FIFE。
Oh,whatasoulsomewomenhave——ImeanSomemen——
ROS。
Oh,Fife,Fife,asyouloveme,Fife,Makeyourselfperfectinthatlittlepart,Orallwillgotoruin!
FIFE。
Oh,Iwill,PleaseGodwefindsomeonetotryiton。
But,truly,wouldnotanyonebelieveSomefairyhadexchangedusaswelayTwotinyfoster—childreninonecradle?
ROS。
Well,bethatasitmay,Fife,itremindsmeOfwhatperhapsIshouldhavethoughtbefore,Butbetterlatethannever——YouknowIloveyou,Asyou,Iknow,loveme,andloyallyHavefollow'dmethusfarinmywildventure。
Well!nowthen——havingseenmesafethusfarSafeifnotwhollysound——overtherocksIntothecountrywheremybusinessliesWhyshouldnotyoureturnthewaywecame,Thestormallclear'daway,and,leavingme(Whonowshallwantyou,thoughnotthankyou,less,Nowthatourhorsesgone)thissidetheridge,Findyourwaybacktodearoldhomeagain;
WhileI——Come,come!——
What,weepingmypoorfellow?
FIFE。
LeaveyouhereAlone——myLady——Lord!ImeanmyLord——
Inastrangecountry——amongsavages——
Oh,nowIknow——youwouldberidofmeForfearmystumblingspeech——
ROS。
Oh,no,no,no!——
IwantyouwithmeforathousandsakesTowhichthatisasnothing——ImyselfMoreapttoletthesecretoutmyselfWithoutyourhelpatall——Come,come,cheerup!
Andifyousingagain,'Comeweal,comewoe,'
Letitbethat;forwewillneverpartUntilyougivethesignal。
FIFE。
'Tisabargain。
ROS。
Nowtobegin,then。'Follow,followme,'Youfairyelvesthatbe。'
FIFE。
Ay,andgoon——
Somethingof'followingdarknesslikeadream,'
Forthatwe'reafter。
ROS。
No,afterthesun;
TryingtocatchholdofhisglitteringskirtsThathanguponthemountainashegoes。
FIFE。
Ah,he'shimselfpastcatching——asyouspokeHeheardwhatyouweresaying,and——justso——
Likesomescaredwater—bird,Aswesayinmycountry,/dove/below。
ROS。
Well,wemustfollowhimasbestwemay。
Polandisnogreatcountry,and,asrichInmenandmeans,willbutfewacresspareToliebeneathherbarriermountainsbare。
Wecannot,Ibelieve,beveryfarFrommankindortheirdwellings。
FIFE。
Senditso!
Andwellprovidedforman,woman,andbeast。
No,notforbeast。Ah,butmyheartbeginsToyearnforher——
ROS。
Keepclose,andkeepyourfeetFromservingyouashersdid。
FIFE。
Asforbeasts,Ifindefaultofotherentertainment,Weshouldprovidethemwithourselvestoeat——
Bears,lions,wolves——
ROS。
Oh,neverfear。
FIFE。
Orelse,Defaultofotherbeasts,beastliermen,Cannibals,Anthropophagi,barePolesWhoneverknewatailorbutbytaste。
ROS。
Look,look!UnlessmyfancymisconceiveWithtwilight——downamongtherocksthere,Fife——
Somehumandwelling,surely——
OrthinkyoubutarocktornfromtherocksInsomeconvulsionliketo—day's,andperch'dQuaintlyamongtheminmock—masonry?
FIFE。
Mostlikelythat,Idoubt。
ROS。
No,no——forlook!
Asquareofdarknessopeninginit——
FIFE。
Oh,Idon'thalflikesuchopenings!——
ROS。
LiketheloomOfnightfromwhichshespinsheroutergloom——
FIFE。
Lord,Madam,prayforbearthistragicveinInsuchatimeandplace——
ROS。
AndnowagainWithinthatsquareofdarkness,look!alightThatfeelsitswaywithhesitatingpulse,Aswedo,throughthedarknessthatitdrivesToblackenintodeepernightbeyond。
FIFE。
Inwhichcouldwefollowthatlight'sexample,AsmightsomeEnglishBardolphwithhisnose,Wemightdefythesunset——Hark,achain!
