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BT COHDON- WESTLAKE.
BOM BAT. April 4. (Special Corres
pondence.) An American girl,
young, attractive and of wealthy
and prominent family, leading, quit
unsupported and almost uncounten
sneed hy any church or missionary so
ciety, a sweeping reform movement
among that most unprngressl ve of all
the great sects of the Kast. the Hindus
of India: That picture surely requires
a stretch of the Imagination to conjure
up In fancy.
But .is ! actually happening, never
theless. Tsis little story, despite its
Oriental origin, is no Arabian Nights
phantasy, but merely a plain, unvar
nished account of the. manner in which
a resolute younc -allfornlan girl with
an abundant fund of good health, vitality
and courage and a sublime measure of
confidence in the reality of her call to
take upon her own slender shoulders a
labor that well intent have (riven pause
to the treat Atlas himself, is leading
and driving mostly the later at the
present stage of the game a large
number of bright but unpractical Hin
dus In a movement that is destined to
work untold benefit to a race of people
more numerous than the combined pop
ulations of America and Kngland.
The evils, even the atrocities, of the
degraded Hinduism of the present day
are numerous, but the Indian Govern
ment, in pursuance of Its politically
wise, but often humanly neglectful pol
icy of non-Interference with native cus
toms, haa only taken measures to eradi
cate the most flagrant of them. The
Thugs, a caste devoted to the gentle
pastime of strangling In pure wanton
ness, in the satisfaction of the grew
some dictates of their perverted form
rf Hinduism, were stamped out by stern
measures many years ago. and the prac
tice of "suttee. or the burning of wid
ows, once universal amongst Hindus,
haa been almost -a completely brought
to an end. The Berrlahs and other
criminal tribes of robbers by caste, are
kept under close surveillance and are
even, thanks to a number of remark
able Industrial colonies directed by the
Salvation Army, in the way of appar
ent social reform.
An evil, however, worse In many
ways than any of these, because affect
ing an Infinitely larger number of peo
ple, that of child marriage, has been
practically left alone by the Indian
(Government. It Is true that the age
of consent has been raised to 11 years,
with a heavy penalty for Infraction:
but so averse are the Hindus to giving
testlmonr against one another In mat
ters of this kind, and so reluctant Is
the Indian Government to allow its
agenta to penetrate behind the closely
drawn screen of the senana the gen
eral term for the women'e quarters ,
BT STANLF.r JOHNSON.
;iU :j HANSCOMBE. win you
11 please look over these reporta?
i h too husv today to do
it: but I must know In a few words
what Is In them to report to tha di
rectors tomorrow. I shall, of course,
lock them over myself, later."
Miss Hanscombe came for them and.
returning to her desk, was soon a ob
livious of the rest of the world as If
she were reading the most popular cur
rent novel.
Two hours later she placed on her
err. plover' desk a neatly executed type
written abstracter their contents. Cur
ing her luncheon hour she reviewed
the four years she had served as the
private stenographer of Kennlston
Bradley, the much overworked treasur
er ef "the ITnited Metals i. Supply Com
pany cf America."'
She recalled the day she came, when
Mr. Bradley had taken pains to tell her
l.-.at she was an experiment.
"Mr. Corcoran, my last stenographer,
was perfect In his execution: but un
fortunately he would go on sprees, and
has several times left me In the lurch,
when 1 needed him most. There had
been several before him. alt excellent,
but none absolutely reliable: that qual
ity 1 must lave. Hence, aaalnst my
t-et Judgment I've come t-v employ ou
tr.t is. i mean, a woman. .". I did
not mean Just that but. you know. In
hustr.eas "
Tl e sentence was never finished: Mr.
Biadley seemed to feel that excuses
were hopele. and wisely stopped
"ort. Mls Hanscombe happily discov
ered. In the apparently rude remark, a
compliment to her sex.
She smiled as she recalled the scene.
S:ie traced t-.e change that had come
over him from that day t this. How
her CtUi of usefulness had widened In
an almost Imperceptible manner. Just as
M sreat river broadens towards Its
mouth. It was a matter of conscious
pride to her tet today she had given
t a treasurer the very words that he
would use at a meeting of the direc
tors cf a great corporation.
