exclaiming, "Know, thou surly hind, that I am Bright-Wits, Prince of
Mogadore, and that yonder holy man, who honours me in being my guide and
father as I travel in search of knowledge and adventure, is Ablano the
Brahman, whose virtues are as many as the sands in the great desert of
Gobi, and the fame of whose wisdom reaches all men as the rays of the
sun at noon."

Now the fat stranger, alarmed by the fierce outburst of the prince,
scrambled hastily to his feet, and with profuse apologies welcomed the
travellers and bade them recline upon the porch while he summoned
attendants and refreshments. When their ungracious host had retired, the
damsel turned upon Bright-Wits a face which outshone the sun in its
splendour, and thus addressed him.

"Know, O prince, that I am the Princess Azalia, and that this great
palace, and the city and country for ten days' journey in every
direction, formed the kingdom of my father the Great Onalba, Rajah of
Parrabang. Here my days passed as in Paradise, until one year ago, when
my loved parent suddenly disappeared. At first no alarm was felt, for he
was wondrous wise, and fond of secluding himself from men that he might
study in peace and quietness. When, however, a month passing saw not his
return, the Vizier Garrofat, he who was but now upon the porch,
nicknamed the 'Old Woman,' because of his beardless face, called the
Council of Emirs together; whereupon it was solemnly decreed that my
beloved father had departed from this life. Now, I being a maid, and
moreover barely sixteen, could not govern in his stead, and Garrofat had
himself declared Regent until I should have arrived at the age of
eighteen years, by virtue of a decree which he claimed to have received
from the Rajah, my father. Now, moreover, this decree gave Garrofat the
right to accept as a husband for me any suitor who succeeded in