Romesh Chunder Dutt

“ But I have known thee in thy kindness, and I have seen thy daring; thou art a true woman and a brave woman in spite of thy wild nature and thy life as a palace slave. Trust a true man and he will not be false to thee."
For the first time Noren saw Jelekha softened even into weakness, and two silent tears rolled down the ivory cheeks of that strange creature of supple steel. Noren would have been more or less than a man if he had not drawn that suffering woman closer to him—if he had not placed his lips on her marble brow and dishevelled tresses. ”

“ Hemlata, burning with anger and shame, rose from her seat again as she replied, "I expected not this from thee, Begum Saheba, when I came to see thee to-night. I am deeply indebted to thee for the good news thou hast given me. Permit me now to depart."
"Sit thee down, my sister," said Mihr-un-Nissa, now in a graver voice, "for I have a tale yet to tell. These eyes have seen young Norendra Nath—it matters not how or where. I have seen Princes and Chiefs in my day, but I have seen few who have a truer soul than the friend of thy childhood. ”

“ Live a happy and devoted wife in thy husband's home, Hemlata, let me live far away from scenes which I dare not re-visit. Perhaps, when the hair is grey on my head, and the memory of the past has faded like a troubled vision, we may see each other once more. And thou wilt then tend a feeble old man with a sister's care, and see him close his eyes in peace."
"Thou hast spoken, my brother Noren, and spoken sadly. Listen to me for awhile, though it is but a woman who speaks. There are women on earth who have perhaps endured what thou hast endured, and yet tried to do their duty in life. ”

“ A woman's heart beats even under the livery of a slave, a woman's faith abides. She thirsted to know more, and to-night she knows it. Kismet severs, and Kismet is all-powerful. Kismet severs you, too, from her you seek, whom you will find in the Golden Temple of Mathura on the festive night of the full moon. Cherish her in memory alone, as Jelekha will cherish a memory in her native mountains. She parts, but a Tartar never forgets a kindness, and Jelekha will not forget—a friend. Farewell!"
Noren started at the voice, which was a woman's voice he had heard before. ”

“ But she is a woman, and thinks more of the loves of pale-faced children than of the glory of great Houses. Nobo Kumar has the mettle of a man if he is true to himself and to his House, and to-night I have instilled in him a new purpose which will enable him to face his wife. Some scenes there will be in yonder Birnagar Palace which I would not like to witness, and Nobo Kumar may be frightened by a woman's tears yet and come to me again whimpering. If you forget your House, Nobo Kumar, there is one who never forgets. Gokul Das knows his purpose, and does not often turn away from his path. ”

“ Much I doubt he is only a cruel deceiver!"
"Beware of such a man, my innocent sister. Love him not—or love and be his slave for ever!"
"Ay, ay, much I fear, sister Jelekha, I am his slave already, and he drags me along by a chain which I may not rend. Hast thou, my sister, ever felt thus?"
"Nay, gentle Sharifa, I was not born to be a chained slave, and if I ever sought a lover I would sooner purchase a submissive youth from the slave-market to do my bidding. My mother taught me the Charm of the Dagger when I was yet a girl; it is useful to us for making slaves of men." ”

“ If the story of a man's entrance into the palace Zenana was known and talked about there, Noren's life was not safe in Rajasthan or in Bengal. "Go on!" he cried in a low, hoarse voice.
"The Eastern Chief," went on the boy, with the same imperturbable coolness, "had a noble face, Master, and a true heart, and he held Jelekha kindly and spoke to her tenderly. But the Persian lady is a great magician, and can read into the hearts of spirits and of men. And she said to the Eastern Chief that he was a true soldier and a true lover, but his heart was in the Far East." ”

“ The chamber of sickness and sorrow had its lessons for the young as for the old. The days and nights passed in that chamber drew Sirish perhaps closer to the heart of his wife. She saw the deep tenderness of his soul as she had not perhaps seen it before; she read thoughts in his deep, soft eyes which she had not understood so long. And when, in moments of her weakness and sorrow for her father, he would take her up tenderly and kiss away her tears, she would shiver at that gentle touch, and place her head on his manly bosom where she found a new solace and a new strength. ”

“ I regard thee as a friend more than a servant—a friend who has spent his life in serving this estate. Thou wert kind and considerate to me when I was poor, thou wert helpful to me when I needed help, and never will Sirish be ungrateful to one to whom he owes so much in life."
"Little do you owe me, young Master," replied Gokul Das, modestly. "It is an invisible Fate which makes or mars the fortunes of men; it is your exalted virtues which endeared you to my late Master and raised you to a rank which no other man is worthy to fill. ”

