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The Seaforth News, 1933-12-14, Page 6PAGE SIX THE SEAFORTH NEWS. THURSDAY, DE'CFMBER 14 hastree r ay r 'iOne,by one the ceremonies were finished, The last -the solemn rite of actual marriage—as the bride and -bridegroom sat side by side, when the consecrated thread was wound round them by attendant Brahmuns, and the mystic hymns and invocations, incan- tations were chanted when their gar- ments were tied together in the irre- vocable knot and they repeated the promises and vows, then Radha's veil was lifted and 'though'he had seen her form for many, days in succession, Vy- as Shastree now saw. Itis' young wife's beautiful face for She first tinle, It was n happy look, in one, of her happy moods, The glorious eyes were not excited, but soft , and timid, and shyly raised to hint in trust and con- fidence. Anunde and Tara had watch- ed the effect upon hint with beating hearts and clasped hands. There could be no doubt of the expression of his face --wonder first, then gratification, perhaps love. "Thou wast right; wife" he said afterwards; "she hath a nymph's form, a deer's eyes and a mouth like Katndeo," So it was all finished at last; the guest; departed, the courts were swept and the house cleaned out, The garlands of leaves and flowers still hung at tate gate, and from pillar to pillar of the verandah and certain, post -nuptial ceremonies performed at the temple was all that remained of the outer show of the marriage, With- in was the girl -bride, happy in being free from her brother, whom site fear- ed though she loved hitt, and from her aunt, whom she disliked as well as feared; happy in her new sister - wife, to whom she felt like a daugh- ter; Happier in Tara, a sister in truth,. and she never had known one before;' content too to see the Shastree unre- servedly, and to feel that her beauty grew on hint—for as yet, beyond a few moria they had not spoken, As -koro Tripvnul had determined, Sulcya Bye was despatched to their home a few days after the ceremony, She had pleaded to be allowed to stay aver the Now Ratree, and Anunda "had asked the favor at her instance; but her nephew was distinct in his re- fusal, yet not so as to display anger or vexation. It was simply impossible, he said; she had been too long absent from home, and he himself must go' on his own affairs, 'So she received parting gifts of rich silk cloths from Radha, Anunda and the 'Shastree and departed to Wye, The last night that Moro Trimmul was to remain at 'Tooljapoor, he ,took an opportunity of telling Radha that he should pretend to go nut, but con- ceal himself in the sithool court, which was not lighted, and that she was to. coin to hint when all were asleep or retired; he should wait for her there, for .he had much to say to her. So he h'ad. I-Iow he had restrained himself hitherto he knew not, How day by day he had seett Tara, spoken to her, amused her, excited her, gloat- ed over her beauty, which, if remark- able abroad where she was guarded was a thousand times more captivat- ing and enthralling in the free house- hold intercourse --and yet had done nothing towards possessing himself of her—was what he could neither understand 'for endure any longer. tGun,ga could not help him; he saw clearly that Tara utterly refused communication with her: and she re- fused the mystic marriage to the sword ;,of the goddess, which the "l foorlees" were in the habit of do- ing. IG:uttga, therefore, baffled for 'a while, 'hided her time; 'but she and Iter sister 'priestesses vowed revenge and were all in Mora.;Trimmtil';s interest, Mean- while his <sister must ,help him; and t'his, with cruel perseverance, it was his object to effect through her at any risk: He waited long, for the girl could not get away unobserved. ,At last she 'came, scared and terrified lest her Os - settee should°be detected; but all were asleep—Tara beside her its the' veran- dah, the Shastree among hi, .books !n the book room, Anunda in ser own sleeping room within::' She. ilia not find her brother in better temper for his detention. "`Take this," he said to