BIOGRAPHY OF SWAMI VIVEKANANDA

the desire for death.' When asked to explain, the Swami declared that he wouldgive the Duke such a state of mind that when confronted by death he wouldlaugh at it. But the Duke preferred to pursue a worldly career, though hecherished a lifelong devotion to Swami Vivekananda.During his stay in Paris the Swami met such prominent people as ProfessorPatrick Geddes of Edinburgh University, Pere Hyacinthe, Hiram Maxim, SarahBernhardt, Jules Bois, and Madame Emma Calve. Pere Hyacinthe, a Carmelitemonk who had renounced his vows, had married an American lady and assumedthe name of Charles Loyson. The Swami, however, always addressed him by hisold monastic name and described him as endowed with 'a very sweet nature' andthe temperament of a lover of God. Maxim, the inventor of the gun associatedwith his name, was a great connoisseur and lover of India and China. SarahBernhardt also bore a great love for India, which she often described as 'veryancient, very civilized.' To visit India was the dream of her life.Madame Calve the Swami had met in America, and now he came to know hermore intimately. She became one of his devoted followers. 'She was born poor,'he once wrote of her, 'but by her innate talents, prodigious labour and diligence,and after wrestling against much hardship, she is now enormously rich andcommands respect from kings and emperors....The rare combination of beauty,youth, talents, and "divine" voice has assigned Calve the highest place amongthe singers of the West. There is, indeed, no better teacher than misery andpoverty. That constant fight against the dire poverty, misery, and hardship ofthe days of her girlhood, which has led to her present triumph over them, hasbrought into her life a unique sympathy and a depth of thought with a wideoutlook.'After the Swami's passing away, Madame Calve visited the Belur Math, theheadquarters of the Ramakrishna Mission. In old age she embraced the Catholicfaith and had to give up, officially, her allegiance to Swami Vivekananda. Butone wonders whether she was able to efface him from her heart.Jules Bois, with whom the Swami stayed for a few days in Paris, was adistinguished writer. 'We have,' the Swami wrote to a disciple, 'many great ideasin common and feel happy together.'Most of the Swami's time in Paris was devoted to the study of French cultureand especially the language. He wrote a few letters in French. About the culture,his appreciation was tempered with criticism. He spoke of Paris as the 'home ofliberty'; there the ethics and society of the West had been formed, and itsuniversity had been the model of all others. But in a letter to SwamiTuriyananda, dated September 1, 1900, he also wrote: 'The people of France aremere intellectualists. They run after worldly things and firmly believe God and