“ Perhaps because she was herself a descendant of the Birnagar house, or perhaps because a woman's kindly heart was touched by the helpless condition of an orphan boy noble in descent and handsome in face, Nobo Kumar's wife came to love Noren with a mother's love. She tended him with the same affection that she bestowed on Hemlata, and smiled to see the two children playing together in the gardens or by the lake. And she would not be a woman if some deeper thought about their future life did not sometimes rise in her fond maternal bosom. ”

“ If the blood mounted to Hemlata's face and a tear escaped her eyes she had the tact to conceal them from Noren. If a feeling stirred her which she had not known before she was silent.
"Listen, Hemlata," said Noren, after a pause, and with more composure, "I will speak no more of what I should not say and what thou mayst not hear. My fond dreams have been dispelled, and I am a banished man. I will leave Birnagar to-day and will proceed to Rajmahal. Raja Man Singh takes a kindly interest in me, and there are friends of my grandfather's who will teach me the duties of a soldier. ”

“ Saibalini would yield to her sister's wishes joyfully, and tell her tales of Sita and Savitree and Damayantee, the noblest conceptions of womanhood that the literature of the world has produced.
With her heart panting with a thought which those nearest to her never knew, Hemlatta went to her husband's room when such tales were ended, and approached the bed where he was asleep. She knelt by the unconscious sleeper, and a silent prayer often went up from her heart. "Heaven help me to be a true woman on earth! May I be a true wife in thought and in deed—in life and in death!" ”

“ Mihr-un-Nissa, rose from her seat. Noren knelt before the veiled and queenly figure, and his hand once more felt the touch of delicate fingers when the signet ring was presented.
"Rise, young Chief," she said at last, "and depart. Something my woman's eyes have read on your face which your lips have not uttered, and a woman's heart can respect one for cherishing a feeling which he may not tell. If it be that some disappointment has darkened your life, such grief hath power to strengthen a man's character. ”

“ There is no finer weather in any latitude on earth than a bright, crisp winter morning in Northern India. The sky is blue without a cloud, the air is cold and bracing without a mist, and a warm Indian sun pours a flood of golden light over domes, minarets and temples, over peaceful villages and miles of waving corn. On such a fine morning Gajapati Singh and Norenda Nath rode through the spacious streets of Agra, and that imperial city looked its best. The modern town of Agra may be said to have been built by Akbar, as the modern town of Delhi was constructed by his grandson, Shah Jahan. ”

“ Hemlata paused, but Noren spoke not, and she went on:
"Thou hast a greater battle to fight, Noren, than thou hast yet fought. Live and conquer in this great battle of life like a true soldier. And when the time comes, die the death of a man who, happy or unhappy, has done his task in life. It is our duty which counts, not our desires and dreams. It matters little if an idle dream more or less is realised in life, it matters little if we sometimes stagger under the weight of sorrows or disappointments ”

“ There was joy and merriment in his pavilion, and a murmur of applause and satisfaction rose from behind the screen which hid the ladies from view.
"Thou hast done well, my faithful servant, and thy brawny arms have not lost their skill since I knew thee at Debipur," said Nobo Kumar, with a gracious smile.
"To see an old master is to win," said the helmsman, with that courtesy and politeness which comes natural to people in India, even of the humblest classes.
"Ay! win thou shalt, I verily trust, and the prize of this evening shall not go to Birnagar if I rightly estimate thy skill. ”

“ We are not like the Hindus, among whom the wife is tied to her lord for ever, and sometimes follows him even to the funeral pyre."
"There is no question of the funeral pyre here, my Prince, but only of faithfulness through life."
"It is a question of a burning pyre for me, Mihr-un-Nissa, if you bless not my affection. No trembling Kafir widow ever gave herself up to more terrible flames than that to which I am consigned; and shall the mandate of an old despot ordain me to this life of torture?"
"Respect your great father, Prince Selim. He has built up this great Empire for you. ”

“ Agra at the close of the sixteenth century was a crowded town as it is to-day, but as Gajapati Singh stood with his companion on an eminence in the suburbs, the distant view of Agra was that of a rural place rather than that of a great city. All the nobles of the Empire, the Rajas and Mansabdars and Omras, had planted trees and laid out gardens suited to a tropical climate round their houses. A sea of luxuriant green foliage, dotted with white mansions and villas, pleased the eye, and the stone houses of rich Hindu merchants appeared like feudal castles buried in forests. ”

