Now in the meanwhile, the prime minister was well-nigh at his wits' end.
For ever since his marriage, Arunodaya had entirely neglected his
kingdom and his state affairs, throwing upon Gangadhara the burden of
them all. And this would have been exactly to his taste, in any other
circumstances but those in which it happened: since it was just the very
marriage itself which occasioned all his anxiety and care.
And one day as he sat alone, musing in his garden, at last he could
contain himself no longer, but broke out into exclamations, imagining
himself alone. And he said: Ha ha! now, as I feared, this lunatic of a
King and his mad marriage are about to bring destruction on this kingdom
and myself. And as to my own part, it would be bad enough alone, that I
should have lost not only crores of treasure, which I could easily have
gained, but also the opportunity of making favourable political
alliances with the strongest of the other kings. But even worse things
are impending over the kingdom and myself. For not one only, but all the
kings together are collecting to attack us, considering themselves
slighted; and as I am made aware, by means of my own spies, the King's
maternal uncle is in league with them in secret, hoping by the ruin of
his nephew to secure the kingdom for himself. And between them, I also
shall be crushed, since they consider me as one with the King my master;
and it will all end in my losing, not only my property, but my office
and my life: since I cannot even get this King to listen, were it only
with one ear, to any business at all: and without him, there is nothing
to be done. Thus I myself, and he, and his kingdom, will all go together
to destruction, like sacrifices offered to his idol, in the form of his
wife. And yet there is something unintelligible even in his relations
with his wife, which even my spies are unable to detect. For though the
King and Queen are never separate, even for a moment, yet they do not
seem to be at one: and though he has got, as it seems, exactly what he
wanted, yet he does not appear to be content. Something, beyond a doubt,
is wrong, though nobody can discover what it is. And in the meantime, we
shall all presently discover something else, that we are all involved in
a common catastrophe: and very soon, it will be too late, even to hope
to take any measures whatever against it at all. For as a rule, delay is
fatal at any time: but above all now. And I cannot see any other way
than to throw in my lot with the King's maternal uncle, and so save the
kingdom and myself, at the King's expense. And if I do, he will have
absolutely nobody to blame but himself, for having scouted me and my
policy, and like a mad elephant rather than a king, imagined that he was
at liberty to marry anyone he chose, behaving just as if he were a
subject, and not a king with political necessity to consider, before any
private inclination. And now, could I only discover some means of
bringing it about, I should be more than half resolved to oust this
unmanageable King from his throne. But the difficulty is, how to get rid
of him and his strange windfall of a queen, without incurring suspicion
and the blame of the bazaar. For I can get no satisfactory solution of
this mystery, even from my spies.
So as he spoke, all at once a voice fell out the air upon his head, as
if from the sky. And it said: O Gangadhara, there are ready to assist
thee other and far better spies than thy own.