby-bride and the girl-widow is drowned amidst the din of political de- clamation. Reformers have their clients to please, and their plaudits to win. Can they afford to say anything unpleasant to the mob ? ODIOUS COMPARISONS. A correspondent signing himself Mind your Business" it is curious he does not mind his own business ! says that unequal marriages are common in Europe and that reformers can do nothing to prevent them. A similar difficulty was suggested to me some time ago by one of the highest adminis- trators in the country, the marriage of an English girl with her father's footman or of a French girl with an old and otherwise ineligible husband. This appears to be a serious matter, but if examined carefully it will be found useless for our purpose. Such argument can be urged only by those who do not understand the question at issue. Let us take the first case the English girl is marrying her father's footman. Now remember (1) that she is a free agent, which the Hindu girl, given away in marriage by her parents, is not. (2) That the English girl is sufficiently well educated to put up with do- mestic persecution or even social ostracism. (3) That she is generally able to take care of herself in the way of freedom, amusement, &c. under certain circumstances. (4) That she can leave the partner of her choice. And remember that the Hindu girl cannot do any of those things. In fact she cannot act for herself at any age. She is not allowed to be a whole human being. Her marriage, often thrust upon her, takes away what nominal independence she may have enjoyed at her parents. Secondly, I do not deny that the French girl is often married under coercion. But look at the fundamcn- 57 tal difference between the two married girls. To the average French wife marriage me&nsfreedom, going out into society, to balls, parties, &c., in short, making herself perfectly happy, whatever her idea of happiness. The husband is a non-entity at home or elsewhere when the two are together. With the average Indian wife the matter stands exactly the reverse of this. Marriage is, in all but name, little more than slavery. So for God's love don't drag in comparisons. Child marri- ages and enforced widowhood are crimes without a parallel in history, if not in themselvesj most certainly in their general results. HOW TO SET THE RIGHT FASHION. I do not seem to have made myself fully understood as regards the suggestion to refuse the privilege of Matriculation to the married candidate. The proposal is based on the as- sumption -and a correct one that young men are anxious to be saved from parental coercion, under pressure from an all but universal custom. These young men know that early marriage is disastrous to their prospects. But they cannot reason with their orthodox fathers unless the educational au- thorities, the most likely friends of progress, help them in an indirect manner. If this is done the boy will be able to tell his father make your choice, Sir, early marriage or useful education. And I am certain, quite as much as my young friend is, that the good sense or the self-interest of the father will prevail. The girls' parents may grumble in the begin- ning. They may perhaps marry their daughters to elderly men rather than wait for suitable matches. But in a few years the horrors of unequal unions and the advantages of marriage with educated men of a suitable age will be realised. It was after deep thought that I ventured to put forward this suggestion. It amounts to this save the rising generation from a practice which they are not socially strong enough to shake off and to which they may hereafter become quite as addicted as their fathers. There will be no injustice in the matter, if you give a long notice. After the explanation given above, I need not 8 58 reply to the argument as to punishing the son for the father's sin, &c. It is not loss, but gain ; and the son, the principal party, at least appreciates the position. Many a sensible father, too, would be glad to be given this opportunity of ridding his race of this pernicious fashion. It is said that the results of such a rule would be very meagre. Yes, but it would be most valuable as an example. If you enable our educated young men to set the fashion, it is sure to spread. To those who urge that the rule might lead to dishonest practices, I have only to reply that the University enforces several other rules and is supposed to be strong enough to detect fraud. WIDOWS AND CASTE. Caste has no pity for the widow. Why, a woman of ill fame is often better treated than an honest widow. The former has her caste, she heads marriage processions at times, she gets proper funeral honours ; whilst the widow, pure and guileless as God's mercy, is shut out of sight, shrouded in darkness and shame, half-starved and subjected to daily indig- nities. If she revolts, she is lost and undone for ever so my Hindu friends assure me. REFORM AND REFORMERS. I must implore my Hindu friends to give up that unrighte- ous policy of justifying an evil because it is peculiar to us and has grown old ; of protesting against remedies and deceiving themselves and others into a sense of security or of confidence that the evil will cure itself. This policy I should least expect to find favour with the educated. If the disease is chronic, the sooner you take it in hand the better. Because it will be long before you cure it. If the evil is widespread, better begin operation in various parts. If it is not widespread, why, then, it is best to check its growth at once. Let us find out remedies. A hundred may be suggested by a hundred men, and surely some of these ought to answer. It is a mistake, again, to trust to a panacea in such a case. I have myself a limited faith in education as a remedial agent. If education is to do real good it must be specially directed to this purpose. 59 And then, perhaps, a few hundred years hence the evils may give way. What in the meantime? Who is to be responsible tor the sufferings of generations till then ? I must also implore enlightened Hindus not to consider the matter from their individual standpoint, but from the low level of the masses. For instance, when Mr. Telang said the other day that it is possible to keep away the married pair a good while, he was perfectly right. It is in the power of every student to resist temptation, and the longer our girls are allowed to go to school the greater the possibility of this salutary reform. I view this suggestion of Mr. Telang's with sincere satisfaction. But to how many of the social units will it apply ? To a handful only. It will have no influence with the people who are sure to do mischief as soon as they are married. What do they marry for ? they ask. We must prevent these simpletons from early marriages if we can. And how can this be best done ? B^ leaders of society setting them an example. The masses follow not the spirit but only the form of your actions. Well, the form is the marriage cere- mony, which educated Hindus must put off if they intend the people to profit by their example. It is urged by Mr. Telang and other friends, whose word is a pledge of honesty, that widows are "willing victims." But my dear friends, this is what you believe more than what you know. It is your opinion and perhaps the opinion of widow ladies of your position in life. What about the mass of young widows, whose presence and very existence is consi- dered inauspicious by their relations, who have no education as a solace in solitude or as a weapon against tyranny and temptation? Think of these, my'dear Sirs of poor Dukhi, Bhagyahini and others. The difference lies here; you speak from yonr point of view and of those widows who are blessed with certain advantages tj make up for their misfortune. I speak for the poor widow, nominally allowed to remarry, but put out of caste directly she does so. I speak jor the widow and as the widow. I not only personate her for the time, 60 but enter into the very spirit of her misery verily I am the destitude and deserted Hindu widow while pleading for her ? To you the widow is an abstract entity ; to me she is a hard horrible fact. Hence I may be betrayed at times into a little warmth of expression. But upon my word it is not to degrade you, but to elevate the widow, that I write warmly. Some of my educated friends are opposed to the taking of a pledge. This, too, appears to me to be a mistake, though I fully appreciate their motive. To a refined spirit nothing could be more unpleasant than binding itself down. One's word must be taken at its full value. This is my own feeling. But do not judges, barristers, solicitors and others take oaths before they enter upon work? They are all sworn in. Be- sides, in the matter of popular reform I think the system of pledge taking would be very useful. Remember it is for the people that we have to do it. I doubt if the Temperance movement would have prospered so well but for the pledge system on which Father Mathew stoutly insisted. We Indians are familiar with the idea of vow-taking. In this instance, I have myself made a vow not to lie down to rest till some- thing is done in the direction of reform. I know it is a pity for a strong man to be weak. But from this very confession of weakness do I derive the greatest strength in the hour of temptation when I feel tempted to throw up a thankless task which exposes me to gratuitous abuse and vilification from those in whose interests mainly have I vowed to sacrifice my all. FIGURES, IF YOU PLEASE. Whatever my crosses and losses in connection with the present crusade, I must not be unmindful of a great gain the power to understand and handle figures. There was a time, and not BO very long ago, when figures frightened as well as baffled me, And now, the opponents be praised, I can add, subtract, multiply and divide any row of figures, ay even find out the ratios and percentages at a glance. Heaven tempers the wind to the shorn lamb. Under this new inspi- 61 ration let us approach the shrine of the Imperial Census in a spirit of humble inquiry. Here we are told at the very thres- hold, without knock or cry; that the aggregate number of Hindu males in India taken roundly is 8,44,00,000; similarly that the number of Hindu females in the country is 8,16,00,000. The difference is immaterial so far. Now out of this number the number of males found married in 1881 upto 9 is 6,68,000 and the number of females married up to 9 is no less than 19,32,000, that is more than 3 times over. What means this enormous difference ? If 6 lakhs of girls up to 9 marry the 6 lakh boys, whom do the remaining 13 lakh girls of 9 marry ? I presume they are married to their elders, amongst whom there must be a considerable number of " venerable" bride- grooms. It would not matter much if a girl of 9 married a boy of 12, 15, or 18. But as we shall see hereafter, some of these 13 lakh girls are married to grown up men, not a few of whom may be widowers. What are we to say to such marriages ? Let us now take the age between 10 and 14. Here married males stand at 18,08,000, and married females at 43,95,000 ! That is to say, more than 25 lakhs of girls between 10 and 14 are carried off by elderly husbands besides the 18 lakhs who marry husbands of a suitable age. Between 15 and 19 the number of married males stands at 27,40,000, and of married females of that age we have 53,23,000. Thus, again, do 26 lakhs of girls under 19 contract ill-sorted mar- riages. Between 20 and 24 the males married are 43,35,000 and the females are 66,51,000, a surplus of 23 lakhs given over to old men. Between 25 and 29 the males are 60,48,000 and the females 65,90,000, showing a surplus of only 5 lakhs. At the next stage, between 30 and 39, married males are found to be 1,08,10,000 and married females only 87,97,000, that is 13 lakhs less. Further on, between 40 and 49 married males are 71,89,000 and married females only 43,42,000 that is 28 lakh less famales. One step more, between 50 and 59, marri- ed males are 40,47,000 and married females 17,53,000, or 23 lakh less females. And at the last stage, 60 and upwards, married males are 26,72,000 and married females but 6,84,000, that is nearly 20 lakh less females. It will have become clear to mathematical reformers that the vast disproportion up to 29, between 1 and 29, is met by disproportion of a simi- lar kind between 30 and 60, because elderly men have already been found married to young girls. In short, the latter is a confirmation of the former, showing that an unduly large number of girls of a tender age are married to grown up men, widowers included. The figures also bear out what I said some time ago, that by "infant marriage" we must understand generally the marriage of infant girls with men much older than themselves, besides those unions in which both parties are infants. It may be worth while now to look at the number of the widowed and the unmarried. We have 44,05,000 Hindu wi- dowers in India .and 1,61,00,000 Hindu widows, that is more than 3 widows to 1 widower. And to make up this enormous difference we have 3,97,00,000 unmarried males and only 250,00,000 unmarried females, or 1,47,00,000 more of the former. Now, if some of the widowers and some of this excess of single males married from the enormous number of 1,61,00,000 widows, they would make themselves a comfortable home, afford sensible relief to a most unfortunate class and prevent sin and suffering the extent of which it is impossible for out- siders to realise. Again, let it be observed that the propor- tion of widowed males to married males is something like 1 to 9 whereas the proportion of widowed females to married females is something like 1 to 2 ; that is, to every 5 married Hindu women there are 2 widows ! And yet, they say the evil of widowhood is not so widespread in India ! Look at another picture of widowhood, a more striking one. Between the ages of 1 and 9 the number of widowed Hindu boys in India is 21,000. But the number of Hindu widowed girls of the same age is 63,000. Between 10 and 14 widowed boys are 65,000 and widowed girls 1,74,000; between 15 and 19 we have 1,08,000 widowed boys and 3,12,000 widowed girls; be- tween 20 and 24 the number of widowed boys is 2,06,000 and 63 of widowed girls 6,10,000; between 25 and 29 the numbers are 3,33,000 and 9,61,000 respectively; between 30 and 34 the numbers are 7,86,000 and 27,97,00,040; between 40 and 49 they are 8,77,000 and 36,01,000 ; between 50 and 59 they are 8,67,000 and 34,06,000 ; and at 60 and upwards we find 11,33,000 widowers and 41,77,000 widows. Taken for each of the nine periods the proportion of widowers to widows is 1-to 3 between the first four periods ; nearly 1 to 4 and 1 to 5 during the next two periods and about 1 to 4 during the re- maining two periods. And what is the meaning of only 1 widower to 3, 4, 5 widows? It is this, that so many girls have to marry grown up men, that these little wives have to become widows, and that they have to remain widows. To-day I have only scratched the surface of the figures. I could go deeper, but have no heart to do it. Suffice it to say that this enormous difference between the sexes in their civil condition shows that woman is often looked upon not only as man's inferior, but as his property, his goods and chattels: it also shows clearly enough that there are "vested interests " in the way of woman's emancipation. Here I am reminded of a question, not unoften raised during a friendly discussion " Do you think our orthodox friends will ever agree with you, whatever theft edu- cation ? These men have often to marry young girls in after life; therefore they cannot speak against infant marriage. And marrying young girls they are pretty sure of leaving them widows. How can they countenance widow marriage and thus throw temptation in the way of their young wives ?" The question has a peculiar significance which forms one of the stock arguments of the Anti-Remarriage party, namely, that if widows are allowed to remarry, there are so many young women mated to old husbands, that they would be tempted to do away with these lifelong encumbrances in order to have suitable companions. Here we see man beginning his married life in gross selfishness and ending it in gross cowardice. He suspects his wife because he is conscious of his own injus- tice to her. As a matter of fact the number of Hindu wives who get rid of their elderly spouses by means of poison and 64 so forth must be extremely limited. The average Hindu woman is too good and unselfish to think of such a crime, and indeed too superstitious to attempt it. That is her pride and her misfortune. If the Hindu girl had a little more spirit she would make unequal marriages almost impossible. As it is, she does become desperate now and then ; and if she does not put poison into the husband's dish of rice, she may not scru- ple to plant a pair of horns upon his head. But I doubt if there is even one such wife amongst a hundred. 1 have done with figures now. If they show one thing more than another, it is this that the time has gone by for idle disputes about details. The evils are there; the victims are ihere, so there are the tyrants who are after all the great- est sufferers themselves. If my countrymen could but see that the injustice they do to women reacts upon themselves with terrible force, they would soon set themselves to the task of repairing it. THE PARSAN AND THE HINDUANI. Mr Chiplonkar* refers to the case of a Parsi widow at Bandora some years ago. Well, there are black sheep in every fold, and if once in five or ten years we come across a case like this it does not prove that Parsis cling to the custom of enforced widowhood. This woman, though she had a large family, might have married again. But her object was to be a "fashionable lady/' and she became one. The crime was not forced upon her by custom, as in many a case, alas ! it is forced upon Hindu girls married to old men with a cer- tainty of becoming widows and with a greater certainty of remaining at the mercy of others all their lives. If the Hindu widow errs it is because of her helpless, hopeless situ- ation. She is condemned to suffer and is punished because she suffers. No Hindu girl will go wrong if she is treated as a human being. She is pure as pure could be, and I believe *Mr. Chiplonkar was not the writer of the articles here adverted to though they appeared in his paper. 65 it is her satta that keeps the Hindu community afloat, and not education, so-called, of her brothers. If Brahmans liave had any real education it is time they afforded proof of it. They are the guides and exemplars of the people. They owe it to others as much as to themselves to discard the common evils of which they have been authors and staunch upholders. If New India is to be blessed with a generation of free and enlightened sons, a nation able to manage their own affairs, the Hindus of to-day ought to rear in their midst a race of free and enlightened mothers. The spirit, the genius of na- tionality, is imbibed at the mother's breast much better than it is imparted by mumbling schoolmasters and potato-headed <* patriots." SILK BANDAGES. Mr. Chiplonkar asks on what authority I say that only 2 cases of infanticide are publicly known out of 20, I would be bound to present statistics if these could be had anywhere. Will Mr. Chiplonkar give his "authority** for discrediting the statement? It is a widespread belief, quite rational, that such social crime must go mostly undetected. Abortion is not easy to detect; and as I have often explained before, it is the interest of all parties to shield the erring. Even the Police and the Magistrate will be instinctively merciful to the victim of man's injustice. Add to this the solitary pilgrimage to Nassik, Pandharpur, Benares, and other holy shrines. It is only when all this fails a widow that her shame is published to the world. Is it too much, then, to presume that only 10 per cent, of the crime comes to be known ? If Mr. Chiplonkar says so, I gladly accept his view so far as it goes, though unsupported even by presumptive evidence. But will he listen to no one else ? The Hiteckhu, of Ahmedabad, discus- sing the painful subject only this week, refers to hundreds of cases of widow murder and thousands of cases of child murder. The Editor is an orthodox Hindu, who seldom agrees with outsiders. Look, again, at the last number of the Social Reformer of Lahore, the Editor of which, after quoting a letter full of shocking details, writes: "It is really strange 9 that a widower of 50, 60, or even 70 will not scruple to marry a girl of 8 or 9, but would not extend the same privilege of re-marriage to his widowed daughter 20 years old. It is wrong to say that the Hindu father is ignorant of all this. To give a widow daughter in marriage is considered much more dis- graceful according to prevalent customs than even her going wrong." I have been reading something like this oftener than I should like for the last 16 years. It is very unkind of my Hindu friends to charge me with wantonness and over-zeal. Besides, they must remember that I have not taken my stand only upon the question of immorality and crime. That Mr. Chiplonkar and others resent my writings shows that they feel on the point. And I respect every man's feelings. But they must make up their minds to agree as to the existence and the extent generally of this disease. We may differ as to the remedy. They may think it wise to cover the sore with a silk bandage. My treatment is to rip it open, so that it may at least stop festering. THE EXTENT OF THE EVILS. Cannot the extent of the evils of infant marriages and enforced widowhood be authoritatively determined once for all? The general opinion is that infant marriages are all but universal in India. At any rate, amongst the Hindus there seems to be no other form of marriage. Three of the four castes marry their girls before 12. The Census Returns, no doubt, show large numbers as "married" after 12. But it strikes me that the word married" must in most cases be taken as meaning found married at the date of taking the census. I might be wrong and should be thankful to be corrected. But experience would show that save amongst the Shudras, girls are seldom kept unmarried long after ten, unless for want of suitable matches. Indeed, twelve would seem to be the period of consummation. And 1 will undertake to say that consummation immediately after puberty is as great a mistake as stuffing the mouth of a babe with dalbhat imme- diately after its birth. 67 As to remarriage of widows, though nominally optional with all but the Brahman, it is generally admitted in Bengal, Bombay, Madras, and the Provinces, that save amongst the lowest classes, remarriage is not at all a common practice, chiefly on account of the dread of excommunication. It is admit- ted that if widow marriage becomes popular it will be a gain to society generally and a relief to particular sections. Is it a common practice at all ? The majority say it is riot. But there are some who think it could not well be more prevalent than it is at present among all Hindus save the highest caste. It would, therefore, be very useful to have authentic information. I. What percentage of Hindu girls marry after 12 ? II. What percentage of Hindu widows under 30 are allowed to remarry ? Let us have figures only for one year. Will some of our Associations obtain them? If they cannot, they must appeal to the Government to procure the information. WHAT IS LAW ? It is a healthy education which makes our graduates oppose " legislative interference" in social matters. But I have often explained in a variety of ways, and will do so now again for the last time, that I never have asked and never will ask for such interference. In fact, it would be a suicidal policy for one in my position. The utmost I ask of the Government is friendly co-operation which it has offered in many a similar case. And that intelligent men cannot see the difference between co-operation and coercion, shows that their education is but an indifferent success for practical purposes. Here we are beset with enormous evils, and struggling for centuries (since Akbar's time at least) to shake them off. If, with our present enlightenment we find an easy and effectual remedy, why should not we adopt it ? A friend wrote the other day : " You are our stoutest champion for Local Self-govern- ment ; and yet in your fervid zeal you seek State interference in social matters !" The answer to this is that I am perfectly 68 consistent. I do not ask for " interference." Let us see what this great project of Local Self-government is. It enables representatives of the people to manage their own civic affairs. But can we say that because people are given the power to manage their local affairs, they will have it all their own way ? Do you mean to tell me that under the new regime a Brahmin member will have a. pucka road made up to his own street, or that a Parsi will have the electric light introduced into his Fire Temple, at the expense of the public? Nothing of the sort. There is a law looming overhead, compelling every member to seek the common good. Members are independent of outside interference, but they are not independent of rules and regulations fixed by Government. Power is sweet, but it is inseparable from responsibility. In this sense no man can be said to be free. The same principle may be applied to the working of other reforms. Let us come to a general un- derstanding, and then let us ask the State to lend it the sanc- tion of law. Every such understanding without a legal recognition has been worthless. It is all very well for the patriot of New India to turn up his nose at the word Law. There can be no Order and Happiness without Law. Where would be the universe without Law ? Hindus must not for- get the beneficent ^* of whom Vedic sages have sung so eloquently, raising her to the dignity of a goddess. I must decline to hold fellowship with those who scorn Law and Order merely to air their acquaintance with the heartless materialist. A CRY FOR CO-OPERATION. The Gujarat Mifra again indites a very kindly article about my proposals. He accords a cordial approval to my sketch for an Association for practical reform, and considers each one of the items of paramount importance. But giving me due credit for my intentions, and perhaps more than due he repeats his former conviction, that nothing can be done in the matter without the active co-operation of the State. He * Literally " straight" but meaning "Law" or " Order." 69 enters into this part of the question at length and shows how popular movements have failed for want of the regulating moral influence of Government. It therefore earnestly calls upon Hindu reformers to accept my suggestions and ask the Government to help them in initiating practical reform in the absence of which the country has suffered so seriously. Such is the deliberate opinion of a Hindu journalist of large expe- rience and who has had to do as much as any other public man in Gujarat with this and similar questions. The Mitra understands that with a few exceptions all practical thinkers of his acquaintance agree with him. This is the opinion of most newspapers of the province. And yet we can do nothing, because none is coming forward to set the example. The situation is very anomalous. Individuals are ready to sacrifice themselves, but they have others to think of. Europeans can- not realise the difficulties of the joint-family system amongst Hindus more than they can realise the force of social perse- cution* And after all, when once in an age a hero rises, like poor Karsandas Mulji, he is crushed by the majority, and has not even the consolation of having achieved something. The sacrifice is immense, but its results, for the success of the cause, are inappreciable. This is the reason why even the bravest Hindu hesitates and excuses himself. He loses all and gains nothing for himself or his people. Still, I do pray we may have a dozen Gujarati Hindus to lead the country. It is glorious work, and if my own Gujarat goes in the van, I will be all the more proud of my share in the work. But there is little hope of success without benevolent co- operation from the State. The Sirkar must give us a lift or our cause will languish for an indefinite period, if it is not lost in this unequal struggle. The contest is hopelessly un- equal between man and woman in India. Education may bring the sexes nearer. But the difference between the two in this respect is so vast that it will be ages before we can think of a near approach. And so far as I can sec the edu- cation of boys will have to be proceeded with faster than 70 hitherto ; whereas, in the nature of things, we can make but slow progress with female education, and that upto a certain point only. Does Government ever think of this? We must, no doubt, respect the majority. But let it be an intelligent majority, please, one which has reason on its side. A hundred men are decidedly ninety-nine more than one man; but I have yet to learn that a hundred fools make one wise man. SOCIAL REFORM AND POLITICAL PROGRESS.