NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE 
 
 A STORY OF INDIA 
 
 BY REY. EDWIH MacMIHH: 
 
 JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 
 Breaker Boy, Eaglesmere Trio, Brave Hearts Win, Judith and Glaucia, 
 
 Ben Amini, Bushkill Social, A mat the Antalekite, A German 
 
 Hiro, Rambles in Mineral Fields, The Crystal 
 
 Club, From Cave to Palace, Pocket 
 
 Manual No. j, etc. 
 
 NEW YORK : HUNT & EA TON 
 CINCINNA 77.- CRANSTON & .STOWE
 
 Copyright, 1890, by 
 
 HUNT & EATON ; 
 
 NEW YOKK.
 
 FS 
 
 DEDICATED 
 
 TO THE 
 
 WOMEN'S FOREIGN MISSIONARY SOCIETIES IN AMERICA, 
 
 WHOSE RECOGNITION OF THE SISTERHOOD OF THEIR SEX IN ALL THE WORLD HAS 
 
 LED THEM TO CONSECRATE THEIR PRAYERS, GIFTS, AND LABOR TO 
 
 THE SOCIAL ELEVATION AND ETERNAL SALVATION 
 
 OF THOSE NOW BOUND BV THE CASTE 
 
 Ct 7 STOM OF BRAHMANIS.M ; 
 
 WHOSE WORK 
 
 IS A RECOGNITION OF THE CALL OF 
 THEIR DIVINE MASTER 
 
 TO GO FORTH, AS DID MARY, AND ANNOUNCE THE GLAD TIDINGS OF A RISEN 
 
 LORD, AND TO CARRY TO THE CITIES OF HEATHENISM, AS DID 
 
 PHCEBE THE EPISTLE TO ROME, THE TRIUMPHANT 
 
 DOCTRINES OF SALVATION.
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 Tins story has been written to aid the Woman's 
 Foreign Missionary Societies in arousing the mem- 
 bers of our churches to a greater zeal in their special 
 work. The history given seemed necessary as a foun- 
 dation for understanding why things are as they are 
 in India. The history, customs, descriptions, etc., are 
 prepared with great care to truly represent the state 
 of the case. 
 
 It is with the hope that we may have more sympa- 
 thy for our earnest, struggling missionaries that this 
 book is sent forth. They are noble, cultured men 
 and women of God, and we too often forget how 
 much their success is laid upon our shoulders by the 
 Lord of all. 
 
 While writing this story I had the pleasure of 
 entertaining Ramabai at my house, arid her eyes 
 sparkled with appreciation of my effort as I told her 
 of my purpose. And now I send it forth with the 
 fond hope that it may do some good by arousing in 
 many souls enthusiasm for zenana missions. 
 
 EDWIN McMiNN.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGK 
 CA..LED TO BE A MISSIONARY 11 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 OUTWARD BOUND 21 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 THE ORIGIN OF CASTE. 30 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 INDIA'S RECORD OP BLOOD 41 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 BOMBAY 50 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 THE XAUTCHNEE 00 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 THE XAUTCHNEE'S HOME 70 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 THE MOTHER'S SORROW SO 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BUILDING IN THE WORLD 91
 
 8 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 KlSMUT 101 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 MORGAN SHOOTS THE TIGER 112 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 WHAT ELEPHANTS CAN Jbo 121 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 LIGHT IN THE JUNGLE 132 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 FINDING THE TRAIL 143 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 JUNGLE EXPERIENCES 1 52 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 FOES IN AGRA 163 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 THE SKIES BRIGHTEN 173 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 THE HOLT CITY OP THE HINDUS 182 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 DENNIS IN TROUBLE 194 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 ZENANA WORK OPENED 20G 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 THE MISSIONARY'S REST 215 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 PERILS IN THE MOUNTAINS. . . 224
 
 COXTEA'TS. 9 
 
 PAGE 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 IN THE HEART OF INDIA 242 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 DASEE 251 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 VICTORY IN DEATH 259 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 A HINDU'S LOVE 267 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 THE LOST FOUND 275 
 
 CHAPTER XXVin. 
 CHANGING SCENES. . , 283
 
 ]\|EMORAMA THE J^AUTCHNEE, 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 CALLED TO BE A MISSIONARY. 
 
 SYLVIA, one of the prettiest towns in the Keystone 
 State, was said to contain, in proportion to its popu- 
 lation, a larger number of attractive maidens than any 
 other town in the State. 
 
 There seemed to be a limited supply of young men, 
 and this naturally induced the young ladies to be 
 more gracious and entertaining than they might have 
 been had the inequality been reversed. This condi- 
 tion of affairs also had the tendency to encourage the 
 young men to magnify their own importance. Some 
 of them were vain enough to think that one man was 
 as good as four women, which is true Mohammedan 
 doctrine. This was too much for the maidens to en- 
 dure. They vehemently asserted their individual 
 equality, and proved it by their broader culture and 
 greater skill. They ranked higher in their classes at 
 school, were better clerks in the stores, more efficient 
 as stenographers and typewriters, and more reliable in 
 the work of the Church. In a small cottage in this
 
 12 ]S'EMOKAMA THE ^S AUTCIINEE. 
 
 village lived the widow Thompson and her three 
 daughters. Her life seemed to have more than its 
 share of trials, but, from her -sunny face and bright 
 home, one would have thought she was a stranger to 
 care and sadness. 
 
 Many years previous her husband died, leaving her 
 without property and with three little daughters to 
 support. The widow knew how to ply her needle, 
 and she went diligently to work. The years passed 
 on ; the home was preserved, the children clothed, fed, 
 and educated. When the streaks of silver lighted 
 upon the handsome head of the mother the daughters 
 took up the burdens, and bore them for her. One 
 was a school-teacher, one a stenographer, and the re- 
 maining one having just returned from a ladies' col- 
 lege with the honors of her class was ready to go 
 whither the Lord should lead her. 
 
 Jennie Thompson was one of the most handsome 
 and winning of her sex. With a mind of broad cult- 
 ure, a voice of exquisite sweetness, a form of perfect 
 symmetry, and movements of polished grace she at- 
 tracted every one ; but, by the sympathy of her heart 
 and the consecration of her soul to God, she held the 
 most powerful sway over her adorers. 
 
 The pastor of the church was a frequent visitor at 
 this delightful home, for here he found sympathy with 
 his progressive plans, and ardent co-operation in car- 
 rying them forward. Here he beheld the grace of 
 womanhood and felt the exalting influence of noble
 
 CALLED TO BE A MISSIONARY. 13 
 
 lives. In the work of the church a Woman's Foreign 
 Missionary Society had been organized. It was yet 
 in its infancy, but every month the zeal of its mem- 
 bers was stirred by fresh news from the foreign field. 
 The missionary secretary in charge of the mission 
 work of the State had been a missionary in Burmah, 
 but was compelled by broken health to return home. 
 His eloquent appeals for missions awakened the hearts 
 of his own people, and thus he accomplished the work 
 to which he believed God had called him. In seeking 
 to aid this band of noble workers, and to incite them 
 to greater zeal, he suggested that they invite Ramabai 
 to lecture for them. 
 
 The pastor called at the widow's cottage to see what 
 she thought about it. When he had read the letter 
 from the secretary Jennie asked, as she continued the 
 fancy knitting she was engaged in, " Who is 
 Ramabai ? " 
 
 The pastor responded : " I can very fully answer 
 you, Jennie, for I have just read the story of her life 
 in a book called The High Caste Hindu Woman, 
 which Ramabai has published. 
 
 " In the Mangalore district of western India was 
 born Ananta Shastri, of high caste parentage. When 
 ten years of age he was married, and his child-bride 
 was brought to his mother's house and committed to 
 her keeping to learn the duties of a high caste Hindu's 
 wife. Ananta was possessed with a desire for knowl- 
 edge, and, consequently, left his home to obtain
 
 14 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 instruction from a learned pundit in Poona. This 
 eminent Brahman was employed by the reigning 
 peshwa to visit his palace at stated times and give les- 
 sons in Sanskrit to his favorite wife. Ananta, being 
 only a boy, was given the privilege of accompanying 
 his teacher to the palace, and here he occasionally 
 heard the noble lady reciting Sanskrit poems. He 
 was filled with wonder that a woman should be so 
 learned ; his admiration was awakened, and he re- 
 solved to teach his wife, that she also might possess 
 the graces of learning. "With a finished education at 
 the age of twenty-three, he returned to his home and 
 began instructing his wife, but she had no desire to 
 be instructed. His mother and all the elders of the 
 family objected to such an unusual procedure, and he 
 was compelled to relinquish his project. 
 
 " In a few years his wife died and he went on a 
 pilgrimage. 
 
 " One morning a man on a religious pilgrimage 
 with his wife and two daughters was resting in a vil- 
 lage on the banks of the sacred river Goclavari. 
 While bathing in the river he noticed a fine-looking 
 man with the same caste tokens also bathing there. 
 After their ablutions and morning prayers he entered 
 into conversation with the stranger. On learning his 
 caste and clan and dwelling-place, and that he was a 
 widower, he offered to him for a wife his little nine- 
 year-old daughter. 
 
 " The stranger accepted the offer. The terms of
 
 A BRAHMAN.
 
 CALLED TO BE A MISSIONARY. 15 
 
 the marriage were agreed upon, and the next day the 
 marriage was concluded. The little girl was placed 
 in the possession of the stranger, who took her to his 
 own home, nine hundred miles away. The parents 
 now proceeded on their pilgrimage with light hearts, 
 for they thought they had done their duty to their 
 child. The man who married the little girl was 
 Ananta, and these two became the parents of Ramahai. 
 
 " Arriving at his home, Ananta placed the little 
 bride in the hands of his mother to be instructed in 
 wifely duties, and at the same time he began to teach 
 her Sanskrit. But the elders of the family again 
 objected. Ananta determined not to be hindered, so 
 he took his child-bride away from home and the fer- 
 tile valley in which he had lived, and journeyed into 
 the forest of Gnngamul, an extensive jungle on a 
 remote plateau of the western Ghauts. 
 
 " The first night spent in the jungle they were 
 without shelter. The little bride, wrapped tight in 
 her cotton quilt, lay upon the ground while Ananta 
 kept watch over her. To add to the terror of the 
 darkness, all night long the cries of a tiger were heard 
 as it roamed about a ravine near by. 
 
 " The next day a rude dwelling was constructed, 
 preparations for a food supply were begun, and their 
 solitary life was entered upon. The wild animals of 
 the jungle were all about them, terrifying the child 
 with their wild roaring and crying, but the lessons 
 went on day by day.
 
 16 ' NEMORAMA THE NAUTCIINEE. 
 
 " As she grew in years slie became wise in the 
 sacred language of her people. 
 
 " In a few years children were born to them. The 
 knowledge of this remote dwelling-place of the 
 learned Brahman soon reached the people in the val- 
 leys and cities below the mountain, and it became the 
 object of pious pilgrimages, and multitudes of young 
 men flocked to Ananta asking to become his students. 
 Ananta received them with true hospitality until his 
 patrimony was exhausted ; then, aged, poor, and 
 blind, he left his forest home, and, with his family, 
 became pilgrims, going from one sacred locality to 
 another. At the time they gave up their home Ram- 
 abai was nine years of age. During their pilgrim 
 life her studies were diligently pursued. When she 
 was sixteen years of age her parents died. She con- 
 tinued her pilgrimages with her brother, and lectured 
 on female education. 
 
 " After a while her brother died, but she continued 
 her work. In a few months after that she married a 
 Bengali gentleman, but in less than two years he died. 
 She then resumed her lecturing, and, leaving her own 
 country, visited England, and afterward came to 
 America to raise money to establish such schools as 
 would enable her to introduce female education in 
 India." 
 
 When the pastor finished his narrative the ladies, 
 with one voice, said, " O yes ; by all means, let us 
 have Ramabai address us."
 
 CALLED TO UK A MISSIONARY. 17 
 
 The .announcement of so distinguished a speaker 
 was sufficient to crowd the meeting-house long before 
 the appointed hour. In that same place, years before, 
 while the land was bleeding under the strokes of civil 
 war, Anna Dickinson's eloquent appeal had stirred the 
 hearts of the older people. Recently the enthusiasm 
 of the younger folks had been awakened by the thrill- 
 ing words of Frances E. Willard pleading the cause 
 of temperance. With no less degree of interest they 
 now gazed upon the sweet face of the olive-hued 
 woman who dared to stand opposed to the prejudices 
 of millions of her own people, and plead with their 
 American sisters to labor for their liberation from the 
 chains of ignorance. Ramabai was profoundly touched 
 by the responsive sympathy on the faces of her hear- 
 ers, and with all the eloquence of her soul told the 
 story iof the wrongs under which millions of women 
 in India are to-day suffering. Jennie Thompson was 
 deeply affected by the plea of the eloquent speaker. 
 She could not restrain the tears that sought to flow 
 down her cheeks. And when Ramabai appealed for 
 helpers she felt the inexpressible thrill of a divine call 
 to this field as her life-work. 
 
 When the flash of light from God's throne fell upon 
 her she forgot the place where she was, the great au- 
 dience about her, the exercises following the lecture, 
 and only thought of the millions of India's hosts pass- 
 ing before her. 
 
 Ramabai had sriid, "In India there are 669,100 
 2
 
 18 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 widows, under twenty years of age, doomed for life 
 to seclusion and suffering. Of these 79,000 are un- 
 der nine years of age, 207.400 are between the ages 
 of ten and fourteen, 382,700 are between the ages of 
 fifteen and nineteen ; and of all ages and castes there 
 are in India 20,930,600 widows an army of suffering 
 ones appealing to the hearts of the women of happy 
 America." 
 
 Jennie was awakened from her reverie by the peo- 
 ple rising to depart. She hastened to her home, and, 
 going to her room, knelt at the spot sacred to her de- 
 votions and poured out her soul in consecration to her 
 Saviour. All night long she continued in prayer, and, 
 when morning came, with calm mind and serious 
 countenance announced to her family her acceptance 
 of the call to go and teach the truth of Christ to the 
 daughters of India. With tears and prayers, her 
 mother gave her consent, and the work of preparation 
 began. 
 
 In a few weeks Jennie entered the Women's Medi- 
 cal College in Philadelphia, where the noble Anan- 
 dibai Joshee, the first Hindu woman that in any 
 country ever received the degree of doctor of medi- 
 cine, had been educated. Under influences in thor- 
 ough sympathy with her purpose Jennie studied med- 
 icine and received lessons in Sanskrit. In due time 
 she was graduated, then returned to her home to spend 
 a fe\v weeks before leaving it forever. 
 
 O 
 
 That last Sabbath at home was very precious to her
 
 CALLED TO BE A MISSIONARY. 19 
 
 soul. It was the church's communion season, and 
 after the observance of the ordinance the pastor, in 
 touching words, somewhat hindered by flowing tears, 
 committed her as a precious lamb of the flock to the 
 tender mercies of the heavenly Shepherd. The peo- 
 ple gathered about her to speak their farewells, each 
 one having a special word of endearment to express. 
 From old and young came the same tribute of love 
 to her and admiration of the noble spirit that enabled 
 her to make this sacrifice. How great it was they 
 could all infer as they recalled Ramabai's words con- 
 cerning the ignorance and prejudice and caste rules of 
 the women of India. The life of a missionary would 
 be a very lonely life. Only a strong dependence upon 
 God could have enabled the widow Thompson thus to 
 give her daughter to missions. But if God gave his 
 Son to die for mankind should not she sacrifice her 
 natural spirit and give her child to save souls from 
 eternal death ? Jennie was a gift laid upon God's 
 altar just as much as was Isaac when laid upon the 
 altar by Abraham, and God gave the widow peace in 
 making the sacrifice. 
 
 At length the last farewells were spoken, and Jen- 
 nie Thompson, accompanied by her pastor, left Sylvia, 
 and in a few hours arrived in New York. Here she 
 entered the great steam-ship Etruria, bound for En- 
 gland, and in a few hours the vessel was plowing the 
 waves of the sea. Before retiring Jennie went on 
 deck, and in the distance saw the electric lights of
 
 20 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 Asbury Park and Ocean Grove. Taking one last, 
 lingering look at them, she went to her berth. "When 
 morning carne the vessel was rocking on the waves 
 of the Gulf Stream a hundred miles from the shore. 
 The week on the ocean rapidly passed away, for the 
 passengers were her own countrymen, and their socia- 
 bility kept lonesomeness away. At Liverpool an- 
 other vessel was taken for Alexandria, upon which 
 she found as fellow voyagers people of other climes 
 than her own, whose faces, manners, and language 
 were strange and unattractive.
 
 OUTWAKD 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 OUTWARD BOUND. 
 
 JENNIE realized how thoroughly she was separated 
 from her native land when the vessel passed be- 
 tween the Pillars of Hercules, and plowed the waves 
 of the Mediterranean. An ocean was between her and 
 home. 
 
 Her heart grew faint as they neared Egypt, for 
 here she was to leave the vessel at Alexandria, travel 
 overland to Ismailia. and embark in another vessel to 
 bear her to India. 
 
 Even the sight of pyramids, obelisks, sphynxes, and 
 the peculiar features of Egyptian life failed to restore 
 her courage. A great, wave of homesickness rushed 
 overwhelmingly upon her. 
 
 At Ismailia she boarded the large and elegant 
 steamer Surat, a vessel of 3,142 tons' burden, with 
 state-rooms for a hundred and thirty first-class passen- 
 gers, and a huge crowd of sailors, servants, and steer- 
 age passengers, resembling a small army. As she 
 passed up the gang-plank she observed a number of 
 Americans on the deck, and instantly her homesick- 
 ness vanished. Like a streak of sunshine suddenly 
 released from an intervening cloud the smiles of 
 courage flashed upon her countenance, and she was
 
 22 XKMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 again filled with hope. When all was ready the 
 great lines were cast off, the engines began their 
 working, the huge vessel swung out into the channel, 
 and then, at the rate of thirteen knots an hour, pur- 
 sued the Avay to India. 
 
 As they advanced down the Red Sea the heat be- 
 came so intense, particularly when the breeze was 
 blowing in the same direction the vessel was going, 
 that orders would be occasionally given to reverse 
 the engines, and make a short run against the wind 
 so as to relieve the ship's load of the exhaustion 
 caused by the dead heat of the tropics. 
 
 The passengers, clad in thinnest and softest clothing, 
 reclined in easy-chairs under broad awnings on the 
 quarter-deck. Every device to cause the air to be in 
 motion about them was adopted, and, as the evening 
 hours advanced, and the intense heat of the sun 
 abated, the passengers in groups sought to relieve 
 the ennui of the journey by games, music, and con- 
 versation. 
 
 Sociability was one of the characteristics of the 
 travelers, and naturally the various nationalities drew 
 closely to their own people. Jennie was delighted to 
 find two American gentlemen among the passengers, 
 and they, in turn, were equally pleased with the dis- 
 covery that the lady who tripped up the plank at 
 Ismailia was their own countrywoman. During the re- 
 mainder of the voyage these gentlemen vied with 
 each other, in all the graces of politeness and attention,
 
 OrrwAun P>ouxn. 23 
 
 to make the time pass comfortably and happily to 
 their fair companion. The group attracted much at- 
 tention from the other passengers, who observed that 
 its uniqueness consisted in its thorough Americanism. 
 
 The gentlemen were about the same in age and in 
 size. In some respects they might have passed for 
 brothers, for their general appearance and similarity 
 in disposition were manifest. To have selected one in 
 preference to the other would have called for a closer 
 examination of their characters than a casual glance 
 would have given. 
 
 The one most attractive, by a careless, happy, brill- 
 iant manner of speech and action, was Edward 
 Morgan, the son of a New York millionaire. 
 
 lie had recently completed his university course, 
 and was now on a tour of pleasure preliminary to 
 settling down to a life of toil in his father's counting- 
 house. He had distinguished himself in the lecture 
 halls, on the ball ground, and in the boat race. 
 He was a typical educated American, with mind and 
 muscle equally trained, and was looking forward to 
 some vigorous tiger hunting in the vast jungles -of 
 India as a sport fitting to his physical capacity. 
 
 He had paid a great deal more attention to philos- 
 phy than to religion, and was quite familiar with the 
 latest works on theosophy and esoteric Buddhism. 
 Hence, while familiar, as any ordinary church-goer 
 would be, with his home religion, the peculiar tran- 
 scendentalism of a foreign creed had attracted him
 
 24- xKMOUAMA TIIK AUTCllXKE. 
 
 to such a decree that even the filthiest fakirs of In- 
 dia would be of great interest to him. Like many of 
 his class, at home he had attended chnrch as a matter 
 of form. When the preacher uttered glittering 
 flights of fancy, or speculated on abstruse questions, 
 he was interested, but when the sober realities of life 
 and death, of obligation and judgment, were broached, 
 he turned his thoughts to more pleasant themes. 
 
 He was a thorough gentleman, and never polluted 
 his lips with words of vulgarity or blasphemy, and 
 above all things honored truth and despised a lie. He 
 was the best specimen of a cultured irreligious man 
 Miss Thompson had ever met. He was accustomed 
 to wine-drinking, theater-going, dancing, card-playing, 
 and all the pleasures of high-toned society, and from 
 every form of refined pleasure drew largely to make 
 life a success. He felt strong contempt for the man 
 with so little self-control or will-power as to be 
 overcome by indulgence in any form of pleasure. 
 His own life had been so well ordered that he had 
 never once lost his power of preserving his equipoise. 
 From this superiority to many of his fellows had 
 sprung a spirit of pride, which made him more at- 
 tractive to the ladies than he would have been with 
 greater humility. His fellow American voyager, with 
 whom he had become acquainted on this vessel, was the 
 Hev. Paul Stanhope, a man in every way his equal. 
 
 Paul Stanhope was of Puritan ancestry. For gen- 
 erations the family had prided itself on its purity and
 
 OUTWARD BOUND. 25 
 
 zeal for God ; how natural, therefore, that the favor- 
 ite son should consecrate his life to the service of 
 leading men to salvation. His education had been 
 thorough in every particular. In college, university, 
 and theological seminary he had given proof of his 
 superior mental endowment. And frequently upon 
 the rostrum he had shown the possession of brilliant 
 oratorical powers. In any profession he might choose 
 to devote his life he could win honors and emolu- 
 ments. With strong will-power, he deliberately 
 turned from the pleasures of society, and was now on 
 his way to Benares, the sacred city of the Hindus, to 
 devote his life to humble missionary work. Jennie 
 Thompson keenly felt the spell of his consecrated en- 
 thusiasm, and in the society of these brilliant men 
 grew in her views of the sacredness of the talents in- 
 trusted to man. 
 
 Morgan, separated from his usual companions and 
 brought into such close relations with these missiona- 
 ries, was profoundly impressed with the sterling spir- 
 itual vigor of their lives. He discovered in them 
 mental powers equal to his own, while in lofty pur- 
 pose they were vastly his superiors. For the first 
 time in his life he felt something lacking in his own 
 manhood. He saw he was living on a lower plane of 
 life than the one upon which they were living. 
 
 One day he made the discovery that Paul Stanhope 
 was interested in their lady companion to more than 
 an ordinary degree, and at the same time observed
 
 26 NEMOKAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 that this discovery troubled him. Why should it? 
 As he meditated upon this question, searching the 
 depths of his heart, lie felt that a love for the fair 
 maiden had touched him also. He paced the deck for 
 hours as the night passed, arguing with conscience 
 what course he should pursue. Now he felt his weak- 
 ness as never before, and the nobility of a life conse- 
 crated to Christ flashed upon him with such splendor 
 as to cause every form of pleasure to sink into the 
 surrounding darkness. At length lie conquered his 
 own soul and determined that, if Paul Stanhope loved 
 the maiden and the maiden returned that love, he 
 would not in any way put % stumbling-block in their 
 path. They were consecrated to do Christ's work. 
 They could do it better together than apart. He had 
 no such motive; he sought only personal pleasure, 
 and he could not ask this maiden to lower herself by 
 stepping down to liis plane. Therefore, with true 
 manly courage, he fully gave her to his rival. 
 
 There were a number of English officers on the ves- 
 sel returning to their stations in India, having enjoyed 
 a furlough of a few months in their native land. As 
 they sat on the quarter-deck in a group, they helped 
 the time to pass rapidly by recounting their various 
 adventures in India, the land of promise, financially 
 
 and officially, to them. They seemed to be a merry 
 group, and the dusky coolie servants attending them 
 were kept busy bringing from the refrigerator bottles 
 of claret and champagne. As they became noisy,
 
 OUTWARD BOUND. 27 
 
 uttering their jests in loud voice and singing fragments 
 of camp songs, one of them, evidently ashamed of his 
 companions, withdrew from them, and, seeing the 
 Americans sitting by the port railing, came and sat 
 with them. Captain James Grey was a man past 
 middle age. His frame was stout and compact, his 
 features regular hut browned by continued exposure, 
 and his hair and whiskers were cut in prevalent military 
 style. His keen eyes flashed evidences of unusual in- 
 tellectuality across his still handsome countenance. 
 
 In India he had won his first spurs as a soldier in 
 the famous Sepoy rebellion. Since then he had been 
 with Gordon in China, and latterly in Egypt. From 
 Khartoum he had escaped, and had been allowed a 
 period of rest in England. Now he was returning 
 to India to take -command of one of the prominent 
 mountain fortresses. He was a man with a history, 
 and was interesting to all who came into his presence. 
 
 As he came up to the Americans he pleasantly re- 
 marked : " Only a day or two and we will be in India ; 
 the most wonderful land under the snn. Did you 
 know, Miss Thompson, that some people think that 
 the Garden of Eden was located just south of India, 
 on an island named Lamuria ; an island which, like 
 the wonderful Atlantis of the Atlantic, has sunk be- 
 neath the ocean ? " 
 
 "I did not know that," she replied, "but I have 
 heard that, if Eden was as beautiful as Ceylon, our 
 first parents deserved all the punishment they got for
 
 28 XEMORAMA THE XAUTCHNEE. 
 
 not appreciating it as they should, and that we poor 
 mortals living elsewhere can only realize our great 
 loss by a visit to that lovely island, latterly known as 
 Buddha's paradise." 
 
 " You seem glad to be so near India again/' re- 
 marked Mr. Morgan. 
 
 " Indeed, I am glad," replied the captain. " I feel 
 as if I were returning home. Ah, sir, when I first 
 left India I little thought that I should ever yearn for 
 it as home but such it has become to me." 
 
 "When did you first come to India?" asked Mr. 
 Stanhope. 
 
 "Just before the mutiny in 1857," replied the cap- 
 tain, " and my first experiences were in the midst of 
 barbarities the most terrible ever known in warfare. 
 Now every thing is changed. The fleeting years 
 have left their marks, and, although India is a land 
 where the people cling with wonderful tenacity to the 
 customs of their ancestors, the great influx of foreign- 
 ers is having a modifying and reconstructing effect 
 in all parts of the land. You would never suppose, 
 from seeing them, that a people could change so sud- 
 denly and so terribly as the Hindus did in that awful 
 mutiny, but it is an evidence of the power of a 
 man's religious prejudices over his reason and his 
 natural tenderness of heart. When you offend a peo- 
 ple's religious convictions you turn loose a nature as 
 ferocious as a tiger's." 
 
 " I have read many accounts of that terrible time,"
 
 OUTWARD BOUND. 29 
 
 said Miss Thompson, " arid I have wept at the recital 
 of the cruelties then perpetrated, but I have never 
 heard an eye-witness tell of it. Would it be asking 
 too much of you, captain, to tell us about it ? " 
 
 With a gallant bow to the fair questioner, the sol- 
 dier replied: "Nothing would be a trouble to me 
 that would afford you pleasure, but I fear if I were 
 to picture to you the scenes through which I have 
 passed, your tears would flow afresh many times. But 
 I will tell you something about India which may be 
 a help to you in understanding the present state of 
 society, and explain why it is so diflicult for even the 
 Gospel to reach these benighted people." 
 
 The captain then turned to his valet, and said : 
 
 "Dennis, bring some refreshments. Miss Thomp- 
 son, will you have some claret ? " 
 
 " No, I thank you," she replied, " I never drink 
 wine. I belong to the Women's Christian Tem- 
 perance Union." 
 
 " O ! " he replied. if Wei , you arc better off ; wine- 
 drinkers fare badly in the hot climates; but you will 
 have some soda ? " 
 
 " Yes," she replied, " I am quite fond of soda." 
 
 Dennis at once brought soda-water, and when they 
 had emptied their glasses, removed them and dis- 
 appeared.
 
 30 NEMORAMA THE ^AUTCHNEE. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE ORIGIN OF CASTE. 
 
 DENNIS O'StiANE, the valet of Captain Grey, was 
 an Irishman of purest Celtic stock. Large in body, 
 ruddy in countenance, hair of reddish hue, garru- 
 lous, impulsive, keen in wit, strong as a giant, yet 
 tender as a woman, devoted to his master, and in- 
 clined to be pleasant to every body, he won the 
 regard of every one while convulsing them with 
 mirth. 
 
 Dennis was allowed great liberties because he had 
 served his master faithfully for many years. In 
 battle and in hospital he had saved his master's life. 
 The captain, fully understanding him, was not dis- 
 posed to resent his kindly familiarity. 
 
 The other servants on the vessel were unusually 
 polite to Captain Grey. They were as reverential to 
 him as if he were an exalted being. Dennis was the 
 cause of this unusual respect, for, when not on duty, 
 he had gathered them about him, and with his rich 
 flow of adjectives had spoken to them of his master 
 in an unlimited ascription of impossible achieve- 
 ments. It was more than likely that if any of them 
 had disputed the truthfulness of these assertions, 
 Dennis would have attempted to break the offender's
 
 THE ORIGIN OF CASTE. 31 
 
 head. The Americans were nearly convulsed with 
 amusement one day to hear Dennis talking to an un- 
 sophisticated servant about his first trip away from 
 home. "With a very patronizing air, and with all the 
 pomposity he could command, he said : 
 
 ''Sure an' yez will be mightily plazed wid the 
 grandeur of Indi', an' it is myself plainly remimbers 
 the look of the natives a-bowin' in the dust when I 
 walked the strate in the rear of Captain Grey. Acli ! 
 Patrick Muldoon ! what would ye have said if ye 
 had seen me thin, wid all me grandeur and gallantry, 
 impressin' the people 2 But niver mind thot now. 
 In India they revarse matters. The hills they cover 
 with temples, but the people mostly go widout 
 clothes, save for the paint on their foreheads. They 
 walk about as soft like as cats, an' take great pride in 
 exhibitin' the shaved crowns of their luxuriant heads. 
 Whin ye see the wimen on the strate, sure an' they 
 are all clothed entirely in red, save for the white 
 shawl that wraps them from head to foot, an' whin 
 they ride, instead of walkin', it is in a little cart 
 drawn by small white cows, or else in a small room 
 built on poles an' shut in by curtains, the same being 
 carried on the shoulders of four half-naked men, an' 
 all lookin' too poor to tempt even buzzards. But 
 whin they see yez a-comin', the sight of yez so strikes 
 them wid amazement that they git down on the 
 ground, wid their faces in the dust, for very rever- 
 ance of yer greatness, do ye see. Ye must know the
 
 32 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCIINEE. 
 
 people of India are astonislrin' polite, an' to show 
 proper appreciation yez must hold your head high 
 up, as if it was all true ; an' whin ye spake to them 
 be sure an' spake rael grand like, so as to im- 
 press thim with your spache as well as with yer 
 appearance." 
 
 Aa Dennis said this, he attempted to show the 
 servant how to walk and speak. His effort was so 
 successful that the Americans could no longer re- 
 strain their mirth, and Dennis learned that his audi- 
 ence was larger than he had supposed. 
 
 They told Captain Grey of his valet's humor, and 
 the captain laughed with them. Then to destroy the 
 absurdity of the scene, said : 
 
 " Dennis is comical, but he is also very intelligent. 
 I will call him and ask him some questions, and you 
 will see he is well posted on India." 
 
 In obedience to the call Dennis innnediately came, 
 when the captain put the following questions, which 
 Dennis promptly answered : 
 
 " What is the shape of Hindustan ? 
 
 "Somewhat like that of an elephant's ear, sir." 
 
 " What is the distance from east to west?" 
 
 "About 1,900 miles, sir." 
 
 " What is the distance from north to south ? " 
 
 " Nearly 2,000 miles, sir." 
 
 " What is the area of the country in square 
 miles ? " 
 
 " 1,577,698 square miles, sir."
 
 THE ORIGIN OF CASTK. 33 
 
 "What is its population?" 
 
 "300,000,000, and growing rapidly all the time, 
 sir.." 
 
 " How many of these are Europeans?" 
 
 "Only one out of every 3,500, sir." 
 
 "Is it possible," said Miss Thompson, "that there 
 are so few Europeans there? How, then, does the 
 English government hold possession ?" 
 
 " Ah " replied the captain, " this shows the courage 
 and grit of the English soldier. It also shows why 
 England fears the crafty schemes of Russia ; but, to 
 fully comprehend it, the whole structure of govern- 
 ment in India must be considered. Tlie Hindus lack 
 the power of organization. The English glory in 
 perfect organization." 
 
 "Dennis, tell us if India is a great country?" 
 
 " Yes, sir, it is great. It is of great antiquity, of 
 great wealth, of great resources. It has great rivers, 
 great plains, great jungles, and great mountains. It 
 has forty mountain peaks each of which is over 
 20,000 feet high, and Mt. Everest, in Nepaul, 31,000 
 feet high, is the highest mountain in the world." 
 
 " Well, Dennis, yon did not mention cities, are they 
 not great > M 
 
 " No, sir ; excepting Bombay, which is the second 
 city for size in the British dominions, India has 
 no great cities. It is a land of villages. It has 
 493,000 town and villages. About 50,000 of these 
 
 have over 1,000 each in population. But what they 
 3
 
 34 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 lack in cities they make up in buildings. As Bishop 
 Ileber said, 'They bnilt like Titans, and finished like 
 jewelers.' " 
 
 " How about its population ? " 
 
 " It is the most thickly populated country on the 
 earth." 
 
 " How many languages are spoken in India ? " 
 
 " Twenty, sir." 
 
 " What are the principal ones spoken ? " 
 
 " Sanskrit, Pali, Persian, Arabic, and English." 
 
 "Why are these the principal ones? " 
 
 "Because they contain the religious and legal writ- 
 ings of the various people of India, sir." 
 
 " Yon are correct in your answers, and may now re- 
 tire with thanks of us all," said the captain, and, whh 
 a salute, Dennis departed. 
 
 " Alas ! in what ignorance we poor mortals re- 
 pose," said Miss Thompson. "To learn that twenty 
 different languages are spoken in India, and many of 
 these subdivided in various dialects, and what will do 
 in one part of the land will not do in another, is in- 
 deed appalling. To talk to a Parsee we must know 
 Persian ; to a Mohammendan, Arabic ; to a Buddhist, 
 Pali ; to a Hindu, Sanskrit, and, in the coast towns, 
 a smattering of all languages known among men. 
 Yet the good people of America think a missionary 
 is, or ought to be, able to preach the Gospel anywhere, 
 to any people. Why, in the very nature of things, a 
 person's work is restricted to a limited sphere."
 
 TME ORIGIN OF CASTE. 35 
 
 Mr. Stanhope said : " I should imagine the study of 
 philology would be exceedingly interesting in India. 
 In fact, if I remember aright, it was the discovery 
 of Sanskrit to the European scholars that started 
 philology as a distinct science." 
 
 "Yes," replied the captain, " I believe that is so; 
 and the story of the Sanskrit is very interesting. The 
 Aryan invaders of ancient India did not come all at 
 once, but in successive streams, each -differing from 
 the other, not only in great length of interval, but in 
 dialects, customs, and civilization. 
 
 " They all had their traditions, mythical heroes, and 
 religious hymns. But their trouble was not having 
 a common language. Then their priests, the Brah- 
 mans, did a noble thing. They took the various Ar- 
 yan dialects, molded them into one grand, harmonious 
 language, and gave the world the ' Queen of Aryan 
 languages,' the sacred Sanskrit. 
 
 " But the work of the priests was not appreciated 
 by the people, and they never made it their common 
 language. They clung to their dialects, called Prakrits. 
 The priests, however, preserved the Sanskrit, and in 
 it wrote their sacred books, the Vedas. The Sanskrit is 
 an unchangeable language. The Prakrits have been 
 affected by the speech of every race that has entered 
 India. It is therefore an evidence of the wisdom of 
 those ancient priests to have made a language in 
 which to preserve inviolate forever the sacred thoughts 
 of the Aryan people.
 
 30 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 "The most famous of these Prakrits is the Pali, 
 the sacred language of Ceylon, in which the doc- 
 trines of Sakyamuni, or Buddha, are written. A.nd 
 although for ten centuries the new faith tried to 
 overthrow the old, the victory has rested with the 
 faith preserved in the unchangeable Sanskrit." 
 
 " I am delighted to know this," said Miss Thomp- 
 son, " and I shall pursue my studies in Sanskrit with 
 greater zeal than ever. Now there is another thing 
 I wish you would make plain to me, captain ; 
 and that is the system of caste, which seems to 
 be the great hinderance to all missionary success in 
 India." 
 
 " I think I can make it plain," replied the captain, 
 " if I can get you to see some things as I see them. 
 You must first of all realize that the people of India 
 arc like ourselves in nature. Their ways of thinking, 
 reasoning, reflection, and expression are very much 
 like our own. And the same general features in 
 sociology observed among us are observed in India. 
 The spirit of caste is every-where. In England it is 
 quite prominent, making the nobility or aristocracy 
 on one hand, and the working people or trades peo- 
 ple on the other. In democratic America class dis- 
 tinctions are largely recognized, even in churches; 
 and the masses say the churches are for the classes. 
 Capital is arrayed against labor, not only in the work- 
 shop, but in society. The South, you know, said, 
 This is a white man's government; making the
 
 THE ORIGIN OF CASTE. 37 
 
 color line the basis of caste. Whether it is culture, 
 or ancestry, or position, or wealth, or color, the fact 
 is the same, it is caste. In India it lias been reduced 
 to a system, with well-defined rules, and centuries 
 of bondage have preserved it as we see it to-day. 
 It has its bad side, but it also has its good side. In 
 theory you will probably see only its bad side, in 
 practice you may see its good side. If you were to 
 suddenly break down the system of caste you would 
 turn India into a hell. It can only safely be broken 
 down by the substitution of something better. Chris- 
 tianity will do it, and will do it for the good of India. 
 People visiting India observe that the immorality 
 of the people is appalling. They can only know this 
 where caste is broken down. The system of caste 
 is the protection of the morals of India. It builds a 
 hedge about the people. It guarantees their safety. 
 Do you not see what utter demoralization of ideas of 
 propriety, and what destruction of virtue, would en- 
 sue if this hedge were removed from society as it is 
 at present constituted ? But, pardon me ; I did not 
 mean to argue the cpiiestion, for I hope Christianity 
 will destroy caste every-where. If you are not wea- 
 ried I will try to explain how caste has grown to be 
 what it is." 
 
 " O, thank you ! Do go on, I am not at all weary," 
 said Miss Thompson. And the gentlemen adding 
 their encouragements, the captain continued : 
 
 "In the study of races and the migrations of men
 
 38 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCIINEE. 
 
 we naturally look to the dispersion from the tower 
 of Babel as the beginning ; but this mysterious fact 
 presents itself wherever the children of Noah went 
 they found people already settled there, arid these 
 aborigines invariably had almond-shaped eyes. 
 They were Mongolian in type, and to-day scholars 
 are eagerly awaiting the translations of the ancient 
 writings of China to explain who the Chinese are, 
 and how they are related to these ancient peoples of 
 similar ethnographical features. 
 
 " The most ancient people of India particularly re- 
 semble the lower races found to-day in Africa. They 
 were diminutive in size, black in color, with thick 
 lips, high cheek bones, and beardless. 
 
 " All our knowledge of them is from traces linger- 
 ing among succeeding races. The first descent upon 
 these aborigines was probably not long after the 
 building of the tower of Babel, when two diverse 
 races entered India from the north. One of them, 
 having almond-shaped eyes, came from the north- 
 east. They are known as Kolarian. The survivors 
 of this ancient race are of the rudest sort; feeble 
 in intellect, retaining the most degraded customs, 
 almost entirely discarding the use of clothing, and 
 absolutely without a literature. You probably have 
 observed the laborers doing the most menial work 
 on the vessel; they are Coolies of Guzcrat and 
 Bheels of Rajpootana, both remnants of this ancient 
 Kolarian race. You will see thousands of them in
 
 Tin: OIUGIX OF CASTK. 89 
 
 Bombay crowding the streets where the hardest work 
 is done. From the north-west a route to-day distin- 
 guished as being coveted by Russia there came a 
 race called Dravidian, allied to the Scythian hordes 
 of Central Asia. The ancient poem of the Brahmans 
 speaks of them as i uncouth, savage, given to hor- 
 rible rites, eaters of raw meat, cannibals, and being 
 giants or apes in form.' The descendants of these 
 Dravidians now dwell in that part of India south of 
 the Yindhya Mountains. They are much more nu- 
 merous than the Kolarians, and number about forty- 
 six millions. 
 
 " The Telugus, a people pronounced by some trav- 
 elers to be as fine-looking as any class of men in 
 India, are of this race. You will probably remember 
 that they have responded to the calls of the mission- 
 aries with astonishing ardor. 
 
 "In the period following these invasions the land 
 becaino densely populated, but the social customs 
 continued to be of the rudest description. At a 
 later period, probably about the time the pyramids 
 were being erected in Egypt, the races known as 
 Aryan began to migrate from the high lands of 
 Asia. One stream went westward. *Thc Euro- 
 peans and Americans have descended from these. 
 Another stream came southward, and, following the 
 track of the Dravidians, entered India. This was 
 followed by other streams, or migrating hordes, push- 
 ing on, battling continually, putting their superior
 
 4:0 NEMOKAMA THE NAUTCIINEE. 
 
 civilization against the barbarism of the inhabitants 
 of the land ; and sweeping out of their way the weaker 
 ones, or leaving them stranded here and there, like 
 islands, the Aryans seized the fertile plains along 
 the great rivers and established in them their perma- 
 nent homes. 
 
 " The Aryans had a priesthood, traditions, heroes, 
 and songs for worship and war. Their priests in- 
 vented Sanskrit, wrote the Yedas, and classified 
 mankind. 
 
 "For centuries their relentless warfare continued. 
 It was race battling against race, civilization against 
 barbarism. It was the question of 'the survival of 
 the fittest.' "Well, all have survived, because the 
 inflexible decree of the conquerors made it possible. 
 The system of caste, to preserve the strong from the 
 disintegrating influences of the weak, was established, 
 and ever since has been tenaciously observed by all. 
 The conquered knows his place, lie is a pariah ; his 
 obsequiousness to-day is an evidence of the thorough- 
 ness with which those ancient Aryans did their work. 
 Originally, therefore, caste was a protection against 
 inferiority ; to-day it is a protection against vice. 
 But, like nmny other good things, it has done its 
 work, and is becoming a thing of evil and needs to 
 be superseded by something better." 
 
 At this moment the bell sounded for dinner and 
 the conversation was suspended.
 
 INDIA'S RECORD OF BLOOD. 41 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 INDIA'S RECORD OF BLOOD. 
 
 As they drew nearer to Bombay the temperature 
 became the more delightful, and the passengers re- 
 mained at longer intervals on the deck. The weari- 
 ness and lassitude which they suffered while on the 
 Red Sea were now entirely overcome, and the spirit 
 of music was awakened. 
 
 The piano and a number of violins, which several 
 of the officers played very well, were brought into 
 service to accompany the choruses in which the voices 
 of passengers harmoniously blended. 
 
 The Americans were together most of the time, 
 but Mr. Morgan displayed a degree of restlessness 
 which he alone knew was caused by his efforts to 
 prevent Miss Thompson from unconsciously binding 
 his heart to her own. 
 
 He looked for the end of the voyage with gladness, 
 as he would then be relieved by circumstances from 
 his temptation. Seeing Captain Grey approaching 
 the group made room for him, and requested informa- 
 tion of the later history of India. He was not un- 
 willing to grant this, but insisted that they all have 
 some ice-cream to prepare them for comfortable 
 listening. Then he said :
 
 42 NEMORAMA THE X AUTClIXKli.. 
 
 "I will first speak jnst a word about the ancient 
 writings of the people of India. 
 
 " The ancient epics of the Hindus are histories of 
 the solar and lunar dynasties. 
 
 " The Ramayana tells of the adventures of Rama, 
 the hero of the solar race, who conquered Ceylon 
 about the year 1200 B. C. The Mahabharata de- 
 scribes the wars of the Pandus and Kurus, of the 
 lunar race, about 1400 or 1300 B. C. 
 
 " There have been invasions since that day. Darius, 
 the great Persian king, conquered the northern part 
 of India, and made it a satrapy, and it contributed its 
 contingent toward the immense army Xerxes hurled 
 against Greece. 
 
 "Alexander the Great invaded India and con- 
 quered Porus at Guzerat. He would have overrun 
 the whole country, but his soldiers became alarmed 
 at his continual advancing and, by refusing to follow, 
 compelled him to return. The Greek historians con- 
 sidered India as being wonderfully civilized, with 
 opulent cities, and the arts and sciences in a high 
 state of cultivation. 
 
 " This was the golden period of Hindu supremacy. 
 At this time caste was not so offensively supported, 
 and their females were neither so restricted nor 
 despised. The degradation of the females we will 
 partly lay to the Mohammedan invasion. 
 
