The Maiden.

Never; as dead
He would be in God’s hands; living—

The Lady.

In mine.

The Maiden.

That is, in atheism.

The Lady.

Have I said
Aught atheistical? Because my faith
Is broader than its own, this conscience saith
I am an atheist! Ah, child, is thine
A better faith? Yet, be it what it may,
Should he now lie before us here, and say
He loved thee best, I’d yield him though my heart
Should stop—though I should die. Yea, for his sake,
To make him happy, I would even take
Annihilation!—let the vital spark
Called soul be turned to nothing.

The Maiden.

Far apart
Our motives; mine is clear with duty—