Malayan Literature | Page 5

I?"
And then she cried: "Now hear me, O my love!

Were there a woman with an angel-face,
Wouldst them make her thy
wife? If she appeared
Unto thine eyes more beautiful than I,
Then
would thy heart not burn for her?"
The prince
But smiled, and answered not. She also smiled,
But said,
"Since thou dost hesitate, I know
That thou wouldst surely wed her."
Then the prince
Made answer: "O my heart, gold of my soul,
If she
in form and birth were like to thee
I'd join her with thy destiny." Now
when
The princess heard these words she paled and shook.
With
eyes cast down, she left her royal spouse.
But quick he seized her.
With a smile he said:
"Gold, ruby, dearest friend, I pray thee now,

Oh, be not vexed with me. Light of my eyes,
Keep not within thy
heart a bitterness
Because I answered thus unto thy words."

He took
her in his arms and kissed her lips
And wooed her. And her face
again grew sweet
The while she heard. And yet her woman's heart

Was grieved and saddened. And she sat apart,
And swift these
thoughts came to her anxious mind:
"I'll seek to-morrow through this

kingdom wide,
Lest there should be within the land a maid
More
fair than I. To death I shall condemn
Her straight, lest rival she may
be to me.
For if my lord should marry her, he'd love
Her more than
me. He'd love the younger one,
And constantly my tortured heart
would bleed."
They angered her, these thoughts, as if her heart

Were filled with gall. "Now may I be accursed
If I go not unto the
end in love."
Her heart was not assuaged; she sighed alone.
Upon
the morrow morn the King went out,
And with him many officers and
men.
Meanwhile the Princess Lila Sari sent
A summons to a
jeweller of skill,
And at the same time called her four dyangs,
Who
came and sat. Dang Wilapat bowed low
And said, "Our greetings to
thee, princess great."
The Queen replied: "Go forth, dyangs, at once

And find me gold and dust of gold, and take
It all unto a goldsmith.
Let him make
For me a fan, all decked with beauteous gems,
With
rubies red and pearls; and after that
A girdle virginal. Count not the
price.
I want it all as quickly as may be."
And so they hastened,
took the gold, and went
Outside the city, through the whole campong

Of goldsmiths, seeking there the best to make
The fan and girdle.
And the hammered gold
Soon shone with many amethysts and gems.

It was a marvel to behold those rare
And quaintly fashioned
ornaments, to deck
A sultaness. Of priceless worth they were.
Four
days, and all was ready for the Queen.
But she had never eaten all this
time
Because of grief. She thought the fan more fine
Than Java
princess ever yet possessed.
She called the four dyangs
and said to
them:
"A secret mission have I now for ye.
Go up and down among
the officers
And show this fan for sale, but never name
The price.
Seek ever if there be a face
More beautiful than mine; and should ye
find
A face more fair, come tell it straight to me.
If ye obey my will
I'll make ye all
Inspectresses within the royal home."
Then forth the
women went upon the quest.
And first among their friends they went
with words
Of mystery and hints of wondrous things
They had for
sale. And so these servants bore
The story to their masters, "The
dyangs
Have something wonderful to sell." And soon
The

daughters of the houses rich began
To clamor for a sight of this great
prize.
Then the dyangs, went to the houses all.
The young girls said,
"Oh, tell us now the price."
Dyang Wiravan quickly answered, then

Dyang Podagah: "Tis a princely thing;
I'll go and ask the price and
tell it thee."
And so they spoke, and so they looked about
To find a
face more beautiful and rare
Than their own Queen's, and wearied in
the search.
"Where can we further look?" they said, and then

Bethought them of the strangers and the priests.
But in that quarter no
one dared to touch
The precious things, but thought it passing strange

The Queen should wish to sell. To the campong
Of merchants next
they went. A double line
Of ramparts guarded it. "Here is more stir

And gayety," they said, "with sport and song,
Than elsewhere have
we found." And so they sought
The richest merchants. "We have
something rare,"
They said, "made by an artist Javanese."
When
Bidasari's servants saw these folk
They said: "Bring these things to
our house and we
Will show them to our master. He will buy."

Then the dyangs with smiles replied: "They are
Not ours, but our
good Queen's. And only we
May show them, lest a stone be lost,
perchance,
And we be punished." Bidasari's maids
Were glad and
said, "Wait but a moment here
Until we find what Bidasari wills."

They found her with her maids, and told the tale.
Then Bidasari bade
them bring to her
The stranger folk, and said, "If I be pleased
I'll
buy." Dang Ratna Watie went and told
The women that young
Bidasari wished
To see their wares. The four dyangs came in

Together. Joy