Page:History of Bengali Language and Literature.djvu/663

 ‘NI.] BENGALI LANGUAGE & LITERATURE. 623 tably, being pleased with the great scholar- ship of the youngman. He resided at this place for many years and when he was verging on forty, he was ordered by Magana Thakur to translate _the Hindi poem Padmavat into Bengali and he did | so to please his patron and master. Some years passed in this high and agreeable company, and our poet seems to have tasted during this time the sweets of life after the woes that had befallen him in the early part of his career. He was again ordered by Magana Thakur to translate a Persian work named Saiful Mulluk and Badiujjamal into Bengali. But he had now declined ‘in the vale of years’ and when a few chapters of this book were written, Magana Thakur, the poet's friend and patron, met with an unexpected death, and Algol in great dis- appointment left the half-finished poem and retired into a life of rest. But it was yet reserved for him to be subjected to further vicissitudes in life; and greater sorrows than those hitherto experienced were still in store for him. Suja, brother of Aurang- zeb, had come to Aracan about this period and a fight ensued between the unfortunate prince and the Araé- can Chief,—the former being completely defeated. A wicked man named Mirza gave evidence against Alaol, to satisfy a private grudge implicating him as a party to Suja’s action against the Chief of Aracan. Aldol was thrown into prison, where he spent a few years, subjected to all sorts of cruel treatment. He was, however, released and spent 9 years of his life in close retirement. Syed Musa, a rich nobleman of Aracan, took some interest in the poet during these evil days and at his request he completed his translation of Saifulmulluk and Enjoys the patronage of Magana Thakura. Magana Thakura dies. Alaol thrown ~ into prison