“Butthisischildishandmediaevalnonsense！”
“Precisely；andfromyour，orratherour，pointofviewthepenismightierthantheswordInthiscountryit’sotherwiseThefaultliesinourIndianbalances，notyetadjustedtocivilizedweightsandmeasures。”
“Well，atallevents，thisliteraryclassrepresentthenaturalaspirationsandwishesofthepeopleatlarge，thoughitmaynotexactlyleadthem，and，inspiteofallyousay，Orde，IdefyyoutofindareallysoundEnglishRadicalwhowouldnotsympathizewiththoseaspirations。”
Pagettspokewithsomewarmth，andhehadscarcelyceasedwhenaweU
InthecaseoftheCongressmeetings，theonlynotablefactisthatthepriestsofthealtarareBritish，notBuddhist，JamorBrabmanical，andthatthewholethingisaBritishcontrivancekeptalivebytheeffortsofMessrsHume，Eardley，Norton，andDighy。”
“Youmeantosay，then，it’snotaspontaneousmovement？”
“Whatmovementwaseverspontaneousinanytruesenseoftheword？ThisseemstohemorefactitiousthanusualYouseemtoknowagreatdealaboutit；tryitbythetouchstoneofsubscriptions，acoarsebutfairlytrustworthycriterion，andthereisscarcelythecolorofmoneyinitThedelegateswritefromEnglandthattneyareoutofpocketforworkingexpenses，railwayfares，andstationery~themerepasteboardandscaffoldingoftheirshowItis，infact，collapsingfrommerefinancialinanition。”
“ButyoucannotdenythatthepeopleofIndia，whoare，perhaps，toopoortosubscribe，arementallyandmorallymovedbytheagitation。”Pagettinsisted。
“ThatispreciselywhatIdodenyThenativesideofthemovementistheworkofalimitedclass，amicroscopicminority，asLordDufferindescribedit’whencomparedwiththepeopleproper，h~itstillaveryinterestingclass，seeingthatitisofourowncreationItiscomposedalmostentirelyofthoseoftheliteraryorclerklycasteswhohavereceivedanEnglisheducation。”
“Surelythat’saveryimportantclassItsmembersmustbetheordainedleadersofpopularthought。”
“Anywhere-elsetheymightbeleaders，buttheyhavenosocialweight2~2
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appointeddog-cartturnedintothecompoundgates，andOrderosesaying：
“HereisEdwards，theMasteroftheLodgeIneglectsodiligently，cometotalkaboutaccounts，I
suppose。”
AsthevehicledroveupundertheporchPagettalsorose，sayingwiththetrainedeffusionbornofmuchpractice：
“Butthisisalsomyfriend，myoldandvaluedfriendEdwardsI’mdelightedtoseeyouIknewyouwereinIndia，butnotexactlywhere。”
“Thenitisn’taccounts，MrEdwards。”saidOrde，cheerily。
“Why，no，sir；IheardMrPagettwascoming，andasourworkswereclosedfortheNewYearI
thoughtIwoulddriveoverandseehim。”
“AveryhappythoughtMrEd-wards，youmaynotknow，Orde，wasaleadingmemberofourRadicalClubatSwitebtonwhenIwasbeginningp0liticallife，andIowemuchtohisexertions。
There’snopleasurelikemeetinganoldfriend，except，perhaps，makinganewoneIsuppose，MrEdwards，yousticktothegoodoldcause？”
“Well，yousee，sir，thingsaredifferentouthereThere’spreciouslittleonecanfindtosayagainsttheGovernment，whichwasthemainofourtalkathome，andthemthatdosaythingsarenotthesort0’peopleamanwhorespectshimselfwouldliketobemixedupwithTherearenopolitics，inamannerofspeaking，inIndiaIt’sallwork。”
“Surelyyouaremistaken，mygoodfriendWhyIhavecomeallthewayfromEnglandjusttoseetheworkingofthisgreatNationalmovement。”
“Idon’tknowwhereyou’regoingtofindthenationasmovestobeginwith，andthenyou’llbehardputtoittofindwhattheyaremovingaboutIt’slikethis，sir。”saidEdwards，whohadnotquiterelishedbeingcalled“mygoodfriend。”“Theyhaven’tg~tanygrievanc~nothingtohitwith，don’tyousee，sir；andthenthere’snotmuchtohitagainst，becausetheGovernmentismorelikeakindofgeneralProvidence，directinganold-establishedstateofthings，thanthatathome，wherethere’ssomethingnewthrowndownforustofightabouteverythreemonths。”
