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Jain Gazette. A RISK AND A FAILURE,
The great American Civil War was the rock_on_which the vessel of Premchand's fortune dashed and was shattered into pieces. He along with others anticipated that the continunace of the war between the Southern and Northern States of America would cause Lancashire to fall exclusively on the Indian market. This of-course meant a huge rise--doubling, trebling and even quadrupling--of the prices of cotton in the Indian market. This was an obvious syllogism without a single fallacy to vitiate it. Convinced, of the accuracy of this inference, he bought the larger part of the cotton fields of Gujerat in advance and believed that he had secured command over the cotton market of Bombay in the season to follow. But his premise proved to be a mistake To the ruin of hundreds of merchants in Bombay, the Civil War ended before the longed for season was in sight; American cotton flooded the market: and the fond hopes of our self-indulgent sreenlator were ruined for ever. This story is told briefly; but its results were as great as the story is short. It would be unjust to criticise the nature of the risk he had run by the wisdom begot of etiam tual experience. This way, one might easily out-General Nepoleon by gravely attacking his want of sagacity in relying on Martial Neigh on the fatal Waterloo-day. And we might very reasonably say that Mr. Premchand's wi-com cannot be stigmatised as defective because he failed in this calculation. One might however pause for a moment and reflect upon the direction in which the path of greed surely and for ever runs. An old poet asks us where is the limit of desire to be met with ? Desire begets desire until life becomes mere desiring, desiring a desire for the sake of desire! A successful desire in another person excites the warm admiration of desire-stricken men who are enamoured of the gandy colours oi Dame Desire But what is the truth about the man—the unfortunate victim of fortune's favours? We are dazzled by the sp'endour of his attire, the lustre of the jewels and pearls that he wears and the imposing
