The Poison Tree | Page 2

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 DARK LIFE
CHAPTER XXXV.
THE RETURN
CHAPTER XXXVI.
EXPLANATION
CHAPTER XXXVII.
THE SIMPLETON AND THE SERPENT
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
THE CATASTROPHE
CHAPTER XXXIX.
KUNDA'S TONGUE IS LOOSENED
CHAPTER XL.
THE END
GLOSSARY OF HINDU WORDS

For the assistance of the reader, the names of the principal characters in the tale are given--
NAGENDRA NATHA DATTA A wealthy Zemindar.
SURJA MUKHI His wife.
DEBENDRA DATTA Cousin to Nagendra.
SRISH CHANDRA MITTRA _Accountant in a Merchant's Office_
KAMAL MANI _His wife, sister to Nagendra_.
SATISH Their baby boy.
TARA CHARAN Adopted brother of Surja Mukhi.
KUNDA NANDINI An Orphan Girl.
HIRA _Servant in Nagendra's household_.
CHAPTER I.
NAGENDRA'S JOURNEY BY BOAT.
Nagendra Natha Datta is about to travel by boat. It is the month Joisto (May--June), the time of storms. His wife, Surja Mukhi, had adjured him, saying, "Be careful; if a storm arises be sure you fasten the boat to the shore. Do not remain in the boat." Nagendra had consented to this, otherwise Surja Mukhi would not have permitted him to leave home; and unless he went to Calcutta his suits in the Courts would not prosper.
Nagendra Natha was a young man, about thirty years of age, a wealthy zemindar (landholder) in Zillah Govindpur. He dwelt in a small village which we shall call Haripur. He was travelling in his own boat. The first day or two passed without obstacle. The river flowed smoothly on--leaped, danced, cried out, restless, unending, playful. On shore, herdsmen were grazing their oxen--one sitting under a tree singing, another smoking, some fighting, others eating. Inland, husbandmen were driving the plough, beating the oxen, lavishing abuse upon them, in which the owner shared. The wives of the husbandmen, bearing vessels of water, some carrying a torn quilt, or a dirty mat, wearing a silver amulet round the neck, a ring in the nose, bracelets of brass on the arm, with unwashed garments, their skins blacker than ink, their hair unkempt, formed a chattering crowd. Among them one beauty was rubbing her head with mud, another beating a child, a third speaking with a neighbour in abuse of some nameless person, a fourth beating clothes on a plank. Further on, ladies from respectable villages adorned the _gh��ts_ (landing-steps) with their appearance--the elders conversing, the middle-aged worshipping Siva, the younger covering their faces and plunging into the water; the boys and girls screaming, playing with mud, stealing the flowers offered in worship, swimming, throwing water over every one, sometimes stepping up to a lady, snatching away the image of Siva from her, and running off with it. The Brahmans, good tranquil men, recited the praises of Ganga (the sacred river Ganges) and performed their worship, sometimes, as they wiped their streaming hair, casting glances at the younger women.
In the sky, the white clouds float in the heated air. Below them fly the birds, like black dots. In the cocoanut trees, kites, like ministers of state, look around to see on what they can pounce; the cranes, being only small fry, stand raking in the mud; the dahuk (coloured herons), merry creatures, dive in the water; other birds of a lighter kind merely fly about. Market-boats sail along at good speed on their own behalf; ferry-boats creep along at elephantine pace to serve the needs of others only: cargo boats make no progress at all--that is the owners' concern.
On the third day of Nagendra's journey clouds arose and gradually covered the sky. The river became black, the tree-tops drooped, the paddy birds flew aloft, the water became motionless. Nagendra