Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 -- Adaptations; Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 -- Stories, plots, etc. -- Juvenile literature
loudly called for his attendants, who rejoiced at the sound of their
beloved king's voice; and he said to Helicanus, "O Helicanus, strike me,
give me a gash, put me to present pain, lest this great sea of joys
rushing upon me, overbear the shores of my mortality. O come hither,
thou that wast born at sea, buried at Tarsus, and found at sea again. O
Helicanus, down on your knees, thank the holy gods! This is Marina. Now
blessings on thee, my child! Give me fresh garments, mine own Helicanus!
She is not dead at Tarsus as she should have been by the savage
Dionysia. She shall tell you all, when you shall kneel to her and call
her your very princess. Who is this?" (observing Lysimachus for the
first time). "Sir," said Helicanus, "it is the governor of Mitylene,
who, hearing of your melancholy, came to see you." "I embrace you, sir,"
said Pericles. "Give me my robes! I am well with beholding----O heaven
bless my girl! But hark, what music is that?"--for now, either sent by
some kind god, or by his own delighted fancy deceived, he seemed to hear
soft music. "My lord, I hear none," replied Helicanus. "None?" said
Pericles; "why it is the music of the spheres." As there was no music to
be heard, Lysimachus concluded that the sudden joy had unsettled the
prince's understanding; and he said, "It is not good to cross him: let
him have his way:" and then they told him they heard the music; and he
now complaining of a drowsy slumber coming over him, Lysimachus
persuaded him to rest on a couch, and placing a pillow under his head,
he, quite overpowered with excess of joy, sank into a sound sleep, and
Marina watched in silence by the couch of her sleeping parent.
While he slept, Pericles dreamed a dream which made him resolve to go to
Ephesus. His dream was, that Diana, the goddess of the Ephesians,
appeared to him, and commanded him to go to her temple at Ephesus, and
there before her altar to declare the story of his life and misfortunes;
and by her silver bow she swore, that if he performed her injunction, he
should meet with some rare felicity. When he awoke, being miraculously
refreshed, he told his dream, and that his resolution was to obey the
bidding of the goddess.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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