第2章

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!