"What wilt thou give me，" asked the Brahman's daughter-in-law demurely， "if I show thee thy beloved at this very moment？"

　　The Raja's daughter answered， "I will ever be the lowest of thy slaves， standing before thee with joined hands."

　　Upon which Sita removed the pill from her mouth， and instantly having become Manaswi， put it carefully away in a little bag hung round his neck. At this sight Chandraprabha felt abashed， and hung down her head in beautiful confusion. To describe——

　　"I will have no descriptions， Vampire！" cried the great Vikram， jerking the bag up and down as if he were sweating gold in it. "The fewer of thy descriptions the better for us all."

　　Briefly （resumed the demon）， Manaswi reflected upon the eight forms of marriage——viz.， Bramhalagan， when a girl is given to a Brahman， or man of superior caste， without reward； Daiva， when she is presented as a gift or fee to the officiating priest at the close of a sacrifice； Arsha， when two cows are received by the girl's father in exchange for the bride[FN#149]； Prajapatya， when the girl is given at the request of a Brahman， and the father says to his daughter and her to betrothed， "Go， fulfil the duties of religion"； Asura， when money is received by the father in exchange for the bride； Rakshasha， when she is captured in war， or when her bridegroom overcomes his rival； Paisacha， when the girl is taken away from her father's house by craft； and eighthly， Gandharva-lagan， or the marriage that takes place by mutual consent.[FN#150]

　　[FN#149] Respectable Hindus say that receiving a fee for a daughter is like selling flesh.

　　[FN#150] A modern custom amongst the low caste is for the bride and bridegroom， in the presence of friends， to place a flower garland on each other's necks， and thus declare themselves man and wife. The old classical Gandharva-lagan has been before explained.

　　Manaswi preferred the latter， especially as by her rank and age the princess was entitled to call upon her father for the Lakshmi Swayambara wedding， in which she would have chosen her own husband. And thus it is that Rama， Arjuna， Krishna， Nala， and others， were proposed to by the princesses whom they married.

　　For five months after these nuptials， Manaswi never stirred out of the palace， but remained there by day a woman， and a man by night. The consequence was that he——I call him "he，" for whether Manaswi or Sita， his mind ever remained masculine——presently found himself in a fair way to become a father.

　　Now， one would imagine that a change of sex every twenty-four hours would be variety enough to satisfy even a man. Manaswi， however， was not contented. He began to pine for more liberty， and to find fault with his wife for not taking him out into the world. And you might have supposed that a young person who， from love at first sight， had fallen senseless upon the steps of a summer-house， and who had devoted herself to a sudden and untimely end because she was separated from her lover， would have repressed her yawns and little irritable words even for a year after having converted him into a husband. But no！ Chandraprabha soon felt as tired of seeing Manaswi and nothing but Manaswi， as Manaswi was weary of seeing Chandraprabha and nothing but Chandraprabha. Often she had been on the point of proposing visits and out-of-door excursions. But when at last the idea was first suggested by her husband， she at once became an injured woman. She hinted how foolish it was for married people to imprison themselves and to quarrel all day. When Manaswi remonstrated， saying that he wanted nothing better than to appear before the world with her as his wife， but that he really did not know what her father might do to him， she threw out a cutting sarcasm upon his effeminate appearance during the hours of light. She then told him of an unfortunate young woman in an old nursery tale who had unconsciously married a fiend that became a fine handsome man at night when no eye could see him， and utter ugliness by day when good looks show to advantage. And lastly， when inveighing against the changeableness， fickleness， and infidelity of mankind， she quoted the words of the poet——

　　Out upon change！ it tires the heart And weighs the noble spirit down；A vain， vain world indeed thou art That can such vile condition own The veil hath fallen from my eyes，I cannot love where I despise……

　　You can easily， O King Vikram， continue for yourself and conclude this lecture， which I leave unfinished on account of its length.

　　Chandraprabha and Sita， who called each other the Zodiacal Twins and Laughter Light，[FN#151] and All-consenters， easily persuaded the old Raja that their health would be further improved by air， exercise， and distractions. Subichar， being delighted with the change that had taken place in a daughter whom he loved， and whom he had feared to lose， told them to do as they pleased. They began a new life， in which short trips and visits， baths and dances， music parties， drives in bullock chariots， and water excursions succeeded one another.