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THE WRECK

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as a young girl of great beauty, who would brighten the drab house with her vivacity and winning ways and whom it would be a delight to deck in her treasured finery. Such anticipations provided die old lady with material for many a pleasant day-dream.

Kshemankari's own habits were those of an ascetic, but though she spent nearly the whole day in prayer and ceremonial observances, taking but one meal of milk and fruit, she strongly disapproved of Nalin- aksha's austere mode of life. Undue insistence on ritual she considered unbecoming in a man. She re- garded men as mere overgrown children and displayed a large-hearted and affectionate tolerance towards such of them as showed lack of restraint or discrimination in matters of eating and drinking.

"Why should a man be severe on himself?" she would ask indulgently. Actual impiety should not be condoned but she had a settled conviction that rules were not intended for menfolk. She would have been quite satisfied had Nalinaksha exhibited in a modified degree the thoughtlessness and selfishness of the nor- mal male, had he merely refrained from disturbing her at her prayers and carefully avoided contact with her at times when his touch was ceremonially de- filing.

When Kshemankari rose from her sick-bed she was vastly tickled to find not only that Hemnalini had be- come an enthusiastic convert to Nalinaksha's teach- ing, but that the grey-haired Annada Babu also sat at his feet and hearkened to his dicta with the reverence due to the inspired utterances of a prophet.

She took Hemnalini aside one day and laughingly remarked, "My dear, I am afraid you people are en- couraging Nalinaksha in his foolishness. Why do you pay any attention to the nonsense he talks? At your age you should be enjoying life thoroughly ; you should be thinking of clothes and amusements instead of re-

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