V. That settles the guard, and should Siddhattha flee he will find no obstacle.
Two men come out of the guard house and enter the palace with a bier. Kala Udayin comes back from the garden. Visakha retires into the background.
K. The nightingale is a sweet bird, but I like the lark better. The nightingale is more artistic, but his song is melancholy, he is so sentimental! The lark has a mere twitter like my own song, I like the lark better. How beautiful is this summer night; How glorious is the moon; how fragrant are the roses in the garden! It is a most auspicious night, and all breathes happiness.
Visakha from his hiding place watches Kala.
V. He comes in time, his presence will prosper my plans.
[Kala is lost in thought. Music, from Beethoven's Seventh Symphony, somber and as if coming from a distance, is heard.]
K. [while the music plays] What a strange presentiment is stealing over my soul. Perhaps I was too happy! What does Siddhattha say?
"All conformations always are transient,[A]
Harrassed by sorrow, lacking a self."
[A] The quoted lines run in the same rhythm as the melody and should be pronounced accordingly. See Buddhist Hymns, p. 22.