156 HINDOO-STAN. 
Srange that the affliction of a forefler, retired from the 
haunts of men, fhould be fo exceflive !—Oh, with what 
pangs rnuffc they, who are fathers of families, be afflifted 
on the departure of a daughter ! [He walks round mufng. 
Pri. Mow, my Sacontala, you are becomingly decorated : 
put on this lower veil, the gift of fylvan goddefles. 
[Sacontala rifcs and puts on the mantle. 
Gant. My child, thy fpiritual father, whofe eyes over¬ 
flow with tears of joy, Hands defiring to embrace thee, 
Haften therefore to do him reverence. 
[Sacontala modejl/y bows to him. 
Can. Mayfc thou be cherifhed by thy hufband, as Sar- 
mifhtha was cheriflied by Yayati! Mayft thou bring forth 
a fovereign of the world, as file brought forth Puru ! 
Gaut. This my child, is not a mere benediction ; it is a 
boon aCtually conferred. 
Can. My belt beloved, come and walk with me round 
the facrificial fire.— [They all advance. ] May thefe fires pre- 
ferve thee ! Fires which fpring to their appointed ftations 
on the holy hearth, and confuine the confecrated wood, 
while the frefh blades of myfterious cufa lie fcattered 
around them !—Sacramental fires, which deftroy fin with 
the riling fumes of clarified butter ! - [Sacontala walks 
with folemnity round the hearth .] Now fet out, my darling, 
on thy aufpicious journey.-[ Looking round .] Where 
are the attendants, the two Mifras ? 
Enter Sarngarava and Saradwata. 
Both. Holy fage, we are here. 
Can. My fon Sarngarava, fhow thy After her way. 
Sam. Come, damfel. - [They all advance. 
Can. Hear, O ye trees of this hallowed forefl; ye trees, 
in. which the fylvan goddefles have their abode ; bear, and 
proclaim, that Sacontala is going to the palace of her wed¬ 
ded lord ; fhe who drank not, though thirfly, before you 
were watered ; fhe who cropped not, through affeflion for 
you, one of your frefh leaves, though fhe would have been 
pleafed with l'uch an ornament for her locks ; fhe whofe 
chief delight'was in the feafon when your branches are 
Ipangled with flowers! 
Chorus of invifible Wood-nymphs. 
May her way be attended with prosperity! May propi¬ 
tious breezes Sprinkle, for her delight, the odoriferous 
ciuft of rich blofioms ! May pools of clear water, green 
with the leaves of the lotos, refrefh her as fhe walks ! 
and may fhady branches be her defence from the fcorching 
fun-beams ! [ All HJlen with admiration. 
Sam. Was that the voice of the Cocila wifhing a happy 
journey to Sacontala ?—Or did the nymphs, who are allied 
to the pious inhabitants of thefe woods* repeat the war¬ 
bling of the mufical bird, and make its greeting their own ? 
Gaut. Daughter, the fylvan goddefles, who love their 
kindred hermits, have wifned you profperity, and are en¬ 
titled to humble thanks. 
[Sacontala- walks round, bowing to-the nymphs. 
Sac. [Afide, to Priyamvada.] Delighted as I am, O 
Priyamvada, with the thought of feeing again the fon of 
my lord, yet, on leaving this grove, my early afylum, I 
am ioarcely able to walk. 
Pri. You lament not alone.-Mark the affliction of 
the forefl itfelf when the time of your departure ap¬ 
proaches !—The female antelope browfes no more on the 
collected cufa grafs; and the peahen ceafes to dance on 
the lawn : the very plants of the grove, whofe pale leaves 
fall on the ground, lofe their ftrengtli and their beauty. 
Sac. Venerable father, fuffer me to addrefs this Mad- 
havi creeper, whole red blofioms inflame the grove. 
Can My child, I know thy affeCtion for it. 
Sac. [Embracing the plant. ] O molt radiant of twining 
plants, receive my embraces, and return them with thy 
flexible arms: from this day, though removed to a fatal 
diftance, I fliall for ever be thine.—O beloved father, con¬ 
sider this creeper as mylelf. 
