[_Exeunt._
ACT FIRST
Scene.--A Forest
_Enter King Dushyanta, armed with a bow and arrow, in a chariot, chasing
an antelope, attended by his Charioteer_.
CHARIOTEER [_looking at the deer, and then at the King_].--
Great Prince,
When on the antelope I bend my gaze,
And on your Majesty, whose mighty bow
Has its string firmly braced; before my eyes
The god that wields the trident seems revealed,
Chasing the deer that flies from him in vain.
KING.--Charioteer, this fleet antelope has drawn us far from my
attendants. See! there he runs:--
Aye and anon his graceful neck he bends
To cast a glance at the pursuing car;
And dreading now the swift-descending shaft,
Contracts into itself his slender frame:
About his path, in scattered fragments strewn,
The half-chewed grass falls from his panting mouth;
See! in his airy bounds he seems to fly,
And leaves no trace upon th'elastic turf.
[_With astonishment_.
How now! swift as is our pursuit, I scarce can see him.
CHARIOTEER.--Sire, the ground here is full of hollows; I have therefore
drawn in the reins and checked the speed of the chariot.
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