her, return- ing a goldanklet of Tara's, which Radha had !borrowed !from her to be copied; "for I go to -morrow early, and shall not see thee again till the Now Ratree; but thou has kept me long, girl, and I had much to say to thee." "The Shastree was awake reading: even till now I could not pass .his door," she said;: "be quick, brother." "Ah, thou art trembling. Is this the girl who would have fled to Siva'ji Ra- jah; and; art thou changed already in- to a Shastree's wife?" he said with a neer, The girl' shivered. "D'o, not say such things, 'brother. I strive to put thein away, and they will go, perhaps;• yes, they will go, when no one tells me of him," Her :brother laughed, "No, they shall not go, Radha, if I can prevent it; but thou must be patient, girl. So much for thyself; now for me." "What can I do, brother?" "Thou.canst ,gain Tara for rue, Nay, Radha," he continued, as she trembl- ed still snore, and hung to the court door in terror, "Bone of this coward- ice! I oward-ice!'I tell thee it. must be, and thou Hurst do it." "Brother! brother!" gasped the girl, piteously. "Not I—not 1! What can I do? 0, not I! 0, not Il" "What canst thou do? Much," he returned sharply;; "listen, Rad'ha. Such things are 110 sin. She is a Bra- hmun, as T ant; she is a widow. She is a I loorlee, as free as Gunga,or any of them, and she can please herself. I know she is not indifferent to me; it is for thee to improve this,. Speak to her of me, lead her to think of me, tell her what deeds I have done with thy Rajah -1 an with him in them -- and sing her our country ballads. T tell thee, girl, if thou chest all this, it will gain her." "Never, brother, never; she has no heart for thee, She shuddered yester- day when T spoke of thee. I -saw her --d could not be mistaken, Her heart is with the gods, in ;her books, cold'. and dead. 0 brother, think not of her —what can I do?" "Is it so, sister?" he said sneeringly, "Then she must he awakened, and that dead heart gain ne!w life; Radha, Ghost must do it!—else"—'he felt the girl shivering as he grasped her arm and shook her savagely --"else, wilt thou be long here? 'Would this Shas- tree keep thee one hour in his house if he thought, much less if he knew, thou hade1 been married before, .girl? Yes, married before! Ah, that touches thee! And listen more, if my affair is not furthered he shall know it. What if he casts thee out? Thou can- st go to the temple like Tara; thou canst go to him—to Sivaji—'but thou w'ilt be a reproach and an outcast, Choose! --to be happy as I have plac- ed thee, or as I have said. One or oth- er, girl! the fast, and what I' have risked for thee—what I have dome for thee—will he .repaid. ,0 sister! (what Sivaji Rajah is to thee, a burn- ing thought day and night, so Tara is tc me and more. Dost thou hear?" "I--II,"-gasped the terrified ,girl, "I, hear thee. 0 brother, be not, cruel, de. not destroy rate; or, if thou wilt, one blow of thy knife—naw—now_here," and she hared het breast, "11 will be mercy—strike." "Poor fool," said Moro Trimnntl, "I would not Marin thee, Go, rCmcm- her ,what I have said, and do. as I' tell thee. If she be in the saine mood when I reture, why then Go," ate continued, interrupting 'Mal self, "I can wait no longer. Fear not, my blesshtg is on thee," and he put his hands an her head, 'Tor his sake, my lord, my prince and thine, thou shalt_ conte to .t to harm, Go!" And; saying this he putt her gently away from him' ieto the court, closed the door, and easily climbing t'he low wall,: dropped,, into the street beyond. "One thing more ere the night passes," he said as he walkedrapi l through the desertd Y deserted streets- to the (tonic they had lived in, near the S-hastrees: if she is there, 'i well; if not, I must seek' her. What she want - "ed must have been brought ere this," "She is within, master," said a than sitting at the gate,with a black blanket round him, who spoke ere -v[oro Trim.nul comet asdc,' "she has been here an hour or more; and here are some things the sonar brought 'this evening when' you were absent" "Good," said the Pundit, passing in; "see that no one