The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1886-05-20

ana dance the celeDTaIeu Iuyl VI bln1s
Govinta on the love of Krishma 1.-THE Hin
doc Apollo and Radha. Ajeeb gave them
the ounce of gold asked, and said to the
bayaderes that the love of krishma hac
fructifed India, and also that the history
of love of the god and Radha was too long
to be listened to by an agonizing man
Meanwhile Ajeeb noticed that by refusing
all those offers he was losing a great deal
more than by accepting them, but the idea
of being near his dissolution upset his
reasoning He felt no inclination toward;
any thing. Ajeeb. at the second hour OF
his life. was bothered to death.
"Brahma" exclaimed he, yawning con
vulsiVeIy. "Brahma! how long is life!
am not astonished if thou hast incarnated
thyself ten-fold in order to kill time"
This exclamation uttered. Ajeeb felt his
mind somewhat relieved. He had arrived
before the temple of Ten Tauli, which has
two porticos. and is quoted as one OF the
marVels Of Flora. He sat down on the tail
Of a monkey, in the shadow OF the OK
Mandy, both animals cut out of block in
a quarry of granite, and lazily he ate a few
betel nuts. His glapces, thrown obliquely
towards heaven, revealed to him painful
thing; Ajeeb had to pass only twenty
hours more on this earth before being
struck on the forehead by the black Yama,
the god OF funerals.
Then he adopted the last resource of
those that tediOusnesS kills-he stretched
himself on the sand and fell asleep, and
had a beautiful dream. He believed he
saw, OF better, he did see, Budrah, the god
of death, opening for him the blue gates Of
the magnificent palace Kailaca, whose por-
ticos, made of precious stones, conduct to
the Garden Mendana, inhabited by baya-
deres. silva, the most powerful of all the
gods. said to him:
'Ajeeb, as you have been just and chart
table, will reward you. l make you King
of the Maldive Islands; they are twelve
thousand in number, and are situated at
the entrance of the Arabic gulf. All OF
them have caves of pearls and coral, in
each one is a queen, handsome as Latch
NEE, the goddess of pleasure. These twelve
thousand queens shall be your wives, and
and you shall have floating harem more
beautiful than the one of the great Sevadjy,
the father of the Mahratta's empire" In
his dream Ajeeb came down from Heaven
through stair of gold and indigo. When
he arrived below the region of clouds he
discovered his kingdom, that resemoled
twelve thousand shells, resting on the sur
face of the sea under numberless eyrets or
palm trees. Landing it seemed to him
that the Orient sang a heavenly symphony
by dividing itself twelve thOusand-fold in
streams of joyous and bright azure. With
the swiftneSS of motion given by dreams
Ajeeb went from one island to another, and
i'll each of them he saw glittering two large
eyes under the ringletS of a head OF hair
black as ebony and face sweet and gilded
as Radha's.
Dreams are mysterious things which
cause us to forget the hour and space, so
Ajeeb awaking had in his remembrance
several years of happiness passed with his
twelve thousand queens in the Arabian
gulf among pearl, coral, amber and gold;
he found himself in the shadow of the OK
Nandu hafnra tho famrlQ of Flora Ao-
cording to his astronomical observations
he had slept eight hours, and but for hid
eOus serpent that bit him he would have
added many years to his fantastica1 happi
ness in the Maldive Islands.
Signing, Ajeeb said to himself: 81 have
but twelve hours to live, and / swear that
am exceedingly embarrassed with my eX-
istence. have twelve centuries before me.
If it was not through fear to displease silva,
would go and throw myself on the rock
down below, in order to be relieved from
the burden of those twelve hours, which are
killing me under their weight. At least il
could sleep again until the end Of my
lays, that will come with the next sun,
would see again my kingdom and my ha-
rem of queens in the mirror of the gulf but
alas! when the natural need of sleep will
return to me | shall be dead! Oh! it is
surely now that understand the mysteries
IF our life We experience only contested
pleasures lasting few minutes and uncon-
;eSted troubles and sorrows, lasting forev
r. The best part of our life is the sleeping
me. II the celestial India, if the blue god
granted me a third life, l would accept it,
olely on the condition of sleeping always"
As he finished his monologue, taking care
o pronounce it syllable by syllable, with
N affected slowliness for the purpose of
aiming few minutes on tie eternal twelve
lours forming the balance of his existence,
=, l, e h. do ~
Jagpur, who had just descended from his
ELEPHANT to kneel before the temple of DeS
Arantara or Ten Incarnations. The bonZe
f Nagpur was named Dhealy; he had left
Sherar, the rich capital, with his retinue OF |
emadars of both sexes, to visit the PENN |
ula of Bengal; he wanted to meet and con- |
uer the most renowned chess players of |
iindoStan. Ajeeb proStratet himself be- |
ore him and said: Ray of the Seventh |
cad of silva, you who are present in the |
ouncils of India, and who has rendered |
armlesS the anger of Ananta, the eternal
erpent, teach me the secret of passing ten |
ours without being devoured by tedious
IeSS.n
"Do YOU ask the aim of a distraction
rom me-" replied the bonze.
81 ask it on my knees, Star of Nagpur,"
Ajeeb.
''Shegmadid, the glorious architect of the |
emples of Flora, who has been raised to |
he dignity of god, and who travels the |
,lue armament on the chariot of Suriah, |
las commanded the bronZeS to give aims !
o the poor" said Dhealy. "Obeying his |
orders, 1 consent to play five games of
hess with you, that is to say, will give
yOu ten hours of voluptuousness to render |
ealous the chaste goddess Sista."
Ajeeb opened wide his big black eyes
md his face took the expression Of deep
He thought the remedy q
l. L..
erred some unintolligible words that the
1onze interpreted as no expression of deep
gratitude for the pleasure promised. Ajeeb
was perhaps the only Hindoo in this learned
that did not know how to play
hess, and he had forgotten in his dream
If the Maldive Islands that the goddess
Sursutee, when she had granted him an
other day of life, had also given him an
universal science, adapting itself to any
hing. 1t was only when seated before the
,hess-board that Ajeeb felt in himself the
of a chess player and the spon-
,aneous revelations Of the most compli-
lated combinations
A jemadar had taken out the bonze's
hess board and pieces from a box tied
around the elephants neck as an honorable
1t was 9 marvellous chess
chinese workman had passed $50 it was
add seven years to construct and carve
his masterpiece o. work of ivory, nacre,
earl and ebony. The black king was the
perfect likeness of the monarch reigning
'ver Labor, and who was called Goala
Sing. the lion shepherd, emblematic desig-
lation of the courage and kindness pos
essed by that sovereign. The white king
vas the living picture of the magnani-
nous To-Hi, the venerable Emperor of
Ihins, the potentate agriculturist, who had
invented two shrubs and three flowers
through a wonderful work of matching and
raft. The sixteen pawns of ivory and
bony were carved with the most exquisite
aste. Their little eyes shone like car
'uncles; they put their left foot forwad
md aimed with an arrow of nacrs resting
IN filigrane of gold Bonze Dhealy had
von this chess board and pieces in tourn-
.ment with the grandson of the celebrated
kosrii. He was proud of them as the tenn
lie of Nagpur is proud of its gates of