THE POISON TREE
A Tale of Hindu Life in Bengal
BY
BANKIM CHANDRA CHATTERJEE
TRANSLATED BY
MIRIAM S. KNIGHT
WITH A PREFACE BY
EDWIN ARNOLD, C.S.I.
London
T. FISHER UNWIN
26 PATERNOSTER SQUARE
1884
PREFACE
had been asked by the accomplished lady who has translated thesubjoined story to introduce it with a few words of comment to theEnglish public. For that purpose I commenced the perusal of the proofsheets; but soon found that what was begun as a literary task became areal and singular pleasure, by reason of the author's vivid narrative,his skill in delineating character, and, beyond all, the striking andfaithful pictures of Indian life with which his tale is filled. Nor dothese qualities suffer, beyond what is always inevitable, in thetransfer of the novel from its[vi] original Bengali to English. Fiveyears ago, Sir William Herschel, of the Bengal Civil Service, had theintention of translating this Bisha Briksha; but surrendered thetask, with the author's full consent, to Mrs. Knight, who has hereperformed it with very remarkable skill and success. To accomplishthat, more was wanted than a competent knowledge of the language ofthe original and a fluent command of English: it was necessary to befamiliar with the details of native life and manners, and to have asufficient acquaintance with the religious, domestic, and socialcustoms of Bengali homes. Possessing these, Mrs. Knight has nowpresented us with a modern Hindu novelette, smoothly readablethroughout, perfectly well transferred from its vernacular (with suchomissions as were necessary), and valuable, as I venture to affirm, toEnglish readers as well from its skill in construction and intrinsicinterest as for the light which it sheds upon the indoor existence ofwell-to-do Hindus, and the excellent specimen which it furnishes ofthe sort of indigenous literature happily growing popular in theircities and towns.
The author of "The Poison Tree" is Babu Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, anative gentleman of[vii] Bengal, of superior intellectual acquisitions,who ranks unquestionably as the first living writer of fiction in hisPresidency. His renown is widespread among native readers, whorecognize the truthfulness and power of his descriptions, and areespecially fond of "Krishna Kanta's Will," "Mrinalini," and this verystory of the Bisha Briksha, which belongs to modern days in India,and to the new ideas which are spreading—not always quitehappily—among the families of the land. Allowance being made for theloss which an original author cannot but sustain by the transfer ofhis style and method into another language and system of thought, itwill be confessed, I think, that the reputation of "Bankim Babu" iswell deserved, and that Bengal has here produced a writer of truegenius, whose vivacious invention, dramatic force, and purity of aim,promise well for the new age of Indian vernacular literature.
It would be wrong to diminish the pleasure of the English reader byanalysing the narrative and forestalling its plot. That which appearsto me most striking and valuable in the book is the faithful