Page:Little Clay Cart (Ryder 1905).djvu/117

P. 140.4] Kumbhīlaka. [Approaching.] I salute you, sir.

Chārudatta. You are welcome, my good fellow. Tell me, is Vasantasenā really here?

Kumbhīlaka. Yes, she's here. Vasantasenā is here.

Chārudatta. [Joyfully.] My good fellow, I have never let the bearer of welcome news go unrewarded. Take this as your recompense. [He gives him his mantle.]

Kumbhīlaka. [''Takes it and bows. Gleefully''.] I'll tell my mistress.

Maitreya. Do you see why she comes in a storm like this?

Chārudatta. I do not quite understand, my friend.

Maitreya. I know. She has an idea that the pearl necklace is cheap, and the golden casket expensive. She isn't satisfied, and she has come to look for something more.

Charudatta. [Aside.] She shall not depart unsatisfied.

[Then enter the love-lorn Vasantasenā, in a splendid garment, fit for a woman who goes to meet her lover, a maid with an umbrella, and the courtier.]

Courtier. [Referring to Vasantasenā.]

Lakshmī without the lotus-flower is she,

Loveliest arrow of god Kāma's bow,

The sweetest blossom on love's magic tree.

See how she moves, so gracefully and slow!

In passion's hour she still loves modesty;

In her, good wives their dearest sorrow know.

When passion's drama shall enacted be,

When on love's stage appears the passing show,

A host of wanderers shall bend them low,

Glad to be slaves in such captivity.