Browning? Well, it is at least noteworthy that most of them are of what he would have termed, recurring to the phraseology of the Shelley preface, the objective kind. Here is the list of those which may fairly be so accounted: The Reverie of Poor Susan, The Complaint of a Forsaken Indian Woman, Goody Blake and Harry Gill, The Danish Boy (a fragment), The Farmer of Tilsbury Vale, The Power of Music, and Stargazers. Those remaining, which for the moment we will term reflective, are Rob Roy's Grave, Dion, The Eclipse of the Sun, 1820, and A Jewish Family. It is a curious and in some ways a baffling list. The fragmentary Danish Boy might puzzle anyone who had not read the prefatory note subsequently vouchsafed by Wordsworth: "It was entirely a fancy"-just as Browning's Childe Roland was-"but intended as a prelude to a ballad-poem never written." The beauty of the Complaint will be admitted by everyone. The Reverie, The Farmer of Tilsbury Vale, The Power of Music, and Stargazers are all-but especially the two first characteristic of the simple and pathetic manner in which Wordsworth deals with the joys and sorrows of unlearned and unsophisticated human beings. They are "dramatic idylls" whose directness would go straight to Browning's heart; nor would their appeal to him be lessened by the fact that they were all observed in London streets. Goody Blake and Harry Gill presents more difficulty. Its author, probably foreseeing incredulity, was careful to call it a true story. Otherwise we should have certainly supposed it to be a fiction that in consequence of old Goody's appeal to Heaven the farmer's teeth chattered for evermore! It was probably the very oddity of the thing that made Browning like it, for it is as bizarre as some of his own conceptions. The Fortnightly Review. To turn to the reflective pieces. Dion's majesty of phrase and thought would readily commend it to one who had himself dealt so signally and triumphantly with certain passages of Hellenic history, just as the Eclipse might attract him by its memories of Italian Family, scenery. A Jewish whose members Wordsworth saw at St. Goar, "extremely poor but very beautiful," might move him at once by its reference to Raphael and its tribute to a race whose attraction he felt deeply, and from whose history his own verse had repeatedly derived its inspiration. Last of all there is Rob Roy's Grave, and here, I venture to think, the affinity is deeper. worth heartily disliked the first Napoleon, and Browning as heartily disliked the third, in each case for much the same reasons. In the poem there is an effective contrast drawn between Rob Roy and Buonaparte. Words For thou, although with some wild thoughts, Wild chieftain of a savage clan, And had it been thy lot to live And battled for the Right. For thou wert still the poor man's stay, The poor man's heart, the poor ma 's hand: And all the oppressed, who wanted strength, Had thine at their command. The love of liberty; the will to defend it, by whatever individuals or combinations it be assailed; the desire to help others by teaching them to help themselves; these time-worn principles were among those which we believe to have been most deeply prized by the social and political consciences alike of William Wordsworth and of Robert Browning. Harry Christopher Minchin. A PLAN THAT FAILED. "For the wildest dreams of Kew are the facts at Khatmandoo, His Excellency Darab Nishan Pasha, elderly Notable of Mahal, a village of Upper Egypt, was no more happy under the British administration of his country than an Early Victorian Liberal would be under that of the Independent Labor Party. In the opinion of His Excellency there was far too much talk about liberty, an idea in itself subversive of social order; and the situation was not improved, from his point of view, by the recent appointment as Inspector of the Mudiria1 of a young and energetic Englishman, who listened with perfect readiness to the complaints of the fellahin. The effect of this unusual behavior upon the part of an Egyptian Government official produced an immediate result in Mahal. For the first time within twenty years, its Omda began to show signs of restiveness. No longer were the ghafirs sent in a body to work upon His Excellency's land. In place of twelve lusty fellows there would come but two or three; and on one black morning nobody came at all. In vain the Pasha protested that his work was urgent. The ghafirs replied simply that the new Inspector had bidden them to rest by day, in order to be more watchful at night. 2 Shortly after this distressing incident, cattle plague broke out, and the public sale of cattle was strictly prohibited. But His Excellency always maintained that administrative decrees were not intended to apply to Notables of the rank of Pasha; and, being overstocked at this moment, he disposed of his weak and aged animals to less fortunate neighbors at most profitable 1 Egypt is divided into fourteen Mudirias or provinces. 