Chapter II

When I sit down and try to analyse the thoughts and feelings that I had towards Kailas Babu, I see that there was a still deeper reason for my dislike. I will now explain.

Though I am the son of a rich man, and might have wasted time at college, my industry was such that I took my M.A. degree in Calcutta University when quite young. My moral character was flawless. In addition, my outward appearance was so handsome, that if I were to call myself beautiful, it might be thought a mark of self-estimation, but could not be considered an untruth.

There could be no question that among the young men of Bengal I was regarded by parents generally as a very eligible match. I was myself quite clear on the point and had determined to obtain my full value in the marriage market. When I pictured my choice, I had before my mind's eye a wealthy father's only daughter, extremely beautiful and highly educated. Proposals came pouring in to me from far and near; large sums in cash were offered. I weighed these offers with rigid impartiality in the delicate scales of my own estimation. But there was no one fit to be my partner. I became convinced, with the poet Bhabavuti, that,

In this world's endless time and boundless space
One _may_ be born at last to match my sovereign grace.

But in this puny modern age, and this contracted space of modern Bengal, it was doubtful if the peerless creature existed as yet.

Meanwhile my praises were sung in many tunes, and in different metres, by designing parents.

Whether I was pleased with their daughters or not, this worship which they offered was never unpleasing. I used to regard it as my proper due, because I was so good. We are told that when the gods withhold their boons from mortals they still expect their worshippers to pay them fervent honour and are angry if it is withheld. I had that divine expectance strongly developed in myself.

I have already mentioned that Thakur Dada had an only grand-daughter. I had seen her many times, but had never mistaken her for beautiful. No thought had ever entered my mind that she would be a possible partner for myself. All the same, it seemed quite certain to me that some day or other Kailas Babu would offer her, with all due worship, as an oblation at my shrine. Indeed--this was the inner secret of my dislike--I was thoroughly annoyed that he had not done so already.

I heard that Thakur Dada had told his friends that the Babus of Nayanjore never craved a boon. Even if the girl remained unmarried, he would not break the family tradition. It was this arrogance of his that made me angry. My indignation smouldered for some time. But I remained perfectly silent and bore it with the utmost patience, because I was so good.

As lightning accompanies thunder, so in my character a flash of humour was mingled with the mutterings of my wrath. It was, of course, impossible for me to punish the old man merely to give vent to my rage; and for a long time I did nothing at all. But suddenly one day such an amusing plan came into my head, that I could not resist the temptation of carrying it into effect.

I have already said that many of Kailas Babu's friends used to flatter the old man's vanity to the full. One, who was a retired Government servant, had told him that whenever he saw the Chota LAct Sahib he always asked for the latest news about the Babus of Nayanjore, and the Chota LAct had been heard to say that in all Bengal the only really respectable families were those of the Maharaja of Cossipore and the Babus of Nayanjore. When this monstrous falsehood was told to Kailas Babu he was extremely gratified and often repeated the story. And wherever after that he met this Government servant in company he would ask, along with other questions:

"Oh! er--by the way, how is the Chota LAct Sahib? Quite well, did you say? Ah, yes, I am so delighted to hear it! And the dear Mem Sahib, is she quite well too? Ah, yes! and the little children--are they quite well also? Ah, yes! that's very good news! Be sure and give them my compliments when you see them."

Kailas Babu would constantly express his intention of going some day and paying a visit to the Lord Sahib. But it may be taken for granted that many Chota LActs and Burra LActs also would come and go, and much water would pass down the Hoogly, before the family coach of Nayanjore would be furbished up to pay a visit to Government House.

One day I took Kailas Babu aside and told him in a whisper: "Thakur Dada, I was at the Levee yesterday, and the Chota LAct Sahib happened to mention the Babus of Nayanjore. I told him that Kailas Babu had come to town. Do you know, he was terribly hurt because you hadn't called. He told me he was going to put etiquette on one side and pay you a private visit himself this very afternoon."

