THE ASHES OF A GOD.*
Mn. BAIN's new fable is no less delightful than its pre- decessors. There is the same learned and fantastic preface, . and the tale told by Maheshwara to Parwliti is as ingenious and poetic as the Great God's other romances. It appears that a Brahman, the prime minister of a king, seeing his wife one day in his master's arms, did not stop to inquire further . into the business, but fled to a lonely graveyard and proceeded to " acquire merit " by ceaseless muttering. The gods granted him the boon of continuing his devotions indefinitely, till he abandoned them of his own accord. By-and-by the Brahman by his assiduity acquired such a mountain of merit that the gods were seriously alarmed, for it threatened to overwhelm Heaven and earth. So various devices were employed to wean him from his allegiance, but all failed till Indra -went to Kahinidhi in the bottom of the sea and implored her help. The sea-nymph arranged for the Brahman. a play in which an old elephant and a pippala tree played the parts—the elephant being a re-incarnation of the erring king and the tree of the Brahman's wife. In the play the whole story came out, and the innocence of the wife was made clear. The Brahman's asceticism was melted ; he rushed to embrace his wife and found himself kissing the artful Kakinidhi. Whereupon the mountain of merit was absolutely annihilated and Indra appeared and condemned the Brahman to a series of most unpleasant incarnations, beginning with that of a tail- less dog. For the Brahman's devotion was only egotism, and he could never have loved his wife if he condemned her with- out inquiry. It is superfluous for us to praise Mr. Bain's manner of telling the tale. In his delicate prose, which remains good prose though instinct with poetry, we get the superfine essence of the Indian mythology.
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