Honain touched her pulse.
'Irregular,' said the physician.
'Like myself,' said the lady. 'Is that a new slave?'
'A recent purchase, and a great bargain. He is good-looking, has the
advantage of being deaf and dumb, and is harmless in every respect.'
''Tis a pity,' replied the lady; 'it seems that all good-looking people
are born to be useless. I, for instance.'
'Yet rumour whispers the reverse,' remarked the physician.
'How so?' inquired the lady.
'The young King of Karasme.'
'Poh! I have made up my mind to detest him. A barbarian!'
'A hero!'
'Have you ever seen him?'
'I have.'
'Handsome?'
'An archangel.'
'And sumptuous?'
'Is he not a conqueror? All the plunder of the world will be yours.'
'I am tired of magnificence. I built this kiosk to forget it.'
'It is not in the least degree splendid,' said Honain, looking round
with a smile.
'No,' answered the lady, with a self-satisfied air: 'here, at least, one
can forget one has the misfortune to be a princess.'
'It is certainly a great misfortune,' said the physician.
'And yet it must be the only tolerable lot,' replied the lady.
'Assuredly,' replied Honain.
'For our unhappy sex, at least.
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