quiet felicity, established constancy,
and, above all, of a devotedness on the part of the Hindu women to
their husbands and children, which knows, so to speak, no limit. The
self-sacrifice of Surja Mukhi in this tale would be next to impossible
for any Western woman, but is positively common in the East, though
our author so well displays the undoubted fact that feminine hearts
are the same everywhere, and that custom cannot change the instincts
of love. In Debendra the Babu paints successfully the "young Bengalee"
of the present day, corrupted rather than elevated by his educational
enlightenment. Nagendra is a good type of the ordinary well-to-do
householder; Kunda Nandini, of the simple and graceful Hindu maiden;
and Hira, of those passionate natures often concealed under the dark
glances and regular features of the women of the Ganges Valley. In a
word, I am glad to recommend this translation to English readers, as
a work which, apart from its charm in incident and narrative, will
certainly give them just, if not complete, ideas of the ways of life
of their fellow-subjects in Bengal.

EDWIN ARNOLD, C.S.I.

LONDON, _September_ 10, 1884.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.
NAGENDRA'S JOURNEY BY BOAT

CHAPTER II.
"COMING EVENTS CAST THEIR SHADOWS BEFORE"

CHAPTER III.
OF MANY SUBJECTS

CHAPTER IV.
TARA CHARAN

CHAPTER V.
OH! LOTUS-EYED, WHO ART THOU?

CHAPTER VI.
THE READER HAS CAUSE FOR GREAT DISPLEASURE

CHAPTER VII.
HARIDASI BOISNAVI

CHAPTER VIII.
THE BABU

CHAPTER IX.
SURJA MUKHI'S LETTER

CHAPTER X.
THE SPROUT

CHAPTER XI.
CAUGHT AT LAST

CHAPTER XII.
HIRA

CHAPTER XIII.
NO!

CHAPTER XIV.
LIKE TO LIKE

CHAPTER XV.
THE FORLORN ONE

CHAPTER XVI.
HIRA'S ENVY

CHAPTER XVII.
HIRA'S QUARREL. THE BUD OF THE POISON TREE

CHAPTER XVIII.
THE CAGED BIRD

CHAPTER XIX.
DESCENT

CHAPTER XX.
GOOD NEWS

CHAPTER XXI.
SURJA MUKHI AND KAMAL MANI

CHAPTER XXII.
WHAT IS THE POISON TREE?

CHAPTER XXIII.
THE SEARCH

CHAPTER XXIV.
EVERY SORT OF HAPPINESS IS FLEETING

CHAPTER XXV.
THE FRUIT OF THE POISON TREE

CHAPTER XXVI.
THE SIGNS OF LOVE

CHAPTER XXVII.
BY THE ROADSIDE

CHAPTER XXVIII.
IS THERE HOPE?

CHAPTER XXIX.
HIRA'S POISON TREE HAS BLOSSOMED

CHAPTER XXX.
NEWS OF SURJA MUKHI

CHAPTER XXXI.
THOUGH ALL ELSE DIES, SUFFERING DIES NOT

CHAPTER XXXII.
THE FRUIT OF HIRA'S POISON TREE

CHAPTER XXXIII.
HIRA'S GRANDMOTHER

CHAPTER XXXIV.
A DARK HOUSE: A DA