 "The next invasion was by the Persians, and fire- 
 worship and Zoroastrianism found root in India's soil ;
 
 INDIA'S RECORD OF BLOOD. !.'> 
 
 but to-day it is restricted to the Parsees of Bombay, 
 a class of people particularly distinguished for their 
 wealth, culture, business tact, and thorough integrity. 
 They command the admiration of all who know 
 them. 
 
 " About the year 1000 A. D. the Mohammedans 
 with sword and spear forced the passes of the Him- 
 alayas and swept down upon the land, to root out all 
 opposing religions, and in their stead plant the faith 
 of Mohammed. 
 
 "The first of these were Afghans, who had bee'n 
 fire- worshipers but had been converted to Islamism. 
 They delighted in plundering Hindu temples, robbing 
 cities, and murdering all who came in their way. 
 Mohammed of Ghazni, in 1001 A. D., laid the foun- 
 dation of the Mohammedan power in India. His 
 flag was black, and under its folds the land reeked in 
 blood for five hundred years. War was their delight, 
 and every new monarch signalized the beginning of 
 his reign by the murder of all that he suspected might 
 be dangerous to the peace of the throne. 
 
 " In 1526 Sultan Baber, the Tartar governor of 
 Cabool, a descendant of Tamerlane, and the son of a 
 Mongol woman, overthrew the Afghan rule at Pam- 
 ipat, and established in its place the Mogul Empire. 
 This was also a Mohammedan power, and it lasted un- 
 til the mutiny of 1857. This was the period when 
 all Europe was dazzled with the wealth and splendor 
 of the Mogul court.
 
 44 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 " In 1497 Vasco de Gama, the Portugese navigator, 
 came to India, and was received with great pomp by 
 the rajah of Calicut. There followed many voyages 
 by these most enterprising of mariners, and they had 
 a splendid opportunity to establish themselves in 
 power ; but they sought to Christianize India by the 
 methods of the Inquisition, and as a consequence they 
 were almost annihilated. There was left upon the 
 Hindu mind an utterly false and ineffaceable idea of 
 Christianity. In 1594 the Dutch came. In 1616 
 the Danes. In 1668 the French, and, for a time, 
 under Dupleix, they were brilliantly successful in 
 southern India. 
 
 "In 1579 Thomas Stevens, an Englishman, pub- 
 lished an account of his travels in India. As a result 
 Queen Elizabeth incorporated by charter the British 
 East India Company, giving them the control of 
 all the trade between England and India. In 1600 
 the English entered India. The first blood shed be- 
 tween the English and the natives was in 1664, when 
 Sigani, the famous Mahratta chieftain, attacked the 
 town of Surat, and was driven back by the English. 
 
 " In the war between the French and the English 
 
 O 
 
 for the supremacy in southern India Clive first won 
 his laurels, but the natives of India did not feel the 
 awful grip of England's iron hand until the tragedy 
 of the Black Hole in Calcutta. The English facto- 
 ries were being established in Bengal, but they were 
 not so important as those in Madras. In 1756 a new
 
 INDIA'S RECORD OF BLOOD. 45 
 
 ruler ascended the throne of Bengal, Behar, and Orissa. 
 He suddenly attacked the English. The women and 
 children were sent to the ships, while a hundred and 
 forty-six Europeans remained in Calcutta to treat 
 with Kawab Surajah Dowlah. The angry nawab 
 entered the city on a sultry evening in June, and 
 crammed the entire number of Europeans in a dun- 
 geon eighteen feet square, having only two small 
 breathing holes. In the morning all but twenty-three 
 of the one hundred and forty-six were dead. They 
 were suffocated by the heat and the poisoned air of 
 the dungeon. 
 
 "At the time of this awful tragedy Clive was 
 in Madras. He at once hastened to Bengal, and 
 demanded complete satisfaction from the infamous 
 murderer. The nawab armed his hosts to meet the 
 English. He had 50,000 infantry, 18,000 cavalry, 
 and an immense train of artillery. Clive had only 
 650 European infantry, 150 gunners, 2,100 Sepoys, 
 10 pieces of artillery, and a few Portuguese ; but he 
 determined on the battle, and on June 23, 1757, the 
 battle of Plassey was fought. Clive was thoroughly 
 victorious and India lay at his feet. The murdered 
 Europeans were avenged. 
 
 " For a hundred years the English grew in power, 
 and seemed to possess the confidence of the people. 
 Rulers and people were alike respectful and kind. 
 But in reality beneath this smooth surface there was 
 bein culminated the most terrible scheme to drive
 
 46 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 out the English and restore the power and splendor of 
 their native princes. 
 
 "It seemed impossible that the Hindus and Mo- 
 hammedans could ever unite in any cause, for they 
 held each other in the most deadly hatred ; but they 
 entered -into this conspiracy and with equal cruelty 
 attempted the merciless extermination of the for- 
 eigners. 
 
 " The English offended the Moguls by abolishing 
 the costly pageant of a dethroned monarch. They 
 offended Nana Sahib, the leader of the Hindus, by re- 
 fusing him the titles and annuities which the man 
 who had adopted him as a son had held. Hence he 
 became the most heartless conspirator of them all. 
 
 " He entertained in his palace with great apparent 
 cordiality numbers of English officers, and seemed to 
 be tenderly solicitous for their possession . of every 
 comfort ; and at the same time he had doomed every 
 one of them to a cruel death. 
 
 " The fakirs were the principal agents in carrying 
 messages from the courts of the natives to one an- 
 other, and the Thugs and murderers confined in all 
 the prisons were promised liberation to engage in the 
 work of massacre. 
 
 " The plot was to be ripe on the one hundredth an- 
 niversary of the battle of Plassey. They thought the 
 power that rose on that day should fall on that day ; 
 and their astrologers had declared that if they did not 
 beat the English on that day the British would hold
 
 INDIA'S RECOKD OF BLOOD. 47 
 
 India forever. As the time approached, the Sepoy 
 army held the forts, magazines, and treasuries of In- 
 dia. Every tiling was in their hands. There were 
 only forty-five thousand European troops in all India, 
 and of these twenty-one thousand were in Madras 
 and Bombay. Two thirds of the others were on the 
 western frontier and in Burmah. The English offi- 
 cers had such confidence in their Sepoy, or native 
 Brahman, troops, that they could not believe they 
 would rebel. But the annexation of their home, 
 Oudh, and the growth of missions, leading them to 
 think their religion was about to be overthrown by 
 force, excited them to highest frenzy. Falsehoods 
 appealing to their prejudices were also freely circu- 
 lated. The year before the mutiny the Enfield rifle 
 was introduced into the Sepoy army, to take the 
 place of the " Brown Bess " muskets they had been 
 using. This rifle required a peculiar cartridge which! 
 was to be manufactured at the arsenal near Calcutta. 
 The fakirs said these cartridges were greased with 
 hog's lard and bullock's fat, and it was to destroy 
 their religion. The Hindu has a wonderful rever- 
 ence for the cow, and the Mohammedan an equal 
 horror of the hog, so that this statement set them 
 all wild with frenzy. The fakirs also asserted that 
 the English, had imported several cargoes of flour 
 mixed with, bones which had been ground fine, and 
 one morsel of it would destroy the caste of any man ; 
 and that this flour had been covertly introduced and
 
 48 , NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 was then on sale in all the leading bazaars, but so 
 well disguised that even the dealers could not detect 
 it. Imagine the effect of such tales from their relig- 
 ious leaders! In February, 1857, took place that 
 singular circulation of small unleavened cakes called 
 " chupatties." Each recipient of two cakes was to 
 make ten others and transmit them in couples to the 
 constables of the nearest village, and they to others. 
 This singular warning excited the whole country, 
 and yet the English were utterly ignorant of any 
 trouble. Before the set day came the mutiny was 
 precipitated, and this saved the English cause in 
 India. 
 
 " I will not distress you by depicting the scenes of 
 fiendish cruelty that marked every step of this mu- 
 tiny. Such cruelty has never been surpassed in hu- 
 man warfare. And, on the other hand, there have 
 never been brighter exhibitions of courage and 
 trustworthiness than were displayed by the soldiers of 
 the English army. Many of the Sepoys, too, re- 
 mained faithful, and the natives also who had be- 
 come Christians were as true and brave as the best 
 of Europeans. Terrible as was the conflict, the 
 power of the English triumphed, the mutiny was sup- 
 pressed, and the perpetual sovereignty of the land 
 won for England. 
 
 " At present India is more prosperous than ever 
 before. Railroads and broad thoroughfares are bind- 
 ing all parts of the country together. The true
 
 INDIA'S RECORD OF BLOOD. 49 
 
 appeal of Christianity is being better understood, and 
 the day may not be far distant when the elab- 
 orate temple and mosque worship will be a thing of 
 the past." 
 
 " God grant it ! " Paul Stanhope devoutly said. 
 
 The captain now withdrew, amidst the hearty 
 thanks of the entire party. As he walked away 
 Dennis whispered to Mr. Morgan, "Sure, sir, the 
 captain himself was a great sufferer in that bloody 
 time. His home an' all his loved ones were de- 
 stroyed. An' it is his grief to this day." 
 
 Miss Thompson heard the remark and understood 
 why the captain had refrained from giving harrow- 
 ing details.
 
 50 NEMOKAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 CHAPTER Y. 
 
 BOMBAY. 
 
 AT an early hour on the following morning, while 
 the rising sun was rapidly scattering the mists that 
 hung low over the horizon, the passengers went on 
 deck and crowded the bow of the ship, each one 
 eager to be the first to catch sight of Bombay. At 
 length the lookout, seated in his lofty perch in the 
 rigging, called out, " Land ahead ! " and in a few 
 moments the passengers saw the beautiful city rising 
 out of the waters before them, and those familiar 
 with its towers called the names of the prominent ob- 
 jects as they rapidly appeared. 
 
 Bombay is built on the end of an island eight 
 miles long and three wide. It connects with Salsetta, 
 another island, and with the main-land by long via- 
 ducts. The harbor is unrivaled in the world for 
 beauty, and furnishes a safe anchorage for vessels of 
 all sizes. 
 
 Among the beautiful islands in the harbor is Ele- 
 phanta, famous as the site of ancient templed caves, 
 and the resort of all travelers to India. The main- 
 land on the east side of the harbor is thickly fringed 
 with luxuriant groves of stately palm-trees, amidst 
 which are to be seen pagan temples of all styles,
 
 BOMBAY. 51 
 
 each one showing by its peculiar form whether it is 
 the resort of Hindus, Parsees, Jainas, or Moham- 
 medans. Back of the coast rise the Ghauts, or 
 mountain ranges, the faces of which are diversified 
 by terraces, spires, pointed peaks, and rounded sum- 
 mits. Upon some of these the ruins of old Mahratta 
 castles glitter in the sunlight, constant reminders of 
 the terrible battles by which the Hindus attempted 
 to defend their land from the Mohammedan invaders. 
 
 The rock-bound, cnp-shaped harbor, with its border 
 of luxuriant foliage, forms a beautiful setting for the 
 island city, a city second in size in the great British 
 Empire, while in its variety of population, it .stands as 
 the most wonderful in the world. Bombay was a 
 part of the marriage dowry of Catharine, Princess of 
 Portugal, which she brought to Charles II. in 1662. 
 It received its name from Bamba Devi, a beautiful 
 Hindu queen who lived before Alexander the Great 
 visited India, and who was worshiped after her death, 
 in one of the oldest Hindu temples on the island, as 
 the Great Mother. 
 
 Bombay's wonderful harbor attracted the attention 
 of the East India Company, and they made the town 
 their capital. From that time until now it has rap- 
 idly and substantially grown. 
 
 Slowly the vessel drew up to the Mayagon Bunder ; 
 the passengers bade each other farewell, then climbed 
 up the great granite steps to the quay. After enter- 
 ing the custom-house and attending to its demands,
 
 52 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 they passed out into the street, and were in India. 
 As they entered the square the peculiar life of India 
 at once burst upon them. Bare-legged Hindus, clothed 
 in snowy-white garments, with immense turbans on 
 their heads, humbly asked the privilege of taking the 
 strangers to their destination. Their conveyances had 
 oblong, box-shaped bodies, with latticed windows, set 
 on wheels and drawn by small white oxen. 
 
 The streets were swarming with people. Every- 
 where it was like the front of a bee-hive in flower 
 season. 
 
 White robed Brahmans, Buddhists, Jainas, Hindus, 
 Chinese, Persians, Arabs, Africans, Indo-Portuguese, 
 Indo-Britons, Jews, Arminians, Afghans, Caucasians, 
 Parsees, Americans, French, Germans, Italians, En- 
 glish, soldiers, and policemen. The streets were al- 
 most lined with policemen, who never failed to touch 
 their hats to the English or Americans as they passed 
 by them. 
 
 But the great crowds of Asiatics, dark brown in 
 color, were the most curious of all. The coolies, or 
 common laborers, went about with only a strip of 
 cloth covering their loins and immense turbans on 
 their heads. House-servants wore a little more cloth- 
 ing. Low caste women, or women below caste, were 
 in the crowds overdressed in the most gaudy colors, 
 crimson, scarlet, yellow and blue being favorite 
 colors. 
 
 There were also Hindu maidens with ear-rings,
 
 BOMBAY. 53 
 
 nose-rings, bracelets, and huge silver anklets on their 
 naked feet, with scant clothing and a profusion* of 
 ornaments, going their various ways. The men at- 
 tempted to add to their attractive appearance by col- 
 oring their lips a brilliant red, and placing upon their 
 foreheads stripes of coarse pigments, these being the 
 symbols of their different castes. In every direction 
 the streets were filled with crowds of these people, 
 and the little ox- carts were welcomed as friends in the 
 hour of need. 
 
 At the door of the custom-house our friends parted. 
 Miss Thompson was soon safely stowed in a roomy 
 ox-cart, with instructions to the driver to land her 
 safely at the mission schools in Byculla, one of the 
 suburban places under the special patronage of several 
 wealthy English ladies of high rank. Rev. Mr. Stan- 
 hope then entered a cart and was driven to the resi- 
 dence of a missionary, who was awaiting his arrival to 
 introduce him to his future work in Benares. 
 
 Mr. Morgan was taken through the entire city to 
 Watson's Hotel, one of the finest hotels in the world, 
 and Captain Grey, with Dennis, proceeded to the 
 English barracks on the promontory, where the En- 
 glish soldiers had the benefit of the most delightful 
 breezes to be enjoyed in Bombay. 
 
 Miss Thompson was cordially welcomed at Byculla, 
 and was made to feel at home by the kind attentions 
 of those who had also left home and mother to do the 
 Lord's work in India. One of the ladies, whose purse
 
 54 NEMOKAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 was always open to advance tlie missionary work, in- 
 sisted on entertaining Miss Thompson in her own 
 home at Colabah. This part of Bombay was on the 
 lower part of the promontory, just below the soldiers' 
 barracks. It was on a spot between two bays, and 
 the site of many bright, airy bungalows, from whose 
 broad, shady verandas the harbor, with its huge ocean 
 steamers and thousands of small boats, could be seen 
 on the one side, and the busy, throbbing life of the 
 city on the other. Here, too, they conld hear the 
 music of the English bands, as every evening they 
 saluted the going down of the sun by the rendition 
 of national airs. 
 
 When her guest had rested sufficiently from the 
 long journey the English lady sent for her carriage to 
 take them through the bazaars of the city. The 
 wealthy people of Bombay prided themselves on the 
 elegance of their turn-outs, and even the drivers, 
 with the spirit of Arabs, talked to their horses as to 
 companions. 
 
 They directed the coachman to drive first through 
 the markets of the Parsees. These were the most 
 famous of all the merchants in Bombay. The mar- 
 kets were at least three miles long, and were in great 
 blocks of lofty houses built in the prominent Oriental 
 style, having wooden balconies and latticed windows 
 projecting over the street, displaying elaborate carv- 
 ings, and festooned with costly tapestries. These 
 buildings were homes as well as markets. The mer-
 
 BOMBAY. 55 
 
 chants lived in the upper stories, while the ground 
 floors were used as stores and the alcoves as shops in 
 which native artisans made the articles sold. Here 
 kinkaubs, or cloths of gold, were woven, and also 
 inulmuls, or muslins, of such transparent texture as 
 to be called " running waters." 
 
 O 
 
 In sonic of the shops half-naked men and women, 
 with tools as rude and savage-looking as their own 
 faces, sat making drinking-cups, boxes, and fans out 
 of cocoa-nut shells ; and tables, chairs, and other arti- 
 cles of furniture. 
 
 They seemed to be accustomed to the curiosity of 
 foreigners, and did not mind the coming of visitors, 
 but steadily continued at their labor. 
 
 After watching their peculiar way of Working for 
 some time, the ladies entered their carriage and drove 
 to the Bhendee Bazaar. Here they saw the real 
 mixed life of Bombay. The streets of the bazaar 
 were densely crowded. Carriages of Europeans; 
 draped carriages, drawn by milk-white bullocks, con- 
 veying Hindu or Parsee ladies closely veiled; native 
 soldiers pressing through the crowd ; native women, 
 clothed in handsome dresses, going from stall to stall ; 
 coolies, with only a cincture around their loins, strug- 
 gling along with immense burdens on their heads, 
 some of them so hidden that only a pair of bare legs 
 were seen under the bulky burden ; Mohammedans 
 wearing elaborate turbans stopping to converse with 
 merchants who were seated cross-legged in their dens,
 
 56 NEMOBAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 wearing turbans and long-flowing robes, and smoking 
 long hookas; beggars clamoring for assistance, crip- 
 ples displaying their infirmities, vagabonds standing 
 in the way, peddlers continuously yelling to attract 
 attention, and dogs yelping as if trying to make the 
 most noise of all, while in shady spots loungers lay 
 sleeping, utterly indifferent to every thing. Out of 
 this confusion they were glad to return to the cool 
 verandas, where Jennie rested and regained strength 
 to begin work on the morrow. 
 
 Mr. Morgan was delighted with Watson's Hotel. 
 It was like home, for the managers carefully studied 
 the tastes of their guests, and employed every means 
 to gratify them. Numbers of servants moved about 
 with silent' tread. They seldom spoke, and with 
 quick intuition anticipated the needs of those whom 
 they served ; hence the guests always found ready at 
 hand just what they desired. 
 
 This faculty is one of the features of the Hindoo 
 character. 
 
 At the time of Mr. Morgan's arrival the social 
 season was at its height, and the pleasure-loving peo- 
 ple spent every evening in elaborate social entertain- 
 ments. His letters of introduction opened the way 
 for a cordial reception by the people dwelling on 
 Malabar Hill, and he was at once received into the 
 social life of the elite of the city. 
 
 He had come to India for pleasure, and as he 
 tasted of the amusements indulged in by the wealthy
 
 A NACTCH GIRL.
 
 BOMUAY. H7 
 
 people of Bombay the opportunities for his gratifi- 
 cation appeared to be boundless. 
 
 At one time during the voyage from Suez he 
 came under the spell of Jennie Thompson's influ- 
 ence, and seriously thought of changing his plans and 
 trying to be useful to his fellow-men. But the 
 effort to break away from the spell of love for the 
 pretty missionary led him to throw himself the more 
 vigorously into lively associations, and he did not 
 return to the more serious purposes of life. Their 
 aims were so much higher than his own, their courage 
 so much more profound, their zeal so much more 
 fervent, that he hastily bade his friends farewell, and 
 plunged into such pleasures as tended to hush the 
 voice of conscience, and prevent its calling to him to 
 give up the lower and seek the higher. 
 
 The entertainments given by the society people in 
 Bombay were, he found, of a peculiar character. It 
 was considered beneath the dignity of a lady to engage 
 in sports of any kind. Although they were all ar- 
 dent admirers of the dance, for a lady to have en- 
 gaged in it would have been considered a most dis- 
 graceful act. The dancing was done by nautch girls, 
 hired for the occasion out of establishments in which 
 they were carefully trained in all the arts necessary 
 to make their performances pleasing to the eyes and 
 ears of their audiences. A nautchnec must have 
 bright eyes, regular white teeth, long hair, and form 
 and features of perfect symmetry. They -were a
 
 58 XEMORAMA THE NAETCHNEE. 
 
 class below caste, and mostly of unknown parentage, 
 sacrificed to feed the licentiousness of men. Many 
 of them were from Catch, Cabool, Cashmere, and 
 Rajpootana, having been taken from their homes 
 when little children, arid because of their beauty pur- 
 chased to be trained for this kind of a life. Their 
 beauty and culture often made them attractive 
 to rajahs, or wealthy nabobs, who would pay as 
 high as five thousand dollars for one to grace their 
 harem. Admired although many of them were, for 
 their beauty and skill, they were not happy. They 
 were like lost waifs upon the sea of life, the better 
 ones living in dread apprehension as they saw mul- 
 titudes of their number going down beneath the 
 waves of vice. 
 
 The last entertainment of the season that Morgan 
 attended was given by a liberal Hindu gentleman who 
 lived in a palace of great splendor on Malabar Hill. 
 It was in honor of his daughter Dasee, whom Morgan 
 
 m O / O 
 
 considered the most attractive maiden he had met in 
 Bombay. Refinement and luxury had surrounded her 
 from her infancy. Morgan was honored with her 
 friendship, and to him she confided the information 
 that the entertainment would be made attractive by 
 the performances of the most brilliant nautchnee in 
 Bombay. The entertainment began with the usual 
 brilliant cup-dance. At the opening Morgan's 
 thoughts were absent from his surroundings. He was 
 thinking of the pure, sweet face of the missionary.
 
 1 M >MBAY. 59 
 
 A burst of applause caused him to look upon the 
 stage, where he beheld a number of beautiful nautch- 
 nees keeping time to music, as they advanced 
 in line. Standing apart from these girls, waiting 
 her turn to perform, was one whose face was a perfect 
 oval. The delicate olive complexion was purer and 
 more transparent than that of her companions. Her 
 eyes were large and brilliant, and her features were 
 perfectly rounded. A slight tinge of pink touched 
 her cheeks, and when she smiled her rows of perfect, 
 brilliant teeth seemed to mark the climax of her 
 marvelous beauty. She was clothed in the usual 
 garb of a nautchnee, the contour of her symmet- 
 rical body showing through the drapery that en- 
 circled her form. When she sang, the audience was 
 held spell-bound by her rich cadences, which was 
 increased by the touching melancholy which at times 
 swept across her face. Edward Morgan gazed upon 
 her with utter surprise. Such a picture of grace 
 and beauty he had never seen ; not even in his dreams. 
 When she danced, she seemed to be the personifi- 
 cation of grace, and as, in closing her dance, she swept 
 from the stage the people were wild with applause. 
 
 He wondered if she would appear again, and his 
 thoughts turned to the stories he had heard of the 
 strange lives many of these nautch girls lived. He 
 asked himself, " Can vice be the delight of so beautiful 
 a creature as that?"
 
 CO NEMOBAMA THE NAUTOHNEE. 
 
 CHAPTEK VI. 
 
 THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 THE beautiful nautchnee displayed her highest 
 charms in the delineation of scenes in the irreat Hindu 
 
 O 
 
 epic, the Mahabharata. 
 
 This Sanskrit poem is the delight of all educated 
 Hindus. It is to them what Homer's epics were to 
 the Greeks, or Shakespeare is to the English ; embody- 
 ing their highest conceptions of poetic representation. 
 
 The greatest culture of the nautchnee was dedi- 
 cated to the performance of these dramas, and the 
 dressing of the various characters gave opportunity 
 for the display of all their charms of feature and 
 person. 
 
 Edward Morgan looked upon this Hindu amuse- 
 ment as a curious phase of Bombay social life. Sud- 
 denly, however, he was startled, for he again beheld 
 the nautchnee who had so captivated him by her 
 skill in dancing. She had entered to personate 
 Damayanti, the Vedic beauty ; " whose beauty dis- 
 turbed the souls of gods and men." She wore on her 
 head a crown of a pattern peculiar to the ancient 
 days. Her hair was unbound, and in soft silken 
 tresses hung down to her feet. She wore a gown, 
 sleeveless, and open at the throat, exposing her arms,
 
 THE NAUTCHNEE. 01 
 
 neck, and part of the breast. It was a fabric of the 
 finest texture. It was ornamented by a complete 
 hem of variegated silk, and fastened at the waist by 
 a silk scarf. Over her entire figure was thrown a 
 veil of such fine web-like texture that it seemed to 
 be floating in the air about her like moats dancing in 
 a sunbeam. As she entered into the spirit of the 
 play her lovely features expressed all the phases of 
 passion, sorrow, joy, and triumph which the drama 
 called for, and when at length the play ended and 
 she withdrew the audience for a moment seemed 
 spell-bound by the marvelous beauty they had beheld. 
 Edward Morgan's mind was in a tumult of passion. 
 He recalled the fact that the beautiful creature who 
 had displayed such marvelous grace and culture was 
 not considered as worth a serious thought to the 
 Hindu ladies of Bombay. 
 
 She was ostracized from the homes of the refined 
 and noble, doomed for life to be only an entertaining 
 machine. In his own land he liad known men to 
 lavish wealth and honor upon those whose genius 
 enabled them to display attractions of person and 
 mind far inferior to what he had just beheld. To his 
 American ideas of equality the nautchnee was as 
 noble as they, and in recognition of her powers he 
 would lay his homage at her feet. 
 
 He could not associate such beauty and grace with 
 loathsome lust. He knew she was not despised be- 
 cause of sins she had committed. It was onlv because
 
 62 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCIINEE. 
 
 she was the child of an inferior social caste, and the 
 accident of birth forever condemned her to remain in 
 this degraded position. He began to think of her as 
 a pure white lily in the midst of a dark, mucky 
 swamp, and, as the thought grew upon him, he de- 
 termined to enter the noisome swamp, pluck the 
 lily by the root from its bed and plant it in a garden 
 of refinement and queenly graces, Avhere it properly 
 belonged. With his mind disturbed by conflicting 
 emotions he went to his hotel, to recall the scenes 
 through which he had passed, and to determine the 
 best course to pursue to accomplish his purpose. 
 
 Nemorarna had noticed the thrilling gaze of the 
 American, and had felt her heart almost burst its 
 bounds as she recognized in his eyes a passion she 
 had never before observed in man. 
 
 For the first time in her life she felt the thrill of 
 true appreciation, the touch of heart to heart, and she 
 rose from the position of a machine to that of a 
 gifted human being. From that moment she ceased 
 to play for gold ; she simply consecrated all her 
 powers to that one appreciative listener. She knew 
 she was surpassing herself, and astonishing all who 
 beheld her, but the time had come ; her hero was 
 before her. A wild ambition seized her : it was to 
 escape from the limitations of her life, and feed upon 
 such food as was now given her. O, the delight of 
 that hour ! It ended all too soon. 
 
 When the curtain dropped she retired to her dress-
 
 THE NAUTCHNEE. 63 
 
 ing-room and \vcpt as she liad never before in all her 
 life. It was leaving the bright sunlight to sink into 
 the gloom of darkness. 
 
 AVith her companions she hastened to her home ; 
 but in that one evening she had become a changed 
 creature. 
 
 The nantchnee's home was in the most degraded 
 part of the city. The house was surrounded by 
 a high wall, within which was a court-yard orna- 
 mented by oleander and rose trees. In the midst of 
 this yard was the building divided into dormitories, 
 training-rooms, and household apartments. 
 
 Nemorama hastened to her own room. It was 
 small, and furnished with matting on the floor, a 
 cot in which to sleep, a tier of boxes for her jewels 
 and garments, some lotas, or drinking vessels, a few 
 little mirrors, and some fancy ornaments which she 
 had somewhere picked up. This was all. Divesting 
 herself of jewels and robes she flung herself upon 
 her cot, and, covering her face with her hands, 
 struggled with the mysterious thoughts that surged 
 through her soul. 
 
 She lay in this manner for some time, when she 
 became conscious that some other person was in her 
 room. 
 
 Rising quickly she saw standing near her a beauti- 
 ful girl, only twelve years of age, watching her with 
 curious, searching interest. She smiled as she saw 
 the intruder, and, opening her arms, tenderly called
 
 64 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 her to come to her, and then, as she came, folded her 
 in loving embrace. 
 
 " Ah, Saineh," she said, " is it yon ? Come to me, 
 and let me rest my weary Heart with your sweet love. 
 You love me, Saineh, don't you ? And don't you 
 know I live on your love, my pretty darling ? '' 
 
 The child came to her, and at once seemed to be 
 in complete sympathy with her, and the two fondled 
 each other with such caresses as only the purest 
 affection could inspire. 
 
 Five years before Saineh had been brought to this 
 establishment. She was a little maid from the vale 
 of Cashmere, and as beautiful as the morning's light. 
 Her father, displeased with her being a daughter, 
 despising girls as worthless, loving money for the 
 gratification of his desires, sold his pretty child to the 
 owner of this nautchnee establishment, and thus she 
 came to be a companion to many others suffering a , 
 similar misfortune. When Nemorama saw her, she 
 at once adopted her as her protegee, and for five years 
 Saineh had been the delight of her life. 
 
 The child was a true Hindu. With a. loving and 
 confiding nature, she was always ready to lavish ex- 
 pressions of love upon her older and stronger friend. 
 Her devotion partook of the nature of sympathetic 
 absorption. She watched Nemorama's growing pow- 
 ers, and with strong imitative faculties followed her. 
 Little by little she too was becoming expert, and, for 
 a child, was already famous. The sweet tendencies
 
 THE NAUTCHNEE. 65 
 
 of her soul shielded her from evil, and the wrath of 
 ]S"einorama'g stronger nature would have been freely 
 vented upon any one who should attempt to harm 
 her darling. 
 
 These nautchnees, cast out by their own parents 
 and ostracized by society, owed their skill and grace 
 to their severe training, and they felt the more com- 
 pletely their dependence upon their training estab- 
 lishment. It was their home, their arena of hope, 
 and the place of rest; and the pure, service-loving 
 Hindu hearts looked with dismay at the great outside 
 world, and labored to amuse it only as machines. On 
 nearly all these faces lingered an expression of sad- 
 ness, of lonesomeness, which only departed under 
 strongest excitement. 
 
 The following morning the nautchnees gathered in 
 their training-room for their daily training. There were 
 not less than a hundred of them in the room, and all 
 were pretty some of them wondrously beautiful. The 
 room was f urnished as a gymnasium, with rings, ropes, 
 bars, and swings, to develop every muscle of the hu- 
 man body. Here they were trained for all kinds of 
 dances and in gymnastic evolutions. All over the 
 light bamboo trellis-work the ropes were swinging 
 with the active girls seeking to be perfect in their 
 performances. 
 
 Saineh was in great glee as she swung high up in 
 the air, revolving in the swing and stretching out to 
 its full length her supple body, showing such grace of
 
 66 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 motion as to awaken the admiration of even her 
 trainers. 
 
 Suddenly there was a shriek, a body fell rapidly to 
 the floor, and Nemorama rushed to the heap of flesh 
 to find that it was her beloved Saineh. One rope of 
 the swing had become detached, and the girl fell help- 
 less. The blood flowed from her nose and mouth and 
 she seemed to be dead. Nemorama carried her to her 
 own cot and, tenderly washing away the blood, sobbed 
 and moaned over her darling. Soon the little eyelids 
 quivered, the breast heaved, and a moan came from 
 her lips. Nemorama piteously called to her to waken 
 and speak once more. The eyes opened and the lit- 
 tle face smiled in response to the ardent pleadings, 
 then she groaned with pain. 
 
 What could be done for the little sufferer ? The 
 attendants soon saw that the little girl must die, and 
 her faithful friend was filled with deepest anguish. 
 Seeing their distress Saineh guessed their thoughts, 
 and asked them what would become of her when she 
 died. The prospect of death filled the child with ter- 
 ror. It was an awful leap into the dark, a darkness 
 filled with most terrible monsters, and no one could 
 save her from her terrible fate. She clung impulsively 
 to Nemorama, but she could only sing softly to her 
 and try to divert her mind from the contemplation of 
 death. The child had learned only of the endless suc- 
 cession of reptile or animal lives she would be com- 
 pelled to live in the awful future. She was afraid of
 
 THE XAUTCHNEE. 67 
 
 toads and snakes and worms, and the idea of being 
 transformed into one of them made her suffering 
 body quiver with fright ; and, with her mind fasten- 
 ing upon the only ideas of death she had ever heard, 
 she soon sunk into a high fever. 
 
 Nemonma was tenderly watching over her when a 
 strange footstep was heard. The door of her room 
 opened, and there entered a young woman whose face 
 and dress at once indicated an American. With a 
 pleasant smile she said, " I heard of the dreadful acci- 
 dent to one of your number, and came to see if I 
 could help her. I am a physician, and understand how 
 to set broken bones and subdue fevers.'' Then, coming 
 to the cot, she gazed intently into the face of the 
 child and tenderly touched her wrist. 
 
 Xemorama knew something of the skill of these 
 American lady physicians and that they were highly 
 esteemed by the high caste in Bombay, and she 
 watched the visitor's expression to see if there could 
 be hope for her darling. But the smile faded from 
 the visitor's face as a look of deep pity stole into her 
 features, and with true pathos she murmured, " Poor 
 little maiden ! How quickly such beauty fades ! " 
 
 Xemorama understood the expression of the visi- 
 tor's face, and, knowing these Americans were also 
 teachers of religion, she fastened her anxjous gaze 
 upon her face and asked abruptly, " Where will Sai- 
 neh go when she dies ? Will she become a toad, or a 
 snake ? "
 
 68 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 The visitor looked into the large, hungry eyes of 
 her questioner, and said, "Did you ever hear of 
 Jesus?" Nemorama slowly shook her head as she 
 replied, " No, I never heard the name." 
 
 At that moment Saineh awoke, free from pain and 
 curious to hear the words of the strange lady. Tak- 
 ing her hand, and gently stroking it, with tender tones 
 full of pity and love the visitor told the story of 
 Jesus. 
 
 She told of the glory he had with the Father; how 
 he came to save men ; how he sought out the poor 
 and outcast ; how he won the victory over death, on 
 the cross ; how he went into heaven to prepare the 
 heavenly mansions; how he saves and glorifies all 
 who trust in him. Then she pictured the glory of 
 the redeemed ones in heaven, forever with the Lord. 
 As she told this sweet story tears of joy flowed down 
 the cheeks of her listeners, and Saineh in rapture 
 said, " Now I am ready to die. O, I want to sec the 
 good Jesus. 1 know he will love me, for I shall love 
 him with my heart. O, I am so glad you have 
 told me of Jesus. It is all light now." Then she 
 partly rose from the cot, her eyes grew large with a 
 wondrous expression, a smile lit up her features, she 
 said, " Why, there he is now ! He is calling me. He 
 calls, ' Saineh, Saineh, come to me, child.' His eyes 
 are full of love to me. Yes, I am coming." 
 
 She tried to rise to spring forward. Nemorama 
 caught her in her arms, the blood gushed from her
 
 THE XAUTCHXKE. 69 
 
 mouth, and when they laid her back on the cot they 
 saw that she was dead. 
 
 The missionary physician departed, to tell the story 
 of a Hindu soul saved and received into heaven by 
 the Master. Nemorama with calm submission fol- 
 lowed the body to the burning pyre, but comforted ; 
 for the chains of heathenism had been shattered, and 
 she was walking with a new realization of life.
 
 70 NEMORAMA THE NAUTOHNBE. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE NAUTC KNEE'S HOME. 
 
 NEMORAMA returned to her home feeling that the 
 tenderest chords of her heart had been sadly rent. 
 No sooner had she found some one o'f kindred spirit 
 than that one was taken from her. She felt utterly 
 lonely and forsaken, without a single ray of light on 
 her pathway. 
 
 As she thought of the friendship in the past, she 
 wondered if Saineh and she were of the same race 
 and caste. They had been like sisters. Both loved the 
 same things, both had the same sad longings unful- 
 filled, and yet Saineh was of a gentler nature. She 
 was frank, forgiving, and generally happy, while 
 in Nemorama's heart there was constant tumult, dis- 
 satisfaction, and rebellion against the life she was 
 compelled to lead. She had laid aside her robes, 
 and was cherishing these sad thoughts, when a mes- 
 senger came requesting that she put on her brightest 
 jewels and appear in the audience-chamber. She 
 obeyed almost mechanically. She knew from the 
 manner of the summons that a stranger had come 
 to examine her qualifications for some kind of an en- 
 gagement, and she was not supposed to be sensitive 
 in regard to the indelicacy of his scrutiny.
 
 Tin: MAI:TCUM-:K'S U>MK. 71 
 
 Xo time was allowed lier to mourn the loss of her 
 dearest friend. One day at the death-bed of all she 
 held dear on earth, the next day dancing with gayest 
 attire to please a fickle public. As she entered the 
 audience-room she saw a handsome, brilliantly dressed 
 Mohammedan talking with Bap, the master of their 
 establishment. 
 
 With a single glance she measured the stranger, 
 then, casting her gaze upon the floor, awaited her 
 master's commands. Bap, the master of the Nautch- 
 nee home, was a keen, shrewd business man. For 
 many years he had run this establishment, and had 
 become rich through his good bargains. He bought 
 only handsome girls, and took good care of them. 
 In his way he was a father to them, and the only 
 father many of them ever knew. He exercised su- 
 preme command over them because they knew he 
 held in his hands the question of their happiness or 
 misery, their life or death, and disobedience to him 
 would receive an awful retribution. His word was 
 law ; they had no will beyond his word. He said to 
 them ' ; Do ! " and they had no choice but to respond 
 to his bidding. They were in his hands as tools to 
 play with, and he always played for money. 
 
 As Xemorama stood in silence, the stranger care- 
 fully observed her for a few moments, then in the 
 boldest manner came forward to examine her. He 
 unrolled her luxuriant hair, felt the firmness of her 
 arms, looked at her teeth, noticed the symmetry of
 
 72 XEMOKAMA THE XAUTCHNEE. 
 
 her figure, and then engaged in low tones in conver- 
 sation with the master. He had seen Nemorama at 
 the same performance in which Edward Morgan had 
 beheld her, and already knew the grace of her mo- 
 tions, and the power and sweetness of her voice. 
 
 At length the men finished their conversation, and 
 the stranger coining 1 near her said: "Most beautiful 
 
 o o 
 
 of women, with astonishment and rapture I, an un- 
 worthy dewan, have beheld your charms. Your ex- 
 cellence is so great that the multitudes are not worthy 
 to gaze upon you. As a brilliant diamond you should 
 be reserved for the crown of royalty alone. I have, 
 therefore, come to convey you to the palace of my 
 princely master, the rajah of the north-west, to il- 
 luminate his harem with a brilliancy unapproachable 
 in any other part of the world. And may your power 
 exceed that of Xoor Mahal, who was the most beau- 
 tiful of women." 
 
 The dewan then bowed before her, and stood with 
 folded arms to receive her reply. Nemorama was 
 startled by this fulsome speech, and, with an expres- 
 sion of consternation on her face, looked appealingly 
 to Bap for explanation. 
 
 In response he said : " You are no more my child ; 
 you are the property of this man's master. You are to 
 become a great princess if von please him; if you do 
 not you will be hidden in darkness forever. You 
 have been a good girl, and I am sorry to part with 
 you, but such is life. Go ! and may you be happy."
 
 THE NAUTCHNEK'S HOMK. 73 
 
 Then slie realized it all. 
 
 She was sold to enter the harem of a stranger, 
 to give her life to one whom she had never seen. 
 She had no choice, no voice in the matter. A certain 
 siim of money was considered an equivalent for her. 
 The attachments of her soul, the desires of her heart, 
 were of no account. 
 
 She did not want to go. If she went she would be 
 the plaything of a Mohammedan, and she hated the 
 oppressors of her people. She would be shut up in a 
 harem, and she delighted in the applause of the peo- 
 ple. She would never see the American again, and 
 the hopes of her life would be blasted. 
 
 The tears began to flow down her cheeks, and as 
 she covered her face with her hands her body shook 
 with convulsive weeping. 
 
 Bap was moved by her distress, and was gratified 
 at her reluctance to leave his home. It was an in- 
 dorsement before the stranger of his kindness to his 
 girls. 
 
 He tried to soothe her by saying : " Farishta, the 
 dewan will take good care of you. You will be sur- 
 rounded with every luxury and become a great lady, 
 and then you will willingly forget the plainness, 
 the poverty and severity of a nautchnee's life." 
 
 Nemorama sadly withdrew to her little room. 
 Her companions gathered about her, and while some 
 wept at her departure, others congratulated her on 
 the good fortune that had come to her. She distrib-
 
 74 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 utcd among them her robes, jewels, and ornaments 
 as keepsakes ; for the dewan had provided new and 
 more costly things for her. Taking only the little 
 lota which had belonged to Saineli, she bade them fare- 
 well, allowed the dewan to veil her features, "to be 
 seen henceforth only by the rajah," as he said, en- 
 tered the palanquin provided for her, and at once 
 began the journey to the rajah's kingdom in the 
 north-west. 
 
 Bap would have felt great sorrow at her departure 
 were it not for the ten thousand rupees he had re- 
 ceived as her price. When he looked at these his 
 sorrow melted and disappeared. He was still consid- 
 ering how to invest them to the greatest advantage, 
 when a servant knocked at the door and announced 
 the approach of a stranger to see his master. 
 
 As the stranger entered, the host bowed low, for he 
 recognized before him the handsome American in 
 whose honor several fetes had lately been given in 
 which his nautclmees had been employed. 
 
 Edward Morgan was laboring under suppressed 
 excitement which he only partially concealed. His 
 whole manhood had been aroused, and, with Ameri- 
 can enthusiasm, he was seeking to do the work that 
 seemed to lie near his hand. After the entertain- 
 ment in which he had been so strangely attracted by 
 the Nautchnee he had been unable to sleep, for his 
 mind was excited upon the probable life of the gifted 
 girl.
 
 THK NAUTCHNEE'S HOME. 75 
 
 ' In the morning a coolie came to him and informed 
 him that a "holy man" was waiting to see him. 
 Following the direction indicated by the coolie, he 
 entered a grove near the hotel and there saw a fakir 
 sitting upon the ground awaiting his coming. The 
 fakir was almost naked. His hair had never been 
 cut since the time he entered on his " holy " life, and 
 was now longer than his body. It was wound around 
 his head in a rope-like coil, and fastened with a wooden 
 pin. His breast was daubed with a thick coating of 
 paint and ashes. His arms and legs were bare, and 
 seemed to be only skin and bone. His finger and 
 toe nails were of enormous length. His eyes had a 
 wild glitter that seemed to* penetrate the soul of the 
 person he gazed upon. Around his neck were strings 
 of beads, and in one hand he held a stout club, his 
 only defense when traveling in the jungle. 
 
 He seemed to be pleased with the promptness of 
 the American's coming, and, re-arresting his attention, 
 related the following narrative: 
 
 " At the time of the mutiny in 1857 there lived 
 in the province of Oudh a Brahman of highest caste. 
 The Brahman was the happy husband of a wife who 
 had borne him three sons and a daughter, the daugh- 
 ter being only nine years of age. The father was 
 about to give his daughter in marriage to a Brahman 
 of the same caste when the approaching mutiny in- 
 duced him to delay until the English, whom he hated, 
 should be driven out of their land. As he expected
 
 76 XEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 this to be accomplished in a few months there would 
 be no disgrace in his daughter remaining unmarried 
 
 o o o 
 
 for that length of time. 
 
 " But the Brahman's sons were slain in the mutiny, 
 and he was blown to pieces from the mouth of a 
 cannon the greatest dishonor that could have over- 
 come him ; for it prevented his sonl from having a 
 happy transmigration and left it to a disembodied 
 wandering condition in the other world. The sad 
 fate of the Brahman caused his wife to die broken- 
 hearted, and the little girl fell into the hands of an 
 English officer whose family had been put to death in 
 one of the terrible massacres of that time. The offi- 
 cer with great kindness protected the child, and, when 
 she had become of suitable age. charmed by her 
 beauty, made her his wife. They seemed to be very 
 happy together. He loved her, and she gave him all 
 the faithful attentions a Hindu was able to give. 
 Their happiness was increased by the birth of a 
 daughter, and the child promised to be as beautiful 
 as the mother. 
 
 " When the child was just getting old enough to 
 lisp its mother's name the officer was sent on a mis- 
 sion to a neighboring city. When he returned his 
 wife was dead, his house closed, his servants scattered, 
 and, notwithstanding the most diligent search was 
 made, no trace of his child could be discovered. 
 
 " The Hindu relatives of the woman had put her to 
 death because she turned from her caste to marry the
 
 THE XAUTCHNEE'S HOME. 77 
 
 foreigner, and they sold the child to a Soudanese mer- 
 chant, who disposed of it to some dealer in girls for 
 nautchnees." 
 
 After a few moments of silence the strange fakir 
 continued : 
 
 " Although the Hindu woman had married the 
 officer she was always charitable to the fakirs, and 
 many times she fed me with choice food, and I loved 
 to see her happy face as she caressed her little babe. 
 
 '" When the officer found he could glean no tidings 
 of his child he went away and never returned. When 
 the story was told to me of the sad desolation of his 
 household, for the charity the mother had shown me 
 I determined to find the child and watch over it. 
 
 " I at once began the search. I was fortunate in 
 getting on the trail. I followed the child through 
 many provinces until it came to this great city. I 
 watched the place it entered and the progress it made. 
 I watched that child until yesterday. 
 
