"Lord Tristram, my friend, is unfaithful,
And God's wrath on him shall descend;
Though cruelly he has betrayed me—"
ACT V
Same as Act IV.—The first glow of dawn shines through the grated door and windows, becoming brighter until the end of the Act. The Strange Jester sits cowering on the steps of the dais. Brangaene comes hesitatingly down the steps; she carries an oil-lamp in her hand.
SCENE I
Brangaene (her voice is muffled by fear).
Art thou still here, thou ghastly being? Ghost
Of awful midnight hours?
Str. Jester.
Brangaene I
Am here, and here I shall remain.
Brangaene (looking for something on the ground).
Methought
King Mark had paid thy jests with whips and had
Then driven thee away; and yet thou sitst
Here in the self-same place and starest still
With blear'd and fish-like eyes. Dost thou not know
That day is come? Fool, if thou hast a heart
Through which the warm blood flows, I pray thee go!
Go ere the Queen come down and see thee here!
Begone!
Str. Jester.
What seekest thou?
Brangaene.
I seek the ring;
The ring that Queen Iseult let fall last night.
Str. Jester.
The ring is mine; I picked it up!