Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 -- Adaptations; Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 -- Stories, plots, etc. -- Juvenile literature
could be real, 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 west 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
wild 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 rate 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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