* It is a mistake to say that a movement affecting the Hindu population particularly has been started by a Parsi. I am no more a starter of the reform than is the Pioneer its opponent. The movement was initiated nearly half a century ago, and during the interval it has more than once had powerful impetus given it by Hindu reformers in many parts of the country. At this moment there are thousands of Hindus at work, but we outsiders know little about their struggles. Would it be fair, on that account, to say that the parties most concerned are indifferent to their own fate ? My contention is that a large majority of Hindus have recognised the evils of infant marriage and enforced widowhood, but that they are not so unanimous as to the remedies. The advanced section of reformers are for legislative co-operation. And their num- ber is by no means inconsiderable. An equally large number, perhaps larger, are for indirect methods of reform. A larger proportion still would rather be left alone to work out their own regeneration. It is the minority, the priests, with their baneful influence on women, and others to whom the customs may be a source of revenue, who sedulously oppose progress. And as may be expected, this minority al- ways present a compact opposition, while the majority are so divided and often so distrustful of one another, that in actual practice they are at the mercy of the former. The reform- ers complain of want of cohesion and want of a regu- lation to fall back upon. For, even supposing that a hun- * This article is a comment on an extract from the Pioneer. 71 dred Hindu gentlemen combine and take a pledge not to marry their daughters under a fixed age, they have no means of enforcing the pledge in the case of a defaulter. And considering the influence of women at home, the opera- tion of the joint- family system and the secret persecution of the priest, we must be prepared for numerous cases of default. Such has been the result of the working of associa- tions at Ahmedabad, at Poona, in parts of Madras and else- where. The Hindu reformer has not only to consult his own conscience, but also the interest or even the whims of an ignorant wife, mother, father, elder brother, of his rela- tions and connections. Now, if the poor fellow had some background to lean upon when the time came for him to make good his word, he might be expected to stand. If there is a regulation he might refer his relations to that. He wants an excuse, in short. I had an intelligent Hindu jour- nalist from Gujarat last week, who said <( Mabap, enough of your associations and lectures ; let us fix a rule amongst ourselves, which we can have to-morrow again, and let that rule be sanctioned by the sarkar, so that our women-kind may be satisfied that we can no longer break through the rule. As soon as my wife and her family know that I'll be fined for breach of faith and thus become a disgraced man, they will give up bothering me to leave the association when the time comes for action. At the same time such a rule, sanctioned by the State, will keep away hyprocrites and thus save our sabha from future discredit." These are the views of a Hindu editor who has been for years perhaps the strongest opponent of official interference of any kind in municipal, educational, and other administrative matters. I am not surprised at an Englishman thinking it anomalous that Indian reformers should clamour for political freedom, and at the same time call upon the State to regulate their social affairs. In Europe they manage social matters another way. But we must not forget that the conditions of life in India and Europe are very far from being similar. Look at the position of women in this country, of the social divisions 72 without number : Hindus of the same caste and even in the same part of the country being often unable to break bread together, let alone intermarriage. Brahmans won't eat with Brahmans for most frivolous reasons, Vaislmavas with Vaish- navas, and so on. To expect the Brahman to sit at the same table with the Vaishnav, the Khshatri or the Shudra, is out of the question. There are many other considerations which forbid the hope for a long time of anything like a social amal- gam. In the most backward country of. Europe the conditions are much more hopeful. To compare Europe with India is, therefore, to my mind, a violation of the usual rules of com- parison. But though broken up socially, the Indians, are not incapable of political union. Not to go far, the Pioneer will perhaps excuse me for referring to the wonderful unanimity which has marked the national demonstrations in Lord Ripon's honour, or the discussion of the Local Self-government Bills or the Ilbert Bill. For administrative work, too, especially judicial, the Indians have shown remarkable aptitude, in spite of what appears to be their aversion to domestic reform. What, for instance, could be more satisfactory than the work done by the average Native Judge or Sub-Judge ? And yet, the officer with whom Government have no fault to find may never come up to the ideal of an English gentleman at home. He may marry his children at 5, may immure the widows of the family into life-long seclusion, may worship metal gods, and wash the feet of the swarthy little priest whose presence oppresses intellectual freedom and keeps society tied down to indefensible customs. A Brahman may be as just and fatherly a man at home as one could conceive, and yet as an administrator he may be unjust, corrupt and grasping. The head of a Mahomcdan family may lead a wicked irregu- lar private life; and yet, as head of a public department, he may prove himself unexceptionable. I do not for a moment dispute the force of the general proposition, that reform must begin at home, and that a man who cannot order his house- O * hold affairs in the light of truth and justice cannot be confi- 73 dently accepted as a true and just citizen. But, as I have tried to explain above, it would be unsafe to rigidly apply abstract principles of Western growth to practical politics of the East. There are many circumstances in the way of such application. SUGGESTIONS, OLD AND NEW. The feeling seems to gain ground every day amongst, practical Hindu reformers that if Infant Marriage is to be put a stop to, it will be best done by a brief Act, in consulta- tion with influential leaders like the Maharajas of Benares, Darbhanga and others. This may be preceded by something like a Commission of Inquiry. If the inquiry shows that there is a decided aversion to the girl's age being raised even to 12 (there is little fear on this score) then the Legislature may deal with the boy only. The boy's age may be fixed at about 17. Against this there could be no valid objection from the Shastras or the priest. And the boy's age being raised so far it follows that the girl will be kept unmarried till at least 1 1 . This will be a vast advantage, so argue the advocates of practical reform. I agree with them generally; but not being a Hindu, have no right to insist upon the plan of action sug- gested above. I cannot, also, get over the suspicion that for some time after the passing of the Act, there will be sullen opposition from some quarters resulting in cruel injustice to girls. The orthodox and priest-ridden father may decline to keep his daughter waiting for a suitable match. He may marry her to a grown-up man, even to a man already married. This is a result I most dread. At the same time, I am satisfied that parents will not act foolishly as soon as they see the results of an ill-sorted union, such as we have here supposed. In two or three years the people at large will be won over to the side of reform. This being a moral certainty, I might yet go in for a legislative regulation, if I only saw some chance of obtaining the co-operation of the priestly class, or at any rate an assurance that they would not actively oppose progress. 10 74 But if legislative action is generally disliked by the Hindu community, what is the next best remedy ? I say let the Educational authorities come to our aid, especially the Uni- versity. In the first place, this is not a State department. It has little to do with Government, and will have a less direct connection still in future. Education is closely allied to the reform under discussion. If this agency undertakes to remedy the evil, it will need no special law. It may also adopt ten- tative measures suited to different presidencies, with the view of paving the way for wide-reaching reform under the sanction of law, when the community is prepared for legislative co-opera- tion. Let the University rule that married boys will not be allowed, after five years or more, to compete for Matriculation. Here I must once more explain on what assumption I base this recommendation. The assumption is that young Hindus are anxious to escape marriage till they have gone through the educational course, and will be thankful to have an excuse. Let them have this excuse, and they will know how to prevail upon their parents to defer marriage. It is said that such a rule will interfere with the progress of education, and after all will affect only a very small number. I submit that this objection is self-contradictory. If the rule is to affect a very small number; how can it sensibly impede educational pro- gress ? No, there would be some disturbance of this kind if I were to say prevent married boys from entering Govern- ment schools. As a matter of policy I would not shrink from recommending even this extreme course. But I am well aware that under the present conditions of the country such a ruling would be exceedingly unjust and fraught with danger. There- fore, I say, let education proceed, but let a certain number of advanced students be helped to escape the trammels of matri- mony. They need such help all the more as they have still to go through an academic course. Or, you may matriculate the married boy (what a contradiction in terms !) You may even admit him to the college and allow him the married boy with perhaps a family, to become a Bachelor in Arts (what a contradiction again!) ; but withhold the degree from him. 75 You will say, this is unjust, after having made him spend five years at college. My reply is, you have done enough for him by giving him the privilege of a liberal education. He may turn his knowledge to account in the best manner he can. The forfeiture of a diploma means that he must not count upon the patronage of the State, must in any case wait till others are provided for. If the University considers child marriage to be an evil, she must mark her displeasure of it in some visible manner. Child marriage is only a fashion, one of recent growth. The University can easily, discounte- nance it she is undoubtedly the best medium of reform. Why may not the experiment be tried for some years in one or two presidencies ? Another suggestion is about passing an Act for the regis- tration of marriages, and empowering the new self-governing bodies to fix a minimum age for persons to be married. As births ai-e already registered these bodies will have no difficulty in detecting fraud where parents overstate the age of a child. And as members are elected by the people themselves, they will have no cause for complaint as to zulum, legislative or executive. In short, the reform is left to the people them- selves. A good deal has been written of late in the Pioneer and other contemporaries throwing cold water over the scheme of what they heartlessly nickname Lokil Stuff". Now, if there is anything in this blessed ''Lokil Sluff," our educated and elected commissioners ought to show what stuff it is made of. In what direction can the representatives of the people show their capacity for self-government so well as in improving these ruinous marriage customs ? I look upon the Local Board as the old pancliayet revived and modernised. The dominance of Western ideas has been the death of the panchayet system. For good or for evil the panchayet is now a moribund institution. It has no power of action left in it. Let the Local Board take its place in this matter of vital importance to the local population. The registration of Births and Marriages may be entrusted to one of the commis- sioners, elected by the members themselves, who may be given 76 an honorary title. There need be no executive interference of any kind. The Boards may also arrange for suitable text books for primary and secondary schools, translating scrip- tural verses for the students. A further suggestion is this. Give Social Associations the power of enforcing a pledge. These bodies are at present unrecognized. If a member breaks the pledge, I do not know if any Court will entertain a plaint against him. The Asso- ciation is unable to levy a fine. Can it not be empowered to this extent ? That is a point for lawyers to settle. I think that social Association would work more effectively, if their hands were so far strengthened that they could enforce a fine on defaulters. These bodies might be registered, like literary Associations, and a certain status conferred on them for pur- poses of practical reform. As it is, their efforts generally end in talk. THE AHMEDABAD TICHBORNE CASE. The now notorious Bhabhutgar case at Ahmedabad has taken a new turn. We have watched its progress with some interest. Are we very far out in analysing it thus?: After the death of his two wives an elderly Hindu gentleman, marries a third, a girl of 12 to 14. Soon after he dies, leav- ing over two lakhs of rupees, his last wife, and children by the first two. This woman, whom we may call "the old man's darling/' seems to have much control over the family. She one day starts on a pilgrimage, taking with her the husband's two sons by the first wife, who are probably of her own age, their young wives, some servants, and of course a good deal of money. At one shrine our pious young widow is supposed as conducting herself in a manner which is not to the liking of one of her step-sons, a fairly educated, sensitive, high-spirited lad. And being unable to influence the pilgrim mother he drowns himself in a sacred stream. That brings us to a party of two young widows, one boy, and some servants. The party soon after returns to Ahmeda- bad, having duly mourned over the young fellow who wished 77 to save the honour of the family by drowning himself. Return- ing home the widow mother and the newly widowed daughter- in-law compare notes. Alas I how are we to live in perpetual widowhood? Can we think of no escape? It is impossible, having enjoyed life so well, to have to depend upon others for the barest necessaries of life. About this time a young man crosses their path, a young man very like the boy who drowned himself during the pilgrimage. Happy thought ! Why, that is the boy ! Dear, dear boy, restored to the mourners so miraculously ! Restored to thy distracted step-mother and thy stupified wife ! Come sisters, come brothers, this is our long lost darling ! He is taken into the bosom of the family and the widowed daughter-in-law becomes a wife again, and in the nature of things she becomes a mother too. All goes well as well could be with the widow mother, the daughter-in-law and the strangely acquired son. The properly of the deceased husband remains in the family. Is not the heir found alive? But there are others, who want the property, ready to prove that the so-called heir is an imposter. Master Bhabhutgar is hauled up. A protracted lawsuit is the result, with heaps of money spent on both sides, and no end of scandal. Such is the genesis of the Bhabhutgar case. If there is any truth in what has trans- pired, what shocking revelations of social irregularities it makes ! And is this the only case of its kind ? If young widows were allowed to remarry such scandals would never arise.* * On October 9th 1887, Malabari wrote as follows : That notorious Bhabhut- gar case, the last of which was heard recently in the High Court, shows how eager a Hindu widow is to clutch at any chance that may restore her to her husband. Here was a man who, upon the slightest acquaintance with the deceased whom he personated, could be shown as an imposter. And yet the wife of the deceased, that is the widow, welcomes Bhabhutgar as her lost husband, lives with and has children by him. Cases of this kind are not so rare as people might imagine, and parents and neighbours are generally too humane to make a noise about such mistakes. " What happens in his house to-day may happen in ours to-mor- row " thus the neighbours argue with themselves. They will do anything to cover their own and their neighbours' sins. The stories that are told of the contrivances to make widows " happy " without the " scandal " of a remarriage are passing into proverbs. But so perverse is human nature that men and women will risk their all, life and honour itself, rather than approve of remarriage. 78 HOW EDUCATION AGGRAVATES THE EVIL OF INFANT MARRIAGE. In the course of the important discussion at the Conference at Madras two weeks ago, an influential member observed that far from giving way before the increasing spread of edu- cation, the practice of infant marriages has actually grown more popular of late years ! I have received the same version of the matter from a representative leader at Karachee. And the same may be said, more or less, about other parts of India. The Brahmins marry their girls early, from 5 years of age to 10. And the other castes cannot help following the Brah- mins. Education is not necessarily a check in all cases. On the contrary, I do believe that in some cases education serves as a stimulant. The first thought of an " educated " man in India is to get employed and rise in social importance. He must make money, honestly, of course, if he can. And to what better use can a Hindu gentleman put his savings than to marrying his children as early as practicable, thus proving to the world that he is not less favoured than his fellows ? So long as he lacked the means he could not help the girls growing up unmarried to ten. At that age his relations or caste people had to come to his aid and save him from the torments of Hell consequent on a father allowing the daughter to remain unmarried after puberty. But now that he is the Collector's Chitnis, or a Mamlatdar, or a Deputy Collector, a Surveyor or a Medical officer, or, best of all, a lawyer, why it is open to him to marry the girl as soon as a suitable match is to be had. In fact, it becomes a point of honour with the average Hindu, who has secured the means, to dispose of his children before ten. I know that there are thousands of educated Hindus in every centre who would give up the custom if they could. But they have the women to win over who are under influence of the priests, to whom, again, the custom is a source of income. The Hindu father is not a free agent. Let him be ever so enlightened j but he is not the only party to a contract of 79 marriage. The other party may be strictly orthodox : what is the educated man to do ? If he does not accede to the wishes of his family, of the priest, and, above all, of the family into which his girl has to marry, he may never again find a match for her ! She cannot marry out of a narrow circle. Even outside that circle, supposing that were at all possible, she will not be treated as an eligible bride after reaching the age. Whatever the causes, it is clear that infant marriages are " all but universal" in India, and that education, instead of discouraging the practice, in some parts actively encour- ages it. It is amusing to see how my friends the let-alone-ists try to demolish me. At first they explained that the evils occupied only a limited area and that they were steadily disappearing. When convinced that facts pointed altogether the other way, they turn round and say that though marriages do take place very early all over India, still the consummation occurs seldom before 18 in the case of boys and 14 in the case of girls. This is a neat way of silencing opponents. But where are the proofs ? And if consummation takes place at 18 and 14, why should children be irrevocably " married" before 10 ? There is no escape from the " marriage." The boy husband may die at 10, leaving behind a widow of 6, who cannot be married again. So virtually the evil is there and has to be removed. Infant marriages and enforced widowhood, intro- duced by the higher classes of Hindus, have now grown into a national institution, and education can hardly cope with evils which in some cases it tends to aggravate. Such is the opinion of experienced Hindu reformers. THE EVILS OF FASHION. The Hindu population of India is so sharply divided by territorial distances and tribal and other differences, that it would be scarcely safe to lay down one uniform standard as to the prevalence of infant marriages and enforced widowhood all over the country, or to propose ons particular set of reme- dies, regardless of local considerations. But the evils are 80 admittedly et all but universal," whatever slight difference there may be in their operation over different tracts. Some say that Bengal suffers most under the custom ; others believe Madras to be the greatest sufferer. One authority gives the unenviable award in favour of Bombay ; while another con- tends that it is the N. W. Provinces and the Punjaub which, by reason of their backwardness in matters of education, are the chief victims of these social plagues. Ram Mohan Roy, Vidiasagar, the Raja of Naldanga and others for Bengal ; Ragoonath Row, Chentsal Row, and many other represen- tatives for Madras ; Vishnu Shastri, Gopal Deshmukh, Ma- dav Ranade, Mahipatram Rupram, Navalram Luxmiram and numerous other reformers for Bombay; Ayodhya Prasad, Altaf Hussein, Harishchandra (cut off, poor fellow, in mid career) and a large number of Pandits, Shastris and scholars, for the Provinces ; all these have depicted the horrors of infant marriage and enforced widowhood in language which may be said to have reached the utmost limit of human ex- pression. I could name hundreds of others, Hindu gentle- men of note, who have publicly denounced the practices ; and thousands have written them down, in prose and verse, essays, odes, appeals, novels, plays, and millions of newspaper articles. The whole country has been, in a sense, up in arms against the evils for more than fifty years. Many individual reformers have paid dearly for their temerity a few have been hunted to death, some more have become outcasts. Their fate has warned others. And to-day the boldest Hindu reformer admits that to attempt practical reform in his individual capacity is like cutting his own throat and courting the de- struction of his innocent family. There is no hope of reform in this matter without the friendly co-operation of the State, at least without some authoritative regulation given in re- sponse to the cry of the people themselves. To have an idea of the misery of enforced widowhood let the reader turn to Mr. Mahipatram Ruprarn's letter to the Times of India of last week. His concluding remarks, though brief, are quite to the point. Or, in order to realise the mischief caused by 81 infant marriages, let him read Mr. Naval ram Laxmiram's Bala-lagria Batrisi. The picture given here is horrible in its expressiveness. Early marriage means early consumma- tion in too many cases, which means the ruin of mind and body, poverty, sin, suffering ; in a word, the deterioration of the race. The writer attacks the custom mercilessly, calls it thoroughly un- Aryan, and denounces its votaries as worse than brutes. Now, who and what are Mahipatram and Na- valram ? They are Nagar Brahmans, holiest of holy on this side, highly educated men, Principals both of the Training Colleges at Ahmedabad and Rajkot. They are veteran re- formers, men who have suffered, and suffered grievously in their futile attempts to effectuate reform from within. And yet there are men who assert, without a tittle of proof, that the evils are neither serious nor widespread and that they are going out of practice of themselves ! It is useful to bear in mind that infant marriage and en- forced widowhood are customs which stand to each other almost in the relation of cause and effect. As matter of fact, marriage is generaUy forced upon the girl at a time when she cannot realise its privileges and its responsibilities. And when she loses her husband, she has perpetual widowhood forced upon her. It is needful also to know that to every three women in the country one is shown to be a widow. And the Hindu widow is rr>t only unfortunate in herself but " inauspicious" to all around her. She is shunned, neglected, at times ill-treated. Here arises the question Would Suttee have gone out of vogue but for State interference ? I say, NEVER. Ram Mohan might have cried himself hoarse for a century. Ben- tinck might have written a hundred minutes appealing to the good sense of Hindu leaders. But that would not havd avail- ed. Suttee would have flourished with greater vigour if only to make a show of the "religious " zeal of the people. It was a usage introduced by Brahmins for purely selfish, or what philosophers call, prudential reasons. The usage soon after became a habit, and that grew into a second nature with 11 82 Hindu ladies of the higher class. They could not, dared not survive their husbands. A modest woman esteems the opi- nion of the world dearer than life. Well, what was at first only a Brahminic practice came in time to be followed by the other castes. The Khshatrya or the Vaishia widow could not help yielding to the fashion. It soothed the self-love of her family, it raised the family in the estimation of the Brah- min hierarchy. How could the Hinduani, whose wifehood is animated by the purest ideas of devotion, live on after her " lord " had departed this life, live in misery and privation, with the world pointing the finger of scorn at her for her unwifely selfishness? If Suttee had been allowed to prevail longer I believe even Mahomedans and Parsis would have borrowed the fatal custom. The idea is peculiarly attractive to the Oriental mind. And though Parsi and Mahomedan widows could not have burned themselves, as cremation is not allowed amongst them, they might perhaps have vied with their Hindu sisters in acquiring sat (the supreme result of devotion) by some other means. So much for the sway of fashion. My English friends may smile at this supposition ; and my Native friends may shake their heads. But I say, withdraw the legal ban you have placed upon Suttee, and the practice may be revived without delay. This is not my own opinion, as Hindu friends will allow. So insupportable in many cases are the miseries of lifelong widowhood, that Suttee, which means instant and almost painless death with honour, would be preferred to widowhood, which means (God forgive me if I exaggerate) death by slow torture and not in a few cases with dishonour. Government have moved a step as regards widow marriage. Let them move a step further if they wish their action to prove a blessing instead of a curse. As regards infant marriage letthem co-operate with Hindu re- formers, let them discourage the ruinous fashion and actively encourage those who seek to escape its trammels. It is not desirable that Government should do anything in the matter at their own instance. The initiative must be taken by the sufferers. But I wish it to be clearly understood that it is 83 impossible for the victims to work out the reform unaided, without moral support from the iState. But what can the State do unasked ? THE WIDOW IN TROUBLE. The Amrita Bazar Patrika feelingly remarks that it is enough punishment for a widow to have to murder her un- owned child. So it is. What with her helpless condition, the bodily and mental torture she has to go through in hiding her shame, the persecutions from within arid without conse- quent on exposure, the victim has more than enough to bear for her momentary weakness and the deliberate villainy of her betrayer. It is well-known that the law in England is more lenient to unmarried women under the circumstances than it is to wi- dows in India. And its general tendency there is to be still more lenient. The Hindu widow deserves much greater consideration, I submit, than the English maid. The betrayer in the latter case has often to maintain the child, while for one reason or other the Hindu widow never seeks even that relief. She cannot do so, situated as she is. Now, as I have often urged, why cannot the seducer of a Hindu widow be criminally dealt with beyond being mulcted in a sum of money ? And why cannot the victim and her family be com- pelled to disclose his identity ? How is it that Caste never, as a rule, punishes the betrayer even when the widow is found to be in trouble ? At any rate the executive could insist upon a seduction being traced home. Some such vigilance would strike terror into a class of social monopolists who are about the strongest advocates of enforced widowhood. A systematic attempt may also be made for the establishment of Orphanages and Foundling Hospitals. THE PANACEA OF BENEVOLENT VISIONARIES. Let there be more education in the land and all will come right ! But what prospect will they hold out of female education in the right sense, when the infinitesimal propor- tion of our girls going to school are withdrawn at 10 and 84 have to become mothers two or three years hence ? Before they have ceased to be girls, before even a preparatory train- ing has been given them for the life they have to enter upon, our girls have to exercise the duties of wifehood and mother- hood, in many cases, alas, of widowhood, too. Of what use your education for girls ? By all means give a vigorous push to female education, but that alone will do little under the social condition of the Hindus. It is these marriage customs which have to be improved before you think of real education for the mothers of the future generation. Why cannot my English friends see this ? It is hard enough to struggle with the sophistries of the Anglicised Brahman ; but the Brahman ic Anglo-Indian is too much for me, I confess. THE REAL QUESTION. Mr. Hume assures me that many infant marriages turn out happy. I have myself said so in my Notes. It is, indeed, a marvel that under the circumstances there should be so much of quiet con tentedness amongst our women. I need not enlarge here upon the causes. Suffice it to say that if women in India are t( happy" they are happy only after a fashion. The wife is a pretty little creature, a sweet thing, a dear inoffensive animal to be petted and got pleasure out of; and when she becomes a mother she is of course a useful domestic drudge, God bless her. And that is all. She has no right or privilege save on sufferance ; she lias no self-respect, no hope except what is reflected in the mirror of her lord's face. Can she be happy? Well, yes, in a majority of cases our women are contented, because they do not know to be otherwise. The real question is, can these women, as they are, become the mothers of a great nation, of patriots, warriors, philoso- phers ? However, J must not dilate. Only let us remember that almost all the means of active happiness in life, in the real sense of the word, are wanting for India's women and therefore, necessarily for her men. Mr. Hume gives an in- stance, a most enviable ideal. I know a few exceptions like it myself. But these are extremely rare even as exceptions. And if we do not push on with female education in the right 85 direction, the .exceptions will become rarer still. Already our educated young men are longing for real wives, for spiri- tual more than physical partners. To turn to the ideal picture given above of a happy marriage, it reminds one forcibly of the numerous real pictures, girls of tender years torn away from the maternal breast, to be thenceforward at the mercy of the mother-in-law whom they have to serve as bondmaids, to be abused, half-starved, to be made at times the victims of a moral and physical outrage sanctioned by the law, to be forced into premature maternity all this the common lot of Indian girls especially of the lower order all this, 1 submit, does not look much like happiness ! As to the assimilation of the husband's nature, and the other beautiful theories, Mr. Hume does not seem to know that in most Native households wife and husband cannot sit together, talk together, eat together in the presence of their elders, even when they have come of age. I am sure my friend knows that the joint family system prevails more or less all over India, the head of the family living in the same house with all his bro- thers and their wives, all his sons and their wives and the chil- dren of both. But I must hurry on, having no wish to hurt the feeling of my brethren or of the impetuous and sanguine philosopher who champions their cause so chivalrously. Mr. Hume is informed that consummation is deferred in many cases. Not so to my knowledge. That can occur only when the parents of both bride and bridegroom are sufficiently well educated. In the generality of cases, most so amongst the uneducated, parents long for the event which is held to be even more important than the marriage ceremony. And it takes but little knowledge of human nature to see that infant marriage super- induces precocious development in the case of the boy. This means the fellow's ruin. In the case of the girl it is worse, and almost all circumstances conspire to make her a willing accessory to what, on public grounds, I am constrained to denounce as a crime. The best way to prevent premature consummation is by putting down child- inarriaijes. 