विक्रम चरित (उज्जैन सम्राट् विक्रमादित्य - पराक्रम, न्याय एवं ३२ पुतलियों की कथा सटीक)

123 · Gowrihar, where she might possibly have fallen asleep. She was not there! It was soon known throughout the palace that the princess had disappeared, and each person ran in a different direction to search for her. Every apart- ment in the palace, every neighbouring house, every quar- ter of the city, and even the wells and ponds, into which they thought she might possibly, in the darkness of the night, have fallen, were all by turns examined with lighted torches; but nothing, not even the slightest trace, could be found. The king now remembered that Prince Soomunt had not appeared among the assembled nobles at the palace, 'and he therefore enquired of his sister Shoodhamutty where her son was. She replied that she had not seen him since that morning. They then began to search for him, but this proved equally unsuccessful. At this stage the queen informed the king that for some time past Prince Soomunt and the Princess Malattee had been so intimate that they were scarcely or ever seen apart, and if Soomunt happened to be out, Malattee became uneasy and impatient for his return; that she would not even eat unless he shared her meal; and that they had been in the daily habit of sitting in discourse together for a long time, although everybody was ignorant of the nature of their conversation. "The king regretted exceedingly this unexpected mis- fortune, and suspected that the elopement, of which he was now fully convinced, could not have taken place without the cognisance of his sister Shoodhamutty. The latter declared solemnly, however, that she knew nothing of the flight, and said that if she was in any way concerned in it she hoped the Almighty would punish her. She felt so greatly hurt at the unjust suspicions of her brother that she wept aloud. 'Alas!' sighed she, 'here have I passed my early days of widowhood, with my only son, in the bosom of my brother's family, earnestly hoping to meet with that happiness which, it would now appear, is denied to me, perhaps on account of my sins. I see I an doomed to suffer much grief and trouble in this world : I am even now