Page:The Pilgrims' March.djvu/109

Rh and maligned, but you have not swerved from your duty. You have fed the famished, relieved the flood-stricken, regulated the rush of pilgrims during festivals, furthered the cause of peace and progress, received encomiums of the guardians of law and order, but at the next moment been handed over to the tender mercies of the police as criminals and culprits of the basest type. You have known many ups and downs, but have never been unduly elated or depressed. I am one of those who have an intimate knowledge of what you had to pay for your self-less devotion to your country. I am one of those who drained with you the bitter cup to the dregs. I know the stuff that is in you, I feel the pulse that beats in you, I dream the dream that sustains and inspires you on your dreary march. Will you then fail the country in this supreme crisis when she has just begun to go your way? The stern discipline of suffering, the salutary schooling of experience, the example and precept of the greatest living Indian have at last set you on the right road to salvation. Bring therefore to the altar of the Mother the offering of your holy ardour and enthusiasm. What is your education