The Plastic Age, Percy Marks [top 10 books of all time TXT] 📗

The Amulet

Is Not On His Wrist.

 

_King_. Do Not Be Anxious,  Mother. It Fell While He Was Struggling

With The Lion Cub. (_He Starts To Pick It Up_.)

 

_The Two Women_. Oh,  Don't,  Don't! (_They Look At Him_.) He Has

Touched It! (_Astonished,  They Lay Their Hands On Their Bosoms,  And

Look At Each Other_.)

 

_King_. Why Did You Try To Prevent Me?

 

_First Woman_. Listen,  Your Majesty. This Is A Divine And Most Potent

Charm,  Called The Invincible. Marichi's Holy Son Gave It To The Baby

When The Birth-Ceremony Was Performed. If It Falls On The Ground,  No

One May Touch It Except The Boy's Parents Or The Boy Himself.

 

_King_. And If Another Touch It?

 

_First Woman_. It Becomes A Serpent And Stings Him.

 

_King_. Did You Ever See This Happen To Any One Else?

 

_Both Women_. More Than Once.

 

_King_ (_Joyfully_). Then Why May I Not Welcome My Hopes Fulfilled At

Last? (_He Embraces The Boy_.)

 

_Second Woman_. Come,  Suvrata. Shakuntala Is Busy With Her Religious

Duties. We Must Go And Tell Her What Has Happened. (_Exeunt Ambo_.)

 

_Boy_. Let Me Go. I Want To See My Mother.

 

_King_. My Son,  You Shall Go With Me To Greet Your Mother.

 

_Boy_. Dushyanta Is My Father,  Not You.

 

_King_ (_Smiling_). You Show I Am Right By Contradicting Me. (_Enter_

Shakuntala,  _Wearing Her Hair In A Single Braid_.)

 

_Shakuntala_ (_Doubtfully_). I Have Heard That All-Tamer's Amulet Did

Not Change When It Should Have Done So. But I Do Not Trust My Own

Happiness. Yet Perhaps It Is As Mishrakeshi Told Me. (_She Walks

About_.)

 

_King_ (_Looking At_ Shakuntala. _With Plaintive Joy_). It Is She. It

Is Shakuntala.

 

  The Pale,  Worn Face,  The Careless Dress,

  The Single Braid,

  Show Her Still True,  Me Pitiless,

  The Long Vow Paid.

 

_Shakuntala_ (_Seeing The King Pale With Remorse. Doubtfully_). It Is

Not My Husband. Who Is The Man That Soils My Boy With His Caresses?

The Amulet Should Protect Him. _Boy_ (_Running To His Mother_).

Mother,  He Is A Man That Belongs To Other People. And He Calls Me His

Son.

 

_King_. My Darling,  The Cruelty I Showed You Has Turned To Happiness.

Will You Not Recognise Me?

 

_Shakuntala_ (_To Herself_). Oh,  My Heart,  Believe It. Fate Struck

Hard,  But Its Envy Is Gone And Pity Takes Its Place. It Is My Husband.

 

_King_.

 

  Black Madness Flies;

  Comes Memory;

  Before My Eyes

  My Love I See.

 

  Eclipse Flees Far;

  Light Follows Soon;

  The Loving Star

  Draws To The Moon.

 

_Shakuntala_. Victory,  Victo--(_Tears Choke Her Utterance_.)

 

_King_.

 

  The Tears Would Choke You,  Sweet,  In Vain;

  My Soul With Victory Is Fed,

  Because I See Your Face Again--

  No Jewels,  But The Lips Are Red.

 

_Boy_. Who Is He,  Mother?

 

_Shakuntala_. Ask Fate,  My Child. (_She Weeps_.)

 

_King_.

 

  Dear,  Graceful Wife,  Forget;

  Let The Sin Vanish;

  Strangely Did Madness Strive

  Reason To Banish.

 

  Thus Blindness Works In Men,

  Love's Joy To Shake;

  Spurning A Garland,  Lest

  It Prove A Snake. (_He Falls At Her Feet_.)

 

_Shakuntala_. Rise,  My Dear Husband. Surely,  It Was Some Old Sin Of

Mine That Broke My Happiness--Though It Has Turned Again To Happiness.

Otherwise,  How Could You,  Dear,  Have Acted So? You Are So Kind. (_The

King Rises_.) But What Brought Back The Memory Of Your Suffering

Wife? _King_. I Will Tell You When I Have Plucked Out The Dart Of

Sorrow.

 

  'Twas Madness,  Sweet,  That Could Let Slip

  A Teang

Wife? _King_. I Will Tell You When I Have Plucked O Worth While."

