Page:History of Bengali Language and Literature.djvu/304

 268 BENGALI LANGUAGE & LITERATURE. [Chap. Laksmindara died. The next moment the sun rose, shedding its golden hues over the mountain- forests and the birds began to sing blithely onthe wild trees. Queen Sanaka with her maids of honour came to the house and saw a most heart-rending sight. Prince Laksmindara lay there dead, and the widowed girl was sobbing over him. With dishe- velled hair, she was bending over the departed prince. Sanaka swooned, and the maids said—‘‘Oh luckless wretch, it is to thine evil fortune we owe this crushing bereavement. The vermilion-marks on thy brow have not lost their lustre,—they have stilla deep scarlet hue, the tint of a/akta on thy feet is yet unsoiled by dust, thy marriage attire of silk is RE ick’ ee fresh as new, and yet thou art already a widow ! less bride. No snake could have done this, it is thy breath that has extinguished the life’s fire in the prince, wretch that thou art.’’ Behula did not hear these reproaches; for her mind was working on far other themes. The prince had asked her to embrace him, he had asked her to prepare rice for him: the first and the last requests of one who was all in all to her! How unfortunate was she that she had not been able to fulfil these wishes ! At this recollection the tears again flowed from her eyes unceasingly. Behula The body of Laksmindara was taken to the onthe raft burning ghat. But Behula insisted that it should not with the : corpse. be burnt. The custom in the country in cases of snake-bite was to place the corpse on a raft made of plantain stems culled a dhe/a and leave it on the river, in the hope that the skill of a physician or a snake-charmer might bring it back to life. Behula’s arguments were appreciated, and a raft of plantain- stems was prepared. The corpse of the prince