Be cursed that hour in which, constrained by foes,
I seize these means.” No farther would he say,
Heard not Aldona’s prayers, but only heard
And saw before him Litwa’s misery.
At last the flame of vengeance, nursed in silence,
By sight of suffering and defeat, increased,
And did surround his heart, consumed all feelings—
One feeling even, hitherto life-sweetening,—
Feeling of love. So when the hunters light
A hidden fire ’neath oaks of Bialowiez,