s, embrace me both of you together.

PRIYAMVADA AND ANASUYA. [_Embracing her_.

Dear [S']akoontala, remember, if the King should by any chance be
slow in recognizing you, you have only to show him this ring, on
which his own name is engraved.

[S']AKOONTALA.

The bare thought of it puts me in a tremor.

PRIYAMVADA AND ANASUYA.

There is no real cause for fear, dearest. Excessive affection is
too apt to suspect evil where none exists.

[S']AKOONTALA.

Come, lady, we must hasten on. The sun is rising in the heavens.

[S']AKOONTALA. [_Looking towards the hermitage_.

Dear father, when shall I ever see this hallowed grove again?

KANWA.

I will tell thee; listen:--

When thou hast passed a long and blissful life
As King Dushyanta's queen, and jointly shared
With all the earth his ever-watchful care;
And hast beheld thine own heroic son,
Matchless in arms, united to a bride
In happy wedlock; when his aged sire,
Thy faithful husband, hath to him resigned
The helm of state; then, weary of the world,
Together with Dushyanta thou shalt seek
The calm seclusion of thy former home[72];
There amid holy scenes to be at peace,
Till thy pure spirit gain its last release.

GAUTAMI.

Come, my child, the favourable time for our journey is fast
passing. Let thy father return. Venerable Sire, be thou the first
to move homewards, or these last words will never end.

KANWA.

Daughter, detain me no longer. My religious duties must not be
interrupted.

[S']AKOONTALA. [_Again embracing her foster-father_.

Beloved father, thy frame is much enfeebled by penitential
exercises. Do not, oh! do not, allow thyself to sorrow too much
on my account.

KANWA. [_Sighing_.

How, O my child, shall my bereaved heart
Forget its bitterness, when, day by day,
Full in my sight shall grow the tender plants
Reared by thy care, or sprang from hallowed grain
Which thy loved hands have strewn around the door--
A frequent offering to our household gods[73]?

Go, my daughter, and may thy journey be prosperous.

[_Exit_ [S']AKOONTALA _with her escort_.

PRIYAMVADA AND ANASUYA. [_Gazing after_ [S']AKOONTALA.

Alas! alas! she is gone, and now the trees hide our darling from
our view.

KANWA. [_Sighing_.

Wel