Anybody else could have seen through this plot of mine in a moment. And, if it had been directed against another person, Kailas Babu would have understood the joke. But after all that he had heard from his friend the Government servant, and after all his own exaggerations, a visit from the Lieutenant-Governor seemed the most natural thing in the world. He became highly nervous and excited at my news. Each detail of the coming visit exercised him greatly,--most of all his own ignorance of English. How on earth was that difficulty to be met? I told him there was no difficulty at all: it was aristocratic not to know English: and, besides, the Lieutenant-Governor always brought an interpreter with him, and he had expressly mentioned that this visit was to be private.

About midday, when most of our neighbours are at work, and the rest are asleep, a carriage and pair stopped before the lodging of Kailas Babu. Two flunkeys in livery came up the stairs, and announced in a loud voice, "The Chota LAct Sahib has arrived!" Kailas Babu was ready, waiting for him, in his old-fashioned ceremonial robes and ancestral turban, and Ganesh was by his side, dressed in his master's best suit of clothes for the occasion.

When the Chota LAct Sahib was announced, Kailas Babu ran panting and puffing and trembling to the door, and led in a friend of mine, in disguise, with repeated salaams, bowing low at each step and walking backward as best he could. He had his old family shawl spread over a hard wooden chair and he asked the LAct Sahib to be seated. He then made a high-flown speech in Urdu, the ancient Court language of the Sahibs, and presented on the golden salver a string of gold _mohurs_, the last relics of his broken fortune. The old family servant Ganesh, with an expression of awe bordering on terror, stood behind with the scent-sprinkler, drenching the LAct Sahib, and touched him gingerly from time to time with the otto-of-roses from the filigree box.

Kailas Babu repeatedly expressed his regret at not being able to receive His Honour Bahadur with all the ancestral magnificence of his own family estate at Nayanjore. There he could have welcomed him properly with due ceremonial. But in Calcutta he was a mere stranger and sojourner,--in fact a fish out of water.

My friend, with his tall silk hat on, very gravely nodded. I need hardly say that according to English custom the hat ought to have been removed inside the room. But my friend did not dare to take it off for fear of detection: and Kailas Babu and his old servant Ganesh were sublimely unconscious of the breach of etiquette.

After a ten minutes' interview, which consisted chiefly of nodding the head, my friend rose to his feet to depart. The two flunkeys in livery, as had been planned beforehand, carried off in state the string of gold _mohurs_, the gold salver, the old ancestral shawl, the silver scent-sprinkler, and the otto-of-roses filigree box; they placed them ceremoniously in the carriage. Kailas Babu regarded this as the usual habit of Chota LAct Sahibs.

I was watching all the while from the next room. My sides were aching with suppressed laughter. When I could hold myself in no longer, I rushed into a further room, suddenly to discover, in a corner, a young girl sobbing as if her heart would break. When she saw my uproarious laughter she stood upright in passion, flashing the lightning of her big dark eyes in mine, and said with a tear-choked voice: "Tell me! What harm has my grandfather done to you? Why have you come to deceive him? Why have you come here? Why----"

She could say no more. She covered her face with her hands and broke into sobs.

My laughter vanished in a moment. It had never occurred to me that there was anything but a supremely funny joke in this act of mine, and here I discovered that I had given the cruellest pain to this tenderest little heart. All the ugliness of my cruelty rose up to condemn me. I slunk out of the room in silence, like a kicked dog.

Hitherto I had only looked upon Kusum, the grand-daughter of Kailas Babu, as a somewhat worthless commodity in the marriage market, waiting in vain to attract a husband. But now I found, with a shock of surprise, that in the corner of that room a human heart was beating.

The whole night through I had very little sleep. My mind was in a tumult. On the next day, very early in the morning, I took all those stolen goods back to Kailas Babu's lodgings, wishing to hand them over in secret to the servant Ganesh. I waited outside the door, and, not finding any one, went upstairs to Kailas Babu's room. I heard from the passage Kusum asking her grandfather in the most winning voice: "Dada, dearest, do tell me all that the Chota LAct Sahib said to you yesterday. Don't leave out a single word. I am dying to hear it all over again."

