SINGING snatches of a popular love-song:--
"For my lost love's sake I am dying:
"And my heart is faint with sighing."
and varying his song with whistling, Meeah Jan, a cartman,
was urging his bullocks along the road, abusing them roundly
for their slowness, twisting their tails, and whacking them
with his whip. A few clouds were overhead, and a little rain was
falling. The bullocks as they went lumbering along, succeeded in
overtaking the hired gharry in which Premnarayan Mozoomdar was
travelling. It was swaying from side to side in the wind: the
two horses were wretched specimens of their kind, and must surely
have belonged to the far-famed race of the _Pakshiraj_, king of
birds. They were doing their best to get along, poor beasts, but
notwithstanding the blows that rained down on their backs from the
driver's whip, their pace did not mend very considerably. Before
starting on his journey, Premnarayan had eaten a very hearty meal,
and at each jolt of the gharry his heart was in his mouth. His
disgust however increased as the bullock cart drew ahead of his
vehicle. Premnarayan need not be blamed for this. Every man has
some self-respect which he does not care to lose. The majority
have a high opinion of themselves, and while some lose their
tempers if there is the slightest failing in the respect they
think due to them, others feel humiliated and depressed.
Premnarayan, in his passion, expressed his thoughts thus to
himself:-- "Ah! what a hateful thing is service. The servant
is regarded as no better than a dog! he must run to execute any
order that is given. How long has my soul been vexed by the rude
behaviour of Haladhar, Gadadhar, and the other boys! They would
never let me eat or sleep in peace: they have even composed songs
in derision of me: their jests have been as irritating to me as
ant-bites; they have signalled to other boys in the street to annoy
me: they have gone so far as to clap their hands at me behind my
back. Can any one submit tamely to such treatment as this? It is
enough to drive a sane man out of his senses. I must have a good
stock of courage not to have run away from Calcutta long ago:
it is due to my good genius only that so far I have not lost my
employment. At last the scoundrels have met with their desserts:
may they now rot in jail, never to get out again! Yet after all
these are idle words; is not my journey being made with the express
object of effecting their release? has not this duty been imposed
upon me by my employer? Alas, I have no voice in the matter!
if men are not to starve, they must do and bear all this."
Baburam Babu of Vaidyabati was seated in all a Babu's state; his
servant, Hari, was rubbing his master's feet. Seated on one side
of him the pandits were discussing some trivial points relating
to certain observances enjoined by the _Shástras_, such as:--
"Pumpkins may be eaten to-day, _beguns_ should not be eaten
to-morrow; to take milk with salt is quite as bad as eating the
flesh of cows." On the other side of him, some friends were
engaged in a game of chess: one of them was in deep thought,
his head supported on his hand: evidently his game was up, he
was checkmated. Some musicians in the room were mingling their
harmonies, their instruments twanging noisily. Near him were his
_mohurrirs_ writing up their ledgers, and before him stood sundry
creditors, tenants of his, and tradesmen from the bazaar, some
of whose accounts were passed, and others refused. People kept
thronging into the reception-room. Certain of his tradespeople
were explaining how they had been supplying him for years with
one-thing and another, and now were in great distress, having
hitherto received nothing by way of payment; how, moreover, from
their constant journeyings to and fro, their business was being
utterly neglected and ruined. Retail shopkeepers too, such as
oilmen, timber-merchants and sweetmeat-sellers, were complaining
bitterly that they were ruined, and that their lives were not worth
a pin's head: if he continued to treat them as he was doing, they
could not possibly live: they had worn out the muscles of their
legs in their constant journeyings to and fro to get payment:
their shops were all shut, their wives and children starving. The
whole time of the Babu's _dewan_ was taken up in answering these
people. "Go away for the present," he was saying, "you will
receive payment all right; why do you jabber so much?" Did any
of them venture to remonstrate, Baburam Babu would scowl, abuse
him roundly, and have him forcibly ejected from the room.
