Mashko

“ Here Mashko laid his hand on Pan Stanislav’s arm.
“My dear friend, I agree with thee that thy wife is the best person on earth; and I agree all the more that I have fresh proof of it, on condition, however, that thou assure me that mine is no worse. It ought not to surprise thee, then, that I hide my troubles from her, for, as God is true, I am always ready to share the good with such a beloved one, but the evil, especially the temporary, to keep for myself; and if thou knew her as I do, this would be no wonder to thee.” ”

“ And Mashko put his palm on the top of his head, blinking at the same time, as if from pain in his eyes.
“When wilt thou go?” inquired Pan Stanislav.
“I cannot tell. I will let thee know. Thou hast had the evident wish to aid me, and thou mayest, though not in money. People will avoid my wife at first; show her, then, a little attention; take her under thy protection. Is it agreed? Thou hast been really friendly to me, and I know that thou art friendly to her.” ”

“ I know what thy wish is; but life must be built on love, not on repugnance. How can I give my hand to him with that feeling of offence in my soul and with that regret, that through him, guilty or not guilty, so much has been lost to me? Thou thinkest that I do not see his charm; but what can I do, when the more I see him, the more I am repulsed, and if I had to choose I should choose Pan Mashko, though he is less worthy? To everything good which thou canst say of him I agree; but to everything I answer: I do not love him; I never will love him.”
Pani Emilia’s eyes were filled with tears. ”

“ At first she felt a kind of satisfaction for her self-love, which it is difficult for even an honest woman to resist when she sees the impression produced by her; when she feels herself distinguished, desired beyond others,—in a word, victorious. Besides, she was ready not to recognize and not to see the danger, just as a partridge does not wish to see it, when it hides its head in the snow, on feeling the hawk circling above it. For Pani Mashko appearances were this snow; and Pan Stanislav felt that. ”

“ Embrace for me Vaskovski. He, too, is a man of synthesis. May Sakya Muni open thy eyes to know that it is warm in the sun and cool in the shade, and to lie down is better than to stand! Thy
Bukatski.
“Hash!” thought Pan Stanislav. “All this is artificial, all self-deception through a kind of exaggeration. But if a man accustoms himself to this, it will become in time a second nature to him, and, meanwhile, the devils take his reason; his energy and soul decay like a corpse. A man may throw himself headlong into such a hole as Mashko has, or into such a one as Bukatski. ”

“ When he had heard the news, he pressed Pan Stanislav’s hand with emotion, and said,—
“I will tell thee only one thing,—I do not know whether she will be happy with thee, but certainly thou wilt be happy with her.”
“Because women are better than men,” answered Pan Stanislav. “After what has happened to thee, I hope that thou art of this opinion.”
“I confess that to this moment I cannot recover from astonishment. They are both better, and more mysterious. Imagine to thyself—” Here Mashko halted, as if hesitating whether to continue. ”

“ Apprised of this, the king immediately sent directions to the father to go out at once and procure some grass and reeds for a hut that he was building, and then charged Mashoku to lose no time. As soon as he had satisfied himself that the man had left his home, Mashoku sent his messenger to fetch the child to the royal courtyard, where, although the place was full of people, a perfect silence prevailed. The king was in a terribly bad temper, and no one dared to breathe a word. ”

“ You, the cherished Daughter of the Sun—the bride-to-be of the—the Prince Komatzu!”
“But still a sad and wretched woman,” said the Princess Sado-ko.
Masago turned upon her fiercely.
“And if you are so sad, as you say,” she cried, “who can have pity for your sorrow? Are you, then, a statue that you do not appreciate these priceless gifts of all the gods?”
“Masago, gifts unsought are oftentimes not desired, and sometimes those which glitter in the sun do but reflect its light. What are the gilded outward wrappings of the gods to me, if inwardly still my heart breaks?” ”

“ The artist, in his illness, had been attended by one he called “Sado-ko.” When fever left him and partial sense and reason crept back to his weakened brain, growing daily with the strength of his physical body, he marvelled over that exquisite face that bent above him.
And then one day his sister, Haru-no, had called her by name—Masago! A light broke through the dazzled brain of Junzo. She who nursed him with tender care was not a princess, but a simple maiden of his own class, and, most marvellous, she was his own betrothed, the virtuous maid Masago! ”