 " She is now as beautiful as was her mother, but 
 fairer in face and more supple in body. She knows 
 not the purity of her birth ; she knows not that any 
 one has kept watch over her, although I have never 
 lost sight of her. But, no matter; I am rewarded in 
 knowing I have accomplished a good deed. My 
 course is almost run. I have been waiting a long 
 time for you to appear. I beheld you in my visions 
 and knew you would come, so that I might commit 
 her to your care. Last night you saw her. She is the
 
 78 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 beautiful nautchnee Nemorama. While watching 
 your countenance I saw you look toward her. I know 
 what that kind of a look means. It corroborates my 
 visions. She is now in danger, and your work as her 
 protector must begin. Go seek her. Defend her. 
 If her father still lives find him, and restore his child 
 to his aching heart and receive his priceless blessing 
 and mine. Farewell ! " 
 
 Suddenly the fakir disappeared. Recovering from 
 his astonishment Morgan looked for him, but he had 
 gone as silently as the falling of a leaf. 
 
 Morgan recalled his studies in esoteric Buddhism, 
 and he felt the thrill of a mission committed to him 
 from the unseen world. With solemn determination 
 to succeed he accepted the obligation, and with 
 American vigor so pressed his search that within an 
 hour he stood at the gates of the nautchnee's home. 
 In response to his inquiry for the fair Nemorama the 
 master informed him that she had just been purchased 
 by the dewan of a great rajah, and was already on 
 the way to his dominions. In reply to his question, 
 "Did she go by her own choice, and gladly?" the 
 master said : " Nautclmees have no will, no choice ; 
 they are property ; they are to provide amusement for 
 the people, and to gratify the whims of those who 
 have money to pay for them. The rajah had heard 
 of her beauty and sent money to buy her, and she 
 was sent to him. He might clothe her with elegant 
 robes and cover her with jewels if pleased with her,
 
 THE NAUTCIINEE'S HOME. 79 
 
 or he might cast her aside for some other one that 
 suited his fancy. As a creature to furnish men 
 amusement this was her risk. As to her soul, she 
 was below caste ; that was all." 
 
 Morgan left the place with a troubled heart ; his 
 reflections were very bitter. Was this the price paid 
 for the pleasure afforded the wealthy people on Mala- 
 bar Hill 2 Could he, an American, knowing and be- 
 lieving in the Declaration of Independence, as writ- 
 ten by Jefferson, consent to enjoy pleasure obtained 
 from such a system and built upon the ruin of such 
 creatures ? No ! his soul revolted at the thought. 
 He returned to his hotel to study the route to the 
 north-west most likely to be taken by the dewan, and 
 to plan how he might intercept them and communi- 
 cate with the maiden. 
 
 Before his plans were formed he received letters 
 calling him to immediately prepare for a grand tiger 
 hunt in the north of India, and to start without delay 
 for the scene of action. As this was in the same di- 
 rection the maiden was going, lie returned word to 
 Captain Grey that he would be on hand according to 
 appointment.
 
 80 UEMOKAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE M T H E R'S SORROW. 
 
 CAPTAIN GREY assumed the responsibility of col- 
 lecting the hunting outfit for the party, and this par- 
 ticularly pleased Dennis ; for it gave him the opportu- 
 nity of showing the bare-legged, white-robed Hindus 
 how majestically he could give orders " jist loike the 
 ginerals to their armies." 
 
 As several days would elapse before all could be 
 ready Morgan concluded to stop on the way and see 
 some of the cities of historic renown, and search for 
 a clue to the journeyings of Nemorarna. 
 
 The railroad went direct from Bombay to Allaha- 
 bad on the Ganges, where it joined the railroad from 
 Delhi to Calcutta. 
 
 Morgan knew that the dewan would not travel by 
 railroad, but by the time-honored and seclusive 
 palanquins. 
 
 Railroads were an innovation in India, and no 
 high caste person would patronize them at first. 
 Time alone would destroy their prejudices. In 1853 
 there were only twenty and a half miles of railroad 
 in India. In 1887, there were thirteen thousand 
 three hundred and eighty-six miles. The high 
 caste Brahmans saw this development of European
 
 THE MOTHER'S SORROW. 81 
 
 ideas with consternation, and to them the railroad 
 was an institution of evil ; hence they would not 
 under any circumstances patronize it. From Alla- 
 habad Morgan went to Agra, and there remained 
 for a few days awaiting the summons from Captain 
 Grey. 
 
 He remembered that Miss Thompson had located 
 in Agra, and, curious as to what success she had with 
 the women of India in their zenanas, determined to 
 call upon her. The zenana is to the Hindu home 
 what the harem is to the Mohammedan home, 
 that is, the part exclusively devoted to the women. 
 He had an excellent excuse ^for visiting Miss Thomp- 
 son, as there had been committed to his care several 
 cordial messages to her from her friends in Bombay 
 who knew that he would only too willingly deliver 
 them. He also bore a message from Dasee, the cult- 
 ured Hindu maiden living on Malabar Hill, who 
 was deeply interested in the elevation of her sex in 
 their zenana life. She looked upon all that were 
 engaged in the good work as sisters. 
 
 Mr. Morgan found Miss Thompson happy in her 
 work, and the doors of the lower castes were being 
 gradually opened to her. 
 
 She found it to be exceedingly difficult to gain en- 
 trance to the houses of the high caste Hindus. They 
 were excessively scrupulous in every religious observ- 
 ance, looking upon disrespect to husbands with hor- 
 ror, and avoiding with the greatest care every thing 
 6
 
 82 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 that might defile them. They would endure all 
 manner of suffering rather than be touched by a 
 man not of their own household, or by any person of 
 lower caste. 
 
 The strength of their prejudices was seen in an 
 incident related to Miss Thompson. Several Hindu 
 ladies of high caste were traveling on camels along 
 the highway, when the girth of one of the saddles 
 became loosened, and the lady, partially fast to the 
 saddle, was thrown under the awkward beast. An 
 English gentleman, seeing the accident, rushed to her 
 rescue. But the ladies begged him not to pollute 
 her by his touch. He pleaded to save her, which he 
 could easily do by lifting her out of the saddle, but 
 she forbade him to do so, preferring to die rather than 
 be saved in that way. The camel became unman- 
 ageable, and the woman was trampled to death. Her 
 devotion to caste rules received the hearty approba- 
 tion of her companions, and her memory was blessed 
 as a martyr to purity and devotion. 
 
 Sometimes, however, Miss Thompson was sent for 
 by those in great suffering, and as the fame of her 
 skill spread the calls became more frequent. She 
 was careful not to touch her patients unnecessarily, 
 and instead of giving .them her medicines informed 
 them of the remedies to be obtained by people of 
 their own caste. 
 
 By her attractive manner she gradually became a 
 favorite in the zenanas, where her conversations
 
 THE MOTHER'S SORROW. 83 
 
 were enjoyed as something new and refreshing. 
 Then as she read to them from the Bible she awak- 
 ened their astonishment at her learning, for most of 
 the high caste women were utterly ignorant of books, 
 and were afraid that some misfortune would come 
 upon their homes if they were found with books 
 in their hands. 
 
 She told Mr. Morgan that at times she suffered in- 
 tensely from sympathy for the deluded people, who 
 so constantly violated the plainest requirements of 
 nature, and suffered the inevitable consequences, in 
 order to maintain the rules of caste. 
 
 One day a little girl came to the missionary asking 
 her to come and see her sick mother. Miss Thomp- 
 son was surprised at the intelligence of the child, as 
 she displayed in all her movements a winning sim- 
 plicity and affectionate dependence in strong contrast 
 with the self-assertion and overbearing manners of the 
 boys. She at once went with the little messenger. 
 After walking half an hour they came to the open 
 fields in front of a poor woman's cottage. The 
 dwellings of the Hindus vary, in size and accom- 
 modations, according to the wealth of their owners ; 
 this was one of the poorest, containing but one 
 room. 
 
 The cottage faced the east, with entrance a little 
 to one side of the middle of the front wall. Once 
 a week every Hindu woman smeared her room and 
 the yard of her dwelling with a solution of cow
 
 84: NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 ordure. When this was done she ornamented the front 
 of the door with the form of a lotus flower made out 
 of a solution of lime or chalk. The lotus was chosen 
 because emblematical of the name of God ; too pure 
 to be uttered, but supposed to bestow a magical charm 
 on the dwelling upon which it is inscribed. 
 
 A single glance revealed to the missionary that all 
 the requirements of Hindu law were faithfully ob- 
 served about this cottage. Through the open door- 
 way the missionary saw the sick woman reclining 
 upon a mat. By her side a healthy little babe was 
 sleeping. On the floor, close by, another child was 
 playing. The children were girls. 
 
 The woman was still beautiful, although sorrow 
 had sadly marked her features. As she saw her 
 visitor a bright smile illuminated her countenance, 
 and she thanked her for coming so soon. 
 
 The missionary sat by her side and wept in tender 
 compassion for her as she listened to the story of her 
 life. Yet her story was a common one ; how com- 
 mon only the mothers of girls in India know. 
 
 She said, " When but a child I was married to one 
 of the noblest of high caste youths just after he had 
 received the investiture of the sacred thread, signify- 
 ing his entrance into all the duties and privileges of 
 the caste preserved by his family from the most an- 
 cient times. He was a youth of great spirit, and 
 seemed to be proud of his little wife ; calling me his 
 1 beautiful blessing.'
 
 THE MOTHER'S SOKKOW. 85 
 
 " When his relatives sought a wife for him they 
 required of her certain characteristics. They said I 
 possessed all of them. They said of me : ' She is free 
 from all defects, is of a winsome and upright nature, 
 has a soft and melodious voice, her name is pleasing 
 to the ear, her motions are graceful, her features are 
 regular, her eyes are strong and bright, her muscles 
 are well developed, her teeth are perfect, her hair is 
 rich and glossy, and she is very healthy.' The astrol- 
 ogers gave me a good recommendation, such as, ' she 
 will be the mother of many sons, and will not outlive 
 her husband ; ' hence great happiness was looked for 
 in our marriage. 
 
 " From the time of the marriage until I was fully 
 developed in physical powers I was trained by my 
 husband's mother to prepare every kind of food suit- 
 able for a high caste Hindu to eat, and was thoroughly 
 instructed how to keep his home. Then I was given 
 to him, and I began to serve him. 
 
 " Like all Hindus he was very desirous to behold 
 the face of a son, and for this earnestly besought the 
 favor of the gods. A short time after we began to 
 live together I visited the temple of Lakshina, at- 
 tended by a neighbor who was the mother of several 
 sons. I took a cake made of rice, sugar, and ghee 
 or clarified butter ; also a fresh cocoa-nut. I fervently 
 offered my prayers before the shrine ; then both of 
 us spent some time in meditation on the glorious 
 progeny of gods and heroes, after which my com-
 
 86 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 panion broke the cocoa-nut and poured out the liquid 
 as an offering to the goddess. We returned home, and, 
 with my husband's household, ate the rest of the cocoa- 
 nut and the cake. When I knew that I would become 
 a mother I went again to the temple, accompanied by 
 the same friend, also by my father and husband. 
 
 " This time I was clothed in robes of spotless white 
 which entirely covered me. Several Brahman priests 
 officiated for us. We took oil, lighted tapers, and 
 flowers. One of the priests took the oil, poured it on 
 a lighted lamp, waved it over his head and uttered the 
 prayer : ' O thou who art light, thou art also life and 
 seed. Accept our sacrifice, and make the new life thou 
 hast created in secret visible in beauty and strength 
 and power of intellect.' After this we gave many 
 valuable presents. As we returned home the priest 
 made me very happy by saying, ' Mayest thou have 
 eight sons, and may thy husband survive thee.' 
 
 " My husband repeated to me this law of Mann ; 
 ' Through a son a man conquers the world, through 
 a son's son he obtains immortality, but through his 
 son's grandson he gains the world of the sun.' My 
 husband's father and grandfather were still living, 
 and if I possessed a son their joy would be great 
 through the blessings it would assure them. 
 
 " At length the greatest day of a Hindu woman's 
 life came to me the day of motherhood. The 
 woman who accompanied me to the temple, the 
 priest who had blessed me, and the astrologer, to cast
 
 THE MOTHER'S SORROW. 87 
 
 the horoscope for my child, were in the room pray- 
 ing. When all was ready the attendants waved fire 
 over my child, and put on its lips a drop of honey and 
 butter out of a golden spoon. Then my husband 
 came and looked into the face of his child ; at the 
 same time he took a piece of gold in his hand, 
 anointed the child's forehead with clarified butter 
 which had been first presented to Brahma, and then 
 offered sacrifice to Brahma. 
 
 "He then bound a string of nine cotton threads with 
 five blades of durba grass around the baby's wrist. 
 The durba grass signified that the life should be 
 made more perfect by the five daily sacraments. 
 
 " The astrologer then cast the horoscope for the 
 child, which was written down and given into the 
 keeping of the father. 
 
 " O, think of my grief and pain, in that moment of 
 awful weakness, to hear my husband utter loud im- 
 precations, and manifest tokens of extreme disappoint- 
 ment and anger. Alas ! the child was a daughter. 
 He angrily repeated to me the words of the law : 
 ' There is no place in heaven for a man who is desti- 
 tute of male offspring.' In that moment, when I 
 needed the most tender care, every one turned from 
 me with aversion. 
 
 " In front of the house many neighbors and friends 
 had come to congratulate my husband. Musicians 
 were there to make melody, and confectioners to 
 scatter sweetmeats among the people. But my
 
 88 NEMOKAMA THE NAUTOHNEE. 
 
 husband went to the door and announced in tones 
 of contempt, * Nothing has been born ! ' Then he 
 retired to his room. The people returned to their 
 homes. No sweetmeats were scattered, no music 
 given, no joy manifested. It was only a girl, and in 
 their estimation a girl was equivalent to nothing. 
 But I could not help loving my little babe, and she 
 grew strong and happy, notwithstanding the frowns 
 and taunts of the older people. 
 
 "Two years later I was again about to become a 
 mother. We offered more valuable presents in the 
 temple. I purchased rosaries used by women who 
 had borne many sons, and drank teas made of roots 
 and herbs celebrated for their virtues. My devotions 
 were assiduously given to trees and to those deities who 
 bestowed sons. My husband declared that he would 
 take away my ornaments and make me the family 
 drudge if I did not give him a son. But alas ! I again 
 gave him another daughter. His people now uttered 
 loud and severe complaints against me, and, incensed 
 by their complaints, he became very angry. His 
 grandfather was nearing the fulfillment of the time 
 allotted to man, and he became an object of special 
 pity because of my failure to give him honor in the 
 other world. His father wept at the thought of his 
 losses, and my husband became an object of pity to 
 his companions. My husband declared that two ca- 
 lamities had come upon him, and that if it was so 
 again I should be his wife no more. This threat
 
 THE MOTHER'S SOKKOW. 89 
 
 tilled me with horror. The third time I became a 
 mother. But O, sorrow ! a daughter was again placed 
 in my arms. Then my husband cast me out and mar- 
 ried another ; for the law allowed him to do this. The 
 awful severity of this punishment no one can know 
 but those whose lives are bound up with their hus- 
 bands. I loved my husband with all my soul, and I 
 love him to-day as fervently as ever. I had always 
 lived in luxury. My husband was very wealthy, and 
 I was clothed with fine raiment and decked with 
 costly jewels, and had many servants to do my bidding. 
 To show his extreme displeasure he stripped me of all 
 my ornaments and placed me in this bare and com- 
 fortless cottage. Here in poverty I must spend the 
 remaining years of my life and never see his face 
 again. My daughters are my comfort, and they bring 
 smiles that drive away the tears. They are so loving, 
 winning, and beautiful that, if I had my choice, I be- 
 lieve I would rather live just as I am with them than 
 in luxury without them. 
 
 "When I was placed here every one commended 
 my husband for his act of separation. They accused 
 me of having committed some terrible crime in a pre- 
 vious life of having poisoned a husband, or done some 
 other awful deed and now they avoid me and call me 
 accursed. O lady, the people say you are wise and 
 good, and that you teach a religion that comforts the 
 sorrowing. Tell me, what can I do? Is it such a 
 curse to bear daughters ? "
 
 90 XEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 Miss Thompson waited until the woman became 
 calm, then told her of her own mother's household in 
 distant America ; her mother a widow and all her chil- 
 dren daughters. Upon them no scorn was cast, no un- 
 usual burdens heaped, for the religion of Jesus taught 
 them that girls were the equals of boys before the 
 Lord, and daughters in America were loved and hon- 
 ored alike witli the sons. The feeling of inferiority 
 the daughters in India possessed was a degrading 
 prejudice, offensive to the teachings and the will of 
 the true God. Then she told the story of Jesus, 
 God's Son, sent to save the world from its sin and the 
 horrible darkness of its prejudices. The story of 
 Jesus proved a balm to the wounded heart, and the 
 poor woman eagerly received every word. AVhen at 
 length Miss Thompson departed the woman begged 
 her to come again, and tell her more of the words 
 of life. 
 
 When Miss Thompson arrived at the mission house 
 she found Mr. Morgan awaiting her coming to take 
 her on a visit to the Taj Mahal.
 
 MOST BEAUTIFUL BUILDING IN THE WOULD. 91 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BUILDING IN THE WORLD. 
 
 THREE miles from Agra, in the midst of a spacious 
 garden, stands the Taj Mahal ; without doubt the most 
 beautiful building in the world. A trip to India is 
 not complete without a visit to this famous shrine. 
 Morgan was exceedingly anxious to see it, and the de- 
 light of the visit would be increased by the respon- 
 sive appreciation of so cultured an observer as Miss 
 Thompson for his companion. He was thrilled with 
 the thought that on this occasion she would be to him 
 the personification of American taste, and together it 
 would be America bowing before the memorial of 
 Mohammedan love. 
 
 Mounting their palanquins, they were quickly con- 
 veyed to the gate by the fleet-footed coolie bearers, 
 where they alighted, and, dismissing the coolies, lei- 
 surely walked about the grounds. They had many 
 things to talk about, and, surrounded by the trees, 
 flowers, and fountains of the garden, they spoke of 
 America, the vojage, their companions, their pur- 
 poses, and the wonderful building before them. A 
 guide-book told them that it was designed by a French- 
 man and built by the Mogul emperor Shah Jehan in 
 honor of his beloved wife, Moomtaj-i-Mahal.
 
 92 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 As they sat looking at its glistening white walls 
 Miss Thompson said : " What strange contrasts this 
 building suggests ! Designed by a Frenchman, built 
 by a Mohammedan, the peerless pride of a Hindu 
 land, built in honor of a woman where women are 
 despised. She was a ruler where her sex are en- 
 slaved. She died giving birth to a daughter; a fact 
 of great repugnance to the dominant sex. While she 
 ruled the kingdom her husband spent his time in 
 revelry with drunken companions, and yet after her 
 death he lavished the wealth of his kingdom in the 
 magnificent attempt to honor her name. She only 
 knew Christianity as it /was taught by the Roman 
 Catholics, and she hated it with all the ardor of her 
 strong nature. On the end of the tomb facing the 
 entrance there is inscribed, amid the flowers and jew- 
 els, a prohibition and a prayer against the followers 
 of Christ, calling them by the contemptuous word 
 ' kah'rs.' The prayer reads, ' Defend us from the 
 tribe of kafirs.' The emperor's orders were that none 
 but men of Mohammedan faith were to be permitted 
 within these precincts or to draw near her tomb, and 
 express care was to be observed that no Christian foot 
 approached it ; yet to-day it is the Christian nation 
 that protects the tomb, that honors the spirit of the 
 emperor's ardent devotion, that holds woman in her 
 true, loving, exalted station, and makes this tomb a 
 temple for all mankind to visit as a memorial of the 
 true and just honor granted one woman in India."
 
 MOST BEAUTIFUL BUILDING IN THE WORLD. 93 
 
 As she concluded Mr. Morgan said, " Why, Miss 
 Thompson, you are eloquent." " No," she replied ; 
 " it was only an eloquent subject." Mr. Morgan 
 said, " I should have enjoyed seeing this during the 
 emperor's life-time, when a light from perfumed oil 
 in golden lamps fell upon the tomb day and night, 
 and the choicest of flowers were arranged daily in 
 garlands to adorn it ; when the most skillful Mogul 
 musicians filled the air with tenderest strains of mel- 
 ody ; when five times every day the muezzin's call to 
 prayer resounded from these minarets, and a eunuch 
 of high station, with two thousand splendidly attired 
 Sepoys, kept guard that no unworthy foot came near." 
 
 " But, remember," said Miss Thompson, " if you 
 had then attempted to approach the tomb those Sepoys 
 would have killed you without mercy as a sacrilegious 
 kafir. For my part, I prefer visiting it now, know- 
 ing that I am perfectly safe in doing so." 
 
 Just then a Mohammedan teacher of the law passed 
 near them, and Mr. Morgan, calling him, asked if he 
 could describe the place to them. The dervish bowed 
 until the ends of his turban touched the ground, then 
 standing erect, with his arms folded, repeated his 
 often-spoken description, as follows : 
 
 " The entrance to these spacious gardens is built 
 of red sandstone inlaid with texts from the Koran 
 wrought in white marble. The walls surrounding the 
 garden are of the same material. The gate is in size 
 and beauty a palace, while the arched colonnades
 
 94 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 running all along the interior of the wall add to the 
 general magnificence of the place. The garden paths 
 are paved with slabs of freestone arranged in fanciful 
 devices. The palms, banyan, bamboo, tamarind, and 
 various fruit-trees are so arranged as to shade the 
 walks, attract the eye, and fill the air with sweetest 
 odors, while the beds of flowers of loveliest hues 
 bloom in profusion, so as to greet the observer's eyes 
 on every hand. 
 
 " The central avenue, from the gate to the Taj, is 
 a third of a mile in length, with a marble reservoir 
 in the middle about forty feet square, with five fount- 
 ains, one in the center and in each corner. There is 
 also a system of fountains, numbering eighty-four, 
 along the paths, and these are bordered by rows of 
 dark Italian cypress-trees. The garden is the resort 
 of many sweet songsters, and is redolent with the 
 odor of roses, oranges, lemons, and tamarind trees. 
 
 " The Taj stands upon a double terrace. The first 
 is made of red sandstone, is twenty feet high and a 
 thousand feet broad. On the two extremities of this 
 terrace are two buildings exactly the same in size and 
 shape. The one on the left side is a mosque used for 
 service, as it allows the faces of the worshipers to be 
 set toward the tomb of their prophet at Mecca. The 
 one on the right is a rest-house for the accommoda- 
 tion of visitors who come from various parts of the 
 world to see the Taj, and who here receive free quar- 
 ters as long as they choose to remain."
 
 MOST BEAUTIFUL BUILDING IN THE WORLD. 95 
 
 " Midway between these two buildings is the sed- 
 ond terrace, fifteen feet high and three hundred feet 
 square. 
 
 " On the four corners of this terrace stand four 
 minarets. This terrace and the minarets, as also the 
 Taj, which rises up in the center of this square, are of 
 the finest white marble inlaid with jewels. The Taj is 
 square, with truncated corners, and is a hundred and 
 fifty feet in diameter. The dome is seventy feet in 
 diameter, and is two hundred and forty-five feet high. 
 On the top of the dome is a golden spire thirty feet 
 high. 
 
 " A Persian manuscript preserved in the Taj gives 
 an account of the stones used in its construction. 
 ' The white marble was brought from Jeypore, the 
 yellow marble from the Nerbudda, the black from 
 Charkoli ; the red sandstone from Dholepore ; crystal 
 from China ; jasper from the Punjab ; carnelian from 
 Bagdad ; turquoises from Thibet ; agate from Temen ; 
 lapis lazuli from Ceylon ; diamonds from Punah ; rock 
 spar from Nerbudda ; loadstone from Gwalior ; ame- 
 thyst and onyx from Persia ; chalcedony from Yilliat, 
 and sapphires from Lauka.' ' : 
 
 As the dervish paused Miss Thompson exclaimed, 
 "Only think that all these materials were brought on 
 elephants or camels, by caravans ! What time and 
 labor it must have required ! " 
 
 The dervish calmly answered, " It required twenty 
 thousand men twenty-two years to build it, and it
 
 96 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 cost a sum equal to sixty millions of American 
 dollars." % 
 
 The dervish now led them into the vault below the 
 central hall, where the real sarcophagi, containing the 
 bodies of the emperor and empress, were kept. They 
 then returned to the rotunda, where duplicates of the 
 real sarcophagi were placed directly over the real, and 
 officially representing them. This is the place which 
 for architectural splendor has no equal. The floor is 
 of polished marble and jasper. The wainscoting is 
 of sculptured marble tablets inlaid with flowers 
 formed of precious stones. The windows or screens 
 are of marble filigree richly wrought in various pat- 
 terns, and admitting only a faint and delicate light 
 into the gorgeous apartment, which is lost in the 
 heights of the lofty dome. The tombs are sur- 
 rounded by a magnificent octagonal screen about six 
 feet high, with doors on the sides. The open tracery 
 in this white marble screen is wrought into beautiful 
 flowers, such as lilies, irises, and others. The borders 
 of the screen are inlaid with precious stones, repre- 
 senting flowers, executed with such wonderful perfec- 
 tion that the forms wave as in nature, and the hues 
 and shades of the stems, leaves, and flowers appear as 
 real almost as the beauties which they represent. 
 These ornamental designs are so carefully and ex- 
 quisitely executed that several of the flowers have as 
 many as eighty different stones entering into their 
 composition, all polished uniformly with the marble,
 
 MOST BEAUTIFUL BUILDING IN THE WORLD. 97 
 
 into which they are so delicately inserted that you 
 can hardly trace their joinings. They seem as though 
 they had grown there, instead of being separately pre- 
 pared and placed in their positions by the hands of the 
 " cunning workmen " who designed and executed this 
 imperishable and magnificent memorial of human 
 love. But the richest art is displayed on the cenotaph 
 of the empress within the screen. Upon her tomb, 
 according to universal Mohammedan usage, is a slate 
 or tablet of marble, while on the emperors' is a small 
 box representing a pen-holder. These always distin- 
 guish a man's or a woman's grave among these 
 people, the idea being that a woman's heart is a tablet 
 on which lordly man can write whatever pleases him 
 best. And this mark of feminine inferiority was 
 not spared even the beloved occupant of the Taj 
 Mahal. 
 
 But her tomb, how beautiful! The snow-white 
 marble is inlaid with flowers so delicately formed 
 that they look like embroidery on white satin, so ex- 
 quisitely is the mosaic executed in carnelian, blood- 
 stone, agate, jasper, turqnois, lapis lazuli, and other 
 precious stones. Thirty-five different specimens of 
 carnelian are employed in forming a single leaf of a 
 carnation ; and in one flower, not larger than a silver 
 dollar, as many as twenty-three different stones can 
 be counted. Yet these are but specimens of the 
 beauties that are spread in unparalleled profusion 
 over this entire chamber. Indeed, Long asserts that he
 
 98 , NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 found one flower upon her tomb to be composed of 
 no less than three hundred different stones. Her 
 name and date of death, with her virtuous qualities, 
 are recorded in the same costly manner, in gems of 
 Arabic the sacred language of the Mohammedan 
 on the side of her tomb. The emperor's tomb is 
 plainer than the other ; has no passage from the Koran, 
 but merely a similar mosaic work of flowers and his 
 name, with the date of his death, upon it. Over all 
 this richness and beauty rises the magnificent dome, 
 which is so constructed as to contain an echo more 
 pure, prolonged, and harmonious than any other in 
 the world, so far as known. While they were gaz- 
 ing upon the wonderful beauties of the scene the 
 dervish went into the vault below and began to play 
 on a flute. As the sound rose into the dome, and 
 came back in reverberations from a hundred arched 
 alcoves, it seemed to breathe the notes of angels. It 
 was so delicate, so sweet, so soul-stirring, that no 
 earthly sound exceeded it. It was to the ear what 
 the building was to the eye. It seemed to haunt the 
 distant alcoves of the dome, and to fall upon the 
 listeners in gentle showers. It seemed to merge itself 
 in the soft light of the apartment, and awaken the 
 sweetest fancies in the minds of the hearers. It was 
 the spirit of the Taj ; full of love, tenderness, sweet- 
 ness. Miss Thompson broke the quiet by remark- 
 ing, " Love was its author, beauty its inspiration." 
 The dervish ceased his playing, led them out of the
 
 MOST BEAUTIFUL BUILDING IN THE WORLD. 99 
 
 building, and in silence received his reward and 
 withdrew. 
 
 Little was said by the Americans, but, with spirits 
 subdued and tranquilized by the wonderful charm 
 of the place, they thought of the amazing skill that 
 could invent and construct a building expressive of 
 so much sentiment, and capable of arousing in be- 
 holders such sympathetic appreciation. 
 
 They passed out of the gate, entered their pal- 
 anquins, and soon arrived in Agra. 
 
 As Mr. Morgan bade Miss Thompson good night 
 at the door of the mission house he thought, " The 
 Taj is the most beautiful tribute ever paid a woman's 
 memory by the art of man, but God only can fully 
 reward a woman for her noble life who, like Miss 
 Thompson, has left home, friends, race, and civiliza- 
 tion, to be despised, forsaken, ill-treated, and, per- 
 haps, to die, a sacrifice in order to win some poor 
 ignorant souls from a life of sin to the cleansing, 
 helping, saving arms of Jesus. Miss Thompson is 
 nobler and more worthy of honor than Moomtaj-i- 
 Mahal in all her glory." 
 
 When Mr. Morgan reached his bungalow he was 
 handed a letter which read as follows : 
 
 " DEAR MORGAN : Come to Umballa at once. 
 Every thing is ready elephants, company, tigers, 
 and all. Bring your splendid American rifle, and 
 prove its value upon tigers. Yours, etc., GREY."
 
 100 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 Looking at the train schedule, he saw that lie 
 could catch the night train. Packing his baggage 
 and paying his bill, he hastened to the depot. He 
 had just time enough to write a short note to Miss 
 Thompson, explaining his hasty departure, when the 
 cars came rushing into the station. In a few mo- 
 ments the signal was given, and the train was rapidly 
 whirled toward the north-west.
 
 KlSMDT. 101 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 KISMUT. 
 
 MOOTIE was a little maiden as happy as the days 
 were long. She was constantly in motion, running, 
 laughing, playing, and pleasing her parents by her 
 bright ways. Like all Hindu maidens, she was very 
 fond of ornaments, and wore a number of rings on 
 her ankles, and arms, in her nose and ears, and neck- 
 laces around her throat. She was also fond of rib- 
 bons, and gay colors, with which she paraded her 
 taste before the visitors, at her father's home. But 
 her tenth birthday approached, and it would have 
 been a disgrace if her father should not obtain her a 
 husband before another year passed. The time had 
 come for her childhood to end. 
 
 Her father proceeded to find a man of the same 
 caste and class, to whom he could marry his little 
 Mootie. 
 
 It was not the custom for a girl to have any choice 
 in such a matter, or even to see her husband until 
 the time for the wedding arrived. 
 
 Mootie was delighted with the idea of being mar- 
 ried. She had seen her sister married, and remem- 
 bered how joyful the occasion was and how sweet 
 the confectionery tasted.
 
 102 NEMORAMA THE KlUTOHNEE. 
 
 She would then have a large party and a great feast, 
 arid receive new and brilliant clothes ; she could put 
 on all her ornaments, and, besides, have many more 
 given her, and, furthermore, would be envied by all 
 the girls with whom she played from earliest child- 
 hood. She knew nothing of the -awful realities to 
 follow, which she would be doomed to endure. 
 
 In choosing a husband for his little daughter, the 
 father might either marry her to some one of suitable 
 age who would take her to his own house, or he might 
 marry her to one of' the Brahmans who went about 
 the country marrying girls for a sum of money and 
 then departing, leaving them with their fathers all 
 their lives. Some of these Brahmans in this way 
 would marry as many as a hundred girls, and at his 
 death they would be real widows though they would 
 never see him except on that one occasion. It was 
 an advantage to be allied to the family of a Brahman. 
 It cost less money than the other way, and the father 
 ever after had the advantage of his daughter's service. 
 He also had the pleasure of feeling he had done his 
 duty, and thus retained the respect of his neighbors. 
 
 JVIootie's sister had been married in this way and 
 another daughter was not needed at home. Mootie 
 was therefore married to a youth of similar caste and 
 clan, who was just twice her age. 
 
 The brilliancy of the wedding was all she could de- 
 sire. So soon as the marriage ceremony was over she 
 bade farewell to parents and friends and went to live
 
 KISMUT. 103 
 
 in her linsband's home, to be trained by his mother to 
 know and satisfy his every wish. This period of 
 tuition would last for a period of six years, when 
 she would be given to her husband to serve him as his 
 wife. 
 
 The house to which the little bride was taken, like 
 all Hindu houses of the better sort, was divided into 
 two parts. One of these, the outer, was light and 
 airy, with a broad veranda in front, and a pleasant 
 yard. This was the part occupied by the men. 
 
 The inner part was framed for seclusion, being dark 
 and close, without veranda or yard. This was the ze- 
 nana, or the part occupied by the women. Thus far 
 in her life Mootie had never been restrained, for little 
 children went every-where, but now, as a married 
 person, she was restricted to the zenana, and she sadly 
 learned that the happy marriage was the beginning 
 of a life of toil and privation. 
 
 She was now required to be scrupulously exact in 
 all she did or said, and instead of the sweet loving 
 smiles of her mother she saw the stern face and felt 
 the severe blows of the mother-in-law. In a Hindu 
 home the mother-in-law was honored as the ruler of 
 the zenana, and she sustained her position by the 
 most excessive exactions of toil and respect from the 
 other females of the house. 
 
 Mootie's life now became a burden, and she shed 
 many tears over her disappointment ; but she learned 
 quickly how to cook her husband's food, to anticipate
 
 104 NEMOKAMA THE NAUTCIINEE. 
 
 his wants, to serve him at the table, and to observe 
 the proper deportment before him. 
 
 She was taught this law from the Shaster: "If a 
 man goes on a journey his wife shall not divert herself 
 by play, nor shall see any public show, nor shall laugh, 
 nor shall dress herself in jewels or fine clothes, nor 
 hear music, nor shall sit at the window, nor shall 
 behold any thing choice and rare, but shall fasten 
 well the house-door, and remain private, and shall not 
 eat any dainty food, and shall not blacken her eyes 
 with powder, and shall not view her face in a 
 mirror ; she shall never amuse herself in any such 
 agreeable employment during the absence of her 
 husband." 
 
 She was also taught this law : " When in the pres- 
 ence of her husband, a woman should keep her eyes 
 upon her master and be ready to receive his com- 
 mands. When he speaks she must be quiet, and list- 
 en to nothing else besides. When he calls she must 
 leave every thing else and attend upon him alone. A 
 woman has no other god upon earth but her husband. 
 The most excellent of all good works that she can 
 perform is to gratify him with the strictest obedience. 
 This should be her only devotion. Though he be 
 aged, infirm, dissipated, a drunkard, or a debauchee, 
 she must still regard him as her god. She must 
 serve him with all her might, obeying him in all 
 things, spying no defects in his character, and giving 
 him no cause for disquiet. If he laughs, she must
 
 KlSMDT. 105 
 
 also laugh ; if lie weeps, she must also weep ; if he 
 sings, she must be in an ecstasy." 
 
 She was also taught that, if faithful in all things, 
 she would be permitted to go to the same heaven 
 and serve him there ; but if unfaithful or negligent 
 she would never enter heaven at all. 
 
 Mootie tried to fulfill these conditions, and when the 
 time of her training drew to a close she had the sat- 
 isfaction of knowing that she could prepare his food 
 to suit him, and could put him to sleep by softly 
 rubbing the soles of his feet with the palms of her 
 hands. 
 
 When sixteen years of age, she took her place in 
 serving him as his wife. He was of a kind and gen- 
 erous disposition, and treated her tenderly. He ac- 
 cepted all her services, and being made comfortable 
 by her exertion smiled graciously upon her. She 
 even won his love. Released from the bondage to 
 the mother-in-law the sunshine again came into her 
 life. 
 
 She was content to stand near him while lie ate, 
 and, when he had finished, to take what he left 011 
 his plate into another room and eat it as her portion. 
 She was allowed to again wear ornaments, and dec- 
 orated sarees and other handsome clothes. This 
 pleased him, and was one of the greatest delights of 
 her life. 
 
 Mootie was a beautiful young woman. Her eyes 
 were large and expressive. Not with the brightness
 
 106 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 betokening self-reliance and courage, but a soft, 
 liquid expression, full of tenderness and affection. 
 Her hair, of which she was very proud, was long and 
 glossy, and she bound it around with strings of 
 ornaments. It was the crown to her beauty. She 
 was greatly admired by her husband, and the pros- 
 pect of a very happy life opened before her. 
 
 But, alas ! suddenly the bright vision faded, and 
 the .dark clouds of adversity rushed upon her path- 
 way. 
 
 Her husband came home one day in great pain and 
 weariness, and as she saw the flush on his cheeks 
 she knew he had the fever. She fervently offered 
 her prayers to the gods, bestowed large gifts at their 
 shrines, and nursed him as gently as she could, but 
 all was of no avail. He died. 
 
 Her heart was filled with the keenest distress. 
 Gladly would she have followed him to the fu- 
 neral pyre, and have been burned with him, and 
 thus triumphantly enter heaven by his side ; but the 
 laws of the English rulers forbade this sacrifice. 
 She was doomed to pass the rest of her life a 
 Hindu widow , to show by menial service and 
 wretchedness of life the desolate state of her broken 
 career. A Hindu widow is an object of great 
 pity. The beautiful and cheerful Mootie was only 
 seventeen years of age when this sorrow came 
 upon her. 
 ' Immediately upon the death of her husband, the
 
 A HJXDU WIDOW.
 
 107 
 
 women, led by her motlier-iu-la\v, set upon her 
 and cursed her with the most bitter invectives, as 
 being the cause of this awful calamity to their 
 house. 
 
 Her fine clothes were stripped from her, and a 
 coarse brown garment, significant of her degradation, 
 was given her. All ornaments, the gifts of her loving 
 husband, were taken from her, for she was never to 
 wear an ornament again. Her beautiful hair was cut 
 off, and her head shaved, and as long as she lived it 
 was to be shaven once every two weeks. She was then 
 given the drudgery of the zenana to do, and allowed 
 only one meal a day. If she rebelled against this 
 she was threatened with severe punishment, and 
 she was continually watched as a desperate thing of 
 evil. She was ordered to remain in close confine- 
 ment in the zenana, so that no man should see her 
 face and that she should not speak to any one except 
 her nearest relations. If a man should see her he 
 would consider it a bad omen. If she should cross his 
 path in the morning he would turn back to his house. 
 The change was so sudden and terrible that she 
 could hardly realize for a time its full meaning. She 
 was taunted on every hand, deprived of all that 
 made life pleasant, and, utterly crushed by cruel mis- 
 fortune, knew not what to do. Sometimes the accu- 
 mulation of miseries made her brain reel. 
 
 She thought to escape from the zenana but what 
 then ? No one would receive her. Even the lowest
 
 108 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 caste people would deny her their friendship ; she 
 could only find rest in suicide, or yield to the exam- 
 ple of some in embracing a life of shame. 
 
 But her mind would not allow her to think seri- 
 ously of suicide, for the prospect beyond this life was 
 a thousand-fold more horrible than the present. She 
 could not enter a life of shame, because she had 
 always been pure in heart, and no amount of cruelty 
 could drive her to sacrifice her honor. What could 
 she do ? 
 
 One day the cruel taunts and blows were more than 
 she could bear, and she fled. Having once fled she 
 was afraid to return, so she ran into the jungle to die 
 all alone, or be at the mercy of the wild beasts. Who 
 would have known her as the once handsome Mootie ! 
 
 Her eyes were red, and cheeks bloated from excess- 
 ive weeping, her head was shaven and uncovered, 
 and she wore only a single brown gown upon her body, 
 once so plump, but now fast becoming emaciated 
 through deprivation of food. She rushed into the 
 jungle near her home, and with rapid tread pressed on 
 her way. She thought they were pursuing her, and 
 all day she fled, until her feet, bleeding from contact 
 with stones, roots, and thistles, refused to carry her 
 farther. Almost famished she sank helpless to the 
 ground. 
 
 When she had rested awhile the instinct of self-pre- 
 servation aroused her. From a little brook that flowed 
 near by she bathed her wounds, and quenched her
 
 KlSMUT. 109 
 
 thirst. Seeing berries growing by the stream, she 
 plucked them and satisfied the cravings of hanger. 
 As her strength returned, she noticed the light grow- 
 ing dimmer, and that night would soon be upon her 
 with all its horrors. At the thought of the tigers 
 that roamed the jungle she felt a terror almost as 
 great as at the thought of the punishments at home, 
 and she looked for some place in which she might 
 hide from such foes. She soon found an aperture in 
 the rocks, into which she crept, and by wedging 
 stones into the opening from the inside felt secure 
 from foes during the nijrht. 
 
 o s 
 
 As the darkness became denser the jungle seemed 
 to be filled with millions of insects, which kept up a 
 continual noise. She could not sleep in such strange 
 surroundings, nor could she ward off the mosquitoes 
 that persisted in stinging her with their sharp lances. 
 
 Her fear increased when she heard the cry of a 
 hungry tiger scenting her from afar. As he came 
 nearer she wedged the stones the tighter in the open- 
 ing of her retreat. With eager ferocity he put his 
 nose to the rocks, sniffed the atmosphere laden 
 with her breath, then gave a roar that resounded 
 throughout the jungle, and almost made poor Mootie 
 mad with fright. It was so loud and fierce that 
 it seemed to shake the rocks about her. She 
 felt against her cheeks the hot glow of his breath 
 coming through the interstices between the stones. 
 Then with his great claws he scratched the stones,
 
 110 NEMOKAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 and growled with rage as he failed to move 
 them. 
 
 Sometimes he would lie down, and with both paws 
 try to remove the stones, then he would get up and 
 walk to and fro, growling savagely all the time. 
 Then he would strike at the stones to push them 
 from their places. But Mootie did not move. She 
 hardly dared breathe. With stiffened muscles slue 
 pressed her weight upon the props, keeping the stones 
 in their places. And with pitiful yearning prayed for 
 the coming of the day. She did not think of her 
 aching hands or her bleeding feet, and the noise 
 and stings of the mosquitoes no longer distressed 
 her : she only thought of escaping from that terrible 
 tiger. 
 
 At length the streaks of dawn began to appear, 
 and the tiger, after one last effort to capture the prey 
 so near him, left the spot and retreated to his lair un- 
 til darkness should again enable him to come forth. 
 She heard his loud growling as he went away, and 
 then, unable to longer endure the strain, fell into a 
 deep sleep. She was awakened by the sound of 
 voices, and perceived men standing before her re- 
 treat. As they spoke she recognized them as the men 
 of her village. They had tracked her thus far and 
 were conversing about her fate. Listening, she could 
 hear their words. 
 
 They saw the marks of her blood upon the ground 
 and the stones, but they also saw the marks of the
 
 KlSMUT. Ill 
 
 tiger's tongue as lie had tried to lick up the drops of 
 blood. They saw pieces of her gown torn by the 
 thorn-bushes through which she had pressed her way. 
 They saw the foot-prints of the tiger in the soft earth 
 and the place where he had rolled in his anger. The 
 evidence to them was plain she had been eaten by 
 the tiger. 
 
 One of them said, " That is her fate." She listened 
 until they were out of hearing, and thought, " Now I 
 am dead to them all. They will never look for me 
 again. I will be a new person. I will have a new 
 name. They said it is my 'fate.' Fate shall be my 
 name. I will be Kismut.* Mootie was eaten by the 
 tiger, but Kismut will come out of the rocks." 
 
 With such thoughts she left her retreat, bathed 
 again in the brook, ate some berries, and, with a hap- 
 pier heart than she had known since her husband's 
 death, plunged deeper into the jungle. 
 
 * Kismut is the Mohammedan word meaning fate.
 
 112 NEMOKAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 MORGAN SHOOTS THE TIGER. 
 
 WHEN Edward Morgan reached the rendezvous lie 
 found the entire party present, and awaiting his ar- 
 rival to proceed on their hunt. The people of that 
 village and those neighboring were in a state of un- 
 usual excitement. They represented that the jun- 
 gle was full of tigers, they told of children being 
 caught by tigers when playing in the street of the 
 village ; and every one was telling how the widow 
 Mootie was carried by a tiger into the jungle and 
 devoured ; that the savage beast had even licked 
 up all the drops of blood she shed except in a few 
 places in the crevices of the rocks where he made 
 his feast. 
 
 The villagers gladly welcomed the huntsmen, and 
 called upon their gods to give them success in ridding 
 their country of the ferocious beasts. 
 
 The universal excitement made the hunters feel 
 quite heroic ; but Captain Grey suggested that in re- 
 ality there were probably not more than a pair of ti- 
 gers, as they usually foraged in pairs. 
 
 Before starting they engaged the services of a guide, 
 an experienced hunter, who gave them instructions 
 how to hunt. He said : " There are three kinds of
 
 MORGAN SHOOTS THE TIGER. 113 
 
 
 
 tigers, or, rather, stages in a tiger's life. The young 
 tiger, living a free, wild life in the depths of the jun- 
 gle, afraid of man, not strong enough to master buffa- 
 loes, contents itself with living on smaller game and 
 keeping in solitude. These are not much more than 
 kittens they lack experience. As they become older 
 and get stronger they rove in companies, and learn 
 from their older companions to attack large animals. 
 They also prowl about the borders of the villages, 
 picking up a sheep or a calf, and after a while attack- 
 ing a full-grown bullock. They learn to relish do- 
 mesticated flesh as choicer, daintier food than that of 
 \vild animals, and easier to obtain. They dread the 
 face of man, however, and only in a sneaking way 
 perform their robberies. But being often chased by 
 men they become bolder, and even stop to fight for the 
 possession of their plunder, and in this way get a taste 
 of human blood. From this moment the tiger is a new 
 creature. Human blood intoxicates him. He thirsts 
 for it with such intensity that he will not be satisfied 
 with any thing less. He will at times watch the high- 
 ways and, in daylight even, spring upon the traveler. 
 He will rush into a village and seize a child and carry 
 it off before the horror-stricken people can prevent. 
 His ferocity becomes terrible. These man-eating ti- 
 gers are generally of full age and mangey. They 
 possess tremendous strength and are hard to overcome. 
 When one enters a neighborhood universal conster- 
 
 O 
 
 nation prevails, and there is no sense of securitv until 
 8
 
 114: NEMOKAMA THE XAUTCIINEE. 
 
 lie is killed. Bnt it often happens that many lives 
 are lost before this is accomplished." 
 
