ALDWYTH. Thou shalt flash it secretly Among the good Northumbrian folk, that I-- That Harold loves me--yea, and presently That I and Harold are betroth'd--and last-- Perchance that Harold wrongs me; tho' I would not That it should come to that. MORCAR. I will both flash And thunder for thee. ALDWYTH. I said 'secretly;' It is the flash that murders, the poor thunder Never harm'd head. MORCAR. But thunder may bring down That which the flash hath stricken. ALDWYTH. Down with Tostig! That first of all--And when doth Harold go? MORCAR. To-morrow--first to Bosham, then to Flanders. ALDWYTH. Not to come back till Tostig shall have shown And redden'd with his people's blood the teeth That shall be broken by us--yea, and thou Chair'd in his place. Good-night, and dream thyself Their chosen Earl. [_Exit_ ALDWYTH. MORCAR. Earl first, and after that Who knows I may not dream myself their king! ACT II. SCENE I.--SEASHORE. PONTHIEU. NIGHT. HAROLD _and his_ MEN, _wrecked_. HAROLD. Friends, in that last inhospitable plunge Our boat hath burst her ribs; but ours are whole; I have but bark'd my hands. ATTENDANT. I dug mine into My old fast friend the shore, and clinging thus Felt the remorseless outdraught of the deep Haul like a great strong fellow at my legs, And then I rose and ran. The blast that came So suddenly hath fallen as suddenly-- Put thou the comet and this blast together-- HAROLD. Put thou thyself and mother-wit together. Be not a fool! _Enter_ FISHERMEN _with torches_, HAROLD _going up to one of them_, ROLF. Wicked sea-will-o'-the-wisp! Wolf of the shore! dog, with thy lying lights Thou hast betray'd us on these rocks of thine! ROLF. Ay, but thou liest as loud as the black herring-pond behind thee. We be fishermen; I came to see after my nets. HAROLD. To drag us into them. Fishermen? devils! Who, while ye fish for men with your false fires, Let the great Devil fish for your own souls. ROLF. Nay then, we be liker the blessed Apostles; _they_ were fishers of men, Father Jean says. HAROLD. I had liefer that the fish had swallowed me, Like Jonah, than have known there were such devils. What's to be done? [_To his_ MEN--_goes apart with them_. FISHERMAN. Rolf, what fish did swallow Jonah? ROLF. A whale! FISHERMAN. Then a whale to a whelk we have swallowed the King of England. I saw him over there. Look thee, Rolf, when I was down in the fever, _she_ was down with the hunger, and thou didst stand by her and give her thy crabs, and set her up again, till now, by the patient Saints, she's as crabb'd as ever. ROLF. And I'll give her my crabs again, when thou art down again.