“ Mashenka went into her room, and then, for the first time in her life, it was her lot to experience in all its acuteness the feeling that is so familiar to persons in dependent positions, who eat the bread of the rich and powerful, and cannot speak their minds. ”

“ But his retainer desired ever the best for his beloved master. He had seen the radiant beauty of Musako as she had walked in the arbor of wistaria, herself a fairer flower, even, than the long purple racemes swaying in the breeze. He decided in his own mind that the elder sister was the one for his master.
“SHE ARRANGED HER SISTER’S EBON LOCKS”
“The falcon may not mate with the dove,” he said to himself. “O Musako San is far more beautiful than her sister and more clever. She will be a better mate for my glorious master than the gentle dove her sister. I shall request her hand of Hojo San.” ”

“ There was silence for a while, and then the giant spoke softly: ‘It is good, O Makoma!’ he said. ‘For I too have grown weary. There is no man so great as I, therefore I am all alone. Guard thyself!’ and bending suddenly he seized the hero in his hands and dashed him upon the ground. And lo! instead of death, Makoma had found life, for he sprang to his feet mightier in strength and stature than before, and rushing in he gripped the giant by the waist and wrestled with him. ”

“ A little later the elder children went whistling down the path to school while the nurse disappeared with the younger ones.
“Strange,” said Princess Sado-ko, “that none of them seemed glad to see their sister. Was not Masago loved, then?”
She pushed the doors open and thoughtfully entered the chamber.
“Perhaps,” she said, “the foreigners speak truth. What is that pretty proverb of their honorable religion? Is it not, ‘The love begets the love’? Masago plainly did not love her little brothers. Hence they have but indifference for her.” ”

“ Now Masapo sat silent, for he saw that he who thought to snare a baboon had caught a tiger.
“You do not speak, O Chief of the little Amansomi,” went on Saduko, who was beside himself with rage and jealousy. “You will not leave your beef and beer to hunt the hyenas who are captained by an umfokazana! Well, then, the umfokazana will speak,” and, stepping up to Masapo, with the spear he carried poised in his right hand, Saduko grasped his rival’s short beard with his left.
“Listen, Chief,” he said. “You and I are enemies. You seek the woman I seek, and, mayhap, being rich, you will buy her. ”

“ By now Masapo had gained his feet, and was roaring out like a bull:
“Kill him! Kill the hyena! Umbezi, will you sit still and see me, your guest—me, Masapo—struck and insulted under the shadow of your own hut? Go forth and kill him, I say!”
“Why not kill him yourself, Masapo,” asked the agitated Umbezi, “or bid your headmen kill him? Who am I that I should take precedence of so great a chief in a matter of the spear?” Then he turned towards me, saying: “Oh, Macumazahn the crafty, if I have dealt well by you, come here and give me your counsel.” ”

“ They will believe that I could not be a thief!"
Mashenka remembered that under the sheets in her basket she had some sweetmeats, which, following the habits of her schooldays, she had put in her pocket at dinner and carried off to her room. She felt hot all over, and was ashamed at the thought that her little secret was known to the lady of the house; and all this terror, shame, resentment, brought on an attack of palpitation of the heart, which set up a throbbing in her temples, in her heart, and deep down in her stomach.
"Dinner is ready," the servant summoned Mashenka. ”

“ Such an existence was fraught with dreamful possibilities of happiness. As Junzo’s thoughts became clear, this was his solution of what he termed his recent madness: He had loved Masago from the first, he told himself. The very gods had planned their union. Before he had known fully the heart of his betrothed, she was sent away to school. By chance this Princess Sado-ko crossed his path, the image of the maid Masago. It was because of this he had thought he loved her, while it was the other he loved. This was proved by the fact that with a lover’s adoration he was now drawn to Masago. ”

“ She shook her head knowingly. “It is my firm belief, Masago, despite the smooth words of his family and the rough ones of your father, that Junzo went away because he dreaded thought of wedding you. He has another fancy.”
Sado-ko smiled through her tears.
“It is true,” she said, “I do not doubt it. He dreaded thought of union with Masago.”
“Just as you, Masago,” said Ohano, bridling, “dreaded the thought of marrying him. You were ill suited to each other. The gods know best.”
“Yes,” said the princess, softly, “the gods know best.”
She looked out through the casement toward the hills of Aoyama. ”