And Dada needed no encouragement. His face beamed over with pride as he related all manner of praises which the LAct Sahib had been good enough to utter concerning the ancient families of Nayanjore. The girl was seated before him, looking up into his face, and listening with rapt attention. She was determined, out of love for the old man, to play her part to the full.

My heart was deeply touched, and tears came to my eyes. I stood there in silence in the passage, while Thakur Dada finished all his embellishments of the Chota LAct Sahib's wonderful visit. When he left the room at last, I took the stolen goods and laid them at the feet of the girl and came away without a word.

Later in the day I called again to see Kailas Babu himself. According to our ugly modern custom, I had been in the habit of making no greeting at all to this old man when I came into the room. But on this day I made a low bow and touched his feet. I am convinced the old man thought that the coming of the Chota LAct Sahib to his house was the cause of my new politeness. He was highly gratified by it, and an air of benign serenity shone from his eyes. His friends had looked in, and he had already begun to tell again at full length the story of the Lieutenant-Governor's visit with still further adornments of a most fantastic kind. The interview was already becoming an epic, both in quality and in length.

When the other visitors had taken their leave, I made my proposal to the old man in a humble manner. I told him that, "though I could never for a moment hope to be worthy of marriage connection with such an illustrious family, yet ... etc. etc."

When I made clear my proposal of marriage, the old man embraced me and broke out in a tumult of joy: "I am a poor man, and could never have expected such great good fortune."

That was the first and last time in his life that Kailas Babu confessed to being poor. It was also the first and last time in his life that he forgot, if only for a single moment, the ancestral dignity that belongs to the Babus of Nayanjore.

WORDS TO BE STUDIED

=landholder.= This method of forming compound words from two original
English words should be studied. Compare the following words
which have "land" for one of their parts: _landlord_,
_landowner_, _landlady_, _landslip_, _landfall_. When the second
word is not very closely attached to the first word, a hyphen is
put between, thus _land-grabber_, _land-shark_.

=extinct.= From the Latin "stinguere," to quench. Compare _distinct_,
_instinct_, _extinguish_, _distinguish_.

=cheque.= This word is the same as "check,"--only in this case the
original French form has been kept. The verb to "check" came into
English originally from the game of chess. In Eastern lands when
the chess king was in danger the word "Shah!" was called out, and
when the chess king could not move, "Shah mata!" These were
corrupted into "Check!" and "Checkmate!"

=bankrupt.= This word is a curious mixture of the old French "banque"
(compare _bench_, _banquet_) and the Latin "rumpere," to break
(compare _corrupt_, _disrupt_). It is thus a hybrid word in modern
English.

=filigree.= From two Latin words, "filum," a thread, and "granum," a
grain.

=otto-of-roses.= A corruption of attar. The word is originally Arabic
and Persian.

=turban.= This word has now taken its place in most of the European
languages. It has come to Europe from the Turkish "tulbend" and
the Persian "dulband."

=tobacco.= This word came originally from Central America. It was
brought to Europe by the Spaniards, who pronounced it "tabaco." It
has now travelled all round the world, and has gained a place in
all the Indian vernaculars as well as in the Further East.

=boon.= The Old English word "ben" meant a prayer, and this was the
original meaning of "boon." But a new word appeared in English,
viz. the adjective "boon" from the French "bon," meaning "good."
(Compare _boon companion_). This influenced the earlier word,
which thus gained its present meaning of a "blessing" or "gift."

=smoulder.= "Smolder" is an Old English word meaning "smoke." Cognate
words in English are _smother_ and _small_, which come from the
same root.

=gingerly.= The origin of this word is very doubtful. Some connect it
with "ging" or "gang," meaning "to go." Others with "gent-"
meaning "gentle" or "graceful." The word has no relation to
"ginger" which is an Eastern word coming originally from the
Sanskrit _ASec.raga-vera_ and the Hindustani _zunjubil_.

=fantastic.= From the Greek "phainA," to manifest. Compare _emphasis_,
_emphatic_, _fantasy_, _fancy_, _phenomenon_.