A great many of the wealthy Babus of Bengal take the goods of
the simple country-folk on credit: it would give them an attack
of fever to have to pay ready-money for anything. They have
the cash in their chests, but if they were not to keep putting
their creditors off, how could they keep their reception-rooms
crowded? Whether a poor tradesman lives or dies is no concern
of theirs; only let them play the magnifico, and their fathers'
and grandfathers' names be kept before the public! Many there
are who thus make a false show of being rich; they present a
splendid figure before the outside world, while within they are
but men of straw after all.
"Out of doors you flaunt it bravely, wealth is in your very air:
"In the house the rats are squealing, and the cupboard's mostly bare."
It would be death to them to be obliged to regulate their
expenditure by their income, for then they could not be the
owners of gardens or live the luxurious life of the rich Babu. By
keeping up a fine exterior they hope to throw dust in the eyes of
their tradesmen. When they take money or goods from others, they
practically borrow twice over; for when pressure is brought to bear
upon them to make them pay, they borrow from one man only to pay
what they owe someone else; and when at last a summons is issued
against them, they register their property under another person's
name, and are off somewhere out of the way for the time being.
Baburam Babu was devoted to his money and very close-fisted[10]: it
was always a great grief to him to be obliged to take cash out
of his chest. He was engaged in wrangling with his tradespeople
when Premnarayan arrived, and whispered in his ear the news from
Calcutta. Baburam was thunderstruck for a time. When shortly
after he recovered himself, he had Mokajan Meeah summoned to his
presence. Now Mokajan was skilled in all matters of law. Zemindars,
indigo planters, and others were continually going to him for
advice; for a man like this, gifted with such ability for making
up cases, for suborning witnesses, for getting police and other
officers of the court under his thumb, for disposing secretly of
stolen property, for collecting witnesses in cases of disputes,
and generally for making right appear wrong and wrong right, was
not to be found every day. Out of compliment to him, people all
called him _Thakchacha_: this was a great gratification to him,
and his thoughts often shaped themselves thus: "Ah, my birth
must have taken place at an auspicious moment! my observances
of the seasons of _Ramjan_ and _Eed_ have answered well; and
if I am only properly attentive to my patron saint, I fancy my
importance will increase still further." Though engaged in his
ablutions at the time that Baburam Babu's peremptory summons
reached him, he came away at one and listened, in private, to
all Baburam had to say. After a few minutes' reflection, he said:
"Why be alarmed, Babu? How many hundred cases of a similar kind
have I disposed of! Is there any great difficulty in the way this
time? I have some very clever fellows in my employ; I have only
to take them with me, and will win the case on their testimony:
you need be under no apprehension. I am going away just now,
but I will return the first thing in the morning."
Baburam, though somewhat encouraged by these words, was still not
at all comfortable in his mind. He was much attached to his wife,
and everything she said was always, in his view, shrewdly to the
point: were she to say to him. "This is not water, it is milk,"
with the evidence of his own eyes against him, he would reply:
"Ah, you are quite right! this is not water, it is milk. If
the mistress of the house says so, it must be so." Most men,
whatever the affection they have for their wives are at least
able to exercise some discretion as to the matters in which those
ladies are to be consulted and to what extent they should be
listened to. Good men love their wives with heartfelt affection;
but if they are to accept everything their wives say they may
just as well dress in _saris_, and sit at home. Now Baburam Babu
was entirely under his wife's thumb: if she bade him get up,
he would get up; if she bade him sit down, he would sit down.
Some months before this, she had presented her husband with a son,
and she was busy nursing the infant on her lap, her two daughters
seated by her. Their conversation was running on household affairs
and other matters, when suddenly the master of the house came
into the room and sitting down with a very sad countenance, said:
"My dear wife, I am most unlucky! The one idea of my life has
been to hand over the charge of all my property to Matilall on
his reaching man's estate, and to go and live with you at
Benares[11]; but all my hopes have, I fear, been dashed to the
ground."
_The Mistress of the House_. -- my dear husband, what is the
matter? Quick, tell me! my breast is heaving with emotion. Is
all well with my darling Matilall?
_The Master_. -- yes, so far as his health goes he is well enough,
but I have just received news that the police have apprehended
him and put him in jail.
