THE MEETING. 
187 
head : “ thou art polluted, and canst never more 
cross my path without casting the taint of contami- 
nation upon this now spiritualised frame.” 
His tone, though stern, was not harsh, and his 
eye scanned the beautiful woman who stood before 
him, with an earnest gaze which at times melted into 
tenderness. The Brahminee, perceiving her power, 
approached the devotee in spite of his interdiction. 
He no longer shrank from her presence, but raised his 
hand to forbid her touching him. 
May I be heard,” she asked imploringly, “ in ex- 
planation of a wrong in which I was culpable from 
necessity, not from choice V* 
He remained silent when the trembling penitent 
told him that she had quitted his home and her 
own under the most cruel compulsion. 
“ Come with me,” he cried, interrupting her with a 
quivering lip and blanched cheek, " and let me hear 
at length the particulars of a story in which I am so 
sadly interested.” 
He now preceded her to the ferry which separated 
Ramiseram from the main land. This they crossed. 
She followed him to a small hut in the suburbs 
of a miserable village. Ordering her to seat herself 
on the ground before the door, he listened with in- 
tense earnestness to the history of his own wrongs, 
which were summed up in hers. As she proceeded, 
his conscience was disturbed by the foul suspicions 
he had cast upon her. It was evident that she had 
been rather a victim than a criminal, and he felt 
already anxious to restore her to his confidence and 
to his love. The desire of domestic happiness began 
