LITERATURE. 63 



i hey pondered silently lor a while, tlien Kan looked round ami suddenly exclaimed, 

 " Aroci ! Arooi ! " and in an instant the birds who had been roosting close l)y in the shadow 

 of the clouds flapped their wings, and, their bright eyes wide open, they were at once ready 

 and waiting upon her. 



" My son," said the mother, " go home and wait for nu-." 



" Mother, where art thou going ? " 



" (;o home, my Ijcloved child, l)e gentle with thy lather, whatever may come to pass. 

 He is thy father, renuMiilier it ; do not (pianel with him, do not forget thyself. Wait for me. 

 I shall not be long." 



"But where art thou going, Mother? I'l'll me?" 



" Poor child ! " answered the mother . ..." 1 am going .... \o. 

 I will not tell thee now. (io home .... I »<) not grieve," and she took him in her arms 

 and kissed him with all the might of her in art. 



" I'll not be long," said she, stealing away. 



"Mother! Mother!" 



She looked back without stopping, and said : 



" Hush ! Not a word ! " and so she left him, murmuring to herself, " .Men give blows, 

 women soothe them, woman is born to heal wounds." 



As she stepped on to her couch of clouds, she looked back once more and, seeing her 

 son motionless and depressed, looking after lur, she said to herself, " Poor child I 1 must 

 not let him see that I am sad," and turned her head in the oj^posite direction, but .ifter an 

 instant she could not resist taking one last look to see if he had moved or il lie were still 

 in the same position, a tear came to the brim of her eyelids, she felt a swift tlirill jiass over 

 her warm cheeks, and between her treml)lins Iii)s expired these words, . . . " .My Ijabe ! 

 My son ! " 



When Kari had left his presence, Timu sat solemn and siknt whilst the clouds of anger 

 cleared gradually from his brow; the excitement being over, he was ])robal)ly thinking about 

 what had taken place, and looked somewhat uneasy, he got up and walked about slowly, 

 his hands behind his back, now with his head bent forward on his chest and his vacant eyes 

 riveted on some imaginary object of interest at his feet, now witli his licnd erect and eyes 

 lost in the dxity of distraction, .\fter a while he stopped and took suddenly an attitude of 

 determination, saying aloud, " It is well done ! She deserved it ! .Vuthority must I)e main- 

 tained. I am master, and everything is well. 1 feel myself again. Authority ! Strength ! 

 Will ! Fine attributes ! I wonder that I haw so long allowed this nonsense to go on. Is 

 it not my duty to stop what I do not approve ? Am I to be made a laughing stock because; 

 Kari, in growing old, has become foolish? It is what always befalls the husband who allows 

 his wife to follow her own will." 



After this monologue he felt not only relieved i)ut satisfied and j)leased witli iiimself, 

 and w'ould perhaps have remained so for all eternity had it not Ijei-n that the old Ivarooja, 

 the nurse of all his children, presently came into his presence and was the cause of a diversion 

 in the train of his thoughts. 



" \\'elcome, Karooja," said Timu. " Wliat hast thou to ask of me? " Thou knowest 

 that in acknowledgment of thy faithful and devoted services I have nothing to refuse thee. 

 What is the object of thy request? " 



" I thank thee, my Lord, with all the strength of my heart, but 1 fear that thou could'st 

 not grant a poor old servant — ■ — ■ • ." 



" What ! What dost thou mean? Do not think that my exalted power can make me 

 forgetful. Hast thou not been the second mother of my children ; hast thou not reared all 

 of them but the last one, and I would that thou hadst had his training also, he would then have 

 been taught to conduct himself in a manner worthy of me . . . Is not his wild behaviour 

 a proof of the merit thou hast had in bringing up the others? They all came from thy hands, 

 the pride and glory of their father, and I bless thee for it. A woman such as thou is a 



