A Draught of the Blue, together with An Essence of the Dusk

In Short

Presented as translations of ancient Oriental manuscripts, this volume collects two allegorical romance novellas rooted in Hindu mythology and philosophy. Each story follows a proud young monarch whose path intersects with a mysterious, ethereal maiden in a secluded wilderness. As intense passion blunts their former purpose, the lovers are tested by cosmic forces, duty, and forgotten identities from past lives. F. W. Bain’s prose weaves philosophical reflections on illusion, rebirth, and desire into atmospheric fables that have endured as unique early-twentieth-century exercises in mythic fantasy.

The Story

The volume brings together two mythic tales of fatal enchantment, karmic ties, and the terrifying power of romantic obsession. In the opening tale, A Draught of the Blue, a young king who fiercely despises the idea of marriage resists all pressure from his parents to take a bride. His obstinacy causes his parents to die of heartbreak. Shortly after their deaths, he rides into the forest on a spirited horse that breaks from his control and bolts deep into the woods. There, under an old fig tree, he stumbles upon the daughter of an ascetic—a maiden wrapped in tree bark and wild vines whose beauty instantly slays his aversion to wedlock. Overwhelmed with passion, he wooes her on the spot, lifts her onto his horse, and carries her back to his palace as his queen. The king becomes so thoroughly enslaved by his love that he cannot bear to be separated from her for even a moment. When fate tears her away, he falls into hopeless despair until cosmic interventions and forgotten memories force him to confront the illusion of his earthly attachment.

The companion narrative, An Essence of the Dusk, follows a similar trajectory of karmic destiny and romantic entrapment. Prince Aja journeys through a desolate desert littered with the sun-bleached bones of past travelers, driven forward by sheer willpower until he reaches an isolated city inhabited entirely by women. There, he meets Princess Yashowatí, a maiden burdened by an inevitable doom foretold by the gods. Aja falls instantly in love, willing to accept death itself just to spend a single day in her company. However, as he waits among ruined temple walls choked with poppies, he encounters another woman—a breathtaking figure carved from stone who seems to step out of the wall itself. She claims to be his true beloved from a former birth, accusing him of betraying their eternal bond for a maiden he has known for merely a day. Caught between the immediate charm of his new bride and the intoxicating, jealous pleas of his ancient lover, Aja struggles to maintain his sanity against the relentless tide of passion and spiritual delusion.

How It Unfolds

The runaway stallion A king who rejects marriage loses control of his spirited horse during a forest hunt, leaving his attendants behind. The stallion carries him deep into the woods, where he encounters a maiden whose pure beauty shatters his stubborn antipathy toward love.

The abducted bride Enraptured by her innocent charm, the king lifts the young woman onto his horse before him and carries her back to his court. He becomes so utterly devoted to her that he neglects his royal obligations entirely, unable to spend a single moment apart from her side.

The desert journey Prince Aja treks across a harsh, bone-strewn desert, pushing past physical collapse until he discovers a hidden city inhabited solely by women. He meets Princess Yashowatí and immediately offers his life to win her love, ignoring predictions of impending doom.

The temptation at the ruin While waiting among poppy fields and ruined temple walls, Aja encounters a mysterious, seductive woman who claims to be his soulmate from a past life. She confronts him with tearful passion, testing his loyalty and pulling his heart between present affection and ancient karmic ties.

The People

• King Rudrálaka

A proud, obstinate monarch who vehemently rejects marriage, causing his parents immense grief. After a runaway horse leads him to a forest maiden, he becomes entirely transformed, turning into an intensely possessive lover who cannot tolerate being out of his wife's sight.

• The Forest Maiden / Blue-eyes

The daughter of an ascetic who lives isolated in the woods, wrapped in bark and wild flowers. Innocent and untainted by the world, she speaks without understanding her own beauty, yet her gaze utterly captures the king's soul.

• Prince Aja

A resolute warrior who braves the deadly desert to reach a lost city. He is reckless in his devotion to love, willing to forfeit his life and ignore dire warnings for a single day of bliss with his chosen bride.

• Princess Yashowatí

The princess of a male-barren city who carries the burden of a tragic prophecy. Though bound by courtly reserve, her love for Aja drives her to toss aside all restraint, fully aware that their joy will be fleeting.

• The Maiden of the Wall

A supernatural beauty who appears near a ruined, poppy-covered temple. Claiming priority as Aja's lover from a previous birth, she uses tears, seductive eloquence, and ancient memories to win back his devotion.

In Its Own Voice

The sun goes down, for those alone, who stand on a revolving sphere: and so, in Nature's universal life, Death is but a dissolving view, a word without a meaning.

An introductory reflection framing the book's cosmic perspective on mortality and illusion.

And in that instant, like a flash of lightning, he utterly forgot his horse, and himself, and everything else in the three worlds.

The king's immediate reaction upon first laying eyes on the forest maiden under the fig tree.

O blue black bee, what is this behaviour, that thou seekest as it were to pick a quarrel with the poor red lotus who loves thee but too well?

The ancient lover in An Essence of the Dusk pleading with Aja to remember their past romance.

What It's Really About

Beneath their romantic surface, both novellas explore the Hindu philosophical concepts of Maya (cosmic illusion) and Karma (the inescapable residue of past actions). Bain uses the framework of translated Sanskrit texts to examine how romantic passion acts as the ultimate blindfold, binding human souls to the wheel of rebirth. Desire is depicted as a double-edged force: it elevates the spirit through devotion, yet it also destroys reason and traps the individual in fleeting, painful attachments. The recurring motif of past lives highlights the idea that human choices are rarely made in isolation; present attractions are often merely the lingering echoes of unfulfilled past desires, making true freedom impossible without spiritual awakening.

Why Read It Today

Modern readers interested in mythic romance, Orientalist fantasy, and early twentieth-century stylistics will find much to admire in Bain's work. The book offers a lush, dreamlike reading experience that feels distinctly different from Western fairy tales, substituting moralistic endings for philosophical ambiguity and fatalistic beauty. Bain's prose is rich with vivid imagery—deserts filled with grinning camel bones, ruined temples surrounded by blooming poppies, and maidens framed by wild vines.

However, readers should be prepared for archaic, highly ornate language, slow-paced philosophical discussions, and romantic dynamics heavy with period attitudes regarding gender and destiny. The framing device—where the author pretends to be a mere translator of ancient Hindu manuscripts—adds a layer of formal distance. Those who enjoy the romantic orientalism of Lord Dunsany or the mythological retellings of classic folklore will appreciate this hypnotic exploration of love, time, and illusion.

<ElicitationsGroup message="Where would you like to go next?"> <Elicitation label="Explore Bain's literary influence and framing style" query="Tell me more about F. W. Bain's literary background and how his pseudotranslation style influenced early fantasy."/> <Elicitation label="Compare this book with similar mythic romances" query="Recommend similar early 20th-century mythic romance books or authors who wrote in a style similar to F. W. Bain."/> </ElicitationsGroup>