Tiien all these reflections ended In
a sigh one of those unconscious sighs
which others notice, but which we our
i'vt hardly -realise.
That evenlnr Miss Hanscombe read
in t:ie public library, and beside her.
looking over t.e various magazines In
a detu.tory manner. wa the causa of
the sigh Holton Dodge.
TMs man embodied the Ideal of Miss
Hanscombe a simple, painstaking life.
:i the pictures of her imagination, ail
,the scenes of her day dreams, were o
many portrait of him. And this be
tas lonj before she fcU written the
nm
r
that the law Is practically a dead letter.
The cold, dispassionate pages of the
last Government census) showed as
tounding figures -egardlng child mar
riages amongst the Hindus. There
were 10.507 baby girls under 1 year of
age. 251.70 girls umler 4. I.I01.404
girls from ( to . and .01.75 girls
from 10 to 14 years of age married to
men of all ages.
By law none of these child wives
may take up family relations until
they have attained the age of IZ; In
practice this law la disregarded at any
time the husband and the parents of
the child come to an agreement. Out-
Me the unspeakable Inhumanity of
this custom from a bodily standpoint,
quite as great. If not a greater wrong
Is wrought In the Infliction of the
hideous state of Hindu widowhood
unon children who may never have
seen their husbands nor realized the
meaning of their marriage ties.
Here again are government census
figures snowing the children who.
through no act or volition of their own.
re left In so pitiable a condition ot
neglect and semi-slavery that the
banned custom of attaining quick sur
cease on a husband's funeral pyre
confidential letters of the treasurer ot
the United Metals and Supply Company
of America.
She read In silence for over an hour.
Her evening- bill of fare had been an
article on the Boers, a critic's analysis
cf Dante's "Purgatorio." and for des
sert a story by Henry James. Then
she turned with a glance of contented
happiness to her lover. They rose, and
quietly left the reading-room.
Mlns Hanscombe gave her mLnd a
pasturage of an hour or more each day.
-I can be with you. Holton. Just the
same." she said, "and there is no rest
more satisfactory than reading with
yon near by."
In Miss Hanscomhe'a eyes, her lover
was an Ideal man. He also represented
a very real fact a woman's love. She
held radical ideas of her own on the
subject. The world would have cer
tainly considered the question a debata
ble one: but with her it was an axiom.
Miss Hanscombe was not indifferent
ly pretty. Tet she was all that the
world the often mistaken world sup
poses the genus stenographer is not.
Her hair curled easily about her neck
and had an attractive way of atraylng
down her forehead. She preserved an
unvarying neatness about her person.
Every point of her being spoke elo
quently of health both of mind and
body.
Later Impressions of Miss Hanscombe
would be that she was purposeful at
least to the point of gaining from life
the best that was In It. Her percep
tion or the highest good was higher
than the average. The mutual friends
ot the lovers never ceased to wonder
upon what common ground they stood.
None approved of the marriage that
was to take place some time In the re
mote future. As the years flew by. and
their devotion to each other grew
stronger, the outside world feared for
Miss Haneeomba'a happiness. She her
self would have Insisted that they were
entirely suited to each other. 0
She had been tested in many ways:
yet in some matters ahe bad had no ex
perience to guide her. But even in
these ahe Jieid theories, and to them
she had no doubt she would adhere,
were she to face the real exigencies.
In the business world she was Miss
Hanscombe stenographer always, fhe
never forgot the worus. which were her
Introduction to her employer. During
the first few months Mr. Bradley ad
dressed her only concerning her duties.
But in thla brief period he observed
certain traits which differentiated Misa
Hanscombe, the stenographer, from
Mls Hanscombe. the woman.
The fart that she surpassed any man
who had held the same position, quite
possibly did not Influence him to ac
cept her as a tjpe of her sex. But ht
or .
Such is The Tark Thai:
Brave American Girl
Has Set Henrelf T0.1
Carrie A. Tennant Pushes Whirlwind Campaign
That Is Shaking Even the Changeless East Con
servative Hindus Are Stirred Frdm Apathy Ten
Thousand Girls Married When One Year Old
How Plucky American Conducts Her Work.
i 1 - '
might be deemed merciful In compari
son. There were In India when the
census was taken 59 widows of 1 year
of age. 1039 of 1 to 3. 1888 of 2 to 3.
