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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
[MAT, 1899.
each betook himself with his party to his own ship. As soon, however, as the fair lady's ship was cleared of all the guests, her attendants raised a hue and cry about a rich goblet that was missing. The lady had drank her wine out of it in the presence of her guests, and it had then been handed round to each nf the bystanders and was highly admired by them all. It had thus passed through several hands, and no wonder therefore that none of the servants remembered who had it last. Our heroine made a great show of anger at the loss of the precious goblet, which, it need hardly be mentioned, was the very one that the parrot had deposited into the hold of one of the seven ships. She sent for all her seven cousins in hot haste, and reported the loss to them. They all agreed that they had not only seen their good friend drink out of it, but had actually taken it into their hands for inspection, but none of them had any idea as to whether or not it had been returned to its place. At this the disguised fair one worked herself into a violent passion and accused them all right and left of having stolen it. "I shall send my men to search each of your ships" cried she, "and shall stake this vessel of mine with all its valuable cargo on the hazard of finding it in one of them !"
" And we in our torn agree to forfeit to you all our seven ships with their cargoes," cried the brothers with one voice,"if your men find the goblet in any of our ships !"
"Agreed !" cried our heroine, and forthwith she ordered some of her numerous attendants to go over all the seven vessels and leave no stone unturned till they found the missing car. In about an hour's time, while the seven brothers were still warmly protesting their innocence to their accuser, the men returned with the missing cap in their hands, and declared that they had found it secreted ir the hold of the ship of one of the seven brothers!
The brothers were nonplussed at this sadden turn events had taken, and 'stood looking at one another in silence, as if dambfounded at this strange discovery. Oar heroine, however, roused them to their senses by calling upon them in a loud voice to fulfil their obligations by handing over to her the seven ships ; and the poor fellows, seeing no way out of this difficulty, there and then formally made over the ships to the clever stripling, and with crestfallen looks stood a waiting her commands. The lady, being touched with pity at their strange predicament, ordered them to remain in her own ship as her guests till they reached their native country. She then gave orders for the anchors of all the eight ships to be raised, and the little fleet soon began to sail out of the harbour with a favourable back wind.
Our brave heroine's husband, who was all this while standing sorrowfully on the shore, now waved his kerchief as a farewell to his departing charmer, with a very woe-begone countenance, as she was standing at the window of her cabin, when suddenly she flung off her disguise and stood before her enraptured lover, "a maid in all her charms !"
At this sudden and unexpected confirmation of all his doubts and hopes the young man's heart alternated between joy and grief, joy at finding that the object of his affections was after all a woman, and grief at being thus rudely separated from her, after all that he had endured on her account, and with a heavy heart he retraced his steps homewards. There he told his mother all that had happened, and rebuked her for having discredited his statement so long, and asked both his parents' permission to fit out a ship that very day and follow his fair enslaver wherever she went, and either win her or perish in the attempt. The old couple seeing him so determined, consented, and farnished him with everything that he wanted for the voyage.
Without losing more time than was essentially necessary the love-lorn youth fitted out a fast-sailing vessel and soon started in pursuit of his fair charmer, Her vessels had, however, sailed clear out of sight by this time, and he could not even tell in what direction they bad gone. So he sailed about at random through unknown seas, for many a month, making inquiries at every port he touched, till at last he came to the city in which he knew his discarded wife and her parents lived. Here everyone he met was talking of the clever daughter of the old merchant-"the mistress of eight ships" as they called her --who had but a few days ago returned home after a long and successful voyage. He inquired the way to the house of this remarkable lady, and much to his surprise, nay to his rage and utter mortification, he was shown
