Page:The Slave Girl of Agra.djvu/48

 Birnagar, but have not forgotten the traditions of their fathers' House."

"Ay, but the heir and heiress of the two estates have never been united before. Their union, my wife thinks, means the union of two hostile estates for ever."

"Would to heaven that the pious wishes of that high-souled lady could be fulfilled! But the jealousies of three hundred years do not die in a day, and the inherited hatreds of two almost royal Houses are not extinguished in a festive night."

"Why not? Such events have happened before now."

"Judge by your man's heart, my Master, you of noble descent can judge these things better than a humble man like me. Would you, at your wife's request—and she does trace her descent from Birnagar ancestors—would you, even for that best and noblest of women, foreswear your ancient House, deny your ancestors, and be a successor of those whom your fathers have fought these three hundred years?"

"Never, as long as I can collect a hundred retainers to defend my father's House! Never, as long as I have a drop of blood to shed to defend my father's gate!"

"And do you think, my Master, that Noren, when he grows up to be a man, will feel less like a man? He is a foolish lad now, and hangs on the skirts of your little girl as a spaniel follows his mistress. And yet, even at this age, I have seen his eyes sparkle and the blue veins start on his forehead at the mention of his grandfather's deeds. Trust me, my Master, that boy to whom Raja Todar Mull pre-