 Those who had searched for Mootie declared that 
 the beast that carried her away was old and large ; one 
 of the most dangerous kind. They knew it from the 
 size of his foot-prints and the marks of his claws on 
 the trees. 
 
 There were three ways of hunting the tiger. One 
 way was to construct a house or cage of bamboo near 
 his haunt, to place a sheep in the lower part and 
 thus attract him by its bleating ; while the hunters in 
 the upper part, protected from his approach, could 
 deliberately shoot him as he came near. Another 
 way was to hunt him with elephants. The hunter, 
 with his ammunition and weapons, safely stowed in a 
 howdah on the elephant's back was out of danger, al- 
 though the driver, sitting on the elephant's neck to 
 direct him, was in danger of the tiger springing upon 
 him and tearing him from his place. The only dan- 
 ger to the hunter was that sometimes an elephant became 
 frightened and uncontrollable, and Avould rush among 
 the trees, tearing the howdah from his back and thor- 
 oughly wrecking it. The other way of hunting, and 
 the most dangerous way, was to approach the tiger on 
 foot; then the hunter put his skill fairly against 
 that of the beast. This required the greatest care, the 
 firmest nerve, and the surest weapons. A weakness in 
 either of these meant death. 
 
 When the guide had explained these features of the
 
 MORGAN SHOOTS THE TIGER. 115 
 
 limit, Morgan declared that when they came near the 
 tiger's haunt he would hunt him on foot. The people 
 gazed upon him in astonishment at this statement, and 
 yet with admiration of his bold spirit. He called for 
 some native hunters to support him, and immediately 
 at least a dozen brave, stalwart men, with only a cloth 
 about their loin's, turbans on their heads, and spears 
 in their hands, stepped forth, ready to follow him 
 wherever lie might lead. 
 
 Elephants were now led before the dwelling of the 
 chief man of the village, and provisions for many 
 days were packed in the howdahs ; the provisions con- 
 sisting mostly of various kinds of canned goods and 
 unleavened crackers, with meal of different kinds. A 
 good stock of ammunition was also put in the how- 
 dahs, and then the hunters mounted to their places. 
 
 The starting of the hunters caused the day to be made 
 a gala day by the villagers. Many came from neigh- 
 boring villages to see them and wish them success. 
 While it meant sport to the party it meant security 
 to the villages, and yet every one knew that it might 
 mean death to some of the hunters ; for an old tiger 
 was always very dangerous. The elephants were 
 covered with gay -colored cloths, while passing 
 through the villages, and the hunters held their 
 weapons up bound about with ribbons and flowers. 
 The people were dressed in their brightest colored 
 clothing, and were decorated with all their jewelry. 
 With shouts, blowing of horns, beating of pans, and
 
 11G NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 every imaginable kind of noise they sent the party 
 on their way. 
 
 Such an ovation made the beginning seern like a 
 triumphal march, and Morgan entered into the spirit 
 of it in true, frank, free American manner. He 
 said it led him to think of the Fourth of July. Den- 
 nis also imbibed the spirit of the occasion. His 
 tongue ran continually, to the merriment of the peo- 
 ple. With red face, broad brogue, and ardent gest- 
 ures he loudly boasted of what they would do, and to 
 each of his promises the people beat their tom-toms 
 the louder. Then the party left the villages and 
 plunged into the jungle. They proceeded at a rapid 
 pace for several miles, the native hunters running by 
 the side of the elephants. At length the guide 
 called a halt, and showed them where the tiger had 
 wallowed at the foot of a tree, and had torn the bark 
 of the tree by his clawing. As he examined it, he 
 said, " The tiger- was in a rage when he did this ; his 
 strokes are deep and uneven. He is a ferocious fel- 
 low, and we must be careful of him." Then showing 
 them the broad foot-prints in the earth, they took up 
 their journey more slowly, tracking him toward his 
 lair. In some places it was difficult to follow him, for 
 he seemed to prefer running in the brook, and leaping 
 from side to side as if to conceal his tracks. After 
 traveling in this way for a couple of hours the guide 
 announced the discovery of the tracks of another 
 tiger, also a large one. The excitement was now
 
 MORGAN SHOOTS THE TIGER. 117 
 
 intense, and every one prepared for the combat. 
 Morgan alighted from his elephant, and, having first 
 carefully examined his fine Springfield rifle, started 
 with his native hunters on foot to find the lair of the 
 tiger. The others, remaining on their elephants, 
 sought the tracks in the more open parts of the 
 jungle. Each party took a separate route, so as to 
 surround the thicket in which the guide declared 
 the tigers were concealed. The tiger's haunt was 
 supposed to be in a dense bamboo thicket just before 
 them, and it was possible that the beast might spring 
 upon the hunters before its presence would be dis- 
 covered. 
 
 The elephants tramped about the thicket, while 
 the native hunters, with their spears carefully poised, 
 entered the dangerous precincts. Morgan seemed to 
 coolly take it as an e very-day occurrence, but in reality 
 he was intensely excited. This was the greatest 
 hunt of his life, and its issue would distinguish him 
 in the estimation of his companions or load him with 
 discredit. Suddenly the hunter in front of him 
 ceased his advance, and standing perfectly upright 
 pointed with his spear to a small open space within 
 the thicket. 
 
 Looking in the direction indicated, Morgan saw a 
 tiger not thirty yards distant; the first tiger he ever 
 beheld at liberty. It was a thrilling sight, for the 
 beast saw them, and was angry at their approach, 
 lie was in the act of devouring a buffalo, which he
 
 118 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 had dragged to his lair. They saw him plunge into 
 the reeking flesh, then raising his head, dripping with 
 gore, he glared savagely at his enemies and growled 
 fiercely. Then, seeming to realize his danger, he left 
 the carcass and walked about it, uttering his rage in 
 a succession of roars. 
 
 He was an immense beast, and as he moved about, 
 with so soft and graceful a motion, Morgan could no't 
 refrain from admiring the velvety stripes of black on 
 his soft golden coat. But the time for action had 
 come. Raising his rifle to his shoulder he took a 
 quick aim at the monster and fired. He struck the 
 tiger but did not mortally wound him, and only in- 
 creased the animal's rage. Now came a moment of the 
 greatest danger, which severely tested the courage of 
 them all. But not one sought safety in flight ; every 
 one stood erect in his place, depending for his life on 
 the skill of their leader. Instantly he reloaded, as 
 the tiger, with a roar that was the most terrifying 
 sound Morgan ever heard, sprang forward. 
 
 Morgan's rifle was again at his shoulder as the 
 tiger crouched for its final spring, and a second of 
 time would decide the death either of the hunter or 
 of the beast. 
 
 If Morgan should miss his aim, or his motion be 
 too slow, or his ball strike the wrong curve of the 
 animal's skull, or his rifle hang fire, the tiger would 
 be upon him with its awful teeth and claws. The 
 men saw the danger, but not a man stirred. Morgan
 
 MORGAN SHOOTS THE TIGER. 119 
 
 stood erect, without a tremor, one foot a little in ad- 
 vance of the other, with his eye along the gun-barrel. 
 The tiger sprang I at the same instant the report of 
 the rifle rang out, the ball went straight on its course 
 through the eye of the beast into the brain, and the 
 huge body fell at the feet of the hunter, quivering 
 in the throes of death. It was several moments be- 
 fore the deatli agonies were over, when they could 
 safely approach the body of the tiger. Then Morgan 
 with an exultation new to him, a joyous pride that 
 almost made him laugh and cry by turns, went up to 
 the beast, and with his hands stroked its sleek sides, 
 handled its immense paws, and felt its claws and then 
 its teeth while the body was yet warm with the 
 lately coursing heat of life. The native hunters 
 came up to him and with expressions of reverence 
 bowed before him. They called him a great hunter, 
 whose skill and courage had never been surpassed. 
 
 But they were not alone in their praises. Captain 
 Grey's elephant had come up just as the first shot 
 was fired, and he and Dennis had witnessed the whole 
 action. The awful danger Morgan stood under for 
 the moment unnerved the captain, and now as he took 
 Morgan's hand to congratulate him he was unable to 
 
 O 
 
 utter a word. He could only heartily grasp the hand 
 of his friend, while the tears rolled down his cheeks. 
 Morgan understood it, and it bound him to Grey 
 with the strongest links of friendship. Dennis danced 
 about the beast with uncontrollable delight. His eyes
 
 120 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCIINEE. 
 
 sparkled, and his entire countenance was illuminated 
 with the peculiar Irish glow as he said to the native 
 hunters, u Look at that now ! Did yez iver see the 
 bate o' that? 'twas a brave deed Mister Morgan did, 
 an' niver a bit o' fear in his eye at all, at all. Whisht 
 now, but war'n't it purty how lie so nately decaved 
 the ould monster ? " Then turning to the carcass, he 
 continued: "An' did yez think to make a dinner of 
 the likes o' him, ye brute ye ! Sure an' 'tis not for 
 the likes of yez to feast upon American beef." Then 
 blushing he bowed and said, " that is to say, as it were, 
 an American gintleman of unexcelled excellence, and 
 the possesser of the best of vartues." 
 
 By this time the other hunters arrived, and they 
 proceeded to dispose of the beast. He was pro- 
 nounced to be a ferocious man-eater, and was nearly 
 ten feet in length. They skinned the carcass, and 
 with chemicals they had brought with them prepared 
 the skin, with the head and claws, for preservation. 
 Morgan wished to send it to America as a proof of his 
 ability as a huntsman. Then, building a fire, they 
 prepared a sumptuous dinner, after which they re- 
 sumed their search for the other tiger.
 
 WHAT ELEPHANTS CAN Do. 121 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 WHAT ELEPHANTS CAN DO. 
 
 THE slaughter of the tiger without any accident 
 to the party stimulated them to press the search for 
 the other one with vigor. Even the elephants mani- 
 fested this desire by their trumpeting and snorting. 
 The guide, however, cautioned watch care, for the 
 tiger would sell his life dearly. In a short time they 
 marked his trail and followed it into a dense thicket 
 along a stream that ran through the jungle. The ele- 
 phants now seemed to be more wary, and at times 
 almost hesitated to proceed. Suddenly they were all 
 alarmed by the tiger, just in front of them, uttering 
 a" tremendous roar and springing at the neck of the 
 nearest elephant. "With his huge claw he tore from 
 beneath the driver a part of the pad on which he sat, 
 and would have pulled him off if Dennis had not 
 caught the frightened man by the shoulder and held 
 him on. 
 
 They all hastened to shoot at the beast, but he re- 
 tired so quickly into the thicket that none of their 
 shots took effect. The elephant, however, seemed to 
 be very angry with the liberties the tiger had taken. 
 The full view which the party had of the motions of 
 the great beast awakened their admiration. Beauty,
 
 122 KKMORAHA. THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 grace, power, and ferocity were combined, and with 
 it all there seemed to be a degree of skill in his 
 method of attack worthy of the reason of man. They 
 could not see where he had gone, so dense was the 
 thicket and so silently did he await their approach. 
 The very air seemed still, and only the lumbering 
 crash of the elephant's step disturbed the awful 
 quiet. 
 
 This silence was very aggravating to Dennis, and at 
 last, as he stood in the edge of the howdah with rifle 
 in hand watching the thicket, he began to mutter 
 imprecations upon the foe. His remarks were sud- 
 denly cut short, however, by the elephant making a 
 sudden move backward upon his haunches with such 
 force as to throw Dennis to the ground. He was not 
 hurt, however, and, realizing his danger, quickly 
 arose and stood with his rifle ready for action. But 
 his attention was directed to the elephant, for it was 
 now taking an active part in the fray. 
 
 The elephant had seen considerable service in tiger- 
 hunting, and was highly valued for his courage and 
 strength. He was of a great age and thoroughly 
 trained, but sometimes he became a little impatient 
 when things did not progress to suit him. He had 
 a pair of enormous tusks, which added to his fierce 
 appearance as well as to his strength. From the mo- 
 ment the tiger dared to leap iipon him and lacerate 
 his shoulder with its terrible claws his indignation had 
 been increasing, and, watching the retreat of his foe,
 
 WHAT ELEPHANTS CAN Do. 323 
 
 he suddenly caught sight of the glossy yellow and 
 black far in the thicket. Throwing himself on his 
 haunches, as if to get command of his great muscu- 
 lar force the movement which threw Dennis to the 
 ground he rushed with furious energy into the 
 thicket with his head bent down toward the ground. 
 Nothing could withstand the force of that assault. 
 The howdah and all who were in it were swept from 
 his back by the branches of intervening trees. The 
 bamboo reeds of the thicket were broken and tram- 
 pled down as if they were only straws. The aston- 
 ished hunters saw him drive his tusks toward the 
 ground with awful fury, and the next moment he 
 came out of the thicket with the tiger hanging on the 
 tusks and pierced through by them both. Then 
 grasping the tiger with his trunk he hurled him from 
 the tusks to the ground, and never ceased his fury 
 until he had trampled the body to a mass of gore and 
 pulp. Then, seeing his enemy was thoroughly de- 
 stroyed and his own honor vindicated, he yielded to 
 the commands of his driver, and became gentle 
 again.* 
 
 The men so suddenly swept from his back were 
 magnanimous enough to forgive his treatment of 
 them and to praise his courage and strength of will 
 in the most ardent terms. Dennis beheld the entire 
 action. It was all so quickly done that he did not 
 have a chance to even shoot at the tiger, and he was 
 * This action of an elephant actually occurred.
 
 124 NEMOKAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 disappointed that the hunt should close and not a bit 
 of glory accrue to himself. 
 
 The tigers were now destroyed in that part of the 
 jungle, and the rest of the hunting was tame. There 
 were buffaloes, wild hogs, antelopes, and other game 
 which they could easily slaughter, but the real sport 
 was ended, and they returned to the village with the 
 skins of the slain tigers, and received the generous 
 ovation which the grateful villagers hastened to give 
 them. 
 
 The entire party, with the exception of Morgan, 
 then started for the nearest railway station to return 
 to their various quarters. 
 
 On the road Morgan left them, to pass through the 
 jungle to intersect the great highway to the north- 
 west, and to. enjoy the luxury of solitude amidst un- 
 usual dangers. He chose to go alone. He had been 
 traveling for several hours, and was considerably 
 fatigued, when, on reaching an elevated piece of 
 ground, he saw a short distance before him the broad 
 highway. The great road is sixteen hundred miles 
 long, made of concrete, and as hard and smooth as a 
 floor. It is said by a great bicycler, who went around 
 the world on his bicycle, to be the finest road in the 
 world. 
 
 Previous to the mutiny the roads in India were 
 poor, and on that distressing occasion one great dif- 
 ficulty was to move the troops with sufficient speed. 
 Since then the English have developed the highway.
 
 WHAT ELEPHANTS CAN Do. 125 
 
 All along the country there is an abundance of the 
 best concrete, and hence the construction of good 
 highways has not been very difficult. Nowhere in 
 the world have the customs of the people more im- 
 peratively demanded good roads than in India; for 
 caste rules largely demand solitary traveling. Pal- 
 anquins are therefore a neccessity. In these the 
 high caste Hindu, the proud Brahman, the noble 
 lady, or the invalid could travel in safety, free 
 from contact with those of other castes and free from 
 the gaze of strangers. Along the highways were trav- 
 elers' bungalows, or houses where the traveler could 
 cook his own food, sleep on his own mat or bed, and be 
 by himself as much as he pleased. The traveler always 
 carried in his palanquin every thing necessary for his 
 comfort. So scrupulous were they that they would 
 run no risks by defiling themselves with the things 
 of strangers. 
 
 In the distance Morgan saw one of these bungalows, 
 with its whitewashed walls and broad verandas. 
 This was where he expected to pass the night. It was 
 only two or three miles away, and he could soon walk 
 that distance. In the other direction he saw a party 
 of travelers approaching. There were several palan- 
 quins, and they were traveling in haste. Morgan 
 watched them as they passed along, Each palanquin 
 was suspended from long poles and carried on the 
 shoulders of four coolies. These coolies changed with 
 relays at regular periods, so that quite a long distance
 
 126 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 could be passed over in a day. Their uniform swing- 
 ing step was very graceful, and gave the gentlest 
 rocking motion to the palanquins, very pleasant to 
 those riding. 
 
 The palanquins were now near enough for Morgan 
 to see that some persons of considerable importance 
 were in them. They were richly ornamented with 
 bright cloths and jewels, and the curtains were hand- 
 somely embroidered. The coolies carried them with 
 a skill demanded by those who possessed authority. 
 But the curtains were tightly drawn, and the riders 
 could not be seen. 
 
 Suddenly the ease of their motion was broken, and 
 they came to a halt. The cause of this was apparent 
 to Morgan, for at that moment he heard the snorting 
 of an elephant coming down the highway approaching 
 them. The sound was peculiar, and at once the cry 
 arose from the coolies, " Rogue elephant ! Rogue 
 elephant ! " 
 
 On came the elephant until he was in sight of the 
 travelers. The coolies in abject terror dropped their 
 palanquins and fled to the thickets on the far side of 
 the highway. The curtains of the foremost palanquin 
 parted and a man in brilliant attire stepped out. 
 Morgan noticed that he was a man of authority, and 
 that his dress, sword, jewels, and general bearing 
 showed that he was accustomed to command. But it 
 was too late for him to escape ; the huge furious beast 
 rushed upon him, seized him with his trunk
 
 WHAT ELEPHANTS CAN Do. 127 
 
 dashed him to the ground, and trampled upon him. 
 Some of the coolies who had turned to the defense of 
 their master next became victims of the elephant's 
 rage, and were tossed and trampled to death. Then 
 the beast's rage was directed upon the palanquin, 
 which was soon wrecked. 
 
 In the meantime the second palanquin was opened, 
 and a lady, brilliantly dressed, leaped out and ran 
 across the highway toward the hill upon which Mor- 
 gan was resting. She was evidently trying to reach 
 a tree, with low branches, that stood a short distance 
 from the road-side. 
 
 As Morgan, with rifle ready for use started to 
 assist the ill-fated travelers, the beast saw the 
 woman fleeing, and leaving the wreck rushed after 
 her. 
 
 He advanced with gigantic strides, holding his head 
 high and his proboscis curled up tightly, in front of 
 his mouth, ready to be swung out with swift precision 
 when near enough to catch his foe. His gigantic 
 tnsks pointed almost straight before him, and he 
 threatened to annihilate every thing that stood in 
 his way. 
 
 He was gaining rapidly -on the lady, although she 
 was fleeing with a speed utterly amazing to the Amer- 
 ican. The elephant had almost come up to her, when 
 she reached the tree, leaped up, caught hold of a 
 branch, and with wonderful muscular effort swung 
 herself into the higher branches.
 
 128 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 Then the elephant's rage was terrific. He plowed 
 deep furrows in the ground with his tusks, and tore 
 off the limbs within his reach with his trunk ; but 
 the woman, far above him, watched his vain rage witli 
 a feeling of temporary security. 
 
 Then the beast caught sight of the American, and 
 with redoubled rage rushed toward him. Edward 
 Morgan was no coward, but in all his life he had 
 never faced such a foe as this. It was like the rush 
 of a railway train. He knew the skull of an elephant 
 could be easily pierced by his powerful Springfield 
 rifle if he could hit the skull. But, in his onward 
 rush, the beast, holding his head up, presented a great 
 mass of flesh which no bullet would affect. It was 
 absolutely necessary to get a partial side view of the 
 animal. Only when the animal was close to him 
 could this be done, and then it might be too late. 
 
 The woman in the tree beheld the danger of the 
 hunter, and with quick action sprang out of the tree 
 to the ground. She tore off her brilliant scarlet saree, 
 and with a shout flung it toward the beast. The 
 noise and the bright object caught the animal's atten- 
 tion, and without lessening his speed, he partially 
 turned his head toward the maiden. That was enough ; 
 the same second the rifle spoke, and the ball whizzed 
 into the brain of the beast, and he fell upon his tusks, 
 rolled over, and died. 
 
 As the woman recovered her saree Morgan caught 
 a view of her face, and his heart thrilled with glad
 
 WHAT ELEPHANTS CAN Do. 129 
 
 surprise, for he recognized Nemorama, the beautiful 
 nautchncc. His countenance revealed his delight, 
 and as he called her name she recognized him, and 
 with no less delight came at his call. As she gazed 
 into his face and read its expression the thought of 
 her destination flashed upon her, filling her mind with 
 terror, and, looking appealing! y into his eyes, she 
 said : " O, stranger, you have risked your life to save 
 me ! You have indeed saved my life ! O, will you 
 save me from a fate worse than death ? O, let us flee 
 into the jungle before 1 am sought by those holding 
 me captive, and as soon as we are safe from pursuit 
 I will tell you all." 
 
 Morgan did not need a second appeal. As he gazed 
 into her beautiful, beseeching face, radiant with feel- 
 ing and hope, he remembered the fakir's story, and 
 he replied : " I will save you, beautiful one, or will 
 die in the attempt. Come with me. The coolies 
 have fled in the other direction, and have not observed 
 your flight. Me they have not seen. We will soon 
 cover our tracks in the streams of the jungle, and 
 they will think you are dead." lie led the way, and 
 they quickly passed into the jungle. There were 
 many thickets interspersed here and there with little 
 streams, patches of swamp, and high tufts of grass. 
 In and out among these tufts they rapidly fled until 
 they readied drier ground, and upon this they con- 
 tinued their flight until darkness settled upon them. 
 
 But thev felt secure, for they were many miles away 
 9
 
 130 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 from any who miglit seek for them. While waiting 
 for daylight they climbed into the brandies of a bushy 
 tree, to be safe from the beasts that roamed the jungle 
 during the darkness. 
 
 When the coolies recovered their courage they 
 hastened to the nearest village, and with men 
 
 o / 
 
 and torches returned to the scene of carnage. 
 Great was their consternation on seeing the havoc 
 done. Their master and his body-guard were so 
 crushed as to be distinguished only by their clothing 
 and ornaments. The palanquins were wrecked and 
 the fragments scattered along the highway. The lady 
 they were bearing was gone, with no trace of her 
 flight, and the elephant that had wrought all this 
 mischief lay dead beneath a badly broken tree. 
 They wondered if the elephant died in a fit. But 
 their great perplexity was as to the fate of the lady. 
 Sadly they gathered the bodies of the slain and placed 
 them upon funeral pyres, and committed them to the 
 flames. With torches they searched for traces of the 
 lady, but just there the ground was covered with 
 grass and no foot-prints were seen. They at last gave 
 up the search and returned to the bungalow to wait 
 for daylight. In the night they heard the fierce cries 
 of the wild hyenas, and in the morning they found 
 these savage, hungry beasts had fought over the body 
 of the elephant, and there had been so many of them 
 that only a mass of bones, with the two great tusks, 
 was left.
 
 WHAT ELEPHANTS CAN Do. 131 
 
 Sure that tne lady must have perished in the same 
 way, they went on their journey. A Mahommedan 
 fakir, following them from the bungalow, picked up 
 a bullet from the skull of the elephant and hid it in 
 his hair.
 
 132 NEMOKAMA THE NAUTCHNEE- 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 LIGHT IN THE JUNGLE. 
 
 THE tree in which the fleeing ones sought shelter 
 was bushy M'ith branches, the forks of which afforded 
 them easy and safe resting-places. The branches grew 
 so thickly that there was no danger of their falling 
 to the ground, even if sleep should overcome them. 
 
 During the first part of the night they kept silence, 
 thinking to avoid attracting the attention of any thing 
 that might endanger their safety. They forgot that 
 wild animals are attracted by scent more than by noise 
 or sight. The darkness was intense. On every hand 
 the jungle seemed to be alive with myriads of insects 
 which kept up a continual humming and buzzing. 
 Occasionally cries of panthers were heard, suggest- 
 ing the possibility of one of these nimble creatures 
 springing upon them in spite of every precaution. 
 Hyenas and jackals, crying, barking, and fighting, 
 rushed in packs beneath the tree, making the dark- 
 ness hideous with their savage noises. 
 
 Morgan sat in a fork of the tree just above his 
 companion, with his rifle resting on his knee ready for 
 instant action, full of courage in feeling the responsi- 
 bility he had assumed as her protector. 
 
 As the hours passed so slowly and -they became
 
 LIGHT IN THE JUNGLE. 133 
 
 accustomed to the darkness and the strange sounds 
 about them, they began to converse in low tones, which 
 were now and then interrupted by fierce barks from 
 some animals on the ground beneath them disap- 
 pointed in not finding them their prey. 
 
 Naturally their conversation drifted to their first 
 meeting, and Morgan told the maiden that what first 
 really awakened a particular interest in her was the 
 melancholy flashing of her countenance while person- 
 ating the heroine in llama's drama. He felt that it 
 was not all art, but a real picture of the hopeless grief 
 she was enduring in her own soul. 
 
 Then he told her of the fakir and his story. As 
 he proceeded he noticed that she was weeping. 
 Reaching his hand down to her and touching her 
 shoulder, he discovered that she was trembling with 
 overwhelming excitement. He realized that he was 
 opening to her a glimpse of her own identity, and 
 showing her that she was not a mere thing, but 
 somebody's loved child, and not the child of shame 
 that her right was of honorable and high caste 
 parentage. 
 
 It was the first intelligence she had ever received 
 regarding her parentage, and it explained to some ex- 
 tent the possession of such ardent longings for a better 
 life. "With this knowledge sprang into action a de- 
 sire to find her father, and the probability of his being 
 alive became a rock to rest her hope upon. She told 
 her companion how the ambition to be somebody in
 
 134 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 life had possessed her whole soul, and she anticipated 
 with a feeling akin to terror "living as a mere piece of 
 machinery, for the gratification of the heartless mul- 
 titudes about her. She told him how all ambition 
 was crushed out of the hearts of the girls, and they 
 were led to be nerveless and depraved by being taught 
 that they were no better than animals; that they were 
 a curse to men, and could never rise in the scale of 
 life ; that they were not fit to think for themselves, 
 and should be entirely satisfied in being allowed to 
 wear ornaments and gay colored garments. 
 
 Beyond this many of them had no thought, and 
 eternity was a dark cloud. They knew nothing of 
 future blessings and the forgiveness of sins. They 
 lived in moral gloom. She never had received even 
 a ray of light or hope until the American missionary 
 told of the love of Jesus at the bedside of the dying 
 nautchnee, Saineh. She had not heard it since, 
 although the sweetness of the message made her heart- 
 hunger the more apparent and hopeful. Her soul 
 seemed to be in a famishing condition, hungering 
 and thirsting for more of that sweet story of grace 
 and salvation in Jesus. 
 
 As Nemorama so touchingly described her heart- 
 hunger, Morgan thought of the opportunities he had 
 carelessly rejected. He had been surrounded from 
 infancy with beams of clearest light from God's 
 throne, and yet had never praised the Giver of that 
 light, nor opened the door of his heart for its
 
 LIGHT IN THE JUNGLK. 135 
 
 entrance. The maiden's yearnings awakened his con- 
 science. He recalled the irrepressible enthusiasm 
 manifested by the missionaries on shipboard; their 
 deep longing to give light to the spiritually blind, 
 the joy they felt when they heard of the heathen ac- 
 cepting the light, and their hope that God would 
 use them as light-bearers. He had pitied the mis- 
 sionaries, and at times considered them deluded fa- 
 natics, but now he felt impressed with the duty of 
 doing their kind of work. A soul was calling to him 
 out of the darkness of heathenism. What would he 
 do ? What could he say ? He was overwhelmed 
 with the thought of his own unworthiness. He 
 beheld the missionary sphere to be so far above his 
 sphere of life that only the special dispensation of 
 heavenly grace could fit him for it. 
 
 The thought flashed into his mind that God had 
 delivered him from the tiger and the elephant to 
 use his talents in proclaiming the word of salva- 
 tion. He bent his soul before God in humble prayer 
 for wisdom to speak it aright. As they were both 
 silent for a while his mind went back over the past. 
 As he reflected, memory brought before him -the 
 story of Jesus as he had learned it when a little boy 
 begging his mother for stories. She had entertained 
 him night after night with the gentle words and kind 
 deeds of Jesus. Page after page of literature he had 
 read, sermon after sermon that he had heard, and 
 many other influences he had been subject to came
 
 loG NEMOKAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 before him, until lie was amazed to find how greatly 
 Christ had entered into the warp and woof of his 
 mind. He thought he would give the maiden an his- 
 torical sketch of Jesus that was about all he was com- 
 petent to do. It would interest her, and satisfy the 
 demands of his own conscience. He be^an. but as 
 
 O / 
 
 he realized she was becoming deeply interested, and 
 drinking in the words as a fever-stricken person 
 would drink fresh spring-water, he gave a bright 
 coloring to his words, until with all the wealth of his 
 cultivated and poetic mind he was presenting to her 
 Christ the Saviour of the lost. Never before was he 
 so deeply affected by his own words as now. His 
 heart opened to the call of his mind, and while the 
 darkness rested on them without, the most wonderful 
 light he had ever known was breaking upon his soul. 
 He began with the story of the heavenly kingdom, 
 where the Son dwelt with the Father and received 
 the adoration of the angels. Then told of the crea- 
 tion of man, and that all people are of one blood and 
 all are the children of God ; Sudra as well as Brahman, 
 Asiatic as well as American, woman as well as man. 
 He described the Garden of Eden, and sin entering 
 that garden to lure mankind to ruin ; the fall of man, 
 and the punishment God sent upon the offenders. 
 Then he spoke of Christ laying aside his glory and 
 coming to the earth, seeking to save poor lost hu- 
 manity by the sacrifice of his own blood. He told 
 her how he was received ; of the Marys, of the home
 
 LIGHT ix THE JUNGLE. 137 
 
 in Bethany, of the crucifixion, the resurrection, the 
 ascension, the enthronement on high. Then he de- 
 scribed the corning judgment and the eternal rewards 
 for the good, and the punishments for the wicked. 
 He spoke particularly of Christ's bearing toward 
 women, and the effect Christianity has had upon the 
 life of women, contrasting happy, free America with 
 suffering India. 
 
 The message of life filled Nemorama's heart to 
 overflowing, and she wept for gladness to know 
 Christ would save her. As she wept Morgan turned 
 his thoughts upon himself. He had come to the 
 jungle to hunt the fierce and terrible tiger, and had 
 found the sweet and gentle Christ. In his gladness 
 he recognized the fact ; that in trying to show Christ 
 to another he was able to perceive him himself ; that 
 in declaring the glad tidings his own ear, listening, 
 caught the message and refused to let it go. He saw 
 how sympathy with one in darkness revealed the fact 
 of his own darkness, and the possibility of one in dense 
 darkness receiving the light made it plain to his own 
 soul that, always having had the light, it was time to 
 acknowledge that the light should be the life of his 
 own soul. 
 
 In America he had only thought of Christ as a 
 good man and a great teacher, embodying the deep 
 cravings of humanity, and specially gifted in voic- 
 ing those cravings, with assurances to satisfy them. 
 Now, however, surrounded by heathenism, he saw how
 
 138 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 the world needed Christ, and without him was indeed 
 lost. He became more anxious that Nemorama should 
 fully grasp the truth, and all the night, even until 
 the day dawned, while the wolves barked and the 
 jackals uttered their cries, he told over and over 
 again the sweet story of redemption. As the dawn 
 broke upon the jungle, and the wild beasts fled to 
 their lairs, both of them yielded to weariness and 
 slept. When Morgan awoke the full light of the 
 morning was beaming upon him. Looking around 
 him he saw his fair companion, snugly supported by 
 the thick branches in deep slumber. Her head was 
 resting on a friendly limb that formed the pillow, her 
 lips were parted just enough to reveal the beauty of 
 her teeth ; her line mass of hair was bound into a knot 
 on the back of her head, forming a protection from the 
 hardness of the limb. Her saree was thrown partly 
 aside, revealing the rich color of her neck. One 
 arm, as if to prevent her from falling, was thrown 
 over the limb, the other was resting on her breast; 
 both of them revealing the beauty and muscular solid- 
 ity so prized in a nautchnee. 
 
 The Hindus, being an Aryan race, have the same 
 facial formation as the Europeans or Americans, and 
 their complexion is but a shade darker ; hence their 
 type of beauty is about the same. Nemorarna, being 
 half English, was fairer in complexion than the Hin- 
 dus, and yet more richly tinged than the Europeans. 
 As Morgan gazed upon her, watching the gentle
 
 LIGHT IN THE JUNGLE. 139 
 
 motion of her breast and the calm, sweet confident 
 peace of her face, he thought of Shelley's words : 
 
 " How wonderful is Death ! 
 Death and his brother, Sleep ! 
 One, pale as yonder waning moon, 
 With lips of lurid blue ; 
 The other, rosy as the morn 
 When, throned on ocean's wave, 
 It blushes o'er the world : 
 Yet both so passing wonderful ! 
 Hath then the gloomy Power 
 Whose reign is in the tainted sepulchers 
 Seized on her sinless soul ? 
 Must then that peerless form 
 Which love and admiration cannot view 
 Without a locating heart, those azure veins 
 Which steal like streams along a field of snow, 
 That lovely outline which is fair 
 As breathing marble, perish ? 
 Or is it only a sweet slumber 
 Stealing o'er sensation, 
 Which the breath of roseate morning 
 Chaseth into darkness? 
 Will lanthe wake again, 
 And give that faithful bosom joy 
 Whose sleepless spirit waits to catch 
 Light, life, and rapture from her smile? 
 Yesl she will awake again, 
 Although her glowing limbs are motionless, 
 And silent those sweet lips 
 Once breathing eloquence 
 That might have soothed a tiger's rage, 
 Or thawed the cold heart of a conqueror." 
 
 For a while he continued to gaze upon her, his 
 heart filling with throes of love ; then, unwilling that 
 she should awake and see him thus enamored, he took
 
 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCEINEE. 
 
 his rifle and noiselessly dropped to the ground. All 
 about the tree were bushes with quantities of ripe 
 berries upon them, save where the beasts of the night 
 had trampled them as they rushed to and fro. Mor- 
 gan knew that the Hindus did not eat meat ; they 
 were vegetarians, and had a sort of horror of flesh- 
 eaters. But he wanted something with more sub- 
 stance than berries, and as there were great droves of 
 wild hogs in the forest he determined to have a nice 
 steak for breakfast. 
 
 He had gone but a short distance from the tree, 
 and was looking about him to judge the best course 
 to take when his attention was attracted by a person 
 rapidly moving along on the other side of the bushes 
 from him. It was a person with a head shaved like a 
 Hindu's, with loins girt like a coolie's, with soft and 
 fair-looking flesh, with beautiful countenance and 
 graceful motions. In one hand she carried a stout 
 club, evidently a weapon of defense, while with the 
 other hand she plucked the luscious berries and ate 
 them. She passed along until she came to the tree 
 where the nautchnee was sleeping. There ^ she 
 stopped, looked as if horrified, then turned to flee. 
 Morgan saw Nemorama descending from the tree, 
 and this had frightened the stranger. Determined 
 to solve the mystery of this person he rushed from 
 his hiding-place and caught her in his arms. As 
 he did so she screamed with fright, and struggled 
 so hard to be free that he had to use all his strength
 
 LIGHT IN THE JUNGLE. 
 
 to hold her. It did not occur to him that she might 
 be a Hindu of high caste, and that the touch, even, of 
 a stranger was dreadful pollution ; but with all her 
 fear she remembered her caste, and the thought of 
 the pollution was greater than her fear. 
 
 At length she ceased to struggle, and, quieting her 
 alarm with gentle words, he led her to the astonished 
 Nemorama. Nemorama motioned Morgan to retire 
 to a short distance while she sought to soothe the 
 strange woman. With gentle words and caresses she 
 pacified her. Taking off her own saree she threw it 
 over the shoulders of the stranger, and, as if with an 
 excess of kindness, took one of the handsome neck- 
 laces from her own neck and placed it on the stranger. 
 Such kindness was irresistible, and, bursting into 
 tears, the stranger wept convulsively. When she had 
 mastered her emotions she told the story of her life, 
 and ended by saying, " And now my name is 
 Kismut." 
 
 When Morgan returned ]S"emorama told him the 
 story of his prisoner, and he then told them the story 
 of the tiger-hunting. Kismut was greatly interested 
 in the remarks the people made about her, extolling 
 her virtues when they supposed her to be dead. She 
 pleaded that they would not reveal the fact of her 
 being alive, but take her with them, and she would 
 faithfully serve them wherever they might go. She 
 took them to the cave in which she had found shelter 
 since coming into the jungle. It was a hole in the
 
 142 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 rocks, which she had fortified by pieces of stone so 
 as to afford protection against the prowling beasts of 
 the jungle. Her only fear was of serpents, and her 
 only tormentors were the monkeys. The jungle 
 seemed to swarm with monkeys. In great troups 
 they came to her den, and, with incessant chatterings, 
 made the most hideous grimaces at her. But when 
 she shook her stick at them they fled into the neigh- 
 boring tree-trops. "They would steal every thing they 
 could find when she was out of the cave, but when 
 she was there they kept at a distance. At first she 
 was greatly alarmed by them, but she had learned 
 that they were harmless, and, moreover, she had been 
 taught that they were sacred, so she laughed at their 
 antics and felt a degree of companionship in their 
 presence. Without them the jungle would have been 
 very lonesome. 
 
 By this time the morning was far advanced, and, 
 as they had endured so much since partaking of food, 
 they began to feel the pangs of hunger. Kismut led 
 them where the berries were the most luscious and 
 plentiful, but Morgan, used to meat, left them to try 
 again if he could find the kind of food he craved.
 
 FINDING THE TRAIL. Ii3 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 FINDING THE TRAIL. 
 
 As Morgan went deeper into the jungle in 
 search of animals fit for food, he reflected on the 
 peculiar situation into which he had drifted. Here he 
 was, a young man, an entire stranger to the customs 
 of the country, ignorant of most of the dialects 
 spoken by the people, with no sympathy for the pre- 
 vailing religious opinions, having two beautiful young 
 women, both refugees, alone with him in the jungle. 
 
 With knowledge of their past lives, and the cause of 
 their being refugees, he had intelligently and willingly 
 become their protector. Now that he had become 
 their guardian, what should he do with them ? They 
 might at any time be intercepted by hunters, fakirs, 
 01 government officials. They might be attacked 
 by tigers, panthers, bears, wolves or hyenas. They 
 might fall victims to the jungle fever in fact, it 
 was probable that they would if they remained very 
 long in the jungle. Hence it was necessary to leave 
 the jungle just as soon as they could with safety. 
 
 But how ? 
 
 It was not an easy matter to return to civilization. 
 Being an American, his appearing in any village 
 would awaken general comment, and every one
 
 144 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 would be curious to see him. Then some one 
 might recognize his companions, and, even if they 
 were not known, the fact of two Hindu women ac- 
 companying a foreigner would arouse public in- 
 quiries which might be exceedingly annoying. If 
 he could get to the railroad he might soon be hun- 
 dreds of miles away, but how to get to the railroad 
 was the perplexing question. 
 
 As he walked down the bank of the jungle stream 
 he saw in the .distance a small column of smoke ris- 
 ing above the trees. The sight startled him, and he 
 determined to discover the cause of it. After walk- 
 ing quite a distance he saw, on the bank of the 
 stream, a small hut well sheltered from observation 
 by the thick growth of trees surrounding it. 
 
 Sitting on the ground by the door of the hut was 
 an old and weather-beaten fisherman, engaged in 
 mending a net. 
 
 Morgan silently walked near him, then stopped, 
 and leaned upon his rifle and watched tlie man at his 
 work. For some moments he was unperceived, then, 
 the fisherman looking up, with a terrified stare be- 
 held the stranger, and, suddenly dropping the net, 
 with a leap and a bound entered his hut, shut the 
 door, and securely fastened it from within. Morgan 
 was amused at the man's fright. He had evidently 
 never seen a white man before, and although he tried 
 to make him comprehend that no harm would be done 
 him he was not able to make him understand a word.
 
 FINDING THE TRAIL. 145 
 
 The fisherman was watching the stranger from a 
 crack in the wall of the hut when suddenly a large 
 bird appeared above the tree-tops, flying around a 
 circle as if in search of food. Morgan took aim at it 
 and fired ; the next minute the bird dropped at his 
 feet. As it was not fit for food he left it lying 
 where it fell. Finding all efforts to win the favor of 
 the fisherman in vain, he went on the lower side of 
 the house, where the nets were in the stream, and 
 getting some nice large fish out of the net returned 
 to his companions. 
 
 When he told them of the fisherman's fright they 
 laughed heartily, and Kismut said, " I have heard of 
 these fisherman ; they live in a village several miles 
 from my old home. They sometimes go far up in the 
 jungle and set their nets for the fish in the solitary 
 pools. That fisherman will leave the jungle immedi- 
 ately and will probably never return, for they are of 
 the lowest caste, and are very superstitious." 
 
 Morgan now suggested that they have a good 
 strengthening breakfast with the fish he had brought. 
 Just then a troop of wild hogs rushed by them, and 
 with quick aim he brought one down, and with his 
 knife soon prepared some nice steaks. But Kismut 
 shrank from eating flesh, or even eating with the 
 others. It was violation of caste. 
 
 Morgan was surprised, for he could not comprehend 
 the awful bondage of caste, but Xemorama, un- 
 derstanding it, patiently tried to overcome the wid- 
 10
 
 146 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 flow's scruple. She explained to her that, having 
 placed themselves in the charge of the American, they 
 were bound by his customs. She had no scruples, 
 because she had never known the restrictions of caste 
 and in this respect was on the same basis as their 
 friend, while Kismut was now entirely without caste 
 standing. She had left her home, had acknowledged 
 herself to be as one dead, had taken a new name, had 
 begun a new life, and had received the caresses of a 
 " no caste" person, so that, while Mootie was indeed of 
 high caste, Kismut was entirely without caste. She 
 could not comprehend it. It was true she had no 
 caste, and was Kismut, but she had Mootie's feelings, 
 and the thought of caste violation horrified her. 
 Never having eaten meat, she did not feel the need 
 of it. Morgan patiently told them about the social 
 customs in America, where there was no caste. All 
 the people having the same rights, they talk freely 
 together, ride in the same vehicles, eat at the same 
 tables, and buy food from all classes of merchants. 
 The only people who are disowned are the criminals, 
 who are abhorred because of their vices. 
 
 When Kismut understood it she approved of it, and, 
 although with some timidity, began to look upon her 
 companions after the American custom, and for the 
 first time in her life ate with those not of her caste ; 
 but Morgan alone ate of the steaks which Nemorama 
 prepared for him. Then they proceeded together to 
 the fisherman's hut, where they found Kismut's
 
 FINDING THE TRAIL. 147 
 
 prediction verified. The fisherman had departed, and 
 had taken with him all his nets and work-tools, also 
 his sleeping mat and cooking utensils; a sure sign that 
 he would not return. They were not sorry for this, 
 as it furnished them with a house to dwell in until 
 they should find a way to leave the jungle. After 
 inspecting the house they went down to the stream 
 just below it, and examined the fish-nets built in the 
 water, which they found to be in good condition. 
 
 They were constructed in this way: "in a place 
 where the water fell from a height the fishermen had 
 dug out pits about the size of a house, and, laying 
 them with stones in the form of the lower part of a 
 cooking-furnace, they had heaped on stones above the 
 pits, leaving only one passage for the water to de- 
 scend ; they had piled up the stones in such a manner 
 that, except by this single passage, there was no other 
 for the fish either to come or go. The water of the 
 stream finding its way through these stones, this con- 
 trivance answered the purpose of a fish-pool. In win- 
 ter, whenever fish were required, they opened one of 
 these pits and took out forty or fifty fish at a time. 
 In some convenient place of the pit an opening was 
 formed, and, excepting at that outlet, all the sides of 
 it were secured with rice straw, over which stones 
 were piled up. At the opening was fastened a kind 
 of wicker-work like a net ; the two extremities being 
 contracted were brought near each other. In the mid- 
 dle of this first wicker net was fixed another piece of
 
 148 NEMOKAMA THE NAUTCIINEE. 
 
 wicker net-work in such a way that the mouth of this 
 last might correspond with that of the other, but its 
 whole length be only about half of that of the one 
 first mentioned. The month of this inner net-work 
 was made very narrow. Whatever entered passed of 
 necessity into the larger wicker-nef, the lower part of 
 which was so constructed that no fish could escape 
 back. The lower part of the mouth of the inner 
 net-work was so formed that when fish had once entered 
 the upper part they were forced to proceed one by 
 one down to the lower part of its mouth. The sharp- 
 ened sticks forming the lower part of the mouth were 
 brought close together. Whatever passed this mouth 
 came into the larger wicker-net, the lower passage of 
 which was strongly secured, so that the fish could not 
 escape; for if it happened 'to turn and attempt to 
 swim back, it could not get up in consequence of the 
 sharpened prongs that formed the lower mouth of the 
 small inner wicker-net. Every time the fishermen 
 bring their nets they fasten them on the water-course 
 of the fish-pool and then take off the covering of the 
 fish-pool, leaving all its sides secured by the rice straw. 
 Whatever they can lay hold of in the hollow pit they 
 seize, while every fish that attempts to escape by the 
 only issue left necessarily comes into the wicker-net 
 that has been mentioned, and is taken there." * 
 
 The fisherman had emptied the pools of their prey, 
 but, in a few hours, more would be entrapped in them. 
 * Memoirs of Mohammed Bdbur, Emperor of Hindustan.
 
