Nay, we must travel in another path, Or we 're stuck fast for ever;-passion, then, Shall be a unit for us; proof, - no, passion! We'll not insult thy majesty by time, - Person, and place, the where, the when, the how, And dreams that he is happy. We dissect These are strange sights, - the mind of man, up turned, Is in all natures a strange spectacle; In some a hideous one hem! shall I stop? No. Thoughts and feelings will sink deep, but - then They have no substance. Pass but a few minutes, And something shall be done which Memory May touch, whene'er her vassals are at work. Enter MARMADUKE, from behind. Osw. (turning to meet him.) my peace But listen, for Mar. Why, I believe you. Osw. But hear the proofs Mar. Ay, prove that, when two peas Lie snugly in a pod, the pod must then Be larger than the peas, - prove this,—'t were matter Worthy the hearing. Fool was I to dream It ever could be otherwise! Osw. Last night When I returned with water from the brook, I overheard the villains, Like red-hot iron burnt into every word my heart. The blind man Said one, "It is agreed on. "She is right willing,-strange if she were not! They say, Lord Clifford is a savage man; But, faith, to see him in his silken tunic, Fitting his low voice to the minstrel's harp, There's witchery in 't. I never knew a maid That could withstand it. True," continued he, "When we arranged the affair, she wept a little. (Not the less welcome to my Lord for that,) And said, 'My father, he will have it so.'' Mar. I am your hearer. Osw. This I caught, and more That may not be retold to any ear. The obstinate bolt of a small iron door Detained them near the gateway of the Castle, With brutal laughter and most foul allusion, That they should share the banquet with their How you would be disturbed by this dire news, And therefore chose this solitary Moor, Here to impart the tale, of which, last night, I strove to ease my mind, when our two com⚫rades, Commissioned by the Band, burst in upon us. Mar. Last night, when moved to lift the aveng ing steel, I did believe all things werè shadows, yea, Or but the mutual mockeries of body, Till that same star summoned me back again. O fool. Than you have entered, were it worth the pains. Of.moral qualities in their diverse aspects; Osw. You take it as it merits Mar. One a King, General or Cham, Sultan or Emperor, Strews twenty acres of good meadow-ground And substance nothing differing from his own, Floats kingcups in the brook; a Hero one We call, and scorn the other as Time's spendthrift; But have they not a world of common ground То оссиру, both fools, or wise alike, Each in his way y? Osw. Troth, I begin to think so. Mar. Now for the corner-stone of my philoso phy : I would not give a denier for the man Who, on such provocation as this earth Yields, could not chuck his babe beneath the chin, And send it with a fillip to its grave. Osw. Nay, you leave me behind. Mar. 'That such a one, So pious in demeanor! in his look So saintly and so pure! Hark'ec, my Friend, I'll plant myself before Lord Clifford's Castle, A surly mastiff kennels at the gate, And he shall howl and I will laugh, a medley Osw. In faith, a pleasant scheme; But take your sword along with you, for that Might in such neighborhood find seemly use. But first, how wash our hands of this old man ? Mar. O yes, that mole, that viper in the path; Plague on my memory, him had I forgotten. Osw. You know we left him sitting, — see him yonder. Mar. Ha ha! Osw. As 't will be but a moment's work, I will stroll on; you follow when 't is done. [Exeunt. SCENE changes to another part of the Moor at a short distance. - HERBERT is discovered seated on a stone. Her. A sound of laughter, too!—'t is well.— The stranger had some pitiable sorrow Hush! 't is the feeble and earth-loving wind That creeps along the bells of the crisp heather. Alas! 't is cold, - I shiver in the sunshine; What can this mean? There is a psalm that speaks I used to sing it. Listen!- what foot is there? |