Complete Works of Wilkie Collins (2211 page)

Shah Jehan, who had listened to the Vizir with amazement and curiosity, directed that the letter should be given to the sage, Abbas, and ordered him to read aloud the words of wisdom that he had written to Gazee Ed Din. The venerable man stood forth in the midst of the Court, and, obeying the Emperor, read these lines:

“May the pious and merciful Vizir, to whom the wise generosity of our sovereign lord and master has entrusted the government of a province, enjoy to the end of his days the blessing of perfect health!

“I was grieved in my inmost heart when I heard that you had deprived the millions of souls who inhabit Morodabad of the advantages which they enjoyed under your authority. Modesty and respect prevented me from combating your scruples of conscience while you were describing them in the presence of the Emperor. I hasten, therefore, to write the words which I could not venture to speak. My purpose is to clear your mind of the doubts which now darken it, by relating to you the history of my own youth. The anxious thoughts which now trouble you, were once the thoughts which troubled me also. May your soul be relieved of the burden that oppresses it, as mine was relieved in the byegone time!

“My early manhood was passed in studying the science of medicine. I learnt all the secrets of my art, and practised it for the benefit of my species. In time, however, the fearful scenes of suffering and death which perpetually offered themselves to my eyes, so far affected my mind as to make me tremble for my own life. Wherever I went, my grave seemed to be yawning at my feet. The awful necessity of preparing myself for eternity, impressed itself upon my soul, and withdrew my thoughts from every earthly consideration. I resolved to retire from the world, to despise the acquisition of all mortal knowledge, and to. devote my remaining days to the severest practices of a purely religious life. In accordance with this idea, I resolved to humble myself by suffering the hardship of voluntary poverty. After much consideration, I came to the conclusion that those who stood in need of my money were the persons who were least worthy of being benefited by it: and that those who really deserved the exercise of my charity were too modest, or too high-minded, to accept my help. Under the influence of this delusion, I buried in the earth all the treasure that I possessed; and took refuge from human society in the wildest and most inaccessible mountains of my native country. My abode was in the darkest corner of a huge cavern; my drink was the running water; my food consisted of the herbs and fruits that I could gather in the woods. To add to the severe self-restraint which had now become the guiding principle of my life, I frequently passed whole nights in watching
on such occasions, keeping my face turned towards the East, and waiting till the mercy of the Prophet should find me out, and unveil the mysteries of Heaven to my mortal view.

“One morning, after my customary night of watching, exhaustion overpower me, at the hour of sunrise; and I sank prostrate in spite of myself, on the ground at the entrance of my cave.

“I slept, and a vision appeared to me.

“I was still at the mouth of the cave, and still looking at the rays of the rising sun. Suddenly a dark object passed between me and the morning light. I looked at it attentively, and saw that it was an eagle, descending slowly to the earth. As the bird floated nearer and nearer to the ground, a fox dragged himself painfully out of a thicket near at hand. Observing the animal, as he sank exhausted close by me, I discovered that both his fore legs were broken. While I was looking at him, the eagle touched the earth, laid before the crippled fox a morsel of goat
’
s flesh that he carried in his talons, flapped his huge wings, and, rising again into the air, slowly disappeared from sight.

“On coming to my senses again, I bowed my forehead to the earth, and addressed my thanksgivings to the Prophet for the vision which he had revealed to me. I interpreted it, in this manner.
“
The divine Power,
”
I said to myself,
“
accepts the sacrifice that I have made in withdrawing myself from the contaminations of the world; but reveals to me, at the same time, that there is still some taint of mortal doubt clinging to my mind, and rendering the trust which it is my duty to place in the mercy of Heaven less absolute and unconditional than it ought to be. So long as I waste even the smallest portion of my time in the base employment of providing for my own daily wants, so long will my confidence in Providence be imperfect, and my mind be incapable of wholly. abstracting itself from earthly cares. This is what the vision is designed to teach me. If the bounty of Heaven condescends to employ an eagle to provide for the wants of a crippled fox, how sure I may feel that the same mercy will extend the same benefits to me! Let me wholly devote myself, then, to the service of my Creator, and commit the preservation of my life to the means which His wisdom is sure to supply.
”

“Strong in this conviction, I searched the woods no more for the herbs and fruits which had hitherto served me for food. I sat at the mouth of my cavern, and waited through the day, and no heavenly messenger appeared to provide for my wants. The night passed; and I was still alone. The new morning came; and my languid eyes could hardly lift themselves to the light, my trembling limbs failed to sustain me when I strove to rise. I lay back against the wall of my cavern, and resigned myself to die.

