Page:Indira and Other Stories.pdf/118

 So you must dismiss me from your heart. Pray that you and I may never meet again."

With these words, poor Purandar hurried away. Hiranmayi sat down and wept. Restraining her grief she said to herself: "If I were to die to-day, would Purandar need to go to Ceylon? Why should I not hang myself with one of these creepers, or fling myself into yonder sea?" And then the sensible reflection came, "If I die, what will it matter to me whether Purandar goes to Ceylon or not?"

So thinking, Hiranmayi sat and wept silently.

  No one knew why Dhana Das had forbidden his daughter's marriage to Purandar. He had not communicated his reasons to any of his intimates. If any one asked him, he simply answered, "I know what I am about." The curious thing was that though numerous proposals were made for Hiranmayi's hand, he rejected them all. He simply refused to