h! Come hither! Death is in the world;

Cain's rallying from stupor--

I am awake at last--a dreary dream
Had madden'd me,--but he shall never wake:

the curse of Eve; and the close--[Greek: meizon ae kata dakrua]

CAIN. Leave me.

ADAH. Why all have left thee.

CAIN. And wherefore lingerest thou? Dost thou not fear?

ADAH. I fear
Nothing, except to leave thee.

* * * * *

CAIN. Eastward from Eden will we take our way.

ADAH. Leave! thou shalt be my guide; and may our God
Be thine! Now let us carry forth our children.

CAIN. And _he_ who lieth there was childless. I
Have dried the fountain of a gentle race.
O Abel!

ADAH. Peace be with him.

CAIN. But with _me_!

_Cain_, between which and the _Cenci_ lies the award of the greatest
single performance in dramatic shape of our century, raised a storm. It
was published, with _Sardanapalus_ and _The Two Foscari_ in December,
1821, and the critics soon gave evidence of the truth of Elze's remark--
"In England freedom of action is cramped by the want of freedom of
thought. The converse is the case with us Germans; freedom of thought is
restricted by the want of freedom in action. To us this scepticism
presents nothing in the least fearful." But with us it appeared as if a
literary Guy Fawkes had been detected in the act of blowing up half the
cathedrals and all the chapels of the country. The rage of insular
orthodoxy was in proportion to its impotence. Every scribbler with a
cassock denounced the book and its author, though few attempted to answer
him. The hubbub was such that Byron wrote to Murray, authorizing him to
disclaim all responsibility, and offering to refund the payment he had
received. "Say that both you and Mr. Gilford remonstrated. I will come to
England to stand trial. 'Me, me, adsum qui feci,'"--and much to the same
effect. The book was pirated; and on the publisher's application to have
an injunction, Lord Eldon refused to grant it. The majority of the minor
reviewers became hysterical, and Dr. Watkins, amid much almost
inarticulate raving, said that Sir Walter Scott, who had gratefully
accepted the dedication, would go down to posterity with the brand of
_Cain_ upon his brow. Several even of the higher critics took fright.
Jeffrey, while protesting his appreciation of the literary merits of the
work, lament