Page:Biographical Sketches of Dekkan Poets.djvu/49

purpose, reminding her that suicide was a heinous crime in the eyes of the Almighty. Nashi became at length reconciled to life, and was resolved to devote the remainder of her years to philosophy and study: she had heard from her father, that by swallowing a large quantity of Jotishpati oil, a person will either obtain a quick genius, or die in the space of five hours; she had the fortitude to make the trial, and took a strong-dose of the before-mentioned oil. In a short time, however, she felt a buring pain through her whole frame so acutely, that she could not bear it, and in a state almost frantic, jumped down a well, that was at the back of their house, and remained immersed in water for two hours, in the mean time the poet missing his daughter, whom he loved excessively, left off teaching his disciples, and went in search of her to the back of the house, and calling out her name Nachi, the damsel answered him from the bottom of the well, and apprized her father of what she had done. He directed her to remain for five hours in the well, and then to come out, which she did, and found herself entirely rid of her