 FINDING THE TRAIL. 149 
 
 Seeing that the women were provided with a good, 
 strong house for shelter and defense, and that an un- 
 limited supply of fish was within their reach, and 
 that they were happy in each other's company, Mor- 
 gan decided to leave them to seek a way by which 
 they might safely retreat from the jungle to some 
 distant part of India. He knew the general course of 
 the great highway running to the north, and going, 
 as he supposed, toward it, reached it after several 
 hours' vigorous traveling. 
 
 He had barely entered the travelers' bungalow when 
 an attack of fever prostrated him, and the fear of 
 death and anxiety for his wards caused him to rave in 
 wild delirium. Fortunately he had with him some 
 quinine, by the aid of which he was able to break the 
 fever, and, though weak, in a couple of days was 
 able to proceed with his plans. 
 
 Going to a village nearest to the highway he pur- 
 chased three palanquins and hired coolies to carry 
 them. Two of the palanquins were fitted up for the 
 use of ladies, and he ordered complete suits, of such 
 garments as high caste wealthy ladies were accustomed 
 to wear when traveling, to be placed in them. With 
 these he started on his return, anxious to find his 
 charges in safety. 
 
 When the fisherman was sure that the strange being 
 he had seen had returned into the jungle out of 
 which he had come, he opened his door and cautiously 
 picked up the huge bird so wonderfully slain. He
 
 150 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCIINEE. 
 
 turned it over and over until he saw where the bullet 
 had entered on its fatal errand. Then, going down to 
 his boat, he placed in it all of his movable property, all 
 the fish in his nets, and last of all the bird, then 
 swiftly pushed his way down the stream. 
 
 Hour after hour he steadily forced his boat ahead 
 of the current, with the fear of that stranger contin- 
 ually in his mind. He could not think much, his 
 mind was too dull for that, but he revolved over and 
 over again every feature of the scene. It was no 
 dream, no mere scare, for there was the dead bird be- 
 fore him. At length he reached the village, a cluster 
 of low mud-huts, where his people lived, and in an- 
 swer to their words of surprise at his early return he 
 told them the story of the visit of the strange creature 
 and showed them the bird he had slain. 
 
 While he was telling them about it, a holy fakir 
 entered the street, and heard the story. Then he 
 told the people of the strangers who had come to a 
 village on the other side of the jungle and had slain 
 the tigers. Perhaps this was one of them. Then 
 seeing the bird he tore it open, and, finding the bullet, 
 before any one noticed his action hid it in his hair. 
 It was precisely the same as another bullet which he 
 had already hidden there. Then he departed, while the 
 people were bowing before him and begging for his 
 blessing. 
 
 Just as ihe coolies were about to start with the palan- 
 quins engaged by the American the fakir arrived in
 
 FINDING THE TRAIL. 151 
 
 their village. As he was passing the travelers' bunga- 
 low he noticed the American enter one of three car- 
 riages, the other two prepared for ladies, which were 
 being taken into the jungle. A fiendish smile glowed 
 on his wretched countenance ; he felt sure he was 
 now on the track of the missing maiden, and if his 
 suspicions should prove correct he would be rewarded 
 by a large sum of the rajah's gold.
 
 152 NEMOBAMA THE NAUTCHNEK. 
 
 CHAPTER XT. 
 
 JUNGLE EXPERIENCES. 
 
 WHEN Morgan departed from the fisherman's lint 
 the women watched him until they could no longer 
 catch a glimpse of his manly form. Then with arms 
 intertwined they slowly returned to the open space 
 on the bank of the stream, and ate of the berries 
 growing there until they wished for no more. After 
 this they proceeded to thoroughly cleanse the hut, 
 and make it fit for them to dwell in. They laugh- 
 ingly talked of its bareness. The fisherman had been 
 careful not to lose any of his property. He had not 
 left a vessel to heat water or cook food in, nor a mat 
 to sleep upon, nor a stool or bench ; only the bare 
 floor and walls of the hut. But this was far prefer- 
 able to a cleft in the rocks or the branches of a tree. 
 As they sat by the door of the hut their attention 
 was attracted to a fierce-looking little animal that 
 came out of the bushes and peered at them. Just 
 then a bird also hopped upon the ground, when, quick 
 as a flash of light, the animal pounced upon the bird, 
 broke its head, and voraciously devoured it. Kismut 
 said, " Ah ! the fisherman had his pets. There is a 
 mangouste, as savage as a tiger, but easily tamed 
 by man. It has come to receive the caresses of its
 
 JUNGLE EXPERIENCES. 153 
 
 master. Sec, it is not pleased by our presence. How 
 very quick and ferocious it is in attacking its prey. 
 Let us look for its burrow ; it must be quite near the 
 hut." 
 
 The animal disappeared, and they looked for its re- 
 treat, but, not finding it, rambled along to the bank of 
 the creek until they were near the place where they 
 had first met each other. Here they sat down and 
 talked about the past. Smiles illumined their faces 
 as the sense of freedom and companionship filled their 
 hearts. Solitary as their case seemed to be it was a 
 delightful relief from the thralldom both had suffered 
 but a few days before. 
 
 Kismut was enraptured with her new acquaintance. 
 She had never before met any one like her, and the in- 
 telligence Kemorama displayed amazed her. Nemora- 
 ma used freely words which Kismut had heard only 
 from the lips of learned Brahmans, and even then 
 spoken in tones of awful sanctity ; names of the sacred 
 persons and attributes, and of the relations of life. The 
 freedom of utterance by her companion seemed as open 
 and boundless as the jungle in which they were resting. 
 
 Kismut was a typical Hindu. She was almost per- 
 fect in simplicity and dependence. She had never 
 learned any thing of the great outside world ; her 
 world had been the village in which she had always 
 lived, and the surrounding jungle was the extreme 
 limit of its attractiveness to her. The beyond was 
 like a shadowy cloud without form, and void.
 
 154 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 Within her home it was entirely different. There 
 she thoroughly understood all that was required of 
 her. She had been a faithful wife, and her sun was 
 her husband's smile, her shrine was at his feet. She 
 had been taught this was right, and she never ques- 
 tioned this teaching. She was but a child in taste, and 
 like all women of her class, this taste lay in the de- 
 sire for ornaments. In all the misery of her lot 
 nothing distressed her more than to be deprived of her 
 ornaments. It was taking from her the only thing that 
 could stimulate her to try and find pleasure or pleas- 
 ant thoughts in a widow's life. In meeting Nemo- 
 rama she met one whose life had been entirely differ- 
 ent. Nemorama had worn so many ornaments that she 
 was tired of the flashy baubles. Her taste was refined 
 to desire only the more costly ; such as very wealthy 
 people wore such as she saw decorating the peishwa 
 and the ladies of his palace. She had met so many 
 strangers, and had seen so many customs, that her 
 vision of the great world beyond was that of a series 
 of worlds, each one as great as India, and each one 
 represented by these various people she saw coming to 
 Bombay. She had been trained also in self-reliance. 
 
 In all her experience she had been compelled to de- 
 pend on the skill of her own actions, the strength of her 
 own muscles, and the retentive powers of her own mind. 
 To possess this self-reliance she lost the confiding sim- 
 plicity of her sisters, and she faced the world, not to be 
 alarmed at its aggressive supremacy, but to conquer it.
 
 JUNGLE EXPERIENCES. 155 
 
 Kismut had been religious in every thing, but !Xe- 
 morama had not been religious in any thing. It was 
 the death of Saineh that opened the torrents of re- 
 ligious conviction, along the currents of which the 
 streams were still flowing. Kismut knew but little 
 of the gods she worshiped. The idols were very 
 mysterious to her. When she entered their presence 
 it was to prostrate herself before them and worship, 
 not to admire their forms. Nemorama knew stories 
 about them all, and, with a desire to please, related the 
 wonderful stories she had learned and had been ac- 
 customed to repeat before the select audiences in 
 Bombay. 
 
 She repeated the tender passages from the Rama- 
 yana, and stories of gods and heroes, of battles and 
 victories, until Kismut looked into her face with as- 
 tonishment that any woman should know so much, 
 and could so easily tell it to another. Then they 
 talked about their hero, the noble stranger, who so 
 tenderly and yet with such courtesy cared for them. 
 
 What a strange being he was ; so different from 
 any one they had ever known. They never saw him 
 perform a religious ceremony, nor bow down to any 
 thing in nature. He had no sacred trees, bushes, 
 flowers, nor animals. To him they all seemed to be 
 on an equality. Strangest of all was the indifference 
 with which he ate his food. Fruits, leaves, vegeta- 
 bles, fish, birds, hogs, antelopes, and even buffaloes 
 he partook of with equal relish, showing the most
 
 15C NKMORAMA THE NAUTCHXEE. 
 
 * 
 
 utter indifference to the prejudices of both Hindu 
 and Mohammedan. 
 
 If a fly lighted upon his food, instead of cursing 
 his companions and casting the food away, lie brushed 
 off the fly and ate the food. Instead of having his 
 companions wait upon him, and eat what he left, 
 he had them eat with him, and freely gave them the 
 choicest parts. 
 
 And he had no respect for caste. He treated a 
 coolie as deferentially as a Brahman, and only smiled 
 when told that the Brahman sprang from the mouth 
 of Brahma, and therefore is by right the chief of the 
 whole, creation, he alone having the right to the 
 Vedas, to perform holy rites, to present ghee to the 
 gods, and cakes of rice to the pit-ris. And, since 
 the Sudra sprang from Brahma's foot, he should serve 
 and honor the higher castes, and not make light of 
 them. 
 
 Kisrnut said, " It must be his religion, for how can 
 any one be without religion ? and how can he be good 
 except by the power of religion ? " 
 
 Then Nemorama told her the story of Saineh. 
 Drawing Kismut close to her, and caressing her fond- 
 ly, she said : " You remind me so much of Saiueh. My 
 heart goes out to you as it did to her, and my heart is 
 hungering for just such love as you can give. When I 
 look into your eyes and read your growing affection 
 for me, I see my Saineh over again, and I am glad." 
 Kismut was overcome by this burst of affection, and
 
 JUNGLE EXPERIENCES. 157 
 
 she expressed her feelings by clasping her com- 
 panion in her arms, and weeping upon her bosom. 
 When Nernorama told the story of the death of 
 Saineh and the comforting words of the missionary, 
 Kismnt asked, was not the missionary a believer in 
 the same religion as their protector? Nemorama 
 answered, " Yes ; she, too, was an American. They 
 both talked in the same way, and only last night in 
 the tree he told me over and over the story of Jesus, 
 whom he worships as God. Since then I .worship 
 him also." 
 
 "Tell it to me," Kismnt pleadingly asked; and 
 Nemorama, in low, sweet, tender words, told the story 
 of Jesus as Morgan had given it to her. 
 
 Kismut listened with growing rapture. It was the 
 r-weetest and most hopeful story she had ever heard. 
 It met the deep wants of her nature. And when 
 Nemorama, with her own soul aglow, repeated tho 
 words of Jesus, " Come unto me, all ye that labor 
 and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take 
 ' my yoke upon you, and learn of me : for I am meek 
 and lowly of heart; and ye shall find rest unto your 
 souls," Kismut felt the call as nothing had ever before 
 affected her, and her soul was filled with joy. For 
 awhile they sat in silence, thinking on this story of 
 the Saviour of men ; then as the shadows lengthened 
 they watched the scenery about them. 
 
 They were in a great jungle ; not that part which 
 had once been in cultivation and had been allowed to
 
 158 NEMOKAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 grow rank and wild again, but where probably nature 
 had always been in a wild state. Back of them rose 
 a hill, covered with great trees banyan, teak, 
 ash, oak, pine, and others. In the thicker part 
 of this grand forest the trunks of the trees rose 
 to an immense height before the branches were 
 
 o 
 
 stretched out, and the grove looked as though it had 
 been growing for centuries. Below this grove and 
 on the lower ground grew great tracts of bamboo im- 
 mense reeds, some many inches in diameter, and nearly 
 fourscore feet in height. These grew so thickly that 
 it seemed impossible for any animal to penetrate the 
 area covered by them. Beyond this thicket the 
 stream broadened into a marsh where grew a number 
 of curious plants, one of which was the sola, the 
 slender stems of which are used by the people of 
 India to make artificial flowers and fancy ornaments 
 with which they decorate their shrines at the Hindu 
 festivals. 
 
 The women seeing some stalks of sola near by 
 walked to the water's edge to gather them and exer- 
 cise their skill in making ornaments while waiting 
 the return of their friend. From this point they had 
 a new view of the marsh, and to their dismay beheld 
 a huge creature entering the marsh, puffing and snort- 
 ing as he plunged into the water. 
 
 The animal was the dreaded rhinoceros. It was 
 thicker than, though not so tall as, an elephant, but 
 the horn upon its nose gave it an appearance of great
 
 JUNGLE EXPERIENCES. 159 
 
 ferocity. Their fears subsided as they remembered 
 that, while the rhinoceros is very strong and ferocious 
 when attacked, he is peaceable when left alone, and 
 as he loved the marshes he would not be likely to 
 come upon the higher ground where their hut was 
 located. As they started to return they saw the 
 convex flower clusters of the plant called mungoose, 
 the plant that possesses the virtue of curing the bite 
 of deadly serpents. Its presence suggested the pres- 
 ence of serpents, and the women walked with care 
 lest they might tread upon one. As they quickened 
 their pace they heard a great commotion among the 
 trees. The branches seemed to be full of monkeys 
 which were screaming and gesticulating in the great- 
 est excitement ; while upon the ground a large mon- 
 key was vainly struggling to free itself from the 
 grasp of a huge serpent. The eyes of the serpent 
 were like lariro balls of fire, while with wonderful 
 
 O 7 
 
 celerity it wrapped its folds about the monkey, and in 
 less than a second had crushed its victim into a lifeless 
 pulp. The women were horror-stricken. They were 
 so paralyzed with fear as to be unable to flee, and 
 expected the reptile to attack them the next moment. 
 Having crushed its victim, with anger unabated the 
 serpent recoiled itself, hissed at the monkeys in the 
 trees, and turned to lick its victim preparatory to 
 swallowing it. But the hissing of the serpent had 
 attracted the attention of a species of rat called mun- 
 goose, and a pair of them came out of the thicket
 
 160 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEK. 
 
 and saw the serpent in its work. These rats have 
 a deadty antipathy to serpents. They immediately 
 rushed upon the monster, biting it, and causing it to 
 leave its prey to defend itself. 
 
 The battle was a fierce one. The rats leaped about 
 with astonishing celerity, while the serpent tried in 
 vain to catch them in its folds. At length one of 
 the rats fastened upon the serpent's head, and in a 
 moment had penetrated the brain with its sharp teeth. 
 With a strong convulsive movement the serpent tried 
 to shake it off, then uncoiled itself and was dead. 
 The other rat had been badly bitten by the serpent, 
 and now that the battle was over ran down to the 
 patch of plants called by the same name as itself, and 
 vigorously began to chew both leaves and stem. 
 
 Recovering from their terror, the women hastened 
 from the place, and did not cease running until they 
 entered their protecting hut. The next day they only 
 ventured out to obtain food, fearing that the com- 
 panion of the serpent might be in the neighborhood 
 seeking its mate. The following day, as they sat by 
 the door of the hut, they heard the crack of a rifle, 
 followed by a shout. Recognizing the voice of their 
 friend they answered his signal, and withdrew into 
 the hut. The coolies carrying the palanquins now 
 brought them into the open place before the hut, and 
 at Morgan's command withdrew to await his call. 
 
 Nemorama now came out of the hut and greeted 
 her deliverer, then taking the contents of the palan-
 
 JUNGLE EXPERIENCES. 161 
 
 quins again entered the hut. In a few moments she 
 re-appeared leading Kismut, elaborately clothed in 
 the garments provided for her. 
 
 Morgan gazed upon Kismnt with admiration. Her 
 face was wreathed in smiles of joy and affection, while 
 a modest blush suffused her cheeks. Her saree was 
 bound about her head so as to completely disguise her 
 shaven crown. It was arranged in graceful folds 
 about her waist, and falling down to her feet. 
 Around her form was a tightly fitting blue silken 
 bodice. Upon her neck, breast, arms, ankles, she had 
 placed ornaments, while jewels sparkled here and 
 there upon the gold spangled saree. 
 
 As Morgan did not attempt to repress his admira- 
 tion, she was filled with delight. The childish sim- 
 plicity with which she displayed her gratification 
 in the possession of ornaments only enhanced her 
 beauty. Touched with sympathy, Nemorama folded 
 her in a loving embrace and kissed her. Morgan now 
 informed them of his plans, and, bidding them enter 
 the palanquins, called the coolies, and they at once 
 bade adieu to the jungle home, to return to the cus- 
 toms of civilized society. 
 
 No one saw a pair of eyes from beneath a mass of 
 unkempt, mangy hair sharply -staring at them as they 
 passed a thick clump of bushes. 
 
 AVith silent tiger-like tread the fakir had fol- 
 lowed the palanquins. He saw Nemorama greet the 
 
 American. lie knew by her dazzling beauty that 
 11
 
 102 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 she was the rajah's lost maiden. Slipping up to the 
 palanquins, he put a mark upon them, and unseen re- 
 gained his hiding-place. When Kismut cante forth 
 he was puzzled. In her new robes she was very 
 beautiful. No one would have suspected her of 
 being a widow. The fakir was puzzled. Who was 
 she? 
 
 With fiendish delight he saw them depart. He 
 thought they were in his power, and in due time he 
 would not only solve the mystery of the second per- 
 son but be able to deliver Nemoratna to the rajah, 
 and receive his coveted gold.
 
 FOES IN AGRA. 163 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 FOES IN AGRA. 
 
 THE coolies bore their palanquins through the jun- 
 gle speedily to gain the highway before nightfall. 
 The fakir, familiar with the intricate paths, and sure 
 of the success of his plan, took a shorter route, reach- 
 ing the highway at a point several miles nearer the 
 city to which they were going. Evening had fallen 
 when Morgan reached the travelers' bungalow where 
 preparations had been made for them to rest for the 
 night, When he called the coolies to begin the 
 journey next morning he found, to his surprise, 
 that they had returned with the palanquins to their 
 village, and another set of coolies, with palanquins of 
 different pattern, were in their places. Asking why 
 this change had been made, he was informed that a 
 messenger had told the village chief that the American 
 desired him to make such a change without delay, 
 and, being paid for it, he had done so at once. Who 
 the messenger was no one knew. If Morgan at that 
 moment could have seen through the shroud in which 
 a person near him was completely enveloped, he 
 would have beheld a fakir of Hindu faith smiling 
 with satisfaction at having circumvented the trick of 
 a rival fakir of the Mohammedan faith. Seeing the
 
 164 NEMORA.MA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 marks upon the palanquins he had judged an evil design 
 to be in it, and succeeded in having them changed. 
 
 Too late to redress the wrong, as he supposed it to 
 be, Morgan gave the command to hasten. Past vil- 
 lages,^ fields of grain, forests of stately trees, swamps 
 with miasmatic vapors, and jungles full of wild 
 beasts and impenetrable by man, they hurried on 
 their way. Past fakirs sitting by the road-side in 
 the attitude of devotion, past streams of travelers, past 
 lines of palanquins swiftly borne, past huge elephants 
 and camels they sped, until they saw with satisfaction 
 the red sandstone walls of Agra rising before them. 
 
 Agra, at one time, was the capital of the great 
 Mogul Empire, and was located in the heart of the 
 Mohammedan's vast dominion. In it was lavished 
 the great wealth and the fine taste which marked 
 the reign of the Moguls. Those old Saracens had 
 been accustomed to dwell in tents, and. when they 
 settled in one place, and proceeded to build more 
 substantial houses, they built after the patterns of 
 their tents, substituting stone for canvas, and thus 
 brought into existence an order of architecture pecul- 
 iarly their own. They also built in strong contrasts. 
 Red sandstone walls with white marble trimmings ; 
 swelling domes and slender minarets ; heavy stone 
 walls, massive and thick, with delicate leaf and flower 
 carvings, and screens all carved in marble so thin as 
 to let the light pass through the stone, and so delicate 
 as to seem to be moved by the wind. Some of the
 
 FOES IN AGRA. 165 
 
 buildings erected in Agra were unsurpassed anywhere 
 in the world for combined beauty and strength. 
 
 The citadel, in which was the royal palace, was 
 built on the bank of the river Jumna. Its wall was 
 half a mile long and sixty feet high. It was built of 
 red sandstone, while the pavilions of the palace were 
 built of white marble. 
 
 Within this walled inclosure were handsome walks 
 flowing fountains, flower-beds of rare beauty, and 
 marble halls so arranged as to catch all the freshness 
 in the air, keeping the place cool and enjoyable. The 
 white marble pavilions were built upon a lofty terrace, 
 and their domes were gilded so as to reflect with daz- 
 zling brightness the rays of the sun. 
 
 Along the walls were many little balconies, with 
 delicate marble lace-work screens, like veils, hiding 
 those inside from the gaze of those on the outside. 
 Here the beautiful women of the Mogul court basked 
 in a glory never excelled in material splendor, a glory 
 which appears the richer to us through the subduing 
 mists of antiquity. 
 
 The travelers hurried past this place, for the night 
 was approaching, and the coolies did not vary the 
 regularity of their tread until they came to the gate of 
 the missionary compound. The coolies were now re- 
 warded and dismissed. "With their palanquins they 
 proceeded to the resort of their people, to seek em- 
 ployment in carrying other travelers on the way 
 toward their home.
 
 166 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 Miss Thompson received the travelers with true 
 Christian courtesy. Morgan had informed her through 
 the mail service of their coming, and the manner in 
 which he was seeking to save the women. She entered 
 heartily into his plans, and when she saw them not 
 only admired them for their beanty but loved them 
 for their newly found faith. They needed her in- 
 struction, she was eager to bestow it, and they were 
 ready to receive it. 
 
 Having seen them safely welcomed, Morgan de- 
 parted to seek refreshment in the travelers' bungalow, 
 rejoicing in the success which had thus far attended 
 his efforts in their behalf. 
 
 The fakir who had crossed the jungle to intercept 
 them safely and speedily reached the highway, and 
 sitting by the road-side carefully scanned the palan- 
 quins that passed. Hour after hour he watched all 
 through the night, and the following day but he did 
 not see the marked carriages. 
 
 When he at length learned how his victims had es- 
 caped him his wrath was great. His thirst for 
 revenge increased, and with haste he followed them 
 to Agra. 
 
 Morgan considered himself fortunate in arriving 
 at the old imperial city just when he did, for it was 
 in the midst of extensive preparations to receive a 
 rajah from the north with a gorgeous parade. For 
 several days preceding, throngs of people from every 
 direction came crowding into the city to witness the
 
 FOES IN AGRA. 107 
 
 parades. Morgan was still more interested when he 
 learned that the distinguished rajah was the one for 
 whose harem Nemorama had been purchased. He 
 had been informed of the tragic death of his dewan 
 and the strange disappearance of the maiden, and had 
 offered a large reward for the discovery of her fate. 
 Thus far his reward had been unclaimed. 
 
 The parade of the rajah was the most brilliant 
 display seen in Agra for many years. There were 
 more than two hundred elephants in line, every one 
 of them covered with splendid robes glittering with 
 jewels. The officers of the rajah's court rode in the 
 howdahs, and tried to surpass each other in the 
 quality of the precious jewels sparkling upon them. 
 Their howdahs, too, gave evidence of their wealth. 
 Some were entirely covered with silver, some with 
 handsome tiger skins, some were gilded with bur- 
 nished gold all were magnificent. 
 
 The servants of the rajah w r ere numbered by the 
 thousands, some on horses, some on camels, and mul- 
 titudes on foot. Following the parade of the ele- 
 phants came the household troops, marching with 
 such uniformity and precision as to awaken the ad- 
 miration of every one. 
 
 In the evening the city was illuminated, and the 
 weird flashing of the lights added a thousand-fold 
 beauty to the scene. 
 
 Morgan had never before seen any thing like it. 
 It was in real life a scene out of the Arabian Nigkts
 
 168 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 Entertainment, For a while lie thoroughly enjoyed 
 it, until he became aware of some one closely follow- 
 ing him. Brave as he was he felt a chill of appre- 
 hension at the discovery. He was a stranger, without 
 any particular means of protection, and alone. He 
 reflected if his part in the events of the last few days 
 should he be discovered what would be the revenge 
 of the rajah and of the Brahman priests for his vio- 
 lation of their principles. In a few moments the 
 dread passed from his mind as he looked at the mar- 
 velous display of fire-works closing the fete. Then, 
 when all was over, with the crowds he turned toward 
 the city to seek his resting-place. He had not gone 
 far when a person completely shrouded touched him 
 and requested him to follow. 
 
 Immediately he turned another way to escape the 
 crowd. Although his guide, whether friend or en- 
 emy he could not tell, was just in front of him, he 
 could not tell what kind of a man he could be, but 
 he followed him in silence. By this time the moon 
 was well up in the sky and casting a mellowing light 
 over the earth, giving to every object a peculiar 
 vividness, and to white objects startling prominence. 
 
 After a while they came to a lofty gate-way which 
 he recognized. Passing through it they entered an 
 avenue adorned with fountains and lined with 
 cypresses. They walked along the avenue, until 
 from amidst the branches of the trees Morgan beheld 
 in dazzling whiteness, possessing an unearthly beauty
 
 FOES IN AGKA. 169 
 
 from the playing of the beams of moonlight upon it, 
 the Taj Mahal. 
 
 His guide led him to a seat by one of the fount- 
 ains, where he could gaze upon the rounded domes, 
 the slender minarets, and the massive walls so brill- 
 iantly white in the full rays of the moon, and set 
 against the dark blue of the sky. Then his guide 
 threw aside his shroud, revealing the hideous, filthy 
 form of a Mohammedan fakir. So sudden was the 
 change, so violent the contrast, that Morgan leaped 
 from his seat and stared at him in speechless amaze- 
 ment. But the fakir calmly seated himself on the 
 ground and motioning Morgan to resume his place, 
 pointed toward the Taj and said, " American, do you 
 see that wonderful building ? I am told that there 
 is nothing in the world to equal it. And yet it is in 
 a country despised by your people as in gross dark- 
 ness. You see its richness in jewels, its refinement of 
 sculpturing, its elegance of design and perfect execu- 
 tion, and yet you boast of your mechanical and ar- 
 tistic skill, even while confessing you have neither 
 the men to plan such a work, nor the workmen to 
 execute it. You notice that its purpose is to honor a 
 woman, and yet in your poverty and greed you boast 
 how woman is honored in your land, and cry out 
 against us because you say we despise women. Have 
 you ever seen in your own land, or in any other 
 land save this, any thing to honor woman as this does? 
 Stranger, surely nowhere in the world is woman
 
 170 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 honored as she is with us. Do you not know that 
 often-times our rulers have been entirely controlled by 
 theirwives ? Noor Jehan, the ' Light of the World,' 
 was the real ruler of the empire, while all the ablest 
 warriors of her time were compelled to honor her 
 ability and power. Have you heard of Lakshmi Baiee, 
 the queen of Jahnsee, who held the entire British 
 army in check twenty-four hours, and would have 
 come off victorious if a fatal bullet had not struck 
 her down ? Have you heard of Alleah Baiee, who 
 for twenty years devoted herself to her people until 
 all classes and all religions blessed her sweet influence ? 
 Or of Aus Khoor, who took charge of the disorgan- 
 ized State of Pattiala, and in one year restored order 
 and established prosperity ? Do you not know that 
 in the popular stories taught the children of our 
 country, the honor, bravery, and power of female 
 heroes is loudly praised ? * 
 
 " In times of war our women have distinguished 
 themselves as nurses, the equals of any in the world. 
 In your travels have you not seen the richness of 
 the houses of our princes, in which the finest verandas 
 are for the women, in which they can recline upon 
 the richest carpets of Persia, and enjoy an atmos- 
 phere laden with the choicest perfumes ? Have 
 you not read what one of our poets has written ? 
 
 " ' Her smiling countenance resplendent shines 
 With youth and loveliness ; her lips disclose 
 Teeth white as jasmine blossoms ; silky curls
 
 FOES IN AGKA. 171 
 
 Luxuriant shade her cheeks ; and every limb, 
 Of slighest texture, moves with natural grace, 
 Like moonUeams gliding through the yielding air.' 
 
 " You think you honor your women by parading 
 them before the gaze and subjecting them to the re- 
 marks of all classes of men, but we honor woman by 
 shielding her from this publicity. She shines within 
 her own home. She cultivates a religious spirit, she 
 studies faithfulness to her husband and children; she 
 recognizes home as her sphere and contact with the 
 world as the sphere of her husband. He is made strong 
 to be able to cope with the temptations of the world. 
 She is made tender and refined to grace with her 
 loveliness the protected home, a place where she re- 
 ceives honor from all." 
 
 Morgan was again astonished. Another sharp con- 
 trast. Ideas in defense of purity and gentleness 
 proceeding from the stained, coarse lips of a filthy, 
 unwashed fakir. What would he hear next ? 
 
 For a moment the eyes of the fakir were bent with 
 almost a tiger's ferocity upon his own, and then the 
 deep, harsh voice said, "Stranger, why have you 
 come here to injure our women, and lead them astray ? 
 Is that the way you honor them ? Why have you 
 despoiled the house of the honored rajah by stealing 
 his fair jewel, and hiding her from his loving search ? 
 Tell me ! where have you hidden the nautchnee ? 
 
 For a moment Morgan was alarmed. How came 
 this man by his information ? How much did
 
 172 NEMOKAMA THE NAUTGUNEE. 
 
 he know? Recovering his tranquillity, determined 
 to reveal nothing, he said with an air of calm 
 indifference, as he returned the gaze of the fakir, 
 " What did you ask ? " 
 
 With eyes glittering like coals of fire, the fakir again 
 asked, " Where have you hidden the nautchnee?" 
 
 With the same unruffled composure Morgan replied, 
 " Who is she ? " 
 
 The fakir then took two bullets out of his hair. 
 Holding them up so that Morgan could see them he 
 said, " With this one you pierced the heart of the 
 bird ; with it the rajah will pierce your heart. With 
 this other one you pierced the brain of the elephant ; 
 with it the rajah will pierce your brain ! Farewell." 
 
 Like a shadow he disappeared in the shrubbery and 
 Morgan was left alone.
 
 THE SKIES BRIGHTEN. 173 
 
 CHAPTER XYIL 
 
 THE SKIES BRIGHTEN. 
 
 As Morgan looked toward the Taj lie became more 
 tranquil. The tall slender minarets seemed to him 
 as the white arms of women stretching heavenward in 
 prayer, prayer for the deliverance from the bondage 
 of caste and lust. There was absolute silence about 
 him and he could think without interruption. He 
 now realized his danger. The strange inscrutable 
 power of the fakir was arrayed in deadly enmity 
 against him, and his secrets were known. How they 
 had been discovered he could not imagine, but there 
 was the fact. They were known. 
 
 One thing was necessary to be done at once. He 
 must get the women out of Agra, and out of his own 
 company. If he must suffer the rajah's wrath, so be 
 it, but if possible they must be saved. Somber re- 
 flections filled his mind as he slowly walked down the 
 avenue, out of the gate, and along the deserted road 
 to his bungalow. 
 
 Early next morning he went out upon the high- 
 way looking at the people as they carried on their 
 ordinary avocations. As he recalled the splendid 
 pageants of the day before he wondered what could 
 check the power which these native chief tains exercised
 
 174 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 over the people. In a ^certain sense they honored 
 the English, but they would not under any consid- 
 eration eat at the same table with them, nor would 
 they eat food upon which the shadow of a European 
 had fallen, even though it be the queen's son. They 
 were a subject people, but not in the least an affiliated 
 people. 
 
 Looking toward the citadel Morgan saw the 
 English flag waving, the emblem of the power 
 which kept the land in peace. Seeing the flag, 
 his courage was renewed, and he determined to pur- 
 sue his course unto the end. Still, he did not see 
 how he could claim protection, for was he not 
 proceeding in violation of the customs of the land \ 
 Nay ; he must work out the problem to the best of 
 his skill, and if he failed he would fail like a man. 
 
 Suddenly his reflections were broken by hearing a 
 familiar voice, and to the amusement of the people 
 a big red-headed Irishman rushed up to him, and 
 grasping his hand, while his eyes danced with delight, 
 exclaimed, " An' sure, an' is it yerself, Mister Morgan, 
 that I am seein, in this haythen place ? By my troth 
 it was reported of yez that yez had gone to make 
 a supper for the wild beasts of the jungle, bad 
 luck to them ! Faix, an' I tole them as had the 
 audacity to say the same that they didn't know the 
 likes o' yez or they would niver make such a remark 
 at all at all." 
 
 Morgan was heartily glad to see Dennis, and after
 
 THE SKIES BRIGHTEN. 175 
 
 the first explosion of the Irishman's joy asked the 
 welfare of Captain Grey. Dennis replied, " Sure, now, 
 an' the captain is well, many thanks to yez, and is in 
 his fortress among the mountains back of Bombay, 
 an' fye jest sent me up here to see if it was true as was 
 reported of yez that yez was bein' after havin' died. 
 An' now, bad luck to the loikes of thim as gave such 
 reports to distress your friends, I can return and say 
 the dead has come to life ag'in, an' the lost sheep 
 isn't devoured by tigers at all at all. Beggin' your par- 
 don, sur, but the captain will be mighty plased to 
 know yez are a livin' bein', sur." 
 
 A plan now suggested itself to Morgan. Dennis 
 was brave, loyal, and discreet ; why not enlist his serv- 
 ices to get out of his present difficulty \ With a 
 word of caution he led him out of the crowd, and out 
 of the city ; and when they were in the midst of a 
 field, where no one could hear them, he told Dennis 
 of his predicament, and the absolute need of out- 
 witting the fakir, the rajah, and the host of their foes. 
 Dennis was delighted with the romance of the situ- 
 ation, and vowed nothing would please him more 
 than to take part in it, and promised even his life 
 to his friend in order to save " the poor haythen 
 craytures." 
 
 In a few words Morgan sketched his plan. Den- 
 nis's eyes opened wide with wonder at it, but he did 
 not hesitate. By all the saints in his vocabulary he 
 vowed he would faithfully carry out the part intrusted
 
 176 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 to him. Then they separated, each one to prepare for 
 his part. 
 
 jMorgan was hastening toward his bungalow when 
 his attention was attracted to a crowd of people rever- 
 ently bowing before a holy fakir. From the conduct 
 of the people he imagined that this fakir must be of 
 more than ordinary sanctity, for the women devoutly 
 got down on their knees before him, and kissed the 
 ground where his holy, unwashed and callous feet 
 had trod. 
 
 Morgan drew near, impelled to study the man's 
 manner of receiving these attentions and how he man- 
 ifested the tokens of holiness. He first observed that 
 it was a Hindu fakir, and the acts of reverence were 
 from the Hindus. For a while he looked at him at- 
 tentively, as the fakir sat motionless with closed eyes, 
 more like a statue than a living person. After a 
 while he opened his eyes and looked toward Morgan. 
 In an instant there was a mutual recognition. It was 
 the fakir who had committed to his care the nautch- 
 nee. Without a word, but by the changing expres- 
 sion of his eyes, he held the attention of the white 
 man until the crowd had passed by and they were 
 alone. 
 
 Then addressing Morgan by the word meaning for- 
 eigner, he said : " Feringnee, you have done well. 
 You have shown that you possess a noble spirit. 
 You have also learned what a treasure the maiden is 
 whom I committed to your care. Do not be discouraged
 
 THE SKIES BRIGHTEN. 177 
 
 by the threats of your enemy, nor by the distresses 
 into which you may fall. If you are wise and brave 
 and true you will succeed in the end. Do not mind 
 the way, keep the end in view. The enemy who led 
 you to the Taj is still watching you, and has learned 
 where the women are. You must remove them 
 at once, but do not be seen with them in doing so. 
 Send them to the south-west in the care of the Irish- 
 man. He will know how to protect them. Do not 
 yourself go south until you see me again. I will 
 find you. Beware of the Mohammedan fakirs. 
 They are in the employ of the rajahs, and work 
 for gold. If you need me, or are in trouble, find a 
 Hindu fakir and show him this stone, and then I 
 will come to you. Use this, however, only in an. 
 extremity." 
 
 With this he gave Morgan a brilliant ruby upon 
 which were inscribed some mystical signs. The next 
 moment he waved Morgan a farewell, as a crowd of 
 people were approaching to pay him reverence. 
 
 That same evening, with cautious tread, as if un- 
 willing to attract attention, Morgan took two palan- 
 quins, borne by coolies, to the missionary compound. 
 They passed inside the inclosure, and after a short 
 stay came out again and swiftly glided out upon the 
 highway toward the cast. As they did so the Mo- 
 hammedan fakir sprang from behind a cluster of 
 trees, and keeping in the shadows along the road, fol- 
 lowed them. Morgan seemed to be urging the coolies 
 12
 
 ITS NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 to a more rapid gait than was usual with them, as 
 they sped on toward Benares. When they came to 
 their first resting-station, the fakir, watching his op- 
 portunity, again placed his mark upon the palanquins, 
 and then leisurely went on in advance at a slower 
 pace than they traveled. When after several . hours 
 lie heard them coming he hid himself by the road- 
 side, and soon had the satisfaction of seeing Morgan 
 and his palanquins pass him on the road. Thus, with 
 delight in his vigilance, the fakir followed them all 
 the way to Benares. 
 
 The keen scent of the fakir was now matched 
 against Yankee shrewdness. Morgan seemed to be 
 exceedingly careful that no one should approach his 
 palanquins. His coolies acted as if they were 
 conveying most particular persons, of the high- 
 est caste, and while the curtains were kept so close 
 that no one could possibly see the occupants 
 with assiduous attention Morgan attended to their 
 comfort. 
 
 While this scene was being enacted on the highway 
 to Benares, another scene was being consummated in 
 Agra. A short time after the departure of the palan- 
 quins from the missionary compound a lad left the 
 gate and carefully searched the immediate neighbor- 
 hood to see if any person was there in waiting. See- 
 ing no one was near, he walked on his way toward 
 the Taj. In a few moments another lad walked out 
 of the gate, and proceeded in the same direction.
 
 
 THE SKIES BRIGHTEN. 179 
 
 It was a beautiful night. The moon had risen and 
 was casting its softened light upon the Taj, which 
 was resplendent in all its wonderful impressive glory. 
 There were crowds of people on the highway between 
 Agra and the Taj Mohammedans, Hindu?, foreigners, 
 travelers, pilgrims. It seemed as if all the world sent 
 representatives to view the building on such charm- 
 ing nights. Palanquins were passing to and fro. Men 
 on horses, camels, and on bullock-carts were hasting 
 on their way. Merry parties with loud laughter or 
 songs, others as silent as the moon in its march, 
 some to wonder, some to worship so the crowds 
 moved on. The two lads joined each other on the 
 way but were not distinguished as companions, be- 
 cause they spoke not, and others were pressing on by 
 their side. 
 
 When they arrived at the beautiful tomb, accom- 
 panying a number of others, they followed a guide 
 through the gardens, around the tomb, and then 
 through its spacious precincts. Then having seen all 
 the attractions of the place, they returned to the gate 
 of the garden, and employed palanquins to convey 
 them to the village leading into the country south 
 of Agra. 
 
 By the Taj gate numbers of palanquins were in 
 constant waiting for wearied visitors to the tomb, to 
 convey them, for a small compensation, wherever they 
 chose to go. The lads were taken to their destina- 
 tion, and at the travelers' bungalow called for a room
 
 1 80 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 in which they might spend the night. They dis- 
 missed their coolies, who returned to the Taj to serve 
 other customers. 
 
 When morning dawned, they called for palanquins 
 to convey them to the next village toward the south. 
 Just as they were about to start another traveler, who 
 had spent the previous day in the village, started in a 
 palanquin going the same road. This last individual 
 commanded the respect of all the servants about the 
 bungalow. He was a tall, robust, dignified-looking 
 man, clothed as a dragoon in the English service. 
 With a free hand he paid his charges, and rewarded 
 with extra sums those who diligently served him. 
 He seemed to be very particular as to his palanquin 
 and its furniture. 
 
 Seeing the others start at about the same time, 
 he waited for them to precede him, saying loud 
 enough tor them to hear, " Whin I travel in a strange 
 land like this 1 am excadenly careful of me kompany. 
 An' 'tis myself would like to know if such as are in 
 the pracading carriages are honorable and dacent, 
 an' if so, thin I am plased." 
 
 The master of the bungalow informed him that the 
 preceding company were harmless lads and he need 
 not fear defilement from their touch or their words. 
 Dennis then announced himself satisfied, and began 
 his journey. 
 
 The lads seeing his red hair and hearing his 
 broad brogue knew that he was their protector, and
 
 THE SKIKS BRIGHTEN. 18 L 
 
 he knew that the palanquins before him contained 
 Nemoraraa and Kismut, by the red ribbon which for 
 a moment fluttered from the right hand window of 
 their carriages. With swift pace and hopes of 
 deliverance they passed on their way.
 
 182 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCIINEE. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 THE HOLY CITY OF THE HINDUS. 
 
 As Morgan drew near to Benares, he was compelled 
 to proceed slowly, for the roads were crowded by the 
 hosts of people flocking thither from all parts of the 
 country, to be at the great mela just about to begin. 
 The swarms of travelers pitched their tents in the 
 open plains along the banks of the sacred Ganges, 
 above the city. It* was a curious spectacle made by 
 the weary travelers as they reached the river and man- 
 ifested the rapture of their souls by their leapings 
 and prostrations. Some came on camels, some on 
 horses, some on oxen or in ox-carts, but multitudes 
 afoot. Mothers brought their little babes to wash 
 them in the holy water. Old men and women 
 with excessive weariness hobbled along to receive the 
 blessing of a bath in the river. Many brought their 
 aged, or their sick, to give them the blessed felicity 
 of dying in sight of the sacred stream, while others 
 eagerly welcomed any accident that might cause their 
 death in so sacred a place. 
 
 In front of every tent fires were burning at which 
 the women did the cooking for their households. 
 Every one that came brought two baskets ; one con- 
 taining the food to eat, the other the ashes of their
 
 THE HOLY CITY OF THE HINDUS. 1S3 
 
 dead to cast into the flowing waters of the sacred stream. 
 On the borders of the camp were the burning ghats, 
 where those who died were consumed, and the ashes 
 then flung into the sacred river. 
 
 All day long, and far into the night, the throngs 
 crowded the banks, waiting their opportunity to enter 
 the waters and bathe. It seemed to be a confused 
 crowd of pilgrims, pressing npon each other, and yet 
 they were most careful to preserve themselves from. 
 contact with those beneath them in caste. It was not 
 now a question of wealth, culture, official favor, or 
 meritorious distinction. It was caste, and even the 
 distinctions of the remotest clanship within the gen- 
 eral orders of caste were carefully sought for and 
 acknowledged. The sacred cord across the breast 
 was the symbol of power, and the pariah dared not so 
 much as look into the face of a Brahman wearing the 
 three-stranded cord. 
 
 The most superstitious ideas filled the minds of the 
 pariahs concerning the power of these Brahmans to 
 execute vengeance upon their enemies. The pros- 
 pect of enduring the awful, unending, beastly or 
 reptilian transmigrations for their disobedience or 
 presumption was appalling to their stupid minds. 
 The pariah, therefore, was as careful to keep out of 
 the way of the white-robed Brahman as the Brah- 
 man was to avoid touching, even with the passing of 
 his garments, the accursed pariah. 
 
 About two miles from the city, in an elegant
 
 184 NEMOUAMA THE NAUTCHNEK. 
 
 quarter, the English residents had built palatial houses 
 with all modern improvements, and in a style of ar- 
 chitecture combining the airiness desired in India 
 with the solidity characteristic of their own land. 
 Their suburb was, therefore, a constant reminder of 
 their home land. 
 
 Morgan hastened to this place, and with a great 
 show of style had the coolies convey the palanquins 
 into private rooms, and after the distinguished ladies 
 had alighted and passed into another room, the palan- 
 quins were removed. In this case the lady travelers 
 happened to be bundles of old clothes. The coolies 
 then bore their palanquins to the general rendezvous, 
 while the fakir watched to see what would become of 
 the ladies until the rajah's servants should secretly 
 take possession of them. Benares was the holy city 
 of the Hindus. To it they directed their pilgrimages, 
 as the Mohammedans to Mecca, or the Jews to Jeru- 
 salem. It is the most ancient city in India, and from 
 the earnest historic period has been the seat of Hindu 
 learning and worship. It has more than three hun- 
 dred mosques, with slender minarets pointing heaven- 
 ward, in which the Mohammedans worship, and more 
 than a thousand pagodas with lofty pinnacles sacred to 
 the idols of the Hindus. Here is the great Sanskrit 
 college of the Hindus, where their most brilliant 
 scholars gather and study the Yedas. Here, too, 
 Buddha preached his reform doctrines, and came so 
 near to changing the religion of his people.
 
