Advancement is slow—but that is in the nature of things—
'Rushes down the hill the crag, which upward 'twas so hard to roll:
So to virtue slowly rises—so to vice quick sinks the soul.'
'Very good,' observed Karataka; 'but what is all this talk about?'
'Why! don't you see our Royal Master there, and how he came home without drinking? I know he has been horribly frightened,' said Damanaka.
'How do you know it?' asked the other.
'By my perception—at a glance!' replied Damanaka; 'and I mean to make out of this occasion that which shall put his Majesty at my disposal,'
'Now,' exclaimed Karataka, 'it is thou who art ignorant about service—
'Who speaks unasked, or comes unbid,
Or counts on favor—will be chid.'
'I ignorant about service!' said Damanaka; 'no, no, my friend, I know the secret of it—
'Wise, modest, constant, ever close at hand,
Not weighing but obeying all command,
Such servant by a Monarch's throne may stand.'