INDIA. PART III. HISTORY OF nuinbers of people flocked to that city, and passed their lives in comfort and tranquillity; and the city increased mightily. Now the father of Chandrahasa paid every year a revenue of twenty thousand pieces of gold, namely, ten thousand pieces to the Raja, five thousand to the Raja's zenana, and five thousand to the Raja's Minister. But he became so prosperous that he determined to pay seven times the amount he had been accustomed to pay. The Minister leaves his office in charge of his the Zemindar. son and visits Request of Bik. ya, the daughter 3. Jealousy of the Minister. Meantime the Minister had grown very jealous of his dependent, who had conquered enemies whom he himself had failed to conquer, and who paid seven times the amount of revenue he was called upon to pay; and he determined to leave the duties of his own post, as Minister to the Raja, in the charge of his son Madan, and to pay a visit to the house of his dependent, and ascertain, with his own eyes, the cause of his extraordinary wealth. Now at the moment the Minister was about to depart on of the Minister. his journey, his blooming daughter Bikya presented herself before him covered with blushes, for she was anxious to be married, but knew not how to explain her wishes to her father. Accordingly, she said that she had a mango tree, the fruit of which was ripe, and she wished a feast might be given that the fruit might be gathered in its prime; meaning thereby that she herself was the tree, and that she wished her own marriage feast to be celebrated. But the Minister, in haste to depart, heeded not the meaning of her words, and said that the feast might be given; and thus without knowing it he led his daughter to believe that he would speedily give her to a husband. The Minister arrives at the mindar and dis hasa. The Minister then went on his way out of the city, and house of the Ze- in due time arrived at the house of his dependent, where he covers Chandra- was received with every mark of respect and submission. Then he made inquiry respecting the extraordinary wealth and good fortune which had befallen his dependent, and learned to his surprise that the prosperity was all due to an adopted son, who had been found in the jungle with his foot INDIA. PART III. The Minister in jealousy resolves on the destruc hasa. bleeding from the loss of a sixth toe. The truth then broke HISTORY OF upon his mind, that this was the same boy whom he had sent into the jungle to be killed; and that the assassins had deceived him by sparing the life of their victim and bringing him the toe; and he was exceedingly wroth. But when he beheld the young hero Chandrahasa, and saw that he was far superior to his own son, Madan, and that his face was as tion of Chandraresplendent as the full moon, and that in grace and dignity he was equal to the gods, he was very jealous and sought to destroy him; for the Raja of Kutuwal was old, and had no sons and only one daughter; and the Minister had schemed that his own son Madan should marry the daughter of the Raja, and succeed to the Raj; but he now felt assured that should Chandrahasa once enter the presence of the Raja, Madan would be supplanted, and the adopted son of the dependent would be exalted to the highest place in the Raja's favour. 4. Plot of the Minister frustrated by Bikya. But whilst the Minister was bursting with wrath he kept his countenance and concealed his anger from the standersby; and he wrote a letter to his son Madan, and requested Letter of the Chandrahasa to carry it to the city; and the letter was as follows: May my son eat the fruits of youth, and know that this same Chandrahasa is my enemy, and that he is eager to get possession of all my property: Look not you to his youth or comeliness, nor trouble yourself as to whose son he is, or whether he be a man of rank, or learning, or abilities, but give him poison.” Minister to his son Madan. letter. Chandrahasa readily accepted the mission, and setting Chandrahasa forth with the letter, saw the most favourable omens on his carries the way. At starting, he met a newly-married man taking his bride home, with a cavalcade of tom-toms and trumpets. Further on he met a cow with a calf just born, which the cowherd was driving to his house. At last he arrived at the beautiful suburbs of the city, and came to the most charm- Goes to sleep being garden he had ever seen; and being very weary, he tied side a garden. HISTORY OF his horse to a tree, and laid down in the shade and fell INDIA. PART III. Sports of the daughter of the Minister, and daughter of the Raja, in the garden. Bikya discovers letter. asleep. Now it so happened that this pleasant garden belonged to the Minister, and that very morning his daughter Bikya and the daughter of the Raja had come there with all their maids and companions to take their pleasure; and they all sported about in the garden, and did not fail to jest each other about being married. Bikya filled her skirt with flowers and threw them on the Princess, and wished her an agreeable husband and a life of happiness; and the Princess declared that Bikya's face was so radiant that she surely must be about to be married that morning to the handsomest young man in all the world. Thus the young damsels enlivened the garden with their jests and laughter, and presently Bikya wandered away from the others, until she came to a tank, on the bank of which she saw sleeping a young man with such a charming countenance, that her heart burned towards him. Presently she saw a letter half falling from