 

"He'll Hedge," Objected Lawrence. "All The Profs Do If You Ask Them

Anything Like That." Winsor Laughed. "You Don't Know Jimmie Henley. He

Won't Hedge. You've Never Had A Class With Him,  But Hugh And Pudge And

I Are All In English Fifty-Three,  And We'll Put It Up To Him. He'll Tell

Us What He Thinks All Right,  And I Hope To God That He Says It Is Worth

While. I'd Like To Have Somebody Convince Me That I've Got Something Out

Of These Four Years Beside Lower Ideals. Hell,  Sometimes I Think That

We're All Damn Fools. We Worship Athletics--No Offense,  Hugh--Above

Everything Else; We Gamble And Drink And Talk Like Bums; And About Every

So Often Some Fellow Has To Go Home Because A Lovely Lady Has Left Him

With Bitter,  Bitter Memories. I'm With Henley. If We're The Cream Of The

Earth--Well,  Thank The Lord,  We're Not."

 

"Who Is," Lawrence Asked Earnestly.

 

"God Knows."

 

 

 

 

Chapter 22

 

 

English 53 Had Only A Dozen Men In It; So Henley Conducted The Course In

A Very Informal Fashion. The Men Felt Free To Bring Up For Discussion

Any Topic That Interested Them.

 

Nobody Was Surprised,  Therefore,  When George Winsor Asked Henley To

Express His Opinion Of The Value Of A College Education. He Reminded

Henley Of What He Had Said Two Years Before,  And Rapidly Gave A Resumé

Of The Discussion That Resulted In The Question He Was Asking. "We'd

Like To Know,  Too," He Concluded,  Grinning Wickedly,  "Just Whom You

Consider The Cream Of The Earth. You Remember You Said That If We Were

You Felt Sorry For The Skimmed Milk."

 

Henley Leaned Back In His Chair And Laughed. "Yes," He Said,  "I Remember

Saying That. I Didn't Think,  Though,  That You Would Remember It For Two

Years. You Seem To Remember Most Of What I Said. I Am Truly Astonished."

He Grinned Back At Winsor. "The Swine Seem To Have Eaten The Pearls."

 

The Class Laughed,  But Winsor Was Not One To Refuse The Gambit. "They

Were Very Indigestible," He Said Quickly.

 

"Good!" Henley Exclaimed. "I Wanted Them To Give You A Belly-Ache,  And I

Am Delighted That You Still Suffer."

 

"We Do," Pudge Jamieson Admitted,  "But We'd Like To Have A Little Mercy

Shown To Us Now. We've Spent Four Years Here,  And While We've Enjoyed

Them,  We've Just About Made Up Our Minds That They Have Been All In All

Wasted Years."

 

"No." Henley Was Decisive. His Playful Manner Entirely Disappeared. "No,

Not Wasted. You Have Enjoyed Them,  You Say. Splendid Justification. You

Will Continue To Enjoy Them As The Years Grow Between You And Your

College Days. All Men Are Sentimental About College,  And In That

Sentimentality There Is Continuous Pleasure."

 

"Your Doubt Delights Me. Your Feeling That You Haven't Learned Anything

Delights Me,  Too. It Proves That You Have Learned A Great Deal. It Is

Only The Ignoramus Who Thinks He Is Wise; The Wise Man Knows That He Is

An Ignoramus. That's A Platitude,  But It Is None The Less True. I Have

Cold Comfort For You: The More You Learn,  The Less Confident You Will Be

Of Your Own Learning,  The More Utterly Ignorant You Will Feel. I Have

Never Known So Much As,  The Day I Graduated From High School. I Held My

Diploma And The Knowledge Of The Ages In My Hand. I Had Never Heard Of

Socrates,  But I Would Have Challenged Him To A Debate Without The

Slightest Fear."

 

"Since Then I Have Grown More Humble,  So Humble That There Are Times

When I Am Ashamed To Come Into The Class-Room. What Right Have I To

Teach Anybody Anything? I Mean That Quite Sincerely. Then I Remember

That,  Ignorant As I Am,  The Undergraduates Are More Ignorant. I Take

Heart And Mount The Rostrum Ready To Speak With The Authority Of A

Pundit."

 

He Realized That He Was Sliding Off On A Tangent And Paused To Find A

New Attack. Pudge Jamieson Helped Him.

 

"I Suppose That's All True," He Said,  "But It Doesn't Explain Why

College Is Really Worth While. The Fact Remains That Most Of Us Don't

Learn Anything,  That We Are Coarsened By College,  And That We--Well,  We

Worship False Gods."

 

Henley Nodded In Agreement. "It Would Be Hard To Deny Your Assertions,"

He Acknowledged,  "And I Don't Think That I Am Going To Try To Deny Them.