2 A village is administered by an Omda or headman, assisted by one or more Sheikhs el Balad; while public security is maintained by a force of ghafirs, or village watchmen. LIVING AGE. VOL. LVI. 2920 prices. In the end, however, the authorities swooped down upon an improvised market held on his estate, and actually summoned him, Darab Nishan Pasha, for contravening the Cattle Plague Decree. He bore this indignity with fortitude; but he was deeply incensed by the fact that some resident of Mahal must have acquainted the Mudiria of the existence of the market. If the Omda was the culprit, it was clearly desirable to reduce him without delay to his former state of dependence. Accordingly His Excellency determined upon a bold strike. He would become the son-in-law of the Omda. Now the latter possessed an only daughter, Fatima by name, whose future was a perpetual source of discussion among the ladies of Mahal. Fatima had been sent to a Government Girls' School in Cairo, where she had gained the Primary Certificate. Not content with that educational achievement, it was rumored that she was intent upon securing also the Secondary. During vacations she would visit her parents, and astonish Mahal hareems by expatiating upon her intimacy with a mysterious and omniscient being enjoying the honorable title of "Mees." " The fact that Darab Nishan Pasha already possessed the regulation number of wives presented no obstacle to his views regarding Fatima. Divorce is easy in Egypt, and he had been considering for some time the possibility of putting away his senior wife, a lady whose plain features and sharp tongue obviously marked her out for that fate. The Omda was unable to refuse so brilliant a match for his daughter, and he gave his consent at once. An astonishing hitch, thereupon, occurred. 3 Arabic rendering of the English word "Miss." The young lady, safe at the school in Cairo, refused the alliance. The Pasha could not credit the news. It was reported that Fatima, counselled always by "Mees," had refused his offer out of regard for her educational future. But the would-be husband did not believe that feminine folly could go to this length; and he set down his rebuff to the influence of her father. It was clear, therefore, that the latter could no longer be permitted to retain the Omdaship of the village. So His Excellency called into council Ibrahim, the Sheikh el Balad, between whose family and that of the Omda had existed undying jealousy dating from centuries. "O honorable Sheikh," began the Pasha, "I am grieved to see how the poor are oppressed in Mahal to-day. It was not always so." "No, Excellency," replied the Sheikh. "When my father was Omda, the village was contented. The poor had equal rights with the rich, and tyranny was unknown. The ghafirs worked on your Excellency's land by day, and slept peacefully at night. We were human beings then: now we are as animals of the field. My father suffered great injustice when the Government deprived him of his position. What crime had he committed, Excellency, to be publicly disgraced thus?" "What crime indeed," repeated his companion, "except that he was a poor man, like his honorable son." "God is generous," observed the Sheikh, who was perfectly aware of the part which the Notable had played in this ancient intrigue. place, the Government would not listen. Is it not so?" As a matter of fact, it was not; and the speaker and the Sheikh were both aware of that fact. But in Egypt conversation is permitted a certain amount of embroidery. By this time the Sheikh had understood that by hook or by crook the Omda was to be ejected from his post, and that his successor was to be himself. But as favors are rarely bestowed without some return being expected, he was anxious to know the price that he would have to pay for the Pasha's support. Accordingly he re-started the conversation with a non-committal remark. "God is merciful," he said. "Aye, and generous also," was the ready response. "Merciful, because He does not wish to see our village subjected to the cruel tyranny of its Omda; and generous, because He has pointed out to me, an unworthy but faithful servant, the means whereby the Government will drive him from the post." The speaker lowered his voice. "Our village must be given an evil reputation in the eyes of the Inglezi, who sit in the big offices of Cairo, reading and writing books," and the Pasha spat on the floor to express his profound dislike for these accomplishments. "The Inglezi will hold the Omda responsible for the trouble. He will be dismissed, and thou, O Ibrahim, wilt be appointed in his place. I have spoken." "But how can we attain this end? Are we to pull up the young crops?" "By no means. Destruction of crops is a crime according to Article No. 322 of the New Penal Code, and I, a Pasha, may not countenance a crime. Besides, such action would be useless, unless I suffered my own crops to be destroyed." "Let us then poison the cattle of the Omda." "Of no avail, unless our own suffer. Moreover, your suggestion would be also against my interests, for I have now no cattle to sell." The Sheikh had come to the end of his ideas. His companion stroked his beard and pondered. Presently he spoke. "O Honorable Sheikh, thou knowest the great white train which rushes nightly through Mahal, bearing pig-eating infidels to view. our ancient temples." The Sheikh nodded. "If this train is arrested without orders or warning, would it fare well with our Omda? Would not the Inglezi of Cairo shout loudly, 'Give us the body of this Omda, who allows his people to interfere with our works'?" "But the train is taught to stop only at the sight of a big red flag, or at the sound of a loud whistle, and we have neither." Suppose, O "Other means exist. Sheikh Ibrahim, thou art walking along the iron road bearing over thy shoulders a load of timber; and being greatly fatigued with the burden thou lettest it fall across the rails, in this manner," and the Pasha explained how two baulks, lashed at the centre, might be made to form an improvised cross, which, dropped on the permanent way, would form a very efficient obstacle to the progress of a train. "But will not the train itself be damaged?" "What matter?" replied the Pasha contemptuously. "The Inglezi officials will report that the engine was Americani, and