On the twentieth of this month, we were at Tandjong Priok, in thought. We saw the Willem II. steam away from the coast of Java, carrying as a precious freight, Java's great friend and warm supporter, to the distant Netherlands. He is already known in the Assembly of that country, so that when he speaks in the interests of the millions of children in this land, his words will have authority, and weight. Take him safely Willem II. for the sake of these lands, and for the sake of his dear family.
And now, true best counsellor, our highly honoured and dearly loved friend, we thank you many times for your letter. It did us much good in every way. It encouraged us to earnest meditation-strengthened us and opened up new vistas of thought to us.
[1] To Mevrouw Van Kol.
[2] Bendoro means master—It is also used to women of high rank.
[3] Jules Le Garcq says of Javanese music that it is full of charm, and produces a sweet melody incomprehensible to European ears, and that far from being barbaric it makes one realize that it is an art "très difficile, très compliqué, très délicat."
XLVII
September 2nd, 1902.[1]
It is presumptuous for us to play "mother," and with children who are older than we; but what does age matter? Every one needs love, the grey-beard as well as the child.
Should a woman only exclusively through marriage be able to come to her right—to the full awakening of the best gifts of her soul? because the highest and most sacred glory of woman is motherhood. But then must a woman be obliged to have a child of her own in order to be a true mother—a being who is all love and sacrifice? If that is true, how pitifully shallow is the idea of the world that it is only a piece of oneself that one can love better than oneself. There are so many who are called mothers only because they have brought children into the world, but beyond that they are not worthy of the name. A woman that gives all the love that is in her heart to others, with no thought of herself is, in a spiritual sense-mother. We set the spiritual mother higher than the physical.