Page:History of Bengali Language and Literature.djvu/812

 740 BENGALI LANGUAGE & LITERATURE. [ Chap. stories by a phonograph at the time they were delivered; so that their language remains re- markably faithful to the narration of the villagers. As speci- The language owes not the least colouring mens of old : : এ dialect, Or refinement to modern literary Bengali. The dialect spoken in the country five hundred years ago, of which specimens are to be found in the written literature of the period, remains unchanged in the colloquial language of our backward villages, not subjected to the influ- ences of the outside world; and Daksina Babu’s collection has not only preserved the spirit of the old folk-lore unpolished by the touch of the compiler, but has retained even those old and quaint forms with all their mannerisms, which best indicate the genius of our tongue. There are altogether 16 stories in the two volumes. Some of them are meant simply to amuse the children, which is the primary object of all nursery tales. There are others, like the stories of Malan- chamala and Kanchanamala, which though sufficient- ly wild and romantic to amuse the young, have also deeper meanings to interest more thoughtful readers. The characters of the heroines of these stories possess a living interest. The ideals of chastity and devotion to the husband, which they hold up, open vistas, as it were, into the domestic life of the Hindu women of past days, and enable us to see the workings of their souls—the purity of their hearts and the wonderful spirit of sacrifice which actuated them in there every-day conduct. Malancha- ‘The pathos created by Malanchamala’s sufferings, me her sacrifices, and devotion to her husband-are matters difficult to be conveyed to those whose idea