37JS of to 4. 10 of 4 to 5. 78.407 of
6 to 10. and 227.37 from 10 to 15 years
old.
The foreign missionaries have made
and are still making a brave (i?ht
aealnat child marriage. but. being
Christians, no way is open to them
save through the conversion of the
Hindus to their own faith, which means
that deliverance, through them, must
wait on the glacial advance of Chris
tianity. I'nfortunately Christinnity so
far may be said to have made prac
tically no headway aave amongst the
membera of the very lowest castes
the sweepers, the water carriers and
the scavengers Ignorant wretches for
the most part and. of course. quite
without influence on the Hindus of all
the higher castea. A few of the latter.
It Is true, have been converted to
Christianity, but that action has au
tomatically deprived them of their
power and standing amongst their
own people.
With the Indian Government for po
litical reasons Indifferent, and the
soon became accustomed to her pres
ence, and his self-imposed Invasion of
his private office by a woman lost Its
tearfulness.
At the end of her first six months
he realised the value of her services
enough to tell her. In his direct, business-like
manner, that she was entitled
to a higher salary.
"Yoii are worth as much as a man to
me. Miss Hanscombe, hence I feel that
you should be paid as much. In fact
I'm bound to say that you surpass any
man I ever had In the office."
Miss Hanscomhe's "thank you" be
trayed no surprise. More of the re
sponsible duties ot the business rested
upon her shoulders as time passed.
Often, when the day's work slackened
up. her employer talked with her on
subjects he was wont to discuss with
older men at his club books and pol
itics, art and philosophy, and the plain
er problems of life. He was somewhat
surprised with himself kt first: he had
a doubt of the propriety of a high-class
tuslnres man discussing such matters
with his stenographer. Then he real
ized that hia atock of informa
tion was Invariably enriched by
it He talked au the same sub
jects with more relish and under
standing at his club, and they remarked
that "Bradley was becoming a deuced
clever conversationalist."
Kennlston Bradley had never mar
ried. The feminine world was a loser
thereby, for ha had all the elements
that go to the making of a good hus
band. His business lite was so strenu
v
1 N
foreign missionaries for religious rea
sons Impotent, It was plain that if
anything like immediate reform was to
be accomplished it must come through
the Hindus themselves, and this fact
many-of the more enlightened members
of that sect have long been coming to
realise. Child marriage, outside of its
Tameless inhumanities. Is striking at
the mental and physical vigor of the
race In bringing Into the world a large
number of offspring of Immature moth
ers, feeble in mind and body. The
force of this latter condition quickened
action, and three years ago that dis
tinguished scholar and philanthropist,
the late Rai Bahadur Norendra Nath
Sen, founded, in Calcutta, the Hindu
Marriage Reform League, the five
avowed objects .of which were as fol
lows: To raise the marriageable age of
boys and girls and to spread education
among girls on a wider scale than at
present.
To educate public opinion on the
question of marrlsge reform by means
of lectures, books, pamphlets, tracts,
leaflets and by such ntuer means as
may be found expedient.
To obtain a sufficient volume of Hln-
ous that he wanted nothing outside of
his office but rest and peace. The
world knew him only as a thorough
business man. "None better," they
would say. Ha had. in fact, developed
his corporation from a provincial Into
cosmopolitan organization.
He had been Inclined to congratulate
himself upon his single state. The
only feminine touches in his life. In
fact, were furnished by Miss Hans
combe and by no means of her seek
ing. The transition Into conversational re
lations was quite as imperceptible to
Mls Hanscombe. She enjoyed sharpen
ing the edges of her own ideas. Hol
ton, although he la very dear to me, has
no taste for- good conversation," she
would think to herself.
