‘Now,’ said the old man, ‘I will finish by quoting a counsel from a part of the most ancient of India’s literature,—the Dasakumaracharita, or ‘Stories of Ten Princes.’
‘Government is an arduous matter; it has three principles; Council, Authority, and Activity. These mutually assisting each other dispatch all affairs. Council determines objects, Authority commences, and Activity effects their attainment. Policy is a tree of which Council is the root, Authority the stem, and Activity the main branch. The seventy-two Prakritis are the leaves; the six qualities of Royalty the blossoms; power and success the flowers and the fruit. Let this shade protect our Gracious Empress for ever.
‘And as at the birth of the Great Abkar, which happened at a time when his father’s fortunes were fallen so low that he possessed neither crown, nor kingdom, nor even the wherewithal to make the necessary gifts to his friends and followers when a son was born unto him, he took a musk-pod, and breaking it divided it amongst them, uttering the wish that proved a prophecy; so may thy name, most noble Mercia, and thy virtues spread in waves of perfume throughout thy wide domains, making glad the hearts of thy faithful subjects, and filling them with joy, and peace and love.
‘May the blessing of the Eternal Father rest upon thee and thine for ever and for ever.’
THE END
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