66 
THE ORIENTAL ANNUAL. 
of the deceased. But with the prospect of long ages 
of bliss in the glorious mansions of paradise upon the 
one hand, and the sight of a dreary and dismantled 
home of servitude and degradation on the other, who 
would he slow to choose ? Who would hesitate to 
hurry through the fiery portals, to the gardens of 
heavenly joy and splendour, when to linger is to he 
excluded for ever ; and this for the sake of wandering 
on a few more hours over the barren scorching wilds 
of a joyless and solitary desert. Hear how the wise 
and faithful Lall Radha made her choice. As she had 
been kind and dutiful to her husband in life, so was 
she not to be restrained from hastening, at once, to join 
him in that future world of pure delight, which already 
she had won for herself by her devoted life — 
‘ She was a pearl too chaste on earth to dwell 
And waste her splendour in this earthly shell.’* 
May she for ever enjoy a glorious fulfilment of the 
divine Brahmas promise ! 
“Your slave’s father, whose name was Dewal, and 
Bhagut, the husband of Lall Radha, were twins, the 
only children of my grandfather, a man of the Khetri 
caste, highly esteemed by his relations and his friends 
for his equal temper, his suavity of manners, his good 
sense, and ready courage. In his youth he was re- 
markable for the noble beauty of his countenance, 
great activity and bodily strength, together with a 
* Arabic Poem. 
