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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
[MAY, 1888.
This vexed the young prince still more, ter began to prepare for her journey. At first and told so very badly upon his health and his she set to work and drew a faithful copy of temper that he grew highly capricious and the great artist's picture, and then, dressing headstrong, and regarded everyone with the herself in male attire, set out on her travels as greatest disfavour. One day the prime minis. an artist bound to some distant country. She ter, an old and trusted servant of the State, had an arduous task before her no doubt, for happened to arouse him by mistake from a she hardly knew which way to go and where to reverie into which he had fallen, and he lost his inquire about the princess, but filial affection temper to such an extent as to sentence the lent her courage, and she firmly resolved poor old man to death there and then. Now, either to find out the princess or perish in the in the old Raja's palace the young prince's attempt. word being law, the old man saw nothing So she travelled on and on for many months, for it but to submit to his doom. As and showed the picture wherever she halted, he was, however, being led away to execution and to all she met, in the hope that it would the old Rájá heard of it, and summoning his son be identified, but all to no purpose. At last, into his presence, prevailed upon him to grant after more than a year's weary wandering, she the old man & remission of his sentence for a arrived at a very distant and, to her, a very few days, so that during that period he might strange country, and there, to her great joy, make over charge of his public and private everyone who saw the picture pronounced it duties to other hands. To this the prince, to be a true and speaking likeness of the after some difficulty, consented, and the old daughter of the Raja of the country : "she," prime minister was allowed to go home to bis they said, “who is determined never to family for the time.
marry." He was resolved not to distress his family "Never to marry !" said the fair artist in by telling them of the doom that awaited him, surprise," and what has made her form such but they soon suspected from his pale and a strange resolve P" careworn look that something was wrong with "Nobody can tell," was the reply, "even him. They dared not question him, however, her parents do not know it." for some time, till his youngest daughter, This news somewhat damped the ardour of who was a great favourite, at last put together the prime minister's daughter, for it was quite all her courage, and, by her winning and per- an unforeseen emergency, and she was at a suasive ways, succeeded in learning from him logs to know how her mission could be successthe cause of his sorrow.
ful with one who was thus determined never Now this young lady was very clever and to enter the bonds of matrimony. full of resource, so she soon found a way of Nevertheless, she took heart, and, hiring a getting her father out of the difficulty. She house in close proximity to the Raja's Palace, went in person to the young prince, and, having opened her studio there. Each day she sat succeeded in getting an audience, begged very there near a window which commanded a hard of him to spare her old father's life till view of the palace, and worked away with her such time as she herself could go abroad and paints and brushes, till at last the Raja's make an effort to find out who the original attention was drawn towards her. So one of that wonderful painting was, and in what day the Raja summoned her into his presence, part of the world she lived.
and, after closely examining all her pictures This pleased the prince very much, for in and other works of art, extolled them highly the scheme which the young lady unfolded to and honoured her with a commission to execute him he saw some prospect of realizing what some paintings for a palace which he was then was to him at the best a dream. He there building for the especial use of his favourite and fore readily withdrew his terrible mandate, and only daughter. The fair artist willingly obeyed the good old prime minister was once more the king's command, having in the meanwelcomed by the Râjâ, who gladly restored him while seen the princess several times with her to his former high position.
own eyes, and made sure that she was no other Soon after this the prime minister's daugh- than the original of the picture which had
