GANDHARA.

As the night was far advanced, the royal messenger allowed his horses a short rest in the Vihara, and set out with Charaka at an early hour the following morning. The two travelers could not, however, make rapid progress, for the atmosphere was murky, and the fogs of the rainy season obscured the way. They passed a picket of Gandhara soldiers who were on the lookout for the hostile mountaineers. The mounted messenger showed them his passport, and the two men reached the capital only when the shades of evening were settling upon the valley. The gates were carefully guarded by armed men. The sentinel led the two horsemen to the officer at the gate, who seemed satisfied with the report that Charaka had nowhere encountered enemies; but the home news was very bad, for one of the princes had died and Chandana (commonly

called Kanishka), the third and youngest son of the king, was thought to be critically ill.

The night was darker than usual, and the town made a gloomy impression. The inhabitants were restless and seemed to be prepared for a dire calamity.

Charaka was at once conducted to the royal palace. He passed through a line of long streets which seemed narrow and dismal. The people whom they met on their way, being wrapped in a veil of mist, resembled even at a short distance dim dusky specters, like guilty ghosts condemned for some crime to haunt the scene of their former lives. At last they reached the palace, and Charaka was ushered into the dimly lighted bedroom of Prince Kanishka. Charaka stood motionless and watched the heavy breathing of the patient. He then put his hand gently upon the feverish forehead and in a low voice demanded water to cool the burning temples of the sick man. Turning to the attendants, he met the questioning eye of a tall and beautiful woman, an almost imperious figure. He knew her well; it was Princess

[paragraph continues] Kamalavati, the king's daughter and a younger half-sister of the prince.

"His condition is very bad," whispered Charaka in reply to the unuttered question that was written in her face, "but not yet hopeless. Where are the nurses who assist you in ministering unto the patient?"

Two female attendants appeared, and the physician withdrew with them into an adjoining room where he listened to their reports. "The king and his second son have died of the same disease, and the situation is very critical," said Charaka; "but we may avoid the mistakes made in the former cases and adjust the diet strictly to the condition of the patient."