Page:Krishna Kanta's Will.djvu/7

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10
INTRODUCTION

sity. He held an appointment under Government as a Deputy Magistrate and Collector, and obtained the title of Ray Bahadur, and the distinction of the Order of a Companion of the Indian Empire. This talented author, whose varied works are familiar to every student of Bengali literature, died in May, 1894, at the age of 57.

It is needless to say anything of the story of "Krishna Kanta's Will." The carefully prepared and literal translation of this novel, for which we are indebted to the pen of the translator of the author's "Poison Tree" alluded to above, will tell its own tale.

This translation is from the latest edition of the work, published in 1892.

The story is written with much dramatic force, tragic indeed, but enlivened by passages of humorous description. The moral lesson intended to be conveyed is obvious—in fact, the chief aim of the author in all his works appears to have been to promote the amelioration of Hindu society, and to teach the vital importance of a reliance on religious principles in the affairs of life.

J. F. BLUMHARDT.

Oxford, February, 1895.