_Sa._ I said not that. _Fer._ Esteem’st thou then a prince of Portugal So much less than Morocco? ... _Sa._ Dream’st thou the king Would wed his daughter to ... _Fer._ An infidel, 1220 Thou’dst say. _Sa._ Is’t not impossible? _Fer._ ’Twould seem No miracle to me shouldst thou thyself Turn Christian. _Sa._ By Allah! Hush! here is the king. Begone, Lest my goodwill to thee be more suspected Than it deserve. _Fer._ I’ll speak with thee again. [_Exit._ _Sa._ (_solus_). I have shot my best bolt forth, and missed my aim. _Enter King._ _KING._ Sala, what dost thou here? I sent for thee. _Sa._ No message, sire, hath reached me. _K._ I am come myself To find thee; I need thy counsel, and I desire Thou wilt put off the manner of advisers, 1230 Who affect disapprobation of whatever Is done without their sanction; in which humour Thou hast looked grudgingly upon the marriage ’Twixt Almeh and Morocco. _Sa._ My dislike Hath better ground. _K._ Whate’er it be, I bid thee Put thy dislike aside: the business threatens To fail without our aid. _Sa._ How so? _K._ The prince Hath been with us five days: ’tis now full time He spoke his mind; and yet he hath said no word. _Sa._ Well, sire? 1240 _K._ The cause: I’ll tell thee first my thoughts. _Sa._ The fancy of a maid is as the air— Light, uncontrollable. _K._ What dream is this? ’Tis not her liking that I count. The day That Tarudante asks her she is his: ’Tis that he doth not ask.—I have myself perceived A melancholy habit that hath come Upon my daughter of late, and grows apace. I thought awhile ’twas love, but now I fear ’Tis a deep disaffection: such behaviour, So foreign to her years, might well repel 1250 So fine a lover. _Sa._ That is not the cause. _K._ I say it is. I have watched her with the prince Now for two days, and marked in her behaviour Indifference and abstraction. _Sa._ And if ’tis so? _K._ Find some device to drive these humours off. Did I but know, could we discover, Sala, What lies the nearest to her heart, a prompt And unforeseen indulgence would restore Her spirit to cheerfulness. _Sa._ (_aside_). Now here is hope. If I could work him to my purpose now. 1260 _K._ What say’st thou? _Sa._ Sire, the sufferings of the captives First hurt your daughter’s spirit. Would you heal it, Release them. _K._ Eh! Wellah! I think thou’rt right. Twice hath she knelt before me for these men: I had never thought of it. _Sa._ (_aside_). Heaven give my tongue Persuasion.