--Then it seems I must do as I am bid.
[_Sits down and appears to be thinking._]
KING.--How charming she looks! My very eyes forget to wink, jealous of
losing even for an instant a sight so enchanting.
How beautiful the movement of her brow,
As through her mind love's tender fancies flow!
And, as she weighs her thoughts, how sweet to trace
The ardent passion mantling in her face!
SAKOONTALA.--Dear girls, I have thought of a verse, but I have no
writing-materials at hand.
PRIYAMVADA.--Write the letters with your nail on this lotus leaf, which
is smooth as a parrot's breast.
SAKOONTALA [_after writing the verse_].--Listen, dear friends, and tell
me whether the ideas are appropriately expressed.
PRIYAMVADA AND ANASUYA.--We are all attention.
SAKOONTALA [_reads_].--
I know not the secret thy bosom conceals,
Thy form is not near me to gladden my sight;
But sad is the tale that my fever reveals,
Of the love that consumes me by day and by night.
KING [_advancing hastily towards her_].--
Nay, Love does but warm thee, fair maiden--thy frame
Only droops like the bud in the glare of the noon;
But me he consumes with a pitiless flame,
As the beams of the day-star destroy the pale moon.
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