“‘Twas night; and vapors, curling, choked the ground, And the rock writhed like flesh of one in pain. But Cedric mounted up to find the cave, Crying aloud: ‘I seek Caradrion.’ And so, till from the cavern depth a voice: ‘Come not, except to sorrow thou be born.’ And Cedric, panting, stretched his shrunken arms: ‘Another’s sorrow would I change to joy, And mine own joy to sorrow; help thou me.’ To which the voice, sunk low, replied: ‘Come thou.’ And Cedric came, unfearing, in the dark, And saw in gloomy night a form in pain, With wings stretched wide, and beating faint and fast. ‘Art thou Caradrion?’ he murmured swift, And echo gave reply, ‘Caradrion’.” So Cedric told of his errand, and pleaded for help; he heard the answer of the voice: “‘Yea, I can save her, if thou be a soul That can dare pain and face the rage of fate; A soul that feareth not to look on death.’ ‘Speak on,’ said Cedric, shaking, and he spoke: ‘This is my law, that am Caradrion, Whose way is sorrow and whose end is death; That by my pain some fleeting grace I win, Some joy unto another I can give. Far through this world of woe I seek, and find Some soul crushed utterly, and steeped in pain; And when it sleeps, I stoop on silent wing, And with a kiss take all its woe away-- Take it for mine, and then into this cave Return alone, the blessing’s price to pay.’ Then up sprang Cedric. ‘Nay,’ he,’ cried, ‘then swift, Ere life be gone!’ But once more spake the voice: ‘Nay, boy, my race is run, my power is spent; This hope alone I give thee, as thou wilt; Whoso stands by and sees my heart-throb cease, Who tastes its blood, my power and form are his, And forth he fares in solitary flight, Caradrion, the consecrate to pain. And so my word is said; now hide thee far In the cave’s night, and wrestle there in prayer.’ But Cedric said, ‘My prayer is done; I wait.’ So in the cave the hours of night sped by, And sounds came forth as when a woman fights In savage pain a life from hers to free.” Then in the dawn a dark shadow flew from the cave, and sped across the blue, and came to the little vale, where Eileen lay dying, as he had seen her in the vision in the “haggard woman’s” cavern.