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118 another and exchanged pictures of Ruplal and Kanchan for the satisfaction of their respective masters.

Ruplal's picture coming into the hands of the king and his daughter, the latter recognized it as the true likeness of him she loved. Men were accordingly at once sent to the merchant, and all the preliminaries being settled, a day was fixed for the marriage of the lovers.

The malini, whose object was to get Ruplal into her clutches by having his hand joined to that of her niece, one day called on him and expressed surprise that he was going to be married to another, and not her niece. To which he replied that he had found the girl of his dream, to whom he would be bound for life. The malini, however, was not a woman to be thus got rid of. She asked Ruplal if he had seen his Kanchanmala's picture, and being told that he had not seen it himself, but heard of it from every one in the house, she was greatly delighted to think that there were still opportunities for carrying out her purposes.

The day came to a close, and at night Ruplal took the picture from his father, retired into his room and lay down to sleep, keeping it on his bosom. The malini, somehow or other, coming to know of it, crept into the room while he was immersed in deep sleep, and stole away the picture. Taking it home, she ordered her niece to spoil it so that the person represented in it might appear blind and crooked. The niece was too good a girl to consent, and so the malini at length did the mischief herself, and returning to Ruplal's room she placed the picture in the same position from which she had stolen it, and went away.

Ruplal, on awakening, uncovered the picture, and holding it out to look at it, was greatly surprised and disappointed to find in it the representation of an ugly creature. Tears started to his eyes, and he cast wistful looks all around in search of some one to whom to communicate his thought. The malini was at hand, and officiously advised him to abide by his and his father's promise to bring the ugly girl home as his bride,