OF THE HIGH CASTES: SOME PARTICULARS OF THEIR DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL
CUSTOMS.
In this chapter I shall try to show some of the peculiarities of the
opposite extreme of Barbarian life. From ignorant poverty, verging upon
crime, crime and vice; we are taken to luxury, also verging upon crime,
crime and vice--though under very different forms. The All-wise and
Sovereign Lord knows how to judge each class of offenders!
The High-Caste is very exclusive--it will not, if it can avoid it,
notice one of a lower order; and never will do so unless it has some
selfish end in view. This cold-bloodedness characterizes all Castes.
When the Barbarians, therefore, chance to meet, and being of near
Castes, cannot be distinguished by dress, they never touch or address
each other--but stare rudely up and down the person, to see if it will
be _safe_ to be civil, the one to the other.
In general, however, the two Higher-Castes present so many features in
common, that a spectator may regard them as one. Both look upon all
useful occupation as shameful; and whilst it is hard to call up a blush
for anything mean, detection in any honest work covers with confusion!
The women of this Caste appear everywhere in public, with the same
boldness as men. They dress in laces, silks, satins, velvets; richest
furs, feathers, shawls, and scarfs. Are so addicted to these things,
and to costly jewels, and ornaments of gold, precious stones, and the
like, that a fortune is often carried upon and about a fine Lady.
(_Lady_ is for the female like Lord for a male). In truth, a Lady only
lives for two purposes--_to dress_, and _to marry_. I ought to add
another, but whether it be subordinate or chief I know not; in fact, I
hardly know what it is. We have no very near word. It is a _something_
of which you hear constantly--_to flirt_. To dress, it is necessary _to
shop_ [keat-hi]. This, is to buy the innumerable articles which make
up a fine Lady's wardrobe and personal appointments. Heaven and earth,
and all the lands beyond the great seas, are ransacked to gratify the
insatiate demands of Barbarian High-Caste women. The finest paints for
the cheeks and eyelids, the most precious stones for the ears, the
neck, the wrists, the fingers; the most delicate perfumes, the pure
gold, the richest furs and feathers, spices, oils; the laces, scarfs,
silks, embroideries;--an endless variety. Shopping is, therefore, the
serious occupation (subsidiary to husband-catching and _flirting_) of
ladies. Many ruin themselves, or their fathers, their husbands, or
relatives, in this expensive luxury of idle vanity. High-Caste women
show themselves in public, sometimes on foot, but, more generally,
lolling, with poodles in lap, within open, grand carriages, drawn by
great, high-stepping horses. (Poodles are nasty dogs). They attend the
Temples, waited upon by _solemn_ servants, clothed in showy colours,
and bearing ostentatiously the _Sacred_ books. They are conspicuous,
when at the Temple, for audibly accompanying the Priest in the
Invocations and Confessions: "_miserable offenders_" seeming to be a
phrase rolled like a sweet morsel, and having a savour of repentance
and humility, very edifying!
The men do not appear very numerously with the women--leaving them to
do as they please. The men going off to their own exclusive pleasures:
gambling, betting, racing, boating, hunting, and other things equally
useful and improving.
All through the night, which is the time of High-Caste revelry, the
streets where the great live resound with the noise of the carriages,
constantly busy with the transporting of the High-Castes to and from
the Theatres, the Dances, the places of Amusements, the Dinners,
the Parties, Routs, and visits. To mark the difference of the Upper
from the Lower, time itself is reversed; night is taken for life
and sport, and the day for rest, gossip [Quen], and _shopping_. In
nothing could the difference be more striking. The luxuriousness
of mere self-indulgence, which takes no heed of the usual order of
nature, and does not suspect that day has any better use! When in the
country, there is the same round of busy nothings. Visits, feasting,
drinking--dancing, routs, and parties. Women taking the lead everywhere
and in everything. Here, as in town, the business of life with women is
to flirt, to marry, to dress--the last should be first.