enters." The man laughed `It is too late, nras;ter, now. No one ,will conte, Are we to leave early?" "Tell -them to briu'g the horses at daylight," he replied "we will get on to Darasew before noon. We must be at That before nightt. Is all pre- pared?" "Yes the saddle -bags are p,aoked, and Bheetna and myself remain;, all the rest went with the lady Sukya," "Their go and sleep, for we have a long journey tomorrow. I do iiot need three. Give me the key of the court door. I can lock myself in, and S shall be awake long before you in tate' morning." ffle entered the court and locked the gate behind hint. A lamp.' was burning in a recess of the verandah and its- light fell upon -the figure of the girl Gunge, who had covered her- self with a sheet, and, inost likely weary of w'ai'ting 1d'f' hint, had fallen asleep. She did not hear him; and as he had left his shoes by the side of the outer door, there was no noise whatever from his bare feet, Moro Trinmt'1 stood over her, and, as he did so, she moved uneasily in, her steep, turned, and said 'something, he could dot catch the words. 'Then some cruet t'h'oughts passed suddenly through alis mind. Gitnga knew too much; :,a blow of his knife would rsil- ence for ever all "ehance.of disclosure of what had been done for Radha; the gold he had to give her would be saved. There was a large well or cis- tern behind the house; the wall of the backyard htutg ever It; it was a place where the women of the town washed their clothes, and was so held to be unclean. That would hide her. A lloorlee. What'-loorlee had not jeal- ousies and strifes? 'Wllho'rwould care for her? And he drew the dagger and stood over her in an attitude to strike. Why he hesitated he could never tell;, certainly it was not from fear. Perhaps some lingering 'feeling of compassion for one 5o young—per- haps oung. per -haps the memory of souse caress - stayed the blow for an instant, for lie dill not strike The light fell full on her eyes and face as she turned, and she smiled and awoke suddenly. "I dreamed of thee, beloved," she said, stretching out her arms to him, "and thou art here— But why the knife " she continued, quickly sitting up as the light gleamed on the blade. "\forot- tI 11 fear thee; why dost thou look' at me so? Mil" and she co- vered her eyes with her hand, expect- ing death. "Only to cut these strings," he said, with a hard laugh, recovering himself and dividing the cord tchich was tied round the paper containing the gold anklets. "Look, Gunge!" and ie held them up to the light, and shook them till the little belle on theta clashed gently. "Thou art good," she said, looking up as he ,held them above her, stili shaking theta; "they are very, very beautiful, but thou wilt not give them to me, for thou hast not got Tara. Ahl thou hast just come from her, and wilt not give them. Go! go back to 'heel" "But my sister is her father's wife, and these are heavier than Tara's. I have not broken faith with thee, Gun- ge," he replied, "nor my oath at the ,Pap -pas Temple. Take them-- they are thine henceforth. „Anel now wilt. than go with 'lie, Gunge? I have Pre- pared a horse for thee, and Biheeaua can wall:.,, "To t'he end of life," cried the girl, who had risen to her knees to pttt on the anklets, and who now clasped his feet, --,"to the end of Hie! Kill tune if thou wilt, Moro Trimtnul, who would care? It would be no pain to Gunge." CHARTER IX.. A thick heavy rain was falling, which had lasted', nearly all day with- out -intermission; and the afternoon was now advanced. The sky was one uniform dark tint of grey,in which near the horizon, some yeellowis'h, lur- id colour occassionally- appeared. IDarlc masses of cloud caste up slow- ly from ,tate south-west at times, caus- ing a deeper gloom as they passed ov- erhead, accom'panie'dby bursts of rain, which sometimes fell in sheets; deluging the ground, and daslhing up muddy spray from the soft earth. The air was -,stifling; and there was .a strong sulphurous smell' with the rain, which increased the disagreeable effect of the close; hot atmosphere. ISotnetimes a gentle breeze hardly st f- ficient to give the rain a slanting i dir- ection, 'arose, and felt refreshing; but as the heavy clouds passed, it died away, and the rain .fell perpendicularly again, with a constant monotonous plash, which, coming from a wide plain, sounded like a dell -rear. 