首页 >出版文学> The Works of Rudyard Kipling One>第58章
  “Heiswell,andhesendshissalaam,buthiscircumstancesaredepressed,andbealsoisdownonhisluck。”
  “YoulearnEnglishidiom“attheMissionCollege,itseems。”
  “Yes,sir,theyarethebestidioms,andmyfatherorderedmetoaskyourhonortosayawordforhimtothepresentincumbentofyourhonor’sshoes,thelatchetofwhichheisnotworthytoopen,andwhoknowsnotJoseph;forthingsaredifferentatShershahnow,andmyfatherwantspromotion。”
  “Yourfatherisagoodman,andIwilldowhatIcanforhim。”
  AtthispointatelegramwashandedtoOrde,who,afterglancingatit,saidhemustleavehisyoungfriendwhomheintroducedtoPagett,“amemberoftheEnglishHouseofCommonswhowishestolearnaboutIndia。”
  OrdebadscarcelyretiredwithhistelegramwhenPagettbegan:
  “PerhapsyoucantellmesomethingoftheNationalCongressmovement?”
  “Sir,itisthegreatestmovementofmoderntimes,andoneinwhichalledvcatedmenlikeusmustjoinAllourstudentsarefortheCongress。”
  “Excepting,Isuppose,Mahommedans,andtheChristians?”saidPagett,quicktousehisrecentinstruction。
  “Thesearesomemereexceptionstotheuniversalrule。”
  “ButthepeopleoutsidetheCollege,theworkingclasses,theagriculturists;yourfatherandmother,forinstance。”
  “Mymother。”saidtheyoungman,withavisibleefforttobringhimselftopronouncetheword,“hasnoideas,andmyfatherisnotagriculturist,norworkingclass;
  heisoftheKayethcaste;buthehadnottheadvantageofacollegiateeducation,andhedoesnotknowmuchoftheCongress。
  Itisamovementfortheeducatedyoung-man“-
  connectingadjectiveandnouninasortofvocalhyphen。
  “Ah,yes。”saidPagett,feelinghewasalittleofftherails,“andwhatarethebenefitsyouexpecttogainbyit?”
  “Oh,sir,everythingEnglandowes260
  WORKSOFRUDYARDKIPLING
  itsgreatnesstoParliamentaryinstitutions,andweshouldatoncegainthesamehighpositioninscaleofnationsSir,wewishtohavethesciences,thearts,themanufactures,theindustrialfactories,withsteamengines,andothermotivepowersandpublicmeetings,anddebates。
  Alreadywehaveadebatingclubinconnectionwiththecollege,andelectaMrSpeakerSir,theprogressmustcomeYoualsoareaMemberofParliamentandworshipthegreatLordRipon。”saidtheyouth,breathlessly,andhisblackeyesflashedashefinishedhiscommalesssentences。
  “Well。”saidPagett,drily,“ithasnotvetoccurredtometoworshiphisLord-ship,althoughI
  believeheisaveryworthyman,andIamnotsurethatEnglandowesquiteallthethingsyounametotheHouseofCommonsYousee,myyoungfriend,thegrowthofanationlikeoursisslow,subjecttomanyinfluences,andifyouhavereadyourhistoryaright“-“SirIknowitall-all!