The men add to the follies of women some things more robust, but not
more useful. Betting, horse-racing, riding over country with dogs,
pursuing timid creatures--or gambling, drinking, and feasting.
When I first arrived in England, I was amazed, and supposed all women
were _shameless_ [ba-tsi] that I saw, whenever I went in public. In
our Flowery Land this class [ba-tsi], under the strictest survey and
care of the magistrates, are barely tolerated, and forced to the most
scrupulous decorum of dress and conduct. With us no modest woman of any
rank ever appears in public. Therefore my surprise and astonishment
may be imagined. Afterwards these were moderated, and I could make
allowances for the force of custom. None the less the custom is
remarkable, and will receive attention elsewhere.
The mode of dress is simply wonderful. It is ever changing and ever
indelicate and monstrous--especially for women. When I first saw one
of these with a huge _hunch_ on the top of her back, I thought the
person was afflicted with an enormous _tumour_; but when I observed
the same thing on all hands, I saw my mistake. The great hunch was
no more than a machine placed on top of the seat, under the outer
garments. The effect is something amazing. The women in walking also
wear the robe drawn as tightly as possible back and over the hips, so
as to display the whole form from head to foot in front, and also in
rear, excepting at the back-seat where the protuberance is. Here the
clothes are clustered, and hang down in a trail upon the ground! The
feet are thrust into very high-heeled shoes, or boots; so, in walking,
the woman stoops mincingly forward with short, unsteady steps, as if
pinched at the toes, rattling her heels upon the pavement, and tossing
her back-gear and headdress, and showing off to an astonished observer
(unused to the apparition) something to be remembered! On every little
occasion taking up her _trail_, and discovering legs and ankles.
At home, when receiving male and female friends to dinner, the women
do as they please--also in dances, routs, and the like. I was invited,
soon after my arrival, to dine. I had looked at a _Book of rites_
and ceremonies for the great, and hoped to get on tolerably well. On
arriving, my first mistake was to address the servant as Illustrious,
taking him for the master. In many houses the servant, dressed like
the master (being much more of a man in appearance), may well be
taken for him; but in some houses the servants are made to wear
_badges and colours_ of their station. Women are very choice about
these men-servants, and will not have one unless he have very large,
well-formed _calves_ [fa-tze]. I have heard that the rogues supply this
requirement by adding so much fine hay to the leg as will give due
swell and figure!
Upon being shown up to the room, where I was to address myself first to
the _Lady_--the Illustrious wife--I made my next blunder. The lady was
large, full of flesh, rather red, with bright eyes. Another lady, just
moving away, trailed her long robe suddenly before me--my foot caught
and held her. She turned her white shoulders upon me, frowned--at the
moment I stumbled, and recovered myself awkwardly, with open hands full
upon the ample bosom of the Illustrious! Ah, my confusion! I could not
recover my composure. I could see nothing but necks, shoulders, backs,
bosoms of women, and eyes flashing at me--heads, and feathers and
jewels--lights, noise, confusion! I got away--never knew how.
Women, when undressed in this indelicate way, are said to be in _full
dress_. I think this is a sly sarcasm of the men. The men, however,
dress in a manner not at all better. When in full dress, they put
on a ridiculous close garment, slit up behind, and very scant, with
two tails, which pretend to cover the hinder parts. The _trowsers_
(an "unmentionable" article for the legs), no more than the _under_
garment worn by us, is the only covering for the legs and lower part of
the body! Imagine the indelicacy! In this style of _full dress_, the
women and men of the High-Caste Barbarians meet and mingle together
everywhere, and at all feasts, revelries, and dances.
In the shows within-doors the same mode prevails. At the public
spectacles, in full view of thousands, ladies sit exposed to the gaze
of men, who often level at them the magnifying glasses taken for
the purpose! Critically examining the exhibition before them from a
distance of twenty feet [tu-fai].
