are conscious of being] beloved; its consequences I have sadly rued, and thou art now also informed of these events without hearing or seeing them; or else where were you, and where was I?  Well, what has happened is past.  Bestowing not a thought on the conceited airs of that ass, I again sent him word by the eunuch, saying, ’if thou wilt not come to me now, by some means or other I will come to thee; but there is much impropriety in my coming there;—­if this secret is discovered, thou wilt have cause to rue it; so do not act in a manner that will have no other result than disgrace; it is best that thou comest quickly [to me], otherwise imagine me arrived [near thee].  When he received this message, and perceived that my love for him was unbounded, he came with disagreeable looks and affected airs.

“When he sat down by me, I asked him, ’what is the cause of your coolness and anger to-day; you never showed so much insolence and disrespect before, you always used to come without making any excuses.’  To this he replied, ’I am a poor nameless wretch; by your favour, and owing to you, I am arrived to such power, and with much ease and affluence I pass my days.  I ever pray for your life and prosperity; I have committed this fault 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.