subject of the tender passion had passed between the two youths,
and one of them had ever spoken of it so very disrespectfully that
the other felt ashamed to introduce it. But when his friend, with a
view to provoke communicativeness, advised a course of boiled
and bitter herbs and great attention to diet, quoting the hemistich
attributed to the learned physician Charndatta

A fever starve, but feed a cold,

the unhappy Vajramukut's fortitude abandoned him; he burst into
tears, and exclaimed," Whosoever enters upon the path of love
cannot survive it; and if (by chance) he should live, what is life to
him but a prolongation of his misery?"

"Yea," replied the minister's son, "the sage hath said --

The road of love is that which hath no beginning nor end;
Take thou heed of thyself, man I ere thou place foot upon it.

And the wise, knowing that there are three things whose effect
upon himself no man can foretell --namely, desire of woman, the
dice-box, and the drinking of ardent spirits - find total abstinence
from them the best of rules. Yet, after all, if there is no cow, we
must milk the bull."

The advice was, of course, excellent, but the hapless lover could
not help thinking that on this occasion it came a little too late.
However, after a pause he returned to the subject and said, "I have
ventured to tread that dangerous way, be its end pain or pleasure,
happiness or destruction." He then hung down his head and sighed