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

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with some heavy loss; she did not therefore venture to
question him. Charoo bathed himself and worshipped the
household deity, after which he partook of his supper and
went to bed. His wife then ventured to ask him the cause
of his great uneasiness, which, she said, altogether changed
the expression of his features, and rendered him unusually
dull and melancholy. Charoo could not withstand the
affection which prompted the enquiry, so he revealed every-
thing. ‘This morning,’ said he, ‘I lost a great deal of
money in gambling, and when I had nothing left I borrowed
a thousand rupees from an acquaintance, which soon went
the same way as the rest. The creditor made a demand
for instant payment, and, not having any money of my own
left, I took him to my brothers, and begged of them in turn
to pay it for me. They had not only the cruelty to refuse
me, but heaped terms of opprobrium and abuse on my head;
and, to add to the indignity, they told me never more to
set foot within the family mansion. Hereupon I applied
for assistance to those who called themselves my best and
most intimate friends, towards whom I had on all occasions
been most liberal and true, but I fared no better. I am
sensible now of the value of money. My brothers would
never have treated me in the manner they did had I still
possessed my wealth, or even a portion of it; nor would my
friends, as they called themselves, have disregarded my
application to them. I am certainly to blame for my folly
in squandering away my inheritance. I might have been
trusted to any extent had I not proved so fickle and weak-
minded. I now repent of my past conduct, and will try to
atone for it in future. My present difficulty is how to meet
the debt I have to-day incurred. The man will assuredly
be here to-morrow, and I have no means of paying him.
What shall I do? Whither can I look for assistance?’
Charoo's wife was a model of beauty and virtue, and could
not but feel deeply for her husband's misfortune. In her
affection she said to him, ‘I pray you not to give the
matter another thought, but take the trinkets I now wear,