[CHAPTER XII]
PARVATI
During our absence a little Princess had been born in the Palace of Golconda.
Alemguir, overflowing with joy, brought her to show me, in her baby robes of lace.
What a darling she was! How pretty, and fragile.... She was like a Flower!
Her little hand held a golden rattle, and round her neck was a string of great pearls that looked like drops of frozen milk.
They had called her Parvati, which is the name of a Goddess. I was filled with deep emotion at the sight of her. My heart beat violently.... But I could only express my feelings by awkwardly shuffling from one foot to the other.
Saphire-of-Heaven had been at the point of death, and they had concealed from her the reverses of the army, and the defeat and capture of her husband, the Prince. She had learned at one and the same time of the dangers he had encountered, and of his present safety. And the anticipation of seeing her husband so soon had aided her convalescence.