Page:The Slave Girl of Agra.djvu/47

 "And if thou knowest my wife's scheme of uniting the houses of Birnagar and Debipur, what doest thou think of it?"

"It is an idea worthy of the righteous heart that has conceived it. A more pious lady than my mistress does not breathe on earth. She is a Sita incarnate, and, like Sita, she would give away a kingdom to retire with her husband into forests."

The veiled sarcasm of the concluding remark did not miss its mark.

"And dost thou think to wed my daughter to Noren would be to hand over my estate to him and to retire from the world as a mendicant?"

"My Master can judge best. I am only an instrument in his hands; he alone is the custodian of the fortunes of his ancestral house."

"The plan of my wife is a woman's plan, but it is worth consideration, Gokul Das."

"Women are good judges, my Master, in matters of sentiment, and her ladyship, your wife, sees into young Noren's heart with unerring wisdom. But man has deeper passions and ambitions, and the smile of a pretty face will not move him from the serious purposes of life. Noren is his father's son, the warm blood of his grandfather stirs in his veins."

"Noren, my wife says, has a deep liking for Hemlata, and would willingly come with us to Debipur. He would be as a son and heir of the house of Debipur to win the hand of my daughter!"

"Young Chiefs of Birnagar, as loving as Noren, have ere now wedded girls of the Debipur House, but have not foresworn their own. Lords of Debipur, more ardent than Noren, have won their brides from