wonderfully picturesque garb of glistening purple,--"He pays his
vows to Nagaya three times a day, at sunrise, noon, and sunset,--
and 'tis said he hath oft been seen of late in silent meditation
alone before the Sacred Veil, even after midnight. Maybe he is
there at this very moment, offering up a royal petition for those
of his less pious subjects who, like ourselves, love good wine
more than long prayers. Ah!--he is a most austere and noble
monarch,--a very anchorite and pattern of strict religious
discipline! "And he shook his head to and fro with an air of mock
solemn fervor. Every one laughed, . . and Ormaz playfully threw a
cluster of half-crushed roses at the speaker.

"Hold thy foolish tongue, Pharnim,--" he said,--"The King doth but
show a fitting example to his people, . . there is a time to pray,
and a time to feast, and our Zephoranim can do both as becomes a
man. But of his midnight meditations I have heard naught, . . since
when hath he deserted his Court of Love for the colder chambers of
the Sacred Temple?"

"Ask Lysia!" muttered Nir-jalis drowsily, under his breath--"She
knows more of the King than she cares to confess!"

His words were spoken in a low voice, and yet they were distinct
enough for all present to hear. A glance of absolute dismay went
round the table, and a breathless silence followed like the
ominous hush of a heated atmosphere before a thunder-clap. Nir-
jalis, apparently struck by the sudden stillness, looked lazily
round from among the tumbled cushions where he reclined,--a
vacant, tipsy smile on his lips.