his bosom, and to her great surprise she perceived that this letter was addressed to her own brother, and was in the hand-writing of her father. Then remembering what her father had said to her about giving her to a husband, she drew the letter from the bosom of the young man, and opened it and Alteration of the read it through. And she had compassion upon him, and thought to alter the writing in the letter, and she read again the words:" Chandrahasa is my enemy: Give him poison." Now the word signifying "enemy" was such, that by taking away a single letter she could turn it into a word signifying "friend;" and she did so. And the word signifying poison was Bika, and seeing that the young man was very handsome, she altered the word Bika into her own name of Bikya; and she re-sealed the letter with a copy of her father's seal which she had with her, and placed it back in the bosom of the young man. She then returned to her companions, and the Princess looked upon her countenance, and said:"Ah, Bikya, your face betrays you: Have you not seen a young man, and have you not fallen in love with him?" But Bikya only answered with a smile, and turned HISTORY OF the conversation to another matter. INDIA. PART IIL Chandrahasa letter to the the marriage of After some time, Chandrahasa rose from his sleep, and remounted his horse, and found his way to the house of the delivers the Minister, and delivered the letter to his son; and Madan Minister's son. read the letter with great surprise, but saw that the orders were very positive and that he must obey them without delay :-"Look not to his youth, nor to his comeliness, nor whether he be a man of rank, or learning, or abilities, but give him Bikya!" Madan then sent for the astrologers to Preparations for fix a fitting day and hour for the nuptials, and they declared Chandrahasa that sunset that same evening would be a most auspicious time; and Madan issued orders accordingly, and Bikya, who feared lest her father should return and spoil her plot, was immediately arrayed for the ceremony; whilst Chandrahasa, who was more confounded than any one, was presented with a bridegroom's dress, and directed to prepare himself to be married that evening to the beautiful daughter of the Minister. and Bikya. At sunset everything was ready for the marriage, for The marriage. Madan had been anxious to win the favour of his father by showing the utmost alacrity and zeal in carrying out the Minister's orders. He led his sister and Chandrahasa to a splendid couch, and seated them side by side. The Bráhmans, in due form, inquired the names of the fathers and grandfathers of the bridegroom and the bride; but when Chandrahasa was called upon to declare the names of his father and grandfather he replied that he was not aware that he had any father, grandfather, or mother, beyond the Almighty God. The Minister's son, mindful of his father's instructions, smiled at this reply, and desired the Brahmans to proceed with the rite and to ask no questions; and the Brahmans tied together the skirts of the bridegroom and the bride, and Chandrahasa and Bikya were thus made husband and wife. Madan then distributed magnificent presents The presents. of gold, jewels, silken stuffs, horses, elephants, sandal, and camphor; and the news spread throughout the city, and all the dancing-girls, musicians, and poets, as well as an immense INDIA. PART III. HISTORY OF multitude of people, flocked to the house of the Minister, and received so many good things that every street was filled with rejoicings and congratulations, and with prayers for the happiness of Chandrahasa and the lovely Bikya. Proceedings of the Minister towards the Zemindar. Minister to his own house. 5. Wrath of the Minister. All this time the Minister himself had been staying in the city of his dependent, and having sent away Chandrahasa, he wreaked his wrath upon the young man's adopted father. He threw the dependent into prison, and gave his office and all his great wealth to another of his retainers; and he imprisoned all the officers in that quarter, and grievously punished the Ryots with stripes. Having thus gratified his jealous rage, and being especially delighted at having destroyed his dangerous enemy, Chandrahasa, the returned to the city of Kutuwal at the moment when the marriage Return of the ceremony had been finally concluded. On reaching his own house he saw that an extraordinary entertainment was going on, for singers and musicians were performing a delightful concert, whilst drums were beating, and throngs of people were coming out laden with gold and presents. When the people saw the Minister, they loudly congratulated him on the happy marriage of his daughter Bikya with the hero Chandrahasa; and he looked round him with astonishment, and thinking that they were all mad, he ordered them. to be driven away with whips. A second multitude approached him with similar compliments, and by his order were driven away in like manner. Last came a crowd of Bráhmans and Chieftains still offering the same congratulations, and the Minister, choking with rage and vexation, seized a whip from his servant and belaboured the Bráhmans with his own hand, until some threw down their presents and ran away, whilst others dropped their turbans, or fell upon their faces in fear and trembling. His surprise. The Minister thunderstruck The Minister then entered his house in a state borderat the marriage ing upon madness, for all the women of his household of Chandra hasa and Biky a. thronged around him, and assailed him with a storm of |