Superiority, fortunately, as far as hu
man commodities go, has not yet been
cornered by those who compose the
ruling class. It is the word of all
others which most fitly described Miss
Hanscombe. And yet she would not
have been able to understand why her
simple attainments were not within the
reach of all. ,
Nothing would have surprised or hor
rified her more than the discovery that
her employer's Interest In her should
develop into something deeper. It would
have been equally amazing to him. Yet
his gentle feminine friends would have
said that it was the Inevitable and log
ical result of propinquity.
Miss Hanscombe had never mentioned
her lover within the four business walls
of her daily routine. She had resolved
that she and Holton Dodge were to
marry, some day when he succeeded.
But he had never yet succeeded. Much
as his poor existence meant to Hiss
Hanscombe. he was, unfortunately, of
no consequence to anyone else. His life
thus far waa a failure. There were
many months when he had nothing to
do, and had It not been for Miss Hans
combe's savings, he would have been In
want. Miss Hanscombe deemed it the
fault cf an unappreclatl ve world and
the world had other views.
Kennlston Bradley was getting sev
eral years away from 40. The fact oc
curred to him more frequently as time
went on. He pictured himself as an
old man, retired from business, with
plenty of money, but with no real horn
or companionship. Then, in his own
practical manner, he decided to win
Miss Hanscombe as. his wife. He had
not come to the conclusion without
realizing that it would be a great shock
to the little social group in which he
moved. But that was mostly the club
now women had given him up and
c-eased to pester him. Miss Hanscombe
fitted the picture of -what he desired as
a home. It gave him visions of pleas
ant evenings, reading and discussing
matters of real importance. Compan
xr k rr.r a nil is r ovz
3 I LUvJKArl4LK z-
XL
6. W
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Jz.s CZfrVcz' Wyis. 22fee
du public opinion to have the effect
of modifying the system of early mar
riage to an appreciable extent in the
near future.
To minimize marriage expenses and
dowries).
To take steps generally for the ex
tension and promotion of the above
mentioned objects.
Branch organizations were founded
at a number of other points in India,
each unde r distinguished patronage and
each numoering among its members all
of the enlightened Hindus of Its im
mediate' section. There was a round
of speechmaklng. a rush of pamphlets
and well, that was about the sum to
tal of results. The Bengali and Ma
drassi. quick and clever to conceive
and organize, as the Indian government
has good cause to know In the case of
the former, are slow to take the Ini
tiative and prone to falter in action.
High and clear minded as many of
them are, they are woefully lacking in
energy, resource and determination,
those three prime necessities of the
true reformer. The movement faltered
and bade fair to fail.
About this time a young Californl-
glrl. then engaged in social reform
work In the poorer quarters of Los An
geles and vicinity, heard of the hor
rors incident to Hindu child marriage,
interpreted the absorbing interest
which the story aroused in her as a
call of duty, and not heeding the re
monstrances of friends and co-work
ionship has a big role to play in the
drama of love when a man is over 40.
Business customs had become so
much a habit with him that he was ab
surdly deficient, when he approached
a campaign of courtship. It was a part
of his commercial code to find how the
other man stood before he committed
himself. It would be better, he decided,
to know Miss Hanscombe's mind be
fore he revealed his own.
He had talked with her on almost
every topic except love: her views In
tills he did not know. He found it an
extremely difficult subject to approach,
with her.
One day Miss Hanscombe came in
I
with a copy of a leading review, which
she had been reading during the noon
hour. He picked it up. and noted that
the leaves were cut where there was an
article on divorce by a leading re
former. "Ah, Miss Hanscombe!" he exclaimed.
"Have you any Interest in this topic?"
And he placed his finger on the title
of the article.
"Yes, indeed. Mr. Bradle-," she re
plied. "So few people realize the fear
ful recklessness, the outrageous
thoughtlessness and Ignorance with
which marriage is treated in these
days."
"lou amaze me. Miss Hanscombe!" In
the vernacular of the telephone, Mr.
Bradley was connected and was listen
ing. "It Is a dreadful stain upon our civ
ilization." Miss Hanscombe continued.
"We need a National divorce law, Mr.
