Suddenly that dense mass of hair fell from the
head; the locks were borrowed. The bust also fell away; it was made of
cloth. After putting on suitable apparel and removing the _Boisnavi_
garments, there stood forth a strikingly handsome young man of about
five and twenty years of age. Having no hair on his face he looked
quite a youth; in feature he was very handsome. This young man was
Debendra Babu, of whom we have before had some slight knowledge.
Debendra and Nagendra were sprung from the same family, but between
the two branches there had been feud for successive generations, so
that the members of the Debipur family were not on speaking terms with
those of Govindpur. From generation to generation there had been
lawsuits between the two houses. At length, in an important suit, the
grandfather of Nagendra had defeated the grandfather of Debendra, and
since that time the Debipur family had been powerless. All their money
was swallowed up in law expenses, and the Govindpur house had bought
up all their estates. From that time the position of the Debipur
family had declined, that of the other increased, the two branches no
longer united.
Debendra's father had sought in one way to restore the fallen fortunes
of his house.
Pages:
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63