When she raisedjhe veil to bind it in 

 its place she noticed the sweet odour 

 it bore, which came from the little oily 

 drops. She told Noorjehan of it, and 

 her mistress also delighted in the 

 sweetness, and sent for a sea-shell and 

 a tiny flask. With her own hands 

 she gathered the drops as they floated 

 past. Day after day she amused her-^ 

 self by gathering this sweetness, till 

 the precious little flask was full. 

 Then she gave it to her lord. Jehan- 

 Geer Seems to have been of a com- 

 mercial turn of mind, for straightway 

 he set slaves to work to make the 

 precious oil. Yet Noorjehan each day 

 gathered it drop by drop from her 

 rose-bordered stream, declaring it was 

 sweeter far than that extracted by the 

 slaves. 



Few roses have anything like ro- 

 mance connected with their early his- 

 tory. It is usually a matter of budding, 

 III 