in consequence unfit. Then they will secretly demand the punishment of the Omda of Mahal. I know their ways." "But if I am seen walking on the iron rails, shall I not be cast into prison?" "Not so; firstly, it will be dark, and secondly, no Article of the New Penal Code forbids this practice. The of fence is a contravention only (of which the penalty is a fine of £E1) against the railway regulations." This view of the situation had not occurred to the Sheikh. "By Allah," he exclaimed, "the task is not difficult. But your Excellency will not forget that I, Ibrahim, am a poor man.” "Thou speakest truly, O Sheikh; but once Omda, thou wilt become wealthy, and a Bey," This last argument was irresistible, and the pair proceeded to fix the night of the exploit and to discuss other details of the scheme. No sooner did the Sheikh leave the house, than the chief conspirator began to study the best means of proving a personal alibi on the night in question. He concluded the surest way of obtaining that object would be to spend that day and evening in the company of the British Inspector. To effect this object he must concoct some story which would appeal to the latter's imagination. After some cogitation he mounted his mule, and set off to visit the Inspector at Sarafia, the chief town of the Mudiria. Hercules White, Inspector of the Mudiria, had been imported from Oxford. As an undergraduate he had staunchly upheld the doctrine of the Brotherhood of Man; and at the Union debates he had constantly affirmed that the continuous subjection of Eastern people to the Anglo-Saxon race was detrimental to the moral welfare of both. His friends, therefore, were shocked when he announced his intention of joining the Egyptian Government Civil Service, although they conceded that Oxford's loss would be Egypt's gain. White, however, soon ceased to share any such illusions. The tale unfolded by the Pasha was peculiar. It appeared that he apprehended, on the following Saturday, an attack by brigands upon his estate at Ekait, a district to the north of Mahal; and he earnestly desired that the In spector himself should spend that night at the farm, in order to make sure of the arrest of its assailants. White had no doubt that such gentry actually existed in Ekait district; but he had understood also that his visitor maintained friendly and profitable relations with them. It was possible, of course, that he and his friends had now fallen out, and that this was a trap laid to crush them. So while the story had to be accepted with reserve, he saw no harm in giving a promise that he would accompany the Pasha to Ekait on the day fixed. The latter, inwardly amazed at the simplicity of British officials, took the next train to Ekait, where he spent the rest of the day in arranging with his servant the details of a convincing act of brigandage. In the meantime, the other conspirator also had been reflecting over the situation; and by some queer mental process he felt that his chief requirement at this moment was a litle moral support. So he proceded to drop sundry hints to Ayeesha, his wife, of the exalted fortune in store for him; and in a short time she was acquainted with the details of the plot, and was as ambitious for its success as her husband. Now it happened that Fatima was paying one of her periodic visits to Mahal; and from the day of the girl's arrival in the village, Ayeesha had been in a state of veiled irritation at the airs displayed by this superior young person. In the news, therefore, of her husband, Ayeesha saw a pleasing way of checking Fatima's pride. So assuming the habra, she picked her way to the Omda's house. The two ladies exchanged some formal, and untruthful, compliments; and after the visit had lasted a few minutes Ayeesha stood up to go. "At your next visit to Mahal, O Bint Fatima," she said, "many changes will have taken place." 4 Married women enjoy the prefix of Sitt, and unmarried girls that of Bint, in Egypt. "The world does not stand still, like Mahal, O Sitt Ayeesha," was the pert reply. "Yet, no doubt, you speak only the truth; for I do not think to see Mahal until three years have passed." "Three!" cried Ayeesha. "Yes; perhaps four even. I have been recently chosen to go to Inghilterra, at the expense of the Government." Ayeesha sat down heavily. Such a distinction as this would shed lustre upon any hareem. So Ayeesha sped her Parthian arrow. "Congratulations. It is well that you should succeed; for when you return a 'Mees,' your father no longer will be Omda." "How so? He cannot yet resign, seeing that his son has but eighteen years of age." 995 "There is no talk of resignation, but of dismissal; and my husband is to be named in his place." "Sheikh Ibrahim!" sneered Fatima. "You lie, Sitt Ayeesha. The Inspector would not permit it." "Inspector!" scornfully returned the other. "What has that son of an infidel (curse his father!) to do with the choice of Omda of Mahal? His Excellency the Pasha (upon whose head be all blessings) has already made known to Ibrahim his will upon the matter. Listen, O Fatima, to what I foretell. The great white train will be stopped without orders on Saturday night, and the Inglezi of Cairo will blame your father for neglect. He will be dismissed, my husband will reign in his stead, and Mahal will be happy." Like other ladies under similar conditions, Ayeesha had allowed her jealousy to overpower discretion. Ninety-nine per cent of Egyptian women would have paid no further attention to the speaker's words. But Fatima's wits had been sharpened in Cairo, and she left her father no peace until he B No man under age can be appointed Omda. |