LUC. [With equal intensity.] Savonarola! [SAV. starts violently and stares in direction of her voice.] Yes, I come, I come! [Forces her way to steps of Loggia. The crowd is much bewildered, and the cries of ‘Death to Lucrezia Borgia!’ are few and sporadic.] Why didst thou call me? [SAV. looks somewhat embarrassed.] What is thy distress? I see it all! The sanguinary mob Clusters to rend thee! As the antler’d stag, With fine eyes glazed from the too-long chase, Turns to defy the foam-fleck’d pack, and thinks, In his last moment, of some graceful hind Seen once afar upon a mountain-top, E’en so, Savonarola, didst thou think, In thy most dire extremity, of me. And here I am! Courage! The horrid hounds Droop tail at sight of me and fawn away Innocuous. [The crowd does indeed seem to have fallen completely under the sway of LUC.’s magnetism, and is evidently convinced that it had been about to make an end of the monk.] Take thou, and wear henceforth, As a sure talisman ‘gainst future perils, This little, little ring. [SAV. makes awkward gesture of refusal. Angry murmurs from the crowd. Cries of ‘Take thou the ring!’ ‘Churl!’ ‘Put it on!’ etc. Enter the Borgias’ FOOL and stands unnoticed on fringe of crowd.] I hoped you ‘ld like it-- Neat but not gaudy. Is my taste at fault? I’d so look’d forward to-- [Sob.] No, I’m not crying, But just a little hurt. [Hardly a dry eye in the crowd. Also swayings and snarlings indicative that SAV.’s life is again not worth a moment’s purchase. SAV. makes awkward gesture of acceptance, but just as he is about to put ring on finger, the FOOL touches his lute and sings:--] Wear not the ring, It hath an unkind sting, Ding, dong, ding. Bide a minute, There’s poison in it, Poison in it, Ding-a-dong, dong, ding. LUC. The fellow lies. [The crowd is torn with conflicting opinions. Mingled cries of ‘Wear not the ring!’ ‘The fellow lies!’ ‘Bide a minute!’ ‘Death to the Fool!’ ‘Silence for the Fool!’ ‘Ding-a-dong, dong, ding!’ etc.] FOOL [Sings.] Wear not the ring, For Death’s a robber-king, Ding, [etc.] There’s no trinket Is what you think it, What you think it, Ding-a-dong, [etc.]