When the seizure of the king was known, those who were previously well-disposed to my father immediately joined us, and all opposition ceased.

Soon afterwards I married the princess, who looked on me as her deliverer from the dungeon; Sinhaghosha was deposed; and I, having double claim to the throne, was acknowledged king in his stead.

Hearing that the King of Anga, a devoted friend of your father, was at war, and attacked by a strong enemy, we have marched hither with an army to his assistance, and I have had the pleasure of helping to deliver him from his enemies, and the still greater happiness of meeting with you.  I now beg of you to decide what shall be done with the deposed king, our prisoner, whom we have brought with us.  My mother is very anxious to liberate him, but hitherto it has not been thought safe to do so.

The prince answered:  “Let that unworthy young man be freed, on condition of giving up all claim to the throne and leading a private life; and let him devote himself to pious meditation, which is the purifier of evil deeds.”  Then turning with a kind look to Pramati, he said:  “Do you now relate your adventures,” with which request he at once complied:—­

* * * * *

ADVENTURES OF PRAMATI.

My lord, while wandering like the rest of your friends in search of you, I found myself one evening in a large forest, far from any habitation.  Thinking it useless to attempt to go further in an unknown country and in darkness, I prepared to sleep there.  Having bathed in the water of a small lake, and made myself a bed of leaves, I lay down under a large tree, commending myself to the deities presiding over the place, and was very soon asleep.

Presently a strange and delightful feeling came over me, gladdening my inmost soul; and I awoke, hardly knowing whether what I saw was a reality or a dream, for on looking round me I saw that I was no longer in the forest, but in a very large and lofty room, lying on a soft couch with white muslin curtains; all around me were a number of sleeping women.  Among them my eyes were especially attracted towards a young lady of exceeding beauty, lying in a very graceful attitude, covered only by a silken petticoat, her bosom slowly rising and falling, and her bud-like lower lip quivering with the soft movement of the breath in quiet sleep.

Lost in astonishment, I said to myself; “What has become of that great forest wrapt in darkness?  How is my bed of leaves exchanged for this soft couch?  Whence is this dome above me, lofty as the great temple of Siva?  Who are all these lovely women, like a troop of Apsaras lying down wearied with play?  And who can this beautiful lady be?  She cannot be a goddess, for the gods do not sleep thus, nor do they perspire, and I see the drops breaking forth on her forehead.  She must then be a mortal; but O how lovely! how peacefully she sleeps, as if she had never known the anxieties of love!  My heart is drawn towards her.”