NOTES

NOTES

I.--THE CABULIWALLAH

"The Cabuliwallah" is one of the most famous of the Poet's "Short Stories." It has been often translated. The present translation is by the late Sister Nivedita, and her simple, vivid style should be noticed by the Indian student reader. It is a good example of modern English, with its short sentences, its careful choice of words, and its luminous clearness of meaning.

=Cabuliwallah.=] A man from Cabul or Kabul, the capital of
Afghanistan.

=embarked.=] Like a ship putting out to sea on a new voyage.

=Bhola.=] Mini's attendant.

=Protap Singh.=] Rabindranath Tagore pictures himself as engaged in
writing a novel, full of wild adventures. These names are made up
to suit the story.

=so precarious.=] The writer amusingly imagines the hero and heroine
actually swinging by the rope until he can get back to his desk
and finish writing about how they escaped.

=Abdurrahman.=] The Amir of Kabul.

=Frontier policy.=] The question about guarding the North-West of
India against invasion.

=without demur.=] Without making any objection, or asking for more
money.

=judicious bribery.=] He gave her little presents, _judging_ well what
she would like best.

=new fangled.=] The parents had not talked about such things, as
old-fashioned people would have certainly done.

=euphemism.=] This means, in Greek, "fair speech." Here it means a
pleasant word used instead of the unpleasant word "jail."

=kings went forth.=] During the hot weather the kings of ancient India
used to stay at home: they would begin to fight again at the
beginning of the cold weather.

=my heart would go out.=] That is to say, he would long to see such
places.

=fall to weaving.=] This is an English idiom, like "set to": it means
to begin.

=conjure themselves.=] Just as the conjurer makes all kinds of things
appear before the eyes.

=vegetable existence.=] Vegetables are rooted to the ground. So
Rabindranath is rooted to his desk and cannot make long journeys.

=As it was indefinite.=] Because there was no actual reason for it.
Indefinite here means vague.

=forbid the man the house.=] This is a brief way of saying forbid the
man to enter the house.

=bebagged.=] This word is made up for the occasion, and means "laden
with bags." Compare the words bedewed, besmeared.

=just where.=] The word "just" has become very commonly used in modern
English. It means "exactly," "merely" or "at the very moment."
Compare "He had just gone out." "It was just a joke."

=Scarcely on speaking terms.=] Rabindranath Tagore is here making a
joke; "not to be on speaking terms" means usually "to be
displeased with." Mini had become so eager to talk with her girl
friends that she had almost neglected her father.

=Durga.=] The Durga Festival in Bengal is supposed to represent the
time when Parvati, or Durga, left her father's home in the
Himalayas, called Kailas, and went to live with her husband,
Siva.

=Bhairavi.=] One of the musical tunes which denotes separation.

=chandeliers.=] The glass ornamental hangings on which candles were
lighted in great houses at weddings.

=better-omened.=] It was not considered a good omen, or good fortune,
to meet a criminal on a wedding day.

=dispersed.=] Used up.

=Parbati.=] Another allusion to the Goddess Durga and her home in the
Himalayas.

=apparition.=] This word comes from the same root as the word to
"appear." It means a sudden or strange sight. It often means a
ghost. Mini had so changed that when she appeared in her wedding
dress she startled him, as if he had seen a ghost.

=make friends with her anew.=] His own daughter would not know him at
first.

=Saw before him the barren mountains.=] His memory was so strong that
it made him forget the crowded Calcutta street and think of his
home in the mountains.

II.--THE HOME-COMING

=every one seconded the proposal.=] All were so eagerly in favour
that they wanted to speak at once in support of it.

=regal dignity.=] His position as a king of the other boys.

=fertile brain.=] Full of inventions and plans.

=manoeuvre.=] A French word meaning a plan of battle.

=point of honour.=] He would feel himself disgraced if he gave way.

=Mother Earth.=] Earth is here pictured as a person. There is a
well-known story of a giant who gained fresh power every time his
body touched the earth, which was his Mother.

=Furies.=] These were supposed to be certain demons, who pursued
guilty men with loud cries.

=the servant was master.=] Notice the play of words here. The
"servant" and "master" change places.

=critical juncture.=] At this exact moment when things were so
dangerous.

