"Ay, dying. Then Brahma will claim that which is a part of himself, and then will be the time of his return to his chosen people."
"Horrible!" ejaculated Aminadab. The chicken stood untasted. "Does Mr.
Fletcher know this?"
"Why, to be sure, haven't I told him? But may not a child die in its own cradle, and the father continue feasting with the lords and the lairds, drinking and swearing, and debauching, when he knows that his honour is discharged,—ay, and the blood-bond paid?"
"And the body, when she dies—"
"Will be in Logie burying-ground; ay, and strange people from the East, a long way beyond where our sun rises, with black faces and bleeding hearts, will come and bend over the little grave, and weep for the daughter of their prince. Ah! Aminadab, grief makes a learned woman of me, a poor servant; but I cannot save Kalee, none can save her now. Consumption has set in; and bad air, and a rejected love, and a mother's yearning will do the work. I was with her now with my cruse—all alone with her; for no one dare approach. She knows she's dying. She asked for the children—
"'Will you not let me see my boys?'
"I shook my head.
"'And will Fletcher not see me before I die, to receive my last kiss?'
"I shook my head.
"'And Aditi, who will return to my father's palace, is she to be kept from me to the end?'