ROS。
Andnowalamp,alamp!AndnowthehandThatcarriesit。
FIFE。
Oh,Lord!thatdreadfulchain!
ROS。
Andnowthebearerofthelamp;indeedAsstrangeasanyinArabiantale,Sogiant—like,andterrible,andgrand,Spiteoftheskinhe'swraptin。
FIFE。
Why,'tishisown:
Oh,'tissomewildmanofthewoods;I'veheardTheybuildandcarrytorches——
ROS。
NeverApeBoresuchabrowbeforetheheavensasthat——
Chain'dasyousaytoo!——
FIFE。
Oh,thatdreadfulchain!
ROS。
Andnowhesetsthelampdownbyhisside,Andwithonehandclench'dinhistangledhairAndwithasighasifhisheartwouldbreak——
(DuringthisSegismundhasenteredfromthefortress,withatorch。)
SEGISMUND。
Oncemorethestormhasroar'ditselfaway,SplittingthecragsofGodasitretires;
Butsparingstillwhatitshouldonlyblast,Thisguiltypieceofhumanhandiwork,Andallthatarewithinit。Oh,howoft,Howoft,withinorhereabroad,haveI
Waited,andinthewhisperofmyheartPray'dfortheslantinghandofheaventostrikeTheblowmyselfIdarednot,outoffearOfthatHereafter,worse,theysay,thanhere,Plungedheadlongin,but,tilldismissalwaited,Towipeatlastallsorrowfrommen'seyes,Andmakethisheavydispensationclear。
ThushaveIbornetillnow,andstillendure,Crouchinginsullenimpotencedaybyday,Tillsomesuchout—burstoftheelementsLikethisrousesthesleepingfirewithin;
AndstandingthusuponthethresholdofAnothernightabouttoclosethedoorUpononewretcheddaytoopenitOnoneyetwretchederbecauseonemore;——
Oncemore,yousavageheavens,Iaskofyou——
I,lookinguptothoserelentlesseyesThat,nowthegreaterlampisgonebelow,Begintomusterinthelisteningskies;
InalltheshiningcircuitsyouhavegoneAboutthistheatreofhumanwoe,WhatgreatersorrowhaveyougazeduponThandownthisnarrowchinkyouwitnessstill;
Andwhich,didyouyourselvesnotfore—devise,Youregisteredforotherstofulfil!
FIFE。
ThisissomeLaureateatabirthdayode;
Nowonderwewentrhyming。
ROS。
Hush!AndnowSee,startingtohisfeet,hestridesaboutFarashistether'dsteps——
SEG。
AndifthechainYouhelp'dtorivetroundmedidcontractSinceguiltlessinfancyfromguiltinact;
OfwhatinaspirationorinthoughtGuilty,butinresentmentofthewrongThatwreaksrevengeonwrongIneverwroughtByexcommunicationfromthefreeInheritancethatallcreatedlife,Besidemyself,isbornto——fromthewingsThatrangeyourownimmeasurableblue,Downtothepoor,mute,scale—imprison'dthings,Thatyetarefreetowander,glide,andpassAboutthatunder—sapphire,whereintoYourselvestransfusingyouyourselvesenglass!
ROS。
Whatmysteryisthis?
FIFE。
Why,theman'smad:
That'sallthemystery。That'swhyhe'schain'd——
Andwhy——
SEG。
NorNature'sguiltlesslifealone——
Butthatwhichlivesonbloodandrapine;nay,Charter'dwithlargerlibertytoslayTheirguiltlesskind,thetyrantsoftheairSoarzenith—upwardwiththeirscreamingprey,MakingpureheavendropblooduponthestageOfunderearth,wherelion,wolf,andbear,AndtheythatontheirtreacherousvelvetwearFigureandconstellationlikeyourown,WiththeirstilllivingslaughterboundawayOverthebarriersofthemountaincage,Againstwhichone,blood—guiltless,andenduedWithaspirationandwithaptitudeTranscendingothercreatures,daybydayBeatshimselfmadwithunavailingrage!