Not by any means are the Studies meant to be exhaustive. I have left out of count the Anglicized and English-educated Indian, the capable woman who earns her own living, the cultured woman of the world or philanthropist. There was little to learn about her which a common language and the opportunity of intercourse might not teach any sojourner in India at first-hand. But these others of whom I have written seemed to justify in a very special sense the hour of my meditation.... They float elusive in the half-light between two civilizations, sad by reason of something lost, sad by reason of the more that may come to be rejected hereafter.... And none but God knoweth when will toll for them that final Hour of Union, and whether, when it is here, we shall be able to see the stars through the blue veil of the Light that lies slain for all Eternity. CONTENTS PAGE PREFACE vii I. THE STORY OF WISDOM 1 II. THE STORY OF DESTRUCTION 12 III. THE STORY OF A WOMAN 21 IV. _DEVI_--GODDESS! 30 V. THE SETTER-FAR OF IGNORANCE 44 VI. THE KING OF DEATH 53 VII. THE WISE MAN, “TRUTH-NAMED” 74 VIII. THE NASAL TEST--A STUDY OF CASTE 89 IX. THE MOTHERS OF FIGHTERS 106 X. THE QUEEN WHO STOOD ERECT 115 [1]XI. PORTRAITS OF SOME INDIAN WOMEN 128 XII. GARDEN FANCIES 150 XIII. A CHILD OR TWO 156 XIV. THE TIE THAT BINDS 176 [Footnote 1: “Portraits of some Indian Women” is reprinted from “The Nineteenth Century and After,” by the kind permission of the late Sir J. Knowles.] GLOSSARY _Amla_, officer of a household. _Bina_, a musical instrument (stringed). _Brahmin_, highest or priestly caste. _Didi_, elder sister. _Guru_, spiritual guide. _Jog_, Hindu Vedantic system of meditation and of acquiring sanctity. _Kincab_, gold brocade. _Khattriya_, the fighter: of the fighting or second highest Caste. _Mali_, gardener. _Mantras_, incantations. _Munias_, small speckled birds. _Namascar_, the salutation to the learned: and to a superior. _Pandas_, pilgrim guides at holy places. _Pooja_, worship of a God. _Pujari_, a Temple servant. _Purdahnashin_, she who sits behind the curtain: the secluded. _Sais_, groom.