Can. My darling, thy amiable qualities have gained thee 
a. hufband equal to thyfelf: fuch an event has been long, 
for thy fake, the chief objeCt of my heart j and now* fince 
my folicitude for thy marriage is at an end, I will niari'y* 
thy favourite plant to the bridegroom Amra, who fheds 
fragrance near her.-Proceed, ray child, on thy journey. 
Sac. [Approaching the two darrfelsi ] Sweet' friends, let this 
Madhavi creeper be a precious depofit in your hands. 
Anu. and Pri. Alas ! in whole care fliall we be left f 
[They both weep. 
Can. Tears are vain, Anufuya : our Sacontala ought ra¬ 
ther to be fupported by your firmnefs, than weakened by 
your weeping. [All advance. 
Sac. Father! when yon female antelope, who now moves 
flowly from the weight of the young ones with which fhe 
is pregnant, fliall be delivered of them, fend me, I beg, a 
kind meflage with tidings of her fafety.-Do not forget. 
Can. My beloved, I will not forget it. 
Sac. [Advancing, then fopping.] Ah! what is it that 
clings to the fkirts of my robe, and detains me ? 
[She turns round, and looks. 
Can. It is thy adopted child, the little fawn, whole 
mouth, when the fharp points of cufa grafs had wounded 
it, has been fo often fmeared by thy hand/with the heal¬ 
ing oil of Ingudi; who has been fo often fed by thee with 
a handful of Syamaka grains, and now will not leave the 
footfleps of his proteCtrefs. 
Sac. Why doll thou weep, tender fawn, for me, who 
mull leave our common dwelling-place ?—As thou waft 
reared by me when thou hadft loft thy mother, who died 
foon after thy birth, fo will my fofter-father attend thee, 
when we are feparated, with anxious care.—Return, poor 
thing, return—we mull part. [ 5 /re burjls into tears. 
Can. Thy tears, my child, ill fuit the occafion : we fliall 
all meet again : be firm : fee the direfl road before thee, 
and follow it.—When the big tear lurks beneath thy 
beautiful eye-laflies, let thy refolution check its firft ef¬ 
forts to difengage itfelf.—In thy paffage over this earth, 
where the paths are now high, now low, and the true path 
feldom diflinguifhed, the traces of thy feet muft needs be 
unequal * but virtue will prefs thee right onward. 
Sarn. It is a facred rule, holy fage, that a benevolent 
man fhould accompanya traveller till he meet with abun¬ 
dance of water ; and that rule you have carefully ob- 
ferved : we are now near the brink of a large pool. Give 
us, therefore, your commands, and return. 
Can. Let us reft awhile under the.fhade of this Vata tree. 
[They all go to the fia.de.'] -What meflage can I fend with 
propriety to the noble Dufhmanta ? [He meditates. 
Anu. [Afide to Sacontala.] My beloved friend, every 
heart in our afylum is fixed on you alone, and all are af- 
fiifted by your departure.—Look; the bird Chacravaca, 
called by his mate, who is almoft hidden by water-lilies, 
gives her no anfwer; but, having dropped from his bill 
the fibres of lotos-ftalks which he had plucked, gazes on 
you with inexpreffible tendernefs. 
Can. My fon Sarngarava, remember, when thou fhalt 
prefent Sacontala to the king, to addrefs him thus, in my 
name : “ Confidering us hermits as virtuous, indeed, but 
rich only in devotion, and confidering alfo thy own ex¬ 
alted birth, retain.thy love for this girl, which arofe in 
thy bof'om without any interference of her kindred ; and 
look on her among thy wives with the fame kindnefs which 
they experience : more than that cannot be demanded ;■ 
fince particular affeftion muft depend on the will of 
heaven.” 
Sam. Your meflage, venerable man, is deeply rooted in 
my remembrance. 
Can. [Looking tenderly at Sacontala.] Now, my darling, 
thou too muft be gently admonifhed.—We, who are hum¬ 
ble forefters, are yet acquainted with the world which we 
have forfaken. 
Sarn. Nothing can be unknown to the wife. 
Can. Hear my daughter.—When thou art fettled in the 
manfion of thy hufband, fhow due reverence to him, and 
to thofe whom he reveres: though we have other wives, 
be rather an affeiflionate handmaid to them than a rival.— 
Should he difpleafe thee,-let not thy refentment lead thee 
to 