'Little could be seen of 'thePlain' it - l -elf; for' n,was he'r rain Y t ir 'Its luck to''allItoworal 'of "any distance `to atpoe pear definitely, but there was a stea- ray mist rising from the previously 1 had become detached from the par- enttrunk, and were upheld by stems which had been, pendant roots, and, had struck 1 ito the ground. These portions, if anything were more bare and more gnarled atecl twisted than the parent tree arose loftily into the air, and with the salineeffect" we have. already .noticed, The larger boughs and stems were ful(o holes�l , hicir sheltered ,numer- ous colony of small grey owls whose bright yellow eyes :stared from be- hind large boughs and anal of crev- ices in the trunks, or from among the "ornattenb of. he roof -of the temple t stP below awhile they kept up a perpet- ual twittering, as if t11ey conversed roget!her, as perhaps they did; Qti' 'bright days lizards, i'erge and small,, Crept out of crev'i'ces -and basked in the sun; and among them a family' of huge black ones, with bright eyes, and scarlet t'hroats, w'hlich they infint- e'd as shay appeared to swell with im- portance. "Shepherd boys believed these to be evil spirits, and if they wore brave,: pelted them with stones, or if otherwise ran off, as one: at theist issued fo'rt'h and looked about heated earth, which increased) the al- ready existing dimness and gloom, Sometimes a few trees in the vicinity, which a-ppeared tall and ghostly its the grey light and thick air, stood out more in detail as the rain slackened for a ,ttshi'le,and seemed; to give pro- mise of brealcing; and on these oc- casions two villages became visible) dimly; one of them nearly a mile dis- tant, the other perhaps half a •mile fartehr, situat'e'd to the right and left of what in dry weather, Was a well - 'beaten read -track, but iitlajc'h could oil to be known as such,bybeing nowa bare of grass and by the slightly tamed battles, coveted here and there by !ow bushes, which bounded it. The place we are about to descrl'be cceupied the summit of a small 'emin- ence, below which, in a valley water- ed by a rivulet, was a village sur- rounded ,by tall. crops of grain, now corning into ear, mingled with ,fields of -cotton, as yet very low, and pulse, and other cereals, generally about waist-ilrigh, This difference in the height of the crops leftthe the val- ley comparatively open; .and the road - track could befollot %ed lay the eye, v;lhenever the Mist and rain cleared a' little—through the fields to the gate of the first village, before which there was an openpiece of ground; past a small Hindu temple surrounded with trees, and pp a slight ascent beyond,. to a plain along which it continued till it disappeared among the tall jo- wa'ree fields and other cultivation of the next village. These' two ;villages were called bhe greater and fess Kitt- IS'oan large' holes, too, near the top of the (tree, eon'tained 'horned owls whi'c'h, if attracted by, any noise, salt, with stupidly -grave; aspect and wide sauces -eyes, : looking cl'o'wn' upon the road—'the tuft. Of feathers over 'the'ir ears alternately erected and e!epresls- ed—til'l they flew'otttrwith a loud hoot to look for same mare iutdis'turibed 're- treat. These owls, great and _ small, with lizards,; had ,the tree, for the mast part, to t•hentselves, Probably Th -e valley, or hollow,' was little ,there was ; not enough' foliage to more t'han's, descent in the indulation 'tempt other birds to nest there; 'for' of the country; bttt, wslien t'he 'rain except an occasional wandering flock fell .heavily at tate nearer village, so of 'chatterin'g'parrognets, mynas; or as to.almost conceal it, the effect from even green pigeon's, none frequented the eminence we, describe was, as it b ,day, By night, however, it was though it were actually deep and otherwise. for it was then the 