The dress of women on horseback is as follows:--The head is covered
with a man's head-gear, round, hard, high, black in colour, with a
narrow rim. The bust and body are just as tightly fitted as possible,
the hips and figure exposed in exact shape (how much _made up_ no one
can more than conjecture), and the legs covered by the dress falling
over them long and full. The woman sits on a side-saddle, one leg
well up over a horn of the saddle near the front top, and the other
supported with the foot in a steel rest. She is lifted by a male
servant, relative, or friend, into her perch. And when she, with the
little whip in hand, takes up the long strips of leather by which she
guides the horse, and starts off, there is a show the most curious!
Up and down, with every motion of the horse, she _bobs_ [Ko-bys],
exposing, to any one looking after her, the most precise model of
herself! but in an attitude and costume so remarkable, that I never saw
even the accustomed Barbarians disregard an opportunity to see _this
show_, however indifferent they may usually be. Nor do I think that the
Barbarian women esteem any exhibition of themselves superior to this.
In the country you will see several apparitions of this kind, urging
their flying horses after men and dogs, all chasing _pell-mell_ some
poor hare, which, running for cover, is pursued by a crowd of men and
women on horseback, with dogs, yelping, barking, men blowing horns and
shouting; the women on the horses leaping over fences, ditches, and
urging their horses as wildly, boldly as the men--and sometimes in
all respects as skilfully and well! This Sport is considered by the
Barbarians to be very manly--nor do they consider a broken back, or
even neck, as any objection to it!
The _Rout_ is a favourite amusement with the High-Castes. So named from
the confusion of armed men when _routed_--put to flight. It is to get
together just as many people of both sexes as possible. With no sort
of regard to the size of the house, but only to show how many of the
High-Caste will respond to the invitation.
In full _undress_ the ladies and _gentlemen_ (Barbarian style for any
High-Caste man) crowd into the house. Every stairway, every hall,
room, chamber is filled. Refreshments are provided, but the flux and
reflux of the people render all eating and drinking very difficult. The
women flash in jewels, pendants in the ears, sparkling brilliants on
arms, busts, ornaments of flowers and gems in the hair, jewelled fans
in hand, perfumed laces and scarfs, tinted, and flushed, and adorned,
exposed to bewilder and intoxicate the men--in fine, in the pursuit of
husbands, or bent upon flirtations! These entertainments are designed
for the very purpose of excitement and match-making. "_Society_ is kept
alive--life is made endurable by these things," the High-Caste women
say. They have no other business but to attend to such matters; and to
them _Society_ looks to save it from dissolution and despair!
In the _Rout_ all is confusion and opportunity. The young people,
the old people, the highest and the lowest (permissible), are thrown
promiscuously together. Women and men mingle, jostle, jamb, crowd,
wriggle, and writhe together as best they can. The young lady suddenly
finds herself quite in the arms of the young man who has saved her from
a fall; and he, in turn, "_begs pardon_" of some woman, into whose lap
he has almost been thrown by a sudden press.
Acquaintances may be made, _flirtations_ begun, ending in something or
nothing. But _Society_ has had its excitement, and its members their
chances for mere idle display, gossip, sensual gratification, or
the more serious business of High-life--_fortune-hunting_ by men and
_husband-catching_ by women! The _Waltz and Dance_ are, however, the
great game (for they are really one) of Barbarian life. Every Caste,
according to its ability, dances--the low imitating, to their best, all
the "_airs and graces_," dress and _flirtations_ of their superiors. In
the Waltz, when the music strikes up, the man takes the woman about the
waist, standing with the other dancers in the middle of the floor, and
she leans upon his shoulder interlocking the fingers of her disengaged
hand in his. In this close position, they begin to wheel around,
around; one couple follows another about the clear space left for
them, till many couples are seen twirling, whirling about, around to
the sound of the music--ever in this wild, whirling sort of a gallop,
following one after another, rapidly! The long trails of the woman are
held up, the embroidered skirts fly out, the silken shoes and hose
flash; she is held close and more closely in the supporting arm, her
cheek almost touches, her bust, neck, and face glow with excitement,
the eyes and jewels sparkle, the man and woman whirl about, till
intoxicated, dazed, and nearly exhausted, she sinks upon his arm and
motions for rest, and he half supports and half leads her to some soft
bench or chair! Such briefly is the Waltz. The dance is the same thing
nearly, only more variety of movement is introduced. The whole object
is to bring the sexes together, and keep _Society_ alive, as before.