=Dada.=] The usual Bengal word for "Brother."

=no love was lost.=] This is a mild way of saying that they disliked
one another.

=on pins and needles.=] Exceedingly restless; like some one standing
on sharp points.

=in perpetuity.=] The phrase is a mock legal one, meaning "for all
time."

=by no means pleased.=] She was very displeased, because she had
already children of her own. In English a phrase is often put in a
negative way to imply a very strong positive statement. Thus "by
no means happy" may mean "very unhappy."

=committing such an indiscretion.=] Doing such an unwise thing.

=indecent haste.=] A mock humorous expression, meaning "very quickly."

=craves for recognition.=] Wishes to be noticed and loved.

=physical love.=] Just as a young animal clings to its mother for
protection.

=animal instinct.=] The phrase repeats in another form what was said
before, in the words "a kind of physical love."

=pursed her lips.=] Drew her lips tight like the mouth of a purse
which is tightened by pulling the string.

=as if expecting some one.=] He was looking for his mother.

=very critical.=] Very dangerous. The danger point of the illness
might be reached at any moment and death might come.

=By the mark.=] When a shallow place comes at sea, or on a great
river, one of the sailors throws a piece of lead, with a string
tied to it, into the water, and then looks at the _mark_ on the
string. He calls out that the depth is "three" or "four" fathoms
according to the mark.

=plumb-line.=] The line with a lead weight.

=plumbing.=] To plumb is to get to the bottom of a piece of water.
Here Phatik is pictured as himself going deeper and deeper into
the sea of death, which none can fathom.

=the holidays.=] The Bengali word for "holiday" means also "release."
It is as though he were saying, "My release has come." This cannot
be represented in the English.

III.--ONCE THERE WAS A KING

In this story Rabindranath Tagore begins with some amusing sentences about the dull, matter of fact character of modern scientific people, who cannot enjoy a fairy story without asking "Is it true?" The Poet implies that there are deeper truths than modern science has yet discovered. The ending of the present story will show this more clearly.

=sovereign truth.=] There is a play upon the word "sovereign" which
can mean "kingly" and also "supreme."

=exacting.=] There is further play here with the words "exact" and
"exacting." "Exact" means precise and "exacting" means making
others precise.

=legendary haze.=] The ancient legends are very obscure, just like an
object seen through a mist.

=knowledge.=] Mere book knowledge,--knowledge of outside things.

=truth.=] Inner truth such as comes from the heart of man and cannot
be reasoned or disputed.

=half past seven.=] The time when his tutor was due.

=no other need.=] As if God would continue the rain merely to keep his
tutor away!

=If not.=] Though it might not have been caused by his prayers, still
for some reason the rain did continue.

=nor did my teacher.=] Supply the words "give up."

=punishment to fit the crime.=] An amusing reference to the doctrine
of _karma_, which states that each deed will have its due reward
or punishment.

=as me.=] Strictly speaking it should be "I" not "me" but he is
writing not too strictly.

=I hope no child.=] The author here amusingly pretends that the
child's way of getting out of his lessons was too shocking for
young boys in the junior school to read about.

=I will marry my daughter to him.=] The verb to "marry" in English can
be used in two senses:--

(1) To wed some one: to take in marriage.

(2) To get some one wedded: to give in marriage.

The later sense is used here.

=in the dawn of some indefinite time.=] In some past existence long
ago.

=If my grandmother were an author.=] Here Rabindranath returns to his
mocking humour. A modern author, he says, would be obliged to
explain all sorts of details in the story.

=hue and cry.=] This is a phrase used for the noise and bustle that is
made when people are searching for a thief.

=Her readers.=] Referring back to the Grandmother.

=in an underhand way.=] Under the disguise of a fairy story.

=grandmother again.=] That is, in the old conditions when people were
not too exacting about accuracy.

=luckless grandson.=] A humorous way of referring to himself. The
author had the misfortune to be born in the modern age of science.

=Seven wings.=] The word "wings" is here used, not for "wings" like
those of birds, but for the sides of a large building, projecting
out at an angle from the main building.

