the forste, from whence issued a voice calling him by name. It was that of Karkotaka, the king of serpents, sentenced by the holy hermit Narada, whom he had deceived, to abide there till king Nala should release him. The king plunged into the ruddy flame, and drew him out. Karkotaka bit Nala, who thereupon was changed in form, lest he should be known; and he then explained the virtue of the bite : "He through whom thou'rt thus afflicted-Nala, with intensest grief, "So from him, by whom, thou blameless !—sufferest such unworthy wrong, "Fear not thou the tusked wild boar-foeman fear not thou, O king, "In the battle, chief of rajas-victory is ever thine. The king of serpents then gave him a pair of magic garments (an upper and a lower vest), to put on when he desired to resume his proper form, and consoled him with the promise of soon regaining his kingdom, wife, and children. The king of Nishadha set forth to Ayodhya (Oude), the city of king Rituparna, to whom he represented himself, according to the direction of Karkotaka, as Vahuca, a skilful tamer of horses, and an adept at cooking, the science of which was one of the celestial gifts bestowed upon Nala at his marriage. He was entertained at a liberal stipend. Thoughts of his deserted queen clouded his mind, and frequent ejaculations of "where is she?" induced one of his associates to inquire who she was for whom he grieved. He answered :— "To a man of sense bereft, "Once belonged a peerless lady-most infirm of word was he ; "Night and day, and still for ever-by his parching grief consumed : Nightly brooding o'er his sorrows-sings he this sad single verse. King Bhima, meanwhile, had despatched some brahmins to seek his unhappy daughter and her husband, "through the world," promising, as a reward for their discovery, the grant of "a village like a town," and a thousand kine. One of them, Sudeva, coming to pleasant Chedipur, beheld the fair fugitive, but so changed, "dull in look and wasted still," that he scarcely recognized Bhima's large-eyed daughter. The worthy brahmin breaks out into a sort of soliloquy, which is full of poetical imagery. He addresses the lady, who seems to have appeared in publie on the occasion, as it was a "royal holiday," that is, a day proclaimed as fortunate; he tells her he has come in quest of her, by command of king Bhima, and that a hundred brahmins are wandering over the earth in search of her and her lord. She no sooner knew Sudeva-Damayanti, of her kin, Many a question asked in order-and of every friend beloved. On Sudeva, best of brahmins-gazing, on her brother's friend. Thus she spake unto her mother—“ Lo, how fast our handmaid weeps, "Like to her of mortal women-is there none, her beauty's peer; The queen-mother hence discovered that Damayanti was her own sister's daughter. With the king of Rituparna's permission, a mighty army escorted Damayanti to Vidarbha, where she joined her parents, her children, and her "sister-troop of friends." She paid her worship to the gods and to the brahmins; but she still "sat and mourned for her husband.” Her complainings have all the tenderness of a fond and forgiving wife : "Ever by her consort cherished—and sustained the wife should be. The brahmins continued their search for a long time, till one of them, Parnada, by mention of the incidents related by Damayanti, in the hearing of the pretended Vahuca, "with short arms and all deformed," at Ayodhya, made him groan in anguish, and darkly disclose the secret of his real per Parnada hastens back with the intelligence, and Damayanti employs Sudeva to proceed to Ayodhya, and there proclaim in the court of Rituparna her swayembara, or choice of a second husband. The king of Ayodhya resolves to go thither, whilst Nala's heart is torn with contending emotions, doubtful whether this "deed unholy "* be a stratagem, or a proof of the fickle heart of woman. Nala, or Vahuca, attended the king to the swayembara, as charioteer ; his surpassing skill as such won admiration, and suggested a suspicion that he must be king Nala, who received the gift from heaven. On their way, Nala discovers that the raja possessed a supernatural science in numbers and dice, and proposing to exchange his skill in horses for the raja's skill in dice, the barter was no sooner effected (in what manner is not explained), than Kali passed from his body, vomiting Karkotaka's foul poison from his mouth. Nala, in his ire, would fain curse the demon; but Kali (visible to no eyes * A second marriage in a woman is considered an inexpiable breach of conjugal fidelity. save Nala's), trembling, besought the " king of men" not to curse him, promising to give him matchless fame. He suppressed his wrath; Kali entered a vibhitak tree (beleric myrobalan), and Nala, wanting now only his proper form, entered Vidarbha, all the region echoing with the thunders of his car : Damayanti, too, the rushing-of king Nala's chariot heard. As a cloud that hoarsely thunders-at the coming of the rains. The gentle Damayanti was as surprised when she saw no Nala, as king Rituparna was when he beheld no preparations for the swayembara. The latter pretended that the cause of his visit was a desire to salute his brother raja; and the former, smit with a secret sympathy, sent one of her damsels to scrutinize the short-armed