own?
Alas, madame, it was yours from the first moment I beheld you!"

The air with which he said these words could have left no doubt on the
mind of the princess as to the effect of her charms, and the blush
which mounted to her face only increased her beauty.

"Prince," returned she as soon as her confusion permitted her to speak,
"you have given me the greatest pleasure, and I have followed you
closely in all your adventures, and though you are positively sitting
before me, I even trembled at your danger in the upper regions of the
air! Let me say what a debt I owe to the chance that has led you to my
house; you could have entered none which would have given you a warmer
welcome. As to your being a slave, of course that is merely a joke,
and my reception must itself have assured you that you are as free here
as at your father's court. As to your heart," continued she in tones
of encouragement, "I am quite sure that must have been disposed of long
ago, to some princess who is well worthy of it, and I could not think
of being the cause of your unfaithfulness to her."

Prince Firouz Schah was about to protest that there was no lady with
any prior claims, but he was stopped by the entrance of one of the
princess's attendants, who announced that dinner was served, and, after
all, neither was sorry for the interruption.

Dinner was laid in a magnificent apartment, and the table was covered
with delicious fruits; while during the repast richly dressed girls
sang softly and sweetly to stringed instruments. After the prince and
princess had finished, they passed into a small room hung with blue and
gold, looking out into a garden stocked with flowers and arbutus trees,
quite different from any that were to be found in Persia.

"Princess," observed the young man, "till now I had always believed
that Persia could boast finer palaces and more lovely gardens than any
kingdom upon earth. But my eyes have been opened, and I begin to
perceive that, wherever there is a great king he will surround himself
with buildings worthy of him."

"Prince," replied the Princess of Bengal, "I have no idea what a
Persian palace is like, so I am unable to make comparisons. I do not
wish to depreciate my own palace, but I can assure you that it is very
poor beside that of the King my father, as you will agree when you have
been there to greet him, as I hope you will shortly do."

Now the princess hoped that, by bringing about a meeting b