  NormanConquest,MagnaCharta,Runnymede,Reformation,Tudors,Stuarts,Mr。
  MiltonandMrBurke,andIhavereadsomethingofMrHerbertSpencerandGibbon’s’DeclineandFall,’Reynolds’
  MysteriesoftheCourt,’and“-~agettfeltliteonewhohadpulledthestringofashower-bathunawares,andhastenedtostopthetorrentwithaqtlestionastowhatparticulargrievancesofthepeopleofIndiatheattentionofanelectedassemblyshouldbefirstdirectedButyoungMrDmaNathwasslowtoparticularize。
  Thereweremany,verymanydemandingconsiderationMrPagettwouldliketohearofoneortwotypicalexamples。
  TheRepealoftheArmsActwasatlastnamed,andthestudentlearnedforthefirsttimethatalicensewasnecessarybeforeanEnglishmancouldcarryaguninEnglandThennativesofIndiaoughttobeallowedtobecomeVolunteerRiflemeniftheychose,andtheabsoluteequalityoftheOrientalwithhisEuropeanfellow-subjectincivilstatusshouldbeproclaimedonprinciple,andtheIndianArmyshouldbeconsiderablyreducedThestudentwasnot,however,preparedwithanswerstoMrPagett’smildestquestionsonthesepoints,andhereturnedtovaguegeneralities,leavingtheM。PsomuchimpressedwiththecrudityofhisviewsthathewasgladonOrde’sreturntosaygood-byetohis“veryinteresting“youngfriend。
  “WhatdoyouthinkofyoungIndia?”askedOrde。
  “Curious,verycurious-andcallow。”
  “Andyet。”thecivilianreplied,“onecanscarcelyhelpsympathizingwithhimforhismereyouth’ssakeTheyoungoratorsoftheOxfordUnionarrivedatthesameconclusionsandshoweddoubtlessjustthesameenthusiasmIftherewereanypoliticalanalogybetweenIndiaandEngland,ifthethousandracesofthisEmpirewereone,iftherewereanychanceevenoftheirlearningtospeakonelanguage,if,inshort,IndiawereaUtopiaofthedebating-room,andnotarealland,thiskindoftalkmightbeworthlisteningto,butitisallbasedonfalseanalogyandignoranceofthefacts。”
  “Butheisanativeandknowsthefacts。”
  “HeisasortofEnglishschoolboy,butmarriedthreeyears,andthefatherTHEENLIGHTENMENTSOFPAGETT,M。P。
  26。
  oftwoweaklings,andknowslessthanmostEnglishschoolboys。
  Yousawallheisandknows,andsuchideasashehasacquiredaredirectlyhostiletothemostcherishedconvictionsofthevastmajorityofthepeople。”
  “Butwhatdoeshemeanbysayingheisastudentofamissioncollege?IsheaChristian?”
  “Hemeantjustwhathesaid,andheisnotaChristian,noreverwillhebeGoodpeopleinAmerica,ScotlandandEngland,mostofwhomwouldneverdreamofcollegiateeducationfortheirownsons,arepinchingthemselvestobestowitinpurewasteonIndianyouthsTheirschemeisanoblique,subterraneanattackonheathenism;thetheorybeingthatwiththejamofseculareducation,leadingtoaUniversitydegree,thepillofmoralorreligiousinstructionmayhecoaxeddowntheheathengullet。”
  “Butdoesitsucceed;dotheymakeconverts?”
  “Theymakenoconverts,forthesubtleOrientalswallowsthejamandrejectsthepill;butthemereexampleofthesober,righteous,andgodlylivesoftheprincipalsandprofessorswhoaremostexcellentanddevotedmen,musthaveacertainmoralvalue。
  Yet,asLordLansdownepointedouttheotherday,themarketisdangerouslyoverstockedwithgraduatesofourUniversitieswholookforemploymentintheadministrationAnimmensenumberareemployed,butyearbyyearthecollegemillsgrindoutincreasinglistsofyouthsforedoomedtofailureanddisappointment,andmeanwhile,trademanufactures。
  andtheindustrialartsareneglected,andinfactregardedwithcontemptbyournewliterarymandarinsinposse。”
  “Butouryoungfriendsaidhewantedsteam-enginesandfactories。”saidPagett。
  “Yes,hewouldliketodirectsuchconcernsHewantstobeginatthetop,formanuallaborisheldtobediscreditable,andhewouldneverdefilehishandsbytheapprenticeshipwhichthearchitects,engineers,andmanufacturersofEnglandcheerfullyundergo;andhewouldbeaghasttolearnthattheleadingnamesofindustrialenterpriseinEnglandbelongedagenerationortwosince,ornowbelong,tomenwhowroughtwiththeirownhands。
