“... I actually forgot myself,” Dicky repeated. “When an American
forgets himself, Nagar, you can be sure a big show is being pulled
off.... I’ve smoked too much, talked too much. I am going to lie down
for a little--until breakfast.... Bed! Think of having a bed, in
Amritsar. A bed with sheets.... Out there so many were lying on the
ground. Oh, I say, Nagar, where will they put them all?”
The Hindu’s cool, slim fingers reached over and touched his hand. He
didn’t speak, just kept his hand still, and Dicky found it easier to
stop talking, because of that hand; easier to endure the furious forces
of activity in his brain. Finally Nagar spoke:
“I had to stay with the students. They wanted to go to the _maidan_.
That would not have been well, but it was well for you to be there--to
forget yourself there through the hours. It will come forth from you
for years--not as the voice of an American, but as a citizen of the
world. You have prepared long; last night India found you prepared, and
dared to show you something of herself. Miss Claes would be very glad
to be here with us this morning.”
Dicky’s mind fumbled with the idea that he had not only come closer
into the Indian heart, but into Nagar’s as well.
“You might sleep a little until breakfast. I shall not leave you
until after that. You are very tired and spent, but you will not be
injured from last night. When a man forgets himself, as you say, he is
strangely replenished.”
But Dicky did not sleep. They breakfasted early and Nagar arose, saying:
“... In the days that you remain in Amritsar finishing your work (for
last night will mean more and more to you as the days go on) you and I
shall not be much together. What you see in Amritsar--you must watch
without feeling or partisanship. One cannot tell--you may see strange
things. Remember, always remember, that you are American; that as an
American you have no enemies, and belong to the world. In the fusion of
all Europe, which America is, to form a new type of nobility, remember
that no country has furnished a nobler ingredient--than England. And
forgive my many words, Richard, if I ask you to remember this also:
that anything which might happen to me here in Amritsar in the days you
remain, must never make you forget that you have a message to carry to
America.”
“I don’t understand, Nagar.”
“It is difficult to say. I can only repeat: Anything which might happen
to me in this city must not arouse in you a personal or partisan
effort to help me. We must be strangers--unless I come to you alone.
The English are beside themselves; they know not what they do. You
must have no feelings about me--to betray you. Go further into the
English. Forget me--except as a part of your own source of kindness and
strength.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account