 THE HOLY CITY OF THE HINDUS. 185 
 
 Here arc located great manufactories, in which the 
 greatest skill is displayed by Hindu workmen in their 
 manufacture of silk, cotton, and woolen goods. In 
 the bazaars of the city are to be found the finest 
 shawls of the north, the diamonds of the south, and 
 the muslins of the east. The city has more than two 
 hundred thousand inhabitants, and this number is 
 more than doubled during the melas, when the pil- 
 grims come from all parts of the land. The city is 
 built on the bank of the Ganges, the most sacred river 
 in the world. The palaces of the wealthy crowd the 
 river's brink for a distance of two miles ; in some 
 places so closely that the water has undermined the 
 palaces, and the ruins show how powerfully at times 
 the waters have swept along. Stone steps extend, the 
 whole length of the city, to the water's edge, down 
 which the people descend daily to bathe in the sacred 
 waters. The Ganges is here about half a mile wide. 
 All day long crowds of gaily ornamented boats glide 
 on its surface. The city is built very compactly ; 
 the streets being narrow, and the houses lofty. The 
 material used for building is mostly stone. In the 
 streets of Benares, narrow as they are, the Hindus 
 avoid, with the greatest care, touching, or being 
 touched by, even the clothing of an unbeliever. 
 
 In the midst of such a population Paul Stanhope 
 had set up the banner of the cross, and with all the 
 fervor of his soul was telling the story of the love of 
 Jesus. He did not have only poor, ignorant, heart-
 
 186 NEMOKAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 hungry people as hearers^ but learned pundits, who 
 were teachers of Hinduism, and skillful dialecticians 
 from their schools, and sharp, disputatious, sophistical 
 fakirs, and a people who, instead of hungering for 
 the Gospel, were shocked at any intimation that their 
 religion was not the best and the only true religion 
 known to men. 
 
 With such audiences the difficulties of winning 
 converts seemed to be almost insurmountable. The 
 missionary was in his school-room, giving final in- 
 structions to his company of native helpers as to the 
 places they were to occupy and the work they were 
 to do during the days of the festival, when Morgan 
 entered arid beheld him for the first time since their 
 parting in Bombay. 
 
 At the first glance Stanhope recognized his visitor, 
 and with an exclamation of joy leaped from his chair, 
 and with both hands extended in greeting catne to 
 meet him. His face, wreathed in smiles, told of the 
 joy in his heart at seeing one of his own countrymen, 
 and he said to Morgan, by way of explanation, "I 
 never imagined how lonely one could be when week 
 after week would pass by and only the faces of the 
 people of other races meet your gaze. There are many 
 compensations in a missionary's life, but the absence 
 of one's own race is a hardship which grows upon 
 you. We are constantly dealing with crowds. O 
 what multitudes there are ! and what a perpetual din 
 of strange customs about us. Faces, faces every- where,
 
 THE HOLY Crrr OF THE HINDUS. 187 
 
 until we look upon men almost as herds of cattle, and 
 we yearn for the companionship of what seem to us 
 to be real men that is, our own English-speaking 
 white-faced people. But now that you have come, I 
 feel at home again. 
 
 " And you have been to Agra ? Tell me all about 
 what you saw there. Miss Thompson wrote me 
 about your adventures, and she thinks you are quite 
 a hero in which opinion I coincide. But I cannot 
 tell you how much I thank God that you are now a 
 disciple of our Lord and Redeemer. I feel that you 
 are a brother beloved in the Lord." 
 
 With this warm greeting Morgan felt an answering 
 thrill of friendship, and at this moment, when heart 
 beat in sympathy with heart, the missionary was 
 dearer to him than any man had ever been. He, too, 
 felt the sweet sensation of brotherly love, and joy 
 filled his heart. His mind was full of questions. He 
 felt that he knew so little of Christ, and now that he 
 had opened his heart to the Saviour, he desired to 
 closely study his word. Thus far he had an intel- 
 lectual apprehension of the divine word ; now he 
 thirsted for the spiritual illumination. 
 
 When the two men were alone Paul Stanhope, 
 with his Bible on his knees, in clear and logical order 
 expounded to his friend the great doctrines of divine 
 grace. Morgan spent the next day in watching the 
 mela or religious festival of the Hindus. In various 
 parts of the camp were the high poles, with flags
 
 188 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 flying from them, showing the location of the tents 
 of those who had gottten up the festival. Around 
 the edges of the camp were merchants with booths, 
 selling every kind of an article the people would 
 want either for use or ornament In many places 
 were pleasuring parties and dancing-girls to tempt 
 and delude the unsteady. While the religious feature 
 was most prominent, the attractiveness of sin and dis- 
 sipation was not absent. 
 
 In some places throughout the camp learned pun- 
 dits, or doctors of Hindu law, sat on the ground 
 reading in a loud monotonous voice from the Vedas. 
 Great crowds gathered around them to listen to the 
 sacred words. In other places fakirs were sitting on 
 the ground receiving the gifts and the adorations of 
 the multitudes. Many of these fakirs were entirely 
 nude, with filth like scales on their bodies, with their 
 long hair, uncombed for years, matted together, and 
 filled with filth. Their nails were untrimmed and 
 resembled the claws of wild beasts. Many of them 
 were the more hideous through bodily mutilations. 
 
 One had held his arm in an unchanged position for 
 years until it could not fee bent, and his finger-nails 
 had grown down around his wiist. Another was re- 
 clining on a bed of sharp spikes that pierced his body 
 whichever way he turned. Another had not eaten a 
 morsel of food for a month, and did not intend to eat 
 until the festival closed. Another had inserted steel 
 wires into his flesh, and with a sort of fiendish delight
 
 THE HOLY CITY OF THE HINDUS. 389 
 
 was causing himself the most acute pain. Another 
 had inserted hooks in his flesh beneath his shoulder- 
 blades, and upon a high swing was swinging himself 
 to and fro suspended by these hooks. 
 
 Before these fakirs the people gathered and pros- 
 trated themselves with greatest reverence. They 
 awakened the most enthusiastic admiration, and the 
 most hideous were the most admired. The pure- 
 hearted, devout Hindu women with ardent devotion 
 kissed the ground made sacred by the tread of these 
 holy fakirs. 
 
 As Morgan watched them he learned another feat- 
 ure of fakir character that was their intense jealous- 
 ies. The various clans manifested this spirit, and the 
 Mohammedan fakirs were in perpetual strife with the 
 Hindu fakirs. Sometimes when they met they fought 
 with each other, and in these contests displayed the 
 ferocity of wild beasts. They knew no mercy, and 
 only the death of one of them ended the struggle. 
 
 Their power of malediction was awful. They 
 could utter the most terrifying imprecations upon 
 their foes, and the fear of their curse was enough to 
 make child, w r oman, man, or ruler oifer great sacri- 
 fices to appease them. While this was the power of 
 many there were others who were sincere devotees, 
 who had given up the pleasures of life to become 
 ascetics for God. 
 
 Some were learned Brahmans who were now fulfill- 
 ing vows made, and they were honored with the
 
 190 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 greatest reverence because they had given up all the 
 pride of life to become holy. The law giving direc- 
 tions to the sanynasi, or Brahman devotee such as 
 were some of these fakirs for the thoughts he 
 should cherish says : " A sannyasi should reflect on the 
 transmigrations of men, which are caused by their 
 sinful deeds ; on their downfall into a region of dark- 
 ness and their torments in the mansions of Yarua; 
 on their separation from those whom they love and 
 their union with those whom they hate ; on their 
 strength being overpowered by old age and their 
 bodies racked with disease ; on their agonizing de- 
 parture from this corporeal frame and their formation 
 again in the womb ; on the misery attached to em- 
 bodied spirits from a violation of their duties and the 
 imperishable bliss which attaches to embodied spirits 
 who have abundantly performed every duty." 
 
 The moral courage of a life of such self-abnegation 
 as was practiced by the truly devout fakir aroused the 
 highest state of admiration and reverence in the 
 hearts of the Hindus. To them a fakir was sacred. 
 There were thousands of fakirs attending this mela, 
 and in companies of hundreds they would march 
 down to the river bank and receive the adoration of 
 the passing multitudes. 
 
 As Morgan was observing one of these groups he 
 saw the fakir who had led him to the Taj and had 
 threatened him so furiously. As he looked at Mor- 
 gan he made a low and peculiar noise with his mouth.
 
 THE HOLY CITY OF THE HINDUS. 191 
 
 Instantly every fakir in the company, following his 
 gaze, looked at Morgan. For a moment Morgan's 
 heart felt faint, for he knew that from this moment 
 he was a marked man, and that every one of these 
 fakirs would seek his destruction. He hastily passed 
 to another part of the camp. As he passed by another 
 group he beheld the fakir who had befriended him, 
 and when he saw the large company of Hindu fakirs 
 surrounding him he felt assured that he woujd find 
 help in the time of need. He continued on his way 
 until he came once more to the missionaries' tent. 
 
 The missionaries' tent was established by the side 
 of the main road along which the crowd must pass to 
 get to the river. The missionary, assisted by a num- 
 ber of native helpers, was spending his entire time 
 in preaching, tract distributing, and selling Bibles 
 and various religious books. 
 
 Paul Stanhope had carefully studied the Hindu- 
 stance language and the dialect in most common use 
 about Benares, and was able to address the people in 
 their own tongue. As he preached to them some 
 laughed at his words, some listened with deep interest, 
 and some kept up a running comment upon his state- 
 ments or asked him questions. 
 
 At times it seemed to approach a free debate, in 
 which there would be sharp questions and sharp an- 
 swers. Now a Hindu pundit would interpose a ques- 
 tion, now a Mohammedan moulvie would deny his 
 statements, now a fakir would resent his teachings,
 
 192 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 now a passing show of actors or curiosities would 
 break upon his audience and so the work went on. 
 The crowds were always ready to enjoy his defeat if 
 they got such a chance, or to laugh at his victory if 
 won by smartness. The quickness of the Hindu's 
 mind in suggesting illustrations and analogies was 
 wonderful, and the missionary soon learned that in 
 the crowds before him were men of great learning, 
 knowiag well their sacred books, and able debaters of 
 their faith. When he became convinced that these 
 public discussions only amused the people and did not 
 convert them, he turned from that method and 
 preached the simple story of the cross. 
 
 To this the people listened ; to know more of it 
 they read the tracts and purchased the books, and 
 when daylight had passed many of them came to the 
 missionary tent to inquire more particularly into 
 these things. 
 
 In this manner the work was carried on day after 
 day, and the story of Jesus was taken by these pil- 
 grims to their distant homes. The missionary received 
 many invitations to visit their villages and preach 
 more of the glad tidings of forgiveness and salvation 
 to them. It was so different from the religions they 
 had known, and it was as a refreshing fountain to 
 their thirsting souls. 
 
 The missionary noticed that, as a rule, those who 
 received his doctrine were the low caste people, or 
 the pariahs, and only occasionally a Brahman. The
 
 THE HOLY CITY OF THE HINDUS. 193 
 
 multitudes of high caste people, clothed in pure white 
 robes, passed him by without deigning to heed his 
 call. 
 
 The unceasing nature of the work, from the break 
 of dawn until late at night, was a great strain upon 
 his nerves, and long before the feast closed his 
 strength began to give way. It seemed as if years of 
 labor must be crowded into one month. He kept to 
 his post until the close of the feast, and then, utterly 
 
 prostrated by his toil, hoped for rest. 
 13
 
 194 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 DENNIS IN TROUBLE. 
 
 DENNIS took charge of the ladies with the firm re- 
 solve to break the head of any man that attempted to 
 interfere with them or hinder their journey. His 
 honor was at stake. A trust had been laid upon him 
 which he considered sacred. His heart swelled with 
 pride as he thought of his unique position in the midst 
 of a stealthy and heathen people. His courtesy could 
 not be excelled. At times in the course of the journey 
 he surprised the ladies by the manner in which he 
 would assure them that they could fully trust him. 
 
 They had resumed their female attire with the sec- 
 ond change of coolies, and he had taken the charge of 
 the three palanquins. They readily perceived that 
 he was showing them loyal gallantry, but it was in a 
 manner just the opposite of that to which they were 
 accustomed. They were quiet, he was noisy ; they ut- 
 tered but few words, he was talking all the time ; 
 they interspersed many religious observances in their 
 daily life and conversation, he seemed to be utterly 
 without such. But they were satisfied, because they 
 had complete trust in the judgment of their protector 
 and in his assurance that Dennis was honest, loyal, 
 and brave.
 
 DENNIS IN TROUBLE. 195 
 
 Impressed by the warnings he had received, Dennis 
 was constantly observant of fakirs. Numbers of 
 them were passed on the road, for they abounded in 
 India. It was. popular to be a fakir. He had often 
 heard Captain Grey tell how they carried the secret 
 messages of the rajahs which caused the surprise in 
 the mutiny of 1857 ; and whenever lie saw one he 
 thought some secret must lie hidden in his mind, to 
 some day be given out in the cause of evil. He was 
 just a little afraid of their treachery. It would have 
 afforded him great pleasure to have broken some of 
 their heads with his club, but he well knew that if he 
 raised his hand against one of them the fanaticism of 
 the people would be aroused and every man would 
 hasten to resent the blow. 
 
 Dennis delighted in military regularity ; and as he 
 watched how gracefully the coolies carried the palan- 
 quins hour after hour, he was loud in his praise of 
 their service. At the end of the third day's journey, 
 as they alighted for rest from the palanquins and en- 
 tered the travelers' bungalow, Dennis noticed the 
 sharp eyes of a fakir observing every motion, and he 
 knew that they were being watched. At the close of 
 the next day the same thing was repeated. This time 
 the fakir did not make himself prominent. His man- 
 ner would have indicated to a stranger utter indiffer- 
 ence to what was passing about him. But Dennis saw 
 behind this outward show. The keen glitter and subtle 
 expression of the fakir's eyes could not be misunder-
 
 106 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE, 
 
 stood. Dennis assumed an air of unconcern before 
 others and seemed to be in a happy mood, but not a 
 word escaped him regarding his companions or the 
 object of their journey. But when alone in his pal- 
 anquin his brow was wrinkled in deep perplexity, and 
 he frequently shook his head and muttered to him- 
 self as he sought to solve the problem how to elude 
 his pursuers. 
 
 After a while he observed that different fakirs 
 were watching him, and he began to comprehend the 
 system of telegraphing by which they girdled India. 
 He saw that they did not work as solitary individuals, 
 but as an organized band, and his fear of them in- 
 creased. Whenever he came in sight of the flag 
 of England his courage revived and his heart grew 
 light, for he feared no treachery beneath its folds ; 
 but sometimes days passed in which he seemed 
 to be in the heart of heathenism. Dark faces, primi- 
 tive social customs, multitudes of people, towns with 
 many pagodas, troops of fakirs, and wretchedness 
 crowded the country through which they were pass- 
 ing. They also frequently passed through patches of 
 jungle in which man-eating tigers had their lairs and 
 deadly serpents crawled. Through such places they 
 hastened in silence and in fear, and they never 
 entered them near the hours of darkness. 
 
 They were passing through one of these lonely and 
 long stretches of jungle, when a number of men 
 suddenly sprang out of the bushes and with savage
 
 DENNIS IN TROUBLE. 197 
 
 shouts rushed upon them. In an instant Dennis 
 leaped from his palanquin to the ground and com- 
 manded the coolies bearing the maidens to go on. 
 As the brigands endeavored to stop the coolies, Den- 
 nis drew his revolver and shot the man who had laid 
 his hand upon the foremost palanquin. The man fell, 
 but another sprang to take his place. Dennis quickly 
 shot him also ; and as he fell the palanquin was liber- 
 ated, and the coolies bearing it rushed down the road 
 with all the speed they possessed. 
 
 The brigands now closed about the other palanquin, 
 and the coolies, thoroughly frightened, dropped it and 
 ran for their lives. Dennis stood by it and fought 
 the robbers, every shot of his revolver with unerring 
 aim felling a foe. But the barrels were soon empty, 
 and the crowd of foes pressed upon him so fiercely 
 that he could no longer defend himself and fell to the 
 ground beneath their clubs, bleeding and senseless. 
 The brigands, supposing him to be dead, left him 
 with their slain comrades and hastily retreated into 
 the jungle, carrying the palanquins which the coolies 
 had forsaken. 
 
 Dennis was blessed with a thick skull, and in a short 
 time regained the use of his senses and beheld the 
 
 o 
 
 carnage about him. His first thought was, " Where 
 are the ladies ? " Those committed to his care were 
 taken from him, and he was still alive. What would 
 he say to Mr. Morgan, to Captain Grey ? His head 
 was racking with pain, but this thought was torture to
 
 198 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 his heart. lie would rather have been killed in the 
 battle than live with this disgrace. He sat down, and 
 pressing his head between his hands looked at the 
 evidences of the straggle. By his side were the rob- 
 bers he had slain. He counted them. Every bullet in 
 his revolver had cost a man his life. For a moment he 
 was silent, and then he arose and exhausted his vocabu- 
 lary in maledictions on his foes. The shadows were 
 lengthening, and with the darkness hyenas or wolves 
 would come out of the jungle and so completely devour 
 the slain that by the morning's light not a trace would 
 be left of them. Fearing lie might suffer the same fate, 
 he took one of the brigands' clubs in his hand, and 
 with his empty revolver in the other hand, walked 
 back to the village through which he had passed only 
 a couple of hours before. 
 
 Dennis had learned something of the political sys- 
 tem of the provinces in India, a system of village 
 government as old as the Aryan invasion. 
 
 The unit of government in India is the village, and 
 each villag e community is a little republic having 
 every thing within itself, and in the most of cases en- 
 tirely independent of foreign relations. 
 
 The holders of land, farmers, mechanics, and 
 workers of every kind, compose the commune, sus- 
 taining a relation toward each other like the members 
 of a family to one another. Their code of morals is 
 determined largely by this relation. They are truth- 
 ful, honest, and accommodating to each other, while to
 
 DENNIS IN TKOUBLK. 199 
 
 foreigners, or the people of some other village, they 
 may present an entirely different character without 
 thinking it to be wrong. To lie to one of their own 
 village would be a disgraceful act, but to lie to one 
 of another villlasre would be shrewdness, and not 
 
 o * 
 
 wrong-doing. This code of morals they observe in 
 all the acts of life. It shows the narrowness of hea- 
 thenism ; all the world outside the borders of their 
 own village being considered legitimate ground for 
 preying. 
 
 When we remember that India has 448,320 villages 
 with less than one thousand inhabitants each, we can 
 see why they have been so easily conquered by the 
 English, and why they are held in restraint when 
 there is only one Englishman to every thirty-five hun- 
 dred of the people of India. Their villages, as a 
 country, have no cohesive attraction. And yet there 
 is a sort of a union. Sometimes a number of villages 
 will unite in a confederacy which they call a grama- 
 gala. There is also a system of taxation by which one 
 officer will collect taxes from many villages for the 
 one who holds the land in subjection. When eighty- 
 four villages are united for this purpose, it is called 
 katurasite. 
 
 Dennis had been assailed within the borders of one 
 of these villages, and knowing he could hold the vil- 
 lage responsible for his loss he determined to enforce 
 his claim for justice and reparation. 
 
 When he reached the village he sought the dwelling
 
 200 NKMOKAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 of the chief man, and while a crowd gathered about 
 him, loudly complained of the injuries he had received. 
 They could not deny his having passed through 
 their village so recently, and his bruised and bleed- 
 ing face was evidence of the blows he had received. 
 Alarmed at the serious aspect of the affair, the chief 
 man immediately dispatched a number of men to the 
 scene of the conflict, to be witnesses of the harm done. 
 When these men arrived at the place they found the hy- 
 enas fighting over the bodies of the slain. Driving them 
 off with their torches, they examined the bodies, and 
 pronounced them to belong to a band of robbers whose 
 stronghold was in the jungle, and that for a long 
 time they had been molesting travelers. Notwith- 
 standing the gusto with which this information was 
 given, Dennis was not disposed to accept it as a final 
 settlement of the affair. "What he wanted was his 
 palanquins and the companions of his journey. With 
 thorough Irish vehemence he boasted of his being an 
 officer of the government, on important business with 
 distinguished companions, and if the villagers did not 
 make the matter right the government would. 
 
 The violence of manner with which Dennis made 
 this threat thoroughly frightened the villagers, and 
 they promised to collect at once a strong body of men, 
 and, as soon as daylight came, to do all they could to 
 discover the stolen persons and property. 
 
 While gathering the men for this mission, torches 
 were seen rapidly approaching on the highway.
 
 DENNIS ix TROUBLE. 
 
 When they came near, they were seen to be torches 
 home hy the coolies who were the bearers of the 
 palanquins in which the nautchnee had been traveling, 
 who had escaped the robbers by rushing forward in 
 obedience to Dennis's command. When they arrived 
 at the next stopping-place, they discovered that their 
 passenger had mysteriously disappeared, and they 
 immediately returned in search of her. Dennis ex- 
 amined the palanquin. Nemorama's garments and 
 possessions were there, but she was not, and there 
 were no signs of a struggle or confusion in the 
 palanquin. 
 
 He was now more distressed than ever. The vil- 
 lagers could not restrain their pity as they witnessed 
 his deep anguish of spirit. Physical exhaustion and 
 the excessive pain from the wounds he had received 
 rendered him incapable of controlling his emotions as 
 he thought of the probable fate of his wards. 
 
 Soon after daylight the villagers were ready to start, 
 and a large number of excited men followed Dennis 
 
 O 
 
 and the village chief to the place of the conflict. 
 Scouts were sent out who soon discovered the trail of 
 the brigands, and with rising enthusiasm the entire 
 party plunged into the jungle. 
 
 For a long distance their track was in a forest of 
 lofty trees, which they pursued until they came to a 
 ravine in which a nowing stream hid all traces of the 
 brigands from their sight. The scouts scoured the 
 ravine, but were utterly unable to discover further
 
 202 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 signs of the trail. In doubt and perplexity they con- 
 tinued down the ravine until they came to a place 
 where great masses of rock shut in the stream, 
 showing the possibilities of an ambuscade by which 
 they might all be slaughtered. As they stopped to 
 consider what course to pursue, their attention was 
 attracted to a person climbing down the rocks toward 
 them, and evidently anxious to reach them. As 
 the person came nearer, Dennis was enraptured 
 to see that it was Nemorama. Her garments 
 were badly torn, and she was suffering from fa- 
 tigue, her feet were bleeding from the cuts and 
 bruises inflicted by the sharp stones over which she 
 had passed. She was so eager to tell her story to 
 Dennis that she seemed unaware of the presence of 
 the others. She said : " When I was borne away from 
 the conflict, I knew from the numbers of assailants 
 that they would conquer. When at a safe distance 
 the coolies stopped for a few moments, and ran back 
 to see how the battle was going ; then I slipped out of 
 the palanquin, closed the curtains, and hid myself in 
 the bushes. The coolies returned quickly, and were 
 too excited to notice the lightness of the palanquin, 
 but with rapid strides pressed on their way. I cau- 
 tiously returned to the place of the conflict, and seeing 
 the robbers, carrying Kismut with them, followed 
 them, hoping by some chance or other to be able to 
 deliver her. O, it was hard work to perform. The 
 robbers traveled rapidly, shouting and cursing as they
 
 DENNIS IN TROUBLE. 203 
 
 went, and I following, in fear lest I might lose them, 
 or they might discover me. When it became dark 
 they had their torches, but I could only follow their 
 lights. Many times I stumbled and fell, then I was 
 in fear lest the breaking of a twig, or a stone falling 
 down the hillside, moved by my tread, might attract 
 their notice. The thought of venemous serpents in 
 my way also came into my mind, and only the hope 
 of delivering Kisraut gave me strength to continue. 
 When they came to these rocks, they ceased their 
 shoutings, and slowly climbed them, and then pro- 
 ceeding along a very dangerous way, came to their 
 den, and there Kismut is now in their grasp, and they 
 are resting until it suits them to go on another foray." 
 The men were now anxious to proceed, and as Ne- 
 morama pointed out the way they moved forward as 
 silently as it was possible for them to tread. Above 
 the rocks, the narrow path ran by the side of great 
 ledges, by deep precipices, and around sharply jutting 
 crags. Dennis noticed that in such a place a few 
 men could keep at bay great hosts, but the robbers 
 thoughtlessly left the pathway unguarded. After a 
 w r hile they came to a plateau, and saw before them 
 the robbers' resort. It was a cave in the side of a 
 great mass of rocks. Before the cave was a level area 
 upon which the robbers were taking their ease. Some 
 were lying asleep, some were chatting with compan- 
 ions, some were eating, while others seemed to be 
 discussing plans for future deeds.
 
 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 Their resort was in the depths of the jungle. The 
 iungle for many miles lay below them, and off in the 
 distance the highway, like a slender thread, was seen. 
 It was a fortress and a watch-tower, and as Dennis 
 marked its features as a fortification he did not won- 
 der that the robbers had never been overcome. 
 
 Dennis now quietly communicated to his followers 
 his plan of attack, and then, with a rush and a yell, 
 they all sprang forward, and before the robbers could 
 recover from their surprise were upon them. The 
 conflict was short and desperate. The surprise was 
 complete, and in a few moments all the robbers who 
 were not killed or badly wounded had fled down the 
 narrow path beyond their cave. 
 
 Going into the cave they found the palanquin, and 
 Kismut in it suffering from the terror which the 
 menaces of the robbers had produced. Folded in 
 Nemorama's arms she soon recovered tranquillity, and 
 then the entire party prepared to return to the vil- 
 lage. The cave was well stocked with provisions and 
 weapons, and in it were also found great stores of 
 goods stolen from defenseless travelers. The chief 
 villager had an account taken of all the possessions 
 found in the cave, and, with the wounded robbers as 
 prisoners, began the homeward march. The women 
 were gently borne in the palanquins, and Dennis was 
 carried in a palanquin hastily prepared for the pur- 
 pose. Now that his wards were recovered he showed 
 utter prostration, and as he was being carried slept
 
 DENNIS IN TROUBLE. 205 
 
 BO soundly that the village was reached before he 
 awoke. 
 
 On the following day, having recovered from his 
 fatigue and his wounds having been bound up with 
 ointments, he resumed his journey, anxious to reach 
 Bombay before the beginning of the inclement season.
 
 206 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 i 
 
 ZENANA WORK OPENED. 
 
 IN a village not very far from Benares one of the 
 missionaries had established himself, and was build- 
 ing np an extensive work. He chose the vil- 
 lage in order to be away from the curious crowds 
 of the city, where he could preach and teach those 
 who in quiet desired to learn. When the mela was 
 over he insisted that Stanhope should come to his 
 home and rest. Morgan encouraged his friend to 
 do so, and promised, as an inducement, to accompany 
 him. 
 
 It was an ordinary village. The houses were con- 
 structed of bamboo frame-work covered with matting 
 or with mud, with a thatched roof extending over it 
 all. These houses, simple in construction, were built 
 very light, and closely along narrow lanes. Most of 
 them contained large families, often several gen- 
 erations dwelling in the one house. 
 
 Generally when a fire broke out in one of these 
 houses it swept the street and caused loss of life, for 
 the flames spread so rapidly that it was impossible to 
 extinguish them. This, however, was but seldom, 
 because the religious customs of the people led them, 
 to exercise great care in all they did. In front of
 
 ZENANA WORK OPENED. 207 
 
 most of the houses the plant called melmdee was 
 cultivated. When in blossom it is very pretty with 
 its small, delicate, fragrant flowers resembling the 
 clematis. 
 
 The high caste Hindu women cultivate this plant 
 to afford them dyeing material. They bruise the 
 leaves, and then moisten them with lime-water. 
 They then apply this mixture to their nails, tips of 
 the fingers, palms of the hands, and often the soles of 
 the feet, which in a short time become a reddish- 
 orange color, the stain remaining until the skin is 
 worn away. In these villages the people are very 
 particular in presenting their caste and clan symbols. 
 
 " The sectarian marks of the Hindus vary with their 
 caste and the deity to whom they attach themselves. 
 The high caste Brahman makes only a circular mark 
 with a little sacred mud of the Ganges, mixed with 
 water, on his forehead. This is symbolic of the mys- 
 tic word 'Anm.' The followers of Vishnu, a second 
 grade of Brahmans, use a species of clay brought 
 from a pool, Dhwaiaka, in which the seven shepherd- 
 esses who are always represented with Krishna are 
 supposed to have drowned themselves on hearing of 
 the death of their favorite hero. This mark is a 
 circle with a straight line passing through, symboliz- 
 ing the regenerative powers of nature. The Mahadeo 
 sect wear two straight lines on the brow ; the one on 
 the right stands for God, the one on the left for man. 
 A transverse streak of red lime (a preparation of
 
 208 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 turmeric and lime) joins them, signifying God and man 
 united. A great many wear the mark of Vishnu's 
 weapon with which he is supposed to have killed the 
 sea monster to rescue from destruction the three 
 Yedas. The followers of Siva, one of the four great 
 sects of Hindus, wear a complex mark of circle and 
 cross combined, made with the Tishes of burnt cow 
 ordure, symbolizing the destruction of all sin and the 
 beatitude in store for the pure and holy." 
 
 Thus every man carried his mark, which at a glance 
 manifested just what belief he held. No Hindu was 
 ashamed of his religion. 
 
 In the villages each sect had its own pagoda, to 
 which the people freely gave their offerings. They 
 always took an offering when they approached their 
 god. 
 
 The missionary built his station, or compound, on 
 the outskirts of the village, on a piece of elevated 
 ground by the side of the main road, and in a place 
 with abundant shade. 
 
 The main building, or missionary bungalow, was a 
 large one-story house, built of bamboo and mud, and 
 kept attractive with whitewash. The thatched roof 
 extended over the verandas, under which the air cir- 
 culated through wide doors and windows. 
 
 The chapel was built of the same material. In htis 
 building morning and evening prayers were offered, 
 and on Sundays the people were gathered for 
 more elaborate instruction. The school-house was
 
 ZENANA WORK OPENED. 209 
 
 open six days of the week, and closed on Sunday. 
 Here various branches of learning were taught, 
 and all the boys and girls of the village were 
 welcomed. 
 
 There was one more building in the compound, 
 called the orphanage, where waifs were gathered. 
 Some of these had been deserted by their parent? 
 poor little girls, who found no welcome in a commu- 
 nity where there were already more girls than boys. 
 Some of the children had lost their parents by that 
 dreadful scourge of India the cholera. Having no 
 friends to care for them, the missionary took them 
 in. These children were all being trained to become 
 heralds of salvation. Hinduism built asylums for 
 monkeys, decrepit elephants, bullocks, birds, and 
 even reptiles, but Christianity built asylums for chil- 
 dren. By kindness, counsel, and free instruction the 
 missionary gradually won the regard of the people, 
 and his work flourished. Here, in the midst of 
 Hinduism, he had set up as an example and pattern 
 for the people a typical American home. 
 
 It was a matter of curiosity not only to the people 
 of that village, but to the people of the surrounding 
 villages, and to the visitors and pilgrims who passed 
 along this road going to the sacred Ganges. As they 
 looked into it they observed the liberty, happiness, 
 and comfort of a Christian home. To this comfort- 
 able place Paul Stanhope came, and rested his wearied 
 
 body beneath the shelter of the wide verandas, 
 14
 
 210 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 occasionally speaking words of exhortation or counsel 
 in the chapel or school-room. 
 
 For a few days the change seemed to benefit him. 
 then came a turn for the worse, and with sorrow 
 his friends perceived that his days on earth would 
 be few. 
 
 As Stanhope saw the anxiety in their faces, he 
 easily guessed the cause, and with calm patience gave 
 himself up to the will of God. The only desire he 
 seemed to have was to see Jennie Thompson before 
 lie died. He had no sooner expressed this desire 
 than Morgan started for Agra to bring her to him. 
 
 Jennie Thompson's work in Agra had been con- 
 stantly increasing. As the people learned to know 
 her gentleness, and that love for them had caused her 
 to come among them, they watched for opportunities 
 to hear her sweet voice, or to feel her gentle touch. 
 They had been accustomed to hear their pundits 
 reading their sacred books in drawling tones, but 
 the reading of the Gospel to them in expressive 
 tones, slowly enough for them to understand, and 
 illustrated from their own customs to make it plain, 
 opened their hearts so that the more of it they 
 heard, the more they desired to hear. But her work 
 was not in the missionary bungalow, it was zenana 
 work. She represented the work of the women of 
 America for the women of India. She did not wait 
 for the people to come to her, she went to them to 
 bless them, to carry to them a bright and cheering
 
 ZENANA WORK OPENED. 211 
 
 light. In the houses of the wealthy the zenanas were 
 furnished with many comforts. They were airy and 
 light, with beautiful and fragrant gardens before the 
 verandas, with high walls surrounding the gardens. 
 But with the poor there were no such comforts. 
 Their rooms were dark, gloomy, and devoid of every- 
 thing that could make life sweet and cheerful; and the 
 most of the people were poor. Yet, whether in the 
 houses of the rich or poor, there was a kind of seclu- 
 sion insisted upon that shut these women in from 
 sympathy or participation with the life of others. 
 The men, the little children, and dissolute characters 
 had the freedom of the street. Such was the peculiar 
 nature of Hindu social life. 
 
 The wretchedness of the women in poor families 
 awoke the most tender feelings in the heart of the 
 missionary. She saw her sisters in the bondage of 
 social and religious customs which were blighting their 
 lives and rendering them incapable of exhibiting those 
 features of feminine grace and usefulness so common 
 in her own land. In the houses of the wealthy she saw 
 that, with all the advantages of wealth, their lives were 
 spent in idleness and gossip, in self-decoration and 
 frivolity, while the nobler parts of their nature were 
 entirely neglected. To such she desired to show how 
 useful they might become, and by helping those in 
 suffering they might obtain the most enduring rewards 
 for their own lives. At first the doors of these houses 
 were closed against her. The people had nothing in
 
 212 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 common with her. She was a foreigner, representing 
 a strange and antagonistic religion. She was defiled 
 by her habits, by the food she ate, the company she 
 kept, the things in life about her that touched her. 
 She made companions and disciples of low caste, of 
 pariahs, ancl of people below caste. Her very touch 
 would be pollution. 
 
 But after a while they began to listen to the ac- 
 counts of her success in healing diseases. The poor 
 fever-stricken woman whom she healed loudly spoke 
 her praises. The woman who for many years had 
 been unable to leave her bed, and through her treat- 
 ment was now able to walk as freely as ever, went 
 from house to house telling the story of her wonder- 
 ful cure. By-and-by she acquired fame, and then 
 the Hindu physicians, soothsayers, priests, and astrol- 
 'ogers began to upbraid the people for having any 
 thing to do with her, for they saw that she was tak- 
 ing from them their influence and their fees. The 
 turning-point in her usefulness came as a result of a 
 man's strong affection for his wife. 
 
 The wife of a prominent high caste man was lying 
 very sick. With all his love for her he was not willing 
 that a man, even though a physician, should enter his 
 zenana. Hearing of the success of the strange woman 
 he sent for her, and,* charmed by the grace of her 
 speech, the courtesy of her deportment, and the 
 beauty of her countenance, opened the hitherto 
 closed doors.
 
 ZENANA WORK OPENED. 213 
 
 The beautiful wife had been ailing for a long time, 
 and was now unable to leave her couch. Her hus- 
 band lavished upon her all the attentions she could 
 desire. He spared no expense to benefit her, but all 
 in vain. When Miss Thompson entered the zenana 
 she was greeted with looks expressive of great 
 anxiety from the invalid and her attendants. She 
 breathed a prayer to God for his blessing arid that 
 he would grant her this soul. Then she carefully 
 examined the invalid. When the examination was 
 completed the name of a peculiar and rare remedy 
 flashed into her mind, and believing it to be from 
 God she began to administer it to the invalid. All 
 that day she remained in the zenana, and the next day, 
 and the day following ;. then, seeing the patient on 
 the road to recovery, she departed amid the thanks 
 and rejoicings of all. 
 
 From this she was called into other z-enanas until 
 she had established many firm friendships among the 
 high caste ladies. At first when with them she said 
 nothing about her religion except to answer their 
 questions, but afterward she read to them out of her 
 Bible the sweet stories in the gospels of Jesus going 
 about doing good. In this way she brought the 
 light and power of the truth to bear upon many 
 hearts, until they too rejoiced in Christ as their Sav- 
 iour. As a physician her heart often felt sad as she 
 saw how much her sex suffered from the ignorance 
 and wrong treatment of the Hindu physicians.
 
 21 i XEMORAMA. THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 Many suffered for years who might have enjoyed 
 good health through a little proper treatment. 
 "Wretchedness, pain, and misery became their punish- 
 ment for wrong social views, and she determined to 
 see what her influence could accomplish in teaching 
 her sex the rights that belonged to them by the nature 
 God had given them. She taught them to have more 
 light, and to drive darkness and gloom out of their 
 dwellings. They should have plenty of pure air and 
 not be shut in stifling rooms. She also urged them 
 to employment, and to resist the temptation to be 
 idle. They should always have something to do. 
 This would add to their cheerfulness. She also 
 urged them to obtain knowledge. 
 
 This was a decided innovation which they did not 
 dare to indorse. This was the privilege of the men, 
 not of the women. But in the missionary school all 
 who accepted Christ were taught to read. It was 
 necessary that every one should read for herself the 
 word of God. Christianity and intelligence went 
 hand in hand. Purity of heart and strength of mind 
 were sisters. 
 
 Thus her work moved on. As she read Paul 
 Stanhope's letters she grew sad. "Was he indeed so 
 sick a man ? When Morgan came for her, she laid 
 down her work to go to her heart's beloved, and as 
 Morgan watched her countenance he saw that her 
 heart was battling with the sorest trial of her life.
 
 THE MISSIONARY'S REST. 215 
 
 CHAPTER XXL 
 
 THE MISSIONARY'S REST. 
 
 WHEN Morgan and his companion reached the 
 compound, Stanhope was reclining in an easy-chair 
 on the veranda watching for them. 
 
 Miss Thompson was hardly prepared for the de- 
 cline of vitality which she saw, and it required all her 
 force of will to keep back the tears. Stanhope re- 
 ceived her with joy. His eyes were full of hungry 
 yearning. Smiles covered his face, but as they 
 quickly fled away, the hollowness of his cheeks was 
 the more plainly revealed. He took her hand within 
 his own, and feasted his eyes upon her countenance, 
 listening with calm delight to the melody of her voice 
 as she told of her success in zenana work in Agra. 
 Then, wearied with excess of joy, he went to sleep 
 in his chair, still lovingly clasping her hand. 
 
 When night came and she retired to her room, the 
 flood-gates of her grief were opened, and she wept with 
 such anguish of soul as she had never known before. 
 She was oppressed with a sense of her loneliness. For a 
 moment a wave of homesickness rushed across her 
 heart, and she thought, " O mother ! mother ! If I 
 could only weep on your loving bosom in this hour 
 of my sorrow ! "
 
 210 NKMOKAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 Then she thought of her mission and of his mission. 
 He so noble, so intellectual, a man of moral grandeur, 
 a man to sway thousands, now dying at the threshold of 
 usefulness. Was this God's way ? As she thought of 
 heaven she became calmer. It would be more real to 
 her when he should enter its pearly gates, and he 
 would be nearer to her than ever before. All night 
 long she fought the battle with her sorrow, but by the 
 morning's light she rejoiced in having gained the vic- 
 tory, and could say, " My soul is resting in peace." 
 
 As Morgan saw his friend growing weaker, an in- 
 tense desire sprang up within him to prolong that 
 life if possible. India was favored with many health 
 resorts. The magnificent mountains bounding the 
 peninsula on the north were intersected by many 
 charming little valleys at the head-waters of great 
 rivers stretching clear up into the regions of eternal 
 snow. All degrees of climate could be found, and 
 sanitariums adapted to all kinds of invalids. Perhaps 
 some spot might be found to benefit Stanhope and 
 rob death of its victim. 
 
 Expense was no consideration. He consulted his 
 friends, studied maps of the country, searched the 
 guide-books, and then, having decided upon the place, 
 astonished Stanhope and Miss Thompson by bidding 
 them prepare for an immediate journey to Nynee Tal. 
 
 Palanquins were soon in readiness, and Morgan, 
 with Stanhope and Miss Thompson, were on their 
 way. They were carried to Benares, where they
 
 THE MISSION AEY'S REST. 217 
 
 entered the cars and rode through Lucknow to a point 
 on the railroad nearest their destination. There jam- 
 pans were provided, and the march up the mountain 
 was begun. Jampans were arm-chairs with a pole on 
 each side, and carried by four men. The path up the 
 mountain reminded Morgan very much of traveling 
 in Switzerland. The narrow road wound around one 
 peak after another of the mountain, sometimes be- 
 tween high rocks and yawning precipices, sometimes 
 in places where it seemed almost a puff of wind might 
 cause devastating land-slides. As they passed along 
 the cold increased, and the shrubbery on the mountain 
 indicated the change in the climate. The cool air 
 seemed to nerve them all, and the invalid almost for- 
 got his weakness in beholding the grand scenery 
 stretching out below their path. Before the journey 
 was ended he gave way to fatigue, and as the coolies 
 tenderly bore him along he restf ully slept. At length 
 they reached Nynee Tal, and were soon placed in 
 comfort in a large sanitarium provided for the accom- 
 modation of guests. 
 
 Nynee Tal is in- a narrow valley between two spurs 
 of the Gaghur range of mountains. It is seven thou- 
 sand feet above the plain, and is just in front of a 
 mountain range twenty-one thousand feet higher, and 
 covered with perpetual snow and glaciers. 
 
 The valley is half land and half water. The water, 
 being at all times transparent and like a mirror, re- 
 flects the surrounding mountains. It is one oft he
 
 218 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 most charming spots in India, and if Paul Stanhope's 
 life could be saved, this was the place to accomplish it. 
 It had been used as a sanitarium so many years that 
 all the conveniences for an invalid's comfort were at 
 hand, and Morgan gave explicit instructions that 
 nothing should be spared that might assist the invalid 
 in his search for health. 
 
 There were many English residents in the place 
 and health-seekers from all over India, and travelers 
 from all parts of the world seeking temporary rest in 
 their journeyings. With nothing to weary him and 
 every thing to interest him, Stanhope gained strength 
 for a time, but Miss Thompson was not deceived by 
 these appearances. She knew that soon and suddenly 
 an attack would come which would probably be fatal, 
 but with all her skill and affection she watched his 
 symptoms and guarded him from every aggravating 
 cause. As she watched over him, read to him, and in 
 a thousand little ways displayed her affection for him, 
 she manifested a sweetness of disposition that led the 
 people to speak of her as an angel ministrant. 
 
 As he drew nearer the end of life she experienced 
 a strong desire to bear his name. According to the 
 custom of India 'she would be his widow if he died, 
 but not according to the custom of her home-land, 
 and she wished to be recognized as his own to her 
 own people. He, too, was desirous of calling her his 
 wife, if only for a day. He could not dismiss from 
 his mind the idea of many in India that she would be
 
 THE MISSIONARY'S REST. 219 
 
 his, if true, for all eternity. The ceremony was not 
 delayed. Invitations were sent to all the Americans 
 who were visiting the place and to all the guests of 
 the sanitarium. 
 
 They gathered in the large dining-hall, and when 
 they hud taken their places the Hindus and native 
 Christians and servants crowded upon the verandas 
 and into the unreserved parts of the room, all 
 curious to witness a marriage after the American 
 fashion. 
 
 Paul Stanhope sat in his easy-chair, weary yet rejoic- 
 ing. By his side, dressed in pure white, without or- 
 nament or gaudy color, but with a fresh loveliness 
 superior to the charm of jewelry, Jennie stood 
 tenderly holding his hand. Morgan stood on the 
 other side of the invalid's chair, watching every mo- 
 tion he made, and as attentive to his friend as he 
 could have been to his own mother. 
 
 The peculiar solemnity of the occasion touched 
 every heart, and there was much quiet weeping by the 
 sympathetic ladies, the compatriots of the bride and 
 bridegroom. One of the visitors was an American 
 clergyman making a tour around the world; a way of 
 resting from the duties of a large pastorate sug- 
 gested to him by his church, which also provided him 
 the means to do it. 
 
 It was now his privilege to pronounce the words 
 binding these faithful heroes together. The clergy- 
 man advanced until he stood before them, and repeated
 
 220 NEMOKAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 in low, clear tones the words of the marriage cere- 
 mony as it is spoken in America. 
 
 The couple in firm voices repeated the responses ; 
 the minister declared them united, and the prayer for 
 the abiding blessing of God upon them was spoken. 
 The people then crowded around the bridal couple 
 with congratulations and good wishes. Both of them 
 were smiling with serene appreciation of the kindness 
 shown them. A soft, subtle happiness filled their 
 souls. To both it seemed to be a foretaste of heaven. 
 The simplicity of the ceremony impressed the Hin- 
 dus present as being awfully sacred. They felt as if 
 they were in the presence of the God of the 
 missionaries. 
 
