Adventure Magazine Cover, October 30, 1924 — page 126: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

116 “No,” said the lama; “‘the essential thing is that every one shall understand the play. Give the women’s parts to that woman. Distribute the others at random.” Maitraya with a shrug chose the biggest scroll for himself and distributed the others. Samding beckoned to Dawa Tser- ing; who got up leisurely as if in doubt whether obedience was not beneath his dignity now that he had changed masters. Samding gave him a scroll, which he carried to Ommony; but neither Samding nor the lama gave a glance in Ommony’s direc- tion. . The scroll was written in Urdu in a fine and beautifully even hand, heavily cor- rected here and there by some one who had used a quill pen. It looked as if Samding might have written and the lama perhaps had revised. ‘There was no title at the head, but the part was marked ‘The Saddhu,”* and the*cues were carefully included. To get light enough to read by, Ommony sat at the edge of the platform with his face toward the lama, and presently began to chuckle. There were lines he liked, loaded with irony. > while Maitraya glanced over his own fat part and consulted stage directions in the margin; it was he who first broke silence: “O ye critical and all-observing gods!” he exclaimed. ‘“This is modernism, is it! Who will listen to a play that only has one king in it and no queen and no courtiers— but a shoemaker and a goatherd and a seller of sweetmeats and three low-caste women with water jars, and only one sol- dier—he not a general but a sepoy, if you please!—and a wandering saddhu and no vizier to support the king, but a tax gath- erer, and a camel driver and a village head- man and two farmers—and for heroine— what kind of a heroine is this? A Chinese womane And what a name! San-fun-ho! Bah! Who will listen to the end of sucha play?” “‘T will be the first to listen,”’ said the lama dryly. ‘Let us begin reading.” “And not even a marriage at the end!” Maitraya growled disgustedly. ‘‘None mar- ries the king—not even the Chinese woman and her pigtail! No gods—one goddess! Not even a Brahman! How do you like * Holy Man. THERE followed a long silence Adventure that, Gupta Rao? Not as much as one Brahman to give the play dignity! “What part have you? The saddhu’s? Let us hope it is a better part than mine. “Listen to this: I am a king. I enter right, one sepoy following. (O Vishnu! Thy sharp beams burn! A king, and one sepoy for escort!) The sweetmeat seller enters left. Back of the stage the Chinese woman is beside a well under a peepul tree, talking with three women who carry water jars—and may the gods explain how a Chinese woman comes to be there! [ address the sweetmeat seller. Listen: ‘““*Thou, who sellest evanescent joy— and possibly enduring bellyache—to little ones, what hast thou to offer to me, who am in need of many things?’ What do you think of that for a speech for a king to make his entry withe”’ ‘To which, what says the sweetmeat seller?’ asked the lama. ‘Who has the sweetmeat seller’s part? Read on.”’ They sat down in a semicircle on the floor, Maitraya standing in the midst of them, and one of the men read matter-of-factly: “Mightiest of kings, thy servant is a poor man, needing money to pay the mu- nicipal tax. May all the gods instruct me how to answer! Who am [I that I should offer anything to the owner of all these leagues of forest and flowing stream and royal cities? An alms, O image of the sun!’ ) “Tf he were a real king, and this a real play,” Maitraya exclaimed, consulting the directions, “he would order that sweet- meat seller into jail for impudence! But what does he do? He looks sad, gives the fellow an alms, and turns to face the women at the well. How can he do that? I tell you, he must face the audience. Are they interested in his back? And this is what he says: ~ “ “Bearers of refreshment! Ye who walk so straight beneath the water jars! Ye who laugh and tell a city’s gossip! Ye who bring new men into the world! What have ye to offer me, whose heart is heavy? Lo, I bring forth sorrow amid many midwives. Wherewith shall I suckle it’—It is just at this point that the audience begins to walk out!” said Maitraya. ‘“‘A woman speaks. What says the wo- man?” boomed the lama; and the woman who could read held her scroll to the light, micloool CO in