Never was
mortal so honored that his boon should be granted ere it was solicited.
Because,
Bloom before fruit, the clouds before the rain--
Cause first and then effect, in endless sequence,
Is the unchanging law of constant nature:
But, ere the blessing issued from thy lips,
The wishes of my heart were all fulfilled.
MATALI.--It is thus that the great progenitors of the world confer
favors.
KING.--Most reverend Sage, this thy handmaid was married to me by the
Gandharva ceremony, and after a time was conducted to my palace by her
relations. Meanwhile a fatal delusion seized me; I lost my memory and
rejected her, thus committing a grievous offence against the venerable
Kanwa, who is of thy divine race. Afterwards the sight of this ring
restored my faculties, and brought back to my mind all the circumstances
of my union with his daughter. But my conduct still seems to me
incomprehensible;
As foolish as the fancies of a man
Who, when he sees an elephant, denies
That 'tis an elephant, yet afterwards,
When its huge bulk moves onward, hesitates,
Yet will not be convinced till it has passed
Forever from his sight, and left behind
No vestige of its presence save its footsteps.
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