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The Lotus-Lady
67
him, and kept safe their beauteous Lady of the Lotus.
Then Ala-ud-din pretended to be very much ashamed that he had ever even imagined that Prince Bhimsi would let the Princess be taken captive by an enemy.
"But," he added, "I have come a long way and have fought hard, and you have conquered. Therefore before I go, let me look, I pray, but for one minute on the beauty of which I have heard so much.
"Let me see the face of the Princess Lady, just for a breathing-space, not openly, but in a mirror so that I may have in my soul a vision of the Perfectly Beautiful, to help me in the days that remain."
And Bhimsi was so noble a knight that he was moved by these words to grant his enemy his desire.
