DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.5834#0218
THE MEETING.
1S7
head: "thou art polluted, and canst never more
cross my path without casting the taint of contami-
nation upon this now spiritualised frame."
His tone, though stern, was not harsh, and his
eye scanned the beautiful woman who stood before
him, with an earnest gaze which at times melted into
tenderness. The Brahminee, perceiving her power,
approached the devotee in spite of his interdiction.
He no longer shrank from her presence, but raised his
hand to forbid her touching him.
" May I be heard," she asked imploringly, " in ex-
planation of a wrong in which I was culpable from
necessity, not from choice ?"
He remained silent when the trembling penitent
told him that she had quitted his home and her
own under the most cruel compulsion.
" Come with me," he cried, interrupting her with a
quivering lip and blanched cheek, " and let me hear
at length the particulars of a story in which I am so
sadly interested."
He now preceded her to the ferry which separated
Ramiseram from the main land. This they crossed.
She followed him to a small hut in the suburbs
of a miserable village. Ordering her to seat herself
on the ground before the door, he listened with in-
tense earnestness to the history of his own wrongs,
which were summed up in hers. As she proceeded,
his conscience was disturbed by the foul suspicions
he had cast upon her. It was evident that she had
been rather a victim than a criminal, and he felt
already anxious to restore her to his confidence and
to his love. The desire of domestic happiness began
1S7
head: "thou art polluted, and canst never more
cross my path without casting the taint of contami-
nation upon this now spiritualised frame."
His tone, though stern, was not harsh, and his
eye scanned the beautiful woman who stood before
him, with an earnest gaze which at times melted into
tenderness. The Brahminee, perceiving her power,
approached the devotee in spite of his interdiction.
He no longer shrank from her presence, but raised his
hand to forbid her touching him.
" May I be heard," she asked imploringly, " in ex-
planation of a wrong in which I was culpable from
necessity, not from choice ?"
He remained silent when the trembling penitent
told him that she had quitted his home and her
own under the most cruel compulsion.
" Come with me," he cried, interrupting her with a
quivering lip and blanched cheek, " and let me hear
at length the particulars of a story in which I am so
sadly interested."
He now preceded her to the ferry which separated
Ramiseram from the main land. This they crossed.
She followed him to a small hut in the suburbs
of a miserable village. Ordering her to seat herself
on the ground before the door, he listened with in-
tense earnestness to the history of his own wrongs,
which were summed up in hers. As she proceeded,
his conscience was disturbed by the foul suspicions
he had cast upon her. It was evident that she had
been rather a victim than a criminal, and he felt
already anxious to restore her to his confidence and
to his love. The desire of domestic happiness began