The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1885-12-18

JOY re tremblcd with excitement
uttered bowls Of satisfaction and cried
increasingly; "Strike; keep sfriking.''
One of them II length fell uncon-
scious; he had 10 be carried from the
arena. and the Rajah hcaycd deep
sigh Of regret, or grief that Il was 80
| soon over.
| Then he turned 10 me and asked me
what thought Of II. l was disguised.
but pretended TO b. greatly pleased.
Then he ordered me 70 BE- Conducted
at once 70 the Couch Mahal (thc pleas
urc palacc), where ! was to reside.
Crossing magnificent gardens,
reached my residence. This palace
was situated Ut the extremity Of the
park upon the border of the sacred
lake Of Vihara. The chambers were
lighted by arched windows looking
upon the gardens and the lake. The
marble floors were inlaid with onyx,
lapis. lazuli and agate.
| had hardly finished my toilet. when
. dignitary Of the court. Haribadada,
SPECIALLY charged with communications
between the Rajah and myself, an
nounccd the visit u his Sovereign.
| The Rajah appeared and again shook
my hand warmly, and began to tell me
thousand things, constantly asking
my opinion, which ! found FRAT diff
lty in giving him. Then h. wished
to show me the ruins Of an OLE palace
at the other end Of the gardens.
| II was a veritable mass Of rocks, peo-
pied only BY great monkeys. At our
! approach they began to scamper over
the stones. making horrible grimaces.
The Rajah laughed madly, and pinched
my shoulder IN testimony Of his pleas
ure- When he had had enough Of this
! spectacle, he dragged me through the
gardens back to my palace. and left
me. recalling 10 me the fact that a
grand tiger hunt would take place the
next day in my honor.
| attended this hunt, then second. a
third. ten. twenty in rapid succession.
! We chased in turn all the animals that
the country produced; the panther. the
bear. the elephant, the antelope. the
hippopotamus. the crocodile and half
the beasts in all creation. ! was tired
| TO death Of the sport
| At last the ardor IL the Rajah abated.
and AT my earnest entrcaty he left me a
| little opportunity to work. He con-
| tented himself with overwhelming me
with presents. He sent me jewels. cost
ly garments and rare curiosities. which
Haribadada presented to me with re-
spect apparently as profound as II had
been the Great Mogul himself. although
| in his heart he thoroughly dcspised ME.
| And every day procession Of SER
ma nm n
| portion Of the royal repast; each day il
was necessary for me 10 appear and
take an extreme pleasure in some diver
sion especially gotten up for me.
When was left to myself l worked
or went TO see the monkeys, whose So
ciety pleased me infinitely more than
that Of the Rajah.
One evening. No / returned from a
walk. found before the door Of my pal
ace Haribadada. solemn as an owl. who
announced TO me in mysterious tones
that gift from his Sovereign awaited
I me in my chamber; and he offered his
masters excuses for not having sent II
| before.
/ After these somewhat obscure re.
marks the ambassador bowed and dis
\ appeared.
4 entered my room and saw. ranged
| along the wall. six little girls standing
side BY side. The oldest might have
been eight and the Youngest six. Al
| first could not understand why these
youngsters Ind been installed in my
house; then OWNED the delicate atten-
ton Of the Prince, il was harem that
he had presented me.
felt inclined to burst into laughter
at the sight Of these midgcss, who
gazed AT me with their large gray eyes.
did not know what To say to them.
wanted TO send them back, but one can
not return a Sovereign's Gift. must
keep them and find q place in my
home for this troop OF children. Final
| " said to the oldest:
| What is your name. my child?"
She replied: ..Chali. n
/ She had the air Of little mouse.
raised her in my arms and kissed her.
| Then. seating myself in Indian fashion.
\ motioned to the others to range them
selves around me. and began telling
them fairy stories.
| They listened attentively. and trem-
blcd with excitement at the marvellous
details. When had finished. called
my servant. and had him bring fruits
and candies. Of which they eat enough
| to make themselves sick. Then l en-
| trusted them to his care. directing him
to see that they were made comforta-
BILE.
For eight days l found real pleas
urc in playing the papa to these little
puppets. We played hide and seek.
puss in the corner and blindmans buff.
which threw them into transports Of
happiness. My palace was turned into
a sort Of nursery.
Chali was my favorite. We wandered
together among the ruins Of the old
palace; we rowed together upon the
lake, and when was at work she
would sit for hours gazing at me with
her great dreamy eyes. She was gen
tie. timid little thing. and / grew to
love her as II she had been my own
child.
The Rajah still continued to lavish
gifts upon me-
One day he sent me curious OBJ
jcct which excited in Chali the greatest
admiration. II was simply box made
Of shells. one Of those paper boxes COW
cred with little shells stuck upon the
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