BOOK IV
I. THE POET-PRINCE
"Welcome, welcome, Prince of Bikanir, Prithwi Raj, famed for verse as for valour! Much honoured am I by this visit to my tent."
"Nay, I am honoured by thy invitation, Norendra Nath. Let us seat ourselves on this rock awhile, for I like the balmy air of the evening after the toil of the day. Our task is done, and our Imperial Master will not forget thy services in bringing these negotiations to a happy end."
"Nay, the credit is thine, Prince. Little could I, a stranger in this land of Rajasthan, do without thy help and counsel. Thou hast pleaded our cause well; and when many voices were raised for foolish war thy advice for peace prevailed."
"Yes, Norendra Nath, I knew the Rana's father, the great Pratap Singh, and never did I counsel peace to him so long as the honour of a Rajput called for war. The high-souled Akbar himself admired his valour, and he stopped the war after the battle of Dewir, when Omrahs and Mansabdars cried for revenge. Pratap died in peace and in freedom, and it would be foolish of his son to reject peace when freedom is assured."
"And yet many there were in the Council Hall who jeered at us when we laid before the Rana the message of the Emperor. Brave men should know when to fight and when to sheath their sword."
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