Shakuntala (sadly to herself). Oh, my heart, you feared it, and now it has come. Sharngarava. O King,
A king, and shrink when love is done,
Turn coward's back on truth, and flee!
King. What means this dreadful accusation?
Sharngarava (furiously).
O drunk with power! We might have known
That you were steeped in treachery.
King. A stinging rebuke!
Gautami (to SHAKUNTALA). Forget your shame, my child. I will remove your veil. Then your husband will recognise you. (She does so.)
King (observing SHAKUNTALA. To himself).
As my heart ponders whether I could ever
Have wed this woman that has come to me
In tortured loveliness, as I endeavour
To bring it back to mind, then like a beeThat hovers round a jasmine flower at dawn,
While frosty dews of morning still o'erweave it,
And hesitates to sip ere they be gone,
I cannot taste the sweet, and cannot leave it.
Portress (to herself). What a virtuous king he is! Would any other man hesitate when he saw such a pearl of a woman coming of her own accord?