to elevate the mamage ideal to the lofty j>edestal of Rnskin’s “ single love ’’ that he insists on for the widowed to rebuild a home in vieAv t(;» the ends of self-pealisation. For, what moral vahie, afteJ' all, can attach to the celibacy induced by social coercion, and how far is it compatible with the acknowledged sublimity of the matrimonial relation- ship ?
j^s already noted, the key-note to this happy combination of culture and character is furnished by Mr. Venkata Ratnam’s personal religiousness. Penetrate into the deei)-hidden folds of his inner being, and you soon discover that his main-spring in life is God-consciousness, — or rather, the haunting sense of want of God-consciousness and the utter self-abasement of tlie unregenerate nature, itself a living symptom of ceaseless spiritual growth. “ Nearer, my God, nearer to Thee ” is, indeed, the silent song of his heart, rising, above and regulating the outer music of all his life. This is the ope distinctive under-note rings through all the succeeding pages. - With him, as .we may.
