"
The prince looked in the direction indicated by the parrot, and
beheld, in a delightful meadow on the banks of the Tagus, a stately
palace rising from amidst the bowers of a delicious garden. It was
just such a place as had been described by the dove as the residence
of the original of the picture. He gazed at it with a throbbing heart.
"Perhaps at this moment," thought he, "the beautiful princess is
sporting beneath those shady bowers, or pacing with delicate step
those stately terraces, or reposing beneath those lofty roofs!" As
he looked more narrowly he perceived that the walls of the garden were
of great height, so as to defy access, while numbers of armed guards
patrolled around them.
The prince turned to the parrot. "O most accomplished of birds,"
said he, "thou hast the gift of human speech. Hie thee to yon
garden; seek the idol of my soul, and tell her that Prince Ahmed, a
pilgrim of love, and guided by the stars, has arrived in quest of
her on the flowery banks of the Tagus."
The parrot, proud of his embassy, flew away to the garden, mounted
above its lofty walls, and after soaring for a time over the lawns and
groves, alighted on the balcony of a pavilion that overhung the river.
Here, looking in at the casement, he beheld the princess reclining
on a couch, with her eyes fixed on a paper, while tears gently stole
after each other down her pallid cheek.
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