Nurse [goes from window—pause].
Dianora.
As though 'twere mirrored in a placid pool
Self-prisoned lies the world asleep, adream—
The ivy's tendrils clamber through the dusk
Closely embracing thousandfold the wall.
An arbor vitae towers. At its feet
The quiet waters mirror what they see.
And from this window, on this balustrade
Of cool and heavy stones, I bend me o'er
Stretching my arms so they may touch the ground.
I feel as though I were a dual being
Gazing within me at my other self.
[Pause.]
Methinks such thoughts crowd in upon the soul
When grim, inexorable death is near.
[She shudders and crosses herself.]
Nurse [has returned several times to the window; in one hand she carries scissors with which she clips the dry branches from the plants].
Dianora [startled]. What? Good night, nurse, farewell. I'm dizzy, faint.
Nurse [goes off].
Dianora [with a great effort]. Nurse! Nurse!