United States or Paraguay ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
After three days, finding that his guest, to whom he had taken a great fancy, talked of continuing his journey, King Armanos said to him: "Prince, I am now an old man, and unfortunately I have no son to whom to leave my kingdom.
Now Badoura had thought much of the difficulties of her first interview with King Armanos' daughter, and she felt the only thing to do was at once to take her into her confidence. Accordingly, as soon as they were alone she took Haiatelnefous by the hand and said: "Princess, I have a secret to tell you, and must throw myself on your mercy.
The king sent for the two princes, and would have killed them both with his own hand, had not old king Armanos his father-in-law, who was present, held his hand: "Son," said he, "what are you going to do? Will you stain your hands and your palace with your own blood? There are other ways of punishing them, if they are really guilty."
In the morning, while the princess Badoura went to receive the compliments of the nobility in the hall of audience, where they congratulated her on her marriage and accession to the throne, king Armanos and his queen went to the apartment of their daughter to inquire after her health. Instead of answering, she held down her head, and by her looks they saw plainly enough that she was disappointed.
These considerations, added to the prospect of obtaining a kingdom for the prince her husband, in case she found him again, determined her to accept the proposal of King Armanos, and marry his daughter; so after having stood silent for some minutes, she with blushes, which the king took for a sign of modesty, answered, 'Sir, I am infinitely obliged to your majesty for your good opinion of me, for the honour you do me, and the great favour you offer me, which I cannot pretend to merit, and dare not refuse.
Next morning the princess resumed her woman's clothes, and as soon as she was ready she desired the chief eunuch to beg King Armanos to come to her apartments. When the king arrived great was his surprise at finding a strange lady in company of the grand treasurer who had no actual right to enter the private apartment. Seating himself he asked for the king.
King Armanos, as he had done the day before, came early to visit the queen his daughter, whom he found in tears; he wanted nothing more to be informed of the cause of her trouble. Provoked at the contempt, as he thought, put upon his daughter, of which he could not imagine the reason: "Daughter," said he, "have patience for another night.
In the midst of his good fortune he never ceased lamenting her, and grieved that he could hear no tidings of her, especially in a country which she must necessarily have passed in her way to his father's court, and have arrived long before, if she had not met with some ill accident by the way: he would have doubted something, had the princess Badoura still gone by the name of Camaralzaman, which she took with his habit; but, on her accession to the throne, she changed it to that of Armanos, in honour of the old king her father-in-law.
The two princesses concerted a method to get over that difficulty: queen Haiatalnefous's women, though cunning and quick-sighted, were next morning deceived themselves, and king Armanos, his queen, and the whole court, completely beguiled.
The princess Badoura and Kummir al Zummaun rose next morning as soon as it was light, but the princess would no more put on her royal robes as king; she dressed herself in her female attire, and then sent the chief eunuch to king Armanos, her father-in- law, to desire he would oblige her by coming to her apartment.
Word Of The Day