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FRAGMENTS OF A PRISONER'S DIARY
He could not, having done his murderous deed quite openly. That is why he was described as a maniac. But his explanation of the extraordinary behaviour was highly interesting.
For some time, his wife had been regarded as a witch by the inhabitans of the village. In the beginning, he had not paid much attention to the story whispered about. But gradually, it became a matter of general belief, and he was approached by the village elders with the demand that he should drive away the mother of his children, whose presence was believed to be harmful to the village. The charge was that she could bring about the death of anybody by simply wishing it, and that a number of untimely deaths had recently occurred on that account. It is surprising that the man, himself an ignorant rustic, did not readily fall victim to the popular superstition, and do as demanded of him. It would be quite natural for him to behave so. But, to the utter chagrin of the village vox dei, he behaved otherwise. He refused to act on the noble model of Ramachandra; he would not sacrifice his wife, the mother of his children, to placate vulgar superstition.
For his kind, that was an incomprehensible attitude. There was no ground to assume that the villagers were moved by malice, although it could not be altogether excluded that the charge against the woman had been the result of some private animosity. However, once the rumour was afloat,
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