356 THE TOWER OF KOAT-VEN. 



pression of delight and surprise as he exclaimed, " Good Heavens, 

 brother, how late you are to-day ! I was sadly anxious. Here is your 

 milk, brother, take it while it is warm brother brother." But the 

 brother heard him not, and continued his walk towards the garden, 

 while the other followed him timidly, carrying the bowl of milk in 

 his hand. 



The man for whom the bowl of milk had been prepared was the 

 learned astronomer Rumphius, who had been for some time occupied 

 upon the astronomy and religion of the Hindoos. He was a short 

 man, of a brownish olive-coloured complexion, with an enormous 

 bust, which contrasted strangely with his diminutive arms and legs. 

 His nose was very long and spattered with daubs of snuff, eyebrows 

 thick and gray, and the most awkward gait possible. The knee-ties 

 of his old velvet breeches were negligently flowing down his legs ; 

 his stocking, for he had but one, was twisted in spiral folds around 

 one of his legs, whilst the other remained quite bare. One foot bore 

 upon it the remains of a slipper, while the other had found its way 

 into the wrong shoe. His shirt was unbuttoned and neck uncovered. 

 One arm only was inserted into the sleeve of his dressing-gown; the 

 other floated behind him like the sleeve of a hussar's jacket. To 

 complete the picture of this musing philosopher, his hair stiffened into 

 points, and, in snake-like disorder, escaped in tufts from beneath an 

 old damask cap, which had once been blue, placed sideways upon his 

 head. 



Sulpice, who was aware of the impossibility of arousing his brother 

 from his meditative abstraction by the simple aidof his voice, led him, as 

 he was frequently obliged to do, insensibly towards the wallof the house. 

 As soon as Rumphius stumbled against this obstacle he was restored 

 to himself for a moment, and fell from the airy regions of thought to 

 the terrestrial atmosphere. Sulpice seized with delight the auspicious 

 chance, and thrust the dear bowl of milk into his hand, and he tossed 

 it off at a single draught. Taking advantage of his position, Sulpice 

 kneeled at his feet for the purpose of improving the appearance of his 

 brother's legs." In the mean time Rumphius having emptied the bowl 

 brought it mechanically to the level from which he had received it, 

 and, there being nothing ready to support it there, it fell to the 

 earth and was shattered to atoms. 



The crash brought Sulpice upon his legs. " Good God ! brother," 

 said he in a tone of mild remonstrance, " you should have called me 

 you have broken the bowl to atoms.'' " So it is," said Rumphius, 

 with an air of surprise ; " the bowl is^broken. Well, Sulpice, such is 

 the simple offering with which the worshippers of Vishnu kneel before 

 their god a simple broken vessel! while they invoke the grace of 

 Nandy Kichara, the king of birds, who has magnificent wings, a 

 sharpened beak, and who feeds on serpents. They break before him 

 a vase of baked clay, after having most respectfully touched with 

 it their nostrils and their great toe. Isn't that truly primitive, Sulpice ? 

 For they conceive that this Nandy Kichara is one of the seven stars 

 of which when the " here the voice of the astronomer became mute, 

 and he doubtless finished the description to himself, for his abstrac- 

 tion was always so complete that he forgot entirely his interlocutor, 



