suppose that I am really coward enough to have the slightest fear of those trumpery demons.

Oh! of course not; a great Bráhman like you could not possibly give way to such weakness.

MÁTHAVYA.

You must let me travel in a manner suitable to the King's younger brother.

KING.

Yes, I shall send my retinue with you, that there may be no further disturbance in this sacred forest.

MÁTHAVYA.

Already I feel quite like a young prince.

KING.

[With a strut.

[Aside.

This is a giddy fellow, and in all probability he will let out the truth about my present pursuit to the women of the palace. What is to be done? I must say something to deceive him. [Aloud to MATHAVYA, taking him by the hand.] Dear friend, I am going to the hermitage wholly and solely out of respect for its pious inhabitants, and not because I have really any liking for Sakoontalá, the hermit's daughter.

Observe:

What suitable communion could there be
Between a monarch and a rustic girl?
I did but feign an idle passion, friend,
Take not in earnest what was said in jest.
MÁTHAVYA.

Don't distress yourself; I quite understand.

[Exeunt.

PRELUDE TO ACT III.

SCENE.-The Hermitage.

Enter a YOUNG BRAHMAN carrying bundles of Kuśa-
grass for the use of the sacrificing priest.

YOUNG BRAHMAN.

How wonderful is the power of King Dushyanta! No sooner did he enter our hermitage, than we were able to proceed with our sacrificial rites, unmolested by the evil demons.

No need to fix the arrow to the bow;

The mighty monarch sounds the quivering string,
And, by the thunder of his arms dismayed,

Our demon foes are scattered to the wind.

bundles of Kusa-grass, to

[Walking and looking about; then Why, Priyamvadá, for that ointment of Usíra

I must now, therefore, make haste and deliver to the sacrificing priests these be strewn round the altar. addressing some one off the stage.] whose use are you carrying root 45 and those lotus-leaves with fibres attached to them? [Listening for her answer.] What say you ?—that Sakoontalá is suffering from fever produced by exposure to the sun, and that this ointment is to cool her burning frame? Nurse her with care, then,

Priyamvadá, for she is cherished by our reverend Superior as the very breath of his nostrils 46. I, for my part, will contrive that soothing waters, hallowed in the sacrifice, he administered to her by the hands. of Gautamí.

[Exit.

ACT III.

SCENE.-The Sacred Grove.

Enter KING DUSHYANTA, with the air of one in love.

The holy sage possesses magic power

In virtue of his penance; she, his ward,
Under the shadow of his tutelage,
Rests in security. I know it well;
Yet sooner shall the rushing cataract
In foaming eddies re-ascend the steep,

Than my fond heart turn back from its pursuit. God of love! God of the flowery shafts 47! we lovers are cruelly deceived by thee, and by the Moon, however deserving of confidence you may both appear. For not to us do these thine arrows seem Pointed with tender flowerets; not to us

Doth the pale Moon irradiate the earth

With beams of silver fraught with cooling dews; But on our fevered frames the moon-beams fall Like darts of fire, and every flower-tipt shaft Of Káma 47, as it probes our throbbing hearts, Seems to be barbed with hardest adamant. Adorable god of love! hast thou no pity for me? [In a tone of anguish.] How can thy arrows be so sharp