University of Virginia Library

SCENE THE SECOND.

Michal.
Mi.
... He flies! ... Oh heavens ... I will pursue him ... Ah!
With what invisible fetters am I bound? ...
I cannot follow him.—He flies from me! ...
Scarce can I stand ... much less o'ertake his steps ...
Once more then have I lost him! ... Who can tell
When I shall see him? And art thou a wife,
Thou wretched lady? ... Were thine nuptial rites? ...
No, no; no more beside my cruel father
Will I remain. I follow thee, oh spouse ...
Yet if I follow him I cause his death?—
Can I, to feign accordance with his steps,
Dissemble my slow pace? ... But from yon camp
What murmur do I hear, like din of arms? ...
I hear it plainly ... and it waxes louder:
And with the trumpet's dissonance is mix'd:
The tramp of horses also ... What is this?
Th'attack before the rising of the sun?
Saul gave no hint of this. Who knows? ... Perchance
My brothers ... Jonathan ... alas ... in danger! ...
But tears and howlings and deep groans I hear
From the pavilion of my father rise?
Unhappy father! ... I will run to meet him ...
But ... he himself approaches; how forlorn! ...
How desolate! ... How little like himself! ...