=But what is the use....=] The author here breaks off the story, as
though it were useless to go on any further in these modern days
when every thing has to be scientifically proved.

=Some "what then?"=] Some future existence about which explanations
might be asked.

=no grandmother of a grandmother.=] No one, however old.

=never admits defeat.=] Refuses to believe in death.

=teacherless evening=.] Evening on which the teacher did not come.

=chamber of the great end.=] Death itself is referred to; it is the
end of human life on earth and what is beyond death is shut out
from us.

=incantation.=] Sacred verses or _mantras_.

IV.--THE RETURN OF THE CHILD

=found two masters.=] The wife was his master now, as well as her
husband.

=make for safety.=] Get to some place where he could not be caught.

=will be a judge some day.=] The baby seemed so wise to Raicharan,
that he thought he would certainly grow up to be a judge.

=epoch in human history.=] It seemed to Raicharan as though some great
event had happened which ought to be recorded.

=wrestler's trick.=] The writer, in fun, makes Raicharan's skill
depend on doing just what the wrestler tries to avoid, i.e. being
thrown on his back.

=swallowed down.=] Washed them away in a flood.

=little despot.=] The baby, who was able to make Raicharan do exactly
what he liked.

=The silent ceremonial.=] The author pictures the sunset as like some
splendid kingly ceremony, where every gorgeous colour can be seen.

="Pitty fow."=] "Pretty flower." The baby can only lisp the words.

=He was promoted from a horse into a groom.=] He was no longer asked
by the baby to be a "horse" in his games, but to look after this
toy carriage, as a groom would.

=with all sorts of curious noises.=] He began to imitate the sounds of
birds.

=destined to be a judge.=] The baby could see through Raicharan's
attempts to deceive, as a judge would see through false evidence.

=wavelets.=] The little waves seemed like so many thousand little
children running away in fun or mischief.

=there was no one there.=] These words are repeated again and again to
give the sense of utter loss and desolation.

=overwhelming resentment.=] His own baby seemed to have been given to
him in order to tempt him to forget his little Master. Raicharan
was angry to think that any one could imagine such forgetfulness
to be possible.

=The little Master could not cast off the spell.=] Could not keep away
from the servant who loved him so much. He fancies his little
Master has come back to life again in this new little baby, drawn
as it were by some enchantment of love.

=accumulated.=] Gathered together: referring to the idea of _karma_.

=personal appearance.=] He spent a long time in arranging his clothes
and making himself look handsome.

=country manners.=] Country people have habits and ways of speaking
which seem absurd to town people.

=a kind of condescension.=] As if he were superior and Raicharan were
beneath him.

=mendicant quack.=] A beggar dealing in herbs and medicines and
charms.

=hungry, eager eyes.=] As if she could never gaze long enough upon
him.

=the magistrate in him.=] The magistrate's way of looking at things.

=magisterial conscience.=] His instincts as a judge, who must condemn
the guilty.

V.--MASTER MASHAI

=Ratikanta.=] He is represented throughout as a typical hanger-on of
the rich family, selfish and flattering.

=Victor Hugo.=] The most famous of Victor Hugo's stories is called
"Les Miserables." Its opening scene of San Valjean and the saintly
Bishop is very well known in literature.

=deep-laid plot.=] Notice how throughout this story the different
members of this wealthy house appear to be unable to take account
of unselfish motives.

=this is sheer kidnapping.=] Adhar Babu believes that Haralal has
acquired some hypnotic influence over Venu and is trying to rob
him of his money.

=brokers and middlemen.=] Those who bought the grain from the peasants
and sold it to the English firm.

=any security.=] A money payment which would be forfeited if anything
went wrong.

=a note of hand.=] A paper signed by Venugopal saying that he owed so
much money.

=filed a suit.=] Brought an action in the law courts against the
father to recover the money lent to the son.

=Currency notes.=] Notes of twenty, fifty, a hundred rupees,--such as
could be changed for money.

=theft the night before.=] Adhar Babu had already missed the things
that Venu had taken away.

=it's a paying business.=] Adhar Babu imagines that Venu and Haralal
have become partners in order to swindle other people.