_The Mistress_. -- What was that you said? They have dragged away
Matilall to prison? And why, O why, my husband, have they
imprisoned him? Alas, alas! The poor boy must be a mass of bruises!
I expect, too, he has had nothing to eat and not been able to get
any sleep. O my husband, what is to be done? Do bring my darling
Matilall back to me again!
With this, the mistress of the house began to weep: her two
daughters wiped away the tears from her eyes, and tried their best
to console their mother. The infant too seeing its mother crying,
began to howl lustily.
In the course of his enquiries, made under pretence of conversation,
her husband got to know that Matilall had been in the habit, under
one pretext or another, of getting money out of her. She had not
mentioned the matter to her husband for fear of his displeasure: the
boy had been unfortunate, and she could not tell what might have
happened if he had got angry. Wives ought to tell all that concerns
their children to their husbands, for a disease that is concealed
from the surgeon can never be cured. After a long consultation with
his wife, the master sent off a letter by night, to arrange for some
of his relatives to meet him in Calcutta at his lodgings.
A night of happiness passes away in the twinkling of an eye,
but how slowly drag the hours when the mind is sunk in an abyss
of painful thought! It may be close to dawn, and the day may be
every moment drawing nearer, but yet it seems to tarry. Ways and
means occupied the whole of Baburam Babu's thoughts throughout
the night: he could no longer remain quietly in the house, and
long before the morning came was in a boat with Thakchacha and
his companions. As the tide was running strong, the boat soon
reached the Bagbazaar Ghât.
Night had nearly come to an end: oil-dealers were busy putting
their mills in order, ready to work: cartmen were leading their
bullocks off to their day's toil: the washermen's donkeys were
labouring with their loads upon the road: men were hurrying
along at a swing-trot with loads of fish and vegetables.
The pandits of the place were all off with their sacred vessels
to the river for their morning bathe; the women were collecting
at the different _ghâts_ and exchanging confidences with each
other. "I am suffering agonies from my sister-in-law's cruelty,"
said one. "Ah, my spiteful mother-in-law!" exclaimed another. "Oh,
my friends!" cried another, "I have no wish to live any longer,
my daughter-in-law tyrannises over me so, and my son says
nothing to her; in fact, she has made my son like a sheep with
her charms." "Alas!" said another, "I have such a wretch of a
sister-in-law! she tyrannises over me day and night." Another
lamented, "My darling child is now ten years old; my life is so
uncertain, it is high time for me to think of getting him married."
There had been rain in the night, and patches of cloud were still
to be seen in the sky; the roads and the steps of the _ghâts_
were all slippery in consequence. Baburam Babu puffed away at
his _hooka_ and looked out for a hired gharry or a _palki_, but
he would not agree to the fare demanded: it was a great deal too
much to his mind. When the boys who had collected in the road
saw how Baburam Babu was chaffering, some of them said to him:
"Had you not better, sir, be carried in a coolie's basket? The
charge for that will be only two pice." As Baburam Babu ran after
them and tried to hit them, roundly abusing them the while, he
fell heavily to the ground. The boys only laughed at this and
clapped their hands at him from a safe distance. Baburam with a
woe-begone countenance then got into a gharry with Thakchacha and
his companions. The gharry went creaking along, and eventually
pulled up at the house of Bancharam Babu, of Outer Simla.
Bancharam Babu was the principal agent of a Mr. Butler, an attorney
living in Boitakhana; he had had a good deal of experience in the
law-courts and in cases-at-law: though his pay was only fifty
rupees a month, there was no limit to his gains, and festivals
were always in full swing in his house.
Beni Babu of Bally, Becharam Babu of Bow Bazar, and Bakreswar
Babu of Batalata, were all seated in his sitting-room, waiting
for Baburam Babu. With the arrival of that worthy the business
of the day commenced.
