meet cordially the man who had treated him with such wanton indignity, and forced him to an act against which his conscience rebelled. “Rajah,” said the King, “you have at length consented to make me happy. When the possession of your daughter is secured to me, you have only to name the price of her dowry, and it shall be paid into your hands. You may look to be raised to the highest office under my government.” “I had rather be supreme in my own little principality than second even under so great a sovereign as he who sits on the throne of Delhi. All I desire is my freedom, and I only regret the nature of the ransom which your tyranny forces me to pay.” “Alliances with Kings are cheaply purchased upon any terms; and why should you grieve at your daughter becoming the wife of a powerful monarch?” “Because she has already a protector, and consequently can never occupy a place in your harem but as a degraded wife. However, I have commanded her presence here, and daily expect her; but you may prepare to encounter the vengeance of an injured husband; and I need not tell you that a Rajpoot foregoes his revenge but with his death.” “I laugh at the vain efforts of a puny youth, who will have brought what you call his wrongs upon himself. He married your daughter when he knew that I had made overtures to possess her.” “She had been pledged to him from infancy.” “But the will of kings sets aside such idle pledges; they, therefore, should not have been fulfilled.” “Our destinies are not dependent upon the will of kings. It has been hers to marry Jeipal, and all the powers of your extensive regality cannot sunder the mystical link which unites them. You may separate them from each other, but that conjunction of soul in which they are mutually joined is beyond your control--you cannot annul it.” “But I will tear them asunder in spite of it; and let me tell you that while I live no power I possess shall be spared to secure the one great object of my wishes, which is the possession of your daughter Jaya.” “That I have promised you, and the word of a Rajpoot is a sacred bond, forfeited only with life.”