Osorio. Hail, potent wizard! In my gayer mood
I pour'd forth a libation to old Pluto;
[[589]] And as I brimm'd the bowl, I thought of thee!

Albert (in a low voice). I have not summon'd up my heart to give [140]
That pang, which I must give thee, son of Velez!

Osorio (with affected levity). Thou hast conspired against my life and honour,
Hast trick'd me foully; yet I hate thee not!
Why should I hate thee? This same world of ours—
It is a puddle in a storm of rain, [145]
And we the air-bladders, that course up and down,
And joust and tilt in merry tournament,
And when one bubble runs foul of another, [Waving his hand at Albert.
The lesser must needs break!

Albert. I see thy heart!
There is a frightful glitter in thine eye, [150]
[[590]] Which doth betray thee. Crazy-conscienc'd man,
This is the gaiety of drunken anguish,
Which fain would scoff away the pang of guilt,
And quell each human feeling!

Osorio. Feeling! feeling!
The death of a man—the breaking of a bubble. 155
'Tis true, I cannot sob for such misfortunes!
But faintness, cold, and hunger—curses on me
If willingly I e'er inflicted them!
Come, share the beverage—this chill place demands it.
Friendship and wine! [Osorio proffers him the goblet.

Albert. Yon insect on the wall, [160]
Which moves this way and that its hundred legs,
Were it a toy of mere mechanic craft,
It were an infinitely curious thing!
But it has life, Osorio! life and thought;
And by the power of its miraculous will [165]
Wields all the complex movements of its frame
Unerringly, to pleasurable ends!
Saw I that insect on this goblet's brink,
I would remove it with an eager terror.

Osorio. What meanest thou?

Albert. There's poison in the wine. [170]

Osorio. Thou hast guess'd well. There's poison in the wine.
Shall we throw dice, which of us two shall drink it?
For one of us must die!

Albert. Whom dost thou think me?