=with your connivance.=] With your secret knowledge and approval.

=Deliverance was in the infinite sky.=] He felt that all the evils,
which were pressing close around him, were broken through and
that he had come out beyond them into the clear light of truth. It
was like coming out of some narrow confined place into the open
sky.

VI.--SUBHA

=Subhashini.=] Sweetly speaking.

=Sukheshini.=] With lovely hair.

=Suhashini.=] Sweetly smiling.

=process of translation.=] To change the unspoken language of thought
into the spoken language of words is like translating the mother
tongue into a foreign language. Much of the beauty is lost.

=that speech of the dark eyes.=] Nature was speaking in every part of
her own great being, in the same silent way as those dark eyes of
Subha were speaking.

=without any common language.=] The cows had the common language of
looks with which to talk to Subha. But Pratap, who could speak,
had not learnt Subha's language of looks.

=they become public property.=] Everyone can amuse himself by talking
with them in idle moments.

=water nymph.=] Referring to the legends, common in all countries, of
water fairies or mermaids living at the bottom of a river or
beneath the sea and dwelling in wonderful palaces.

=tide from the central places of the sea.=] When the moon is full, the
tide rises to its highest point: it seems to start from some
central place far out at sea and to come rolling and surging in.

=silent troubled Mother.=] Nature, with her full tide and full moon,
seems troubled and longing to break out into speech, just as Subha
longed to do.

=they have caught your bridegroom.=] Pratap employs the word "caught"
from his favourite pursuit of fishing. The bridegroom has been
caught just like a fish.

=did her best to kill her natural beauty.=] Her hair was much more
beautiful when left in its natural way, instead of being all bound
up in a net.

=The God ... the great man.=] These words refer to the bridegroom
himself, who wields such mighty powers of choice or refusal. They
are ironical.

VII.--THE POSTMASTER

=like a fish out of water.=] Completely out of place, because he was
used to city life.

=macadamised road.=] He would have infinitely preferred the streets
and shops and crowded markets of Calcutta.

=smoke ... from the village cowsheds.=] Such as is used to drive away
the mosquitoes.

=BaA1/4l.=] A religious sect in Bengal whose members sing songs and often
go about begging.

=No more of this.=] He was afraid he might become too deeply attached
to Ratan if he stayed.

=Its fond mistakes are persistent.=] We continually try to deceive
ourselves that what we _wish_ to be true _is_ true. When at last
we find out the truth, we could almost wish we had not done so.

VIII.--THE CASTAWAY

=Like a rudderless boat.=] Notice how the metaphor is kept up to the
end of the sentence.

=The writ of Fate.=] They said that if she was to die, she was to die,
and nothing could prevent it.

=profiting their Brahmin guest.=] She would believe this to be an act
of merit for which she would be rewarded.

=out of his repertory.=] Out of the stock of plays he recited when he
belonged to the theatrical troupe.

=hearing sacred names.=] This also, she believed, would bring her
merit.

=forcing house.=] Like some glass conservatory used for exotic
flowers.

=exact stature.=] The manager wished him to take the parts of women
who are smaller than men.

=came to adequate revelation.=] Were now abundantly apparent.

=twice-born bird.=] Once born in the egg and once after the breaking
of the egg. The goose in the story was the messenger between Nala
and Damayanti.

=the tiger has no wish to become a mouse.=] A reference to a folk
story of a saint who turned a pet mouse into a tiger.

=German silver.=] A kind of cheap silver containing much alloy in it.

=to look for your Damayanti.=] To find Satish a wife.

IX.--THE SON OF RASHMANI

=do the duty of the father.=] By disciplining and punishing the
child.

=crippling his patrimony.=] Injuring the estate.

=this is preposterous.=] The natural thing would be for the property
to be divided between the two brothers and their descendants, but
by this will only one son was recognized and one set of grandsons.

=given to the grandsons.=] To Shyama Charan's and Bhavani's sons.
According to this preposterous will Bhavani was left out
altogether, and also his son.

=Shyama Charan's treachery.=] She fully believed that he had stolen
the will and put this false one in its place.

