Page:Peregrinaggio di tre giovani figliuoli del re di Serendippo.djvu/44

 They were to make every conceivable effort to find the young woman, dress her again in her clothes, untie her hands, and bring her into his presence.

The ministers carried out the order promptly and went to the forest without any delay. But, after diligently searching every part of the forest all night, they could not find Diliramma, who had been rescued by the merchant.

When they returned to the Emperor the following day, they assured him that while they had diligently searched for her everywhere in the forest, they had been unable to find her and since there were plenty of wild animals, it was assumed that they had really devoured her. Like every other man in the world would be, he was overcome by a deep melancholy because of this painful event. He was struck by a serious illness which effectively deprived him of sleep. Despite the great treatment he received, he was unable to recover.

Because of this he was consumed by bitterness and imminent death awaited him. This caused much sorrow to all the main barons of the realm. They met and consulted among themselves and concluded that because the doctors were unable to restore their lord to health they should as well as they could give him nourishment until the three brothers would return from India with the Mirror. At that time they were certain that they, highly intelligent as they were, would be able to find an effective remedy for Beramo's infirmity.