“On the way, with but faint hopes of saving his life, he said to the executioner, ’I have been condemned on the evidence of one witness only; let that man whom I am accused of injuring be questioned; if he says I am guilty, then indeed I deserve to die.’

“The executioner saying, ‘Perhaps he may be innocent—­a few minutes’ delay can do no harm,’ took him at once to the house of his wife, and there the poor mutilated wretch, with many tears, declared the kindness with which he had been treated by the supposed criminal, and the wickedness of the woman who had forced him to live with her as her husband.

“Thereupon the execution was stayed, and the king, having been made acquainted with the whole affair, ordered her to be cut in pieces and given to the dogs, and showed much favour and kindness to her husband.

“I say, therefore, there is nothing so cruel as the heart of a wicked woman.”

The Rakshas appeared to be satisfied with this story, and said:  “Go on, tell me about Gomini.”  I continued therefore: 

“There was formerly in the country of the Dravidas a young brahman of great wealth.  Somehow he was not married when a mere boy, as is often the case, and when he grew up he thought to himself:  ’Those who have no wives and those who have bad wives are equally unfortunate, I will not let my friends choose for me, but travel about and look out for myself till I find a girl who may suit me.’

“Having formed this resolution, and changed his name, he set out alone, taking very little with him, but a small bag containing two or three pounds of rice in the husk.

“Whenever he saw a maiden of his own caste whose appearance he liked, either in the houses where he was admitted or elsewhere, he would say to her:  ‘My dear, could you make me a good dinner with this rice?’ This he did many times, but though parents in general would have been willing to give him their daughters, he was always laughed at, and often treated with contempt.  One day, while sitting in a public place in a town which he had lately entered, he observed a young girl whose parents had fallen into poverty, which was shown by her scanty dress and slender ornaments.  She passed by him accompanied by an old woman, and stood for a time very near him.

“The more he looked at her the more he was pleased, and thought to himself:  ’This is just the wife to suit me; she is neither too tall nor too short, too stout or too thin; her limbs are rounded and well knit; her back is straight, with a slight hollow; her shoulders are low; her arms plump and soft; the lines of her hands indicate good fortune; her fingers are long and slender; her nails are like polished gems; her neck is smooth and rounded as a slender shell; her bosom full and well shaped; her face has a sweet expression; her lips are full and red; her chin small and compact; her cheeks plump; her eyebrows glossy black, gracefully curved, meeting in the middle; her