ŚAKOONTALÁ.—The bare thought of it puts me in a tremor.
PRIYAMVADÁ AND ANASÚYÁ.—There is no real cause for fear, dearest. Excessive affection is too apt to suspect evil where none exists.
ŚÁRNGARAVA.—Come, lady, we must hasten on. The sun is rising in the heavens.
ŚAKOONTALÁ [looking towards the hermitage].—Dear father, when shall I ever see this hallowed grove again?
KANWA.—I will tell thee; listen—
When thou hast passed a long and blissful life
As King Dushyanta's queen, and jointly shared
With all the earth his ever-watchful care;
And hast beheld thine own heroic son,
Matchless in arms, united to a spouse
In happy wedlock; when his aged sire,
Thy faithful husband, hath to him resigned
The helm of state; then, weary of the world,
Together with Dushyanta thou shalt seek
The calm seclusion of thy former home:—
There amid holy scenes to be at peace,
Till thy pure spirit gain its last release.
GAUTAMÍ.—Come, my child, the favorable time for our journey is fast passing. Let thy father return. Venerable Sire, be thou the first to move homewards, or these last words will never end.
KANWA.—Daughter, detain me no longer. My religious duties must not be interrupted.
ŚAKOONTALÁ [again embracing her foster-father].—Beloved father, thy frame is much enfeebled by penitential exercises. Do not, oh! do not, allow thyself to sorrow too much on my account.
KANWA [sighing].—How, O my child, shall my bereavèd heart