_Flirtation_ and match-making being main elements of social life.
The manners of the High-Caste are not really more refined than
elsewhere; only there is a cool tone. Nothing must surprise, nothing
confuse, nothing abash. A blush must be as rare as a laugh. A young
woman seeing a young man gazing at her with bold admiration, must
coolly _look him down_--if she please. His is an action of mere
rudeness, or _should_ be, when directed to a virtuous woman: but
no, "a man may gaze upon what is everywhere exhibited _for_ his
admiration--may he not?" And yet, with strange inconsistency, a
woman has a right to complain if a man, captivated by the very means
designed, too rudely express his pleasure. And one man is required
to chastise another for the rudeness to his relative, though he know
that, in the nature of things, the female should expect what she
encounters--and more, the complexity is further involved, that though
one man must call another to account for this sort of rudeness, yet
every man indulges in it!
Young people, in public, of the two sexes, without shame appear in
close intimacy--and will look upon statues and paintings of naked women
and men, talking and criticizing, examining the works and looking at
them in company, without confusion, or appearance of there being any
indelicacy. As if, in fact, in the bosoms of the High-Caste there did
not exist any of the passions of ordinary mortals!
There are very numerous galleries of Art, where statues, paintings,
pictures, models, and the like, are shown, which are always crowded
by High-Caste women, children, and men. And shop-windows are made
attractive by displays of pictures of nude, or half-nude, women
and men, who act in the Plays, or who are notorious in Spectacles.
This sort of indecency prevails; and strikes one, not used to it,
with an unpleasant surprise. He knows not what to think of its
significance--have all his ideas of decency been indecent?
I am not able to say much of the interior life of the family. I was
told that a happy family was rare--quite an exception. It is only
_where the wife rules_ that any peace is secured. The wife is allowed
to do, generally, in Society and at home, as she will. The husband goes
off to _his_ pastimes and pursuits. Children whilst young are committed
to the care of servants, and when older sent away to be educated and
trained by hirelings.
The daughters, when grown, often move the jealousy of the mother by
attracting more attention from men--they are often _snubbed_ and made
to dress unbecomingly, so that the mother may shine.
Marriage among the High-Caste is an arrangement for an _establishment_;
and to secure the succession of family name and title. To these ends
great care is given to the money question. The man demands money for
taking the wife. Domestic happiness is hardly thought of; unless,
occasionally, by very young people, and they are laughed out of their
ridiculous romance.
In the marriage ceremony, the wife, in the presence of the Idols, and
following the Invocations of the Priest, solemnly promises to obey
the husband. But this is regarded as a mere form. Any husband who
undertakes to enforce obedience, finds himself branded by _Society_,
as a "brute!" Much of the infelicity in marriage rests upon this false
basis. For, with the virile instinct, man naturally expects obedience;
yet has, in his unmarried days, fallen in with the false notion of
woman's superiority in delicacy and moral virtue. This peculiar
affectation colours all Barbarian intercourse with the sex. It has its
root in the _Superstition_, possibly; where an immaculate virgin gives
birth to a _Son_ of god-_Jah_! who is the Christ-god. Thus, woman came
to be mother of God!