charioteer, whose skill rivalled that of her lord. Her inquiries of Vahuca respecting Nala drew forth this dark reply : Only Nala's self of Nala-knows, and his own inward soul, Of himself to living mortal-Nala will no sign betray. But his emotions, and the expressions he let fall, were sufficient to induce Damayanti to believe he was her transformed lord; but, more than all, the miraculous powers with which he was endowed. The damsel says:— 3 Very holy is he, never-mortal man, in all my life, "He drew near the lowly entrance-bowed not down his stately head; "These to cleanse, with meet ablution-were capacious vessels brought; "Lo, a second greater marvel-sudden burst upon my sight! "He that blazing fire stood handling-yet unharmed, unburned, remained. "At his will flows forth the water-at his will it sinks again. "And another greater wonder-lady, did I there behold: "He the flowers which he had taken-gently moulded in his hands, "In his hands the flowers, so moulded-as with freshening life endued, "Blossomed out with richer fragrance-stood erect upon their stems." Damayanti tries a decisive test. She sends their children to him. Soon as he young Indrasena-and her little brother saw, Up he sprang, his arms wound round them-to his bosom folding both ; "We within this land are strangers-beauteous maiden, part in peace." All her suspicions being confirmed, she communicates the discovery to her mother, who imparted it to king Bhima. The pair were brought into each other's presence: their emotions were mutual. Damayanti asks a bitter question:-- "Vahuca, beheld'st thou ever-an upright and noble man, "Who departed and abandoned-in the wood his sleeping wife? "The beloved wife, and blameless,-in the wild wood, worn with grief!" Nala confessed his offence, wrought by the influence of Kali within; adding that, having subdued that influence by his religious patience, all their sorrows would end, but that she had heralded throughout the world a second choice. Damayanti explained the innocent deception, with solemn adjurations, which were confirmed by a voice from the wind, "she hath done or thought no evil," whilst floral showers descended, amidst sweet music of the gods. The jealous doubts of Nala being dissipated, he put on his magic vest, and was restored to his own proud form. Then her face upon his bosom-as the lovely princess laid, In her calm and gentle sorrow--softly sighed the long-eyed queen : The re-united pair related to each other their wild adventures during the four years of their divorcement: Like as the glad earth to water-opens its half-budding fruits, She of weariness unconscious,—soothed each grief, and full each joy, Every wish fulfilled, shone brightly—as the night, when high the moon. King Nala returned in pomp to his capital, where he boldly challenged his brother Pushkara to play for the last stake, Damayanti and his life. In short, Nala won back all he had lost, and telling Pushkara by what means (unconsciously) he had succeeded, he dismissed him with riches. Nala lived to the end of his days in felicity like that of the sovereign of the gods. Habituated as we are to the models which the Greek and Roman epopoa presents, it would be absurd to say that there is nothing in this episode which offends good taste. But a reader who, after having formed to himself an abstract idea of the Iliad from Pope's translation, proceeds to an examination of the original, would probably, at first, be surprised at similar aberrations, which soon, however, cease to be noticed amidst the general admiration which the poem, as a whole, inspires. LIFE-INSURANCE IN CEYLON. TO THE EDITOR. SIR:-Knowing the interest you take in what concerns the welfare of that portion of our fellow countrymen, whose destiny compels them to reside in the East, I feel less scruple in troubling you with the following observations than I otherwise should do. The subject to which I am about to allude is the ruinous extra premium charged by this country on the lives of those resident in Ceylon, and which are calculated on most erroneous data, as I will clearly demonstrate. There is no doubt that, before the interior of the island came into British possession, and the different stations were connected with roads; before the jungle was cleared away and the morasses drained, Europeans might have incurred considerable risk in some parts of the country. I cannot place the matter in a better or clearer light than by quoting the following paragraphs taken from the Colombo Journal of August 1832 and March 1833, as well as the report of the annual mortality in 1833 and 1834 of the European troops stationed on the island. EXTRACT from Colombo Journal of August 1832. We publish the returns of the four following regiments, now stationed in this island: the 58th, 61st, 78th, and 97th. Strength of the 78th regt. on arriving in Ceylon in August 1826 • Increased from various sources... Deduct transfers, discharges, &c............ 553 men 116 669 44 625 Strength of 97th regt. on arriving in Ceylon in August 1825 Deduct transfers, discharges, &c........... 538 men 158 696 40 656 Died by natural deaths 172 178 or 27 per cent. in 7 years. Strength of the 61st regt. on arriving in Ceylon in November 1828 Increased from various sources Deduct sent home 94 or 160 per cent. in 4 years. |