Bradley, more than a aeed a Army
e-p-
ft
V
, zc- s3
41
r
:3
ers in California who deemed her pre
cipitancy little short of madness, she
packed up forthwith and started for
India. The rest of the btory is writ
ten in the reports of the Hindu Mar
riage Reform League and the pages of
the vernacular press; the movement
has had scant attention from Euro
peans In India, and I cannot give a
better .idea of the prominence Miss
TenriXnt has 'attained in less than two
years than by quoting an extract from
a recent editorial in a local paper on
the subject.
"The Importance of the work which
Miss Carrie A. Tennant, the gifted
American lady who Is honorary rep
resentative of the Hindu Marriage. Re
form League, has been doing for the
past three years for the good of the
Indian people can hardly be exagger
ated. Her mission, as our readers
know, is to make us realize the full
significance of the marriage rite and
to put off tho marriage of our girls
and boy3 to a more reasonable age
. . . . Miss Tennant comes to us
with a message of humanity which we
must listen to betimes if we would ar-
rest the deterioration of our race, go-
ing back to the saner custom of ancient
India. Indeed. Miss Tennanfs is not a
revolutionary propaganda, but a timely
call to us to halt In qur race to ruin,
and it Is not surprising that she has
succeeded in enlisting the sympathies
of the best men amongst us on behalf
of her cause. The names of Sir Ashu-
or a Navy. Our present laws allow a
most atrocious state of affairs. The
way marriages are contracted and
abandoned is, to my mind, 'a greater
stain on our, country than the mas
sacres in Turkey, or even the affair at
Klshineff."
"I am very much surprised." Mr.
Bradley interjected, using the bellows
to fan the flames. "Just think, .Miss
Hanscombe, of being lashed like sail
ors to the mast, to some useless, ship
wrecked creature "
"A very excellent simile, Mr. Bradley.
It expresses just what I mean. The
frightfulness of it all lies in this, that
we and our courts regard so lightly the
most solemn and most sacred of all
human contracts. You, yourself, make
contracts in business which, if you
broke them, would make you feel that
your business reputation had been shat
tered. When people marry the world Is
called in to witness, and it is advertised
widely that a life contract has been en
tered into, by a man and a woman. But
our courts permit such contracts to be
broken on the most trivial grounds. In
my opinion, there should be no di
vorce." .
"Well, I must say. Miss Hanscombe,
you - astonish me. In fact, I've never
really given the matter much serious
attention, as I see you have. But It has
seemed to me that there are many oc
casions, when it was csrtainiy a bless
ing to "
"Mr. Bradley," Miss Hanscombe inter
rupted, "when I marry a man it will
be because I love him. It will make no
difference to me, as far as my devo
tion is concerned, if he turns out to
be a drunkard, a ne'er do well, or even
a criminal. I shall never forget that I
am his wife, and that, because he is
what he is, he needs me. He may be
cruel, may cause me infinite suffering.
He may be despised by everyone else.
Is that the time for me to tear myself
away from him? To Join the rest of
the world and cast him away? Then,
if love and marriage mean anything, is
the time for me to prove my fidelity
to the solemn contract I made with
him. To help him and be true to him,
to raise him and give him courage for
better things!" There were tears on"
Miss Hanscombe's face when she had
finished.
Her employer looked thoughtful.
"Miss Hanscombe." he faltered, "you
have the best Ideals in life that I have
ever heard expressed. To win you, I
should regard as the greatest hanor
a man could wish. To be worthy of
your love "
"You do not understand me." she in
terrupted. "To be unworthy would
be my test of a man. , I trust I could
endure it."
He seized the moment. "Miss Han
acomba. I've long realized that you
f
VS.
- &y-i&S7r
tosh Mukerjee and Sir P. N. Krishna
murthi are guarantee that her mission
has the best Indian opinion on its side
. . . . We have no doubt that be
fore many months have gone by, every
important center will have a branch of
the Marriage Reform League, and it
remains for the Indians themselves to
seo that the noble work Miss Tennant
Is engaged In bears early and ample
fruit."
Miss Tennant Is drawing no remu
neration of any sort from the Reform
League, her living and traveling ex
penses being paid by herself from
funds of her own and from the con
tributions of several American friends
she has interested in her work. It Is
as clear a case of a "labor of love" as
I have ever encountered, and the ab
solute disinterestedness of her efforts
has doubtless been a strong factor in
winning her way to the confidence of
the ultra-conservative Hindus.