From this, very likely, followed all the false worship and gallantry of
the barbarians; who still, keeping up this mode of treating women as
superior in excellency, could scarcely deny to them a superior place
in the family. Assumed to be absolutely chaste and pure, they are
to be implicitly trusted--nor _to them_ is there impropriety! Hence
follows the _fine Art_ exhibitions--the undress dress; the waltz; the
mixed crowds--the _everything_, where women, according to the ordinary
feelings of cultivated men, should not be, or be in a very different
way. But the man before marriage, and afterwards, too, (excepting to
his own wife), pretends to look upon woman as a divinity--as something
far above him in moral goodness! _After_ marriage, it is difficult
to dethrone this divinity--the man has not a divinity at the head of
his family; but all his friends (male friends) pretend to think so;
Society says so; and he is _himself_ compelled to _pretend to the same
thing_. Under these circumstances he will never be likely to get much
obedience. None the less, a struggle commences; the man persistent,
strong; the woman unyielding, crafty; the family divided; the children
demoralized; a false and wretched farce of conjugal _Play_, so badly
acted as to deceive not even _Society!_ and finally ending in the
Divorce Court.
This is the tribunal where _Causes Matrimonial_ are settled; and, if
one may judge from its Reports in the _Gazette_, conjugal contention
is exceedingly common. For the public cases must be few, compared with
those where publicity is avoided by private arrangement.
Doubtless, a fine man and an excellent woman may unite, and live
happily together, in spite of the unfavourable conditions. But, more
commonly, the high-minded man, really believing in the superior purity
of the sex, and her greater moral delicacy, finds his _Ideal_ to be too
high; and without absolute cause to quarrel; in fact, seeing that his
Ideal was _itself_ only an error of the prevailing delusion; ever after
struggles to bring himself into harmony with the existing fact--to
love and respect a woman and only a woman, with a woman's vanity, love
of excitement, frivolity and caprice--a very weary work. The woman,
too, still flattered, and exacting the devotion which her _lover_
(now her husband) gave to her in his days of delusion, thinks herself
treated with coldness; and, gradually, by her unreasonable complaints,
estranges altogether the husband, whom she, too, tries to forget, in
the admiration, flatteries, and excitements of Society!
The affectation and falsity, therefore, respecting woman, tends to a
fundamental error in the relation of the sexes and the ordering of the
family. It is a strange and almost fatal error to give this exaltation
to woman. No doubt, a real trust and respect tend to secure, in some
degree, the virtues accorded; and this true respect of an honest
man, who places his wife, or his relative, before himself in purity,
challenges the best of nature in the female. But man has reversed the
true order, and run counter to the true instinct of the race (quite as
strong in the female as in himself), when he thus puts woman before
him, in anything. What authority is there for this reversal of the
natural order? Why is woman more moral, more chaste? There is nothing
in the nature of things, why the man, here, as in all things, should
not be, as he is, the superior--the master. In morals he should be her
guide, her teacher, her best support. That Society is, indeed, unsound,
wherein the man may be low and sensual, and fancy, or pretend to fancy,
that the woman is better than himself--it is a delusion. Man gives the
real character to any Society--the woman will not be, cannot be better
than the man. The English Barbarians, in spite of the absurd falsity
of their customs, must have some tolerably happy families. The innate
perception of the eternal fitness of things will cause many couples to
arrive at a proper method. The wife, without exactly admitting it, even
to herself, submits to her husband; and the husband, without exactly
commanding (except in rare instances), feels that he is really the head
of the house--and the family gets on pretty smoothly, because living in
the natural order. But, in general, the struggle for mastery destroys
either the existence of the family, or all attempts at affectionate
ways of living. To avoid public scandal, the members do not actually
separate; but all harmony and true domestic life are lost--and life is
a dismal and disorderly rout.
The exaltation of the sex and the complete freedom allowed to them
belong to a state of society, if any such there be, where man is
still _more_ excellent. There, indeed, a bright and beautiful ideal
is made real, and men and women know how to love and to obey; and
love is as true as the respect and the obedience. The Barbarians,
full of immorality, of rudeness, of strong passions, of selfishness,
controlled by a false conception founded in their Idolatry, act, in
respect of their women, as if purity, cultivation, generosity, and the
highest morality, everywhere existed! This, so false, is well-nigh
fatal to them. Yet, it is only an illustration of the uncultivated and
confused state of mind, even in the highest, that so simple a thing
as the natural order governing the relation of sex and family is not
comprehended; and that their Society is saved from absolute wreck only
by the strong and controlling instinct of nature, which, in spite of
obstacles, does bring the female into subjection to the male--at least
to an extent sufficient to make life possible!
