And see!
Scared by the royal chariot in its course,
With headlong haste an elephant invades
The hallowed precincts of our sacred grove;
Himself the terror of the startled deer,
And an embodied hindrance to our rites.
The hedge of creepers clinging to his feet,
Feeble obstruction to his mad career,
Is dragged behind him in a tangled chain;
And with terrific shock one tusk he drives
Into the riven body of a tree,
Sweeping before him all impediments.
KING. [Aside.
Out upon it! my retinue are looking for me, and are disturbing this holy retreat. Well! there is no help for it; I must go and meet them.
PRIYAMVADÁ AND ANASÚYÁ.
Noble Sir, we are terrified by the accidental disturbance caused by the wild elephant. Permit us to return to the cottage.
KING. [Hastily.
Go, gentle maidens. It shall be our care that no injury happen to the hermitage.
[All rise up.