The Virtue of Economy.
Shám Babu was a clerk of nearly thirty years' standing, and the
approach of old age made him anxious to escape from the daily grind of
business. He asked permission to resign, which was reluctantly granted;
his employers signifying their appreciation of his faithful service
by granting him a pension of Rs. 30 a month and offering to provide
for any of his relatives who might be fit for clerical work. Shám
Babu thanked them warmly and retired to his native village, with the
intention of passing the evening of life in peace. He had always lived
well within his means. People who were thrice as rich could not imagine
how he contrived to bring up a family on the salary which he was known
to enjoy. Some folks insinuated that he had made money by giving his
son in marriage to Kumodini Babu's daughter, never remembering that a
dowry is reserved for the bride's benefit, while the cash payment made
to a father-in-law barely suffices to meet the expenses of elaborate
nuptial ceremonies. Others hinted that he had waxed rich on illicit
commissions--another charge which was quite without foundation. Shám
Babu was strictly honest, and besides, the opportunities within the
reach of clerks employed by a private firm are not worth mentioning.
After settling down at Kadampur he cudgelled his brains for some
means of increasing his slender resources. Friends advised him to try
farming, or start a business in lending grain to cultivators. Neither
trade was to his liking. Clerks are of little use outside their own
sphere; and Shám Babu was too soft-hearted to succeed as a village
Shylock. A matter of pressing importance was to establish his son
Susil, who had passed the First Arts examination and was hanging about
the Government offices at Ghoria, in the hope of securing a post. Shám
Babu took advantage of his late employer's offer and sent the young
man off to Calcutta armed with a sheaf of certificates. To his great
delight, Susil was appointed clerk on Rs. 25--a magnificent start,
which relieved his father's most pressing anxiety.
Shám Babu had begun life with a small patrimony which was slowly
increased by savings from his monthly pay. He was worth nearly
Rs. 10,000, the whole of which was lent by him to a trader named
Gopál Datta, certified by Shám Babu's brother-in-law Hari to be
thoroughly trustworthy. This Gopál dealt in jute; and being a man of
great daring, he speculated so successfully with Shám Babu's money
that, within three or four years, he amassed a fortune of two lakhs
(£13,333). He paid 12 per cent. interest on the loan regularly,
which made a comfortable addition to Shám Babu's pension.
It was the latter's habit to visit his Calcutta relatives at least
once a month. So, one day in June, 18--, he went to Hari Babu's house
with the intention of passing the night there. His brother-in-law
was absent and not expected till the morrow; but Shám Babu was
welcomed by the ladies of the family, who made all arrangements
for his comfort. In the evening he sat in the Baitakhana (parlour)
reading the Bhagavat Gita (a mystical poem). A carriage drove up
to the door whence alighted Rámanáth Babu, who was Gopál's younger
brother. After the usual compliments had been exchanged, Shám Babu
asked what business his visitor was engaged in.
"I have started as a broker in jute and oil-seeds," was the reply.
"I hope you will do as well as Gopál," said Shám Babu, "but I suppose
you have joined him?"
"Certainly not," replied Rámanáth impulsively; then he checked himself,
as though he had said too much.
Shám Babu was astonished by the tone adopted by his visitor. He asked,
"Why, what's the matter with Gopál, nothing wrong I hope and trust?"
"No, not exactly; but I'm in a hurry to-day, you must excuse my
taking leave."
Shám Babu, however, would not be put off with vague insinuations. He
said, "I must ask you, Rámanáth, to be more precise. You know your
brother has borrowed Rs. 10,000 from me on a mere note of hand,
and I am naturally very anxious to learn the truth."
Rámanáth Babu paused for a few seconds before replying. "It is a
fact that my brother's speculations have been unfortunate of late. He
certainly made a good deal of money at one time, but sunk the bulk of
it in bricks and mortar, which you know are not easily turned into
liquid capital. You, as a large creditor, ought to be told how the
land lies."
"This is the first I have heard of Gopál's difficulties," groaned
Shám Babu.
"Yes, because no one troubled himself to tell you the truth; but I
can assure you that Gopál's liabilities are something awful, and it
is quite possible that he may have to take insolvency proceedings."
"You don't say so! What shall I do? If Gopál becomes bankrupt,
I shall be utterly ruined."
"Well, I cannot advise you fully," replied Rámanáth Babu, "but
forewarned is forearmed. If I were in your shoes I would certainly
call in my loan." Thereon he took leave.
Shám Babu passed a restless night, dreaming of the debtor's jail and
a starving family. On Hari Babu's return, next morning, he related the
purport of his conversation with Rámanáth. His host said: "You should
not attach too much importance to such tittle-tattle. Rámanáth has
had a quarrel with his brother about family matters, and he is not
at all averse to doing him a bad turn." Shám Babu was not satisfied
with this explanation. He answered:--
"I can hardly believe Rámanáth capable of telling deliberate lies,
which must inevitably be detected."
"Perhaps not. It is quite possible that Gopál may be in temporary
straits. But can you point to a single merchant among your
acquaintances whose career has been uniformly prosperous? There are
ups and downs in commerce, which no one can avoid. Mark my words,
Gopál will soon pull himself together again!"
Shám Babu was by no means convinced by his brother-in-law's
optimism. He remarked, "In any case I ought not to allow my loan to
stand without some tangible security. Gopál has house property in
Calcutta, I believe?"
