Sarolta. Thou see'st yon dim spot on the mountain's ridge, 325
But what it is thou know'st not. Even such
Is all I know of thee—haply, brave youth,
Is all Fate makes it safe for thee to know!

Bethlen. Safe? Safe? O let me then inherit danger,
And it shall be my birth-right!

Sarolta (aside). That look again!— 330
The wood which first incloses, and then skirts
The highest track that leads across the mountains—
Thou know'st it, Bethlen?

Bethlen. Lady, 'twas my wont
To roam there in my childhood oft alone
And mutter to myself the name of father. 335
For still Bathory (why, till now I guessed not)
Would never hear it from my lips, but sighing
Gazed upward. Yet of late an idle terror——

Glycine. Madam, that wood is haunted by the war-wolves,
Vampires, and monstrous——

Sarolta. Moon-calves, credulous girl! [340]
Haply some o'ergrown savage of the forest
Hath his lair there, and fear hath framed the rest.
After that last great battle, (O young man!
Thou wakest anew my life's sole anguish) that
Which fixed Lord Emerick on his throne, Bathory 345
Led by a cry, far inward from the track,
In the hollow of an oak, as in a nest,
Did find thee, Bethlen, then a helpless babe.
The robe that wrapt thee was a widow's mantle.

Bethlen. An infant's weakness doth relax my frame. [350]
O say—I fear to ask——

Sarolta. And I to tell thee.

[[913]]Bethlen. Strike! O strike quickly! See, I do not shrink.
I am stone, cold stone.

Sarolta. Hid in a brake hard by,
Scarce by both palms supported from the earth,
A wounded lady lay, whose life fast waning 355
Seemed to survive itself in her fixt eyes,
That strained towards the babe. At length one arm
Painfully from her own weight disengaging,
She pointed first to heaven, then from her bosom
Drew forth a golden casket. Thus entreated 360
Thy foster-father took thee in his arms,
And kneeling spake: 'If aught of this world's comfort
Can reach thy heart, receive a poor man's troth,
That at my life's risk I will save thy child!'
Her countenance worked, as one that seemed preparing 365
A loud voice, but it died upon her lips
In a faint whisper, 'Fly! Save him! Hide—hide all!'