"He rose to his feet and strode, with a marked degree of decision, to his dwelling, where he slept in apparent and paradoxical peace until morning.

"Ere the sky was red, or the dews, in harmony with this unhappy man's dilemma, had been appropriated by the sun from the tiara of dawn, Ram Lal set out for the palace of the Kutub, in which Prince Otondo was compelled to reside for the present for some very convincing reasons provided by the British Government.

"In a little while the merchant had traversed the short distance intervening and was admitted through the courtyard gates.

"The last of the kings of Delhi was a decrepit old man named Dahbur Dhu, whose sole object in life seemed to be an attempt to reanimate the pomp and pageantry of a dead dynasty.

"Pensioned by the British Government, which permitted him to continue this absurd travesty, if his feeble exasperation over his predicament and his silly ostentations could be called by that name, this realmless potentate occupied his waking hours in futile revilings of the hand that at once smote and sustained him.

"While not thus engaged, he would gravitate almost to the extreme of servility in his efforts to exact additional largess from the powers in control, to expend upon this senile attempt to augment the consideration of his pageant throne.

"Several efforts had already been made to remove the irritating presence of this royal household to Bengal, but the time had not yet arrived when the British could regard with indifference the native prejudice which would be aroused by such a procedure.

"The infirm moghul, therefore, continued his vaudeville, which was mainly confined within the palace walls at Delhi, and persisted in his endeavors to augment his revenues.

"However, to mitigate the nuisance as far as possible, the British Government consented to recognize his grandson, Prince Otondo, as the successor to the throne, and yield a degree to the exactions of the moghul if his young kinsman would agree to remove himself permanently from Delhi and reside in the Kutub.

"To this, for a reason which shortly transpired with almost laughable incongruity, Dahbur Dhu assented, and Prince Otondo established himself at this royal residence with an outward manifestation of satisfaction, at least.

"Despite the fact that the merchant was a familiar figure in this enclosure, he believed that he remarked an unusual degree of interest awakened by his presence, and was assured that he detected more than one sinister and smiling glance directed, with covert insinuation, upon his impassive countenance.

"An uneasy suggestion of conspiracy met him at every turn.

"With that gravid apprehension which creates in advance the very conditions one desires to combat, Ram Lal prepared himself for a series of events which made him shudder to contemplate.

"It seemed to him that the salutes of the swarthy satellites of the prince were a degree less considerate.

"He was convinced of a cynical estimation usually accorded to the destitute.

"The depression of disaster was upon him.

"He could only think in the direction of his forebodings, so when at last he arrived in the familiar ante-chamber and announced himself, his voice reflected his trepidation and his demeanor had lost a palpable degree of its customary assurance.

"While the merchant awaited the response to his request for an audience with the prince, he made a sorry attempt to assume a cheerful aspect, with the success of one who is permitted to listen to the details of his own obsequies.

"When not thus engaged, he traversed the apartment with intermittent strides--another Chryses about to make a paternal plea to this Oriental Agamemnon.

"He had canvassed his demeanor, reviewed his cautious phrases, and had even provided a desperate denunciation, which, when he considered the privileged rascality of his royal auditor, he felt assured would at once conclude the interview and his liberty.

"As Ram Lal was about to end his fifth attempt to apprehend the result of this expected interview, the curtains parted and a stalwart attendant, impassive and silent, appeared.

"In response to the eloquent concern betrayed in the glance of the merchant, the other, holding the curtains aside, indicated, by an inclination of his turbaned head and a sweep of his hand, the dignity of which was intended to convey some intimation of the personality of his master and the proportions of the privileges accorded, that the merchant was expected to proceed, which he did with trembling precipitation.

"As Ram Lal entered the room, his alert glance discerned the figure of the prince extended, with unceremonious abandon, upon a divan.

"Advancing, he made profound obeisance to the reclining potentate, who acknowledged his presence with a spiritless motion of his hand not unsuggestive of the humiliating degree of his condescension.

"At this period of his career Prince Otondo presented, in his personality and surroundings, considerable of the picturesque magnificence with which the native rulers delighted to surround themselves.

"His presence, at once dignified and carelessly amiable, was not the least vital accessory to the sumptuous abundance, to which he added the last touch of distinction.

"A smiling cynicism, which was one of his most engaging characteristics and an invaluable masquerade for his genuine sentiments, lingered about his thin, patrician lips.

"His features balanced with cameo precision, and in his eyes, usually veiled by lashes effeminately long, the whole gamut of a passionate, intolerant nature was expressed.

"'Well, most ancient and honorable!' said the prince, with an exasperating suggestion in his manner of appreciation of the travesty of his words, as he gazed upon the merchant with a glance whose speculation the latter could not determine. 'Well, how speeds thy traffic and thrive thy caravans?'

"'Not well, my lord,' answered Ram Lal, 'not well.'

"'Ah, ha!' exclaimed the prince, with an indescribable insinuation of biased rebuke in the look with which he challenged further revelations from the speaker. 'That touches me nearly; this must not be; an industrious subject may not suffer while there is a remedy at hand.'

"''Tis on that head I would beseech your majesty!' exclaimed the merchant, seizing the opportunity provided, with such plausible ingenuousness, by the august speaker.

"'Proceed, Ram Lal,' urged the prince, with an amiability which the merchant had known to be a dangerous prelude in the past.

"'Great prince!' replied the merchant with the prompt obedience which contemplates a possible reversal of privilege.

"'Nine days from home I strayed.

"'On my return I find my house despoiled of all its store.

"'And with the rest, O prince, the priceless tokens of thy high regard.

"'Aside from these, I do not mourn my loss, for it may be repaired.

"'Nor will I question fate, whose ears are dull to hear, whose eyes refuse to see the victims of her spleen.

"'But hear, O prince--my one ewe lamb, my sole delight--my daughter greets me not.

"'The empty halls no more re-echo to her tread.

"'No more sweet mur----'

"'Enough, Ram Lal,' interrupted the prince. 'I have heard that a needle thrust into the eye of a bullfinch will make it sing, but I did not know that misery could transform a merchant to a bard.

"'Disjoint your phrases a degree. You say your daughter greets you not?'

"'Yes, O prince,' replied Ram Lal, abashed at this cynical embargo upon the melancholy luxury of his rhythms; 'yes, and it is of her I would speak.'

"'Speak,' urged his august hearer.

"After a moment's reflection, in the manner of the unwelcome envoy who has reached the acute juncture of his recital and is about to disembarrass himself of a dangerous climax, the merchant continued in sordid Hindustani:

"'As I have said, O prince, my daughter has been taken from me, and I come to you in my extremity.'

"'And why to me, Ram Lal?' demanded the prince, with a gleam in his glance which was directly responsible for the pacific presentation which followed.

"'Because,' replied the merchant with discerning irreverence, 'if it so please your highness, your providence is practical, and the ways of Vishnu are tedious.'