[_As_ MANFRED _is in act to spring from the cliff, the_ CHAMOIS HUNTER _seizes and retains him with a sudden grasp._ _C. Hun_. Hold, madman!--though aweary of thy life, 110 Stain not our pure vales with thy guilty blood: Away with me----I will not quit my hold. _Man_. I am most sick at heart--nay, grasp me not-- I am all feebleness--the mountains whirl Spinning around me----I grow blind----What art thou? _C. Hun_. I'll answer that anon.--Away with me---- The clouds grow thicker----there--now lean on me-- Place your foot here--here, take this staff, and cling A moment to that shrub--now give me your hand, And hold fast by my girdle--softly--well-- 120 The Chalet will be gained within an hour: Come on, we'll quickly find a surer footing, And something like a pathway, which the torrent Hath washed since winter.--Come,'tis bravely done-- You should have been a hunter.--Follow me. [_As they descend the rocks with difficulty, the scene closes._ ACT II. SCENE I.--_A Cottage among the Bernese Alps_.-- MANFRED _and the_ CHAMOIS HUNTER. _C. Hun_. No--no--yet pause--thou must not yet go forth; Thy mind and body are alike unfit To trust each other, for some hours, at least; When thou art better, I will be thy guide-- But whither? _Man_. It imports not: I do know My route full well, and need no further guidance. _C. Hun_. Thy garb and gait bespeak thee of high lineage-- One of the many chiefs, whose castled crags Look o'er the lower valleys--which of these May call thee lord? I only know their portals; 10 My way of life leads me but rarely down To bask by the huge hearths of those old halls, Carousing with the vassals; but the paths, Which step from out our mountains to their doors, I know from childhood--which of these is thine? _Man_. No matter. _C. Hun_. Well, Sir, pardon me the question, And be of better cheer. Come, taste my wine; 'Tis of an ancient vintage; many a day 'T has thawed my veins among our glaciers, now Let it do thus for thine--Come, pledge me fairly! 20 _Man_. Away, away! there's blood upon the brim! Will it then never--never sink in the earth? _C. Hun_. What dost thou mean? thy senses wander from thee. _Man_. I say 'tis blood--my blood! the pure warm stream Which ran in the veins of my fathers, and in ours When we were in our youth, and had one heart, And loved each other as we should not love,[127] And this was shed: but still it rises up, Colouring the clouds, that shut me out from Heaven, Where thou art not--and I shall never be. 30