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vi more enhanced for want of afﬁnity between English and Bengali, and also on account of a complete divergence between Eastern and Western modes of thought and expression. But in spite of these difficulties, I have tried my best to make the translation as literal as possible, at the same time never allowed elegance and idiom to be sacriﬁced by following the text too closely. Certain expressions, if translated literally, would convey no idea to a foreigner. In those places I have given the English expressions and phrases which are used to express sentiments similar to those intended to be conveyed in Bengali; I have also tried where it is possible to maintain certain peculiarities of expression, a literal rendering of which conveys both the sense as well as an idea of the peculiar expression to the English reader. I have given the allusions where they are necessary, and have also given explanatory foot-notes to bring out the point of certain expressions and to make the peculiar manners and customs of the Bengalis intelligible to a foreigner. In spite of my best efforts, I do not think I have been able to make the translation as I should have liked to have done, and I have no doubt that there are many defects in it. But I have this satisfaction in my mind that I have not done the work hurriedly or perfunctorily and I have done my best. As regards the book itself I need say only one thing more, and that is, that it is regarded as one of the best of Bunkim’s novels, if not the very best.