for the. King' of Kosala it wais claimed "he OTeiihrowe the 

 strong by strength, the mild by mildness; good he over- 

 comes with good, and evil with evil." The driver for th^ 

 King of Benares replied: "If these are j' our master's: vir- 

 tues, v^'liat are his faults? As to- my master: With meek* 

 nees he eonquei's anger, overcomes evil with good, disarms 

 avarice with liberality, and the liar with truth." The stoi-y, 

 of course, ends: "The King of Benares was Buddha in an 

 anterior existence." 



Eastern countries ai'e the home of stories. The in- 

 struction a.nd amuise.ment spre^ in the west by es»^ayB and 

 dramas Oricnt-al nations diffuse by me^ans of tales and 

 fables. Persia has always been noted for its didactic tales., 

 love istories and humorous fables. I give the skeleton out- 

 line of one by Nizami. It is of the twelfth centm'y, and was 

 a favorite of Sir William Jones, who labeled it "Taciturn- 

 ity." When the rose blossomed in the bower, a nightin- 

 gale thus ax?-co'sted a hawk : How is it that thou who since 

 thou hast drawn breath hast never uttere-d one pleasant 

 word to a soul, art the king's favoiite, and art fed on the 

 best of food, whilst I, who in the twinkling of an eye caii 

 charm with a hundred notes of song, must eat worms, and 

 live in a house of thorns? Go to, quoth the hawk; I sei"ve 

 the king on the him ting field, hence my luck, and since 

 thou art nought but tongue, eat thy worms, isit on thome, 

 and peace be with thee." 



If we may trust tradition, the haird of time has much 

 short-ened the list of Indian stories. Still, the numbers left 

 almost exceed credence, for stories of all kinds find con- 

 genial soil and flourish in most of the many tongues of. 

 India. There plenteous hain-e-ets, in all ages, have supplied 

 a garner of t>ales, having all grades of ethical and artistic 

 merit, from the purest, most atti'active and spiritual, to 

 those repulsively coarse and inane. Hindu epic poetry is 

 noted for the pretty tales like that of Nala, scattered along 

 the tortuous pathway of its main nan*ative-s. Sir Edwin 

 Ari^old d^ligl^te^ \\'^: readem &om.e years since with a. few 



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