86 Mr. Hume says infant marriage is becoming an anachron- ism. Competent Hindu observers assert that it is becoming more fashionable ! My friend says the questions raised by me are but two minor branches of the one universal problem in India, the Position of Women. Quite so. But I must remind him that my sub- jects are the real beginnings of the reform he yearns for. He seems to think the education of women is a more pressing necessity. I admit it. But real education, and in fact real national progress all round, is impossible till these two ob- stacles are removed. How can you educate a girl when she has to be withdrawn from school before eleven, and to be made a wife and a mother soon after ? Besides, the spread of educa- tion in India cannot be accelerated by artificial means. SOCIAL REFORM WAYS AND MEANS.* Here are the evils (1) child marriages; (2) unequal marri- ages in point of age; (3) polygamy amongst Kulin Brahmins and others a man of fifty marrying girls of 20, 15, 10, down to 5 years of age at times, for the dowries they bring; (4) too early consummation; (5) domestic irregularities, the results of the system ; (6) enforced widowhood with its attendant horrors shaving the girl-widow's head, depriving her of every hope in life, perpetual seclusion with protracted fasts and other privations. To these evils may be added a few minor ones ruinous expenses on marriage, absence of intermarriage between classes practically the same, and so on. As to reme- dies (1) Put a stop to infant marriage, taking a pledge neither to practise nor in any way to encourage it; (2) If you cannot do that, let the practice stand, but arrange amongst yourselves that child marriage is not invariably binding on either party ; (3) Come to an explicit understanding that a wife may not be sent to her mother-in-law's till she is 15 ; (4) Pass a rule at a Mahajan meeting that a girl widowed before 14 is quite as * This is the heading of an article commenting on the discussion at the Soba Bazar Debating Club, Calcutta, presided pver by Dr. Hunter. 87 eligible for marriage as a virgin; (5) Make special arrange- ments to facilitate the remarriage of widows and to make their existence tolerable and less exposed to temptation; (6) Excommunicate or otherwise punish the seducer of a widow ; (7) Prohibit the father or guardian from selling an infant girl ; (8) Deal similarly with Kulin polygamists ; (9) Encourage intermarriage between nearly allied castes, as was the case before; (10) Curtail marriage expenses. All this you could at least try to achieve ; and though some such attempts have, to my knowledge, miscarried for want of a regulating bond, I do not see why you may not satisfy yourselves. At any rate, you can legislate for yourselves, and then ask the State to confirm your action. A number of other suggestions, more or less practical, have been offered. Make your own choice adapting each remedy to local requirements. There are three methods of work open to earnest reformers (1) do the needful your- selves;'^) ask the Executive to strengthen your hands and guide your steps in the beginning ; (3) ask the Legislature to sweep away the otherwise impassable barriers, as it has so often done before. The first method is the best in theory ; my heart inclines to it naturally. The third method is the easiest in practice ; my judgment approves it strongly. But the second method appears to me to be the safest. It is the golden mean favoured both by my feeling and my judgment. It neither exposes us to vain struggles and the risk of a reaction, nor makes us over, body and soul, to an irrevocable law. In our transitionary state of progress, this tentative and experimental method deserves consideration. If it does not do much good all at once, it will certainly do little harm, and we are at liberty to withdraw from it any day. But I have no business to insist upon this or that plan. If my Hindu friends are strong enough to do without outside aid of any kind, so much the better for them and the other classes who follow them. My only object in advocating the principle of combination Jrom within and co-operation from without is to avert further risk of failure and of ridicule from outsiders who cannot realise the all-but-insuperable difficulties in the 88 path of the Hindu reformer. It is indeed in a kindly, not in an unkind spirit, that I question his power to effect practical reform unaided. Suttee, human sacrifices, infanticide, self- torture, none of these cruel rites would have been suppressed had not Hindu reformers invoked and obtained the help of the State. Millions of innocent children would have been carried off by small-pox in the absence of compulsory Vacci- nation. And thousands of murders would have gone unde- tected, and the m,urderers unpunished, but for the Coroner's Inquest. The religious sense of the community is strongly opposed to these even to-day. Would the people ever have accepted these obviously beneficent innovations ? Could a thousand reformers, a hundred times more influential than they are at present, have popularised these exotic systems amongst a people so divided when progress is aimed at, and so united when the object is to stand still ? From primary education up to the suppression of Suttee our staunchest reformers could do little without the sympathetic action of the State. A handful of men like the Parsis, decidedly the most progressive of the Asiatic race, had to seek the moral co-operation of the Government in matters of less importance. Leaders of the Hindu community have themselves more than once obtained such co-operation from the Government which it is foolish to shrink from as "Interference." Government do not wish to interfere, and we shall take precious care they never do interfere in any of our private concerns. But once agreed, we have a right to the co-operation of the State, and the State owes it as a duty to us and to itself to take up the cause. Those who apprehend popular disaffection in the event of Government co-operating with social leaders in dis- couraging practices which have nothing to do with religion must be prepared to show that Indian society is less educated, less liberal, and less progressive to-day than it was half a cen- tury ago when practices intimately associated with the reli- gious conviction of the mass were knocked on the head with (he happiest results. By all means take lh;> initiative your- selves. But pray do set about it in time. 89 THE SURAT WIDOWS' APPEAL. I have noticed for some time past a sort of incipient revolt in the ranks of Hindu widows, especially of Gujarat and Hindustan proper. The feeling appears to be confined to widows of the younger generation, who know reading and writing. This is a hopeful sign in itself, and one might think the widow could be left here to take care of herself. But that would be a grievous mistake. The widow who has the courage of her convictions is closely watched, and she knows that she is completely at the mercy of social monopolists. Her case has become desperate. This is just the time when Hindu friends must stand by her; otherwise it will go harder with the poor thing than ever before. Now, far be it from me to encourage a spirit of disobedience or defiance. The Hindu girl is all patience and charity. By nature, by tradi- tion, and by training, she has learnt to look upon submissive- ness as the crown of womanhood. This amiable weakness of hers has been taken advantage of. But the world around the Hindu widow is changing a good bit. She has begun to realize that every one is personally responsible for his or her action; that, however passive an instrument a human being may be in the performance of a particular act, he or she will have to bear the consequence of it all the same. In her case the widow sees that she is wronged at every stage of life, and made to suffer for other people's wrong-doing more than her own sins. I am not surprised that she is beginning to revolt. But what is to be the end of it? Look at the appeal of several Bania widows of Surat to the Nuggersett and the Mahajan. It is a formidable docu- ment occupying eight columns of closely printed matter in the Gujarat i. It gives facts, personal experiences, Shastric authorities. It appeals for justice and nothing more. It calls upon the citizens of Surat to consult their own interests their happiness, and honour. If this piteous appeal fails, the writers threaten to go to Government, "the philanthropic and merciful Sirkar under whose beneficent rule the tiger 12 90 and the lamb drink water at the same fountain" '* We, your infant-widow daughters will ask the Sirkar to judge be- tween you and us/' Who are these bold young women? They do not give their names for, "we are in momentary dread of ill-treat- ment, even death." But they give a tangible clue to their identity. They are girl-widows of Nanavat, Shahpura, and Gopipura. They give full particulars of their marriage "We were sold for money into perpetual slavery, with a cord pressed tight round the throat, at a time when we knew absolutely nothing of the matter." Then "just at the time when the seed of knowledge was being sown on the soil of our hearts, we lost our husbands at short intervals ; four died of cholera, two of fever, and one of consumption. Even at this time we were not quite conscious of the life in store for us." Here follows a terrific denunciation of the parents, of the priests and astrologers, who promised them all conceiv- able happiness, and a burning account of their wrongs * f Confined in pits of live fire, fire all over the body, fire all over the heart our heads in the barber's grip, and the gimlet of 'terrible privations piercing our hearts alas ! in this world we are nothings, alas ! the sun of hope has set upon our lives for ever, alas ! our social freedom has been put under lock and key," &c., &c. Of the husband's age they say " some were younger than ourselves, some older three times, four times, even five-and-a-half times, than we girls. Thus in spite of the strongest Shastric injunction against the selling of daughters we were sold for a thousand or fifteen hundred rupees. Chamars and butchers sell the bones and hides of dead animals; our parents sold our bones, skins and flesh whilst we were alive and too young to oppose the bargain." Once more they set forth the horrors of enforced widow- hood in the case of girls who are exposed to all kinds of temp- tations and powerless to resist them, the sins and scandals, crimes and miseries. They show on the authority of the scrip- 91 tures that virgin widows can re-marry, that they are required to be re-married, that in fact, they are widows only in name, having been nominal wives, and that their second marriage is in reality their first and only marriage. The appellants again refer to their utter helplessness. They ask why men, with greater control over their impulses, are allowed to have any number of wives, whilst women, less able to control their feel- ings, are not allowed even one fair opportunity of indulging the bent of their sacred instincts. "The whole world denounces your injustice. Judges and Magistrates openly cry shame upon your system " "You know that a brother now and then goes wrong with his widowed sister or sieter-in-law j uncle with niece or niece-in-law nephew with aunt or aunt- in-law ; father-in-law with widowed daughter-in-law, &c., &c. -we are prepared to give names and full particulars. Again some widows seek relief in houses of ill-fame, some establish themselves as wives in other people's houses ; some run away and enter other castes. Then there are foeticides, infanticides, suicides, and murders of widows. Thus you seek happiness under the shade of a mountain of sins." And so on and on runs the widow's wail. Lastly, they ask why Kshatryas, Vaishyas and Sudras should follow the system of enforced widowhood, like Brahmins, on whom alone it is imposed by the Shastras ? This is bad business altogether. Just look at what the widows assert as to the irregularities of households in which widowhood is enforced on purpose ! I have omitted reference to the grosser forms of misconduct they freely allege against some of their caste people. What has been quoted here is bad enough, and one's first impulse is always to suppress such things. But an ulcer is half cured simply by exposure; the light of Heaven has wonderful curative effect on it. Besides, the irregularities above alluded to are not unknown, and when Hindu widows have taken to giving publicity to such vices, w e may hope that the un-Aryan system which has given birth to the vices is doomed. Let the "moderate" Native reformer, 92 who has a morbid horror of " exaggeration," and with whom it is a point of honour to deny the existence of every evil he has not witnessed personally, or the publication of which he thinks will lower his social prestige, take this lesson to heart. If he looks about him and sees that the closest allied castes cannot intermarry, that, therefore, ill-sorted marriages are conimon in many castes, that in some castes marriageable girls are not available (some of the castes are becoming extinct on this account), and that in most of the castes widows, how- ever young, are practically debarred from marriage; if he also realises, the extent of superstition which, in the name of reli- gion, keeps men and women reconciled to the most abnormal conditions of life, he will find it impossible to escape the conviction that under such circumstances, the result of this marriage system in operation cannot but be undesirable. I have been denounced as a " slanderer" and a " libeller" for conveying the faintest impression of the evils here. What will our *' moderate " reformer say to the widows' allegations ? Thank God these social enormities are not common in any part of the country. But that they are known to most observers, felt by many and resented by not a few, will be denied only by those interested in the perpetuation of the customs and by their hirelings on the Press. How long will these mislead the public ? Is everybody so hopelessly blind as never to be able to connect effects with causes ? This arbitrary and un- natural prohibition against which the girl-widows of Gujarat have entered a solemn protest will have to be removed. If society does it, well and good; if it does not attend to an imperative duty in time, some other agency will have to inter, pose between the oppressors and their victims. SAVE THE WIDOW! Eeferring to the proposal that the Law should punish the seducer of a widow, an esteemed friend writes to ask "when and how would you have the fellow hauled up would it not be difficult to bring the charge home to the guilty ? " As to 93 the txhen, my idea is that the man ought to be punished as soon as the fact of the criminal intercourse is proved. As regards the how, let the betrayer receive condign punishment. It is an unsavoury subject, and one does not care to refer to it in public. But those who have read the Section on Adultery in the Indian Code (you see I dabbled with law, some years ago, under the guidance of Dr. Maurice Kavanagh, and gave it up in disgust and despair) must have been struck with the exemption the Legislature has, for good reasons, made in favour of the married woman found guilty of the crime. The married woman, although she be the real aggressor, a crafty, abandoned old thing, is let off by the law; but the paramour, however young and inexperienced, is inva- riably overtaken by legal consequences. When a married woman, an active agent herself, is so carefully protected, how much more necessary is it for the helpless guileless widow to be saved from the wolves of society ? It is wellknown that these latter beasts of prey prefer widows to common women, because they know they are safe from risks to person or repu- tation. Now, why could not these fellows be pucJcro\!ced ?* The Police could be trusted to do it, and I feel sure the leaders of society would heartily co-operate with them. They would hail a law punishing the seducer of a widow. And such a law enforced would indirectly pave the way for Widow Marriage. The Secret Service Fund at the disposal of the Police could not be applied to a better purpose than detecting this secret crime against which Caste herself pro- fesses to be powerless. WHO IS TO DO IT? A friend takes exception to the proposal made last week as to an effectual mode of dealing with the betrayer of a widow. He says : " Upon my word you are far too decisive to suit the slow-going Hindu. You know our difficulties, and have been valiantly defending us from the attacks of Anglo-Indian * Caught or brought to book. 94 writers. You are the stoutest opponent of Police interference in any form or shape. And here you are suggesting the worst kind of executive tyranny ! Pray do moderate your zeal. Government will be only too glad to take you at your word." Well, they say desperate diseases have desperate remedies. The Police have already a good deal to do in this matter. They pounce upon a widow on the least suspicion. And yet, curious as it may seem, neither the Police nor the Caste think of the betrayer ! We first force marriage upon our little girls; and when, as a natural consequence, they lose their husbands, we force perpetual widowhood upon them. And when this state of hopeless misery and exposure leads to crime, we make over the victims to the Police. Thus are our women thrice wronged in life, and we refuse to better their position in any way. The Police are cruel and rapacious. But are we, the natural guardians of our women, better than the Police ? It seems that we are decidedly worse in some respects. If my proposal is inadmissible in one point (and it was placed before me by a competent Hindu guide) why don't you try to adopt it in a modified form ? Why will not graduates and others publicly declare that in every case a widow has been betrayed, they will track the betrayer and get Caste to make an example of the scoundrel ? There will be no need, then, for the Police to interfere even to the extent they do now. Let educated Natives only do their part, and there will be no call for action from without. But as a matter of fact they have done little all these years, and do not seem to be in the mood to do anything even now. My own idea is that under these circumstances they cannot do much without friendly co-operation from the guardians of public interests. But the phantom of tf legislative interference" haunts our patriots, and hence their dearest interests remain neglected. It is an awful thing, this intellectual pride of theirs. Sons of India, are you satisfied that the splendid superstructure you call Progress is not being raised on a rotten egg-shell? 95 AN EXPLANATION. I am attacked by some whom I look upon as fellow- workers in the sacred cause of National Progress for having, as they allege, insulted and calumniated Native Society in the course of this discussion. They seem to assume that I desired it to be inferred that the immoralities alluded to en passant, as resulting from these two objectionable customs, were of con- stant and universal occurrence, that every household was tainted with such sin, and that the social life of the country was one seething mass of iniquity. I wonder how any such monstrous idea could have origi- nated. I never intended to imply anything so foreign to the truth. No doubt there is a vast amount of sin of this kind arising out of the customs. Millions of cases have occurred. If I wrote strongly it was in view to the prodigious amount of human sorrow and suffering entailed. But then the po- pulation of the country is infinitely more prodigious, and the percentage of the households in which such lapses occur must be very small indeed. I only meant that but for these customs there would be far less of sin and unhappiness than there now is. I merely implied that, in the aggregate, the sufferings resulting from the customs was terrible in amount. That is all. If my words, no doubt, very strong at times, have ever implied anything more than this, I am truly sorry. I have more than once apologised before for any mistake of the kind, and now I frankly apologise again for the wrong impression of others. The case against these customs stands complete without reference to any sin to which in some instances they may lead. As to the extent of the sorrow and suffering they involve there is no difference of opinion, and I only, referred to the demora- lization which in certain cases results from them as an addi- tional reason for desiring their abolition. 96 SOCIETY AND THE STATE. Here is Mr. Ragoonath Row's* picture of the typical Hindu widow, stronger than I have yet painted, but not so strong as it has been described to me in conversation by Hindu friends. The life of the Hindu widow, they say, is absolutely insup- portable, having not the slightest element of hope in it : "Let us take the instance of a child, say of three years, which is declared by infernal custom to be widowed. This is not an exceptional, but a fairly general, instance. Of the fact that she had been once married and had become a widow, she knows nothing. She therefore mixes with children not widowed. Supposing there is festivity, children run to the scene ; but the sight of the widowed child is a bad omen to the parties concerned in the festivity. She is removed by force. She cries, and is rewarded by the parents with a blow accompanied by remarks such as these : " You were a most sinful being in your previous generations, you have therefore been widowed already. Instead of hiding your shame in a corner of the house, you go and injure others." The child understands not a word. Some jaggery is given her, and she is appeased. She should wear no ornaments. She cannot bathe in the manner in which other children bathe. Her touch is pollution. In the meanwhile, if the priest whose authority cannot be traced to the Vedas, Smritis, Puranas or any Shaster, happens to visit the place where the child is, she is immediately shaved and dressed like a widow in order that she may appear before the priest and get herself branded or initiated into mysteries. Only lately I saw a child moving about in such a garb to the immense sorrow of some and the amusement of others. She is then asked to eat only once a day. The lightest stimulant is denied to her. She is made to fast once a fortnight even at the risk of death. She often asks in vain why these things are done to her. During the earlier part of life, she is told * An eminent Madras! Brabnaan gentleman. 