The String of Pearls

The Travels of Prince Acbar

This is the second volume of The String of Pearls, published in 1832 by Richard Bentley, authored by the writer of "Darnley." The featured serial, "The Travels of Prince Acbar," is a romantic tale set in India. A wise Indian king, mourning his murdered prime vizier, marries the vizier's virtuous daughter after disguising himself as a noble emir and feigning illness near her home to gain her sympathy and observe her character. When they meet again, the king reveals he suffers from a mysterious, fatal affliction requiring a cure—the lady suggests remedies like unicorn horn powder for serpent bites and toad-brain confections for protection against the evil eye. The narrative combines romance, exotic intrigue, and period medical superstitions, framed within ethnographic commentary on Indian customs and Muslim practices. The text includes scholarly footnotes explaining Eastern concepts to Victorian readers.