Ah! see, there she comes. She is crossing the garden, and, as no one is here, her palanquin is wide open.
EMPEROR
Ah!
[Through the flowering bushes he gazes ardently at her. The sound of a march is heard.]
But I recognise Her, my friend, that woman so beautiful and tender, so noble and delicate, that rare, that imperial flower!——Friend, what do you think of this omen? It is She, absolutely She—She whom I have seen reflected in the mirror of my dreams——
FOUNT
The eyes of the dragon traverse all space.
[The EMPEROR seats himself again on the bench, leaning on FOUNT-IN-THE-FOREST, almost fainting.]
EMPEROR
See how this emotion shatters my strength!