97 some story or other and appeased. When she reaches eleven years of age, such devices fail. Then it is explained to her that in her previous births, she was a bad woman, created feuds between a husband and wife, and God (that Merciful Father who is ever kind to all) being angry, was pleased to ordain that she should, in this generation, be a woman deprived of her husband. This is generally the first correct intimation to the girl of her having been declared a married and widowed female. She learns this with concern and anxiety, but is not able entirely to realise her position. Two more years pass away. Nature asserts her dominion. She begins to feel that, for no fault of hers in this generation, she is denied what her comrades are allowed to enjoy. She becomes an object of suspicion. The hide-and-seek system comes into play. If she be talking to one of her companions who enjoys the company of her husband, she is dissuaded from any conversation with her. The prohibition excites curiosity. Respectable companions being denied, an evil one is secretly associated with, who opens the world to her. Her passions are roused. Feelings of shame cause her to struggle with them. This life-long war begins, and in most cases passion prevails over shame. She becomes pregnant ; she learns it generally when she is advanced in pregnancy more than two months. No respectable doctor will remove the cause of her shame. Quackery must come to her help. Sometimes the object is gained with or without injuring her constitution. A failure is also possible. A series of attempts is then made for seven full months to hide her shame. If all these fail, then a wretched creature is brought into this world. The next step is to get rid of it. A small conspiracy is formed. It is killed, and its remains disposed of in the best possible manner. In this attempt great danger is incurred. The Policeman, not having much to do, considers it a piece of good fortune to discover such a body. He secures it, and makes a list of young widows. He exercises his detective cunning in finding out the culprit. He often gets on a wrong scent. Many a widow, perfectly innocent, is laid hold of, taken to the Police-station, and 13 98 marched off to a dispensary for medical examination. An examination is held, and some of them declared innocent. They pay presents to the Police and recover their liberty from the clutches of the criminal law. To the priest this acquittal is insufficient. His inquisition is set on foot, and is ended invariably by the infliction of a heavy fine payable to himself, on the receipt of which, she is branded as a mark of purifi- cation. She may have no money to do all this ; she is com- pelled to court any paramour who will furnish her with the necessary funds, and this money enables her to come out of purgatory. Her relatives, however, are not satisfied. She is shunned by them. It then becomes necessary for her to sell her body for the sake of bread. No doubt there are cases in which the girl finds herself strong enough to combat with her passions. What a life does she lead? Privation of food, of clothing, and of even neces- sary comforts j observance of fasts, which at times extend to seventy-two hours ; enforced absence from every scene of festivity ; the enduring of execrations heaped upon her if she unwittingly or unfortunately comes in front of a man, a priest, a sovereign or a bride ; these, I say, become the daily expe- riences of her life which is often prolonged to a great age." Mr. Ragoonath Row then enters upon the legal and moral aspects of the question. He contends that Goverment having prohibited Suttee ought not to have stopped there. This prohibition is based on the Shastras and on considerations of humanity, justice and public morality. So far well and good. But what business had Government to dispossess a widow, entering upon a second marriage, of the estate inhe- rited from her first husband ? Government do not dispos- sess a widow even when she maintains criminal relations during her widowhood to a scandalous extent. But as soon as she seeks legitimate relief by remarriage she loses her property ! How can widows with means over think of remarriage ? And how can the parents and guardians of young widows with properties ever think of re-mar- 99 riage for them ? Infant marriage often means the marriage of a little girl with an old man for the sake of his money. When the man dies the little widow becomes mistress of his property. In her turn she is a slave of the parents and the caste. If she remarries she and her parents lose the property. So she, the little widow, may do anything with her life, but must not contract an honourable alliance again. Any wrong, any scandal or atrocity, is preferred to remarriage, which means loss of property. This is the position in which the enlightened British Government have inadvertently placed the widow, in spite of explicit injunctions of the Shastras to the contrary. Mr. Ragoonath Row holds Government respon- sible for this unfortunate state of affairs, and I am sure Government will have to practically acknowledge their mistake. Fancy the British Government sanctioning the marriage of girls of 2 and 3 with the dread contingency of their becoming widows before 10 and of remaining widows all their lives ! And all this when such enforced matrimony and widowhood are opposed to the spirit of the Shastras, to the laws of mora- lity, of health, of justice ; opposed to all considerations human and divine ! The attitude of some of the authorities is truly exasperating. And when they wring their hands, like one of these demoralised and thoroughly disheartened Hindu widows, and urge in self-defence : " how can we help you ?'* the case becomes hopeless. One looks in vain amongst them for the sturdy sprits who, in much less favourable times, put down much more serious evils. Compared with what their predecessors have done we want so very little from the present Government. We want honest inquiry and impartial action based on the law of the land. We want such moral support as the State is bound to render to society, and without which it is impossible in India to attempt reformation of any kind whatever. How long are the women of India to remain unre- presented in all that concerns the nation most vitally ? Do Government mean that their only duty is to raise the revenue ? If they mean anything more for the political advance- ment of the governed they had better begin by raising the 100 status of its women. Education is a great blessing, but where are the opportunities for the spread of such education as may enable our women to assert their rights as human beings ? Mr. Eagoonath Row makes seven proposals which he considers " absolutely necessary" for the mitigation of misery, sorrow and sin, and for the vindication of woman's honour according to. the Shastras themselves. These proposals are that : "1. Marriage is optional. 2. Marriageable age for the male is from his sixteenth year. 3. Marriageable age for the female is from her eleventh year. 4. In the case of a girl widowed before sexual intercourse, the bride may be legally married to another, with Vedie rites ; and, without them, if she be a non-virgin. 5. Their children are legitimate. 6. Virgins widowed, whether re-married or not, have no lien on their first husband's estate, as they do not belong to his Gotra. 7. Widows who have come into possession of their hus- bands' estate shall forfeit it, and it shall pass on to the next heirs, if they are proved to have had sexual intercourse during their widowhood. These are the main provisions of an Act which, I think, the Indian Imperial Legislature ought to pass. The first three sections are declaratory and contain provi- sions of the Hindu law. There has been, so far as I am aware, no decided case of the Privy Council, or of the High Courts to the contrary. The object of declaring these provi- sions as those of Hindu law, is to prevent too early marriages. The fourth, fifth and sixth sections are also declaratory pro- visions of Hindu law. These, together with the seventh section, have been in a way declared to be law by the Widow Marriage Act. There have been no decisions declaring these provisions to be no law. The object of re-enacting these is to shew them to be purely Hindu law, and as not based upon expediency. The seventh section is intended to cancel the bad ruling of the Privy Council in 1880.* The latter enables an unchaste widow to retain her husband's estate which she obtained when she was a chaste widow. Are these provisions revolutionarily aggressive ? Are they inconsistent with Hindu law ? Are they revolting to common sense, to morality, to humanity ? The first section will protect a female from persecution if she chooses not to enter into a married life up to any period of her life. Is this aggressive ? Is this tyrannical to her, or to anybody else ? The second section will save a great many girls from becoming widows ; for it has been proved from the experience of the world that deaths are more numerous below the ajje of O sixteen than above it. It will make our children more robust and healthy than they have hitherto been. It will improve the physique of the nation. It will add soundness to the educa- tion imparted. It will afford opportunities for travelling, without which no education is complete. On the contrary, what harm can arise from such a provision ? Will the Hindu nation rise against the British Government for declaring such a provision to be law ? If I have correctly felt the national pulse, I am sure that the nation is fully prepared to welcome such a law. The third section introduces no novelty. In Southern India I know, for a fact, that in some cases a marriage (in the sense in which the would-be-orthodox party uses the word), takes place when the bride is ten years old. It being so, what is the aggressive novelty in this third section ? If the Widow Marriage Act was legal, these four proposed sections must be legal, as the former was based on the very * Monirara Kolita v. Kerry Kolitany, 13th March 1880. 102 same authorities as the latter. These are only enabling clauses. They compel nobody to do anything against one's will, against conscience, against morality, against humanity, and even against the laws of nature. The seventh section is an absolute necessity. The enisling Judge-made law is opposed to Hindu law and morality, and holds out a premium to such of the widows as would lead an immoral life instead of getting themselves married under the provisions of the Widow Marriage Act. This Judge-made law was bitterly condemned by, I think, the whole of the native press at the time it was published." ONE MORE UNFORTUNATE. Jani, a little girl of nine, could not stay with her mother- in-law who ill-treated her cruelly in ninety cases out of a hundred you hear of this ill-treatment^ thanks to the custom of infant marriages. Well, Jani ran away from her mother-in- law to seek shelter at her mother's. But from the frying pan the poor little bird seems to have fallen into the fire. Jani's step-father took it to be a disgrace to himself that the girl should run away from the mother-in-law. So he branded her on several parts of the body and then te returned" her, like a bundle of rejected clothes, with two trusty friends. On her way back Jani met a policeman and appealed to him for mer- cy. The policeman took her to the chowky whence the Inspector placed her before the Magistrate. Mr. Dosabhoy Framji tried the case against Jani's step-father and gave him his due. So far so well. But how about Jani ? Will she be better treated in future ? The chances are otherwise. But what matters one more suicide, if the worse comes to the worst ? MORE SINNED AGAINST THAN SINNING. A widow at Satara was charged with having murdered her new-born child of shame. The Judge found the charge prov- ed and sentenced her to transportation for life. The widow appealed to the High Court for retrial. Here the sentence 103 passed by the Sessions Judge was confirmed. Some indig- nation is felt at this ; but we think the poor victim will be happier in the Andamans than at home amongst virtuous neighbours and moral law-administrators. In the course of the hearing of the appeal two witnesses deposed that they were present at the time the murder was committed, and that they dissuaded the mother from such a crime. How philan- thropic ! Of course, the mother would kill her child, she loved to do so. It is hard for us to be convinced that a mother actually and with her own hands kills her child. At the utmost she gives a sort of consent when half mad with the agony of her situation. She is not responsible for her act even when she does act in this manner herself. Will none of our public Associations take up this point ? And, then, what about the father of the child ? The man is known to every- body, and yet neither society nor the State could call him to account ! If the Mahajan were to arrange for the maintenance of the child and for screening the mother from public gaze, as they always do in the case of the man, the chief incentive to child-murder would be removed. ONE RESULT OF SWAYAMAVARA (SELF-CHOICE). If we do not read much about widow marriage in old times, we must remember that infant marriages were very rare in those days, that marriage was more or less a matter of choice (svcayamavard) with both sexes. Thus, there was greater attachment between the pair, and when the husband died the widow was not only more devoted to his memory than the average widow is in our times, but she had probably children by him or was at any rate old enough not to care for a second marriage. Prohibit baby marriages to-day and restore to the girl the exercise of her free will, and you will have very little of the misery, the sin, the scandal that assail the ear from every part of India. But even in those days, when presum- ably there were very few girl-widows, there was the practice of Niyoga.* What does this signify ? As to Shastras, we * The lenirate. 104 must not forget that they are wholly binding on the Brah- mins only. Why should the enormous majority of the other classes ruin themselves by aping the Brahmans ? We are sure they would not do so if the priests interpreted the Shastras to them faithfully. But thereby the priests would lose their occupation ! One peculiar misfortune of the Hindus is that they have not had anything like continued reliable history. LORD RIPON ON SOCIAL REFORM IN INDIA. In the course of his address at the annual meeting of the National Indian Association Lord Ripon expressed his high appreciation of the efforts made by a number of Hindu re- formers towards obtaining an amelioration of the condition of Indian women, especially in regard to infant marriages and compulsory widowhood. His Lordship declared that he felt *< the greatest interest" in these questions and that "great and signal evils did result from the present state of things in India with respect to them." But his Lordship was not quite sure as to how far it was advisable for the Government of India, as a Government, to move in the matter at present. We entirely agree that " Government could not and ought not to outrun public opinion " ; but in Lord Ripon's words, Government might do something " to guide and direct that opinion." Has the Supreme Government done that ? Have the different Local Administrations done so ? To be sure, individual reform ersl ike Vidiasagar, Ragoonath Row, Ranade, Bholanath and others might do much in the capacity of " missionaries on the public mind." But the utmost they could do is to prepare the way for the co-operation of the State. And this they have already done. They now find that after laborious efforts for years the fabric of reform they have raised with valuable materials correct interpretations of their scriptural writings, adapting them to the require- ments of these times, holding up the laws of Nature, &c.,does not stand firm for want of that authoritative regulation which can give it stability. This is the missing link, and the State alone could supply it. It is very little, indeed, that leaders 105 of Hindu society want of the State, but that little they could not do without. Lord Ripon seems to have recognised this difficulty. When Native reformers had done their duty, he explained, "then perhaps it might be possible for Government to do something to help on the work'' if such help did not become unnecessary by the time ! This is a sly hit at the re- formers and it reminds one of the familiar Bania story. A young Bania once asked his not over-liberal father when he was going to find out a suitable match for him. The worthy parent replied somewhat on this wise : " My son, try and grow old and strong, and I'll marry you. If / don't marry you, my son, your uncle or some other relative will marry you; if he don't, why, you will one day marry yourself. So, my son, try and grow old and strong for marriage." ** But father/ asked the innocent youth, " what if I die in the mean time?'* "Then, my son,*' replied the Bania, " I'll be saved the marriage expense and the necessity of keeping a serpent (widowed daughter-in-law) in my house'* J BABY MARRIAGES AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION. It is gratifying to see our Hindu friends beginning to recognise the value of physical education. But may we submit if it would not be better to begin with putting down baby marriages ? For a child to be strong enough to profit by physical exercise the parents must be fairly well-developed; and this is not to be expected before they are at least some- thing like 18 and 15 respectively. How many Hindu parents are "blessed" with children before the time ? To ask the sons of such parents to exercise their bodies, so as to be able one day to fight the Cossacks out of Central Asia, seems to us to be like adding insult to injury. WHY HINDU WOMEN DIE EARLY? Dr. Bhalchandra, head of the Medical Department at Baroda, seems to have written book in Marathi, in which he inquires into the causes of the premature decay and death of Hindu women. This book is noticed by Mr. Samarth in last Journal of the National Indian Association. And what 14 106 Is Dr. Bhalchandra's opinion? That early marriage is the principal cause of premature deaths amongst Hindu women. This has been the opinion of competent authorities for the last fifty years on our side. Medical Conferences have pro- nounced the same judgment in Bengal and elsewhere. Out- siders can have no idea of the number of girl-wives dying in child-bed. And even when the victims survive the shock, their life is a torture to many of them, certainly more painful than death. The evil was not unknown some years ago among Parsi families, ''the most advanced section of the community/' and in some cases doctors had to cry shame upon parents of the girl-mothers. Parsis have greatly improved since. They have given up bigamy, and the educated classes have given up child marriages too. Not so the Hindus. They are so conservative and so split up into castes, and so priest-ridden besides, that a thousand Hindu doctors preaching against infant marriages for fifty years have had very little effect upon moral suicides. On the contrary, we have t( educated" Hindu gentlemen assuring us to-day that the practice of infant marriages is almost unknown amongst them and that so far there is no room for reform! Thank God the number of orthodox Brahmins who ignore the existence of the evil is extremely small and their opposition is becoming less effective every day. Their attitude just now reminds one of the misuse by the drowning Scotchman of the signs of the future tense " I will be drowned and no one shall save me"? with only this difference, that whereas the Scotchman suffered in ignorance, the Brahmin surfers with a full know- ledge of his position, indeed takes pride in the ruin of his family and his race. A STRANGE DEFENCE. Babu Akhsaya Chandra Sirkar, Editor of the Nabajibana, delivered a lecture the other day, in the course of which he contended that the re-marriage of a Hindu widow is alto- gether unlawful ; first, because marriage is pre-eminently 107 a spiritual relation among Hindus and therefore everlasting j and secondly, because a Hindu girl marries not only her husband, but also his whole family and clan. To his orthodox hearers Mr. Sirkar*s argument must have ap- pealed with all the force of a clencher, and the way in which it was put must have been found exceedingly pretty and pious. But in spite of its novelty, the argument is not worth a moment's thought. What does this "educated" journalist mean by investing infant marriages with the essence of spiri- tuality ? What spiritual relation can there be in a union, both parties to which are irresponsible ? In most of these cases it is not the children who marry, but their parents. Can these be the marriages said to be made in Heaven ? Marri- ages in India were, no doubt, spiritual unions in the days of the Swayamvara, and in those days I believe the re-marriage of either a widow or a widower was unknown. But how completely have the Hindus of to-day fallen away from those glorious traditions ! Again, if marriage among modern Hindus is a spiritual contract, and therefore inviolable even after the death of one of the parties, how happens it that the widower can remarry at any time and to any extent ? Mr. Sirkar's second point, that a Hindu girl marries the whole family of the husband, cuts the ground from under his own feet. For, that means polyandry. And if widow marri- age is bad, according to Mr, Sirkar, polyandry is a hundred times worse. A moment's reflection will show that in all polyandric connections there is the essence of remarriage in the lifetime of the husband. I have heard many strange arguments against Widow Marriage, but none as queer as this. Probably the only honestly expressed objection I ever met with from an orthodox friend was that if Hindu widows were allowed to re-marry, many a discontented wife would do away with her husband ! I do believe this idea works upon the opponents of Widow Marriage more than any other consideration. What a libel it implies upon the women of India I 108 A SOCIAL PHENOMENON. The Indian Union receives this letter from a friend at Bhatpore, a town in Bengal : '* A social phenomenon has occurred here. One bridegroom was joined in matrimony to a string of four unmarried ladies. I cannot call them girls, because not even the youngest was below 35 years of age. This event took place here, on the last but one day of Baisakh. The happy bridegroom is a Brahmin of Khasbari in Halishahar, a man of 50 years age. He had before this one wife, and had by her several children. The brides hail from Vikrampore. Five of these were brought for marriage, their ages varying from 50 to 20. The eldest has her hair grown grey and her sets of teeth are not entire. Four of these brides were disposed of on that one occasion. The fifth has not been taken in as wife, but has been betrothed to the same individual. She will be married as soon as one of her cousins marries two unmarried daughters of her would- be husband shortly." Such " marriages " are not unknown on our side especially among Anawala Brahmins. But when you remind "educated" Hindus of their revolting character, you are met with half- quotations from Bentham, Mill and the rest. When you appeal to the good sense of your orthodox countrymen, they take shelter under the purity and other virtues of their remote ancestors. Government is your last resource. But the utmost that the mighty Sirkar can do is to wring her hands in des- pair or to shed a tear of sympathy. A fine prospect for poor Ragoonath Row and his fellow-labourers I AN UNEDUCATED HINDU REFORMER. I received a call last week from Mr. Nathubhai Talak- chand, a bookseller in town. Mr. Nuthubhai is not an "educated" Hindu, nor a very presentable one. He came up puffing and panting, and thrusting himself in an easychair, gave vent to his feelings in a series of violent ejaculations, stretching out his arms and legs, currycombing his neck and 109 blowing his nose in a hearty familiar manner. I gave him time to settle himself; and then asked for what high purpose Heaven had blessed me that evening with his society. " I am Nathu Talakchand, the bookseller/' he replied senten- tiously. I pretended to make him out at once, thus obviating the necessity of introductions, references, &c., with which he appeared to have come well supplied. Asked about his busi- ness, Mr. Nathubhai began on this wise : "I am a victim of our wretched marriage rules. Many years ago my father arranged for marriage with 's daughter at Ahmedabad. One day I was asked to go to that city, to stay there for some weeks, to give the necessary dinners to our caste, the dakhshinas to the priests, and the presents to the bride and her parents. I had lucrative business to attend to here at the time, and as I did not go up at once, the bride was given away to another. Soon after, 1 lost my money, and it is only after years of hard struggle that I have again built up a small competency. I have had a very miserable time of it, have suffered in health and in self-respect, as most men in my position do, and you see I am already an old man." "Why don't you marry now?" I asked, interrupting my visitor. "What is the use?" he replied. te I could marry a girl to-morrow, but such a marriage could never become happy. I have known hundreds of cases." "What prevents you marrying an ho- nest widow?" Tasked again. " Ah," he replied, " I would be put out of caste, with all relations and connections, directly I did so. I have my own arrangement now. And Caste won't interfere with that. Is it not a shame, and is not the Sirkar blind ? " I then explained to Mr. Nathubhai that the Sirkar had already turned a benevolent match-maker in the interests of the widow; but that if the match did not turn out happy, we could not blame the Sirkar. Thereupon Nathubhai, son of Talakchand, spoke bitterly of the igno- rance and utter incapacity of Government to understand this question of widow marriage. He said that so long as Go- vernment submitted tamely to the defiance of Caste, their Widow Marriage Act would remain a dead letter. It was 110 worse than useless. I could not quite agree with him, but asked to be furnished with his views in writing. Here Mr. Nathubhai took out an essay from his pocket and offered it to me with the remarks : " Shett Sahib, I am not an edu- cated man, and have put down my crude views here in imperfect Gujarati. Let any man in India controvert these views and I give him as reward Rs. 501." I have gone through Mr. Nathubhai's paper much of which is terrible in its outspokenness. The writer has evi- dently become desperate under pressure of circumstances. But there is some force in what he says, and a brief substance of it may be given here with advantage: " Government says it does not wish to interfere with the working of Caste ; and yet it allows Caste to interfere with the personal liberty of unfortunate widows, which liberty has been guaranteed by the Sirkar itself ! Enforced widowhood is dangerous, not only to the Hindus of those classes in which it prevails, but to other sects, and also to non-Hindu com- munities. In fact, it is a national evil. Unprotected young widows, all whose sins are connived at by Caste (save the * sin ' of remarriage ), at times mislead maids and married women ( especially young women married to old men ). They ruin young men of all classes They become in a manner teachers of immorality and crimes like foeticide, infanticide, and so on. They give incessant trouble to the Police, whose services are paid for from the general revenues. Thus, Go- vernment is bound, in public interests, to discourage enforced widowhood. "2. Government has made a mistake in policy in inviting the written opinions of representative Hindus on the ques- tions of infant marriages and enforced widowhood. For various reasons these opinions cannot be bona fide. Most of your leading Hindus are unfit to give impartial opinions. In the first place all these " men of position " practise infant marriage and compulsory widowhood. Are they likely to disapprove the customs publicly, and thus proclaim their own Ill hypocrisy or helplessness? Many of them, again, have widowed sisters, daughters and others at home. Can they be ex- pected to denounce enforced widowhood publicly, and thus indirectly publish their own shame? Some of these men are living with other men's widows with their own wives' sisters, with their Caste winks at these things, because Caste is merciful to the rich. Can these men be expected to ask Go- vernment to put down the zulum of Caste against widow marriage? Some men live upon the estates of widows, whom they keep under their protection. Can they ever speak out against the custom which gives them a living? Then the religious heads of Castes, the family priests and others, derive their incomes mainly from widows in their life-time, and they often inherit the property of these widows on their death. Will these men approve widow marriage or allow others to approve the reform ? Government has made a bad mistake in asking for written opinions from these men. The best way was to consult some of them privately in the light of such information as I give above. These irregularities are no- torious. "3. Enforced widowhood leads to most unnatural and fiendish cruelty. In populous cities like Bombay new-born infants are at times pounded to death or cat up in small pieces and then thrown into the sewers, mixed up with rubbish and so on. There is a class of women whose business is to do this. " 4. The real reasons for enforced widowhood are that some of our men wish to monopolise widows, some decline to think about other people's affairs, many are ashamed to con- fess their own weakness, or are too proud to do so ; many wish to keep women as slaves, some old husbands are afraid of being killed by their young wives, if they approve remarriage of widows. However badly a young woman may be matched, it must be remembered that she prays to God every day to keep her husband alive for the life of a widow, to an honest woman, is infinitely more painful than of an illmatched wife. The former has no hope and is at everybody's mercy. The majority of men do not sanction widow marriage, because they think it a shame that their wives should one day pass away into other men's possession. But at the same time these men themselves can marry any number of wives. What justice ! 