Ethw. Ay, ay, Elburga! 'tis enough for thee
To tower in senseless state and be a queen;
But to th' expanded and aspiring soul,
To be but still the thing it long has been
Is misery, e'en tho' enthron'd it were
Under the cope of high imperial state.
O cursed hindrance! blasting fiends breathe on me.
Putt'st thou not something in thy damned drugs
That doth retard my cure? I might ere this
With cased limbs have strode the clanging field,
And been myself again.—Hark! some one comes.
(listening with alarm.)
Qu. Be not disturb'd, it is your faithful groom
Who brings the watch-dog; all things are secure.
Ethw. Nay, but I heard the sound of other feet.
(running to the door and pushing in a great bar.)
Say, who art thou without?
Ethw. (to Queen.) Didst thou not hear the sound of other feet?
Qu. No, only his; your mind is too suspicious.
Ethw. I in his countenance have mark'd of late
That which I like not: were this dreary night
But once o'ermaster'd, he shall watch no more.
(opens the door suspiciously, and enters an armed man leading in a great watch-dog: the door is shut again hastily, and the bar replaced.)
Thou only dost remain on whom my mind
