poor young man, who is tender by nature, has never been distressed in such a way before, and it is highly probable that he will succumb under his present affliction, and experience the pains of death." If the woman listens with a favorable ear, then on the following day the go-between, having observed marks of good spirits in her face, in her eyes, and in her manner of conversation, should again converse with her on the subject of the man, and should tell her the stories of Ahalya[1] and Indra, of Sakoontala[2] and Dushyanti, and such others as may be fitted for the occasion. She should also describe to her the strength of the man, his talents, his skill in the sixty-four sorts of enjoyments mentioned by Babhravya, his good looks, and his liaison with some praiseworthy woman, no matter whether this last ever took place or not.
In addition to this, the go-between should carefully note the behavior of the woman, which if favorable would be as follows: She would address her with a smiling look, would seat herself close beside her and ask her, "Where have you been? What have you been doing? Where did you dine? Where did you sleep? Where have you been sitting?" Moreover the woman would meet the go-between in lonely places and tell her stories there, would yawn contemplatively, draw long sighs, give her presents, remember her on occasions of festivities, dismiss her with a wish to see her again, and say to her jestingly, "O, well-speaking woman, why do you speak these bad words to me?" would discourse on the sin of her union with the man, would not tell her about any previous visits or conversations that she may have had with him, but wish to be asked about these, and lastly would laugh at the man's desire, but would not reproach him in any way.
Thus ends the behavior of the woman with the go-between.
When the woman manifests her love in the manner above described, the go-between should increase it by bringing to her love-tokens from the man. But if the women be not acquainted with the man personally, the go-between should
- ↑ The wife of the sage Gautama, she was seduced by Indra the king of the Gods.
- ↑ The heroine of one of the best, if not the best, of Hindoo plays, and the best known in Sanscrit dramatic literature. It was first brought to notice by Sir William Jones, and has been well and poetically translated by Dr. Monier Williams under the title of Sakoontala or The Lost Ring, an Indian drama, translated into English prose and verse from the Sanscrit of Kalidasa.