5. Government must know that in India remarriage is more necessary for woman than man. (a) Woman is weak. (b) She depends upon man in all concerns of life and is not a free agent ; for food, clothing, housing, for everything she is at the mercy of man. (c) This being so, it is very easy for man to betray the poor creature. The result is bodily and mental torture to her, now and then untimely death. If she survives the crisis, she has to commit or connive at infanticide ; she then becomes answerable to law. Neither Caste nor Law holds anybody else responsible. Woman is the only sufferer throughout. The man, who is ten times more guilty than the woman (even granting she is guilty), goes free. He has no bodily or mental agony to suffer, and the law or the Caste can do nothing to him, although he may be known as the father of the child. U U*U, ^iHl ^d <3M> *i& Hi *Hl<2 Hii tt Dr. Blaney seems to know nothing about these domes- tic squalls. What, then, is to be the remedy ? The very same as Dr. Blaney has suggested, with a very slight addition. Let the meeting be held, let the pledge be taken, and then let the Sirkar be asked only to ratify this voluntary compact, by ruling that marriages under the age fixed by the memorialists shall not be held legally valid in case of dispute. The delin- quents are not going to be penally dealt with in any way. The Sirkar is not coming into our houses to carry away our girls to keep them unmarried by force. Government only do what we pray them to do they save us from ourselves, from our clamorous wives and ignorant relatives and from the greedy priests. Practically, there is no difference between Dr. Blaney's method and the method suggested by Mr. Ranade. But the latter will lead to real reform, while the former may perhaps discredit the cause still further. Is Dr. Blaney prepared to incur a little odium from the ignorant, and the interested classes and their hirelings in the Press ? We must take the world as we find it, and make the best of it, such as it is. The State must be at the back of society for such a reform it must also adopt Mr. Day a ram Gidumal's proposal to register Reform Associations, so as to enable them to enforce their rules practically. These Associations have hitherto failed and become discredited, simply because they have not had the power of keeping men to their word. In other cases, again, Mr. Manibhai Jasabhai's suggestion will be found eminently serviceable. 18 138 SOME FACTS. A correspondent of the Gujarati sends him particulars from Dhoraji in Kattywar, which the opponents of widow marriage would do well to study. The writer declares that five little ones, the fruit of unlawful intercourse, have been "religiously" disposed of " in two villages," in the course of four months. The suspected widows were placed under police surveillance when all attempts had failed to hide their shame. But the policeman could not save the infants from their unhappy mothers and unnatural relations. He, of course, insisted upon the mothers nursing their babes. This they pretended to do in his presence. But as soon as his back was turned, the infants were left to die of starvation or nursed on strong opium water. So badly had they been treated even before birth, that the poor things bore marks of violence inflicted while in the womb, So died the five orphans in four months. Two others were taken home by a kind-hearted Vakeel. But in spite of the best care, they too pined away and died. Did Caste do anything by way of chastising the widows, their betrayers and the murderers of the innocents ? Nothing. Take another instance. A widow in the same district, finding herself inconveniently situated, went to the house of her lover (?) asking him to shelter her and the baby that was to be born. And for a wonder, the man took her in. Practical woman she, and a worthy lover he, however erring. In due course came the baby, and mother and father both resolved that they would not add to their sin by committing a murder. They would spare the infant's life. Now Caste, hearing of this, was scandalized. What, manufacture a baby and not kill it. So she excommunicates the man and the woman. Caste is willing to put up with unchastity and murder, but she cannot tolerate sin without the flavour of a good round capital crime. Such is Caste in India, whom chivalrous Englishmen serenade in the press, and whom they address sonnets and odes without number. 139 PROFESSOR WORDSWORTH ON SOCIAL REFORM IN INDIA. Mr. Wordsworth condemns Infant Marriage as "an irra- tional practice " and as " seriously hampering any society that adopts it." He invokes take action. Probably this is the unconscious object with which the writer in the Pioneer started on hi& generous mis- sion to minimise. Here let me once more revert to my old contention. Infant Marriage and Enforced Widowhood are both of them mere fashions. They began with the Brahmanas, but, like all fashions, they have since permeated the ranks of most of the other sections, till to-day these evil fashions, so ruinous to the national well-being, are followed by all classes of the Hindu community, save the lowest. All Hindus, of whatever caste, who expect to rise in the social scale, borrow the fashion if they have it not, those alone doing' without it who have no hope of rising in the world. This is, of course, a general statement, open to exceptions due more to the relaxing of priestly discipline than to any natural cause. But one fact I have ascertained beyond doubt, namely, that a number of castes which did not marry their children in infancy and did not prevent young widows from remarrying only twenty years ago, are at present found to be as much the slaves of the fogiiio ; as the most fashionable twice-born. I have been 155 told of a number of individual cases in which what the Brahmans call " low caste men" have set up for the Brah- man ical practice directly on acquiring a small competency or a little position in society. Coining to recent experience, what was the secret of my Hindu friends in Upper India dissuading me very strongly, at every centre I visited last spring, from making the slight- est reference to Widow Marriage in the course of my public utterances ? The friends were not all of them Brahmans ; a majority of them were members of the other castes. But all of them were men of position, social and official. What made them, one and all, speak of widow re-marriage with bated breath, as if the very mention of it would expose them to public obioquy ! This is practical proof of the extreme unpopularity of the cause which almost every educated Hindu is anxious, in his heart of hearts, to befriend. But fearing lest this may be discounted as indirect evi- dence, I wrote to several representative Hindu friends in the principal towns of the North- West Provinces to which the article in the Pioneer referred. And I give below brief ex- tracts from their replies. I have no wish to question the accuracy of the Census or of other official reports. But there are obvious reasons why inquiries into such delicate matters, by foreigners and officials, cannot always be satisfactory. At any rate, the results of such inquiries are generally apt to be misapprehended. My own case is different. I am neither an official nor an alien ; my inquiries have been at times made from door to door. I have now and again heard men and women, orthodox Hindus, describing to one another the horrors of Enforced Widowhood and cursing their leaders officials of the Government among them who help not, though they can. But for all that, it needs very little insight into human nature to understand that individuals in the position of our Hindu brethren will never move without a promise of aid from men in authority in case an unequal struggle n the social annihilation of the individuals. 156 Mr. Prahlad Sing, Pleader at Meerut, writes : " The feeling against Widow Marriage here is very strong, not only amongst the Brahmans, but amongst all sections of the Hindu community," Mr. S. K. Chatterji, Pleader at Meerut, writes: " Infant marriages are not only not on the decrease, but are actually spreading in large parts of the country The same is the case with widow remarriages. In the Punjaub and the North-West Provinces widows among the lower classes marry as commonly as in any part of Europe. But widow remarriages are also becoming disreputable every day." Mr. Baij Nath, Munsif of Agra, writes: " The feeling against Widow Remarriage is very strong amongst the uneducated classes It is tolerated amongst those who do not belong to the Brahman, and the Khatri classes with their sub-divisions. In classes in which Widow Marriage has been customary it has not decreased ; on the other hand, in classes in which it has not been customary it is as rare as before." Rai Peary Lai, Munsif of Barielly, writes: " With reference to your letter asking me, after consulting the principal residents of this place, to let you know if the feeling among the higher classes against Widow Marriage is strong, I am sorry to say that such is the case. They do not like even the question of Widow Marriage to be discussed, sentiment having entire sway over reason." Mr. Ganga Prasad Varma, Editor of the Hindustani, Lucknow, writes : tf In Oudh certainly the feeling against Widow Marriage is very strong amongst the upper 3 classes of Hindus. Sudras are the only class who are allowed Widow Marriage, but the pernicious example of the upper classes deters them too, and now I observe that they (Sudras) to a certain extent degrade their caste people in a Widow Re-marriage." 157 Pandit Badri Datt Joshi, Honorary Deputy Collector at Muthva, writes : *'The feeling against Widow Marriage is strong only in the orthodox portion of the " twice-born" communities, namely Brahmans, Khsatryas and Vashyas The distaste for Widow Marriage is not becoming general, though among the well-to- do of the lower classes there is a tendency to walk in the steps of the higher classes." EDUCATION AND REFORM. Here is a nut to crack for advocates of education as the only means of effecting social reform amongst Hindus. The Nagar Brahmans of Gujarat are the most influential com- munity in almost every respect. And they are so well " edu- cated " as to boast of 98 per cent, of educated males and some- thing like 94 per cent, of educated females amongst them this according to the Census Report, referred to by the Guja- rati. Ninety -eight and ninety-four per cent, respectively ! It means progress beyond the dream of the most sanguine edu- cationist. And yet, what social advance have the Nagars made of late? Do they tolerate Widow Remarriage for in- stance, if they cannot practise it ? Nothing of the kind. Why, they have not yet made up their minds to allow young men of promise to go to England for study. They have been thinking about it for years. Two years ago the Nawab Sahib of Junaghar established a few Travelling Scholarships on behalf of his Nagar subjects. But the scholarships still remain unutilized. The elders of the community promised to consider the proposal seriously, with the aid of their priests and the youngsters indulged liberally in tall talk " everything has been settled, the candidates are ready, a steamer has been chartered, with Hindu crew and other servants. It is a glorious day for India" so wrote some of the Hindu papers. Two years have passed since, but the reformers and the crew and the servants, the priests and the elders, are making no signs. The idea is no doubt alive, but its realization is pro- 158 bably as far off as it ever was. Our speculative friends are still speculating, dreaming, discussing they are, in a word, thinking. When pressed hard, they turn round, covering their own weaknesses under the \irtues of their remote progenitors those Aryan heroes" who did this, that and the other thing when the ancestors of the Briton ''painted their skins " and otherwise lived as savages. The Nagars of Gujarat are, on the whole, a splendid race, highly developed both in body and in mind. Sooner or later they may venture out on the seas under prescribed rules. They may also pick up cricket and cycling in the course of the cen- tury. But as for social reform and widow marriage especially, it is useless speaking to them. Individual effort is altogether beyond them, placed as they are at a cruel disadvantage for such effort. The pity of it is that they don't speak out, because they fear it would make them look so foolish. A race of born scholars and politicians, so to say, not able to mend their marriage customs when they are convinced of .the necessity of reform ! How odd ! But how true, nevertheless ! OLD REFORMERS AND MODERN REFORM- MONGERS. Probably the most solid amongst practical Hindu reformers on our side was Mr. Mathuradas Lowji, of whose death I heard last week"Vith deep regret. This feeling is deepened further by the reflection that I never took pains to make his acquaintance, though living almost next door to him, so to say. Mathuradas Lowji was an orthodox Bhattia. He was born in a sort of spiritual bondage, and lived all his life surround- ed by moral environments which would have stunted the growtli of any other reformer less earnest than he. But Mathuradas utilized these very circumstances to his advan- tage. In this respect he was like Ragoonath Row of Madras, fighting the Brahmans with their own weapons and thus depriving them of apparently their strongest argument "you 159 are a pervert." Mathuradas knew not a word of English, and consequently he had none of the monkey about him, none of those acquired habits and appearances to which one's inner conviction is often ruthlessly sacrificed. And yet he was a man of extensive learning, learned in several languages, and accomplished in debate. Mathuradas Lowji was not a pro- fessional reformer. He had his convictions regarding the social, religious and commercial improvement of his country- men. And to the enforcing of these convictions, generally in public interest, he gave years of his valuable life. His career as a citizen was indeed a continued struggle with what we Parsis call the powers of darkness. Mathuradas was no respecter of persons. He hit hard when confronting the most powerful adversaries, and cheerfully received their blows as a necessary result. There was nothing of the whipped cur in him when attacked. In most of his dealings he showed him- self a sturdy lion, though sometimes lacking the generosity of the lion. His private life was not quite in keeping with his civic reputation. One notable feature of his life was that Mathuradas never troubled himself about politics. There may be more in this abstinence than appears on the surface. No less interesting is the fact that almost all our early reformers, the first fruit of Western education, our pioneers of progress, opened the campaign with social discussion. They did not, like the present generation of reform-mongers, seek IP set right the affairs of the city, the country, and the whole world, before taking their personal and family affairs in hand. HOW LITTLE THEY CAN DO. I have been favoured with letters from Thana, Nasik and Katargam. The first writer thinks that the law should at once put down the shaving of widows' heads, the second thinks I ought to work with Hindu Associations, and the third advises me to take the Pandits and Shastris in hand. These letters may be published hereafter. In the meantime 160 let us see what the Associations, the Pandits, Shastris, and Pleaders have done to put a stop to the personal disfigure- ment of young widows. There has been a very strong feel- ing against that practice for years, but our self-reliant reformers have scarcely yet made up their minds to take practical steps against it. I might point to a score of other matters which they could re-adjust with very little personal inconvenience. Here is a striking instance. One day, about seven years ago, a Bania gentleman, with whom 1 was on friendly terms, told me that he was thinking of disposing of his daughter in marriage. The girl was about 7 or 6 at the time, and as she used to read with me now and then I knew she was unusually intelligent. I could not understand why this bright little creature should be so soon given away in marriage. Her father was the head of his little caste, and the only man of means, the rest being petty shopkeepers. I asked about particulars, and was horrified to know that he was being pressed to throw away his daughter upon an illiterate young pauper. 1 asked if he could not find a better match. He explained that this was the best, unless he went out of his own caste, which he could not do. To be brief, the match was brought about, the marriage ceremony took place, and by this time, I suppose, my little friend is a mother, the wife of a do-nothing fellow whom she must feed and clothe, and to whose level she has descended long since. The most curious part of it is that the caste to which my Bania friend belonged was only one-sixth of a small section of the Bania community. The six sections had free intercourse with one another down to eating and drinking together. But still they would not intermarry. The same state of things continues to this day. Now, if these six sub-sections married amongst one another, as they no doubt used to do at first, a marriage like the one I have referred to would not be heard of. Because in one sub-section there are more marriageable girls than boys, while in another the reverse 161 may be the case. The misery that arises from confining marriages to the same sub-sections, (marriages between kindreds being at the same time strictly forbidden) can hardly be conceived by an outsider. And what has been done to mitigate the evil ? Absolutely nothing, and I doubt if anything will be done without moral pressure. There are many sub-castes like this, which could set themselves right with but a slight effort. But the effort is wanting. Some of these sub-castes have become extinct within living memory ! Let the reader observe that the Bania caste, which is one of the large divisions of Hinduism, is divided into numerous sections, of which that to which my friend belonged is one, and that again is divided into six sub-sections. Practically these sub-sections, and even the principal sections, are one and the same in everything. The sub-sections even to-day have free intercourse with one another. And yet, although they eat, drink and worship with one another, still they won't intermarry for some miserable squabble at a caste dinner, I fancy, or because one sub-section lives at Bombay and another at Surat ! Here was a Hindu gentleman, the head of his sect, one who could buy up all his other fellows, shrewd and sensible, loving his daughter as only a Hindu parent can love (because he may have to part with the child any day), confessing himself powerless before a handful of dependents. He could easily have found a suitable match for his daughter from the sub- section next to his own. But he did not, or rather he said he could not. What could be easier than to bring the six sub-sections together for purposes of intermarriage, as they are for all other purposes ? And yet, though unable to do this little for himself, your lip-reformer is ever ready with his " Yaw Yaw Yaw, we don't want outside advice." Who can tell what the result of this Yaw Yaw Yaw may be fifty years hence? My Bania friend has gone over to the majority, and his son is now reigning in his place. Will he use his opportunities better ? 21 162 TRUE AND FALSE SATI AND FREE AND ENFORCED WIDOWHOOD. Mr. Gadgil* seems to look wistfully back to the "good old days " of Sati, and thinks that the law against it is at times evaded even now. He is right in one sense. To the credit of human nature be it said that true Sati prevails in all parts of the world. No brighter instance of this form of Sati will ever be cited by History than that of Queen Victoria. She has been a living Sati all these years. This true Sati is no exclusive privilege of the Brahmins, nor can it be put down by human law. I would be the first to oppose such a desecration of our better nature. The Government of India did not, nor did it even intend to, suppress true Sati in the country. What Bentinck put his foot down upon was the false Sati, the forced Sati, involving poison, in- toxication and murder in open daylight. The same may be said of widowhood. Let us rejoice that there are so many true widows in India, leavening the mass of society with their selfless devotion. But why should we tolerate enforced widowhood? I hope Mr. K. P. Gadgil will now see the difference between a voluntary act and that which is com- pulsory. A SCIENTIFIC REFORMER. Is there to be no end to this anonymous scribbling on the part of a few so-called " educated " Hindus who are a reproach to the education they have received and to the essentially grateful community to which they belong ? Here is "Hope" writing to the Times of India of Tuesday last, Hope without Faith or Charity. A mixture of far fetched assumptions served up in the form of scientific or philosophical jargon, which is further marred by an attempt at mystification charac- teristic of writers of this class. * A correspondent of the Bombay Gazettt. 163 " Hope " examines the question of infant marriage " scienti- fically," and yet immediately after he passes on to the 120 cases of criminal assault on girls which are said to have occurred in England in six months. How logical and how charitable our "scientific" gentleman is! The swinishness of some Englishmen is held to be an excuse for Hindus cherishing infant marriages against nature and against their Shastras, thereby ruining the race. Opponents of infant marriage are then assumed to labour under the impression that " the very day the priest joins the hands of the bride and the bridegroom the marriage is consummated." How accurate! Does it need "science" to assure these silly re- formers that a marriage cannot be completed between a man of 21 and a girl of five or even ten years ? All this we knew very well, and " Hope" might have spared us his f< scientific 1 * explanation. We also know what our "scientific" critic feigns ignorance of, that infant marriages superinduce pre- mature consummation, and that if even a day after the marri- age ceremony the bridegroom dies, the bride is condemned to perpetual widowhood. How about that, sweet Hope, the in- spired of science ? Further on we are told : ft widows are not at all ill-treated by any. * ; This may pass for a "scientific** proposition, but it won't stand the test of practical expe- rience. Then there is a fling at the poor "Hindu Lady'* who declined to incur the penalties, worse than death, of an ill- sorted marriage forced upon her in her infancy. Can these repeated attacks upon her be due to the fact that by her education the Hindu Lady has taken the shine out of some of her female acquaintances ? Science is a good thing to swear by ; but in India, more than elsewhere, she can be very narrow and bigoted when she likes. We are then treated by " Hope " to the old old story about " education," "intellectual emancipation'* of the masses, also that " the nature of man is intricate," that in the Asiatic Library there is a book on Caste system, and so forth. This is all very fine. But what use talking about "intellectual emanci- 164 pation" of the people, when you know that the people at large can never and nowhere be really emancipated? If you, the leaders of society, are emancipated from self and the deadening in- fluences it creates, that is quite enough for our purpose. Talk of " emancipation" where the youth of the country is being sacrificed to an unnatural custom, where boys and girls are tied together before they have scarcely commenced their school course, where the few girls that attend school have to be withdrawn about 10, to become mothers between 12 and 13 and old women before 33, and where young men are weighted down with the cares of family before they have seen the world or have found their own means of livelihood ! As to the discourse on things infinite, such as " the intricate nature of man " and all that, what has it to do with the plague of infant marriages condemned by God and man alike? But as a friend was telling me the other day inconvenience, is to be encoun- tered. Surely, there ought to be enough of public spirit in the "first city in India" to work a European lady in found- ing a school for Hindu widows to be managed by a Hindu, committee on strict Hindu principles? But not half-a-do/en Hindus are forthcoming to do this, while thousands will be ready at an hour's notice to harangue Government as to the cruelty of allowing cows to be slaughtered by the Musulmans and rabid dogs and monkeys to be destroyed by the police. And it is to this class of men that Government looks up for the emancipation of women in India. God help our baby- brides and girl-widows ! Even a rare occasion like the Queen-Empress's Jubilee has gone by without one anxious thought given to the most neglected of Her Majesty's sub- jects and sisters in India. Government might, to some extent, have lightened the widow's burden of grief by making a grant towards the establishment of asylums and orphanages. But where is the pinch ? Women in India do not hold indig- nation meetings and pious conferences of protest to frighten Government. And with their natural guardians and repre- sentatives so indifferent, what need has Government to go to the rescue of the uninfluential sex? Statesmanship and chivalry may be all very well for sentimentalists: they have no place in the code of honour of your practical politicians. If the alleged decline of English supremacy is to be traced in anything, it is in this attitude of the Government towards the most helpless of their wards. 220 THE QUEEN'S OWN WARDS, " Deborah/* an Englishwoman, sends a stirring appeal to the Statesman on behalf of Hindu widows, asking if the Jubilee of the Queen-Empress's reign could not be appro- priately celebrated by the concession of some relief to the least cared for of Her Majesty's subjects. She proves the appro- priateness of the suggestion by showing that Queen Victoria is herself " the offspring of a widow marriage." Referring to the prohibition of Suttee she says " that awful fate was less painful, and far less shameful and degrad- ing (not at all shameful or degrading I should say) than the widows* present condition." She agrees with influential Hindus in blaming the British Government, more than any- body else, for the enforced celibacy of Hindu widows, widows only in name. " Deborah " calls Government very hard names, and reproduces the observation, quoted from Mrs. Etherington : "An intelligent, well-educated, and influential Hindu gentleman once told my husband, that at least nine-tenths of the children who are left widows go astray, and from my own experience among Hindoo women, I fear this may be no exaggeration."' God forbid there should be anything even like an approach to this estimate in all parts of the country. But it takes very little knowledge of human nature to see that there is a vast amount of needless misery crying to Heaven for redress. And where our own flesh and blood are callous to this result of an iniquitous social law, it will take the beelike patience and industry of many a " Deborah " to obtain redress of her sisters* wrongs. VACCINATION AND INFANT MARRIAGES. The Vaccination Inquirer for February comes out with a supplement headed " Death the Vaccinator." This represents a mother sitting with the child on her knee* a policeman in 221 uniform standing on her left with a copy of the Vaccination Act in hand, " for the Jenneration of disease^' and "Death the Vaccinator," a ghastly spectre, on the right, in the act of vaccinating the baby. The look of agonized despair, mingled with reproach, which the mother gives the policeman* ought to petrify him ; but she is evidently powerless to do- more. It is impossible to look at the sketch without the fear of being haunted by the mother's look for the rest of one's life. We give here an extract from the supplement : they did not grow to be five years old," so saying the soldier passed the back of his hand across his eyes, thinking, may be, about the fate of the only hope left to him. Seizing this opportunity, I returned to the subject of recruiting, though it was rather mean to do so. But the fakir-reformer must do his duty. " How many parents have to grieve even more than you, when they are deprived of their grown-up sons, the mainstay of the house ? My friend, let us think of others, just as we think of ourselves." The Subedar appeared to be very shaky. His son and heir woke up soon after, perspiring like a little whale, and looking decidedly less seedy than he did an hour ago. I dosed him again, and set him free to play about in the carriage. The father's gratitude knew no bounds. And that brings us to HOM(EOPATHY. It was about seven years ago that I was first drawn to this truly scientific system. I was put in the way by the wife of Kit. 287 an Eng'ish officer. At first I was a sceptic, and when the lady spoke very earnestly, I replied, " How can these infi- nitesimal globules and pilules, attenuated out of all strength, work upon a young elephant like myself?" She was very angry, and sent rne a batch of papers and things to study. These set me thinking about the matter seriously. A few months later I was snatched from the jaws of Death by a homoeopath at Wadwan. What wonder that I became a convert, and a thorough-going homoeopath ? To-day I would prefer to be killed under homoeopathic treatment, than be cured by the allopath. The new system, which is really the old and the true one, has a brilliant future in the East, and I would advise European or American homoeopaths in want of practice to rough it for a few years in India. I am glad homoeopathy is already becoming popular in Bengal and Bombay. The advantages it offers are manifold, though in rapidly destruc- tive diseases and in surgery I am not quite sure about its superiority. The cures it effects in nervous and similar diseases are marvellous. The system has its enemies, but these are soon apt to turn into its best friends all save those who are guilty of what Akhlak-i-Jalali calls Compound Ignorance. IGNORANCE. There are two kinds of Ignorance that the reformer has to encounter Simple Ignorance