'roost - broad; and roost-broad;and then also'the farther vial- ing'place of the vultures, eagles and age, with its trees, appeared distant other carrion birds of the district, and sonte'times Was not visible at all. with whom the awls did not appar Titus alternating, as sometimes plain- enily interfere, ly in view, and at others not to be At the back partly'behin'd the par - seen, these villages appeared to he en -t tree and the heap of stones was a r DR.. F. j. B'EOHELY, graduate • objects of deep interest to three Wren ;small and ,evidently ancient.' H'inchi Royal 'College -of. Dental Surgersse, who occupied the spot we have just tent'ple, consisting of ot-ie ,chamber Toronto. ,Office over W. R. Sbieles mentioned. Occasionally, and as the rand' a porch. The chamber wase not grocery, Main St., ' Seaforth. Phaoaes; rain cleared a little, one or other of much larger than suffice'dfor its Pure office 105W, residence 185J. thein would, proceed to the top of a pose of "worship and was too low to heap of stones near a -t hand; and look iadaltit of a tint standing upright, The anxiously along' the line of road, past 'Ipo'nch, which was supported in front the fields and the open space before Iby two roughly -hewn stone pillars, the gate •olf the first- K'inny. up the lwsas sonteWhat larger; and the three 'ascent beyond, and aver the plain to men we have mentioned, were enabled •tate second; .and there were moments to sit in it comfortably, protected when a titan on horseback might eas- from the rain, The doorway was War- ily have been descried even at the row and 'low, and the insideof the further village, certainly at the sec- chamber was dark; but a smell P'hel- and, -or between them, had such a per- lie emblem could be seen within, set son been upon the road; but on one upon a low altar, and -a rudely sctlp- appeared. :tuned stone bull, in a sitting posture, The spot was remarkable as the 'had originally been placed before the highest point' for a long distance ei- porch facing- the image, The tetnplc, ther way upon the road -track; and image, and brill showed that .the grove indeed, ' had the day been ' clear, a ,lewd been originally dedicated to Siva. large extent of 'country could have or Mah'adeo, in the form of that an - 'been seen frown it in all directions,. cien't `pillar and ca'lf" worship so fa - Now, how•over, the view* was very ti-: tal to the Israelites of old, and tv'hich tnited; and on the opposite sides from for them had a strange, fascinations the two villages no'thin'g could be The temple was ,cleserted, and, ex - sons but a plain, thinly covered with Copt on the annual festival of the god, grass and bushes, and strewn thickly whets conte priest from a neighboring evict black stones, which, tsttcuttit-at- village swept out the chamber, ed as it was for 01ilcs, looked doubly 'brought lights and hung a few gar-' desolate through. the misty air, being lands -of jessamine and marigold flow-. partially cowered with pools of water ars -over 11, no one ever came with in I�lutual'Fire Insurance Ces of a yellowish brown colour, the re- 'teat to worship, and the place was stilt of the present rain. Ower this utterly neglected. - Last year's gar plain, three roads or paths diverged lands were now but dry brown leaves OPYFICEiRS from the place the men occupied. Tisa hanging to a cotton thread; the chant-: Geo. R. McCartney,. Seaforth - Pees.. main track, w'h'i'oh had the appearance her was dirty, and strewn With dead. James, Connolly, Goderich - Vice -St. of being sotnnwih'at beaten, was leaves; the stone bull in front was Merton A. 'Reid, Seaforth'S•ec.-"Teas- broader than the others, and led west- overthrown, and lying on its side, and AGENTS: w'ar'd to the town of ,Allund, about six even 'in b.right'sutshsne the place pre- W. E. Hin'chtey, Seaforth; folic miles distant,—the others to villages, seated a melancholy, deserted ap- IMurray, R. R. 3, Seaforth; E. from two to four utiles to the south pearance. Sometimes, in the heat of Jarmoubh, B'rod'hagen;• James Watt, and west. 4h:e day, .village lads, in charge of •B'lyrh; C. F. Hewitt, Kineardir,r;