CHILDHOOD AND EARLY EDUCATION 7 



So this young Jagadis, mounted on the dacoit's side, had 

 a glorious half-hour or more each way, his infant mind 

 being fed with all the stories of his new guardian's adventures 

 one for each of the spear-thrusts and arrow-wounds from 

 the old fights of his wild days, which had covered his breast 

 and arms with scars. Tales of the assembling dacoits and 

 of their attacks on a village, with suddenly lighted torches 

 and loud war-cries, to scare the people and take them un- 

 awares. Yet tales also of the courage of the defenders, now 

 of their defeat and robbery, or again of their successful 

 resistance ; tales of his own narrow escapes and of the 

 death of companions, or their capture, and finally of his 

 own : all these tales and more were vividly told again and 

 again to the wondering child. So here at first-hand was 

 that romantic arousal to the dangers and adventures of life, 

 for which most youngsters have to depend on books alone, 

 as of Red Indians for modern Western boys, or of highway- 

 men or pirates in their grandfathers' time. After a year of 

 this companionship, young Jagadis was given a pony ; and 

 this became a part of the charge of the dacoit, who was always 

 as honest and faithful a servant as could be. Once indeed 

 he had a special opportunity of proving himself true to his 

 salt. On one of the family's visits to the old family home 

 at Vikrampur, on Mr. Bose's annual vacation-leave, a long 

 boat journey, a suspicious-looking boat, with many rowers, 

 dashed out of a creek, and made after them : plainly dacoits, 

 from whom there seemed r no escape. But now our tamed 

 dacoit rose to the occasion : he jumped up on the boat roof 

 and, standing erect to be recognised, gave a long and peculiar 

 call. It was at once understood and accepted, for the 

 pursuers straightway turned round and disappeared. This 

 man remained with the family for four or five years in all, 

 until Mr. Bose's promotion to Burdwan, when he returned 

 to his native village, armed with the respectable record 

 of a magistrate's old servant, behind which no one need 

 inquire. Are criminals often thus kindly and wisely 

 treated ? If not, have not the world's magistratures, 



