"You will never meet a companion soul."
That was said forcefully. What did he mean? Does he place our men too low—or me undeservedly high. If he but knew, I had just received an enthusiastic letter from a young—and to me unknown—companion soul. I shall send the letter to you. It is from a student of the Native Artisans school. A spontaneous expression of sympathy about the article that appeared in Eigen Haard which you induced me to write. It is so like a young boy—young in its glowing enthusiasm, but through it a spirit speaks that is far from commonplace; there is candour in every line.
That is a luxury which writers can enjoy, unknown people feel that they are friends when they strike a sympathetic chord. I love to think that it was you who induced me to make my own name known to the public, and such an introduction from one whom I admire deeply is like a benediction.
If that article has met with success, I attribute it to the fact that it first saw the light through your hands. There were many things that had to be included in that introduction, but in none of them did it miss its mark. Its success has meant much to our artists, and since its appearance many questions have come to me about our wood-carving.
[1] To Mevrouw Abendanon.
LX
April 25th, 1903.[1]
It is stupid and unpardonable that we did not write to you as soon as the great decision was made; that we were not to eat the fruit of the noble work which you and others have done for us. No one could be more surprised at this determination than we ourselves. We had been prepared for anything, but we had never expected that we would say of our own free will "We want to stay." But do not think of us, think of the cause and what will be best for that; it is there we must rest our case.
Do not think that our feelings have changed, they have not. When our request was on the way to the Governor General, we believed firmly that for the sake of our future pupils, education in Europe was an absolute necessity. But after that another truth was impressed upon us: "At this time, it would be far better for the cause if we remained in India."