KING.—­Pressed by the partners of her joys and griefs, Her much beloved companions, to reveal The cherished secret locked within her breast, She needs must utter it; although her looks Encourage me to hope, my bosom throbs As anxiously I listen for her answer.

SAKOONTALA.—­Know then, dear friends, that from the first moment the illustrious Prince, who is the guardian of our sacred grove, presented himself to my sight—­
          [Stops short, and appears confused.]

PRIYAMVADA AND ANASUYA.—­Say on, dear Sakoontala, say on.

SAKOONTALA.—­Ever since that happy moment, my heart’s affections have been fixed upon him, and my energies of mind and body have all deserted me, as you see.

KING [with rapture].—­Her own lips have uttered the words I most
longed to hear. 
    Love lit the flame, and Love himself allays
    My burning fever, as when gathering clouds
    Rise o’er the earth in summer’s dazzling noon,
    And grateful showers dispel the morning heat.

SAKOONTALA.—­You must consent, then, dear friends, to contrive some means by which I may find favor with the King, or you will have ere long to assist at my funeral.

KING [with rapture].—­Enough!  These words remove all my doubts.

PRIYAMVADA [aside to Anasuya].—­She is far gone in love, dear Anasuya, and no time ought to be lost.  Since she has fixed her affections on a monarch who is the ornament of Puru’s line, we need not hesitate for a moment to express our approval.

ANASUYA.—­I quite agree with you.

PRIYAMVADA [aloud].—­We wish you joy, dear Sakoontala.  Your affections are fixed on an object in every respect worthy of you.  The noblest river will unite itself to the ocean, and the lovely Madhavi-creeper clings naturally to the Mango, the only tree capable of supporting it.

KING.—­Why need we wonder if the beautiful constellation Visakha pines to be united with the Moon.

ANASUYA.—­By what stratagem can we best secure to our friend the accomplishment of her heart’s desire, both speedily and secretly?

PRIYAMVADA.—­The latter point is all we have to think about.  As to “speedily,” I look upon the whole affair as already settled.

ANASUYA.—­How so?

PRIYAMVADA.—­Did you not observe how the King betrayed his liking by the tender manner in which he gazed upon her, and how thin he has become the last few days, as if he had been lying awake thinking of her?

KING [looking at himself].—­Quite true!  I certainly am becoming thin
from want of sleep:—­
    As night by night in anxious thought I raise
    This wasted arm to rest my sleepless head,
    My jewelled bracelet, sullied by the tears
    That trickle from my eyes in scalding streams,
    Slips towards my elbow from my shrivelled wrist. 
    Oft I replace the bauble, but in vain;
    So easily it spans the fleshless limb
    That e’en the rough and corrugated skin,
    Scarred by the bow-string, will not check its fall.