Amitav Ghosh - Flood of Fire

It was not till some years had passed that she told him why she had waved to him from the window on the day when they met.

You remember, Kesri, that time when you were stripped by Bhyro Singh? You were not the only one to be beaten that day.

Who else then?

After he had finished with you, he came to me — he took me into a room and after he had done what he came for, he slapped me and hit me.

But why?

She made an uncomprehending gesture. Kya pata? What do I know? But he’s done it to some other girls too. It seems to give him pleasure.

Kesri thought about this for a bit and it made him shudder.

I swear, Gulabi, he said. The day that Bhyro Singh dies I’ll give away a maund of sweets — that is if I don’t kill him myself first.

She laughed: Don’t forget to give me some of those sweets. I can’t wait to taste them.

For several days Zachary neither saw nor heard from Mrs Burnham: so complete was the silence that it seemed as though she had forgotten about arranging a private meeting with him. But just as he was growing accustomed to the idea that the meeting would never happen, a khidmatgar arrived with a parcel. There was an envelope inside, sitting on top of a fat book.

October 10, 1839

Dear Mr Reid

I offer you my sincerest apologies for my prolonged silence. The news from China has been very disquieting of late and we have all been much preoccupied. But you must not imagine that I have allowed the affairs of the World to drive from my mind the Pledge I had made to you. Nothing could be further from the truth. You and your Sufferings are constantly on my mind: you could even say that I am haunted by them.

You will remember that I mentioned a doctor who has made a special study of your Affliction. His name is Dr Allgood and he has been sent here from England to attend to the lunatics in the Native and Europeans-Only Asylums (you will no doubt be interested to learn that it is the Condition from which you suffer that has driven most of the Inmates out of their minds). Not only is Dr Allgood one of the world’s leading authorities on your Disease, he has dedicated his life to its eradication. It is because of his Crusade that the people of this city have come to be alerted to the spreading Epidemic.

It so happens that I had helped to arrange a few Lectures for Dr Allgood and am therefore well acquainted with him. Wanting to profit from his wisdom I had sought an Interview but this proved difficult to obtain for the Doctor is exceedingly busy with the conduct of his Researches. Yet, despite his many preoccupations, the doctor was kind enough to grant me some time yesterday and it is in order to communicate his advice that I have now picked up my quill to write to you.

You will no doubt be interested to learn that your Condition is one of the principal areas of inquiry in modern medicine: it has come to be recognized as one of the chief causes of human debility. It is thought that the costs of the Disease, physical and economic, are of such magnitude that the Nation that first conquers it will thereby secure its position as the world’s Dominant Power. You can imagine then the urgency with which a remedy is being sought — yet, despite the best efforts of a great number of Doctors and Men of Science, there has as yet been little Progress. Dr Allgood assures me that there is every reason to hope that a Cure — perhaps even a Vaccination — will soon be found, but alas, none has yet been discovered. This was of course, a great disappointment, for I had hoped that he would be able to prescribe some soothing Tonics, Drugs or Poultices to help in combating the Seizures — but it appears that at present the best hope of effecting a cure lies in educating Patients and making sure that they become fully cognizant of the terrible consequences of this Disease.

This being the prescribed mode of treatment, I shall endeavour to obtain books and other materials for you. Enclosed herewith you will find the first volume in your proposed course of Study. Bookmarks have been inserted in the chapters that particularly require your attention, and I urge you to commit these passages to memory. The Doctor says that it is most necessary in such courses of Study, that occasional Tests and Examinations be administered to make sure that the Patient has fully absorbed the prescribed lessons. To that end I will endeavour to arrange a private meeting to test you on your progress.

In concluding this missive, I urge you not to lose hope: while it is undoubtedly true that the road ahead is long and arduous there is every reason to believe that with perseverance, faith and resolve you will succeed in finding your way to a Cure. And you should know that you are not alone — I will do everything in my power to speed you on your Path.

Yours & c.

C. Burnham

p. s. In order to preserve the confidentiality of our Collaboration it may be best to destroy this note immediately.

The book that accompanied the note was called Elements of Physiology and it was by a professor of medicine at the University of Paris, one Anthelme Balthasar Richerand. It was a weighty tome, but fortunately the sections recommended for Zachary’s scrutiny were quite short and had been clearly bookmarked.

The first of these chapters was a detailed study of the case of a fifteen-year-old shepherd boy in France who

became addicted to onanism, and to such a degree, as to practise it seven or eight times in a day. Emission became at last so difficult that he would strive for an hour, and then discharge only a few drops of blood. At the age of six and twenty, his hand became insufficient, all he could do, was to keep the penis in a continual state of priapism. He then bethought himself of tickling the internal part of his urethra, by means of a bit of wood six inches long, and he would spend in that occupation, several hours, while tending his flock in thesolitude of the mountains. By a continuance of thistitillation for sixteen years, the canal of the urethrabecame hard, callous, and insensible …

Chills of dread and horror shot through Zachary as he read on to the study’s sickening conclusion in which the unfortunate shepherd’s much-abused organ had split into two longitudinal halves, like an over-grilled sausage. Despite the best efforts of the doctors at the hospital in Narbonne, the shepherd had died shortly afterwards.

Scarcely had Zachary recovered from the nightmares evoked by this passage than another parcel arrived, accompanied by another note.

October 14, 1839

Dear Mr Reid

I have just this minute returned from one of Dr Allgood’s Lectures on the Affliction to which you have fallen victim: it was perhaps the most moving that I have yet heard. In the conquest of this disease, says Dr Allgood, lies the difference between primitive and modern Man. All modern philosophers are agreed upon this he said, and he quoted at length from one Mr Kant who is said to be the most Enlightened thinker of the Age. I felt it necessary to make some jottings for your edification.

‘The physical effects are absolutely disastrous,’ says the philosopher, ‘but the consequences from the moral perspective are even more regrettable. One transgresses the limits of nature, and the desire rages without end, for it never finds any real satisfaction.’

Afterwards Dr Allgood was kind enough to lend me another Book: Mr Sylvester Graham’s Lecture to Young Men on Chastity . You will find it enclosed herewith. We are very fortunate that Dr Allgood has made this book available to us. It has only very recently been published in America and has already sold many thousands of copies there. Dr Allgood assures me that if any remedy for your Condition could be said to exist then this book is it. I urge you to spend this day and the next in studying it and absorbing its lessons. Your first catechism should, I think, be conducted while the book is still fresh in your mind so I think we should meet the day after the morrow.