“Youareprobably，inyourworkshops，fullofEr~g’ishmechanics，outofthewayoflearningwhatthemassesthink。”
“Idon’tknowsomuchaboutthatTherearefourofusEnglishforemen，andbetweensevenandeighthundrednativefitters，smiths，carpenters，painters，andsuchlike。”
“AndtheyarefulloftheCongress，ofcourse？”
“Neverhearawnrdofitfromyear’sendtoyear’send，andIspeakthetalktooButIwantedtoaskhowthingsaregoingonathome-oldTylerandBrownandtherest？”
“Wewillspeakofthempresently，butyouraccountoftheindifferenceofyourmensurprisesmealmostasmuchasyourownIfearyouareabacksliderfromthegoodolddoctrine，Edwards。”
Pagettspokeasonewhomournedthedeathofanearrelative。
“Notabit，Sir，butIshouldbeif~tookupwithaparcelofbaboos，pleaders，andschoolboys，asneverdidaday’sworkintheirlives，andcouldn’tiftheytriedAndifyouwastopollusEnglishrailwaymen，mechanics，tradespeople，andthelikeofthatallTHEENLIGHTENMENTSOFPAGETT，M。P。
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upanddownthecountryfromPeshawurtoCalcutta，youwouldfindusmostlyinataletogether。
Andyetyo’Jknowwe’rethesameEnglishyoupaysomerespecttoathomeat’lectiontime，andwehavethepullo’knowingsomethingaboutit。”
“Thisisverycurious，butyouwillletmecomeandseeyou，andperhapsyouwillkindlyshowmetherailwayworks，andwewilltalkthingsoveratleisureAndaboutalloldfriendsandoldtimes。”addedPagett，detectingwithquickinsightalookofdisappointmentinthemechanic’sface。
NoddingbrieflytoOrde，Edwardsmountedhisdog-cartanddroveoff。
“It’sverydisappointing。”saidtheMembertoOrde，who，whilehisfrienddiscoursedwithEdwards，hadbeenlookingoverabundleofsketchesdrawn~ngreypaperinpurpleink，brought~ohimbyaChuprassee。
“Don’tletittroubleyou，oldchap。”’saidOrde，sympathetically。
“Lookhere~moment，herearesomesketchesbythemanwhomadethecarvedwoodscreenyouadmiredsomuchinthedining-room，andwantedacopyof，andtheartisthimselfisheretoo。”
“Anative？”saidPagett。
“Ofcourse。”wasthereply，“BishenSiaghishisname，andhehastwobrotherstohelphim。
Whenthereisanimportantjobtodo，thethreego’atopartnership，buttheyspendmostoftheirtimeandalltheirmoneyinlitigationoveraninheritance，andI’mafraidtheyaregettinginvolved，ThoroughbredSikhsoftheoldrock，obstinate，touchy，bigoted，andcunning，butgoodmenforallthatHereisBishenSingn-shallweaskhimabouttheCongress？”
ButBishenSingh，whoapproachedwitharespectfulsalaam，hadneverheardofit，andhelistenedwithapuzzledfaceandobviouslyfeignedinteresttoOrde’saccountofitsaimsandobjects，finallyshakinghisvastwhiteturbanwithgreatsignificancewhenhelearnedthatitwaspromotedbycertampleadersnamedbyOrde，andbyeducatednativesHebeganwithlaboredrespecttoexplainhowhewasapoormanwithnoconcerninsuchmatters，whichwereallunderthecontrolofGod，butpresentlybrokeoutofUrduintofamiliarPunjabi，themeresoundofwhichhadarusticsmackofvillagesmoke-reekandplough-tail，ashedenouncedthewearersofwhitecoats，thejugglerswithwordswhofilchedhisfieldfromhim，themenwhosebackswereneverbowedinhonestwork；andpouredironicalscornontheBengaliHeandoneofhisbrothershadseenCalcutta，andbeingatworktherehadBengalicarpentersgiventothemasassistants。
“Thosecarpenters！”saidBishenSingh“Blackapesweremoreefficientworkmates，andasforth~Bengalibabu-tchick！”Thegutturalclickneedednointerpretation，butOrdetranslatedtherest，whilePagettgazedwithin。terestatthewood-carver。
“HeseemstohaveamostilliberalprejudiceagainsttheBengali。”
saidtheM。P。
“Yes，it’sverysadthatforagesoutsideBengalthereshouldhesobitteraprejudicePrideofrace，whichalsomeansrace-hatred，istheplagueandcurseofIndiaanditspreadsfar。”Orde25~
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pointedwithhisriding-whiptothelargemapofIndiaontheverandawall。
