in full reliance on your
highness's forgiveness, and I hope for pardon. As I loved him from
my soul and heart, I accepted his well-turned apology, and not only
overlooked his knavery, but even asked him again with affection,
what great difficulty has occurred that you are so thoughtful?
mention it, and it shall be instantly removed.'

"In short, in his humble way, he replied, 'Everything is difficult to
me; before your highness, all is easy,' At last, from the purport of
his discourse and conversation, it appeared that an elegant garden,
with a grand house in it, together with reservoirs, tanks and wells,
of finished masonry, was for sale, situated in the centre of the
city and near his house; and that with the garden a female slave was
to be sold, who sung admirably and understood music perfectly. But
they were to be sold together, and not the garden alone, 'like the
cat tied to the camel's neck;' [176] and that whoever purchased
the garden must also buy the slave; the best of it was, the price
of the garden was five thousand rupees, and the price of the slave
five hundred thousand. [He concluded saying], 'Your devoted slave
cannot at present raise so large a sum.' I perceived that his heart
was greatly bent on buying them, and that for this reason he was
thoughtful, and embarrassed in mind; although he was seated near me,
yet his looks were pensive and his heart sad: as his happiness every
hour and moment was dear to me, I that instant ordered the eunuch to
go in the morning and settle the price of the garden and the slave,
get their bills of sale drawn up, and deliver them to this person,
and pay the price to their owner from the royal treasury.

"On hearing this order, the young man thanked me, tears of joy
came upon his face; and we passed the night as usual in laughing
and delight; in the morning he took leave. The eunuch, agreeably
to my orders, bought and delivered over to him the garden and the
slave. The youth continued his visits at night, according to custom
[and retired in the morning]. One day in the season of spring, when
the whole place was indeed charming, the clouds were gathering low,
and the rain drizzling fell, the lightning also continued to flash
[through the murky clouds], and the breeze played gently [through
the trees]--in short, it was a delightful scene. When in the _taks_
[177] the liquors of various colours, arranged in elegant phials,
fell upon my sight; my heart longed to take a draught