The Poison Tree | Page 2

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 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 _gháts_ (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