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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
[MAY, 1903.
The King's sons answered, 'Why, that young man said you were his slave, and we have bought you from him for a hundred rupees; you cannot therefore go away. You will have to stay in our house as our slave.'
The Brahman said, 'O my fathers! Why did you pay away money for nothing at all without making any enquiry from me? This fellow has robbed me of a hundred rupees, and I am pursuing him; but seeing him gambling in your worshipful company I waited a little while, otherwise I would long ago have seized and carried him away.'
The King's sons said, 'Oho! is this really so? Since he has cheated both of us so much, let us go and seek for him, taking iron chains with us; if we lay hands on him, we will bind him hand and foot.'
Then all the people of the King's whole country took iron chains and went in search of Tenton. Now Tenton, meeting a man who had an iron chain with him, said to him, 'Friend, what is the reason why you are carrying about an iron chain ?'
The man answered, 'If I meet Tenton, this chain is to bind him with, hand and foot, friend.'
'Is it so ?' said Tenton, 'how is this chain to be put upon his hands and feet? please explain to me, friend; if I come across Tenton, I also would like to bind him.'
Then that man, to show Tenton, put the chains on his own hands and feet, so that he could not release himself. Then the real Tenton called out to all the people round about, Tenton is caught, come here!' and himself ran away. Then all the men came up together and beat severely the man whom Tenton had tied up with chains. He cried, I am not Tenton!'
You are not Tenton?' said they, and beat him more and more, till in the end that man died from the blows he received.
Notice the Assamese words, hai (in hai-bai), from Ass. hal, plough (final 7 in Mikir becomes i or y); dohón, for dhan, money, rupees (dh is an unknown sound in Mikir except in loan-words, and is therefore resolved into d and h); chini, to recognise. Po in bamòn-pō is a syllable indicating respect father. Pèngànso or pèngndnso, a wedded pair (pèngàn = husband).
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Notice also the idioms hai-bai-ma-bai-si and pathu-ma-päthu-lo, where the interrogative particle ma is used to indicate an indefinite continuance of the action.
The syllable in hai kebai-i achainòng, bullock used for ploughing, indicates purpose, and frequently occurs in such adjectives.
Notice also the honorific forms used of the king's sons:-jo in teràm-jo-lo, called, pu-jō-lō, pu-jo, said, which is a plural of honour, and the lt in nàng-li-tum älòng, pō-mār-lt, also indicating respect.
The è in e-kechōbei, has cheated us both, is the plural of the pronoun of the first person, including the person addressed, while në excludes the addressee.
In addt-isi notice the idiomatic use of isi, to signify the whole country.
Làng-pong, the bamboo-joint (commonly called chunga) used in Assam to hold water (lang), is used also as a receptacle for other things, as here for money. The back of the bullock was rubbed with mud apparently that it might become invisible to the old woman, and lead her to think that it had run away or died, and that it was necessary to buy another. Khadòt, cowrie, pathu (or patu), to hide; the two together signify to gamble with cowries. Ni (ani) is apparently self-locking handcuffs or fetters, which once locked cannot be opened without a key.
