V.

And instantly, as though his kiss had been to her like sandal and like

palm-leaf fans, she came back to herself. And when she saw who held her,

she started up, and stood, blushing the colour of her own lips, with

eyes cast upon the ground. And the King said: O daughter, what is this?

Does it become a high caste maiden outwardly to exhibit her inward

feelings, and abandon the straight line of virgin modesty by behaviour

that betrays her heart?

And then, Yashowatí sighed deeply. And she looked for a while in

silence, first at her father, and then at Aja: and all at once, she

stood erect, like one seized by sudden resolution, and she clapped her

hands together, and exclaimed, in a voice that shook and quivered with

emotion: Ha! who can hide a forest fire by covering it over with a

little straw, or what does maiden conduct matter, in the ruin of the

three worlds! Aye! the fire of grief consumed me, to see this noble son

of a king, and to think that he escaped the desert only to meet his

death from me. Now has my punishment come upon me in the form of this

tall and splendid youth. For I grieved for the fate of my former

suitors, and yet I saw them for all that go, one by one, to their

useless doom, and still myself remained alive. Long ago, beyond a doubt,

I ought myself to have left the body, and perished of my own accord,

rather than consent to live, the cause of death to so many others: and

by putting myself to death, I should have cut in two the fatal chain of

their succession, and saved their lives by the substitute of my own. And

now, instead, I have been as it were their murderess, and a death to

them all in female form. And now the Deity has avenged them, by sending

to me at last the God of Love in human shape, whose death will be a

grief to me a hundred fold more awful than any death I could have died.

And I myself shall not survive him. Then why waste time in chiding one

who has but one more day to live? For as soon as night arrives, he must

go like the rest to meet his doom: and certain it is, that I shall not

live to see the sun rise again without him.

And as she spoke, they gazed at her, astonished. For she seemed like one

that has burst the bonds of all restraint, and thrown all consideration

to the eight quarters of the world. But as soon as she stopped, the old

King uttered a doleful cry. And he exclaimed: Yashowatí, O daughter,

what words are these? Is it any fault of thine that thou art beautiful?

And wilt thou talk of abandoning the body? Then what will become of the

family, of which thou art the only hope? But Aja laughed: and he said: O

lovely lady, waste not thy grief on such a thing as I am: and O

father-in-law, cease from bewailing calamities that are only the shadows

of thy own fears cast upon the dark curtain of the future. For many are

they that are doomed to die, yet never perish after all. And I have not

escaped the sand, to perish lightly in any other way. Be assured that

the lamp of thy race is burning still with a steady flame, not to be

extinguished by a little puff of wind. To-morrow we will laugh together

over these idle apprehensions, which the rising sun will dissipate

together with the mists of night.

But Yashowatí turned, and looked at him with steady eyes. And she said:

My husband, for such indeed thou art, the first that I have ever

chosen[18], and the last that shall ever claim my hand: dost thou think

that I would have so far forgotten the reserve that is becoming to a

maiden of my caste, as to offer myself like an _abhisáriká_, but that I

know, as thou canst not know it, the absolute and utterly inevitable

certainty of thy doom, and that this is the very last day we shall spend

together, though it is also the very first? And Aja looked at her with

affection: and he laughed again. And he said: Sweet wife, since thou art

so very certain, then as it must be, let it be. What care I for

to-morrow, if I am with thee all to-day? Know, that but an hour ago,

when first I saw thee, I would have given my life, doubly dear as it was

by reason of its recent escape from death, to win from thee a little

love, even a very little. But as it is, a single day is life enough,

provided it is spent with thee, even though I were really destined never

to see another.

[18] This was the privilege of kings' daughters.

And she looked at him with wistful eyes; and after a while, she said:

Thou art brave, and as I would have had thee. And thou dost not believe

me: and it may be, it is better so. And then she turned to the King, and

said: O father, go away now: and leave me alone with my husband. And be

not afraid, either for thy honour or my own, for there shall be as it

were a sword between us. But I wish to have him all to myself, until the

end. And when the time has come, let the gong be sounded, and I will

send him out to thee, and thou canst show him the way to death. And

thereupon the old King went away as she desired, moaning and muttering,

and wringing his hands with grief.

So when he was gone, those two lovers sat together all day long, gazing

at each other like the sunflower and the sun. And he utterly forgot the

morrow, but it never left her mind, even for a single instant. And she

made him relate to her his whole life from the very beginning, drinking

in his words, and hanging on his lips, and watching him keenly, with

eyes that never left his face, holding all the while his hand, with the

grasp of one who knows that her husband must be led to execution in the

evening. And she said to herself, at every moment: Still he is here:

still he is here. And when the sun set, she sent for food and delicacies

and wine, and fed him like a child with her own hand, tasting herself

nothing. And she surfeited him with the honey of her sweetness and the

syrup of her kisses and the nectar of the young new moon of beauty

bathed in the sun of love, the redder[19] because of its approaching

set. And all at once, she started to her feet, in the very middle of a

caress. And she stood, listening. And Aja listened also: and he heard in

the silence the sound of a gong.

[19] A play on words: meaning also _more affectionate_.

So as he watched her, she turned paler and ever paler, like the east at

the break of dawn. And she put her two hands together, and pressed them

tight against her heart, and then against her brow. And all at once, she

came quickly to him, and said in a low voice: It is time. And she took

his head in her hands, and kissed him, with lips that were cold as ice,

and yet hot as fire, first on the eyes, and then on the mouth, and last

of all upon the brow. And then she took his hand, and held it for a

little while, with a clutch that almost hurt him, gazing at him with

thirsty eyes. And suddenly, she threw away his hand, and pushed him away

roughly, saying: Go. But Aja caught her in his arms, and kissed her yet

again, as it were against her will. And he said: O fearful heart, be not

afraid. Very soon, I will return. And he went away quickly, but at the

door he turned, and saw her standing still, watching him with dry bright

eyes, and lips that were shut tight. And at that very moment, the old

King took him by the arm, and said: Come now, and I will show thee the

way by which all thy predecessors went before thee.

Then Aja said: O King, I am unarmed. Give me a weapon to carry with me.

So the King took him into the armoury, and he chose for himself a sword

almost as long as he was tall. But he threw away the scabbard, saying:

This would only be in the way: and now, I am prepared. And then the King

led him away, and up a winding stair.

And when they were at the top, he stopped. And he said: O son-in-law

that might have been, now fare thee well. And even I feel it harder to

part with thee than with any of thy predecessors. Thou wouldst have made

an altogether appropriate husband for my daughter, and O! that thou

couldst have seen her dance, before thus disappearing: but now it is too

late, for I doubt whether Tumburu himself could make her dance to-night,

so troubled did she seem to be at bidding thee good bye. Go out, now,

through yonder door: and thou wilt be more fortunate than all the

others, if thou canst manage to return through it.

Then he went back into the palace. But Aja passed through the door, and

found himself on the city wall.

A Total Eclipse.

_Then kith and kin and home forget, and all,

To sail beyond the setting-sun, with me,

Where dead love's dreamy recollections call

Across the sea._