He said, “Dear Rati! well thou knowest how
  I fondly wish to trade in distant realms. 
  The time has come for me to part from thee. 
  This morn a little ship was sighted here,
  And she is riding yonder on the sea. 
  And ere the setting sun sinks down to rest
  Into the western waves the little bark
  Now destined to take me will leave the port;
  And I have therefore one, but one short hour. 
  ’Tis willed by Him above that I should soon
  Bid farewell to the place where I was born,
  Where all my thoughts for ever centred lie,—­
  Soon part from all that to my heart is dear,
  But soon come richer, greater to my home,
  To spend my days in joy and happiness. 
  Dear wife! allow me therefore to depart.”

  To which the wife—­“Dear husband, sad it is
  To me to think that thou shouldst part from me;
  But sadder still the thought that thou shouldst go
  On seas to roam in lands unknown and strange,
  And canst not tell when to this spot return. 
  There is our lordly mansion here; there is
  Our wealth, and here I am thy youthful wife. 
  Why go away and risk thy precious life
  While we enjoy our days like king and queen? 
  Why leave me here to pine away in grief
  And loneliness?  Without my lord it is
  Half death to me, and I would rather die
  Than see him part; hence banish from thy mind
  All thoughts of going and stay here with me.”

  “My wife!” he said, “why cherish idle fears? 
  The holy Brahmin whom thou knowest well,
  So deeply versed in all the starry lore,
  Tells me that I am fated to return. 
  It is an evil omen that thou shouldst,
  Lamenting, hinder me at this last hour
  And tell me not to go.  Send me away
  With thy good wishes, I will soon return. 
  By Him above that rules man’s destinies,
  By mother earth, by yonder setting sun,
  The moon that shines up in the starry heav’ns,
  By all that to his heart is sacred deemed,
  And lastly by his sire whose picture hangs
  On the wall there, thy husband Rudra swears
  That after he returns he’ll stay with thee,
  And nevermore e’en think of leaving thee,
  And let him therefore go in peace of mind.”

  “If it is true,” replied the crying maid,
  “That Sita followed Rama to the woods,
  And that she of the Pandus also shared
  With them their toils—­if ever woman’s charms
  Had power to move the adamantine heart
  Of man, then let thy Rati go with thee
  To share with thee thy joys and woes as well. 
  If thou shouldst go alone, remember then,
  Dear lord, the sin rests solely on thy head
  That a young maiden has been left alone
  To mourn for ever for her husband on
  The seas—­and all for gold and for a name.”