"To be sure he has. There is his new house at Entally, which must have
cost Rs. 20,000; and another in Barabazar, letting at Rs. 3,000. Just
calculate what this property must be worth. If I doubted Gopál's
solvency, do you suppose I would have lent him Rs. 20,000 on his note
of hand?"
Shám Babu was quite reassured. He came to the conclusion that Rámanáth
had attempted to injure his own brother, and returned home with a
firm resolve to disregard such scandalous talk in future.
About three months afterwards he met Rámanáth Babu quite casually in
Harrison Road and, in the course of conversation, the latter asked
whether he had called in his loan to Gopál.
"I have done nothing of the kind," was the curt reply. "My
brother-in-law tells me that he is quite solvent."
"It was just like him to say so--the selfish fellow! I am sorry to
say that my brother has lost heavily by speculating in jute and is,
in fact, a ruined man. If you don't believe me, ask Hari Babu again
and you will see what tune he sings. Perhaps you don't know that he
has called in his loan of Rs. 20,000?"
"That is certainly strange," replied Shám Babu with tears in his
voice. "He never breathed a word of any such intention to me."
"Hari Babu is your brother-in-law," continued Rámanáth, "but Gopál
is my own brother. Is it likely that I would injure his reputation
gratuitously? No; you are an old friend whom I cannot allow to be
ruined without a word of warning. If you do not choose to act upon it,
so much the worse for you."
Shám Babu was now convinced that no time was to be lost in demanding
proper security for the loan. He went straight to his brother-in-law,
to whom he repeated the information which he had received.
Hari Babu shook his head sadly. "Yes," he said, "I am afraid there is
some truth in it. Gopál is in temporary difficulties; but you need not
be anxious. I will get him to give you a mortgage on landed property
worth much more than his debt to you."
Shám Babu felt somewhat reassured, but there was a point to be
cleared up.
"One word more," he said, "have you called in your loan of Rs. 20,000?"
Hari Babu looked at him suspiciously. "Who told you so?"
"I heard it from a reliable source."
"It must have been Rámanáth, who is always seeking to make
mischief. Well, yes, I did ask Gopál to repay me, not that I distrusted
him but because I wanted to invest the money in land."
Shám Babu felt indignant at the man's gross selfishness, but he
concealed his feelings and merely remarked that he would not leave
Calcutta till the mortgage was settled. Next morning he insisted on
Hari Babu accompanying him to Gopál's house at Entally. They found the
debtor apparently in high spirits, although he admitted that certain
speculations had turned out badly. When pressed by Shám Babu to repay
the loan, he asked for time, pleading that his whole capital was locked
up. Shám Babu, however, was obdurate, and with his brother-in-law's
help he brought such pressure to bear on Gopál that the latter sulkily
agreed to give him a mortgage on an ancestral estate in the Mufassil
(interior of Bengal). Shám Babu stuck closely to him until the bargain
had been fulfilled, and managed matters so expeditiously that the
mortgage deed was drawn up, executed, and registered in a week. Though
he had now something tangible to rely on in case of accidents still
he was not happy, for Gopál discontinued paying interest on the loan
and he did not dare to press him, lest he should precipitate a crash.
Misfortunes never come singly. Soon after settling this unpleasant
affair, Shám Babu was laid low by fever; and doctor's bills trenched
sadly on his slender resources. Susil, too, the hope of the family,
caught a mysterious disease and was absent from office so long that his
employers were obliged to replace him. For the first time in his life,
the poor old father felt the pinch of want, but he bore up bravely
hoping for better times. When he was able to crawl about again, he
applied to his old employers for work of any kind, but learnt to his
sorrow that they intended winding up the business and were not able
to increase their establishment. Shám Babu scanned the advertisement
columns of the daily paper and answered many offers of employment,
learning, on each occasion, that he was far too old to fill the
coveted post.
One evening he sat in his parlour brooding over the many misfortunes
which encompassed him. A distant connection named Srish Babu came in
and, hearing that his host sorely needed work, said:--
"I am going to start a business in country produce and shall want
several experienced clerks. I must provide for relatives first and
strangers afterwards. Now, would you be inclined to come to me as
manager, on Rs. 75 a month to begin with?"
Shám Babu jumped at the offer, which would restore him to comparative
affluence, and it was agreed that he should enter on his new duties
in three weeks. A month passed by without news from his relative,
and meantime Shám Babu received a tempting offer of employment. Before
deciding what to do he wrote to Srish Babu, informing him of the fact
and asking whether he could rely on him. A reply came to the effect
that he might do as he pleased, but that the business in country
produce, which he was to manage, would positively be started in a
fortnight. After another month of suspense, Shám Babu learnt that
Srish's bubble had been pricked, and that he had levanted, no one
knew whither, to escape a swarm of creditors.
The poor old man was now on his beam-ends. The only course open
to him was to sue Gopál for arrears of interest and foreclose his
mortgage. After a year and a half's attendance in divers civil
courts and spending his last rupee on lawyers' fees, he obtained a
decree. When, however, he tried to execute it, it turned out that
the estate on which he had a lien was a joint family possession,
with the shares so inextricably mixed up that he could neither trace
the property mortgaged to him nor discover who was liable for the
proportion of profit derived from it. As well poke one's fingers into
a hornet's nest as into a joint family estate! Shám Babu was glad to
accept an offer of Rs. 5,000 from Gopál's co-sharers, in return for
a surrender of his claims. Despite his heavy loss, enough remained
to preserve him from penury; and he was even able to start Susil in
a small way of business. Great is the virtue of economy!