=Noto used to get reprimands.=] Used to be blamed for wishing to save
this waste of money. Of course the whole thing was imaginary, but
it gave Bhavani the pleased feeling of being generous.

=traditional extravagance.=] Such as had always been displayed in
former days when the family was prosperous.

=Some imaginary dog.=] She would say that some dog had run off with
the food which she had prepared.

=Bhavani had confessed.=] Rashmani, Noto and Bhavani himself were all
alike ready to keep up the illusion that the old magnificence was
still there, if only this or that accident had not deprived them
of its display.

=invisible ink.=] Ink which is invisible when first written with, but
when heated becomes visible.

=Baba, wait a little.=] In Bengal daughters are often called Ma
(mother) and sons Baba (father).

=it became absurdly easy.=] Because, after this, both the mother and
her son could join in the pretence together.

=lacking in proper enthusiasm.=] Did not care much about the subject.

=more than compensated.=] The pleasure of telling the news was greater
than the pain of knowing that such a sacrilege was going to take
place.

=with all the more deadly force.=] The thrower being up above, the
speed would increase all the more on the downward flight of the
missile.

=requiring expensive fodder.=] Vanity can feed itself on the idea of
self importance.

=to graze at large.=] Merely to feed on what is before it. He gave it
extra food by paying for a number of flatterers, just as a horse
is stall-fed with extra supplies of food.

=turned round on him.=] His vanity would be offended and he would be
his enemy instead of his helper.

=forced extravagance.=] Kalipada had been forced by the sneers of the
students to give far more than he could afford.

=draw tears from the eyes.=] An amusing way of saying that no burglar
would ever dream of trying to rob such a room.

=laid their impious hands.=] Had grossly insulted.

=let him climb down first.=] An English metaphor meaning "let him be
humble."

=he discovered the truth.=] The truth that he was a near relative of
Kalipada.

=grandchild's privilege.=] Especially in Bengal, a grandchild is
allowed the liberty of making jokes with his grandfather.

=he found it easy.=] He loved his mother so much that when he found
anyone pleased with things which she had made he enjoyed seeing
them use these things rather than himself.

X.--THE BABUS OF NAYANJORE

=the days before the flood.=] The word "antediluvian" meaning "before
the flood," is used sometimes in English for things very ancient
and out of date. There is a play upon this here.

=dazzling outburst.=] Just as, at a firework display, pitch darkness
follows the last firework.

=drawing his heavy cheques.=] To "draw a cheque" is to take so much
from a credit account in the bank. The words are humorously used
here of taking something from the public belief about the
greatness of the Babus of Nayanjore.

=and er-er.=] He hesitates a little as he mentions the ladies.

=Thakur Dada.=] Grandfather.

=my moral character was flawless.=] Note how the author shows the
conceit of this young man. Compare, lower down, the phrase
"because I was so good."

=poet Bhabavuti.=] The poet means that there must be some one in this
vast universe of time and space who is the match for the hero of
his poem.

=Chota LAct Sahib.=] The story refers to the time when Calcutta was the
Capital of India. The Burra LAct Sahib was the Viceroy, the Chota
LAct Sahib was the Lieutenant-Governor.

=walking backward.=] As a mark of respect. He was continually bowing
and then stepping back. This kind of ceremonial bowing was
commoner in earlier days than it is now.

=tall silk hat.=] These were only worn in India at State functions
and their use in this country by Englishmen is becoming more and
more rare. But in earlier days they were not uncommon. They are
black in colour and shining.

=ugly modern custom.=] The author dislikes the passing away of an old
beautiful custom of reverence towards old men.

=becoming an epic.=] Becoming legendary by its additions. An epic poem
often goes on describing an incident with all kinds of marvellous
events added to it, till it becomes a very long story.

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Transcriber's Note:

The following modifications have been made to the text.

Page 57: Raichran has been replaced with Raicharan.

Page 86: mornng has been replaced with morning.

Page 119: teachnig has been replaced with teaching.

Page 166: circumstance has been replaced with circumstances.

End of Project Gutenberg's Stories from Tagore, by Rabindranath Tagore