-yet pause--thou must not yet go forth;
Thy mind and body are alike unfit
To trust each other, for some hours, at least;
When thou art better, I will be thy guide--
But whither?

_Man_. It imports not: I do know
My route full well, and need no further guidance.

_C. Hun_. Thy garb and gait bespeak thee of high lineage--
One of the many chiefs, whose castled crags
Look o'er the lower valleys--which of these
May call thee lord? I only know their portals; 10
My way of life leads me but rarely down
To bask by the huge hearths of those old halls,
Carousing with the vassals; but the paths,
Which step from out our mountains to their doors,
I know from childhood--which of these is thine?

_Man_. No matter.

_C. Hun_. Well, Sir, pardon me the question,
And be of better cheer. Come, taste my wine;
'Tis of an ancient vintage; many a day
'T has thawed my veins among our glaciers, now
Let it do thus for thine--Come, pledge me fairly! 20

_Man_. Away, away! there's blood upon the brim!
Will it then never--never sink in the earth?

_C. Hun_. What dost thou mean? thy senses wander from thee.

_Man_. I say 'tis blood--my blood! the pure warm stream
Which ran in the veins of my fathers, and in ours
When we were in our youth, and had one heart,
And loved each other as we should not love,[127]
And this was shed: but still it rises up,
Colouring the clouds, that shut me out from Heaven,
Where thou art not--and I shall never be. 30

_C. Hun_. Man of strange words, and some half-maddening sin,[ax]
Which makes thee people vacancy, whate'er
Thy dread and sufferance be, there's comfort yet--
The aid of holy men, and heavenly patience----

_Man_. Patience--and patience! Hence--that word was made
For brutes of burthen, not for birds of prey!
Preach it to mortals of a dust like thine,--
I am not of thine order.

_C. Hun_. Thanks to Heaven!
I would not be of thine for the free fame
Of William Tell; but whatsoe'er thine ill, 40
It must be borne, and these wild starts are useless.

_Man_. Do I not bear it?--Look on me--I live.

_C. Hun._ This is convulsion, and no healthful life.

_Man_. I tell thee, man! I have lived many years,