None the less the disorder of households is dreadful. Sons and
daughters, as they grow strong, assert themselves [Quan-hang-ho].
They act and speak (and in this follow the wife and mother) as if the
sole business of the father was to give the means of selfish, idle
indulgence. This would not be so unjust among the High-Caste, but it
descends to all grades, and the middle orders are content to see the
father toil at his business till overworked, or ruined altogether, in
his efforts to supply these daily exactions. No doubt he himself is a
victim to the whole vicious falseness--yet the cold-bloodedness of this
conduct on the part of children and wives is remarkable. "Obedience,"
or "gratitude!"--Words sneered at, laughed at!
The daughters, directed by _Mamma_ [na-ni-go], are taught to dress, to
_look_ modest, to practise all those arts by which they may attract the
male and secure husbands, and are exhibited in public places and in
Society accordingly.
The sons are sent off to be taught. In the _Halls of Learning_ they
acquire but little of the knowledge paid for in the _Lists_, but a
great deal of that which does not appear there. A youth may have
entered, at least, honest, moral, and generous--he still leaves
unlearned, but dishonest, corrupt, selfish--he has acquired that
knowledge most sought for (even by his parents), a knowledge of the
_World_ [Quang]! In truth, the youth instinctively feels that it
is better for his success in life to know the World than to know
Letters. He acts upon this feeling, which thrives in the demoralised
atmosphere which he breathes. Father is called _Governor_, and is
regarded as a sort of creature to be made the most of! The money
allowed (perhaps too ample for really useful purposes) is spent in
things foolish and hurtful. Money and time are wasted. The latter is
valueless, to be sure, to these youths anywhere--but the money may be
wrung from relatives, who put themselves on short diet to enable the
son or brother (who is defrauding them) to appear well in _Society_!
To perfect himself in the learning which he feels to be effective,
he devises _new_ methods of wringing more money from the _Governor_,
who begins to protest. To drink, smoke, lounge about with easy and
cool impudence; to stare into the face of women; to bet, gamble; to
get in debt, and curse the creditors who presume to ask for pay;
to make, or pretend to make, love; and generally to lay broad and
deep that moral and cultivated _elegance_, to take on that exquisite
_polish_ [gla-mshi], which shall dazzle society; shall attract the
silly butterflies (women) who have influence or money; shall, in fine,
shine in the Grand Council, or at the head of armed bands, or to the
illumination of the Courts of Law! Noble ambition, based upon manly
principles! With the Barbarians to be a moral and wise man is to be a
_milksop_ [Kou-bab]; to be _a polished man of the World_--admirable!
The English Barbarians who are fathers, generally consider it rather a
_joke_ to have their sons trick them and poke fun at the "_Governor_,"
only it must be marked with some pretence of deference. If the "_young
fellows_" do not positively disgrace the family--that is, marry some
poor creature whom they have first debauched; or actually forge, or
rob, or descend to improper friendships with inferior Castes--the
parents esteem themselves to be fortunate. If he have acquired no
knowledge of letters, nor of anything but vices, yet he is a "_fine,
manly fellow_, who will make his mark in the world." That is, he is a
tall, strong, active _Barbarian_--just fit for the armed bands!
The infelicities and disorders of family life, which only prefigure
the inevitable confusion and evils of the whole Society, are more
intolerable among the Middle Castes. In the _Highest, secured revenues_
enable the wife and the husband each to see as little of each other
as they please; and so long as the husband is not stirred up by _Mrs.
Grundy_ (who is not severe with this Caste) he cares but little what
his wife may do. _He_ goes about his sports and his pleasures as he
pleases; and his wife, not wishing to be looked after, does not look
after him. On this free-and-easy footing, with no want of money (_Mrs.
