“Lady,” said the Ameer-ool-Omrah, in avowing his passion, “though once a slave, I am lineally descended from a long race of kings; your purity of blood will not therefore be tainted by an alliance with one who, from the lowest degradation of bondage has attained to the highest condition of freedom.” “Noble,” replied the lovely Zahira, “in the choice we make of those who are to guide our destinies, we should look rather to the moral qualities of the man we select, than to those adventitious circumstances which may either make him a sovereign or a beggar. To choose a wealthy man is easy; to choose a man of birth and distinction in the courts of princes is not more difficult. I have had the choice of both; but to select a virtuous man, is one of the few auspicious occurrences of our lives.” “Lady, I pretend to no virtue, beyond those of the nobles who compose the brilliant assemblage of your father’s court. There is, that I know of, but one main difference between us; they have inherited rank and opulence--it came to them without effort; mine, though descended from a line of kings, has been obtained with the point of my sword.” “I am content to share with you,” said Zahira earnestly, “the happiness or misery of a united lot, provided my father withhold not his consent; for I have no will, whatever wish I may entertain, apart from his. Duty to a parent is only exceeded in intensity of obligation by duty to a husband, and she who would fail to perform the one, would not be very likely to perform the other.” “I will immediately seek the Governor, and make known to him our mutual desires. He esteems me highly, as I have reason to believe; but how far his pride may struggle against his friendship, is a circumstance to be ascertained.” On that very day, the Ameer-ool-Omrah sought an audience with Aluptugeen, and declared his passion for the daughter of that prince. The Governor expressed no surprise, but said, “You know Zahira is my only child--a sweet blossom, that now for sixteen summers has blown round my heart with a purity and a fragrance that has rendered life to me a scene of enviable enjoyment. It is my duty, therefore, no less than my wish, to render that girl happy. She has already been solicited in marriage by four different princes, who possess each an extensive dominion and wide political influence; but she has rejected them. Several nobles of my court have made advances to her with like success. In such a solemn matter I shall neither bias nor direct her. You must, therefore, win her consent before you can obtain mine.” “I have avowed my passion, and your daughter has condescended to accept my vows. She waits but your decision. If you are averse to our union, my doom is sealed; if you approve of it, my happiness is secured.”