and Compound Ignorance. Simple Ignorance is not a sin, and every man born of woman is subject to it. It can be remedied ; in fact, it is an evil car- rying its own remedy. The man who suffers from Simple Ignorance knows that he is ignorant ; that is, he knows that he does not know a certain thing. And this fact of his know- ing that he does not know such and such a thing, will stimu- late curiosity and ultimately bring him acquainted with the object of his inquiry. But Compound Ignorance is a sin and a vile disease. I believe it is mostly incurable. Com- pound Ignorance differs from Simple Ignorance in that whereas the latter knows what it does not know, the former 288 knows not what it knows not. It is, indeed, a hopeless case when a man says he does not like such and such a thing/ without assigning an intelligent reason for his dislike, that is, a reason based on actual, personal, or at any rate, credible human experience. We must give up such a man for a mule. I mean no disrespect towards a most deserving class of men ; but those of our "educated'' young Hindu friends who sav / > they dislike social agitation because they dislike it, will have to be classed amongst those bit by the intellectual or rather spiritual disease, Compound Ignorance. The man who rejects everything new, simply because it is new, is scarcely fit himself to eat rejected straw. For even a mule will prefer an allowance of new mown hay to his stale old provender. He will smell both, and prefer that which smells sweet. The mule is, therefore, a more promising pupil than the man who foolishly turns away from a new thing on the score of i's being new. Our recruiting Subedar went out at A j mere about midnight, with his sprightly little hopeful by his side, after elaborate leave-taking, Khuda hafiz, and hand-shaking, followed by the wife who returned her thanks from behind the veil. A MISSIONARY AND HIS WORK. Reached Delhi Station next evening, quite fagged. Porter- boy introduced himself as old acquaintance and asked if he should fetch the usual seer of boiling milk. He brought it later on in an earthen pot. Milk turned out stale and sour. It was our New Year's Day. I was anxious to drink to the health of the year that had just set in, and finding nothing else handy, took a bottle of iced ginger ale. From hot milk to cold ginger ale is an abrupt transition ; but neither comes amiss to a wanderer who can face the extremes of cold and heat with equal composure. Met my old friend, the Jeypur Missionary, and had a bellyful of talk with him. One day, 1 hope to give an account of Jeypur after Maharaja Ramsing's death. My friend the Missionary was going up to one of the hill stations to 289 recruit his health. He had a companion with him, also on the sick list. They looked very poorly, but hoped to be all right in about a month's time, what with complete rest* enlivened by a Hindustani translation of the Revised Bible. I do not quite like the Revised Bible. It may be more cor- rect, and so on, but the antique grace and beauty of expres- sion which lent such an impressiveness to the Book of books, seems to have become lost in modern phraseology. This pious vandalism at least might have been avoided. But the " zealous" Christian is perhaps the most destructive among reformers-militant. My Jeypur friend is not a zealous offi- cial reformer. Does he indulge in the nasal twang ? " Per- haps he do, perhaps he don't." But I like him much. He is working hard for his flock, and besides his sacred mission, he attends to what I may describe as the mediaeval literature of the province under his charge. About five years ago he showed me part of his literary work. I urged him to carry it through. But alas ! he seems to have had scanty encourage- ment. You see he is not a Political Agent, nor is he a some- body of somebody whom everybody finds it useful to oblige. The Government of India might well support such a worker. The Jeypur Durbar, too, is bound to co-operate with him ; if it don't do its duty I trust some Katty war prince on our side will send him help. It is likely to prove a good invest- ment. Further particulars on application. While engaged in these labours, I wish my Missionary friend wrote of a life of Dadu. It would be a valuable contribution to a literature very faintly representing the realities of a great national upheaval. Why will not some of our graduates describe the struggles and triumphs of Nanak, Dadu, Kabir, Chaytanya, Tukaram, Sahajanand and others ? Our Hindu reformers do not seem to be aware that Dadu scouted the idea of mar- rying his daughter even at 16. She must become fully developed physically, morally and spiritually, before she undertook the serious responsibilities appertaining to a wife and mother. Happy daughter ! Thrice blessed in the three relations of life ! 38 290 THE PULL-UP. Got out at Umbala early in the morning. Made friends with Parsi manager of the Refreshment Room, and had breakfast, hot, savoury and homelike. Arranged for a rush to the hill the same evening, though feeling very queer all over the body. But what use halting ? I would rather die at a stretch than by slow torture. Could not afford special phaeton. Started about 10 P.M. for Kalka, reaching there about 4 A.M. greeted by a brisk shower. Left Kalka in about an hour, after tea and toast, and with a touch of fever and headache. Tumbled out at the foot of Simla Bazar about 5 P.M. with a feeling of all-goneness in back and limbs and of dislocation of neck and knee joints. Marched up to Parsi friend's with a cheerful, nothing-has-happened exterior, and thence taken to the Hotel. No room there; must make the best of the reading-room on the ground-floor. Took out medicine chest and threatened to be very ill if not at once given a better room. Translated to the top-floor directly; clean and cozy. Had light supper, pleasant enough, only every dish smelt suspiciously of lard. Turned in at 10, not, however, before despatching a couple of notes to announce arrival. Slept like an honest man, a very hopeful sign. But on getting up in the morning felt a freezing sensation in the stomach. Oh demoralized beast of a stomach ! Hast thou no gratitude? The more I respect thy infirmities, the more peevish and unreasonable thou growest. Must walk thee into good humour. Had a long-tramp beyond Chota Simla. Felt uneasy all day. Hotel fare very trying roast and grill and boil, and boil and grill and roast every dish so heavy ! And that inevit- able lard in pudding, in custard, in pie I almost felt it in tea or coffee itself. Stomach quite in a revolt. Hard work all next day. Invitation to dinner. " I am quite alone, " wrote mine host temptingly. Thankfully accepted a cup of tea and asked for a long talk. Kept the appointment, had tea and canned fruit and biscuit. We mingled tears over the widow and the infant wife till 10 P.M. Returned to Hotel 291 and had a good tramp in the room before going to bed.. Next morning the first thing was a visit from the steward- ess '* Please don't tramp so, the Giniral under yer room is roarin* like a lion and swarin* that the food is all stale and cold, and he is quarrel in' with me and the sarvants. Please don't tramp with yer boots. I know I should not spake to a gintleman. But he is an old lodger. And you can order kaunji, if you don't like our things; shall I send you some tapioca ?", &c v &c. From that day had to walk in the room in socks but the kanji was good, and our pilgrim was thank- ful. The feverishness, however, went on increasing ; the cramp in the stomach and the nausea became troublesome. Had to work very hard three or four days. Rest of the two weeks taken up in calls and sight-seeing. Could not walk much and had to use jinrikhsha. So thoroughly ashamed of it! Why don't they allow regular gharis now? The roads are broad enough. The horses are said to be restive, and it is so cruel to force a man to use jamphan or jinrikhsha. DINING OUT. More invitations to breakfasts and dinners. Declined all with thanks. Haven't dined at an English friend's these seven or eight years. You must be a free man to do so, that is free in spirit. And you must be up to all conventionalities, the bowing and the smiling to order, and the laughing over stale jokes. And you must always say " Yes, thank you " to the ladies, and " no " to nobody. And worse still, you must seem to enjoy every dish and every glass, must never mind the time that is consumed in tittle-tattle with strangers, whom you must treat as dear old friends. All this is too much for a heathen like myself, short-tempered, plain in dress and address, and miserably lacking in " small morals." Went to tea with a particular friend, who had asked me to breakfast. " How are you, how do you do Mr. , keep your turban on, it is rather chill this morning." 292 " Thank you, I am quite well/' I replied, as I entered the room, smothering a cry of anguish on finding strangers at table. t( Yes, really, you are looking remarkably well," replied mine host. Wretched hypocrite to " look remark- ably well" with the fever burning itself into your very bones ! But what could a fellow say in reply to a friendly greeting? He can't reply " Hang you, I am unwell." As a gentleman, he is expected to tell a fib that homage of hypocrisy is due to Mrs. Grundy. No man has a right to be a marjoy at table, or in the drawing-room, no matter what his sufferings. And that is why I do not join dinner parties, or any other parties, for that matter, where social amenities have to be cul- tivated at any risk. The only meal I enjoyed at Simla was a picnic at Mashowbra in Mr. Paliti's bungalow. It was a genuine picnic, squatting like Turks, picking, tearing, biting like savages, and drinking like well not exactly like whales. We ate everything, down to raw onion, and then [made a descent to the hollow of Seepi. It was a good day's work. THAT WRETCHED NIGHT. Walk, walk, walk ! work, work, work ! how could the fever abate ? Fairly upset one evening by a paragraph in the Indian Spectator condemning Mr. Justice Pinhey's decision in the matter of restitution of conjugal rights sought by poor Dadaji. Good gracious ! that my own paper, of all others, should oppose the judgment ! Read the paragraph again and again, and again and again did a cold shiver pass through the heart. Could it be done by an enemy ? No, that was impossible. True, the para, was from a correspondent, but still, what a sell ! No sleep till 11 that night. The brain on fire all the while. How shall I meet the eye of the world ? But let me sleep over it now lying on the left side, now on the right, now on the back ; now with the pillow in, now with the pillow out, now with the head tied with a wet handker- chief, the eyes firmly closed and the ears stuffed with the finger ends to keep out the sight and sound of public ridicule. But no sleep till one. I must prepare a telegram discarding 293 the correspondent. It took more than an hour, but brought sensible relief. Took a draught of cold water and turned in once more to enjoy a few blessed winks. A WORD ABOUT SIMLA. Simla is beautiful to walk about in, especially mornings and evenings; you see innocent health all around, bent upon enjoying the hour. The faces are so lively, and with such a glow of keen relish ! Oh the lovely faces, still lovelier dim- ples, and loveliest smiles of all, offering welcome to the weary stranger ! Their happiness is reflected in their eyes, and they spread sunshine up hill and down dell, wherever they are. Dear little rosebuds in the garden of life ! May heaven shield them from the breath of the wily serpent ! The genus male among the European population of Simla did not strike me as particularly attractive. That may be because I am not a woman. As to the indigenous population, the Punjaubis are a fine race, tall and shapely, so are most of the hill tribes. But the people coming from the interior are generally broad, loose and baggy, with a flat smutty face, relieved by a dash of the Mongolian cheekbone. Their voca- bulary seems to be fully of ag-ag-mag-ag-mag-mag-gag-ag- gag-gag-gag. Hang their everlasting gutturals and gunpowder looks ! The women folk are a trifle more look-at-able, especially as they march past, carrying planks of wood across shoulders in a right martial style. I have not been able to hear one of these pahari women sing. But they seem to smoke liberally instead. No Professor of Chemistry smokes with such energy. Amongst several other attractions of Simla may be mentioned its numerous smells. I was not long enough at the station to be able to count the number, or to distinguish one from another. But to the best of my knowledge and belief the smells of Simla are very near reaching the number fixed by Coleridge. This is mainly due to over-population, want of water, bad habits of the bazar people and the proverbial 294 wickedness of the official classes. The first three are, I believe* preventable causes. I have nothing to say against the Muni- cipal Secretary, except that he met me very often during my rambles, so often indeed that I sometimes felt he was dogging my steps, although I tried hard to keep out of his way. He has greyish eyes, sometimes laughing, sometimes scolding j and the tip of his nose is always rosy. I wish every Munici- pality had such an energetic Secretary. Left Simla half a week later than the time fixed, hoping by that time the official swells on visit would have gone home- But Mr. Grant Duff and party seem to have left on the same day. They overtook us beyond Kalka, driving past in rickety old carriages, some of them dragged by broken-winded beasts, leaving behind nothing more substantial than clouds of dust. We counted 11 carriages as we stood by, making way for the gubernatorial procession. It took nearly three-quarters of an hour for the 11 carriages to drive past. Some of the animals seemed to be so homesick that vigorous stimulants were neces- sary to make them move. Or perhaps they did not feel honour- ably employed. What a difference between this procession and the other that passed by our house at Bombay last year, headed by the carriage containing Lord Ripon ! The horses in the latter case behaved like gentlemen born and bred. Horses are sometimes better gentlemen than human beings, and have a more correct judgment either than journalists or bureaucrats. DINNER AND DEATH. Reached Umbala Station about 8 P.M., after a rough, hot fatiguing journey, shifting positions in the mail van every five minutes. Staggered up to the Manager's private kholi * at the Refreshment room, faint with hunger and thirst. " The more you nourish an unsound body, the more it increaseth in ail- ment" so says Akhlak-i-Jalali. I have found this true to the letter, especially while travelling. My friend the Manager came up and whispered " Will you pardon my absence for half an hour ? The Governor of Madras is at dinner. In * Room. 295 the meantime please make yourself comfortable in this chair and order whatever you want." " Oh well/' replied the foolish pilgrim in a huff, if it is to be the Governor first, I have no orders to give ; I only want rest till the Lahore train comes in." Manager did not wait to hear. As I sat in the easy chair, half dozing under the influence of fever, I could not but reflect upon the vanity of human wishes. My rich Parsi din- ner, of which I had conjured up so many and such bright visions, all vanished in an instant! When will the Governor and his colony of followers have dined ? Ah ! Mr. Grant Duff, you have been fully avenged. Bitterly do I repent me of my triumphal Ahmedabad. In the room, partially darkened to give relief to the eyes, I saw the servants moving steal- thily about with dishes and things. They were, of course, dressed in white. But the clothes seemed to have been borrow- ed from the dhobi, some of them being too short for the wearers, others too long. The sight of the latter curdled my blood for a moment, they appeared so very like Parsi corpse- bearers. The darkened kholi, the subdued bustle in the refresh- ment room, broken by whispers, the hush and chip chip * over the Station platform, and the white, loose, unironed dress of some of the waiters all these had a very disquieting effect on my nerves, already unstrung. I could not help transforming the whole scene to a Parsi house in which a patient was dying ! It is a mistake dressing these men all in white. Where the dress is too short, it makes the figure ludicrous. If too long, it positively makes one look like the ghastly nasa-salar.f White is the emblem of purity and solemn grace. Such a dress for table servants seems to be so out of place, wanting in taste as well as natural fitness. At any rate, I think it ought to be relieved by streaks of red. LAHORE. Left for Lahore by the up train and reached there in the morning. A number of friends on the station. Found on inquiry that Naidu's Hotel, which had been specially recom- * "Be quiet, be quiet." f A Parsi corpse-bearer. 296 mended to me at Simla, would not be so quiet a place as I should wish. And there being no Dak bungalow near about the town, was prevailed upon to go to a Mahomedan hotel, which proved quite a failure. But the four days' stay was very successful from a business point of view, though unfortunately the fever became developed, and the hands began to be blistered by painful eruptions. Saw several leading Punjaubis, and requested my friend, Babu Navin Chandra Rai, to arrange for a quiet meeting with these gentlemen. Now Mr. Rai is a whole-hearted, thorough- going man, and before I was aware of it, he and his friends convened a public meeting under the auspices of half-a-dozen different Societies and Associations. This was cruel kindness in my present state of health. But there was no backing out after the invitations had been issued. Everything, happily, went off well that evening, and the two or three hours of talk did me good for the time, no matter how serious the reaction. The Punjaubi Hindus are a race of men to be proud of free, open and manly. They do not begin with a stranger in suspicion, as most Hindus and not a few Englishmen do. This characteristic is due, 1 believe, to Mahomedan associations. The Hindus look and talk like Mahomedans, and are socially very agreeable, though by no means want- ing in dignity. Judging from several circumstances, the Hindus of the Punjaub seem to me to be the true Aryas, des- cendants of the first emigrants from Central Asia. Many of their notabilities whom I saw looked like Parsi priests. Not only was their appearance so prepossessing, especially of the Sikhs, but even in their tones and general address, habits, modes of wearing the hair, &c., they reminded me of the better class of Parsi Mubeds. I was really sorry to leave the capital of the Punjaub so soon. This was the second time I had to hurry back without a careful study of men and things. AMRITSAR. Left one morning for Meerut and halted for a few hours at Amritsar. Visited the Sikh temple in the evening. Less 297 attractive than when I saw it about six years ago. There is no life in Sikhism as it is practised inside. It is all dead for- mality. The essence of the new faith seems to be vitiated, and the unity of the central idea is being broken up into castes. It is a grievous misfortune. But wherever I go I find that a reformed Hindu creed does not last long. There is a hidden craving for the idolatrous which the Hindus I mean the masses can never be made to shake off. They relapse so readily after purification. Will the Brahma Samaj and the Arya Samaj be ever able to wean the heart of the people from traditional object-worship? Will Christianity have any influence on this immense mass of superstition? God alone knows to me the outlook is not very hopeful. All the greater reason for united action on the part of the spiritual leaders of the people. On my way to the temple, I saw the Ramleela or some other ceremony of the Hindus a very saddening sight ! Old and young seemed to take delight in hideous disguises and other tomfooleries. Even in its artistic effect the thing was an utter failure. It was the grand annual fair, I suppose. To a friend of the people no sight could be so sickening. Happily, women did not seem to take part in the affair. But the men, some of them presum- ably very respectable, made asses of themselves in a most liberal manner, and the narrow streets, crowded to suffocation, emitted an odour which would baffle any Chemical Analyser to describe. ME E RUT. Telegraphed to Meerut friend, and started that same evening. Reached there about noon next day, the eruptions in the meantime spreading themselves on the face and neck. No one to receive me at the station. Felt very faint. A Hindu gentleman offered the shelter of his house, without knowing me Mr. Ganga Saran, Sub-Judge at Saharanpur. I had the pleasure of his acquaintance during my stay at Meerut, and now count him amongst my worthiest co-adjutors. I requested him to take me to Babu S. K. Chatter] i's. Took time to 39 298 trace him, as he had left the old house. Found the new one at last, but mine host was not in. Left the kit at his house, and went in search of the owner. Fever very distressing, and heat of the noon-day sun no less so. Spotted Mr. Chatterji after all. He had received neither the telegram nor the letter ; was so sorry. Sent for the station doctor, first thing. Doctor himself laid up with fever. Sent for a private practi- tioner. After half an hour's examination, doctor looked very grave. It was malarial fever, and would take time to be coped with. The spleen also seemed to be affected. Absolute rest essential. Quinine must be taken anyhow, and some mixture also. Sent six pills of quinine, each large enough to serve an elephant. Swallowed the vile stuff regularly. Fever appeared to be checked, but in the morning I found the eyes almost blind with heat and the ears deaf and covered over with red spots. Had many calls from Bengali and Meerut friends. A most encouraging meeting at the house of Mr. Prahlad Sing; long discussion with two venerable Pandits. The meeting dealt with our pilgrim very generously. This proved an effective febrifuge so far. Started next morning for Delhi in company of Messrs. Raghobir Sarma and Prahlad Sing, the two leading pleaders. Had an excellent breakfast at Mr. Raghobir Sarma's before we left Meerut. Wish I had strength enough to do justice to it. Mr. Chatterji, too, was ever kind and attentive. It is curious, but I always like the Bengali better out of Bengal than in. One day I may explain the why and wherefore of it. I hope also to introduce to the Bombay public the notables of Lahore, Meerut, and else- where, whom I had the pleasure of meeting. They are gentlemen worth "knowing. DELHI. Reached Delhi about 2 P.M. and was taken in hand by my friend Mr. Madan Gopal, the only M.A. in the province and leader of the Native Bar. Quite stricken down by fever. Doctor examined the patient carefully ; he was luckily a homoeopath. He thought it was eruptive fever, somewhat of the nature of scarlet fever that there were some symptoms 299 of gastric derangement, that the blood had become poisoned. Rhus tox. was the only remedy, and I was trying it. He gave it in tincture and for application. Night restless. Had a preliminary meeting next morning, which did not end very satisfactorily, though the amount of sympathy from local reformers was large enough to drown myself in. Will have to take Delhi by storm one day. Doctor called again no relief. He could not make out what it was really. But it was a malignant form of fever, and the best remedy was to return home immediately. Offered to pay him his own price if he set me up in a couple of days, only so far as to enable me to carry out my programme Cawnpore, Lucknow, Allahabad, Bareilly, Benares and Agra. "lvalue your life more. Please go away early to-morrow.'' That was the final verdict. Mr. Madan Gopal exceedingly kind, and as he did not know my state exactly, took me about for long drives both days 1 was with him. In ordinary health I would have immensely enjoyed his hospitality. As it was, I think I made him and friends miserable the only consideration which made me oh ! so wretched. That I should not be able to break bread with Hindu friends ! But little did they know what an effort it was to move the limbs or even the tongue. Witnessed the Rarnleela procession that evening. Much better every way than the discreditable fiasco at Amritsar. The Delhi pro- cession was somewhat imposing. But there was not much in it that could be called really artistic. In a word, the thing was wanting in good management. We Indians are very poor organizers. This is largely due to mutual jealousy. The Hindus of Delhi are a fairly united body, but I suspect they do not like any one of them in particular to take the shine out of them. Foolish creatures! Then, again, the Hindus and the Mahomedans seldom pull on well, though nowhere in India do the two races appear so like each other. This is owing to the Cow Question. I am tempted here to give the oracular opinion that he who solves this vexed Cow Question will be known to generations as "a bull amongst men" (Sanskrit phrase). 1 sometimes feel I could settle the question 300 with a jury of Hindu and Mahomedan friends, and thus establish my claim to the bovine distinction. Will some honest Hindu reformers relieve me of the present engagement ? DELHI ITS DARK SIDE. I have seen Delhi thrice in all. The first visit was unevent- ful. But the second, in 1380, has left some very vivid im- pressions on my mind. I found Delhi more extensive and populous than .Agra, also more comfortable on the whole as regards climate. The sights, too, were very attractive to me, though scarcely to be compared with the best sights of the old capital of the Moghuls. I remember having sent for a barber on arriving at the hotel, with whose help, and of the khansama, I drew up a programme. The programme was found by no means to be dull in carrying out. On the contrary, in some parts it was very exciting my visit to a Turkish Bath, or hamam, for instance. I remember a wiry old man accost- ing me one evening, and expatiating on the luxuries of a Delhi bath. He did not care for money. He belonged to a noble race, was the grandson of a celebrated physician. Times had changed with him. But still he was not so anxious to be paid for the bath as other fellows were. " Give me a trial, and you will know for the first time what a luxury this gosal* is." After further conversation I said I would call in the morning. He thought it would be better if I went that evening ; it would be a moonlit night and his best hands would be in attendance. But I preferred the morning. So he went away salaaming elaborately, and promising to call in the morning. This he did. We went to the hamam about 9 A.M. 1 was very pleased with the construction, and the uses of the different receptacles, as he explained them. The pave- ment was beautiful marble. After inspecting the room, I asked to be left to myself for bath. " That is not the way, janab," he explained, " your honour will be bathed by others. Shall it be men or women, one or more than one?" I now began to understand this hamam-gosal business and was very * Persian word for ' bath.' 301 glad it was morning instead of the night. So I replied cheerily to the handsome little tempter " I am rather a grown-up child, as you observe, and it will be hard for a man, much more for a woman, to wash me, put me to bed, and rock me to sleep, as you most generously propose. Don'tyou know that we Parsees do not observe your zenana system ?" " 1 am lachar,"* he replied, smiling, " but there can be no bath with- out shampooing, aur jatjatka hunar ; besides I have already hired a Kashmiri woman for the purpose." It was no use quarrelling, because I felt sure the man was in league with our hotel servant, and I also knew the case was not fit for a police- man. Nor would it do to show the least confusion. So I proposed that the syren he had engaged should sing outside the room, while I took my bath. " In that case have her brother to bathe and shampoo you," he suggested. I agreed, to cut the matter short. The bath was really worth the money, the shampooing was also good. The pressure on, and stretch- ing of, limbs, was sometimes violent. But what would I not suffer in the cause of science ? The passes the man made across my eyes and forehead were, however, mere tricks. The singing in the room outside was also getting on, and so far as I could catch the refrain, it appealed to the lover whose love had been fasting, &c., &c. After the bath I came out and was shown a book in which visitors had recorded their experiences of the bath what the old man, no doubt, regarded as certificates of character. Some of these cer- tificates were ticklish to a degree. But the hot bath had made me quite a proof against all such devilries. (My son, never despise a bath. When your flesh is in revolt, have a good hot bath. Water is the best purifier of body and soul diseased.) I paid the Mussulman tempter handsomely, though he deserved something other than kindness. But it was a narrow escape, and I wished to mark my sense of thankfulness. Visitors to Delhi would do well to avoid the hamams, because I was told that the one I had been to, was the most respectable and that its owner was really a man * Helpless. 