Grundy's decorum_ being observed), they get on well enough, and may
even form quite a friendship for each other. But it is not possible to
establish this condition in a family of small income--and here it is
that the wretchedness of false principles has full scope. The husband
and father, honest and good, finds himself mated to a woman, weak and
vain, with children moulded by her. He, misled by false notions and
ignorance, took to his heart one whom he fully trusted as simply true
and modest; he took her for herself and without money, and flattered
himself that she would be a helper and solace. She and her children
have made him a miserable _slave_, who finds no quiet unless he satisfy
all their clamorous demands--_to shine in Society_! If a good man, he
tries to obey and live, even under exactions beyond his utmost efforts;
for he has learned to see that his wife, though weak, is no worse than
the Society which she loves, and which he also cannot escape; he is
merely in a false position, and must largely thank himself for having
heedlessly entered upon it!
But this kind of man is not universal, and one may judge what follows,
where there is a man who will not yield, or yields only because he no
longer cares for anything but his personal ease and indulgence--seeking
for pleasure, though unlawful, abroad, as the only recompense
attainable for the loss of happiness at home!
Such a man feels that life is insupportable, where he makes so wretched
an object--to be merely the _mute beast_ of burden for the family,
without receiving so much tenderness and consideration as is accorded
to the dogs lolling in the lazy laps of the females of the house! He
seeks, therefore, abroad for some means of enjoyment, though illicit!
This sort of picture is to be seen everywhere in the Barbarian
_Literature_, and is constantly shown in all its minute and miserable
exhibition at the Courts of Divorce.
Adultery, which in our _Flowery Land_ is punished by death, is not
so much as a crime among the English Barbarians. And, as it is the
chief cause for which the bond of marriage may be wholly severed, one
may judge whether the Court do not encourage the immorality. For when
parties wish to live apart, here is a way to secure it, lying directly
in the path of desire and opportunity. Then, too, the _seduction_ of a
maiden, which with us may be punished even to death, receives no sort
of reprobation in the Court, and scarcely in Society. If the ruined
girl be of low caste, her relatives feel no disgrace if the seducer be
a High-Caste--rather an honour; receive from him some paltry sum (not
so much as he lavishes upon some favourite dogs), and buy with the
money a husband for her from her own Caste!
With us a guilty _intrigue_ is almost unknown; with the Barbarians it
is almost a pursuit.
None the less, there is too much vigour in the organism; too much
moral, intellectual, and physical strength, to suffer total decay. As
is always the case, where the mind is active, even Idolatry itself has
intermixed a pure morality, and the Barbarian nature, still unformed,
untrained; still rude and stirred by passion and by force; wrestles
with the divine _instinct_, and, unconsciously, often moulds to its
light.
Away from the glitter and _sham_ (sometimes _in it_, but not of it),
there are quiet families which live lives of honour. The father works
honestly and cheerfully; the wife, in her house, finds the beginning
and end of her aims, of her love, and her duty. The husband-father is
head; on him rests all responsibility, and to him belong _obedience_.
This is not exacted; it is not questioned. It is founded in love
and respect; love and loving obedience spontaneously arising from
uncorrupted natures. _His_ whole being responds with unmeasured joy.
Whatever is pure, high, tender; all are for these--his wife, his
family; so true, so trusting, so helpful, so delightful. He feels no
hardship; there can be no sacrifice, for these; all that is done is
in harmony with himself. _Everywhere_ he is in accord. The very ills
and misfortunes of life touch him not, for he is living in the _divine
order_.
And from such a man, the inside-life being serene, outer ills fall
away. He is so clear and simple; so _whole_ that nature smiles for
him, even in pain and sorrow; he lives in the presence and calm of the
Sovereign Lord.
These families are the _Salt_ which saves. Among the Barbarians they
are generally obscure, and as wholly unconscious of the service which
they render as are the glittering inanities which ignore them. This
should be reversed, and the _Inanities_ sink into obscurity.
