_Myr._ Alas! thou art pale, and on thy brow the drops Gather like night dew. My beloved, hush-- Calm thee. Thy speech seems of another world, 40 And thou art lord of this. Be of good cheer; All will go well. _Sar._ Thy _hand_--so--'tis thy hand; 'Tis flesh; grasp--clasp--yet closer, till I feel Myself that which I was. _Myr._ At least know me For what I am, and ever must be--thine. _Sar._ I know it now. I know this life again. Ah, Myrrha! I have been where we shall be. _Myr._ My lord! _Sar._ I've been i' the grave--where worms are lords And kings are----But I did not deem it so; I thought 'twas nothing. _Myr._ So it is; except 50 Unto the timid, who anticipate That which may never be. _Sar._ Oh, Myrrha! if Sleep shows such things, what may not Death disclose? _Myr._ I know no evil Death can show, which Life Has not already shown to those who live Embodied longest. If there be indeed A shore where Mind survives, 'twill be as Mind All unincorporate: or if there flits A shadow of this cumbrous clog of clay. Which stalks, methinks, between our souls and heaven, 60 And fetters us to earth--at least the phantom, Whate'er it have to fear, will not fear Death. _Sar._ I fear it not; but I have felt--have seen-- A legion of the dead. _Myr._ And so have I. The dust we tread upon was once alive, And wretched. But proceed: what hast thou seen? Speak it, 'twill lighten thy dimmed mind. _Sar._ Methought---- _Myr._ Yet pause, thou art tired--in pain--exhausted; all Which can impair both strength and spirit: seek Rather to sleep again. _Sar._ Not now--I would not 70 Dream; though I know it now to be a dream What I have dreamt:--and canst thou bear to hear it? _Myr._ I can bear all things, dreams of life or death, Which I participate with you in semblance Or full reality. _Sar._ And this looked real, I tell you: after that these eyes were open, I saw them in their flight--for then they fled. _Myr._ Say on.