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.