ŚÁRNGARAVA.--O Śáradwata, 'Tis true the monarch lacks no royal grace, Nor ever swerves from justice; true, his people, Yea such as in life's humblest walks are found, Refrain from evil courses; still to me, A lonely hermit reared in solitude, This throng appears bewildering, and methinks I look upon a burning house, whose inmates Are running to and fro in wild dismay. SÁRADWATA.--It is natural that the first sight of the King's capital should affect you in this manner; my own sensations are very similar. As one just bathed beholds the man polluted; As one late purified, the yet impure:-- As one awake looks on the yet unwakened; Or as the freeman gazes on the thrall, So I regard this crowd of pleasure-seekers. ŚAKOONTALÁ [_feeling a quivering sensation in her right eyelid, and suspecting a bad omen_],--Alas! what means this throbbing of my right eyelid? GAUTAMÍ.--Heaven avert the evil omen, my child! May the guardian deities of thy husband's family convert it into a sign of good fortune! [_Walks on_. PRIEST [_pointing to the King_].--Most reverend sirs, there stands the protector of the four classes of the people; the guardian of the four orders of the priesthood. He has just left the judgment-seat, and is waiting for you. Behold him! ŚÁRNGARAVA.--Great Bráhman, we are happy in thinking that the King's power is exerted for the protection of all classes of his subjects. We have not come as petitioners--we have the fullest confidence in the generosity of his nature. The loftiest trees bend humbly to the ground Beneath the teeming burden of their fruit; High in the vernal sky the pregnant clouds Suspend their stately course, and hanging low, Scatter their sparkling treasures o'er the earth:-- And such is true benevolence; the good Are never rendered arrogant by riches. WARDER.--So please your Majesty, I judge from the placid countenance of the hermits that they have no alarming message to deliver. KING [_looking at Śakoontalá_].--But the lady there-- Who can she be, whose form of matchless grace Is half concealed beneath her flowing veil? Among the sombre hermits she appears Like a fresh bud 'mid sear and yellow leaves. WARDER.--So please your Majesty, my curiosity is also roused, but no conjecture occurs to my mind. This at least is certain, that she deserves to be looked at more closely. KING.--True; but it is not right to gaze at another man's wife. ŚAKOONTALÁ [_placing her hand on her bosom. Aside_].--O my heart, why this throbbing? Remember thy lord's affection, and take courage. PRIEST [_advancing_].--These holy men have been received with all due honor. One of them has now a message to deliver from his spiritual superior. Will your Majesty deign to hear it? KING.--I am all attention. HERMITS [_extending their hands_].--Victory to the King! KING.--Accept my respectful greeting.