“The consciousness of my own existence seemed to be just passing from me, when the voice of an invisible being sounded close at my ear. I listened, and heard myself addressed in these words :

“Abbas,
”
said the supernatural voice,
“
I am the Angel whose charge it is to search out and register your inmost thoughts. I am sent to you on a mission of reproof. Vain man! do you pretend to be wiser than the wisdom which is revealed to you? The blindness of your vision and the vainglory of your heart have together perverted a lesson which was mercifully intended to teach you the duties that your Creator expects you to perform. Are you crippled like the fox? Has not nature, on the contrary, endowed you with the strength of the eagle? Rise and bestir yourself! Rise, and let the example of the eagle guide you, henceforth, in the right direction. Go back to the city from which you have fled. Be, for the future, the messenger of health and life to those who groan on the hard bed of sickness. Ill-judging mortal! the virtue that dies in this solitude, lives in the world from which you have withdrawn. Prove your gratitude to your Creator by the good that you do among his helpless and afflicted creatures. There is the way that leads you from earth to Heaven. Rise, Abbas
rise humbly, and take it !
”

“An unseen hand lifted me from the ground, an unseen hand guided me back to the city. Humbled, repentant, enlightened at last, I drew my treasure from its hiding place, and employed it in helping the poor. Again I devoted all my energies to the blessed work of healing the sick. Years passed and found me contented and industrious in my vocation. As the infirmities of age approached, I assumed the sacred robe, and comforted the souls of my fellow-creatures, as I had formerly comforted their bodies. Never have I forgotten the lesson that I learnt in my hermitage on the mountain. You see me now, high in the favour of my Sovereign
Know that I have deserved my honours, because I have done good in my generation, among the people over whom he rules.

“Such, oh, pious Vizir, is the story of my youth. May the lesson which enlightened me, do the same good office for you. I make no pretensions to wisdom: I speak only of such things as I know. Believe me, all wisdom which extends no farther than yourself is unworthy of you. A life sacrificed to subtle speculations is a life wasted. Let the eagle be the object of your emulation as he was of mine. The more gifts you have received, the better use it is expected you will make of them. Although the All-Powerful alone can implant virtue in the human heart, it is still possible for you, as the dreaded representative of authority, to excite to deeds of benevolence, even those who may have no better motive for doing good, than the motive of serving their own interests. With time, you may teach them the knowledge of higher things. Meanwhile, it will matter little to the poor who are succoured, whether it is mere ostentation or genuine charity that relieves them. Spread the example, therefore, of your own benevolence, beyond the circle of those only who are wise and good. Widen the sphere of your usefulness among your fellow-creatures, with every day; and fortify your mind with the blessed conviction that the life you will then lead, will be of all lives the most acceptable in the eyes of the Supreme Being.

“Farewell. May the blessings of a happy people follow you wherever you go. May your name, when you are gathered to your fathers, be found written in the imperishable page
in the Volume of the Book of Life!”

Abbas ceased. As he bowed his head, and folded up the scroll, the emperor beckoned him to the foot of the throne, and thanked the sage for the lesson that he had read to his Sovereign and to all the Court. The next day, the Vizir was sent back to his government at Morodabad. Shah Jehan also caused copies of the letter to be taken, and ordered them to be read to the people in the high places of the city. When that had been done, he further commanded that this inscription should be engraved on the palace gates, in letters of gold, which men could read easily, even from afar off:

THE LIFE THAT IS MOST ACCEPTABLE TO THE SUPREME BEING, IS THE LIFE THAT IS MOST USEFUL TO THE HUMAN RACE.

Surely not a bad Indian lesson, to begin with, when Betrayers and Assassins are the pupils to be taught?

First published
Household Words
27 February 1858

EXPLORED IN TWO LETTERS.

LETTER THE FIRST. FROM MR. READER TO MR. AUTHOR.

MY DEAR SIR,
 
I am sufficiently well-educated, and sufficiently refined in my tastes and habits, to be a member of the large class of persons usually honoured by literary courtesy with the title of the Intelligent Public. In the interests of the order to which I belong, I have a little complaint to make against the managers of our theatres, and a question to put afterwards, which you, as a literary man, will, I have no doubt, be both able and willing to answer.

For some months past, I have been proposing to address you on the subject of these lines. But, on reflection, I thought it best to wait until the Festival Performances in celebration of the marriage of the Princess Royal had especially directed our attention to the English Drama. It was not my good fortune to be present at any of those performances; but I read the criticisms on them in the newspapers with great attention. I found in most of the reviews a patriotic anxiety that our illustrious foreign visitors should derive a favourable impression of the English Drama, followed by a patriotic disapproval of certain imperfections in the representation of the plays, which threatened injury, in a dramatic point of view, to the honour of the nation, I have nothing to say on this point, not having been among the audience in the theatre. But, I have to express some surprise that the critics, while thinking of the dramatic credit of the nation, should have passed over the choice of the plays in silence, and merely have alluded to the manner of their representation.

Supposing any of our foreign visitors to have taken an interest in the matter, I should not be at all surprised to hear that one of them had expressed himself to the other, on the conclusion of the Festival Performances, in the following manner :