I must consider before I can consent to it.
PRIYAMVADÁ.
Could, you not, dear [S']akoontalá, think of some pretty composition in verse, containing a delicate declaration of your love?
[S']AKOONTALÁ.
Well, I will do my best; but my heart trembles when I think of the chances of a refusal.
KING. [With rapture.
Too timid maid, here stands the man from whom
Thou fearest a repulse; supremely blessed
To call thee all his own. Well might he doubt
His title to thy love; but how could'st thou
Believe thy beauty powerless to subdue him?
PRIYAMVADÁ AND ANASÚYÁ.
You undervalue your own merits, dear [S']akoontalá. What man in his senses would intercept with the skirt of his robe the bright rays of the autumnal moon, which alone can allay the fever of his body?
[S']AKOONTALÁ. [Smiling.