MATHAVYA [_with a strut_].--Already I feel quite like a young prince.
KING [_aside_].--This is a giddy fellow, and in all probability he will
let out the truth about my present pursuit to the women of the palace.
What is to be done? I must say something to deceive him. [_Aloud to
Mathavya, taking him by the hand_.] Dear friend, I am going to the
hermitage wholly and solely out of respect for its pious inhabitants,
and not because I have really any liking for Sakoontala, the hermit's
daughter. Observe,
What suitable communion could there be
Between a monarch and a rustic girl?
I did but feign an idle passion, friend,
Take not in earnest what was said in jest.
MATHAVYA.--Don't distress yourself; I quite understand.
[_Exeunt._
[36] The religious rites of holy men were often disturbed by certain
evil spirits called Rakshasas, who were the determined enemies of piety
and devotion.
[37] Vishnu, the Preserver, was one of the three principal gods.
PRELUDE TO ACT THIRD
Scene.--The Hermitage
_Enter a young Brahman, carrying bundles of Kusa-grass for the use of
the sacrificing priests_.
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