“ Many a “smelling out” had I witnessed, Nkose, as you know, and the truth was, I hated them. I had been too much among the heads of the nation not to know what their real object was, however much the common people might be deceived, and believe—or pretend to—in the power of the izanusi. I had known but two real magicians in my life—Masuka, the old Mosutu, and Lalusini, my sorceress wife—and these used not their powers to destroy any, save real evil-doers; never to take the lives of brave men for the sake of gain or malice. ”

“ Masago on the verge of death! Was she, O'Tei, to be left friendless? Of course she would go to her at once. Ah, if she might change places with the holy Abbess, and depart out of a sphere where no one wanted her! But it is always those who have no wish to stay who are kept loitering here. Was Masago so ill, and she not told of it? This was wrong, for at any hour of the day or night she would have gladly sought her friend. Not a moment was to be lost. Quick, quick! Her litter. Her bearers, where were they? Wandering in the town, possibly, chattering in some tea-house, their daily duty over. ”

“ The shadow and the fog intermingled, darkening the sky without and deepening the twilight gloom of the room. A little later the servant returned, bringing a lighted andon, which she set significantly by the silent girl. Then Masago stirred from her abstraction. She saw the eyes of the servant upon the picture in her hand. On a sudden, savage impulse she leaped to her feet and fairly sprung upon the woman, clutching her by the shoulders. ”

“ Hour by hour they fought, and mountains rolled beneath their feet like pebbles in a flood; now Makoma would break away, and summoning up his strength, strike the giant with Nu-endo his iron hammer, and Sakatirina would pluck up the mountains and hurl them upon the hero, but neither one could slay the other. ”

“ The artist did not move, but his eyes met those of the royal Prince Komatzu. The latter glared upon him fiercely.
“What means this rude intrusion?” demanded Kwacho. “We are simple citizens. Why are we disturbed?”
He was interrupted by the screaming of Masago. She rushed toward Komatzu, crying out:—
“You, you, you—He has sent you for me—oh-h—”
She swayed and fell even as she spoke.
Without a word of explanation the Prince Komatzu himself stooped to the floor. Lifting in his arms the senseless form of the maid Masago, he bore it to the royal norimon without the house. ”

“ They smiled into each other’s faces, then drew closer together, their sympathy for each other growing.
“Here is some homely counsel,” said Masago. “Confide small matters to my mother, and lead her on to gossip much with you. She will tell you everything there is to know. She is so simple—so foolish. A little wit upon your part will quickly disarm any suspicion she might have. But be not free in speech with Yamada Kwacho, your new father. A cold and constrained space has always been between us. ”

“ With a savage cry Masago sprang toward her. She would have struck Sado-ko had not Kwacho held her.
“What! You—you speak thus in my own father’s house! Oh!” She turned piteously toward Ohano. “Mother, you will understand. You know your Masago!”
“You, Masago!” exclaimed Yamada Kwacho; “why, you are wild in ways. Our girl from babyhood has been docile, quiet, almost dull, while you—”
“Mother, speak to me. Say that you at least know your own child.” ”

“ He described the Mashona as being a very fine race of people, almost if not quite equal in physique to the Zulus, but of a much more suspicious and unreliable character than the latter, and apparently exceedingly averse to the intrusion of strangers. Nevertheless, upon stating the nature of his mission, he had been passed on from kraal to kraal until finally he had arrived at Gwanda, the Place (or town) of King Lomalindela, which, it appeared, was situated among a rather curious group of mountains, five days’ march from the river. ”

“ Then, before anyone could stop him, for Umbezi, and even Masapo’s headmen, seemed paralysed with surprise, he stalked through the kraal gate, saying as he passed me:
“Inkoosi, I have words for you when you are at liberty.”
“You shall pay for this,” roared Umbezi after him, turning almost green with rage, for Masapo still lay upon his broad back, speechless, “you who dare to insult my guest in my own house.”
“Somebody must pay,” cried back Saduko from the gate, “but who it is only the unborn moons will see.” ”