'
'But we may come to be,' replied Damanaka; 'men rise, not by chance or
nature, but by exertions--
'By their own deeds men go downward, by them men mount upward all,
Like the diggers of a well, and like the builders of a wall.'
Advancement is slow--but that is in the nature of things--
'Rushes down the hill the crag, which upward 'twas so hard to roll:
So to virtue slowly rises--so to vice quick sinks the soul.'
'Very good,' observed Karataka; 'but what is all this talk about?'
'Why! don't you see our Royal Master there, and how he came home without
drinking? I know he has been horribly frightened,' said Damanaka.
'How do you know it?' asked the other.
'By my perception--at a glance!' replied Damanaka; 'and I mean to make
out of this occasion that which shall put his Majesty at my disposal,'
'Now,' exclaimed Karataka, 'it is thou who art ignorant about service--
'Who speaks unasked, or comes unbid,
Or counts on favor--will be chid.'
'I ignorant about service!' said Damanaka; 'no, no, my friend, I know
the secret of it--
'Wise, modest, constant, ever close at hand,
Not weighing but obeying all command,
Such servant by a Monarch's throne may stand.
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