I will now say a word or two as to the personal appearance and
demeanour of the Barbarians. There is no standard of best-looking, and
each tribe will judge from _its_ best type. In general the eyes are
too prominent and open; the nose large and irregular; the teeth bad or
false; the height indifferent; the figure either too lean or too fat.
The hair all colours; red and light most common. The women are so made
up, judging from the articles openly exposed for sale, that one cannot
speak of them with any certainty. The hair, teeth, complexion, bust,
outline of form, are all false or artistically got up. The eyes are too
bold and open. The feet long, and hands large. Too tall, and either
too meagre or too stout. The youth are sometimes pretty. The women are
often brilliant under gaslight (a bright, artificial light). I have
spoken of dress, but I may mention that the women, not content with
every sort of _made-up_ thing to add to their attractions, pile upon
their heads an enormity of false curls, bands of hair, laces, and high
sort of head-ornaments; it is truly amazing. Some of these gewgaws are
hung upon big pig-tails of false hair, and some are stuck high a-top.
Nothing really can be more absurd, unless the false, mincing steps,
and protruding back. Some women are beautiful; but to my unaccustomed
looks, even the brilliant eyes could not blind me to so immodest an
exhibition--or, to _me_, not modest--so instinctively do we demand that
especial quality in the sex, as the crowning grace of true beauty.
One thing of a personal kind in the habits of all, high and low, I
remarked, which would be intolerable to us. A lady or a gentleman,
whilst conversing with you, or at the table of feasting, will suddenly
apply a handkerchief [mün-shi] to nose, and blow that organ in the most
astounding manner; and this may be continued for some minutes, even
accompanied by _hauks and spits_, and closed by many nice attentions
to the orifices not worth while to describe. Surely this strange thing
disconcerted me very greatly at first, nor do I understand how any
people above savages could do it. A fine _lady_ will interrupt herself
in the very midst of speech, or of eating, with spasmodic effort,
to clear her head; emptying into her fine pocket-handkerchief the
obnoxious matter, and then returning the article to her silken pocket.
However, we should not expect refinement in a Society where the women
may boldly mount a horse-back, and follow men and dogs over ditch and
wall, urging her steed with the best, to come in to the death of the
poor hunted creature. And this, a noble sport, fit for a lady! Nor
this only, but will crowd to public spectacles, and be hustled and
crowded promiscuously, forgetful of all delicate reserve. These habits
are only to be criticised because of the boasted prëeminence claimed
in all such matters. But what would be thought of our _Literati_
piling into the mouth huge morsels of flesh, or of guzzling [kun-ki]
(with a gulping noise in the throat), great swallows of a hot, greasy
liquid, besmearing the lips and beard. The Barbarians know nothing of
our delicate mode of eating, where all is silence and decorum whilst
in the act. Another most unaccountable thing to a stranger is the
robbery allowed by the servants of the High-Caste. If you accept of
the hospitality of a great man, you must submit to be plundered by his
servants; and, as a stranger cannot know the limits imposed upon this
rapacity, it goes far to destroy all the pretence of graciousness in
one's reception. When you have eaten at my Lord's table, to think you
are to be _fleeced_ [pe-ekd] by my Lord's _flunki_!
I was once invited by a High-Caste to come to his house in the country
and shoot game. I accepted, and soon went into the copses to hunt for
birds for the table. A servant accompanied me by command of his master,
to show me the grounds and to wait upon me. He was very civil. The next
day, upon my leaving, this man, decked in the livery [bung-shi] of
his Lord, closely eyed and stuck to me, till, at length, I perceived
he wanted something. Only partially aware of the Barbarian custom,
and blushing at the idea of _feeing_ [tin-ti] or giving anything in
return for hospitality, I awkwardly fumbled in my purse and handed to
him a half-crown. He contemptuously looked at the silver piece, then
at me; and remarked that the "_gentlemen_ of my Lord did not receive
gratuities of that colour." Meaning that gold was only fit for such an
exalted minion.