pt the emperor's favourite equerry.
He then dressed the wounds with the magic salve which the boy had
given him, and it so relieved the emperor's pain that he slept soundly
all that night.

When morning broke, the courtiers and doctors hurried to the emperor's
chamber, and were much surprised to find him free of pain. But they
were promptly ordered out of the room by the Satin Surgeon, who
renewed the dressings with such good results that next morning the
emperor was nearly well, and able to leave his bed. As he grew
stronger, his thoughts dwelt more and more on the cause of all his
sufferings, and his spirits grew worse as his health grew better. The
face and voice of his new doctor reminded him of the princess who had,
he imagined, betrayed him, and caused him such dreadful torture; and,
unable to bear the thought, his eyes filled with tears.

The doctor noticed his sad countenance and did all he could to enliven
his patient with cheerful talk and amusing stories, till at last he
won the emperor's confidence and heard all the story of his love for a
lady who had treated him cruelly, but whom, in spite of everything, he
could not help loving. The Satin Surgeon listened with sympathy, and
tried to persuade the emperor that possibly the princess was not so
much to blame as might appear; but, eager though the sick man was to
believe this, it took a long while to persuade him of it. At length a
day came when the emperor was nearly well, and for the last time the
doctor dressed the wounds with the precious salve. Then, both patient
and surgeon, being wearied out with something they could not explain,
fell asleep and slept for hours.

Early next morning, the princess, having decided to resume her own
clothes which she had brought with her in a bag, dressed herself with
great care and put on all her jewels so as to make herself look as
lovely as possible. She had just finished when the emperor awoke,
feeling so strong and well that he thought he must be dreaming, nor
could he believe himself to be awake when he saw the princess draw
aside his curtains.

For some minutes they gazed at each other, unable to speak, and then
they only uttered little gasps of joy and thankfulness. By-and-by the
princess told him the whole story of her adventures since their last
interview at the Desert Tower; and the emperor, weak as he was, threw
himself at her feet with vows of love and gratitude, without ever
giving a thought to the fact t