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 English," observed the Nawab in a sad tone, "why, have you not heard of it?"

"Yes, I have," she replied, and then was silent.

Mir Kasim. What are you thinking of so exclusively, Dalani?

Dalani. You once told me that any one who would quarrel with the English would surely come to grief—why should you then fight with them yourself? I am a girl, your devoted wife—it is impertinence on my part to speak in a matter like this, but I have a right to say—you are kind to me, you love me.

Mir Kasim. It is true, indeed, I love you, Dalani. I never loved nor ever thought of loving a woman so dearly.

Dalani's hairs stood up on their ends. She remained silent for a long time—tears came into her eyes, wiping them away, she said, "If you are sure that whoever would go to fight with the English must be defeated, why are you then preparing for a war against them?" Mir Kasim, in a comparatively low voice, replied, "I have no other alternative. I know you are my own, so I say, in your presence, that I know it for certain that in this struggle I shall lose my Rh