“See！IbeginwiththeNorth。”saidhe“There’stheAfghan，and，asahighlander，hedespisesallthedwellersinHindoostan-withtheexceptionoftheSikh，whomhehatesascordiallyastheSikhhateshimTheHinduloathesSikhandAfghan，andtheRajput-that’salittlelowerdownacrossthisyellowblotofdesert-hasastrongobjection，toputitmildly，totheMarathawho，bytheway，poisonouslyhatestheAfghanLet’sgoNorthaminute。
TheSindhihateseverybodyI’vementionedVerygood，we’lltakelesswarlikeracesThecultivatorofNorthernIndiadomineersoverthemaninthenextprovince，andtheBeharioftheNorthwestridiculestheBengaliTheyareallatoneonthatpointI’mgivingyoumerelytheroughestpossibleoutlinesofthefacts，ofcourse。”
BishenSingh，hiscleancutnostrilsstillquivering，watchedthelargesweepofthewhipasittraveledfromthefrontier，throughSindh，thePunjabandRajputana，tillitrestedbythevalleyoftheJumna“Hate~ternalandinextinguishablehate。”concludedOrde，flickingthelashofthewhipacrossthelargemapfromEasttoWestashesatdown“RememberCanning’sadvicetoLordGranville，’NeverwriteorspeakofIndianthingswithoutlookingatamap。’“
Pagettopenedhiseyes，Orderesumed“Andtherace-hatredisonlyapartofitWhat’sreallythematterwithBisbenSinghisclass-hatred，which，unfortunately，isevenmoreintenseandmorewidelyspreadThat’soneofthelittledrawbacksofcaste，whichsomeofyourrecentEnglishwritersfindanimpeccablesystem。”
Thewood-carverwasgladtoberecalledtothebusinessofhiscraft，andhiseyesshoneashereceivedinstruc~tionsforacarvedwoodendoorwayforPagett，whichhepromised~houldbesplendidlyexecutedanddespatchedtoEnglandinsixmonthsItisanirrelevantdetail，butinspiteofOrde’sreminders，fourteenmonthselapsedbeforetheworkwasfinishedBusinessover，BishenSinghhungabout，reluctanttotakehisleave，andatlastjoininghishandsandapproachingOrdewithbatedbreathandwhisperinghumbleness，saidhehadapetitiontomakeOrde’sfacesuddenlylostalltraceofexpression“Speakon，BishenSingh。”saidhe，andthecarverinawhiningtoneexplainedthathiscaseagainsthisbrotherswasfixedforhearingb&
foreanativejudgeand-herehedroppedhisvoicestilllowertidhewassummarilystoppedbyOrde，whosternlypointedtothegatewithanemphaticBegone！
BishenSingh，showingbutlittlesignofdiscomposure，salaamedrespectfullytothefriendsanddeparted。
Pagettlookedinq~ry；Ordewithcompleterecoveryofhisusualurbanity，replied：“It’snothing，onlytheoldstory，hewantshiscasetobetriedbyanEnglishjudge-theyalldothat-butwhenhebegantohintthattheothersidewereinimproperrelationswiththenativejudgeIhadtoshuthimupGungaRam，themanhewantedtomakeinsinuationsabout，maynotbeverybright；buthe’sashonestasday-
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lightonthebenchButthat’sjustwhatonecan’tgetanativetobelieve。”
“DoyoureallymeantosaythesepeopleprefertohavetheircasestriedbyEnglishjudges？”
’Why，certainly。”
Pagettdrewalongbreath“I~idn’tknowthatbefore。”Atthispointaphaetonenteredthecompound，andOrderosewith“Confoundit，there’soldRasulAhKhancometopayoneofhistiresomedutycallsI’mafraidweshallnevergetthroughourlittleCongressdiscussion。”
PagettwasanaimostsilentspectatorofthegraveformalitiesofavisitpaidbyapunctiliousoldMahommedangentlemantoanIndianofficial；andwasmuchimpressedbythedistinctionofmannerandfineappearanceoftheMohammedanlandholder。
Whentheexhangeofpolitebanalitiescametoapause，heexpressedawishtolearnthecourtlyvisitor’sopinionoftheNationalCongress。
Ordereluctantlyinterpreted，andwithasmilewhichevenMohammedanpolitenesscouldnotsavefrombitterscorn，RasulAhKhanintimatedthatheknewnothingaboutitandcaredstilllessItwasakindoftalkencouragedbytheGovernmentforsomemysteriouspurposeofitsown，andforhisownparthewonderedandheldhispeace。