THE RAJP00TNI BRIDE. 
161 
wife, who cheered him on his departure., bidding him 
a prosperous issue, and adding, that she should have 
the pile prepared in case of his defeat. She gave him 
her parting benediction, and said, with subdued emo- 
tion Should thy discomfiture be the decree of the 
Eternal, thy soul shall not occupy the swerga-bowers 
alone — thy sita* will accompany thee to the abodes 
of the brave.” He departed with the most deadly 
resolves. The adverse parties met ; the encounter 
was tremendous : there was no shrinking, neither mercy 
felt nor quarter given — revenge was the cry and 
death the issue. The weight of numbers was on the 
side of the Hara, but the advantage of prowess on 
that of the Rahtore; still nothing could withstand 
such fearful odds as two to one, especially where 
both sides were proverbially brave. The bereaved 
father, panting for vengeance, sought his adversary 
through the thickest of the fight, and at length 
they met. There was a deadly deliberation in the 
aspect of both, and the conflict was proportionably 
stubborn ; but the declining strength of age was no 
match for the undiminished vigour of youth. The 
Hara was struck down by a blow from his adver- 
sary’s sabre ; fortunately, his quilted tunic resisted 
the stroke sufficiently to protect his body from a fatal 
incision. The Rahtore, when he saw his foe prostrate 
before him, remembering that he was the father of his 
bride, forbore to repeat the blow. Quitting his van- 
quished enemy, he plunged into the thickest of the 
fight, where his sword did signal execution; but his 
numbers momentarily diminished. It was clear that 
* Sita signifies spouse. 
p 3 