“ But thou art a novice yet in this palace. Many are the meetings from which lovers part not again. Many are the embraces which last till the Judgment Day!"
"Compose thyself, Jelekha, thou art talking wildly."
"Ay! if the palace walls could speak," continued Jelekha, speaking to herself rather than to Noren. "Begums are but women of flesh and blood, and many a court lady knows the dark passages of the Zenana. Fair slaves, who look so demure with their eyes bent on the floor, have their secrets; and black eunuchs pursue them with a man's lust, and drink their blood with a tiger's thirst!" ”

“ Sher Afghan will consent to divorce you for a promise of reward from me ten times richer than my father has bestowed upon him. The Mullas will sanction the divorce when a Prince demands it; and even in the lifetime of my father you can be my wedded, my cherished wife."
"A very excellent plan, Prince," replied Mihr-un-Nissa, as her red, thin lips were curled in mockery, "but you forget one or two small details. I know my husband, as brave a man as ever drew a sword, and not the wealth of your Empire nor the fear of death will induce him to part with a wife whom he honours and loves. ”

“ Attended by his sister, Saibalini, he soothed his young wife to needful rest when she had cried her eyes out in grief, and persuaded even her mother to take needful food when she had worn herself out by watching. Sirish had never been a favourite of Hemlata's mother, but unreasoning prejudice and pride lift and disappear like dark mists when thoughts of death and bereavement oppress the heart. Hemlata's mother, broken down by watching and grief, was no longer the proud woman who had looked down on the "beggar boy." ”

“ Dost remember how you used to play on the sand-banks together on moonlight nights like this?"
"I remember, sister, but we are children no longer, and it is useless to think of the past."
"May be the past will be repeated, Hemlata. Noren will return to Birnagar, and we may sometimes come there from Debipur to visit him. And we shall cull flowers in the same garden, worship in the same temple, and stroll on the same sand-banks as we did in our childhood. And the stars of the sky will shine upon us, united once more." ”

“ No other feeling do I cherish for her; the time is gone, Prince, when the love of woman could chain me."
"Thou speakest sadly, Norendra, for so young a soldier. But it is growing late, nor would I again try to probe thy secret. We part to-night and perhaps may never meet again, for I go to Bikanir and thou goest to Bengal. Accept the friendship of an honest Rajput who will ever think of thee with respect and esteem."
Norendra accompanied his distinguished guest to the door of Prithwi Raj's tent, and then returned to his own in silence. ”

“ The language of the Court—the Persian—is the spoken tongue of a few. Our Court poetry is like a pretty flower which we grow on a marble vase and admire for a day. But the poetry of nations is like a vast wood, which spreads over the broad and fertile earth and gives shade and shelter to the people."
"But I have heard, Abul Fazel, that the Hindus speak and write the Persian tongue as well as we, and that the late Raja Todar Mull spread the use of the Persian in our Courts and offices throughout India." ”

“ She will fatigue herself to death to win a man; she will use all the arts with which Nature has endowed her to keep him secure; she will bear ill-treatment but not estrangement; she can suffer cruelty but not indifference. Nature, or the law of selection, has developed this craving in the woman, as it has provided tendrils to the creeper which must cling in order to live. The rough gnarled tree, round which Nobo Kumar's wife had clung for woe or for weal during a lifetime, was slowly torn away from the tendrils of her heart. ”

“ Thou art a shrewd girl, my dear sister Sharifa, and an impudent one I am thinking, in spite of thy innocent looks and meek eyes. There is indeed a youth on whom I once worked the charm, brave and handsome, too, but much I suspect he is as false as he is fair. Maybe the youths of this land are gay deceivers, maybe the heart of my chosen slave owns some other image of love, while his smooth tongue seeks to beguile me. ”

“ Not the least tremor marked the voice of Jelekha as she answered:
"We are a rough, hard-featured race, Prince. Our men delight in war; our girls often pasture their flocks on lonely hills, and learn the use of the dirk."
"And does thy sister speak the language of Hind? And will the fair barbarian understand me if I ask her for a kiss?"
"My sister speaks no language but our own, mighty Prince, and in my country young girls are taught to take a kiss for an insult, and repay it with a stroke of their dagger." ”

“ But Jelekha had been bred up in palace intrigues, and was quick-witted and composed. Her white, sinewy arms, strong as bands of steel, held the Prince like a vice, and she spoke with a sweet smile on her lips.
"Much honoured were my sister and my father's house, noble Prince, if she found favour in your royal eyes and a humble employment as a slave in your royal harem. But to-night a lovely lady awaits thy presence, and is anxious to bid farewell to a Prince whose image she will always cherish in her heart." ”