Or. O soothing sleep! dear friend! best nurse of sickness!
How sweetly came you in my hour of need.
Blest Lethe of all woes, how wise you are,
How worthy of the prayers of wretched men!
Whence came I to this place? How journeyed I?
I cannot think: my former mind is vanished.
El. O dearest, how hath your sleep gladdened me!
Say, can I help to soothe or raise your body?
Or. Yes, take me, take me: with your kind hands wipe
The foam of fever from my lips and eyes.
El. Sweet is this service to me; I am glad
To soothe my brother with a sister's hand.
Or. Support me with your breast, and fan my forehead;
Brush the loose hair: I scarce can see for sickness.
El. Poor head! How rough and tangled are the curls,
How haggard is your face with long neglect!
Or. Now lay me back upon the bed again:
When the fit leaves me, I am weak and helpless.
El. Yea; and the couch is some relief in sickness,
A sorry friend, but one that must be borne with.
Or. Raise me once more upright, and turn my body:
Sick men are hard to please, through wayward weakness.
El. How would you like to put your feet to earth?
'Tis long since you stood up; and change is pleasant.