  And,thoughhetalksgliblyofmanufacturers,herefusestoseethattheIndianmanufacturerofthefuturewillbethedespisedworkmanofthepresentItwasproposed,forexample,afewweeksago,thatacertainmunicipalityinthisprovinceshouldestablishanelementarytechnicalschoolforthesonsofworkmenThestressoftheoppositiontotheplancamefromapleaderwhoowedallhehadtoacollegeeducationbestowedonhimgratisbyGovernmentandmissionsYouwouldhavefanciedsomefineoldcrustedTorysquireofthelastgenerationwasspeaking’Thesepeople,’hesaid,’wantnoeducation,fortheylearntheirtradesfromtheirfathers,andtoteachaworkman’ssontheelementsofmathematicsandphysicalsciencewouldgivehimideasabovehisbusiness。
  Theymustbekeptintheirplace,anditwasidletoimaginethattherewasanyscienceinwoodorironwork。’AndhecarriedhispointButtheIndianworkmanwillrisein202
  thesocialscaleinspiteofthenewliterarycaste。”
  “InEnglandwehavescarcelybeguntorealizethatthereisanindustrialclassinthiscountry,yet,Isuppose,theexampleofmen,likeEdwardsforinstance,musttell。”saidPagett,thoughtfully。
  “Thatyoushouldn’tknowmuchaboutitisnaturalenough,fortherearebutfewsourcesofinformationIndiainthis,asinotherrespects,islikeabadlykeptledger-notwrittenuptodate。
  AndmenlikeEdwardsare,inreality,missionaries,whobypreceptandexampleareteachingmorelessonsthantheyknowOnlyafew,however,oftheircrowdsofsubordinatesseemtocaretotrytoemulatethem,andaimatindividualadvancement;therestdropintotheancientIndiancastegr’ove。”
  “Howdoyoumean?”asked~“Well,itisfoundthatthenewrailwayandfactoryworkmen,thefitter,thesmith,theengine-driver,andtherestarealreadyformingseparatehereditarycastes。
  YoumaynoticethisdownatJamalpurinBengal,oneoftheoldestrailwaycentres;andatotherplaces,andinotherindustries,theyarefollowingthesameinexorableIndianlaw。”
  “Whichmeans?”~ueriedPagett。
  “Itmeansthattherootedhabitofthepeopleistogatherinsmallself-contained,self-sufficingfamilygroupswithnothoughtorcareforanyinterestsbuttheirown-ahabitwhichisscarcelycompatiblewiththerightacceptationoftheelectiveprinciple。”
  “Yetyoumustadmit,Orde,thatthoughouryoungfriendwasnotabletoexpoundtbef~iththatisinhim,yourIndianarmyistoobig。”
  “NotnearlybigenoughforitsmainpurposeAnd,asasideissue,therearecertainpowerfulminoritiesoffightingfolkwhoseinterestsanAsiaticGovernmentisboundtoconsiderArmsisasmuchameansoflivelihoodascivilemployunderGovernmentandlawAnditwouldbeaheavystrainonBritishbayonetstoholddownSikhs,Jats,Bilochis,Rohillas,Rajputs,Bhils,Dogras,Pahtans,andGurkbastoabidebythedecisionsofanumericalmajorityopposedtotheirinterestsLeavethe’numericalmajority’toitselfwithouttheBritishbayonets-aflockofsheepmightasreasonablyhopetomanageatroopofcollies。”
  “ThiscomplaintaboutexcessivegrowthofthearmyisakintoanothercontentionoftheCongresspartyTheyprotestagainstthemalversationofthewholeofthemoneysraisedbyadditionaltaxesasaFamineInsuranceFundtootherpurposes。
  YoumustbeawarethatthisspecialFamineFundhasallbeenspentonfrontierroadsanddefencesandstrategicrailwayschemesasaprotectionagainstRussia。”
  “Buttherewasneveraspecialfaminefundraisedbyspecialtaxationandputbyasinabox。
  NosaneadministratorwoulddreamofsuchathingInatimeofprosperityafinanceminister,rejoicinginamargin,proposedtoannuallyapplyamillionandahalftotheconstructionofrailwaysandcanalsfortheprotectionofdistrictsliabletoscarcity,andtothereductionoftheannualloansforpublicworksButtimeswerenotalwaysprosperous,andthefinanceministerhadtochoosewhetherbewouldbanguptheinsuranceschemeforayearorimposefreshTHEENLIGHTENMENTSOFPAGETT,M。P。