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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
[APRIL, 1890.
cnnning woman unfaithful to her husband, she might have read through him, and so he fled out of the town as fast as ho could. The ruffians, however, soon came to him and, seizing him by the hair, said that they had been ordered to murder him. “What have. I done to deserve this sort of treatment at your hands," demanded our hero. “Nothing to us, but something to a lady who has promised to reward us amply," replied they.
Seeing it was vain to argue with them, the King slyly dragged the ruflians into a conver. sation and, after praising them, promised to reward them with a jewel worth the three worlds if they would only spare him. Money was their first object in life, and they did not care from whom they got it. And besides, what cituse would the lady have to disbelieve them if they said that they had killed the man and demanded the reward of her too ? In this way they would be doubly rewarded. Thus argued they, and demanded from the King what he had to river Then our hero taking a diamond of unparalleled lustre and value from his loin cloth vave it to them, on condition that they let him escape. They agreed to do so, on condition on his part that he never came back to that city. Our hero, who was always careful to turn every event to his own advantage, promised them a thousand times never more to go in that irection and took his leave.
He hnd thus examined his wife's character and in that way had tested the truth of the second maxim-Send not the wife long to her parents' house. He had also examined tho truth of the first maxim - Not to travel without money or jewel in hand, - for it was the diamond that saved his head.
He had now to examine the truth of the other two maxims, and so he turned towards his sister's town. She had been married to a rich zamindkr at about ten kos distance from the city be had just left. He had an easy road to walk, but not an easy mind, for his wife's conduct pieroed his heart, and his only consolation was that he had no issue by her. It was abont midday when he reached the city his sister lived in. The sun was still high in the heavene, and the previous night's wakefulness and the morning walk after escape from the ruffiang brought upon our hero such thirst and hunger that he was almost fainting. He was, however, fortunate enough to reach the big tank at the entrance of the town and, getting into it bastily, drank half a dozen handfuls of water. Then he went on to the bank, and sitting below a shady banyan-tree, rested his exhausted limbs. A poor Brâhman happened to pass by, and calling him to his side, our exhausted hero mentioned to him the name of his sister, which was well known throughout the city, as she was a very wealthy lady. The disguised king then explained to the Brâhman who he was, and requested him to inform her of his arrival, so that she might send him some food as he was almost dying with hunger. The Brahman ran off all the harder when he heard that the person he had been talking to was a King, and duly communicated the news to the King's sister. She enquired of him whether her brother had come with all his royal paraphernalia.
"No," replied the messenger ; "he is as it were a beggar, half famished now by hunger." She now thought that her brother, by some misfortune or other, had lost all his kingdom and wealth, and instead of being still the more hospitable to him in consequence of his adversity, she, in her pride of wealth, disdained all knowledge of her brother, in his beggar's condition. But she was at least kind enough to send him & plateful of cold rice several days old, not even fit for doge to eat. The unfortunate King received this through the kind Brahman who, pitying his fate, brought better food cooked in his house to his royal guest. The King thanked him for his kindness, but said that his sister's food was more tasteful to him, and, after partaking two or three mouthfuls, requested the Brahman to preserve the plate with the cold rice in it for a few days in his house, telling him that he would have occasion to call for it.
He then left the Brahman and went to another city wbere he had a good friend. They had been playmates from their boyhood and had read in the same school and under same teachers; and so to that friend our hero went. He was extremely poor, but for all that, on seeing the