 From that moment Stanhope was thoroughly con- 
 tented. He did not have another touch of homesick- 
 ness. Yet he could hardly consent to have his bride 
 out of his sight even for a moment. And she expe- 
 rienced a delight in serving him, in gratifying his 
 every whim, in anticipating his wants, such as, when 
 she reflected on it, gave her an idea of the nature of 
 the love the Hindu women bore their husbands. At 
 this moment she could have joyfully performed suttee 
 to prevent her being separated from him. He 
 absorbed her every thought. She wheeled his chair 
 about on the veranda wherever he wanted it some- 
 times where they could gaze on the white, glistening, 
 snowy ranges ; then in front of the lake, watching the 
 happy pleasure parties as they enjoyed the boating ;
 
 THE MISSIONARY'S REST. 221 
 
 or going to the other end of the veranda to watch the 
 mountains below them or the mists rising up from 
 the jungles and the plains. She read to him, and 
 when he became weary rested his head on her bosom 
 while lie slept. Then she told him stories as she 
 would have done to a little child, and he enjoyed 
 them ; their simplicity rested him. Thus it contin- 
 ued until one morning, as lie sat in his chair looking 
 over the great plain so far below them, talking of his 
 work and of India becoming a garden for the Lord, his 
 words sank to a whisper, and he ceased to speak. His 
 wife knew his hour had come. Morgan was standing 
 by her side, full of sympathy and devoted to their inter- 
 ests. Gently the two sustained the form of the mis- 
 sionary as, with a slight gasp, the life passed away and 
 the weary worker entered into rest. In that hour of 
 trial Jennie learned how thoughtful, tender, and 
 helpful Morgan could be. A sister could not have 
 smoothed her pathway more gently, and, trusting 
 him thoroughly, she passed through the waters of 
 affliction in the solemn communings of her own 
 soul. 
 
 Every one about her manifested the greatest ten- 
 derness. Loving-kindness greeted her at every step ; 
 caresses, fond words, thoughtful acts, were all show- 
 ered upon her. Every American and English heart 
 was zealous to brighten her way and dispel her sor- 
 row. The Hindus had never before seen the man- 
 ner in which the Americans treated widows, and,
 
 222 XEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 curious to know, watched every motion that was 
 made. 
 
 They buried the dead beneath a tree at the foot of 
 the mountain, in a little cemetery there, and marked 
 his grave with a small marble tablet. The Hindus 
 noticed that the widow did not alter her attire nor 
 lessen the number of her garments. The rings her 
 husband gave her she still wore. Her hair was not 
 cut off, but dressed as she had been accustomed to 
 dress it. She was not put to hard menial labor, nor 
 slighted by the happier ones, nor addressed with 
 harsh words and phrases, but the most considerate 
 tenderness was lavished upon her, and every lady 
 called her darling, while the gentlemen could not be 
 more thoroughly polite. 
 
 For a few days she continued near the grave of 
 her beloved ; then the desire to be at her work came 
 upon her, and she prepared to return and take it up 
 just where she had laid it down. The smiles came 
 back to her pretty face, and the beauty of her faith was 
 reflected in all her actions. When she spoke of her 
 beloved, it was of one living with God in eternal 
 blessedness, whither she was also going. 
 
 One morning Morgan bade her farewell for a short 
 trip among the mountains. When he should return 
 they would proceed to Agra. She saw him disappear 
 up the valley, with his rifle over his shoulder, and his 
 guide walking on before. She waited for his return, 
 but at the time appointed he did not come. Days
 
 THE MISSIONARY'S REST. 223 
 
 passed, and yet he came not. At length, with fear 
 that some accident had befallen him in the mountain- 
 recesses, she sent out searchers, hut they returned 
 without a trace of his movements. Burdened with 
 this sorrow, one of doubt and foreboding, she sadly 
 returned to Agra.
 
 22-i KEMOKAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 PERILS IN THE MOUNTAINS. 
 
 MORGAN left the sanitarium to enjoy a ramble for 
 a few days in one of the grandest regions on the 
 earth a region where nature reveled in greatness, 
 toward which the millions of India's teeming popula- 
 tion looked for evidences of the greatness of their 
 gods. Lofty mountain-peaks seemed to be brought 
 close together, and snowy ranges appeared at hand, 
 yet their summits were so far away that days of trav- 
 eling would be required to reach them. On every 
 hand were crags and precipices, and deep chasms and 
 ravines cutting into the immense ridges. In some 
 places the fossil remains of gigantic creatures of a 
 former age were found in vast beds ; in others, 
 nature displayed her richness of verdure and vegeta- 
 tion unsurpassed elsewhere in her broad dominions. 
 
 The vast forests and jungles were full of wonders. 
 Tigers, leopards, and wild elephants, singly and in 
 families, roamed through the forests, enjoying the 
 freedom of the wild life into which they had been 
 born. 
 
 Morgan was well supplied with ammunition, and, 
 following his guide, went cheerfully deeper into the 
 dense thickets covering the mountain sides. lie did
 
 PERILS IN THE MOUNTAINS. 223 
 
 not apprehend danger from man, and trusted in his 
 skill and the precision of his rifle to defend himself 
 from the attack of wild beasts. He was entering a 
 region where thousands of pilgrims came to worship 
 the sources of the sacred rivers Ganges and Jumna, 
 for, in the deep gorges of these mountains, the head- 
 waters of the streams were honored as the most sacred 
 spots on the earth. The jungle paths were littered 
 with the traces of pilgrims. 
 
 Many, while searching for the sacred places, lost 
 their way, and died through want and exposure ; 
 many defenseless travelers became the victims of 
 tigers, or wolves, or poisonous serpents. Some suc- 
 ceeded in accomplishing their pilgrimage, and re- 
 turned to the plains below to tell of the horrors sur- 
 rounding the journey to the sources of their sacred 
 streams. 
 
 Morgan penetrated the forests deeper and deeper, 
 enjoying the scenery and an occasional battle 
 with wild beasts, until the time set for his outward 
 trip was exhausted, then he signaled his guide to 
 lead the way back again. When no answers were 
 given his signals, and the hours of waiting wore 
 away, the thought that he was forsaken came to the 
 hunter's mind. His guide had disappeared. In an 
 unknown, uninhabited wilderness, he was alone. The 
 sense of solitude was awful. As he reflected, he re- 
 membered that the guide was a stranger who had 
 
 come to Nynee Tal about the same time as himself, 
 15
 
 226 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHXKE. 
 
 and that he was entirely unknown to the people of 
 that place. He had forced himself into Morgan's 
 presence, and appearing to take a fancy to him, was 
 always on hand to serve him. Morgan now recalled 
 the conversations in which this man had suggested to 
 him the pleasures of such a trip, advising him to take 
 it, presenting as inducements the prospect of seeing 
 herds of wild elephants and of drinking from the 
 head-waters of the sacred rivers of India, where, in 
 thousands of cascades, the waters leaped from the 
 Himalayan glaciers to form the Ganges and the 
 Jumna. 
 
 As he looked about, Morgan realized that he must 
 do something. He did not know just ho.w to go, for, 
 trusting to his guide, he had given his attention to 
 other things than the pathway through the under- 
 growth. With earnest purpose he tried to retrace 
 his steps, hoping to get to some spot from which he 
 could see some of the mountain-peaks known to him, 
 and by them direct his course. At length, weary 
 with walking, he cast himself down by the edge of a 
 cliff to rest, and while resting feast his eyes on the 
 beauties of the immense expanse of country stretch- 
 ing out before him. 
 
 The evening was rapidly advancing, and the atmos- 
 phere was of such rarity that he could see a great dis- 
 tance over the plains of India. The Ganges, like 
 a silver thread, with towns along its banks and the 
 plains dotted with hundreds of villages, was spread
 
 PERILS IN THE MOUNTAINS. 227 
 
 out before him, and India seemed to be larger and 
 broader than he had ever before thought of its being. 
 His thoughts began to measure the territories over 
 which he had traveled and the seas he had crossed, 
 and new conceptions of the greatness of the earth 
 rushed upon him. He thought of the millions of 
 men toiling like ants to obtain food from the earth. 
 Then lie thought of individuals. " What is man, that 
 thou art mindful of him ? " his mind asked with new 
 force. Then came questions of destiny. Why was 
 a man so splendidly endowed for usefulness as Paul 
 Stanhope cut off before any one could see the good 
 he had done ? Why was Jennie Thompson, the 
 loveliest woman he had ever met and he was ac- 
 customed to the society of lovely women burdened 
 with grief and disappointments when she needed all 
 the strength and help which a strong, wise, faith- 
 ful man could give her ? " God's ways are past 
 finding out," he said, as if speaking in explanation 
 to another. To his surprise, a hollow laugh from the 
 bushes back of him greeted his words. Startled, he 
 leaped to his feet, and with rifle in readiness looked 
 about him, but all was silent as before, and there 
 was not a sign of a living creature near him. 
 
 Now, for the first time, he noticed carefully the 
 spot upon which he was standing. It was only a 
 broad place in the narrow path, which wound around 
 the face of an immense crag. Below him was a 
 precipice hundreds of feet in depth; behind him a
 
 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCIINEE. 
 
 wall of rock perpendicular in front and utterly inac- 
 cessible to human climber. On the right and the left 
 the path narrowed to only a goat's track across the cliff. 
 
 Impelled -by his ardent admiration of nature's 
 sublimity, he had come to this spot, and had forgot- 
 ten his danger and isolation in contemplating the 
 magnificent scene spread before him. 
 
 Again he heard the mocking laughter, and a mo- 
 ment after beheld a man advance along the narrow 
 path toward him. It was the fakir who had threat- 
 ened him with death. For a few moments the 
 strange being glared at him with a sort of fierce 
 delight, then, extending his long bony finger toward 
 him, said, ''Stranger, you can go no farther on that 
 path ; it ends at the edge of the cliff just beyond the 
 crag, where the wild goats leap down to another path 
 on the face of the cliff and pursue their way. A 
 man cannot make that leap ; only the wild goats can 
 do it, and they often fail, dashing themselves on the 
 rocks far below. Stranger, return, arid learn the fate 
 in store for those who hate the gods, defile temples, 
 and steal the daughters of India." 
 
 Morgan looked around him, and saw that the fakir 
 had told the truth about the path. Placing his rifle 
 on his arm ready for instant use, he followed the 
 fakir into the forest, and there, to his astonishment, 
 beheld a group of fakirs sitting in a circle and grin- 
 ning at him with the most hideous ferocity. 
 
 The beauty of a tiger's fur and the grace of its
 
 PERILS ix THK MOUNTAINS. 229 
 
 motion awaken admiration all the wild animals of 
 the forest have attractive features but here was a 
 company of men, vile, foul, and abnormal; human 
 hyenas, having lost all sense of cleanliness and tender- 
 ness. A shudder passed over Morgan's manly form as 
 he realized that he was in their power and utterly 
 unable to save himself. For a moment he thought 
 of resistance ; he could at least kill a few of them, 
 but he gave up the thought, for he knew they were 
 quick and hardy, and should he injure any one of 
 them he would but insure his own speedy destruc- 
 tion. By temporizing he might find away of escape ; 
 at least this was the only hope he could see. Assum- 
 ing a careless, curious manner, he saluted them, and 
 began to ask them questions about the country they 
 were in. " How far is it to the sources of the Ganges ? " 
 "Do many make pilgrimages there?" "Are you a 
 company of holy men seeking rest by the sacred 
 stream ? " and similar questions., 
 
 But they only grinned at him, as if it were a joke ; 
 and in their grinning he read the expression of their 
 merciless nature. Morgan had read of the Thugs of 
 India, a sect of religious fanatics who worshiped 
 Kalee, the consort of Shiva. Calcutta was named for 
 her Kalee-Ghat, or Kalee's Ghat, the place of Kalee's 
 ablutions. 
 
 These fanatics honored her by shedding blood. 
 ,The Kalika Purana describes her appetite for blood 
 and carnage as follows : " If a devotee should scorch
 
 230 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 some member of his body by applying a burning 
 lamp, the act would be very acceptable to the god- 
 dess ; if he should draw some of his blood and pre- 
 sent it, it would be still more delectable ; if he should 
 cut off some portion of his own flesh and present it 
 as a burnt-offering, that would be most grateful of 
 all. But if the worshiper should present her a 
 whole burnt-offering it would prove acceptable to 
 her in proportion to the supposed importance of the 
 animated beings thus immolated: that, for instance, 
 by the blood of fishes or tortoises the goddess is 
 gratified for a whole month after ; a crocodile's blood 
 will please her three months ; that of certain wild 
 animal nine months ; a guana's, a year ; an antelope's, 
 twelve years; a rhinoceros's or tiger's blood, for a 
 hundred years ; but the blood of a lion or a man 
 will delight her appetite for a thousand years ! while 
 by the blood of three men slain in sacrifice she is 
 pleased a hundred thousand years." 
 
 The English goverment had suppressed Thuggism, 
 but Morgan thought the lingering hopes of such a 
 faith could not be suppressed by force of arms. 
 Perhaps these fakirs were believers in Kalee, who 
 watched in these dense forests to entrap travelers, and, 
 without fear of detection, satiate the goddess with 
 their blood. 
 
 The recollection of the Thu^s did not tend to com- 
 
 o 
 
 pose his nerves, but with a brave face and manner he 
 returned their gaze, showing them, probably for the
 
 PEKILS IN THE MOUNTAINS. 231 
 
 first time, a man alone and in their power, yet 
 not afraid of them. After a while their leader, Mor- 
 gan's enemy, addressed them by words and actions 
 full of passion, in a language Morgan did not under- 
 stand, and to him they all gave close attention. As 
 the speaker worked himself into a state of frenzy, 
 his hearers were similarly affected, and they cast the 
 most ferocious glances upon the stranger, who stood 
 so calmly awaiting the close of this strange scene. 
 
 Suddenly several of the fakirs leaped from their 
 circle and sprang upon him, securely pinioning his 
 arms behind his back. Then, surrounding him, they 
 all together rushed into the forest. 
 
 As the darkness was falling they came to a cave 
 with a small opening, into which they forced him to 
 crawl, all following, until the cave was filled by 
 them. Then a stone was put to the entrance to prevent 
 wild beasts from entering during the night. 
 
 It was a terrible night. The small, half-closed en- 
 trance was the only place air could get in, and be- 
 tween Morgan and that opening lay the entire crowd 
 of fakirs. When darkness had fairly settled upon 
 the forest the wild beasts, smelling the presence of 
 men, prowled about the opening, crying, growling, 
 and fighting, putting their noses to the hole, and 
 becoming more savage because of their being unable 
 to get at the men. But the stench of the filthy fakirs 
 and the foul atmosphere were worse than the noises 
 of the animals. In the open air, with the atmosphere
 
 232 NEMOKAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 constantly in motion, the offensiveness of the dirty 
 unwashed men conld be endured if not too close 
 at hand ; but in the cave, to breathe their breath and 
 be deprived of oxygen reminded Morgan of the hor- 
 rible black-hole of Calcutta. He forgot the danger 
 menacing his life throuo-h some overt act of his foes 
 
 O O 
 
 in the suffering from the foul atmosphere, and he 
 was profoundly thankful when the light of day came 
 in through the entrance and the fakirs crawled out. 
 Without taking any food, they all continued their 
 journeying until they came to what seemed to be a 
 park in the forest. 
 
 The underbrush was cleared away, the trees were 
 shaped by the skill of a gardener, and flowering 
 bushes and fruit-trees grew in profusion. In the 
 midst of a fine grove stood a castle, ancient in form, 
 and built so solidly as to defy an ordinary siege. It 
 was grim and threatening in appearance to the man 
 now bein hurried toward it. Back of it were a num- 
 
 O 
 
 her of buildings for the housing of the servants and 
 
 O O 
 
 herds of the lord of the castle. There were houses 
 for elephants, cages for tigers and leopards, kennels for 
 dogs, and aviaries for birds. It was, in fact, the ren- 
 dezvous for the possessions of a rajah reserved for ex- 
 traordinary occasions. As Morgan passed along he 
 saw in fenced inclosures elephants, camels, horses, and 
 bullocks quietly feeding, and the thought occurred to 
 him that he had seen these animals in the great pa- 
 rade at Aorra.
 
 PERILS IN THK MOUXTAIXS. 233 
 
 As he was forced toward the castle he noticed the 
 servants gazing upon him with great curiosity, and 
 also numbers of fakirs who evidently were wards of the 
 rajah. Some of these were Hindus, but the greater 
 number were Mohammedans. Just as they hurried him 
 into the castle he threw the stone given him by Xem- 
 orama's fakir friend into the lap of a Hindu fakir sit- 
 ting by the door. It was now his only hope. Before 
 he could observe how the fakir received it, the door 
 closed and he was in the castle. 
 
 His fakir captors were left on the outside; but two 
 servants clothed in livery beckoned him to follow 
 them. They led him along the broad hall until they 
 came to a stair-way, which they descended. At the 
 foot of the steps his conductors lit a torch, and, 
 leading him down another stair-way and along an- 
 other hall, came to a door, which they opened. 
 Having thrust him in, they closed and bolted it 
 against him, and withdrew. 
 
 The darkness at first was appalling. After a few 
 moments Morgan's courage revived, and he examined 
 the cell in which he had been placed. From the num- 
 ber of steps he had descended he knew that it was con- 
 siderably beneath the ground, and, from the hardness 
 of the walls, that it was in a mass of rock. From the 
 ceiling there came a slender ray of light. Looking 
 toward it, he saw a long, narrow, slanting aperture 
 extending to a place in the side of the castle wall 
 r-ome distance above the ground. This was the only
 
 234: NEMOKAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 avenue for light and fresh air to come into the cell. 
 It was the golden ray of good cheer. Looking at the 
 beam of light, Morgan said to himself : " It is not all 
 darkness. God. reigns, and this ray of light teaches 
 me that he has not forgotten me." 
 
 Morgan was nearly famished for lack of food, but 
 hour after hour passed before his solitude was broken. 
 The ray of light had faded,, and the darkness was 
 dense even to blackness, when the door opened and a 
 servant entered with food and drink for him. Mor- 
 gan consumed the food greedily, and without a word 
 the servant withdrew. Many hours again passed, and 
 lie slept the deep sleep of extreme fatigue. 
 
 When he awoke he was refreshed. The lisrht was 
 
 o 
 
 coming through the aperture, and even the sounds of 
 shouting and revelry from the outer world were 
 plainly heard. After a while the door of the cell was 
 again opened, and the servant commanded Morgan to 
 follow him into the presence of his master. Some- 
 how the fear of death had passed from his mind, and 
 he was impelled by eager curiosity to watch for each 
 move in the exciting drama. With every sense alert, 
 he followed his guide along the hall, up the stair- 
 way, through the corridor leading to 'the door of the 
 castle, and then up several flights of steps to the top 
 of the tower surmounting the castle. Here he was 
 ushered into a room, the like of which he had never 
 before seen. It was a summer-room, the roof being 
 supported by strong pillars, and curtains extending
 
 PERILS IN THE MOUNTAINS. 235 
 
 from pillar to pillar to regulate the light and the cur- 
 rents of air. 
 
 The scenery from the curtained ways was the grand- 
 est Morgan had seen. On the one side were the 
 Himalayan peaks of everlasting snow and great for- 
 ests, while on the other side the view embraced hun- 
 dreds of square miles of the fertile plains. It was a 
 magnificent watch-tower, and an enemy could not ap- 
 proach it from any direction without being discovered 
 in the far distance. In a hasty glance Morgan saw 
 the course of the great highway of India, and his 
 heart throbbed with hope as in the distance he beheld 
 a train of cars moving on the !N^orth-western Railway 
 of India in the plains below. 
 
 The room was fitted to suit the taste of a hunter. 
 The floor was nearly covered with rugs made of tiger- 
 skins, while the pillars were decorated with orna- 
 ments made of elephants' tusks, tigers' teeth and claws, 
 and serpents' scales, all made brilliant with settings of 
 precious stones. Upon an immense tiger-mat in the 
 center of the room sat the rajah, the master of the 
 castle, and Morgan at once recognized him as the 
 chieftain whom he had seen at Agra. 
 
 The face of the rajah showed lust and brutality in 
 every line, and Morgan shuddered as he -thought of a 
 maiden like Nemorarna becoming the slave of such a 
 being. All that art and wealth could do to make the 
 rajah attractive had been done, and in the eyes of his 
 servants he shone with unequaled magnificence. To
 
 236 jSTEMORAMA THE Is AUTCIINEE. 
 
 them lie was prince and -lord. He wore a vest made of 
 gold cloth, a coat of yellow satin, with a border of 
 gold embroidery. A handsome cashmere shawl was 
 loosely folded about his waist, and a puffy light tur- 
 ban was on his head. His trousers and stockings 
 were of richest material, and from his turban to 
 his shoes he was decorated with brilliant jewels. A 
 fillet of diamonds and rubies ornamented his head, 
 and a band of diamonds and rubies his ffirdle. 
 
 O 
 
 All was beautiful except the man, and the costly 
 gems of nature could not hide nor render attractive 
 the base human soul which was revealed in his dull 
 countenance. 
 
 When Morgan entered his presence he continued 
 sitting on the mat, not deigning to notice his presence. 
 After a short time lie rang a little silver bell, and a serv- 
 ant hastened to him with a tray, upon which were 
 glasses filled with refreshing drinks. Taking one of 
 these, he slowly sipped it, and, turning his gaze toward 
 the prisoner, coolly surveyed him from head to foot. 
 As he did so there was profound silence in the room, 
 the servants carefully watching every motion of their 
 master, to anticipate his will before he should utter it 
 in words. 
 
 As Morgan returned the rajah's gaze he was con- 
 vinced that no appeal for mercy could reach that im- 
 bruted nature, arid, with the grit of a thoroughly 
 brave man, determined not to flinch, nor by word or 
 act to crave a favor. Through an interpreter the
 
 PERILS IN TIIK MOUNTAINS. 237 
 
 rajah demanded " By what right have you, a 
 stranger, stolen from her owners the beautiful 
 maiden destined to shine as the light of the harem 
 of the lord of the Himalayan forests?" 
 
 But Morgan kept silent. 
 
 The rajah motioned with his hand, and the fakir 
 came forward, holding in his fingers the two bullets, 
 which he had carefully preserved. Then he informed 
 the rajah how lie had obtained them, and the threat 
 he had uttered to the prisoner as to the final use to be 
 made of them. He told the story of Morgan's deal- 
 ings with Nemorama, of his finding Kismut, and 
 of his accomplices in his underhand work, ending 
 with an account of the failure of the brigands work- 
 ing in the rajah's service to wrest Nemorama from 
 the protection of the valorous Dennis. 
 
 Morgan was amazed at the accuracy of the fakir's 
 information, but was delighted to hear of the success 
 attending Dennis, for this encounter had happened 
 since his last tidings from the faithful Irishman. 
 
 Finding that the prisoner would not answer a word, 
 the rajah's face flushed with anger, and, holding the 
 bullets before him, he said : " You will now be taken 
 back to your cell, and to-morrow, at the hour of noon, 
 will be led forth, and in front of the castle gate will be 
 put to death in the manner the fakir has sworn. One 
 ball will be shot into your head, because it planned so 
 wicked a plot against the happiness of my harem, 
 keeping it in darkness for the lack of the light of the
 
 238 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEK. 
 
 beautiful one. The other ball will be shot into jour 
 heart, because it sought to steal the love and devotion 
 that belongs only to me. Go ! " 
 
 As he uttered this word the servants took hold of 
 the prisoner and hurried him down the stair-ways. 
 Shutting him in his cell, they left him to meditate in 
 solitude and darkness the fate before him. 
 
 "With a feeling of despair Morgan cast himself on 
 the floor of the cell. He was alone no one to appeal 
 to, no friend to help. As he watched the slender ray 
 of light coming through the aperture he saw it grow- 
 ing dimmer and dimmer, until it entirely faded out. 
 Now that death seemed so near, his longing to live 
 became the greater, and he thought of many plans to 
 escape, but every one of them ended in hopelessness. 
 His reveries were interrupted by the door of his cell 
 being unbolted. As it opened he saw a man shrouded 
 from head to foot in a fakir's shroud enter, carrying 
 in his hand a little lamp. He shut the door after 
 him, the servant accompanying him remaining on the 
 outside. 
 
 The man then removed the shroud, and, to his 
 amazement, Morgan beheld his friend, the Hindu 
 fakir. The fakir, in low tones, bade him wrap him- 
 self in the shroud, in silence follow the servant out 
 of the castle, turn to the right and walk into the for- 
 est, and do as he should there be instructed. 
 
 With deepest emotions of gratitude Morgan obeyed, 
 and, knocking on the door, passed out as it was opened
 
 PERILS IN THE MOUNTAINS. 239 
 
 by the servant. The servant stopped only long 
 enough to bolt the door of the cell securely, and then 
 led the way to the castle door. 
 
 As Morgan stepped into the open air he gave 
 thanks to God for his abundant mercies. The stars 
 were shining brilliantly, and deep shadows were rest- 
 ing on the gardens and forests. The servants seemed 
 to be all asleep, and without hinderance he entered 
 the forest before him. 
 
 Almost at the edge of the wood he met a fakir, 
 who directed him to follow. For many minutes they 
 swiftly walked along the beaten path, and when the 
 fakir stopped they stood by a broad road. The fakir 
 then led a saddled horse out from the shelter of the 
 trees, bade him mount the horse and ride with speed 
 toward the south, and if he did not tarry he could 
 reach the railroad in time 'to take the midnight train 
 to the south. Morgan did as he was commanded. 
 The horse was fleet of foot and strong in limb, and 
 he galloped at a furious gait. For a full hour Mor- 
 gan sped on, reached the railroad, and turned the 
 horse loose just as the train came rolling rapidly 
 along. In a few moments he was seated in the cars 
 on his way to Bombay, and as he looked toward the 
 lofty castle he wondered what would be the next 
 scene in the drama of which he was so unwillingly an 
 actor. 
 
 The Hindu fakir sat on the floor of the cell in si- 
 lence. Pic did not care much if death did meet him,
 
 240 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 but lie knew the rajah would not dare to put a fakir 
 to death, however great the provocation. His super- 
 stition would prevent him, as well as the fear of the 
 consequences that might follow. As he sat in silence 
 he heard the approach of footsteps ; in a moment the 
 cell door opened, and the door closed as another fakir 
 entered. The visitor was startled to see the Hindu. 
 It was the Mohammedan fakir, who had come to taunt 
 Morgan. For a moment the two fakirs glared at 
 each other, the little flickering lamp casting its feeble 
 light upon them. The Hindu uttered the words, 
 " At last ! " and the next moment they sprang at 
 each other. 
 
 The ferocity of the fakirs was equal to that of wild 
 beasts. They were utterly merciless, and, unless sep- 
 arated, a contest meant death to one or to both. Now 
 they were alone. In the closeness of the cell the 
 sound of their battling was repressed. The servants 
 of the castle were sleeping, dreaming, perhaps, of the 
 interesting execution on the morrow. Not long after- 
 ward the Hindu opened the door, and, with the lamp 
 in his hand, passed out of the castle. 
 
 The following morning,' when all was arranged for 
 the execution, the rajah sent to the cell for his pris- 
 oner. The servants with torches hastened, and, enter- 
 ing the cell, saw the Mohammedan, dead. Filled with 
 fear, they returned to their master', and when the body 
 was brought forth a superstitious awe swept over 
 them all. No one could give a word of explanation.
 
 PERILS IN THE MOUNTAINS. 
 
 It was one of the mysteries of the dealings of the gods. 
 The rajah, frightened by it, immediately ordered the 
 howdah to be placed on his elephant for him to go to 
 Agra to consult the wise hakims as to the significance 
 
 of this event. 
 16
 
 242 NEMOHAMA THE NAUTCIINEE. 
 
 CHAPTEK XXIII. 
 
 IN THE HEART OF INDIA. 
 
 was very anxicms to report himself to Cap- 
 tain Grey. It is true he had sent many letters de- 
 scribing the events he passed through, but he had not 
 heard from the captain, and as his route must be taken 
 according to circumstances, he could not -tell where he 
 would be a week in advance. 
 
 He began to feel badly, too, from the injuries he 
 had received in the battle on the highway. At the 
 time his courage and the necessity of protecting the 
 ladies in his charge had enabled him to disguise his 
 real condition. But, riding along quietly in the palan- 
 quin, he had an opportunity of considering his own 
 feelings, and he concluded that he was going to be 
 sick. They were now traveling through Malway, a 
 country in which the land gradually rose toward the 
 Vindhya Mountains. It was a country almost devas- 
 tated by the brigand hordes of petty chieftains pre- 
 vious to the English supremacy, but since then the 
 enforced peace and security obtained for all had 
 wonderfully developed its resources. As they passed 
 through it Nemorama interested her companions by 
 reciting to them the exploits of Vicramaditya, one 
 of the early Hindu kings, of whom the most stirring,
 
 IN THE HEART OF INDIA. 243 
 
 fabulous accounts were given. It was a part of India 
 in which the Mohammedans failed to make much 
 headway, and when the Mahrattas entered it in 
 the defense of the real Hindu faith they were re- 
 ceived with open arms. 
 
 At length the travelers reached Oojein, a city on 
 the north side of the mountains, and on a branch of 
 the Chumbul River. It is historically a place of great 
 importance, holding high rank as one of the sacred 
 cities of the Puranas, and Hindu geographers had 
 fixed upon it as their iirst meridian. In ancient times 
 it was a great interior capitol, until a change in the 
 course of the river nearly ruined it. The Moham- 
 medans have built several very handsome mosques, and 
 the great caravans passing through make it one of their 
 principal stations. It was in this territory that Allah 
 Baiee for twenty years proved to be the greatest 
 ruler the country had ever had, and showed to all In- 
 dia that a woman knew how to rule. 
 
 As they reached this city, Nemorama saw that it 
 was impossible for the sick man to travel further, 
 and finding a house in a pleasant garden for rent, she 
 had Dennis conveyed thither, and with the assistance 
 of Kisinnt tried to nurse him back to health again. 
 
 Multitudes of people were constantly passing the 
 little whitewashed mud cottage in which the trav- 
 
 o 
 
 elers had found refuge Mohammedans on the way 
 to their decorated mosques, Hindus going to their 
 jewel-crowned pagodas, merchants with the products
 
 244 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 of all India brought to them by great caravans, ele- 
 phants used for labor, camels from long journeys, 
 white bullocks drawing little carriages, and crowds of 
 people. It was thoroughly a Hindu city, and the 
 whole tone of life was according to the rules laid 
 down by the white-robed Brahmans. 
 
 The fear of pursuit had departed. The travelers 
 knew that the natural jealousies between the various 
 rajahs would be a defense to them from the schemes 
 of the northern powers, anql they were no longer 
 afraid. Nevertheless, they continued in disguise. 
 Having given up the Hindu religion for that of Christ, 
 they cast aside the marks of caste and cl^an, and recog- 
 nized all people as their equals. Nemorama was no 
 longer a nautchnee, but a Hindu maiden ; Kismut 
 was no longer a widow, but a Hindu woman ; and in 
 the ordinary dress of the better class of Hindus, they 
 modestly went forward doing the duties before 
 them. Dennis now observed, as never before, the 
 distinguishing trait of the Hindu woman's character. 
 They were said to excel as nurses, and, in fact, in 
 any position where devotion and gentleness were 
 required. 
 
 Nemorama assumed the general charge of affairs. 
 She visited the markets and attended to all the out- 
 side duties, while Kismut did the nursing and the 
 cooking. Their tread was so light as they passed 
 through the room that they seemed almost as visions 
 floating before the sick man, and lying on his cot, he
 
 IN THE HEART OF INDIA. 245 
 
 watched them and wove fancies about them, in which 
 the most delightful surprises were constantly ap- 
 pearing. 
 
 Nemorama knew a little of bruises, for in the 
 nautchnee home accidents were frequent, and with 
 her skillful touch she dressed the sufferer's wounded 
 head and prevented inflammation from setting in. 
 Kismut was constantly near him. She stood motion- 
 less as a statue when no service was required, then, 
 when needed, she moved noiselessly and quickly. 
 She did not allow an insect to rest upon him for 
 an instant, and insects were thickly swarming all 
 about them. Not a fly nor a mosquito could reach 
 him. When he slept Kismut used her fan so con- 
 stantly that a gentle breeze seemed to be fanning his 
 cheeks, and although the heat was intense through- 
 out the city and he was painfully susceptible to it, 
 yet she drove away its exhausting attacks and gave 
 him a constant current of air. As a cook she had been 
 well trained, and her dishes of curry could not be 
 surpassed. The arrangement of the food was so neat 
 and pretty that it encouraged his appetite, and he ate 
 freely, while she stood smiling upon him and keeping 
 away the flies. 
 
 Dennis realized, as he became stronger, that only 
 careful nursing had brought him through, and with 
 all his heart he loved the gentle woman who had 
 saved his life. 
 
 O how sweet and attractive she appeared to him, as
 
 24:6 NEMOKAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 hour after hour he fondly gazed upon her ! He knew 
 something of married life in his own country, and 
 he had seen brawling, noisy, contentious couples, 
 where the household was in perpetual strife and dis- 
 cord. So ho had preferred living a life of single 
 blessedness and remaining the confidential servant of 
 Captain Grey. But now a vision of another kind of 
 life floated before his mind. He saw a woman full 
 of the spirit of love consecrating all her powers of 
 heart, mind, and body to the preservation of peace 
 and rest within her house, and finding her greatest 
 delight in the happiness of her household. As he 
 watched Kismut he saw that to her it was not work 
 nor bondage, but her pleasure, her ardent delight, and 
 he could not possibly help yielding her his admi- 
 ration and affection. 
 
 "When Captain Grey again heard from his faithful 
 servitor Dennis was rapidly recovering, and as soon 
 as he was able the party resumed their journey toward 
 Bombay. The captain, anxious to help DeiKiis, came 
 with all the speed camels could make to meet him in 
 Oojein, and arrived the day after the travelers had 
 left. However, he soon overtook them, to the in- 
 tense delight of Dennis and the satisfaction of his 
 companions. 
 
 The women were modestly veiled, and the captain 
 could see only the lower portion of their faces ; but he 
 greeted them with a friendliness that showed his sym- 
 pathy with the mission Dennis was executing. A,-;
 
 IN THE HEART OF INDIA. 247 
 
 they traveled together Dennis opened his heart to the 
 captain. He said: "An' it was just this way. I 
 niver thought of a haythen woman other than one in 
 perpetual darkness, that didn't know any thing but to 
 spend all her time before idols and all her thoughts 
 in the worship of thini dirty fakirs. Whin I see'd 
 their mud cottages I thought they couldn't be pos- 
 sessed wid refinement or sinse, and I was greatly prej- 
 udiced against thini. Whin Mr. Morgan axed me 
 to help him out of a scrape, sure an' I was ready to 
 sarve a man so brave as he was, an' I had no sus- 
 picion that within my own bosom my heart was sen- 
 sitive. But, captain, truly now, ye may laugh at me 
 if ye will, but I niver in all me born days saw so 
 much swateness in a human crayture as that Kismut 
 possesses. Such arnestness, such devotion, an' all 
 the time so smilin' like; an' no matter how pervarse 
 I would be, she niver by word or token gave ividence 
 of beiii' disturbed ; an' it is just such a swate, illigant 
 crayture. that my heart goes out after; an' I am sure 
 that with her a-lovin' me as long as I live, I shall be 
 the happiest of men." 
 
 The captain did not laugh at his man, but rode on 
 in silence for some time. Dennis watched him, and 
 saw an expression of unutterable sadness cross his 
 face, and even tears rolling down his cheeks. Not 
 
 ' O 
 
 knowing what to think of it, he remained silent. 
 
 After a while the captain came to his side again 
 and said : " Dennis, my boy, I think Kismut must be
 
 248 NEMORAMA THE NATJTCHNEE. 
 
 very beautiful, and all that yon say of her I believe 
 to be true ; take her and be happy with her. I was 
 just thinking of my own Hindu wife, and my heart 
 was filled with lonesomeness because I must live 
 without her. 
 
 " Dennis, I have seen, a great many women. I 
 have known them in nearly all parts of the world. I 
 have seen them at home and abroad ; I have watched 
 all kinds of social customs, and I must say that I 
 know of no women anywhere who are the equals, 
 as a class, to the high-caste Hindu women in the 
 purely household virtues. They are not educated ; 
 they are very devout ; they are great sufferers when 
 affliction comes upon them ; they are slighted and too 
 often despised by men ; they are really a down- 
 trodden sex. Yet, for all that, in purity of life, in 
 affection for their husbands, in zeal for the virtues 
 of their homes, in care for their children, they are 
 superior to nearly all other women. 
 
 "Now, a man marries generally for love in our 
 country, hence no wife can be more gratifying than 
 a noble Hindu woman. A Hindu marries to become 
 the father of sons ; if he does not become such, his 
 happiness is wrecked, and his life for time and for 
 eternity is a failure. What a pity it is that the Hindus 
 do not marry for love, when their women are so lov- 
 ing and faithful ! " 
 
 "An' how do yez account for their loving spent?" 
 asked Dennis.
 
 IN THE HEART OF INDIA. 249 
 
 Captain Grey replied : " I partly account for it on 
 the theory of their training. They have been taught 
 that their -only hope of heavenly enjoyment is in 
 devotion to their husbands. They have also been 
 taught that it is a great disgrace for a girl to be with- 
 out a husband. And the rule is to spend their time 
 from nine years of age until they -are fourteen or six- 
 teen in learning from the mother-in-law how to serve 
 their husbands, and they are generally married to 
 men twice or three times their own age. And youth 
 is taught to reverence age. All these features of 
 their training have developed them in the domestic 
 line, and their affection for their husbands partakes 
 of the nature of worship." 
 
 "I understand," said Dennis. "An' I think the 
 Hindus are not sech. haythen, after all, but rather 
 scriptural, for they follow -the words of Paul whin 
 he spakes to thim, 'Husbands, love your wives; 
 wives, obey your husbands.' An' I think to follow 
 that rule would bring peace to many hurt souls." 
 
 "Yes," replied the captain; "and if they were to 
 follow that precept in our home land it would grad- 
 ually lead women to refuse to marry men whom 
 they could not respect and obey and trust. 
 
 Thus the men conversed as they rode along follow- 
 ing the palanquins in which the ladies were riding. 
 At length they arrived in Bombay, and while the 
 captain returned to his mountain home, Dennis 
 sought a house where the ladies could dwell until
 
 250 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 they should receive news of Morgan. The varied 
 busy life of the great city, with its different national- 
 ities, was a constant wonder to the gentle Kisrant. 
 To Nemorama it was home; but while home she 
 kept her face hidden whenever she went out of the 
 house, for if discovered by her former friends she 
 might be remanded into a captivity which would now 
 be worse than death. 
 
 They were there only a few days when Dennis 
 came to them with his face sparkling with excessive 
 happiness. Making a profound bow to them, he said : 
 " Ladies, it gives me great pleasure to inform yez 
 that I have just had the honor of beholding the 
 countenance of my esteemed friend Mister Morgan, 
 an' he told me to inform yez that he would be here 
 in half an hour." 
 
 With utterances of delight they pushed Dennis out 
 of the way and rushed to their rooms to prepare to 
 receive in a proper manner their beloved benefactor.
 
 DASEE. 251 
 
 CHAPTER XXIY. 
 
 DASEE. 
 
 Morgan reached Bombay, he hastened to 
 "Watson's Hotel to receive his letters from home and 
 recruit his wearied body by rest, with all the con- 
 veniences of European skill about him. Then he 
 sought his former friends to apprise them of his re- 
 turn and to form his plans for the coming season. 
 
 There was one place where he was particularly de- 
 sirous of paying his respects, for in no other dwelling of 
 the Hindus had he received so great kindness and po- 
 lite attention. The house was on Malabar Hill, only 
 a short distance below the Parsee Tower of Silence. 
 Its grounds bordered on the broad public driveway 
 the principal resort of the wealthy people of Bom- 
 bay when riding in their carriages. It was a place con- 
 stantly fanned by the gentle breezes from the sea, 
 and its richness of vines, trees, and shrubbery, with 
 hundreds of musical birds singing about flowing fount- 
 ains, made it a spot in which the highest charms of 
 life could be enjoyed. 
 
 The refinement marking the outside of the house 
 was excelled by the beauty, grace, and splendor of the 
 life inside. Baboo Chunder, the Hindu owner of this 
 beautiful place, was of a progressive spirit ; and as he
 
 252 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 belield the elegance and comforts enjoyed by the Eu- 
 ropeans, endeavored to obtain equal advantages for 
 himself, and by his example to induce his people to en- 
 joy them. Being scrupulously exact in fulfilling all 
 the observances of the Hindu laws, he was thus above 
 reproach. With a strength of will and clearness of 
 intellect rarely surpassed, he devoted his wealth and 
 influence to the amelioration of his fellows and the 
 elevation of the people of India. It was in his house 
 that Morgan had for the first time witnessed the act- 
 ing of the beautiful nautclmee ; and now, having re- 
 turned to Bombay, he sought the elegant mansion, to 
 pay his respects to the people who had treated him so 
 kindly. 
 
 Morgan's mind was recalling with great pleasure 
 the lovely daughter of Baboo Chunder. Dasee was 
 one of the rarest maidens of India, the pride of her 
 father's house, the light of the zenana, and the envy 
 of all the maidens of Malabar Hill. The zenana in 
 Chunder's house was not at all like the zenanas of the 
 ordinary Hindu homes. It was above spacious gar- 
 dens, with a wealth of scenery from its broad, hand- 
 somely carved windows and balconies unsurpassed in 
 Bombay. The view stretched over the city, over the 
 bay, and to the distant inland shores, with their fringes 
 of green, and the high hills beyond covered with 
 blooming verdure. 
 
 In this zenana there was no exclusion of light, fresh 
 air, and freedom, but the broadest privileges. The
 
 DASEE. 253 
 
 rooms were furnished with handsome rugs, works of 
 art, and with the best literature of all ages and na- 
 tions. Here Dasee reigned as a queen. Her beauty 
 of person and grace of motion were in harmony with 
 her surroundings. She seemed to be fitted perfectly 
 to the elegance, wealth, and culture with which 
 her father had surrounded her. The piano in her 
 boudoir often gave evidence of her skill in music, 
 and the comments found here and there on the mar- 
 gins of English, American, French, German, and 
 Hindu books in the library showed the wide extent of 
 her reading and the analytical skill with which she 
 weighed the thoughts of the learned writers. Morgan 
 had been attracted by her brightness, and through 
 her courtesy he learned that some zenanas in India 
 were the equals of the most palatial homes in America. 
 When Morgan reached the mansion he sent in his 
 card, and was received in the spacious parlor looking 
 out upon the ocean. A Hindu woman came to meet 
 him, whom he recognized as Dasee's attendant, and he 
 quickly saw that her face was disturbed by some great 
 sorrow. The tears had been freely flowing, and had 
 left their traces upon the cheeks of the expressive 
 face. As Morgan listened, the woman told of the 
 grief that had come to their house. Baboo Chunder 
 was dead. He had died suddenly. In usual health 
 in the morning, he had kissed his daughter and had 
 gone to his business. Before noon his lifeless body 
 was returned to his home. There was a great funeral,
 
 254: NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHSTEE. 
 
 and the body was consumed upon a funeral pyre, 
 built of the most precious aromatic woods. His 
 daughter had laid many valuable jewels upon the 
 altar in his favorite temple, and mourned his loss with 
 all the grief of her first sorrow or stroke of mis- 
 fortune. 
 
 This was only the beginning of their troubles, and 
 the light of the house was in gloom and in danger of 
 being quenched. Baboo Chunder was a high-caste 
 Hindu, zealous for the customs of his people. AVhen 
 Dasee was nine years of age, according to the custom, 
 he married her to a youth just twice her age, the son 
 of a Hindu equal in caste and clan, and having such 
 advantages as would give promise of a suitable and 
 prosperous union. The horoscopes were declared 
 propitious, the Brahman priests encouraged it, and it 
 received the approval of the people generally. 
 
 One condition, however, was exacted, which was 
 that Dasee should remain in her father's house, and 
 that the youth should also dwell there and be educated 
 by Baboo Chunder, until Dasee reached her develop- 
 ment and was of a suitable age to be given to him. 
 These conditions were agreed to, and the marriage 
 took place. Dasee had never seen the youth before. 
 She knew nothing of the serious nature of the mar- 
 riage. She had no choice in it, but, like any girl of 
 her age, enjoyed the display, the revelry, and the feast- 
 ings attending it. 
 
 But the conditions were at ,once violated. The
 
 DASEK. 255 
 
 parents of tlie young man removed from Bombay to 
 Benares, and took their son with them. They de- 
 manded possession of Dasee, but this her father pos- 
 itively denied them, and in his own house gave her 
 the most thorough education that the learned pundits 
 could impart to her. Day by day she grew in grace, 
 beauty, and in the powers of intellect. Sanskrit was 
 her delight. She inherited her father's rare intel- 
 lectual powers and poetic love of all that was beauti- 
 ful, and under the guidance of the pundits became 
 the favorite of the most learned circle in Bombay. 
 
 On the other hand, the youth to whom she was 
 married, filled with arrogance because of his spotless 
 pedigree, vainly glorying in the sacred thread pro- 
 claiming his caste, followed in the way of his fathers 
 in sacrificing every thing to preserve inviolate that 
 caste distinction. lie had no taste for literary studies, 
 and, ignorant <jf the advantages of culture, grew up a 
 narrow-minded, bigoted, heartless man. He was 
 proud of his caste, his poverty, his few wants. 
 Boorish in manners and vacant in thought, he gazed 
 with supreme admiration upon the filthy fakirs as his 
 models of the true kind of a life, and accepted with 
 equal pleasure the adulation of the people of lower 
 castes. His idea of wives and of women in general 
 was the common one among his fellows. They were 
 only to serve their husbands, to eat what he left on his 
 plate, to stand behind him and brush the flies away so 
 that they should not touch his sacred body, to submit to
 
 256 NEMOKAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 whatever request he might make, or give instant obe- 
 dience to his commands. All their blessedness was 
 to be in serving him, and if they violated his least 
 command they were eternally shut out from heaven. 
 His smile could unlock heaven, and his frown close it 
 forever against them. Such were Ins thoughts, and 
 his pride rose higher and higher as he contemplated 
 the time when he could command the obedience of 
 the lovely Dasee. 
 