302 of much social consideration. What a life for such a man ! They say there are many such in Delhi, scions of a noble race, reduced to hopeless destitution some of them reci- pients of Government pensions. The pensions range from Rs. 5 to Rs. 20 or so a month ; and for the survivors of noble families they have to be somehow supplemented. Surely, Government might open some other career to the unhappy men and women. It is true that they have no claim upon the generosity of the British, the latter having suffered not a little at the hands of their forefathers. Nor can Government justly divert the general revenues of the country to the relief of special classes. But still it is not, possible to save a few families from gradual extinction. The poverty of some of the old Mahomedan houses of Delhi is indeed something phenomenal. And what is worse is, they seem to be too proud to work. Mahomedan gentlemen, heirs of a race renowned in their day, are found attired in rags, and Maho- medan ladies may be seen even to-day passing through the streets and lanes, shrouded in the thickest and dirtiest of cloth, too proud to beg openly, and yet too poor to keep body and soul together. This state of things is a reproach to the Mahomedan princes and chiefs in India; their co-religionists have many qualities to commend them to the sympathy even of strangers. They are patient, devout, self-sacrificing, and not a few of them possess a sense of honour very rare even amongst their betters. And in ready ingenuity, be it in art or litera- ture, they are probably unsurpassed, in India at any rate. Amongst the people at large the begging nuisance is very common ; and there is probably more of incurable disease here than I have seen elsewhere. With this evil of mendicity there is the other evil ; which shall be nameless. Houses of ill-fame face several of the mosques; and you can any day see the pious Mohla, * on one side, reciting prayers with his flock, and on the other sids, those Peris of Peristan luring spell- bound country swains with the help of rouge aad borrowed tresses. I have myself been at times furiously oggled by some * Priest. 303 of these artful ones, as I stood to witness the devotions on the top of a musjid. And every time I received their horrid attentions, I felt sure I was mistaken for an Inspector of Police, or a Constable, or a medical man under the C. D. Act. Left Delhi in the morning with quite a dispensary of drugs in the carriage. Passed the whole time almost on the back, as it was impossible to sit up much or to lie on either side. Had to keep hands, face, neck and ears constantly under cold bandages. It was a gloomy return home, and the pilgrim sometimes felt very like going off. But he has been pulled through which means that a good deal of work is still reserved for him. Lucky mortal ! NEGLECTING A MILCH COW. This time I left Bombay in search of fresh information for my "Gujarat and the Gujaratis." The third edition was promised to subscribers in the beginning of 1884, but I have had no breathing time all these months. What with feeble health, anxieties, and work hard and incessant enough to tax the strength of twenty men, the wonder is I have survived to spin this traveller's tale. But I fancy I have had no leisure to die; for lying ill, making a will and doing the rest of it, is, after all, a question of leisure. Well, after several ineffectual efforts, I did go out to Gujarat last month in order to collect materials from the Native States, as suggested by a friend in England. "Gujarat and the Gujaratis " has proved a good investment. For nearly four years I have found it more remunerative than the Kaiser-i-Hind or the Ripon or any other gold mine which was to have enriched all Bombay. My books have been to me a mine of gold. I do not care how they read, but they sell, which is the main thing. And they seldom need advertising. So off I start one day for Gujarat. Scarcely, however, do I reach the first Native State when I am asked to go off to Agra on public duty. 304 It was a struggle, short but very sharp. I pushed on to Ahmedabad with closed eyes, and once beyond Palanpur, forgot everything in the contemplation of the beauties of Infant Marriage and Enforced Widowhood. AGRA ITS SOCIAL POLITICS. Reached Agra full speed and put up at the Kala-Mahal with friend Baij Nath Munsiff. Council of War met the same evening. " Please say nothing about widow marriage in the North- West Provinces/' said one of the warriors. "That would be awkward/' I complained, "am I not pledged to both questions?" '* Yes/' replied warrior No. 2, et but your object is to do good; we know what good you could safely attempt to do at Agra and what harm you would do by attempting further. You want us all to be practi- cal. Kindly be practical yourself. Do not talk of widow marriage." "I may not mention it prominently," I replied, < c but talking of infant marriage I cannot absolutely ignore the allied subject." Then said warrior No. 3, "janab, the world is governed by words. There is something in the word beva (widow marriage) which our people don't like. The minute you utter the word, they will take you for a maniac and run away. You may speak about widow marriage elsewhere. But so far as Agra is concerned, let me warn you, Sir." The choice lay evidently between doing something and doing nothing. I never take long to decide. After a minute's consultation with Mr. Baij Nath I surrendered at discretion. And this I did without much self-reproach, as I knew that compulsory widowhood is not so fashionable in Northern India as in the priest-ridden parts, nor the condition of the girl widow so utterly desolate. But is not the number of Hindu widows in the N.-W. Provinces larger to-day than it was, say, 15 years ago? " Now about the public meeting/' began Mr. Baij Nath. " Surely, you have not called me all the way from Bombay to make a speech ?" I asked, half frightened at the idea. 305 "Yes, of course," he replied with the assurance of a friend. " You will have to kick up a row at Agra ; that is the only way." (( But I am going to do nothing more than submit my proposals, you had better do the speechifying yourselves.'* " Oh f Sir, you will address the meeting, and excite the people and carry the resolutions," he retorted with a glitter in his eyes. The other Councillors sided with Mr. Baij Nath. I then spoke to them seriously, and when I speak seriously I generally carry the point. But this time there was a packed opposition. I submitted that speech-making was not in my line, but was assured that nothing was impossible to me, &c. At last I said, " No, anything but that." tf Now look here, Sir," rejoined Mr. Baij Nath ; " let us be plain and practical. Have you not come here to make some capital out of us?" "Yes," I admitted readily. "Then are we not justified in making some capital out of your visit ?" he asked. "You are, my friend." I allowed, feeling anything but friendly towards mine host. Public meeting settled upon. Council broke up about 10 P.M. A WHOLE MAN and A FRACTION OF A MAN. Drove out to the Taj in the morning with Mr. Baij Nath. Met Mr. Smith, the Gardener. Could not help admiring at a glance his appearance and intelligence. Tall, well-built, handsome, in green old age, keen in appreciation, not only a gardener, but also a student, and a politician, with an eye for almost everything that is beautiful in nature and in art, and familiar with the outlines of modern science. This is Mr. Smith, the Taj Gardener. He discussed the social topic with us for a few minutes, then drew us into his favourite subjects, arboriculture and landscape, then told us some- thing about the books he had been recently reading and finally passed on to politics. He spoke about the situation in Ireland, about Mr. Parnell, and Mr. Gladstone, showing how he feared the Premier was halting between principle and expediency. Then he spoke of the politics of Queen Anne's 40 306 times and of the glorious days of Cromwell winding up with " upon my word I cannot see what is going to happen this time." As I strolled about with Mr. Smith, listening to his shrewd intelligent remarks on things generally, I confess I felt humbled to the dust. What was I, a " leading jour- nalist," a " thinker/' a '' patriot," and a heap of other things, as the newspapers describe me, before this simple English gardener ? I have been sometimes addressed with two, and sometimes, with three letters after my name, also as Town Councillor, and so on. An eminent Civilian the other day pointed me out as a likely Member for the Secretary of State's Council. About four years ago I narrowly escaped quarrel- ling with my old friend Colonel Waller by telling him I was nothing at all. Happening to be under his roof for a night I asked Colonel Waller how he had obtained his V.C. He spoke tome about his Central Indian campaigns, and then asked how I had smuggled my self into the cerements of a C.I. E., (in poor Ali Baba's style) at so early an age. I told Colonel Waller there was some mistake. But he laughed knowingly. He then asked if the Town Council gave me about a couple of hundred for pocket money. I again pleaded tf not guilty,'* at which the gallant Colonel was fairly roused. " What, you are not going to tell me you ain't a Member of the Town Council, the Corporation, and all that ? I have read your name in the reports." I assured him I was an honest man, at which he laughed again and said he would have satisfaction out of me in the morning. At breakfast the Colonel was restored to equanimity. "I think it is a Parsi gentleman from Bengal who is a C.I.E./' he explained. l< Ah," I asked, as the light dawned upon me, " don't you think Bengal and Malabar are wide apart ?" " By Jove, they are"; " but you deserve to be a ", added my warm-hearted friend. I said I preferred another cup of tea from him, and as I took it I explained how it was that I wished and prayed to be nobody in particular. But the superstition is widespread. Outsiders often mistake me for a somebody, at times for a big swell. All that is nonsense. But though I am nobody in 307 particular, I will not affect to be so modest as to deny that I am as decent and intelligent a person as any of my years and position. That is my opinion about myself. And yet I, a public journalist, could but feel my worthlessness in the presence of Mr. Smith, only a gardener, whom I looked upon as almost every way my superior. What makes him so ? Because I tell myself, Mr. Smith is a whole man, whereas I am less than 3/5ths of a man, with all my pretensions. And what made Mr. Smith, the gardener, a whole man ? He is not an M.A. of Bombay University, nor a B.L. of Bengal, nor a D.O.L. of Lahore. Where on the earth, did he get all his knowledge and culture from ? How did he learn to find true happiness in his knowledge and to dif- fuse that happiness ? I say he got it mainly at home, from his mother. It was maternal influence particularly, and domestic associations generally, that made Mr. Smith the whole man he is, a force in politics as in social matters one likely to make an excellent householder, patriot or public man. Thus, at the very outset Mr. Smith had an immense advantage over me, which he takes care to maintain. He was born under natural conditions, and is free from most of the ailments to which I am a prey. He did not marry early, as most of us Indians do, ruining body and mind, and marring most prospects of public usefulness. The difference between the English patriot and the Indian is little more than the differ- ence between the mother in England and the mother in India. What grievously unfavourable conditions we have been working under ! Are we not, many of us, abortive births physically ? Born in misery, we grow up in ignorance at home what can our mothers teach us ? Then we go to school and are taught grammar and geography. Some of us pass on to college and stuff our puzzled heads at the expense of the decrepit body. Soon after, in many cases even before, this, we have to find food for hungry stomachs at home, and at the same time we are expected to be thinkers, philosophers and patriots. All this, of course, we cannot do. What little we can do under the circumstances indicates the marvellous 308 vitality of the race. But in attempting to do that little, we generally break down in mid career. We are old before forty, our women old about thirty. General culture, the power of being happy and making others happy, is out of the question. It is hard to say, but say it I must, that I know few Native gentlemen who equal Mr. Smith in the qualities briefly referred to above, however high their other attainments. I am talking of Native gentlemen, the best educated, the most advanced of my acquaintance. Mr. Smith sent me a lovely bouquet before I left, not so delicious, however, as the one with which I was favoured by my good friend Mr. Willis, the Solicitor, whom I was glad to meet before leaving Agra. THE MEETING. So they whipped up a public meeting. It was "the largest ever held at Agra," though that is scarcely saying much about its largeness. As usual, the Chairman exhibited me to the company of strangers, and then left me to my fate. Soon after I began making mouths at the gentlemen present. No, I did not feel nervous, because if I have to address an audience I merely speak out what I think, and speak just as I speak at home or at office. But I cannot make a speech on set purpose, not happening to be an orator. It is little likely for the average man to become an orator, less so for a student, least of all for a recluse. As I stood making mouths at the audience, I could not help being reminded of my extremely awkward position. After raving so often at the professional speech-maker, whom I have not scrupled to liken to the dancing girl, here I was overtaken by the role of a profes- sional speech-maker myself! For a moment I felt staggered, but recovered breath at the thought that this was only an additional sacrifice. What, after all, if I have to imitate even the public dancer for such a cause ? The meeting was voted a " great success." 309 PASSING REMARKS. The rest of my stay at Agra (this was my sixth visit) was spent in talks and walks, alternated and often combined. I did a fair amount of political work, too, as I always try to do, by way of bringing people together, now stimulating, then moderating their zeal. The people, as a rule, are frank and unsophisticated. Everything is comparatively cheap and dull in the North- West Provinces ; in other words, there is chronic poverty to be met with in many places. The people do not seem to have much faith in the judicial service ; against the revenue department they have an active prejudice. The tours of the Viceroy, the Lieutenant-Governor, and others, are dreaded by the ryots as calamities, as, in the name of the Sirkar, the underlings make something out of almost every official tour. That is the impression left upon my mind. But I believe this particular evil is less rampant now than it was ten years ago. The Income Tax seemed to be bitterly resented wherever I asked about it, not so much perhaps on its own account as for the opening it will offer to dishonest subordinates. I urged here and there that cases of dishonesty or oppression should be exposed. But the explanation was that when a poor wight appealed against assessment, the revising officer would almost invariably send the appeal to the assessor himself, who would remark : " this man is a budmash" or something like it t whereupon the Collector would dismiss the appeal. People did not like to spend time and money to be in the Collector's bad book and at the mercy of the vindictive Tehsildar. There is much force in this. Like the people, the upper classes, land and property holders, too, appeared to be very raw. The Zemindars all over India feel that next turn will be theirs. Do what they might, they are not likely to escape the Income Tax. The mercy of the mabap Sirkar may be extended to them any day, probably sooner than they expect. 1 have often wondered if a capitation tax would not suit India better? 310 THE PURDAH AND HIS PREYS. The Purdah system is almost universal in the provinces. I daresay it is a cruel bad system, injurious to both sexes. But you cannot tear off the Purdah at once. Besides, the light of the day has begun to penetrate the Purdah itself. Infant marriages are said to be common; unequal mar- riages in point of age are by no means uncommon. A recent case was cited to me, in which the wife appeared before the court as guardian to her little lord and master. Even where husband and wife are of the same age, the wife is apt to out- grow the husband. The result is comical, occasionally with a strong dash of the tragic element in it. In such a case the wife ages much faster than the husband. This is bad for her and at times for her children. On the other hand boys suffer no less. They break down prematurely and give up study. Those who can afford to persevere at school or college at times conceive a dislike for their wives. The results may be ima- gined. Altogether, the effects of infant marriages in the North-West Provinces are sad to contemplate. They may be traced on many a face in the street, though a large number of faces are hidden from your view. These effects are more marked upon the prosperity of the nation than of the indi- vidual. MINE HOST. Left Agra for Aligarh on the 12th, after a pleasant stay of nearly half a week at Kala Mahal. This palace is about eleven times as commodious as our little house at Bombay, for which we pay a monthly rent of Rs. 120. And what rent does Munsif Baij Nath pay for his palace ? Rs. 10 a month ! The name is not Kla Mahal, (Black Palace) as vulgarly understood, but Kal Mahal (the palace of art). It may have been a museum under the Moghul empire, or was looked upon as an artistic structure and named Kala Mahal. It is admirably well built, the zenana even being roomy and well- 311 ventilated. But in the midst of rich masonry and carved stone work the wooden doors and windows are a positive eye- sore. The surroundings, too, of the palace are anything but look-at-able. It was built by a poet about a hundred years ago, when the site was probably much more eligible than it now is. Munsif Baij Nath is a Bania not a *' mild Bania," please and one of the shrewdest Aryans going, though soft- ened by liberal culture and contact with refined influences, He is a self-made man, and like myself, has gone through sore trials. He is not so much of a thinker as an organizer with a cool head and a firm grip. His chief aim seems to be to make the rulers and the ruled understand each other and to promote their common interests. In this, as in other mat- ters, he is a man entirely after my heart. In public affairs Mr. Baij Nath is already a force. In personal matters he is generally wide awake, believing honestly that his scope of public usefulness will widen with his own advancement in life. In matters professional he stands without a rival, enjoying the confidence of suitors, the bar as well as the Government. His superiors have a very high opinion of him, and in spite of his small eccentricities I believe his heart is in the right place. Mr. Baij Nath may live to be a Sayed Ahmed among Hindus. In time, I think, he will be within measurable dis- tance of a seat on the High Court Bench. During my stay with him up and down Agra we prayed together, ate together and drank together, so far as such things could be done to- gether between us. His vegetable dishes were simple and wholesome, if not nourishing, and as he often served the food himself it tasted sweeter than ever. There was perhaps too much of ghee and sugar in spite of my protests. But a Hindu seldom feels happy unless he smothers his guest in ghee and sugar. On the whole, however, the meals were light, frugal, and savoury t and only once did a dish smell of hinga. I corrected the mistake by explaining that I would prefer an ounce of prussic acid to a drop of asatcetida. When at 312 Bombay Mr. Baij Nath, like other Hindu visitors, is my guest. And yet the Pioneer laments our exclusiveness, and worse still, my friends Bindobin Bosh and S. L. Sandaskar say I am " only a Parsi !" A COMBUSTIBLE PATRIOT. I made a number of friends at Agra this time, some of whom are not likely to be soon forgotten. Pandit Jagan Nath, Plead- er, is an amiable eccentric, never agreeing with anybody except when he is differing, and yet working heartily with every body. He works and grumbles, and grumbles and works, by turn. He is what I may call a combustible patriot. He is his brother Pandit Ajodhia Prasad's own brother, and seems to be of opinion that public men are either self-seeking hypo- crites or raving monomaniacs. As a friend I hope he does not think worse of me than as being a mixture of the two. For my part I like him the better for his sturdy, pugnacious, ever-contradicting attitude. I hope Jagan Nath Bahadur will live to be a rabid anti-infant-marriageist. AN ARABESQUE PATRIOT. Moulvi Farid-ud-din I had the happiness to see for the first time at our public meeting. He talked aloud to me in Arabesque Hindustani. My first impulse was to tell him that I could not follow such erudite Urdu. But I refrained. The Moulvi Saheb thereupon took me regularly in hand, and as he warmed up to his work, I sent him out my heart in sympathy, as poets have it. To his smile of satisfaction I gave a double smile spreading over the whole face. When he sighed over the fallen condition of the country, I emitted something like a sob to convince him of my deep interest. And when the Moulvi Saheb made the tear of pity glisten in his eye, I passed the back of my hand across my eye in the approved fashion. The result was that Moulvi Farid-ud-din mistook me for a profound scholar and an eminent patriot, without an equal in the land except one of us two. And accordingly, though he had come to oppose me, he spoke me 313 up at the meeting in the loudest and most adjectival of Arabic Hindustani, eliciting thunders of applause. Next morning I got a common friend to explain to Moulvi Saheb that I knew not a word of Arabic. Two days hence we met on our way to Aligarh. Moulvi p'arid-ud-din looked reserved and unhappy. Evidently there was something weighing upon his mind. I felt guilty. But, then, why will people insist upon over-rating a fellow ? AND OTHERS. Pandit Thakur Prasad is another man whom I have good reason to remember. He said I was possessed by the , for, otherwise I could not have moved the people of Agra. He assured me that one so thoroughly maddened by an idea was bound to succeed, only he must impart his madness to half-a- dozen others. In Mirza Mahomed Ali I found another excellent friend, cool and self-possessed, but with the courage of a lion. Another stout-hearted reformer is Pandit Girdhar Lai whose creed is that it is a greater sin to put up with an evil once known than to be in ignorance of it. Meer Kassim Hussain, Pandit Giri Raj Kishore, Mr. Pirbhu Dial and his worthy brother these and others deserve more than passing mention. LIGHT READING. Left for Aligarh on 12th February. At Tundla Station I came across a very exciting little book by a member of the Calcutta detective police. It made very pleasant reading for about an hour. Another interesting book I read at Agra was Round the World in Eighty Days. Fine little story, though the picture of English character is somewhat exagger- ated, and that of Indian life and manners very inaccurate in parts. This book was carried away by a monkey, and was recovered after much trouble by Mr. Baij Nath's man. Ran through it on the day of the Agra lecture, and enjoyed it. A third railway companion I got was The Tiro Madcaps, a characteristic story of the modern London life. Too fast 41 314 to be held up as a model, but none less enjoyable. I am very fond of such literary chow-chow; in my reading days used to devour the smaller tales in Family Herald, especially during examination days. Never cared for the longer stories. TEA AND TEA. Had a cup of tea at Tundla, real tea. Found it extra agreeable, not having had it for some time, and in fact being forbidden its use. Have you read about the French lady who, being asked how she liked a certain bevevage, replied ' f it would be heavenly if there were a dash of sin in it"! Just so. No use pretending to be better than your neighbours only don't do it secretly. That is a coward's part. How is it some of our Hindu friends are so voracious about meat and brandy ? I have at times seen them tearing away at chops and steaks like tiger cubs, and imbibing liquor like young whales. Whence this avidity ? Because they eat and drink in secret, poor fools. Let them do it like honest men, and in a week's time they will begin to feel disgusted both with flesh and brandy. These things are not meant for us Indians. I am a great believer in the power of publicity. Give me the most confirmed sinner for instance, a Collector in the district or a Brahman defender of enforced widowhood if I could only expose the creature to the light of public cri- ticism, he would be sure to mend his ways. It is the secrecy in which he works that makes him so powerful for mischief. Of course, it is his cue to tell me that he cares not a straw for criticism ; but I know better than that. Is it not curious ? but I have seldom had a cup of genuine tea from a Hindu. In fact the orthodox Hindu does not seem to be up to it. Munsif Baij Nath's cook tried it the other day half a pound of milk, quarter pound of sugar and a handful of the leaves. The mixture smelt horrible, let alone tasting. I said so to Mr. Baij Nath. Next morning he prepared the decoction himself. It was no better, I explained with a most ungrateful shake of the head, adding that the Hindu genius appeared to be too elephantine 315 to distinguish between the lights and shades of colour or to appreciate the niceties of flavour. But stung by this remark, the Munsif Sahib replied "Aji Janab, return from your tour and I will give you real tea and force you to remove this reproach from our house." Well, after I left Agra, Mr. Baij Nath seems to have gone to the Bazar himself in search of good tea. He must have got samples from several shops and experimented upon them during my absence. On my return he insisted that I should taste his tea. He ordered the grate, the kettle, the water, sugar, milk and tea, into the drawing room. I fixed the proportions but again the draw was as disappointing as before. It then occurred to me to examine the leaves. It was cast off tea, the leaves breaking into powder on being rubbed, without yielding the slightest moisture. I fear a large quantity of such tea, which the butlers and cooks supply to small shop- keepers, goes up-country every year, to be used by orthodox Hindus and Mahomedans. The making of Mr. Baij Nath's tea was good, but the tea itself had probably been used by some European family at Bombay. About eight years ago I tasted Brahman tea. My friends at Junaghar gave me a tea party on the top of the Girnar Hill. About eight o'clock in the evening we squatted on the floor in the right Oriental fashion and were soon confronted with three large silver plates containing mango slices, sweet- meat, dry fruit and pan supari queer accompaniments for tea. Soon after came tea a pot of liquid smelling furiously of pepper, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and some bitter herbs. Altogether, it was a noxious draught. Mine host served it to me in a silver cup, and having served the others and him- self, placed the pot in front of my happy self. Then they began sipping the mixture, and I had to keep them company. I touched the cup with my lips and passed my left hand over the chest, as they did, showing how keenly we enjoyed the tea and what a world of good we expected from it. In the intervals we attacked the plates. I dare say there was much 316 sense in this decoction of herbs and spices, to be taken with such a heavy meal. But it wasn't tea ; was it? I avoided swallowing my dose so long as I could. But when asked obligingly if I would have more, I unconsciously betrayed the secret. There was no escape now. I drank it off at a pull, and all the night felt my inside to be on the fire of . A DAY AT ALIGARH. Reached Aligarh about 11 ; and was received at the Station by Raja Jai Kisen Das. A kindly affable gentle- man of the old school, modest but exceedingly well-inform- ed ; of active habits, in fact a man of action. He seems to have rendered signal service to the Government. Though still in official employment, the Raja Bahadur is now resting more or less on his laurels and educating a family of intelligent sons. He does not know English, but keenly appreciates the advantages of liberal education. He has much influence in Native circles, is esteemed by Hindus and Mahomedans alike, and has very friendly relations with Euro- peans. He deeply laments the present condition of Hindus and traces much of it to moral backsliding. Raja Jai Kisen Das is an Arya Samajist. He spends not a little of his time and money on the cause he has so much at heart. There was a public meeting at Aligarh the same forenoon that 1 arrived. It was held to welcome a few Mahomedan students who had returned from England after a successful course. I was invited to the meeting, but though pressed hard, begged to be excused. At last my friends urged that absence from such a gathering would be misunderstood. So I had to go, and was glad I did go, for, besides listening to some very interesting speeches by the ex-pupils (Mahomedan) and Professors (English) of the Aligarh Institute, I had the plea- sure of meeting its renowned founder, Sayed Ahmed Khan. The Sayed turned out exactly as I had pictured him to myself a stout, burly figure, with large, rugged, bull- dog features, betokening courage, fortitude, determination, a will to do the needful at any risk and cost. The Sayed 317 Saheb gave me a hearty welcome, and after a little talk urged that J should address the meeting. I explained that I was not speech-maker, and that having come to speak to our Hindu brethren on a matter of painful interest to them, no way in harmony with the object of the present meeting, it would be spoiling my own cause, without advancing the cause of Mahomedan education in the least, to speak on such an occasion. I left Sayed Ahmed Khan and other friends to consider with what grace we could discuss Hindu social reform at a Mahomedan meeting. They appeared convinced, but were by no means satisfied. 