_Becharam_.-- Oh Baburam, what a venomous reptile have you been
nourishing all this time! You would never listen to me, though time
after time I sent word to you. Your boy Matilall has pretty well
done for his chances in this world and in the next: he drinks his
fill, he gambles[12], he eats things forbidden: caught in the very
act of gambling, he struck a policeman: Haladhar, Gadadhar, and
other boys were with him at the time. Having no children of my own,
I had fondly thought that Haladhar and Gadadhar would be as sons
to me, to offer the customary libation to my spirit when I was no
more, but my hopes are as _goor_ into which sand has fallen. I
really have no words to express my disgust at the boy's behaviour.
_Baburam_.-- Which of them has corrupted the other it may be
very difficult to say with any certainty; but just now please
tell me how I am to proceed with reference to the investigation.
_Becharam_.-- So far as I am concerned, you may do exactly as you
think fit. I have been put to very great annoyance. The boys have
been going into the temple at night and drinking heavily there:
they have made the beams black with the smoke from tobacco and
_ganja_: they have stolen my gold and silver ornaments and sold
them; and one day they even went so far as to threaten to grind
the holy _shalgram_ to powder and eat it with their betel in
lieu of lime. Can you expect me then to subscribe towards their
release? Ugh! certainly not.
_Bakreswar_.-- Matilall is not so bad as all that: I have seen a
good deal of him at school: he has naturally a good disposition. He
was no ordinary boy; he was a perfect model of behaviour: how
then he can have become what you describe is beyond me.
_Thakchacha_.-- May I ask what need there is of all this
irrelevant talk? We are not likely to get our stomachs filled by
simply chatting of oil and straw: let a case be thoroughly well
got up for the trial.
_Bancharam [highly delighted at the prospect of making a good
thing out of the case_.] -- Matters of business require a man
of business. Thakchacha's words are shrewdly to the point: we
must get a few good witnesses together and have them thoroughly
instructed in their role betimes; we must also engage our
friend Mr. Butler the attorney. If after all that we do not win
our case, I will take it up to the High Court. Then if the High
Court can do nothing, I will go up to the Council with the case;
and if the Council can do nothing, we must carry it to England
for appeal. You may put implicit confidence in me: I am not a
man to be trifled with[13]. But nothing can be done unless we
secure the services of Mr. Butler. He is a thoroughly practical
man: knows all manner of contrivances for upsetting cases, and
trains his witnesses as carefully as a man trains birds.
_Bakreswar_.-- A keen intelligence is needed in time of
misfortune. A very careful preparation for the trial is required:
why be jeered at for want of it?
_Bancharam_.-- So clever an attorney as Mr. Butler it has never
fallen to my lot to see. I have no language capable of expressing
his astuteness: three words will suffice for him to have all
these cases dismissed. Come, gentlemen, rise and let us go to him.
_Beni_.-- Pardon me, sir, I could not do what I know to be wrong,
even were my life at stake! I am prepared to follow your advice
in most matters, but I cannot risk my chances of happiness in
the next world. It is best to acknowledge a fault if one has
really been committed: there is no danger in truth, whereas to
take refuge in a lie only intensifies an evil.
_Thakchacha_.-- Ha! ha! what business have bookworms with law? The
very mention of the word sets them all atremble! If we take the
course this gentleman advises, we may as well at once prepare
our graves! Sage counsels indeed to listen to!
_Bancharam_.-- At this rate, gentlemen, it will be the case of
the old proverb over again, -- "The festival is over, and your
preparations still progressing." I have no doubt that Beni Babu
is a man of very solid parts; why, in the _Niti Shástras_, he is
a second Jagannath Tarkapanchanan! I shall have to go some day
to Bally to hold an argument with him, but we have no time for
that just now; we must be up and doing.
_Becharam_.-- Ah, Beni my friend, I am quite of your mind! I
am getting an old man now: already three periods of my life have
passed away and one only is left to me. I too will do no wrong,
even if my life be at stake. Who are these boys that I should do
what is wrong for them? They have made my life a perfect burden to
me. Shall I be put to any expense for them? Certainly not: they
may go to jail for all I care, and then perhaps I may contrive
to live in peace. Why should I trouble myself any more about
them? The very sight of their faces makes my blood boil. Ugh! the
young wretches!