Of Course,  Men Grow Coarser While They Are In College,  But That Doesn't

Mean That They Wouldn't Grow Coarser If They Weren't In College. It

Isn't College That Coarsens A Man And Destroys His Illusions; It Is

Life. Don't Think That You Can Grow To Manhood And Retain Your Pretty

Dreams. You Have Become Disillusioned About College. In The Next Few

Years You Will Suffer Further Disillusionment. That Is The Price Of

Living."

 

"Every Intelligent Man With Ideals Eventually Becomes A Cynic. It Is

Inevitable. He Has Standards,  And,  Granted That He Is Intelligent,  He

Cannot Fail To See How Far Mankind Falls Below Those Standards. The

Result Is Cynicism,  And If He Is Truly Intelligent,  The Cynicism Is

Kindly. Having Learned That Man Is Frail,  He Expects Little Of Him;

Therefore,  If He Judges At All,  His Judgment Is Tempered Either With

Humor Or With Mercy."

 

The Dozen Boys Were Sprawled Lazily In Their Chairs,  Their Feet Resting

On The Rungs Of The Chairs Before Them,  But Their Eyes Were Fastened

Keenly On Henley. All That He Was Saying Was Of The Greatest Importance

To Them. They Found Comfort In His Words,  But The Comfort Raised New

Doubts,  New Problems.

 

"How Does That Affect College?" Winsor Asked.

 

"It Affects It Very Decidedly," Henley Replied. "You Haven't Become True

Cynics Yet; You Expect Too Much Of College. You Forget That The Men Who

Run The College And The Men Who Attend It Are At Best Human Beings,  And

That Means That Very Much Cannot Be Expected Of Them. You Do Worship

False Gods. I Find Hope In The Fact That You Recognize The Stuff Of

Which Your Gods Are Made. I Have Great Hopes For The American Colleges,

Not Because I Have Any Reason To Believe That The Faculties Will Become

Wiser Or That The Administrations Will Lead The Students To True Gods;

Not At All,  But I Do Think That The Students Themselves Will Find A Way.

They Have Already Abandoned Mammon; At Least,  The Most Intelligent Have,

And I Begin To See Signs Of Less Adoration For Athletics. Athletics,  Of

Course,  Have Their Place,  And Some Of The Students Are Beginning To Find

That Place. Certainly The Alumni Haven't,  And I Don't Believe That The

Administrative Officers Have,  Either. Just So Long As Athletes Advertise

The College,  The Administrations Will Coddle Them. The Undergraduates,

However,  Show Signs Of Frowning On Professionalism,  And The Stupid

Athlete Is Rapidly Losing His Prestige. An Athlete Has To Show Something

More Than Brawn To Be A Hero Among His Fellows Nowadays."

 

He Paused,  And Pudge Spoke Up. "Perhaps You Are Right," He Said,  "But I

Doubt It. Athletics Are Certainly Far More Important To Us Than Anything

Else,  And The Captain Of The Football Team Is Always The Biggest Man In

College. But I Don't Care Particularly About That. What I Want To Know

Is How The Colleges Justify Their Existence. I Don't See That You Have

Proved That They Do."

 

"No,  I Haven't," Henley Admitted,  "And I Don't Know That I Can Prove It.

Of Course,  The Colleges Aren't Perfect,  Not By A Long Way,  But As Human

Institutions Go,  I Think They Justify Their Existence. The Four Years

Spent At College By An Intelligent Boy--Please Notice That I Say

Intelligent--Are Well Spent Indeed. They Are Gloriously Worth While. You

Said That You Have Had A Wonderful Time. Not So Wonderful As You Think.

It Is A Strange Feeling That We Have About Our College Years. We All

Believe That They Are Years Of Unalloyed Happiness,  And The Further We

Leave Them Behind The More Perfect They Seem. As A Matter Of Fact,  Few

Undergraduates Are Truly Happy. They Are Going Through A Period Of Storm

And Stress; They Are Torn By _Weltschmerz_. Show Me A Nineteen-Year-Old

Boy Who Is Perfectly Happy And You Show Me An Idiot. I Rarely Get A

Cheerful Theme Except From Freshmen. Nine Tenths Of Them Are Expressions

Of Deep Concern And Distress. A Boy's College Years Are The Years When

He Finds Out That Life Isn't What He Thought It,  And The Finding Out Is

A Painfuome!" She Said At

Once,  Greeting Him,  And Smilingly Added: "What May Be Done For You?"

Then The King Said To The Sweet-Voiced Maid: "I Have Come To Pay

Reverence To The Holy Sage Kanva. Where Has The Blessed One Gone,

Sweet Girl? Tell Me This,  Lovely Maid."