and some other matters of which I shall apprise her Majesty.”  The king takes off his bracelet and other ornaments and offers them to her with the object of bribing her to be silent.  She replies, “Your Majesty is bountiful.  You need not fear me.  I was but in jest, and do not want these jewels.  The truth is, my dear friend, Sagarika is very angry with me for drawing her picture, and I shall be much obliged to your Majesty to intercede for me and appease her resentment.”  The king springs up and exclaims, “Where is she?  Lead me to her.”

Then all advance to Sagarika.  She thinks, “He is here—­I tremble at his sight.  I can neither stand nor move—­what shall I do?” Vasantaka, seeing her, exclaims, “A most surprising damsel, truly; such another is not to be found in this world.  I am confident that when she was created, Brahma was astonished at his own performance.”  The king is struck with her and observes, “such are my impressions.  The four mouths of Brahma must at once have exclaimed in concert, bravo, bravo! when the deity beheld these eyes more beauteous than the leaves of his own lotus; and his head must have shaken with wonder, as he contemplated her loveliness, the ornament of all the world.”  Sagarika prepares to go away when the king addresses her thus, “You turn your eyes upon your friend in anger, lovely maid; yet such is their native tenderness that they cannot assume a harsh expression.  Look thus, but do not leave us, for your departure hence will alone give me pain.”  Susangata now advises the king to take Sagarika by the hand and pacify her.  The king approves the advice and acts up to it.  Vasantaka congratulates the king on his unprecedented fortune.

The king replies, “You say rightly—­she is the very deity Lakshmi herself.  Her hand is the new shoot of the Parijata tree, else whence distil these dewdrops of ambrosia?” Susangata remarks, “It is not possible, my dear friend, you can remain inexorable whilst honoured thus with his Majesty’s hand.”

Sagarika frowns on her friend and asks her to forbear.  At this time, Vasantaka, in testiness of temper, raises a false alarm by proclaiming that the queen is approaching.  The king lets go Sagarika’s hand in alarm.  Sagarika and her companion go off hastily behind the tamala tree.

After a short time, the queen approaches the king.  By order of the king, Vasantaka hides the picture quickly under his arm.  The king proposes to visit, in the company of the queen, the Jasmine budded.  The queen declines.  Vasantaka takes it as an acknowledgment of defeat on her part and cries out Huzza!  He waves his hand and dances; the picture falls.  Kanchanmala, an attendant of the queen, picks up the picture and shows it to her mistress.  The queen, whose jealousy is excited by the discovery of the picture, demands an explanation from the king.  Vasantaka volunteers to offer the explanation thus:—­“I was observing, madam, that it would be very difficult