The old Chamberlain enters.
Cham. [Angrily.] Desist from breaking off those half opened buds; there will be no jubilee this year; our king has forbidden it.
Both Dams. Oh! pardon us. We really knew not the prohibition.
Cham. You knew it not!—Even the trees which the spring was decking, and the birds who perch on them, sympathize with our monarch. Thence it is, that yon buds, which have long appeared, shed not yet their prolifick dust; and the flower of the Curuvaca, though perfectly formed, remains veiled in a closed chalice; while the voice of the Cócilà, though the cold dews fall no more, is fixed within his throat; and even Smara, the god of desire, replaces the shaft half drawn from his quiver.
Misr. [Aside.] The king, no doubt, is constant and tender-hearted.
First Dams. A few days ago, Mitravasu, the governor of our province, dispatched us to kiss the feet of the king, and we come to decorate his groves and gardens with various emblems; thence it is, that we heard nothing of his interdict.
Cham. Beware then of reiterating your offence.
Second Dams. To obey our lord will certainly be our delight; but if we are permitted to hear the story, tell us, we pray, what has induced our sovereign to forbid the usual festivity.
Misr. [Aside.] Kings are generally fond of