 Many times he sent demands that she be given to 
 him, but Baboo Chunder, watching how he had been 
 trained, refused, and contemplated with horror putting 
 his daughter, accustomed only to love, gentleness, and 
 refinement, into the hands of such a cruel fanatic. 
 The subject was never mentioned to his daughter, 
 and only a dim recollection of it remained in her 
 mind. She had seen her husband but once that was 
 the time of the marriage and since then all her 
 thoughts had turned in other directions. It was im- 
 possible for the youth or his parents to obtain her 
 while Chunder stood in the way ; but he died. Im- 
 mediately after her father's funeral the husband ap- 
 peared and claimed his wife. 
 
 Dasee was appalled. She did not know the man, 
 neither did she wish to know him after giving one 
 glance at his brutal face, marked by ignorance and 
 selfishness. She had no love for him, and it would 
 be impossible for her to ever learn to love him. To 
 be the slave of such a man was worse than death. It
 
 DASEE. 257 
 
 shocked every conception she entertained of purity 
 and refinement. She felt that she could not leave her 
 beautiful home and live in a mud cottage, to spread 
 co\v ordure on the walls once a week and in the yard 
 about the cottage every day. Thus to consecrate her 
 life to the one thing of serving such an ignoramus ! 
 But he was inflexible. He did not care for gold nor 
 jewels; he despised them, Nothing would satisfy 
 him but possession of the maiden. The laws of Mann 
 said, " Whatever be the qualities of the man with whom 
 a woman is united in lawful marriage, such qualities 
 even she assumes, like a river united with the ocean." 
 The recollection of this law filled her soul with 
 dread. As she looked at him she asked herself, in 
 horror, if she conld ever sink so low as to be known 
 by the possession of such infamous and despicable 
 qualities. She pleaded for release or for compromise, 
 but he was deaf to all pleadings. With lordly pride 
 he commanded her to obey him. Then she refused, 
 positively and finally. His friends advised him to 
 carry the matter to the courts. lie did so, and the 
 courts were compelled to decide according to the law. 
 The law was in his favor, and the common prison was 
 the only alternative to obedience. The judges said 
 Dasee must go either with her husband or to the 
 prison. With calm resignation, such as touched all 
 hearts, Dasee replied to the judges, " Send me to 
 prison if you will ; I shall never go with that man as 
 
 his wife." 
 17
 
 258 ^NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 The decision had been rendered, the judgment pro- 
 nounced, and Dasee \vas at once led to prison. O 
 what a change from the sweet, pure air on Malabar 
 Hill, where loving thought and wealth had sur- 
 rounded her with every luxury, to the narrow, bare 
 cell, with the worst of convicts and criminals, the 
 lowest and vilest wretches, with their curses and vile 
 shouts ringing in the air ! But terrible as this was, 
 she felt safe from defilement. Within her cell she 
 could be true to her ideal of pure womanhood. Brave 
 in heart, she resisted all the efforts of the cruel mon- 
 ster to possess her, and in devotions daily fortified her 
 honorable soul. 
 
 The hot days of summer came the season in which 
 she had always gone to the mountains to escape the 
 oppressive heat. Morgan was with the missionaries 
 at Nynee Tal, but Dasee was still in the prison. How 
 long could she endure it ? 
 
 As Morgan listened to this story of his lovely friend 
 he was inexpressibly shocked, and he went from the 
 house asking himself, " Is there not some way to save 
 Dasee from this awful calamity ? "
 
 VICTORY IN DEATH. 259 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 VICTORY IN DEATH. 
 
 MORGAN was hastening toward the hotel, when 
 lie saw before him the smiling face of the trusty 
 Irishman. 
 
 " Hello, Dennis ! Is that you ? " he said ; and 
 Dennis, looking at him a moment, grasped the out- 
 stretched hand as he replied : " Be me sowl, an' this is 
 Mister Morgan ; but I would not 'a' known yez for 
 the distrestful look upon your face. But cheer up, 
 for the ladies are here in Bombay, an' safe at that ; 
 an', what is more, Mister Morgan, they are achen all 
 over to see yez. Sure an' 'tis myself that is the happy 
 man to lead yez to thirn." 
 
 Morgan was delighted with the success that at- 
 tended Dennis's efforts, and, after going to his hotel, 
 followed him to the cottage where the maidens were 
 temporarily living. 
 
 His meeting the women whom he had so greatly 
 befriended was the most awkward moment of his life. 
 How to salute them he did not know, neither did they, 
 and if it had not been for Dennis no one can tell 
 what mistakes might have been made ; but the jolly 
 Irishman began to express pleasure enough for the 
 entire party. His wit set them all a-laughing, and
 
 260 NKMORAMA THK NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 the laughter hid the embarrassment they all felt. 
 Then it became necessary for each one to know the 
 experiences of the other, and the day wore away. 
 Morgan could not think of leaving until a dish of 
 curry was disposed of, and then Nemorama somehow 
 held him until the stars were brightly shining above 
 them. When he did return to his hotel he knew not 
 which was greater, his happiness in seeing Nemorama 
 or his sorrow over the calamities that had befallen 
 Dasee. 
 
 The next morning he hastened to the cottage to 
 instruct Dennis to leave Bombay immediately with 
 the ladies, and go to the mountain home of Captain 
 Grey, for the cholera had broken out in the city, and 
 before many days every cottage on the mountains 
 would be occupied by the people fleeing from the 
 awful scourge. After seeing them depart for the 
 mountains, Morgan began his efforts for the release 
 of Dasee. 
 
 , The European residents of Bombay were unani- 
 mous in condemnation of the 'law, and their ardent 
 sympathies were aroused in behalf of the maiden, 
 whom many of them knew and loved so well. They 
 pleaded with the judges to mitigate the sentence, but 
 they found themselves opposed by the iron hand of 
 custom and the firm hand of the law. 
 
 The Hindus of Bombay sided with the husband. 
 They claimed that he had the right to his wife, and 
 the most terrible consequences would befall her if
 
 VICTORY IN DEATH. 2G1 
 
 she did not submit to his commands. She should 
 honor him because of the purity of his caste, and her 
 rebellion was because her father had trained her in 
 the luxuries of the English, and apart from the cus- 
 toms of her people. The Hindus, therefore, besought 
 the judges to let the law take its course, and the 
 refractory maiden be fully punished. Thus Morgan 
 found that he could do nothing, and that the very 
 features of the maiden's life that aroused his compas- 
 sion had the opposite effect upon the Hindus. Tier 
 conduct was subversive of all their customs. 
 
 Meanwhile the cholera spread rapidly. In the 
 densely populated districts of the city its ravages 
 were terrible, and a sort of gloom seemed to settle 
 upon the people. Crime increased in the infected 
 districts, and the officers of the law had their hands 
 full in trying to preserve peace and order among 
 the people in the slums. Deprived of exercise and 
 proper food and air, Daseo was growing physically 
 weaker and weaker. Evidently the seeds of disease 
 were fastening upon "her system, but her clear, noble 
 countenance was growing serener and more spiritual 
 day by day. She cast off her Hindu faith when she 
 entered the prison. The words of Jesus stored in 
 her mind now proved to be a treasury of delight. 
 The contemplation of the rewards God bestowed upon 
 the faithful filled her soul with rapture. As the 
 ravages of the cholera increased, and crime with it, 
 the prison became overcrowded. The fiith and vile-
 
 262 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 ness brought within the gates was horrible, and Dasee 
 often felt faint as, from the language used by these 
 wretches, she learned how low human beings could 
 descend. These wretches from the cholera-stricken 
 slums not only brought their cursings, but also the 
 cholera, and it began to rage within the prison. O, 
 what a place the prison then became ! The curses of 
 the imprisoned wretches, the shrieks of the manacled, 
 the cries of those who were attacked by the dreaded 
 disease, and the heavy measured tramp of the guards 
 bringing in the criminals and carrying out the dead 
 kept up the constant excitement. The air of the 
 prison was laden with the stench of the wretches, 
 which no amount of cleansing could remove. Forced 
 to breathe such an atmosphere, the maiden, unusually 
 susceptible to disease germs because of her feeble 
 condition, became a victim, and, after a few hours of 
 intense suffering, died. When she died she was alone. 
 To the prison officials she was no more than any 
 other prisoner. They did not know nor care about 
 her crime. Without tender hands to serve her in 
 her need, or gentle words of love whispered in her 
 ear, or sympathetic friends to weep at her sufferings, 
 drawn up with pain and in awful agony, she gasped 
 out her last breathings, and only when the warden 
 came with the scanty portion of food daily given her 
 was her death known. 
 
 Tramp, tramp, tramp, came the guards and stood 
 by the prison doors, while other prisoners rudely
 
 ix DKATII. 263 
 
 dragged the bodies of the dead out of the gate, and 
 threw them in a heap on the dead-cart. The body of 
 the beautiful Dasee was served the same as the vilest 
 wretches, and the cart, full of corpses, was sent to the 
 burning ghaut, where the bodies of brutal criminal 
 and the gentle maiden were together consumed, and 
 the ashes left to be the sport of the wind and the 
 weather. When the news of her death was made 
 known, Morgan again left Bombay, and followed his 
 wards up the mountain-sides. 
 
 Captain Grey's head-quarters were in an old Mah- 
 ratta fortress situated on the top of one of the lofty 
 round-top hills of the Western Ghauts. 
 
 It was a place famous for being the field of some 
 of Sejani's brilliant exploits, and the whole surround- 
 ing country was awake to traditions of the skill and 
 valor displayed by that wonderful chieftain in de- 
 fending the mountain districts against the Mohammed- 
 an invaders under the celebrated Mogul Aurnngzebe. 
 Romance took the place of history, and the wildest 
 tales of adventure and of love were related in the 
 zenanas, with Sejani as the captivating and ever-suc- 
 cessful hero. The place given to Captain Grey was 
 on the upper side of a precipitous hill, rendering the 
 fort almost impregnable. So thought Sejani's foes 
 when they possessed it. But he climbed the dizzy 
 height, fastened a rope-ladder to the top ledge, and, 
 going down the rope, commanded his followers to 
 climb the rope and capture the fortress. The first
 
 264 NKMOfiAMA THE jSTAUTCHNEE. 
 
 man refused the hazardous undertaking, and Sejani 
 immediately plunged his dagger into the man's heart. 
 Without a word the rest of his men obeyed, and 
 the surprised garrison awoke only to die ; and thus 
 his enemies learned that no place was impregnable 
 when Sejani attacked it. Kow in English hands, the 
 old fortress was changed into comfortable barracks ; 
 the science of defense was applied to strengthen the 
 place, so that if war should again break out in India 
 not even the skill of a Sejani would be able to wrest 
 the fortress from its English defenders. Under the 
 shadow of the fort was established a hospital, and the 
 grounds about the buildings were made as attractive 
 as the skill of English gardeners using the flora of 
 that part of India could make them. 
 
 The frequent spectacle of invalid soldiers resting 
 beneath the shady trees or walking along paths bor- 
 dered by fragrant, blooming bushes gave evidence of 
 the value of this mountain sanitarium to the brave 
 men who held India in subjection to the highest type 
 of European civilization. The hospital was located 
 here because of the purity of the atmosphere and the 
 refreshing coolness while the cities in the lowlands 
 were sweltering in heat. It was far above the line of 
 fevers and cholera and the various diseases peculiar 
 in India. Here men became strong again, and real- 
 ized the pleasure of living where nature contrib- 
 uted to her fullest measure in supplying the bless- 
 ings of life. The place had been accidentally dis-
 
 VICTORY IN DEATH. 
 
 covered by an English officer when on a hunting 
 expedition. 
 
 As the beauties of the place burst unexpectedly 
 upon his view, he stopped to examine the various feat- 
 ures it presented, and became enraptured with the ex- 
 cellences of its atmosphere and surroundings. Be- 
 low, all along the road leading to it a road passing 
 yawning chasms and bridging rushing streams were 
 numbers of Hindu temples, many of them in ruins. 
 
 In the older days, before the English came, this 
 road was a highway for pilgrims, such as pious Hin- 
 dus, learned Brahmans, and sacred fakirs, who located 
 themselves by these chasms or behind the jutting 
 crags, and received the adoration of the common peo- 
 ple, who toiled up the steep mountain to their sacred 
 cloisters. Here, also, in the more secluded spots, 
 apart from the din and frivolity of the world, men 
 consecrated themselves to the study of the sacred 
 Vedas, and sought to sever their affections from the 
 world, that they might be endowed with keenes 
 spiritual illumination. But the hermits retired into 
 deeper solitudes when the sacredness of their resorts 
 was broken into by the unscrupulous curiosity of ad- 
 venturous foreigners. They left their temples to fall 
 into decay, while in the depths of the mountains or 
 at the head fountains of sacred streams the holy men 
 in poverty re-established themselves, and, with a 
 power they never lost, still attracted the ambitious 
 youths of Hindu households.
 
 266^ NEMOKAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 It was along this road tliat Dennis led the M'omen, 
 not now carried in palanquins, but walking, for they 
 left the city in haste. 
 
 Dennis knew the road well, and many a merry tale 
 he told them of the battles along the road between 
 the servants of the various temples in their efforts to 
 win the pilgrims passing by. When they arrived 
 near the hospital a place generally shunned by the 
 Hindus they found a cottage which would answer 
 their purposes very well, and here, for a small rental, 
 they established themselves, Dennis going up to the 
 fortress to serve the captain, as he had been accustomed 
 to doing. 
 
 It was in this cottage that. Morgan found them as 
 he came up the road, followed by hundreds of Euro- 
 peans fleeing from Bombay until the cholera season 
 should pass away. As he looked into their bright, 
 happy faces, he felt repaid for all that he had done for 
 them, and with the promise to visit them on the mor- 
 row, continued his journey up the hill to the grim 
 old fortress which guaranteed security to them all.
 
 A HINDU'S LOVE. 267 
 
 CHAPTER XX\ r I. 
 
 A HINDU'S LOVE. 
 
 EDWARD MORGAN was cordially greeted by Captain 
 Grey, and at once installed in one of the best rooms in 
 the fortress. There, as every- where, army officers in 
 their permanent quarters lived in luxury. With plenty 
 of male servants to do their bidding, the government 
 to pay the bills, discipline exacting from every one a 
 rigid observance of the military code, and not too 
 much to do, they had every opportunity for enjoying 
 a life suitable to their occupation. 
 
 Morgan was charmed with the scenery from the 
 ramparts of the fortress. Back of them for a great 
 distance tops of scores of hills were seen, peaks of 
 every form and size, separated by deep ravines, inter- 
 spersed here and there by graceful water-falls, where 
 the mountain streams forced their way from one 
 ravine down to another. In front of them they be- 
 held hill-side and plain ; great groves of lofty palms ; 
 forests of delicate cypress ; orchards of peaches and 
 other luscious fruits, gardens of coffee, tea, cinchona, 
 and other cultivated shrubs ; little villages here and 
 there; temples rose every-where. Beyond all, under 
 a haze or vapor which seemed to be floating in the 
 air, giving it a blue color, rolled the distant and lim-
 
 268 XEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 itless sea. Morgan, looking along the winding road, 
 could plainly see the cottage occupied by his friends, 
 and he felt that from this place the course they were 
 to pursue in the future must be marked out. 
 
 As they were talking about the strange life of the 
 people of India, with its many mysteries and contra- 
 dictions, the captain related to his guests the story * 
 of one whom he had seen but a few days before : 
 
 " On one of the hills we can see from the summit 
 of our fortress stands the temple of Khandoba, the 
 warrior-god of the ancient Mahrattas. This temple 
 is served by many girls or young women. One of the 
 beautiful priestesses of the temple fell in love with a 
 young Mahratta noble. She was heart-broken when 
 his visits suddenly ceased, and she sent a message by 
 a sudra, a male attendant serving the temple, to her 
 lover, assuring him of her deep love for him, and her 
 desire to escape from the temple and serve him even 
 as a slave in his household. 
 
 "The sudra was also in love with the girl, and in- 
 stead of delivering her message, he told her falsely 
 that her lover had advised her to be happy where the 
 gods'had placed her. He hoped to gain her for him- 
 self. The following morning the girl was missed, 
 and on the next day her body, all crushed and 
 mangled, was found at the foot of a precipice called 
 
 * This story is given in the book Life and Travels in India, by 
 Anna H. Leonowens. It is given here to illustrate a phase of Hindu 
 character needed to complete one's understanding of that wonderful 
 people.
 
 A HINDU'S LOVE. 269 
 
 Dewanee-garh, lier lota or drinking-vessel still tied 
 to her neck. Months after the Mahratta noble came 
 again to the temple, and learned the sad fate of 
 the girl. He had not deserted her, but had gone on 
 a sacred pilgrimage to Benares, and had just re- 
 turned, lie was so affected by the story of her death 
 that he took the battered lota in his hands and swore 
 to perform the ' Gala Naik,' the severest course of 
 asceticism known among the Hindus. He went to the 
 
 O 
 
 edge of the precipice from which the girl had flung 
 herself, and there he stood, with his head thrown back, 
 gazing at the sun and holding the lota in his hand. 
 
 "The priestesses pitied him and took him. food, 
 and there he stood until reason gave way. Since 
 then he remains part of the time perched on the 
 verge of the precipice, other times wandering on the 
 hill-side, but always holding in his hand the battered 
 lota. 
 
 "When I saw him the other day his long hair, 
 partly gray, hung in masses on his shoulders ; his 
 hands and feet, with nails like talons, looked like huge 
 claws ; his body was emaciated, and as we approached 
 he fled to the edge of the precipice. He was con- 
 stantly muttering to himself and twirling his be- 
 loved's battered lota. It was a remarkable exhibition 
 of the force of love in the heart of a Mahratta." 
 
 "Do you think it is rare," asked Morgan, "to find 
 such strength of affection in the hearts of the people 
 of India?"
 
 270 J^EMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 "No, I think not," replied the captain ; "in fact, I 
 think it quite common. We strangers from a colder 
 climate, and a life which requires all of our time and 
 faculties to get along in the world, do not understand 
 how all the energies of this people are given to the 
 training of the affections. I only realized it when I 
 saw the devotion of my own dear Hindu wife. She 
 had a power of loving never surpassed in this world, 
 and it kindled within me such flames of love that 
 every thought of her is precious to me even after the 
 many years of her death. I smile sometimes at 
 Dennis because of his antics prompted by his love 
 for Kismut, but I am sure, if he once wins her love, 
 he will never be unhappy when she is by his side ; 
 she will give him a wealth of affection that will bring 
 blessedness into his life every day. O, how I miss 
 my lost loved one ! " 
 
 The captain then relapsed into silence for a while, 
 and Morgan sat by his side, unwilling to break into 
 his revery of grief. At length the captain said : 
 " Morgan, let me tell you my story, and you will see 
 why I so often lapse into silence or walk away from 
 the jestings of my comrades. I came to India before 
 the mutiny of 1857, and was established along the 
 Ganges in command of a regiment of Sepoys. While 
 there I became intimate with a Brahman whose sons' 
 were in my command. Of course, as a foreigner, I 
 could not meet them in social life, but I often saw 
 their little sister, a beautiful child, then not old
 
 A HINDU'S LOVE. 271 
 
 enough to leave home for married life. When the 
 mutiny broke out the father and sons fell, and I took 
 the maiden with me, for she seemed at that time to 
 have no one to care for her. I was attracted by her 
 marvelous beauty, and as she grew older this beauty 
 increased. As she grew to womanhood I taught her, 
 and with ready capacity she learned until she knew 
 as much as I did. Then 1 found myself unable to 
 resist her charms, and with her full consent made her 
 my wife. I then learned the depth of the affection 
 a Hindu woman is capable of bestowing upon her 
 beloved, and my life was one continual gleam of sun- 
 shine. Whenever she looked at me the love-light 
 flashed in her eyes. She was constantly studying 
 how to please me by little surprises, and when she 
 saw me look back to her with love, she would sing 
 and coo about me as if she knew nothing but love. 
 She would not allow any other hand than her own to 
 prepare my food, and it was always as choice as it 
 could be made. Her caresses, her sweet words, her 
 gentle sympathies, were the charm of life to me. 
 
 One day a little daughter came to us, and then our 
 love was centered upon it ; yet we loved each other 
 none the less. The little child strongly resembled its 
 mother, and in infantile manners seemed to catch her 
 ways. One day O, sad day to me ! I was ordered 
 to report at Calcutta. With fond' kisses and promises 
 of a speedy return, I bade them farewell and departed. 
 I hurried my return, and hastily leaving the rail-
 
 272 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 road station, I rushed to my cottage, but it was empty. 
 What did it mean? I went to my head-quarters, and 
 there I was told my beloved wife had suddenly died 
 and my child had disappeared. I made every effort 
 to find my child and to discover the cause of my 
 beloved's death, but all in vain. Then I asked to be 
 relieved of my command. When the cause of my 
 request was known I was sent to China with Gordon, 
 and from there I went to Egypt, but my heart was in 
 India. Unable to remain away any longer, I asked 
 to be returned to India, and here Iain. God only 
 knows what the future of my life may be, but when 
 I found my wife dead the light of my life faded, and 
 the only spark of real hope left is that I may yet 
 find a trace of my child." 
 
 While the captain was speaking his guest could 
 hardly retain his seat or suppress his emotions, and 
 at the close he said : " Captain Grey, believe me, 
 God will yet bring your daughter to you. He will not 
 permit such faith and love to go unrewarded." 
 
 The captain merely responded, " I hope so I hope 
 so," and, thanking his friend for his sympathy, retired 
 to his room to prepare for the usual evening's drill 
 of the garrison in the fortress. 
 
 With hurried step Morgan went down to the cot- 
 tage, and long before he reached it Nemorama came 
 out to meet him. O, how beautiful she looked as her 
 eyes sparkled with love and she hastened to jclose the 
 door, that she might receive his fond caresses and re-
 
 A HINDU'S LOVE. 
 
 turn them in like fervor! Looking into her fond 
 eyes, lie said : " Would my beloved be happy in 
 seeing her own real father ?" Xemorama instantly 
 broke away from his embrace, and with a startled air 
 quickly answered : ' It has been the greatest desire 
 of my life. 1 have thought of it every hour since 
 you told me of my parentage. And now I see by 
 your face that you know where he is. O, I am so 
 happy ! "Where is he ? shall I, O, may I see him soon ? " 
 
 Then Morgan again drew her to him, and told her 
 what he had just learned. The news was too good 
 to keep, and Kisnmt was called in from the next 
 room, and in her loving, quiet way was soon rejoicing 
 with them. Xemorama was impatient to go to the for- 
 tress at once, but Morgan restrained her, for he was 
 thinking of a plan by which he might have the rev- 
 elation of hope fulfilled burst upon the captain at 
 once. 
 
 After the parade Dennis came down. This was 
 his usual practice now, and Kismut was never surprised 
 at his coming, and they told him the news in store for 
 his master. Dennis was very dignified when he came in. 
 He always was so just after the parade, but he became 
 entirely unconscious of self while the story was being 
 told him. His face grew long, then it broadened ; he 
 smiled until every tooth was seen. Then the flushes 
 spread and tears dropped from his eyes. He uttered 
 the names of saints and all manner of exclamations, 
 
 and finally wound up his strange behavior by 
 
 18
 
 274 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 embracing Morgan, then Kismut, before the others. 
 Respect for the captain and for Morgan prevented 
 him from serving Nemoraina in the same way, but 
 lie refrained, and bowed low at her feet. He promised 
 to keep quiet, however, and do his part in Morgan's 
 plan to restore the daughter to her loving father.
 
 THE LOST FOUND. 275 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 THE LOST FOUND. 
 
 THE exodus of people from Bombay was filling 
 every cottage on the mountains. Many of the peo- 
 ple were compelled to bring tents, which they pitched 
 in well-favored places, and enjoyed not only the 
 change of climate and scenery, but also the change 
 in their manner of living. The landscape became 
 very attractive with the thousands of white tents on 
 knolls and crags and beside the flowing streams. 
 
 The old fortress was a place of great interest to 
 the visitors, and they never wearied of hearing the 
 accounts of the exploits of Sejani, the Mahratta 
 hero. Captain Grey was a typical English com- 
 mander. He carried himself with great dignity, and 
 had every thing pertaining to garrison work attended 
 to with precision. He was just the kind of a man to 
 lead people to say of him, " That man would die, but 
 would not surrender ; he has the true bull-dog grit." 
 What would they have thought had they known 
 how his heart was constantly bleeding because of the 
 wounds of love? 
 
 Morgan had learned just exactly how the captain's 
 wife was dressed when she bade him farewell, and lie 
 had secured for Nemorama an exactly similar suit.
 
 276 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 When slie donned it Morgan said she never had ap- 
 peared lovelier but lie made the same remark every 
 day. j^emorarna showed possession of English 
 blood by the impatience with which she awaited the 
 time to make herself known. Kismut, however, full 
 of sympathy, kept her mind upon trifles, changes of 
 dress, added decorations to her hair, any thing to 
 enable her to pass the time easily. Dennis had re- 
 turned to the fortress. His work now was to prepare 
 the way, to keep off intruders, and manage the 
 captain should any trouble arise. 
 
 Captain Grey was sitting in his parlor reading the 
 latest arrival of the London Times. His room was 
 in perfect order Dennis always kept it so. Every 
 book was in its proper place on the shelves, the chairs 
 were standing in their places as regularly as pickets 
 on duty, the curtains at the windows were drawn just 
 so far, to the half-inch, and the covers on the tables 
 were spread so that the corners were precisely at equal 
 distances from the floor. 
 
 The captain dropped the paper from his^hand and 
 fell to musing as the light grew dim and the darkness 
 slowly came on. Dennis did not hurry with the lights. 
 The captain was fond of these evening musings. It was 
 the hour when his thoughts were with the departed one. 
 His conversation with Morgan had opened the wounds 
 afresh, and as the twilight faded a great lonesomeness 
 came upon him. He was resting his head upon his 
 hand and lost in thought when an unusual foot-
 
 THE LOST FOUND. 277 
 
 step was heard coming into the room. It was so 
 soft, so gentle, that it was just noticeable, and that 
 was all. 
 
 The captain aroused from his reverie. He knew it 
 was a child or a woman's step; but how carne either 
 to be in his room ? He looked up quickly, then 
 leaped from his chair, turned pale, and, clasping his 
 hands convulsively, asked the intruder, " For God's 
 sake, tell me, who are you ? Are you a spirit, or do 
 you live ? " Then he passed his hands to his head, as 
 if in doubt whether lie was in command of his senses 
 or not. He saw before him, just as he had seen her 
 years before, his beloved wife the same face, the 
 same dress, the same manner ; and before the strange 
 visitant could utter a word he burst into tears. 
 
 Then Kemorama quickly advanced, and putting 
 out her warm, soft hand with a touch that thrilled 
 him through and through, said, " Father, I am your 
 daughter. Do you think I am like my dear, dead 
 mother ? Am I so much like her that you thought it 
 was her spirit? Won't you welcome me, father, now 
 that we have found each other ? " Before she was 
 done speaking he had folded her in his arms and was 
 rapturously embracing her. He would hold her off 
 at arm's-length and carefully scan her features, then 
 with a cry of delight draw her to him again. Then, 
 when able to command his feelings, he drew a Chair 
 beside his own. and bidding her be seated, asked her 
 to tell him how she came to find him.
 
 278 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCIINEE. 
 
 Hour after hour passed. The moon on her solemn 
 march sent her beams through the window, lighting 
 the apartment with her gentle touch ; and the father 
 and daughter talked of all the past. Both were inex- 
 pressibly happy. Neither of them doubted the truth 
 of their relationship ; and as they presented to each 
 other the experiences through which they had passed, 
 they rejoiced in the wonderful ways by which divine 
 Providence had led them. Nemorama did not con- 
 ceal her love for her preserver ; and Captain Grey 
 already loved Morgan as a son. 
 
 At length the captain touched the bell-cord, and in 
 a moment Dennis, with his face radiant, stood before 
 him. In another moment Morgan and Kismut en- 
 tered, and the circle was complete. The captain, tak- 
 ing Morgan's hand, said : 
 
 u My dear friend, when I first met you on the 
 steamer coming to India I felt a strange attraction to 
 you, and since then I have had a yearning fondness 
 for you. I did not know why. I was even surprised 
 at it. But now it is all clear. You have been the 
 means of bringing back to me in great measure my 
 lost joy. In perils you have fought your way for 
 love's dear sake, and you have won the victory. It is 
 my first glad privilege in receiving my daughter to 
 bestow her upon you. May she make you as happy 
 as her mother made me ! Only of one thing be as- 
 sured. I shall never again be separated from my 
 child. Lost once, she shall not be lost again until
 
 THE LOST FOUND. 27i> 
 
 the time comes for one of us to go to the home above, 
 where her dear mother awaits us." 
 
 Then he turned to Dennis, and, while the faithful 
 fellow blubbered like a child, he said to him : " My 
 true, faithful man, always ready to serve me, how 
 can I repay you for your trustworthiness in all things 
 placed in your hands? You are like a son to me. 
 Without you I might not have received this blessing, 
 and I can only say I rejoice in your service. I give 
 you my confidence ; and as you take Kismut as the 
 4 darlint of yer heart,' rnay God bless you and make 
 both of you to be supremely happy." 
 
 Then Dennis went out, and in a few moments re- 
 turned with choice refreshments ; and while they ate 
 the cake and drank the lemonade they joyfully con- 
 tinued their touching life-narratives. It was nearly 
 morning when they parted, but no one was allowed to 
 leave the fortress, and Dennis had made abundant 
 preparations to entertain them all. 
 
 In a few days there was a double wedding, and the 
 old fortress was crowded with the guests who came 
 from every cottage, nearly, on that mountain road. 
 The Hindus, however, would have nothing to do with 
 it. They abhorred the entire affair as an invention of 
 evil ones. It was true both maidens had once been 
 high caste, the one by right of inheritance and faithful 
 life, the other by maternal inheritance alone; but 
 botli of them had lost caste by fellovvshiping with those 
 who were not of their caste, and also by failing to
 
 280 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 maintain the acts of purification demanded by their 
 laws. To associate with them, gifted and noble 
 though they were, would have been constant contami- 
 nation and a denial of the eternal, binding power of 
 their religion. The one hardship the women had 
 now to suffer was the complete isolation from their 
 sister Hindus. On the other hand, a new field for 
 enjoyment opened before them. 
 
 Soon every English household in Bombay, as well 
 as in the mountain resorts, knew the main incidents 
 in the lives of the two heroines, who were lionized 
 with the fullness of English enthusiasm. The beauty 
 of Nemorama became the subject for universal praise, 
 while the sweetness of disposition manifested by Kis- 
 mnt won a place in every heart. They had no time to 
 beAvail separation from their sisters of India because 
 of the demands upon their time by their newly found 
 sisters, and they realized that the liberty of the new 
 life was like a heaven to their souls. O, how pre- 
 cious that freedom was to them ! 
 
 When the first round of pleasure was ended, the 
 cholera had subsided and the people were returning 
 to 'their homes in Bombay > The ladies at the fortress 
 began to consider seriously how they might consecrate 
 their efforts to the elevation of their own people. 
 They discovered that while Hinduism led people to 
 be selfish in their duties, Christianity led people to be 
 liberal, and awakened a desire within the heart to 
 bring others into the same happy condition.
 
 THE LOST Forxn. 281 
 
 Mohammedanism was progressive, and, with tre- 
 mendous energy, was winning converts all over 
 India, but it was vastly different in its methods and 
 promises from Christianity. 
 
 Mohammedanism held the most brilliant promises 
 before men of the gratification of every form of 
 sensual desire in the other world, and with stirring 
 force appealed to the unregenerate and selfish natures 
 of men. But. Christianity appealed to tbe heart : it 
 elevated the ideas of men ; it led them into the desire 
 for truth, virtue, and goodness. It taught men how to 
 live right in this world, and, because of their right 
 living, to be accepted in the kingdom of righteous- 
 ness and dwell with their Saviour forever. 
 
 Kismut could testify that her allegiance to Christ 
 did not antagonize any pure or virtuous thought she 
 had ever known, but rather that it strengthened her 
 desire for perfect purity. It sustained her in the en- 
 deavor to be faithful in all the obligations of life. It 
 filled her mind with brighter ar.d more certain assur- 
 ances of eternal bliss, and it filled her soul with a joy 
 that was a perpetual fountain, and not subject to the 
 smiles or the frowns of any man. Beyond this it led 
 her to look upon all women as sisters, whatever be 
 their caste or condition, and to recognize in each one 
 an immortal human soul. 
 
 With eager haste both of them began the study of 
 the English language, determined to be able to read 
 the Bibles of the English, and to glean from them
 
 282 XEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 the impressions which they observed in the conversa- 
 tion of those who surrounded them. 
 
 Day by day they were taught by their husbands, 
 and, with their minds opened by love, were capable of 
 rapid advancement. Morgan was surprised at the 
 capacity for learning manifested by Nemorama. She 
 seemed to grasp intuitively the ideas he presented, 
 and she showed an eagerness that baffled fatigue. 
 
 He now brought the active powers of his trained 
 mind to unfold trutli to her, but, with all his intelli- 
 gence, he found an inability to convey certain classes 
 of impressions. Something more than mere knowl- 
 edge was required. What was it ?. 
 
 As he pondered this question the fact of psycho- 
 logical differences between the sexes became the plainer 
 to him, and the conviction arose that for a woman to 
 receive a thorough training of her mental faculties 
 she must be taught by a woman. 
 
 What an argument for the sustaining of woman's 
 work in India ! 
 
 He determined to test the matter by taking the 
 ladies to Agra and placing them for a time under the 
 influence of Mrs. Stanhope. 
 
 When he mentioned it they were willing, and im- 
 mediately began their preparations. He assured them 
 that all danger was now over : that neither fakir nor 
 rajah could injure them, for the whole power of En- 
 gland would be used to defend the daughter and the 
 wife of her officers.
 
 CHANGING SCENES. 283 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 CHANGING SCENES. 
 
 RETURNING from the mountain sanitarium, the 
 widow of Paul Stanhope laid down her grief at the 
 Master's feet, and instead took up the work which he 
 had placed before her. She labored with an energy 
 that was sublime, and by day and by night hearkened 
 to the calls of the poor and suffering. While giving 
 them healing balms, she told them of the real balm of 
 Grilead, the all-powerful love of the Saviour of sin- 
 ners. The work grew on her hands, and she realized 
 that in porportion to it she was like a single miner 
 digging away at the base of a mighty mountain. 
 Day by day she brought out precious ore, but a hun- 
 dred thousand workers could work with her and still 
 the great mountain would remain, so vast was the field. 
 
 Then she thought of the women of America, thou- 
 sands of them given to a life of frivolity because there 
 did not seem to be any cause before them to arouse 
 and employ their best energies. 
 
 O the blindness of the women of America ! God 
 
 had taught them the sisterhood of the race ; philology 
 
 taught them the close sisterhood of the women in 
 
 India ; commerce taught them the sisterhood in tastes 
 
 .and provided the means of ready communication ; and
 
 284 XEMOKAMA THE XAUTCIINEE. 
 
 religion taught them the will of their Kedeemer to 
 accept the obligations of this sisterhood and go to work 
 to cany the blessings of their faith and the freedom 
 of the Gospel to them all. A revival of the mission- 
 ary spirit was needed in America. Such a revival 
 would be beneh'cial in many ways. It would arouse 
 the people to a sense of their need of a Saviour ; it 
 would quicken the religious energies of the people 
 accustomed to hearing the Gospel ; it would stimu- 
 late all manner of missionary enterprise; it would 
 open the windows of heaven for the outpouring of the 
 divine blessing, and it would save the people of India. 
 Such were the thoughts which often came in Mrs. 
 Stanhope's mind. 
 
 Sometimes she wrote long, yearning, appealing 
 letters home, telling the story of India's needs, but 
 she spent more of her time in prayer that God would 
 open the way before her to do his urgent work. She 
 constantly met grave difficulties ; it was so hard to 
 win the people to positive action. She realized that 
 whenever a high caste woman accepted Christ she 
 was thoroughly ostracized by her former friends, and 
 all she could call friends were the few in the mission- 
 ary compound. Thus every high caste convert be- 
 came a heroine for the Lord Jesus, and could truly say, 
 
 "Xaked, poor, despised, forsaken, 
 Thou from hence my all shall be.' 1 
 
 It became to them a new life, with new hopes, new 
 joys, new habits, and new associations.
 
 CHANGING SCEXK-. 285 
 
 Pitied or despised by former friends, the convert 
 with a bleeding heart fled to Jesus and received grace 
 sufficient for ever}* time of need. One of the most 
 difficult things to do was to take the pariah by the 
 hand and say to her with loving kiss, " Thou art my 
 sister.*' 
 
 Yet in the missionary compound there was not, 
 there could not be, any recognition of caste. It was 
 fundamentally opposed by all the doctrines of Chris- 
 tianity, and in the Scriptures were many expressions 
 of the Lord's will condemning it. 
 
 Converts came slowly, and mostly from the pariahs 
 or low-castes, and the very successes seemed to be 
 barriers in the way of winning the high caste. But 
 the faithful missionary pressed on her way. "When 
 Morgan arrived at the compound with Isemorama 
 and Kismut they were received joyfully, and Morgan, 
 with gladness in his heart, saw that Mrs. Stanhope 
 looked up to him arid loved him as a brother ; and as 
 he was impressed with this, he vowed to his own soul 
 and to God that in all things he would be a faithful 
 brother to her. He soon learned several things in re- 
 gard to her trials and duties. First, he learned that 
 she was overworked, and if she continued in that 
 way she would soon be laid in the ground by the side 
 of her husband. Then he discovered that the limited 
 means at her disposal \vere insufficient to enable 
 her to carry on her work, except at a constant sacri- 
 fice of little pleasures greatly needed by herself as
 
 286 NEMORAMA THE NATJTCHNEE. 
 
 recreation and stimulation. Then he saw that she 
 was painfully burdened by the indifference of her 
 sex in America to the needs of missionary work. 
 
 She was toiling with strained energies while they 
 were at ease in Zion. 
 
 He thought, " The missionary leads a hard life, and 
 when the people at home fail in their support it be- 
 comes crushing." His coming was the gleaming of 
 the sunshine to her wearied soul, and she yielded to his 
 earnest importunities to divide her time. So much 
 for work, so much for rest. 
 
 Nemorama and Kismut became her students, and 
 Morgan was soon convinced that his theory was cor- 
 rect. They learned from a woman phases of truth, 
 ways of grasping things, methods of study, and illu- 
 mination of doctrines such as he, because he was a 
 man, could not convey to them. It was now plain 
 to his mind that the theory underlying woman's work 
 in India for woman was not a mistake, but a great 
 fact. And he determined to consecrate a large pro- 
 portion of his income to sustaining this work. 
 Every day he drove around the beautiful gardens of 
 Agra, accompanied by the ladies, and the bloorn 
 gradually came to the cheeks of the missionary, and 
 her manners became sprightly as in her early life. 
 They were all happy, and the days quickly sped away. 
 One day a' message came to him, telling of the 
 illness of his father, and bidding him hasten his re- 
 turn. The message had come on the wings of the
 
 CHANGING SCENES. 287 
 
 telegraph, and only a few hours after it was sent 
 from Xe\v York it reached* him in Agra. He imme- 
 
 O 
 
 diatcly telegraphed to Bombay to learn the time 
 for the departure of the next steamer for En- 
 gland. The answer came, and he had but one day 
 more to spend in Agra. Their plans were soon 
 made. Ivismut would return to the fortress. The 
 captain would meet them in Bombay. Mrs. Stan- 
 hope would go to Bombay to see them off, then to 
 the fortress for a rest of a few days, and Kemorarna 
 would accompany her husband to America. One 
 more ride to the Taj, and then farewell. As they 
 were riding along a group of people by the road-side 
 attracted their attention. It was an ordinary spec- 
 tacle. A holy fakir was sitting at his devotions, and 
 the passers-by were worshiping him. As they drew 
 near Morgan glanced at the. holy man, and at. once 
 recognized his deliverer. 
 
 Stopping his horses and bidding a cooly attend 
 to them, he leaped to the ground and assisted I^emo- 
 rama to alight, telling her as he did so that this holy man 
 had been the means of restoring her to her father and 
 delivering her lover from prison. With their usual 
 courtesy the crowd gave way before the white gentle- 
 man and lady. For several moments no motion was 
 made by the fakir. His eyes were closed, and he seemed 
 to be as fixed as a statue. Morgan saw hov his emacia- 
 tion had increased, and he now looked like a living 
 skeleton. The people were uttering in low tones
 
 288 NEMORAMA THE NAUTCHNEE. 
 
 their admiration of the exceedingly holy man, and 
 every face was expressive f adoration. 
 
 The tears flowed down Nemorama's cheeks, and at 
 length, unable to further control her emotion, she 
 knelt in front of him, and taking hold of his bony, 
 claw-like hand, pressed her lips to it again and again. 
 It was a strange sight, at least so thought a company 
 of tourists who. passing by, stopped to observe the 
 scene. Youth, beauty, and grace honoring a gross 
 animal-like form of a man, a half-naked, matted- 
 haired, starved, unwashed, insane-looking being, 
 while the American husband of the woman stood 
 calmly looking on. Morgan saw no impropriety in 
 it. He knew the fakir was thoroughly sincere in his 
 faith, and as true as man could be. As he watched 
 his wife he too could not restrain the tears, for he 
 thought of the suffering the fakir had endured in or- 
 der to accomplish the generous work of which he, a 
 stranger, had reaped the benefit. The woman's af- 
 fection at length aroused the fakir, and opening his 
 eyes, he saw the party before him. A tender smile 
 broke over his face, and taking his other hand from 
 its usual place of repose, placed it on the woman's 
 head and blessed her. 
 
 The crowd of Hindus about them would have 
 given all they were worth for such a blessing, and 
 they were amazed to see it bestowed upon one in. the 
 dress of a foreigner. The fakir then motioned Mor- 
 gan to approach, and when he had come to him, said,
 
 CHANGING SCENES. 289 
 
 as he took from his matted hair two bullets and handed 
 them to him, " The Mohammedan thought these 
 were mighty charms, and hoped by possessing them 
 to be able to accomplish all he desired, lie was 
 patient, and succeeded in some things, but I met him 
 in the castle cell after the American had escaped from 
 prison and death. We fought each other until death 
 seized upon him ; then I took the bullets from his 
 hair to restore them to their owner. The gun that shot 
 them is laid up as a trophy in the rajah's hunting 
 castle. The stranger is brave and good, and has 
 found the father of the maiden, and has made her his 
 wife. The fakir is now content, his life-work is done ; 
 he will henceforth know no human being, but while 
 a few days are left him will be absorbed with thoughts 
 of Brahm. Take this gem : whenever you look upon it, 
 let a prayer rise from your heart for the fakir who 
 never lost sight of you when you were working 
 out the destiny of one of the chosen daughters of the 
 Hindu race." 
 
 He then handed Morgan the ruby with the mys- 
 tical letters engraved upon it, and immediately folding 
 his arms again, closed his eyes, and was apparently 
 unconscious of all about him. 
 
 Morgan helped Xemorama into the carriage, and 
 they drove on to the Taj. They walked through the 
 beautiful gardens, entered the charming tomb, lunched 
 in the spacious rest-house, loitered by the fuunatins, 
 
 and after hours of feasting, their souls with the beautv 
 19
 
 290 NEHORAMA THE JSAUTCHNEE. 
 
 about them re-entered their carriage, and quickly 
 drove toward Agra. As they passed the place where 
 they had seen the fakir, they looked and beheld him 
 still there, sitting absolutely motionless. As they 
 continued on their way, Nemorama said to her com- 
 panion, " He may never stir again, but sit there in that 
 solemn repose until life departs from sheer exhaus- 
 tion, and the people will say of him, ' The holy fakir 
 has gone to Brahm.' ' : 
 
 Early the next morning the travelers entered the 
 cars to hasten to Bombay. They stopped in the city 
 only long enough to make a few purchases, and then 
 hastened to the steamer. Captain Grey had obtained 
 leave of absence, and was ready to accompany them. 
 The parting with Dennis was a severe trial to him, 
 they had been companions for so many years. Xem- 
 orama wept as she embraced Kismut for the last 
 time, for she had learned to love her more than any 
 other woman in India. But for no one was the part- 
 ing more trying than for Morgan as he said farewell to 
 Mrs. Stanhope. He felt as if a part of his life-work 
 was to watch over her and aid her in her work. But 
 the partings were soon over, and the great vessel, 
 amid the cheers of the crowds on the quay, began the 
 voyage to England. 
 
 In thirty days the travelers reached Xew York. 
 Edward Morgan arrived at home in time to present his 
 wife to his father, and after the dying man had care- 
 fully scanned her countenance, he said to his son,
 
 CHANGING SCENKS. 291 
 
 " My boy, your wife is beautiful and good ; she will 
 crown your life with happiness. And now kneel, both 
 of you, and receive my blessing before I die." As 
 soon as the funeral was over, Nemorama bent her 
 every energy to learning more perfectly the English 
 language, determined, when she mastered it, to go 
 forth to tell the women of America publicly and 
 privately of the sufferings endured by the women of 
 India because of the social bondage of Brahmanism, 
 and to urge them in the name of the blessed Saviour 
 to sustain woman's work for woman in India, until 
 every zenana should be opened to Christ and every 
 bound soul be made free. 
 
 THE END
 
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