m, and he importuned no more; all the exasperated
fury of an offended master rushed upon his mind. The rajah, as he well
knew, was of a most violent and ungovernable temper--one of those
unhappy mortals who act first and think afterwards; and such a report
against his favourite would have wrought his jealous heart to a pitch of
utter frenzy. The villain, seeing his danger, immediately turned his own
dastardly crime upon her who had resisted his corrupt proposals, and,
seeking an interview with the rajah on his return, he represented to
him, clothed with the most infamous and plausible falsehoods, that his
favourite wife had been unfaithful in his absence. Had the infuriated
and jealous-hearted rajah but given this report one instant of
consideration, he must have detected the wretch in his infamous
falsehood; but the artful favourite knew and relied on his master's
fury. The moment he whispered the poisonous words into his ears, the
rajah grasped his sabre, flew like a madman into the zenanah, and
without speaking one word, he cut his favourite mistress into pieces;
then, gazing on the murdered beauty who lay lifeless at his feet, he
sought refuge in the bosom of him who had destroyed his peace of mind,
and the object of his most ardent attachment. Her lacerated body was
committed to the pile, and burnt, after the usual lamentations. He was
an independent rajah, and, consequently, beyond the reach of British
justice. In his own country there was no law to punish such offences. In
a short time, therefore, the circumstance passed away, and was
forgotten; and not even did the relatives of the poor woman inquire the
cause of the foul act, for murder was a common incident of the day.

At length, one of the other wives of the rajah lay on her death-bed. In
this state, she expressed a wish that her whole court might be
assembled, for she had something of the greatest importance to disclose,
before she closed her earthly career. This was communicated to the
confidant, who immediately imagined that the murdered victim had
communicated to her the whole affair. He however took the necessary
measures to summon the court into the chamber of death; but, when they
had assembled, the favourite alone was missing, and, on search being
made, it was found he had fled on horseback. The council having
assembled, a full and clear disclosure of his infamous designs was made.
The rajah, in bitterest anguish, tore his hair, beat his breast, and r