[Sotto voce_.]

Shall I not call the family? I think
Mary and Grace must both be very cold;
And they know nothing of this strange affair.
I'll wait them at the landing, and secure
Their silent entrance.

David.

If it please you—well.

[PRUDENCE retires, and returns with
GRACE and MARY.]

Mary.

Why! We heard nothing of it—Grace and I:—
What a cadaverous hand! How blue and thin!

David.

At his first wild awaking he bemoaned
His fancied durance in a hospital;
And since he spoke so strangely, I have thought
He may have fled a mad-house. Matters not!
We've done our duty, and preserved his life.

Mary.