was his wrath, when from the contents it appeared
that all his caution to guard against the decrees
of heaven had been vain, that the princess had been
seduced, and his house dishonoured. He sternly
inquired of the trembling Ali if Eusuff was yet with
his daughter, and was answered in the affirmative,
when he immediately gave orders for vessels to be
prepared for his departure, hoping to take him prisoner,
and at the same time commanded his army to march along
the banks of the lake and encamp opposite the citadel.
The unfortunate eunuch was thrown into a dungeon and
loaded with heavy chains, after he had been bastinadoed
almost to death; but still faithful to the lovers,
he prevailed upon his gaoler by a large bribe during
the night to permit him to dispatch a note by a trusty
messenger to the princess, apprising her of the misfortune
which had happened, in hopes that she would have time
to escape with Eusuff towards his own country before
her father’s arrival. Fortunately for the
lovers, this information reached them the next morning,
when they consulted what measures to pursue, and it
was agreed, that instead of both quitting the citadel,
only Eusuff and Hullaul should return to Sind, as the
princess was unequal to such a rapid journey, but that
in order to ensure her safety, the slaves should,
on the sultan’s arrival, assure him that she
had gone off with her lover, when he would either
return home or pursue the prince with his army; who,
however, mounted as he was on so swift a courser, could
not be overtaken. It was also settled that Eusuff,
on his arrival in his own country, should send an
embassy to Mherejaun, declaring his marriage with
Aleefa, and requesting pardon, and leave to pay his
duty as his son-in-law. This stratagem had in
part its effect, but no precaution could ward off
the fulfilment of the prediction at the princess’s
birth, which was that she should occasion the disgrace
and death of her father.
Mherejaun armed at the citadel a few hours after Eusuff’s
escape, and was informed by her attendants that she
had also accompanied him in his flight; upon which
the enraged sultan, hurried on by fate, without stopping
to search the palace in which his daughter was concealed,
hastened to join his troops on the banks of the lake,
and with a vast army pursued the Sindian prince, who,
however, reached his capital in safety. On his
arrival, having informed his father of his adventures,
the old sultan, eager to gratify his son, approved
of his additional marriage with the fair Aleefa, and
dispatched an embassy to Mherejaun, who by this time
was in the territory of Sind, laying it waste with
fire and sword, no troops scarcely being opposed to
his sudden invasion. He received the ambassador
with mortifying haughtiness, bidding him return to
his master, and imform him that he never would forgive
the seduction of his daughter, in revenge for which
he had taken a solemn oath to overturn the kingdom
of Sind, raze the capital, and feast his eyes with