Then Râdhâ makes anxious search for him, pressing through forest and tangled bushes, until a friend tells her in sheer pity that Krishna will not be found in lonely forest shades, and thus sings to her:— ‘In this love-tide of spring, when the amorous breeze Has kissed itself sweet on the beautiful trees, And the humming of numberless bees, as they throng To the blossoming shrubs swells the kokila’s song:— ‘In this love-tide of spring when the spirit is glad, And the parted, yes, only the parted, are sad; Thy lover, thy Krishna is dancing in glee With troops of young maidens forgetful of thee. Dispensing rich odours the sweet madhavî With its lover-like wreathings encircles the tree; And oh, e’en a hermit must yield to the power— The ravishing scent of the malika flower. ‘Saffron robes his body grace; Flowery wreaths his limbs entwine; There’s a smile upon his face, And his ears with jewels shine. In that youthful company, Amorous felon! revels he; False to all—most false to thee.’ In the end Krishna, although faithless for a time, discovers the vanity of all other loves, and returns with sorrow and longing to his own darling Râdhâ. In Swami’s library were books containing collections of Hindu stories that had been handed down for hundreds of years, and repeated orally by each generation until at length various collections were made by native _littérateurs_, which sometimes were given very fanciful titles. Indeed, Hindu literature supplied the whole world with its stories, even the Persians stole from it considerably. The following is an ancient Sanskrit love story by an author of repute, of the name of Subandhu. The chief beauties of this tale lie in its alliterations, double meaning of phrases, and puns, which bristle everywhere, all of which are of necessity lost in the translation. The plot is peculiar. A king who lived somewhere on the Ganges, was a follower of Siva, and ruled his kingdom so admirably that impiety was unknown, proof by ordeal never needed, and violence never practised. This king had a son, who was the delight of all who sought his protection, his sagacity always securing him from deception. His religious feeling was shown by marked devotion to cows, and to Brahmans; and being comely as the god of love, (who by the way is furnished with his bow and arrows, showing that the idea may have been borrowed by the ancient Greeks,) he was admired by all maidens, far and near. The extraordinary fact, was however, that the maiden with whom alone he fell in love, was one that appeared to him in a dream. He longed to dream again, but the fervour of his emotion prevented sleep.