Having obtained her father's permission， Shridat applied for betrothal to Jayashri， who with peculiar boldness， had resolved that no suitor should come to her through her parent. And she， after leading him on by all the coquetries of which she was a mistress， refused to marry him， saying that she liked him as a friend， but would hate him as a husband.

　　You see， my king！ there are three several states of feeling with which women regard their masters， and these are love， hate， and indifference. Of all， love is the weakest and the most transient， because the essentially unstable creatures naturally fall out of it as readily as they fall into it. Hate being a sister excitement will easily become， if a man has wit enough to effect the change， love； and hate-love may perhaps last a little longer than love-love. Also， man has the occupation， the excitement， and the pleasure of bringing about the change. As regards the neutral state， that poet was not happy in his ideas who sang ——

　　Whene'er indifference appears， or scorn，Then， man， despair！ then， hapless lover， mourn！

　　For a man versed in the Lila Shastra[FN#78] can soon turn a woman's indifference into hate， which I have shown is as easily permuted to love. In which predicament it is the old thing over again， and it ends in the pure Asat[FN#79] or nonentity.

　　[FN#78] The Hindu Ars Amoris.

　　[FN#79] The old philosophers， believing in a " Sat " （xx xx）， postulated an Asat （xx xx xx） and made the latter the root of the former.

　　"Which of these two birds， the jay or the parrot， had dipped deeper into human nature， mighty King Vikram？" asked the demon in a wheedling tone of voice.

　　The trap was this time set too openly， even for the royal personage， to fall into it. He hurried on， calling to his son， and not answering a word. The Vampire therefore resumed the thread of his story at the place where he had broken it off.

　　Shridat was in despair when he heard the resolve of his idol. He thought of drowning himself， of throwing himself down from the summit of Mount Girnar，[FN#80] of becoming a religious beggar； in short， of a multitude of follies. But he refrained from all such heroic remedies for despair， having rightly judged， when he became somewhat calmer， that they would not be likely to further his suit. He discovered that patience is a virtue， and he resolved impatiently enough to practice it. And by perseverance he succeeded. The worse for him！ How vain are men to wish！ How wise is the Deity， who is deaf to their wishes！

　　[FN#80] In Western India， a place celebrated for suicides.

　　Jayashri， for potent reasons best known to herself， was married to Shridat six months after his return home. He was in raptures. He called himself the happiest man in existence. He thanked and sacrificed to the Bhagwan for listening to his prayers. He recalled to mind with thrilling heart the long years which he had spent in hopeless exile from all that was dear to him， his sadness and anxiety， his hopes and joys， his toils and troubles his loyal love and his vows to Heaven for the happiness of his idol， and for the furtherance of his fondest desires.

　　For truly he loved her， continued the parrot， and there is something holy in such love. It becomes not only a faith， but the best of faiths-an abnegation of self which emancipates the spirit from its straightest and earthliest bondage， the "I"； the first step in the regions of heaven； a homage rendered through the creature to the Creator； a devotion solid， practical， ardent， not as worship mostly is， a cold and lifeless abstraction； a merging of human nature into one far nobler and higher the spiritual existence of the supernal world. For perfect love is perfect happiness， and the only perfection of man； and what is a demon but a being without love？ And what makes man's love truly divine， is the fact that it is bestowed upon such a thing as woman.

　　"And now， Raja Vikram，" said the Vampire， speaking in his proper person， "I have given you Madanmanjari the jay's and Churaman the parrot's definitions of the tender passion， or rather their descriptions of its effects. Kindly observe that I am far from accepting either one or the other. Love is， according to me， somewhat akin to mania， a temporary condition of selfishness， a transient confusion of identity. It enables man to predicate of others who are his other selves， that which he is ashamed to say about his real self. I will suppose the beloved object to be ugly， stupid， vicious， perverse， selfish， low minded， or the reverse； man finds it charming by the same rule that makes his faults and foibles dearer to him than all the virtues and good qualities of his neighbours. Ye call love a spell， an alchemy， a deity. Why？ Because it deifies self by gratifying all man's pride， man's vanity， and man's conceit， under the mask of complete unegotism. Who is not in heaven when he is talking of himself？ and， prithee， of what else consists all the talk of lovers？"