Note 32
Tale of the Bull[FN#23] and the Ass.
Ocymum basilicum, the "royal herb," so much prized all over the East, especially in India, where, under the name of "Tulsi," it is a shrub sacred to the merry god Krishna. I found the verses in a MS. copy of The Nights.
Shall the beautiful hue of the Basil[FN#32] fail * Tho' the beetle's foot o'er the Basil crawl? And though spider and fly be its denizens * Shall disgrace attach to the royal hall? The cowrie,[FN#33] I ken, shall have currency * But the pearl's clear drop, shall its value fall?
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