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Dushm. By the kindness of heaven, O loveliest of thy sex, thou standest again before me, whose memory was obscured by the gloom of fascination; as the star Róhinì at the end of an eclipse rejoins her beloved moon.

Sac. May the king be—

Dushm. My darling, though the word victorious be suppressed by thy weeping, yet I must have victory, since I see thee again, though with pale lips and a body unadorned.

Boy. What man is this, mother?

Sac. Sweet child, ask the divinity who presides over the fortunes of us both.

[She weeps.

Dushm. O my only beloved, banish from thy mind my cruel desertion of thee.—A violent phrensy overpowered my soul—Such, when the darkness of illusion prevails, are the actions of the best intentioned; as a blind man, when a friend binds his head with a wreath of flowers, mistakes it for a twining snake, and foolishly rejects it.

[He falls at her feet.

Sac. Rise, my husband, oh! rise.—My happiness has been long interrupted; but joy now succeeds to affliction, since the son of my lord still loves me.—[He rises.]—How was the remembrance of this unfortunate woman restored to the mind of my lord's son?

Dushm. When the dart of misery shall be wholly extracted from my bosom, I will tell you all; but since the anguish of my soul has in part ceased, let me first wipe off that tear which