Krishna Kanta's Will (Chatterjee, Knight)/Part 1/Chapter 23
CHAPTER XXIII.
That night, even before daydawn, Bhramar sat down to write to her husband. Gobind Lâl had taught her to read and write; but Bhramar never had much taste for study. Her mind was given to her flowers, her dolls, her birds, her husband, but not so much to study, nor to household work. She would take paper and sit down to write; first would come a smudge, then an erasure with the pen, then another smudge, and again a scratching out.
In the course of several days a letter would not get written; but to-day there was nothing of all this. Crooked, halting letters, whatever came first satisfied Bhramar on this occasion. Letters slightly resembling each other in form were freely exchanged, some letters omitted, compound letters written separately; none of this troubled Bhramar. To-day, in a single hour, Bhramar wrote a long letter to her husband. It was not that there were no erasures, but that she did not heed them. Duly corrected, this was her letter:—
"You never told me what detained you so long the other night in the garden. You said you would tell me after two years, but my evil destiny has caused me to hear it sooner. Why do I say hear it? I should say I have seen it. The dress and ornaments that you gave to Rohini, she has herself shown to me.
"You suppose, I think, that my devotion to you is immovable, my belief in you boundless. I also thought so. But now I find it is not so. So long as you were worthy of homage, I was devoted to you; so long as you were trustworthy, I believed in you. But now I am no longer devoted to you, I no longer believe in you, I have no further pleasure in seeing you. Please to give me notice when you think of coming home. Weeping, and as best I can, I will return to my father's house."
In due time Gobind Lâl received this letter. It fell upon him like a thunderbolt. Only from the handwriting and from the style of the corrections could he believe it to have been written by Bhramar. Still many doubts arose. He could hardly believe that she could write him such a letter.
By the same post had come other letters. Gobind Lâl opened Bhramar’s letter first. After reading it he remained for many minutes motionless as a pillar; then in an absent manner he opened the other letters. Among them was one from Brahmânanda Ghosh. The poetry-loving Brahmânanda wrote—
"Upon you the daughter-in-law (your wife) may commit any outrage, but why are we, poor, insignificant beings, to be made to suffer this oppression? She has proclaimed that you gave to Rohini Rs. 7,000 in jewels. And other evil tales she has set about concerning you that I should be ashamed to write. However it may be, my request to you is that you will set things right. Otherwise I will go elsewhere to live."
Again was Gobind Lâl amazed. Bhramar set about these reports? Unable to see into the meaning of it all, he that very day gave out that the air and water of the place did not suit him; that he would go home next day, and ordered the boats to be prepared.
On the following day, in a state of great dejection, Gobind Lâl set out on his journey home.