seemed to imply that I was an incorrigible fool. Wiles of temptation now came thick and fast upon me: but in such moments I happily remembered the triumph of our Lord Shakyamuni at Buddhagaya. The wise One was about to attain to the state of Absolute Perfection. The king of all that is evil was very much afraid of this, and sent his three daughters to tempt him. The women tried all manner of allurements to secure the fall of the Enlightened One, but in vain. When all had failed the daughters of the King of Devils sang thus:
How like a tender graceful flower am I,
With all the lovely fragrance of my mouth,
And its melodious music soft and sweet!
Am I not mistress of all mirth and joys?
Even Heav'nly bliss is naught to him who lives
In amorous dalliance, dearly loved, with me.
If thou rejectest me, there's none so dull
And stupid in the world compared with thee.
So sang the Sirens, but even they were powerless to conquer the Lord. My Dawa could not of course approach the charms of the arch-devil's daughters, but her plaintive pleadings were there. And I—a common mortal struggling on, but far from the gate of emancipation —I could not but pity the poor little creature, though I strengthened myself by saying: "Let it be so—a fool let me be." I composed an uta then:
You call me stupid; that am I, I grant;
But yet in love-affairs being wiser grown,
'Tis safe for me to lie more stupid still.
It is true that women never let their mouths be the doors to their mind; but they know a language unspoken, which is far more telling, appealing and enticing, than that which mere sound and articulation can convey. And my Dawa had never yet said in so many words what she yearned to say. It happened, however, that Dawa's father and brothers were out shopping one day, and that the girl and I remained alone in the tent. She thought
