பதிப்பு : மனோன்மணியம் - நாடகம்
Stole the young prince thro' unfrequented groves,
To gaze with listless eyes on lonely streams. All, wondering, marked the change,
353
None dared to question; he had no fond father.
188
Now, in the thick of this his altered mood,
Arrived the envoys of the Scythian king.
Reluctant audience found,
And spoke to ears displeased their sovereign's message. 192
'Omartes greets Zariades the Mede:
Between the realms of both there rolls a river
Inviolate to the Scyth,
Free to no keels but those the Scythian charters:
196
Yet have thy subjects outraged oft its waves. And pirate foray on our northern banks Ravaged the flocks and herds,
Till Scythian riders ask "Why sleeps the Ruler?"
200
'Still, loth to fan the sparks which leap to flame Reddening the nations, from the breath of kings; We have not sought thy throne
With tales of injury or appeals to justice;
204
'But searching in our inmost heart to find
The gentlest bond wherewith to link our realms, Make scyth and Mede akin,
By household ties their royal chiefs uniting,
208
We strip our crown of its most precious gem, Proffering to thee our child Argiope:
So let the Median Queen
Be the mild guardian of the Scythian river.
211
Lifting his brow, replied Zariades:
Great rivers are the highways of the world: The Tanais laves my shores;
For those who dwell upon my shores I claim it.
216
