ince was
really destined to be my husband, and I ought to have had him, instead
of that ugly wretch, who is stupid, ignorant of all the arts of
pleasing, brutal, rebellious, cruel, boastful, false, and, above all,
most insulting in his behaviour to me; only yesterday he ill-treated
my favourite attendant, Pushkarika, and gathered flowers from a plant
which I had especially cherished, to give to one of his paramours, a
low vulgar woman, who is trying to put herself on an equality with me.
He is in every way unsuited to me, and my misery is so great, that I
am ready to catch at any means of escape from it. It was wretched
enough while I thought on no one else, but now that I have heard of
this charming young man, and seen his portrait, I will endure it no
longer, whatever the consequences may be. Therefore, let him come
to-morrow evening to the Madhavi bower in the garden. I am impatient
to see him; even the hearing of him has filled my heart with love.'"

When the old nurse had given me this account, I determined to risk the
adventure, and obtained from her a minute description of the garden,
the direction of the road and paths, the exact situation of the
summerhouse where I was to meet the queen, and where the guards were
stationed.

Having carefully impressed all these details on my memory, I waited
impatiently for the following night, and lay down to rest. As I lay I
thought on the difficulty of the enterprise, of the sin of seducing
the wife of another, and of what Rajavahana and my other friends would
say to such conduct. On the other hand, I seemed to be justified by
the object I had in view; the liberation of my parents.

Perplexed with these conflicting thoughts I fell asleep, and dreamed
that Vishnu appeared to me, and said: "Go on boldly, without
hesitation; what you are about to do, though it may seem sinful, is
approved of by me." Encouraged by this vision, I rose in the morning,
fully confirmed in my purpose. The tedious day came at last to an end,
and darkness set in.

When the proper time arrived, I put on a close-fitting dark dress,
girded on my sword, and set out on the dangerous enterprise.

Concealed at the edge of the ditch, I found a long bamboo, which the
old woman had procured for me. This I laid across, and so got to the
bottom of the wall. Then, cautiously raising it, I climbed to the top,
just where a large heap of bricks had been piled up inside. Using
these as steps, I got safely to the