Brother, said she, and smiled, what I have just now heard, gives me a greater proof than ever I had of the sincerity of your friendship for me; but as heretofore I could not brook your proposing a match between me and a prince of the earth, so now I can scarce forbear being angry with you, for advising me to break the engagement I have made with the most puissant and most renowned monarch in the world. I do not speak here of an engagement between a slave and her master; if that were all, it would be easy to return the ten thousand pieces of gold that I cost him; but I speak now of a contract between a woman and her husband, who has never given her the least reason to complain or be discontented: besides, he is a king, wise, temperate, religious, and just, and has given me the most essential demonstrations of his love that possibly he could. What can be a greater instance of the violence of his passion, than sending away all his women (of which he had a great number) immediately upon my arrival, and confining himself only to me? I am now his wife, and he has lately declared me queen of Persia; and I am to sit with him in the council: besides, I am breeding; and if Heaven shall be pleased to favour me with a son, that shall be another motive to engage my affections to him the more. So, brother, continued the queen Gulnare, instead of following your advice, you see I have all the reason in the world, not only to love the king of Persia as passionately as I do, but also to live and die with him, more out of gratitude than duty. I hope, then, neither my mother, nor you, nor any of my cousins, will disapprove of the resolution and alliance I have made, which will be an equal honour to the kings of both the sea and earth. I ask a thousand pardons for giving you the trouble of coming hither from the bottom of the deep to partake of it; and I return you thanks for the pleasure of seeing you after so long a separation. Sister, replied king Saleh, the proposition I made you of going back with us into my kingdom, upon the recital of your adventures, (which I could not hear without concern,) was to let you see what a particular love and honour I had for you, and that nothing in the world was so dear to me as your welfare and happiness. Upon the same account, then, for my own part, I cannot condemn a resolution so reasonable, and so worthy of yourself, after what you have told me of the king of Persia your husband, and the many obligations you have to him; and I am persuaded that the queen our mother will be of the same opinion.