nt. In
order not to wound the susceptibility of the parties, the advocates
never speak but in allegorical terms, and at the ceremony which
I honoured with my presence the advocate of the young Indian girl
thus began:--

"A young man and a young girl were joined together in the holy
bands of wedlock; they possessed nothing--nay, they had not even a
shelter. For several years the young woman was very badly off. At last
her misfortunes came to an end, and one day she found herself in a
fine large cottage that was her own. She became the mother of a pretty
little babe, a girl, and on the day of her confinement there appeared
unto her an angel, who said to her:--'Bear in mind thy marriage,
and the time of penury thou didst go through. The child that has
just been born unto thee will I take under my protection. When she
will have grown up and be a fine lass, give her but to him who will
build her up a temple, where there will be ten columns, each composed
of ten stones. If thou dost not execute these my orders thy daughter
will be as miserable as thou hast been thyself.'"

After this short speech, the adverse advocate replied:--"Once upon a
time there lived a queen, whose kingdom lay on the sea-side. Amongst
the laws of her realm there was one which she followed with the
greatest rigour. Every ship arriving in her states' harbour could,
according to that law, cast anchor but at one hundred fathoms deep,
and he who violated the said law was put to death without pity or
remorse. Now it came to pass one day that a brave captain of a ship was
surprised by a dreadful tempest, and after many fruitless endeavours
to save his vessel, he was obliged to put into the queen's harbour,
and cast anchor there, although his cable was only eighty fathoms
long, for he preferred death on the scaffold to the loss of his ship
and crew. The enraged queen commanded him to her audit chamber. He
obeyed, and throwing himself at her feet, told her that necessity
alone had compelled him to infringe upon the laws, and that, having
but eighty fathoms long, he could not possibly cast out a hundred,
so he besought her most graciously to pardon him."

And here ended his speech, but the other advocate took it up, and
thus went on:--

"The queen, moved to pity by the prayer of the suppliant captain,
and his inability to cast his anchor one hundred fathoms deep,
instantly pardoned him, and well did she devise."

On hearing these last words joy shone upon