Realizing at the outset with a Judg
ment as rare as surt that, however laud
able the effort might be, the effecting
of marriage reform must wait for gen
erations if It relied on the conversion
of the Hindus to Christianity, Miss
Tennant set about reconciling that re
form with the ancient and purer re
ligion of that race, and it Is to her
constant hammering along this wisely
chosen line of least resistance, that may
be credited the biggest share of her
success. She has been an earnest stu
dent of Hinduism and has a large fund
of quotations from its early literature
to show conclusively that child mar
riage In earlier times, though permis
sible, was not obligatory to true Hin
dus. " "Our religion Is in danger, has been
your repeated cry wher.ever you have
been urged to give up this pernicious
custom." she perorated In a recent lec
ture to Calcutta University students:
"but now that I have shown you that
it is in absolue conformity with the
ment as rare as sure that, however laud
to take unto yourselves wives of ma
ture years, wives your equal in both
physical and mental development. I
hope I have heard the last of that
foolish protest." And there is no de
nying the fact that the protests are
waxing feebler before the whirlwind
force of Miss Tennant's campaigns and
that the erstwhile stagnant reform has
been galvanized into very lively life. m
The force of Miss Tennanfs personal
ity, her energy, her resourcefulness are
carrying the day for the reformers. She
has the courage to ask anybody be
he coolie or Maharajah. She is never
squelched, never beaten, never discour
aged, and to see her chivvy about a
stage full of her bemedaled and be
titled sponsors at one of her lectures
is a show in itself.
"I don't know why it is," said the
(Concluded on Paira .)
that I well, really, it's hard to express
it." he said smiling, "but for a long
time, to tell you directly, I've wanted
to win you as my wife! Will you marry
me?"
"No, Mr. Bradley," she replied. VI
was engaged before I ever knew you. I
have chosen the man I shall marry. I
love him, I am sure shall love him al
ways as the service says, 'for better
or for worse." " t '
Kennlston Bradley showed his aston
ishment in a way that was not pleas
ant to see. Then he turned suddenly,
and with more emotion that he had ex
hibited in years, extended his hand.
"Miss Hanscombe, I want to thank
you for what you have been to me for
so many years. I've shown you some
appreciation. I hope. Now let things
go on as before. I've no more profound
respect for any one than for you and
for your lover, whoever the fortunate
man may be. my sincere congratula
tions." t
When Holton Dodge was out of work.
Miss . Hanscombe generally helped to
find "a place. A few weeks after these
events, an important vacancy took place
in the United Metals & Supply Com
pany. She told him to apply for It, and
he sent in his references.
"This Is the place that will end all
our waiting, dearest," she said. "You'll
have to travel for them for a while; but
later there will be a place in the firm
for a faithful fellow like you."
A few days later, Mr. Bradley handed
a letter to Miss Hanscombe. "You just
answer that for me," he said "You
know what to say. Just thank him for
saving- us."
As he went out. Miss Hanscombe
picked up the letter, and went to her
desk. It read as follows:
My Iear Bradley:
Answering your Inquiry, I could not sd
vlae you to engage Holton Dodge. He wn
with us for about a year, when we discov
ered there waa something wrong with his
money returns to the cashier. -
",-e confronted him with the facts, and he
broke down and confessed. In some way
he secured enough money to make the firm
whole. I believe by lorae story he told to
his sweetheart. Bhe, I understand. Is a sav
ing little woman, and worships him. She
knows nothing about the fellow, and wilt
have to marry him to find out, I suppose.
We pitied him enough to give him a letter
that we had employed him. Since then he
has been in half a dozen different places.
I have too high a regard for you and our
business relations not to give you the facts
of course In the strictest confidence. Very
truly yours. C. L. CLEMENT.
Mgr. Federal Lead Co.
Miss Hanscombe swayed for a second
In her chair and sobbed. But in a mo
ment she struck the keys In her usual
gentle, sure manner. She placed the
letters on her employer's desk. Her
day's work was ended; she put on her
jacket and walked out,
(Copyright by Shortstory Pub. Co.)