Loved like his life, the love of Rama's dame.

And never vex king Bharat's soul, for he

Is lord of all the land, our house, and thee.
Then here, obedient to his will, remain :
Honour thy king and all thy vows maintain."

Beseems," she cried, "this speech thy royal race,

To thee a blot, to me a foul disgrace?

Master of weapons, lord of deadly strife,

Hear thou the duty of a warrior's wife.

Know that the father, mother, brother, son,
Obtain the lot their former deeds have won,
The wife alone her husband's fate must share,
And in thy trouble I my part will bear.
For not on father, mother, son, or friend,
But on her husband, must the wife depend.
And, if thou seek the wood, thy wife has sworn
To smooth thy path, nor let thy feet be torn.
No guile is in me: from thy bosom throw
The dregs of doubt, and give me leave to go.
I spurn the terrace and the pleasant seat :
Mine be the joy to guard thy cherisht feet.

Obedient ever to my parents' sway,
I will not hearken if they bid me stay.
I will go forth, the lonely wood to roam,
The lion's dwelling and the tiger's home,
Happy and heedless, from all terror free,
Careless of empire, caring but for thee.
With thee, delighted, will I wander where

Blooms, dropping honey, scent the woodland air.
Obeying thee and keeping still my vow

I will not tremble by thy side, for thou

Wouldst keep a stranger safe, and, sure, thine arm
Will guard thy Sita from all fear of harm.

I will not be a charge to thee: sweet fruits
The trees will yield me, and the earth her roots.

I will go first and, treading down the grass,
Make the way pleasant for my love to pass;
On the soft turf disclose my gathered store,
And sit and banquet when thy meal is o'er.
O, how I long, dear lord, to gaze my fill,
Guarded by thee, on lake, and wood, and hill;
See the red lilies in their native springs,

And gay flamingoes with their rosy wings!

And o'er my limbs those pleasant waters poured

Shall banish languor, O my large-eyed lord.

A thousand years would seem a single day

If spent with thee, but, were my love away, Heaven would not charm me: O, be sure of this, Without my love there is no heaven, no bliss."

Lost in deep thought awhile the hero stood,
And feared to lead her to the lonely wood.
With soothing words he strove her tears to dry,
And gently answered with a moistened eye:
"O virtuous daughter of a noble line,

To hear my words thy tender heart incline :
Here, duteous ever, still in peace remain :

Life in the woods is naught but grief and pain.

There roars the lion in his rocky cave,

Loud as the torrents down the hill that rave.

There savage beasts in horrid ambush lie,
And rend the heedless wretch who passes by.
Floods, where the crocodile delights to play,
And furious elephants, the eye dismay.

Then on the gale the wolf's long howl is borne

Through a wide wilderness of sand and thorn.

On the cold ground or on a scanty heap

Of gathered leaves the homeless wretch must sleep,

And stay his hunger with what fruit the blast

Hurls from the branches for his sad repast.

A coat of bark or skin his only wear,

Rough and untrimmed must be his matted hair.
Now on a snake the heedless foot will fall,

Now in thy path a deadly scorpion crawl,

And slimy reptiles creeping from the lake,
And clouds of gnats, thy troubled slumber break.
Enough, dear love; the wood is full of fear:
Remain, my Sita, and be happy here."

Then Sita spoke once more with weeping eyes,
Her voice half mastered by her sobs and sighs:
“The woe, the terror, all the toil and pain,
Joined with thy love, to me are joy and gain.
Lion and tiger, elephant and boar,

And all the monsters thou hast counted o'er,
Soon as my Rama's glorious form they see,
In trembling fear will turn away and flee.

Not Indra's self, the ruler of the sky,

J

Would dare to harm me when my lord is nigh.
Long years ago I heard a sage foretell

That in the woods should be my fate to dwell:

The time is come: now make that promise true, And when thou goest take thy Sita too.

O, let me go; whate'er I may endure,

Following thee, will make my soul more pure;
So joy shall crown me in the after life,

For thou art God unto thy loving wife.

Hear the high truth which saintly priests declare :
The after life rejoins the wedded pair.
But if thou wilt to no entreaties bend,
Poison or flood or flame my life shall end.
Fear not for me: when by thy side I go
My happy feet will never weary grow.

Though wild and rough the thorny ways I tread,

They shall feel softer than a silken bed.

When the wild wind with dust my raiment dims,

I'll call it perfume to refresh my limbs.

And when with thee in grassy glades I lie,
Watching the landscape with delighted eye,
Till, by thy side, I gently sink to rest,