1 witnessed the pro- ceedings for about an hour, and was much impressed by the progress already effected by our Mahomedan friends. The enthusiasm that marked the speeches appeared to be quite genuine. One Mahomedan speaker, especially a stu- dent at the College, seemed to me to be a born orator. If he cultivates his gifts and has opportunities, that boy will live to be a power in Islam. About 3 P.M. 1 took leave of Sayed Ahmed Khan, promising to see him again next day. I kept my word and went to his house with Raja Jai Kisen Das. We explained again why we had avoided inviting Mahomedan friends to our Hindu meeting. He said he approved the omission, but rewarded what he mistook to be our exclusiveness with a very sly remark addressed to me (< all this that you have been doing is good and noble work the people cannot rise before shaking off these customs. But it sometimes seems to me as if your asking our Hindu brethren to give up their customs were like my asking them to become Mahomedans or a padre asking them to become Christians ! " We laughed at this clever hit and I saw at a glance that Sayed Sahib was an expert in the game of diplomacy. In an instant I bethought me of how best to ward off any untoward effect of his insinua- tion on Raja Jai Kisen Das. So I turned to the latter and asked innocently " Can our Mahomedan brethren be particularly anxious to see the Hindus give up the evil customs which stand so much in the way of fair competition 318 between the two ?" We laughed again. This time I laughed well, killing two birds with one stone, settling the Saycd Sahib and reassuring the Raja. And with that I left the eminent Mahomedan reformer, hoping to understand him better on another occasion. RACE AMENITIES. The feeling between Hindus and Mahomedans is none of the best at Aligarh, though I had expected pleasanter rela- tions owing to Sayed Ahmed's presence there. All over the North- West Provinces I have heard the complaint that Government is not strictly impartial in dealing with the two classes. But the reasons for this alleged partiality, as given by the aggrieved, are rather far-fetched. The facts seem to me to be these : Mahomedans are not so numerously and hopelessly divided as are Hindus ; even the two large sects, Shiahs and Sunnis, are not at all so exclusive as any two near sects of Hindus. Consequently, Musulmans combine more easily ; they organize public movements with greater success ; they go about the country and out of it much more freely, being comparatively free from the curse of infant marriage. Thus, with great moral and physical advantages, it is no wonder the Mahomedans are pushing the Hindus aside in some walks of life. Our Hindu friends must remember that the genius of the British race is identified with progress and reform ; pluck and enterprise are the salt of life to the muscular Briton ; he loves pushing. This appears to me to be the secret of the supposed partiality, though from some quarters I have been assured that the Anglo-Indian official is partial to the Mahomedan because he is afraid of him. I think this is a mistake. But even if otherwise, it only adds to the force of the contention that Hindus must learn to unite socially, to break through domestic and priestly thral- dom and to assert their position as the mother community. To me personally Hindu and Mahomedan are the same. To one I owe the gratitude of a lifetime ; to the other I am bound by ties of affection and brotherly regard. 319 BANS BAHEILLY. Left Aligarh about 8 P.M., after a prolonged discussion of things generally with Raja Jai Kisen Das at the station, reaching Bareilly after midnight, and driving up to Rai Peary Lai's, chattering like a monkey in the chill raw northerly wind. Went to bed for a couple of hours, as a sort of make-believe to soothe mine host's anxiety. I picked up Mr. Peary Lai's acquaintance at Delhi last year, and though it was rather impudent to invite myself to his house so sud- denly and on such a slender excuse, I am glad I went to him. Instinct is an unfailing guide. Mr. Peary Lai has worked himself into a philanthropist, perhaps unconsciously. He lives for others more than for himself. His benevolence is quiet and unobtrusive. He was very kind and attentive for the few hours I remained with him. Early in the morning he went about seeing friends for a preliminary meeting. On luY return he bustled up to me and asked after my personal wants. With his permission I put myself under a barber and then indulged in the luxury of an orthodox Hindu bath, in a dhoti. Mr. Peary Lai and his servants were astonished at the masterly manner in which I used the dhoti. I could bathe in a dhoti just as a fish bathes in his skin. But the master of the house could not help exclaiming * I say! who could have thought you had gone so far ?" The ser- vants, too, who were making preparations for bath, breakfast, &c., in the European style, appeared considerably relieved. This was my reward. They gave me a cup of excellent tea, with biscuit, dry fruit, &c. Then, after prayers, came the preliminary meeting. We had some earnest workers there, men of faith as well as action, who said "yes" and meant it, who said " no" but would still listen to reason. I wish I could give here a sketch of some of these Barielly no- tabilities. But the fact is I have got hopelessly mixed. And not until the faces are before me shall I be able to say which is which. In the evening we had as good a meetin" as was ever held all intelligent, representative Hindu gen- 320 tlemen. In about two hours we went through the formal business. Then we had a special meeting of a special set of friends. We carried it rather late into the night. But I felt as if we could not prolong it too much, everything said by the friends was so interesting and to the point. What splen- did material there is at Bans Barielly, as in other parts of the Provinces, to build up public opinion with ! Rushed off to the Station about 2 A.M. to catch the train for Lucknow, finding there that it would not be in before 4. Made the best of the interval, holding a levee of coolies, gariwallas, porters and other dignitaries of the station and the street. Not much of infant marriage among them, honest fellows ; but wages were very poor, they whined. I asked if they had any other grievance. The police had no mercy, some of them replied, the others assenting readily. THE DANCING GIRL. On my way to Lucknow I had some curious company, a number of smartly dressed young men, with a dancing girl. One of the former was evidently the great man of the com- pany, and the dancing girl appeared to be his property. The rest were some of them his men, others her men. As they neared the carriage I gave them a look which scared them away, but finding no accommodation elsewhere they hastened back and one of the fops explained they had not far to go and would not disturb the j'anab, &c., &c. The guard also put in a word for his acquaintances, and so they came in quietly. The great man then observed that they were returning home from a spree and were so pleased to have my company ! His dancing girl smiled cheerily and asked if she could "sit at janab's feet?" She seemed to be the only sober one of the party. I made no reply to her, but put the whole of my bedding kit between her and me and ensconced myself in my corner, making room for her at the other end of the bench. The poor thing appeared to be older than she could really have been. She was a handsome little body, with a heart somewhere, though perhaps not in the right place. Her eyes 321 proclaimed the professional flirt, and 1 pitied that hulking fool of a fellow who thought himself hef lover. I cannot say why but I see very little difference between one dancing girl and another, they are all so alike, of one class, one trade, one everything. The last nautch performance I witnessed by a dancing girl was at Surat, three and twenty years ago, as a boy, when, after the usual antics she was thrown bodily into the arms of a specially invited guest. The fellow was as ugly as sin, and notorious for being as miserly as a German Jew; but the dancing girl made a beau of him, appeal- ing to the love of her beloved Majnum, caressing him under the chin, &c., he protesting all the while- " I say don't, don't, 1 say" with choice epithets that a Parsi can use when he is in trouble. The spectators heartily enjoyed this by-play, and when, at last, the dancing girl took her Majrium fairly in her arms and smothered him with mock kisses, the room was convulsed with laughter. She was under a pledge to have some bukshis out of the curmudgeon. He held out as long as he could under her ardent overtures; but when his fair tormentor threatened to go beyond the kissing stage, he surrendered with ill grace, forking out a rupee to appease her violent love-making. A FASHION. There was no such exciting scene in the railway carriage, but on alighting at Lucknow Station, where Munshi Naval Kishor and another friend were good enough to be present, what do I see ? I see the dancing girl nowhere literally vanished and her swain standing before me with hand ex- C7 tended, and our friend introducing him to me as " , son of Bahadur, leading Kais, who will be very useful to you." I pretended not to see the young man's hand, but expressed a hope to see him some other time and have a talk. On our way to the Hotel, where Mr. Naval Kishor had kindly made arrangements at his expense, I spoke of the young Rais and the dancing girl. My companion laughed at it and explained it was a fashion. People did not think much of 42 322 going about with a dancing girl, especially when, owing to the practice of infant marriage, hundreds of unions turned out unsatisfactory. Good God ! While there was some ex- cuse or another urged invariably in favour of the huaband, who ever thought of the wife, the wronged and neglected, pining away in her Zenana? LUCKNOW. Met some very strong men at Lucknow, and had a good deal of discussion with them. The remarkable thing about it all was that none of them argued in a circle. '1 hey were sturdy, honest, self-respecting men, with the courage of their convictions. If infant marriage is not soon knocked on the head it will not be for any fault of the principal Hindus of Lucknow. This was the second time I missed doing Lucknow. There was little time on hand, so little indeed that I could not return the visit of some Parsi friends. Started from Lucknow about 11 P.M., Munshi Naval Kishor kindly seeing me off. ALLAHABAD. Reached Allahabad early in the morning and drove off to Munshi Kashi Prasad's. Mr. Kashi Prasad was not quite prepared, and felt rather puzzled as to how to dispose of the guest he knew nothing about. But I at once set him at his ease. A kholi was soon got ready, and water, fruit, and sweet- meat were offered to the itinerant Aryan brother. First thing I did was to sit down on the floor and despatch a few letters and a "copy" to Bombay. Worked myself into a fit of rheumatism. Then rushed off to see a couple of friends. Met Kumar Shiva Nath Sin ha for the first time. He was good enough to offer me the shelter of his roof. There was no occasion for it, however. Took a cup of tea with him. Went off in search of Sir Dinkar Rao. He was out of town. Then looked up Pandit Adityaram Bhattacharya, the Ranade of the North-West Provinces, as a friend aptly describes him. Had a long talk. Returned to Mr. Kashi Prasad's, had a 323 pleasant breakfast about 12, at which his little daughter pre- sided with a priest, then went off to the High Court to see the Pleaders. As I entered the common room I could not help feeling like a lamb going into a den of wolves. Fancy a lay- man, ignorant of the ways of the world, and "only a Parsi," attempting to convert a number of veteran Hindu Pleaders, the leaders of Allahabad society ! But nothing like impu- dence, my gentlemen of the long robe. If you are pleaders, I am a special pleader. So in L rush, take the bull by the horns and run him into a corner. There was something like a flutter in the beginning, a good deal of scepticism, and some legal fencing. But I overbore all resistance by a tremendous stretch of loquacity. Now or never that was the principle on which I attacked the invincibles. And one by one I got most of them round. A public meeting was arranged for on the spot, a meeting to consist of the most intelligent Hindu representatives. With three exceptions all the luminaries of the law agreed to attend and take part. Pandit Ajodhia Prasad begged off, saying he liked the in- stitution of infant marriage. Judging from his fine Aryan face, I suspect the Pandit spoke only as a Pleader. He is his brother Pandit Jagan Nath of Agra's own brother. Sorry I had no time to cultivate his acquaintance. The other defaulter was Munshi Hanuman Prasad, a dear old gentleman, full of intelligence. He really could not attend, as he was making preparations for the marriage of his young son. The third gentleman's name I forget. He agreed with me as to the necessity of some action being taken to put down infant marriages, but could not make up his mind as to the exact nature of the remedies. Another friend was also of this opinion, but he was good enough to attend and join our Com- mittee. Mr. Saunders was the only European present, coming, like myself, self-invited. I am glad he came as a witness on the day of judgment. At the meeting Mr. Kashi Prasad made a fierce onslaught on the custom and cried shame upon those who followed it after being convinced of its mischievous efl'ccis. I have seldom heard a speech of so much power. 324 We returned home about 7 P.M. and had a conference at Munshi Kashi Prasad's on one or two other questions in which I am deeply interested. Conference broke up rather late. Mr. Kashi Prasad appeared to be touched by the self- denying zeal of his guest, and begged hard that I should allow him to keep me in money, as I was spending so freely. ' You may return it if you like," he added gently. I had some cash still left, so thanked him for his generous offer and promised to avail myself of it should I ever need it. Had a hasty supper after 11 P.M. At 1 A.M. the servants came to awake me, saying it was train time. What a hardship ! Reached the station before 2, to be told that the train would leave after 4 ! Most aggravating. We Natives have no idea of time and space. A few hours or a few miles this way or that matters nothing. The station was dead asleep and I felt very annoyed at having been dragged out of bed so early. I turned fiercely upon the disturber with the question f( why are we here so much before the hour?" " Because," explained the cold-blooded monster, " if I once go to bed, I won't get up till morning." That was a straight answer, at any rate ; so I could not withhold his bakhshis. A SAD REMINISCENCE. On alighting at Benares Station I found Babu Ram Kali Chaudhary's carriage waiting. I also met there an old friend, the Musulman " boy" in charge of the Waiting Room. It is perhaps as well that the station has to go without a pucka Khansimaji, it having no Refreshment Room. This is because Benares, though important enough, is but a branch Station, and because there are hotels within hail. Whatever the cause, I do not regret the absence of a full-blown Khansama, which means escape from stale meat, poisonous liquor and the picking of your pockets in a fashionable sort of way. I was glad to see my friend the chota Khansarna whom I gave a little custom before stepping into the carriage outside. Some years ago I had to stay at the Waiting Room for two days and nights, in high fever and with only a few rupees left 325 after an arduous campaign across Bengal and the North- West Provinces. I wanted to see the Maharaja, about the Max M tiller translations. He was not in town. But 1 met Raja Shiva Prasad and caught fever. 1 his enlightened educationist promised to speak to the Maharaja and let me know at Bombay. But Maharajas and Rajas are busy mortals, and not until I meet them again will they be reminded of the little mission. Returning from Raja Shiva Prasad's I took to the bed. It would not do to tell anybody of my condition. So confiding the secret to the boy, and wiring to Bombay for remittance, T laid myself down patiently to starve out the fever. The boy kept watch for two weary days and nights, scaring away all intruders from the Waiting Room. On the third morning the Station Master, who had come to know something about the state of affairs, requested me to shift, as the room was to be taken up by the family of an official. Unwilling to go to friends, and unable to find any other refuge, I had a charpai drawn up under a tree close to the railway store-house. And there, in the sultry hot winds of May, I passed another day and night. That was one of the bitterest of my travelling experiences. Next day came pecuniary re-inforcement from Bombay. I repaid the boy's kindness well enough to enable him to set up a small business if he were so inclined, pinching myself so far as to take the Intermediate class on my way to Itajputana. The value of the boy's services lay in the fact that they were given to a poor man, perhaps he might have thought to a dying man. BENARES MEN AND THINGS. Drove up to Mr. Ram Kali's and was warmly welcomed. I met him first at the National Congress at Bombay (you see these Congresses are national in more than one sense). He is retired Sub-Judge and Small Cause Court Judge, highly respected by all sections of Benares society, old and young, European and Native. Taken all in all, 326 I found him the most sagacious guide in the provinces, with a love of useful knowledge and a wide range of o O practical experience. Like other thoughtful men Mr. Ram Kali seemed to be deeply impressed with the moral and material poverty of India, and thus he was prepared to meet me more than half way. The success of the Be- nares meeting is much more due to him than to me. The Pandits, Raises and other principal citizens were willing to be led by him. We had a few visitors in the after- noon, and in the evening we went out for a stroll, after arrang- ing preliminaries. Early in the morning Mr. Ram Kali took me out for a walk in the course of which I had to pay my respects to several leading citizens. The meeting in the after- noon was very creditable, considering the short notice. I attended it with all my luggage in the ghari, so as to be able to rush off to the Station from the Town Hall. Finding half an hour on hand after the meeting I walked hurriedly through some of the streets of Benares, with three or four excellent guides. Benares may be a holy city, but it is by no means a healthy one. The streets we went through were dark, dank, extremely narrow, built as if it were with the special object of generating and propagating cholera. In about ten minutes I counted more stenches in native Benares than somebody did at Cologne. The streets appear to have been built without the slightest idea of sanitation, ventilation, &c., though the material used in house-building is said to be fire proof. On the way we visited a Maratha Sannyasi, reputed to be 150 years old. I entered his klioli, looked him over carefully, and thought he could not be even ]00. But the friends who were with me, gentlemen not likely to be taken in, assured me that the Sannyasi was considered old as many as 80 years ago. Mr. Biswas, the Small Cause Court Judge, explained that the Sannyasi had managed to preserve him- self mainly by mauna, that is by holding his tongue. He does not seem to have been heard to speak for years. One may be justified in saying, therefore, that this Benares ascetic is a living protest against the vanity and waste of energy of 327 professional speech-makers. To this extent my opinion about speech-making as a trade has been wonderfully well confirmed. During my stay at Benares I made some valuable friends, Bengali and Hindustani, who vied with one another in liberality of sentiment and a desire to be practical. I hare been told by friends that much of what I heard in the provinces was mere talk. That remains to be seen. Mean- time I cannot help observing that I am not a very bad judge of character nor a very sanguine dreamer after the heavy knocks received in the battle of life. Oh that I had leisure for three years and three lakhs of rupees to spend ! With these two weapons I would undertake to make Widow Marriage itself popular. BACK TO ALLAHABAD. Leaving Benares about 5 P.M. I reached Allahabad Station after midnight and was received by a messenger from Messrs. J. Shapoorji and Co. That was the second time I enjoyed the hospitality of this well-known Parsi firm, and yet up to this day I am unacquainted with Mr. J. Shapoorji, the Proprietor, though both of us live at Bombay ! But what of that ? Did I not know his brother Mr. Dinsha once upon a time? And, after all, even if I know not him or his still as a matter of history, I can prove that Mr. J. Shapoorji is my cousin. Why, then, should I scruple to accept of his hospi- tality, especially as members of his firm are always so kind. This time I had to do more with European than with Hindu friends, and found Mr. Shapoorji's house very con- venient. I spent a day and a half there and was much refresh- ed by savoury Parsi dishes and genial Parsi company. Had to do a good deal of writing work, a good deal of grinding; but found time enough to pay and receive visits. Wound up the visiting business by a call on Mrs. and Mr. Knox (High Court Judge or Legal Remembrancer). I believe I have visited all the sacred shrines of Hinduism except Hardwar, and if svoarga is to be attained by this means, 1 may fairly 328 look forward to a more exalted heaven than most even of Brah- man pilgrims. Still, having traced so much of silent good to work Mrs. Knox, and being so near, I could not resist un- dertaking a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Unselfish Usefulness. Had a long and most interesting conversation with our Lady of Allahabad, as the Roman Catholic would call her, about her work of love and charity, and left her well impressed, I hope, with its approaching success. In appearance and otherwise Mrs. Knox reminded me of my excellent school mistress, Mrs. Dixon of Surat, now at Belfast. What glo- rious work these Englishwomen have in India ! Finding the cash box nearing depletion I sent for Rs. 10 from Munshi Kashi Prasad, and started for Agra about 9 P.M., arriving there in the morning, and putting myself at once under the protection of my guide, philosopher and friend, Lala Baij Nath Bahadur, Mukam Agra. MUTHRA AND ITS CHOWBES. Next day we left for Muthra, feeling very doubtful as to our success at this " citadel of Hindu orthodoxy." We had been dissuaded from making the attempt by several friends who knew the people of Muthra. This dissuasion, however, induced me more than ever to risk a trial, and in the evening we found ourselves at Muthra. We put up with Mr. Alopi Prasad, the Munsif, a smart young official, but new to the place. Notices were circulated the same night. Early in the morning we had a select conference, and in the evening as enthusiastic a public meeting as one could have wished for even in an advanced centre, presided over by an able and persuasive chairman, who was followed by indigenous thinkers knowing the subject intimately and addressing themselves to it in a masterly manner. At Muthra I saw for the first time a number of Chowbes, the Chatur Vedi clan of old. They are Brahmans out and out, with all the vices of that exclusive caste, but very few of their virtues. Splendid in physique tall, sleek, muscular, 329 do-nothing, care-nothing devils, the Chowbe priests are a study both for the physiologist and the social reformer. They pretend to be conversant with all the Vedas, and as a matter of fact know little beyond vulgar traditions. But for their general igno/rance they make up by a transcendental knowledge of gymnastics and gastronomy. You may find one Chowbe eating and drinking what is enough to surfeit three wild bulls. As to domestic customs early marriage is common among them, as also is the exchange of girls. Marriage with some of them seems to have a very limited significance thus, for instance, the wife goes to her husband's in the evening, and returns home to her parents' early in the morning, declin- ing to attend to household duties as a wife. How she manag- es it when she is encumbered with children, I could not find out probably the little ones are left to the care of the pater- nal grandmother or aunt. Before the meeting I had a pleasant drive to Brindabin, and was shown many a sacred spot associated with the memory of the lover-saviour of the Hindus, whose mission has been so grossly caricatured by some of his own worshippers. The lives of the Vallabhkul Maharajas atMuthra seem to be about the same as at Bombay, and, curious to say, the most ardent amongst their votaries also belong to the same community the Bhattias of Bombay. This is a ticklish topic to pursue. ERRATA. fage 15 20 22 25 31 82 33 39 50 52 54 60 61 71 77 83 95 98 Line 35 11 16 1 82 5 6 7 11 24 28 2 34 26 20 10 23 24 For Universty nnless evils threshhold carcase profession what caste incontrollable de etre OFFICALS dcstitude famales hyprocrites imposter villainy was Goverment Read University. unless. evil. threshold. carcass. professions. that. castes. uncontrollable. d'etre. OFFICIALS. destitute. females. hypocrites. impostor. v ill any. were. Government. 99 26 sprits spirits. 127 14 compatively comparatively. P. 132 read in continuation of the note at the bottom of the page The case has cow become a public property. It is not, indeed, the case that is now on trial, but the law that has guided the disposal of the case so far. That is an unjust law, an on-Hindu law, as Mr. Ragoonath Row and others have shown; and the efforts of Hindu reformers ought to be directed to the source of the evil which has deprived the community of their sense of right and wrong, and is a blight upon national progress. Our English friends will now see why the wisest amongst Hindus despair of correcting society without some help from the legislature. While the case was in hearing the Chief Justice remarked the other day that a regular Government in India had superseded the functions of Caste in several matters. Quite so. But, unfor- tunately, this partial supersession is worse than useless so far as the interests of the comnmnity are concerned. The law administered by Caste was onesided enough ; administered by the Court it has become more onesided and flagrantly unjust to the weaker sex. What, then, is to become of Rukhmabai ? She has to face another trial at the High Court before representing her sad condition, and of too many of her sisters, to the final court of appeal, the Privy Council. She is a sufferer, and a sufferer she will remain all her life. Her nominal husband loses nothing even if the case goes entirely against 'him. But Rnkhmabai is a loser even it she gains everything. The husband can marry again, whether he loses or gains. The wife cannot do so in either case she will have to remain what Hindu philologists call a virgin-wife-widow. This is one of the results of infant marriage, as Eaja Jaikisen Das explained at a meeting at Aligarh some time ago. To Eukhmabai personally the issue of the suit either way will make very little difference. The worst that can happen to her is to go to jail for a day or a week or month. And she will doubtless prefer that to the horrorB of what is worse than jail and grave combined, Page Line For Read 147 30 to perhaps to to perhaps. 165 26 hereself herself. 170 12 fractious factious. ]77 18 writien written. 189 27 soical social. 194 6 concensus consensus. ,, 8 Native Natives. 229 2 there their. 25 fantacism fanaticism. 232 21 decorus decorous. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. ID, fB ACNOV01 2001 1374 &187A Form L9-Series 4939 A 000 961 096 5