Olga
Am I a girl or devil? Have I done
A glorious deed, or an accursed one?
Ivan. I have told you—you were just a pretty girl,
Till our cause turned you to a heroine.
And, if your youthful graces save you not,
You go all dressed in splendid innocence
To that last scene that fixes you, a star,
To shine through all the ages. Though you struck not
Th' immortal stroke, the glory is your own.
Olga. But I must tell you something that you know not,
That I myself knew not until that moment.
I loved him.
Ivan.All the nobler was your deed.
Olga. I love him still, and I shall die of it.
Ivan. Nay, die for something better—keep your last
Heart-beat for that brave brotherhood who dared,
And did, and suffer with us. We are together
In one same skiff, bound to the shores of Styx.
Think too of poor Dimitri—he's no tyrant.
Olga. For five long years the Czar was my girl's dream,
My fancy's idol, till Dimitri kindled
Another flame—not love but hatred—ob,
What have you all done to me, you, so strangely
A glorious deed, or an accursed one?
Ivan. I have told you—you were just a pretty girl,
Till our cause turned you to a heroine.
And, if your youthful graces save you not,
You go all dressed in splendid innocence
To that last scene that fixes you, a star,
To shine through all the ages. Though you struck not
Th' immortal stroke, the glory is your own.
Olga. But I must tell you something that you know not,
That I myself knew not until that moment.
I loved him.
Ivan.All the nobler was your deed.
Olga. I love him still, and I shall die of it.
Ivan. Nay, die for something better—keep your last
Heart-beat for that brave brotherhood who dared,
And did, and suffer with us. We are together
In one same skiff, bound to the shores of Styx.
Think too of poor Dimitri—he's no tyrant.
Olga. For five long years the Czar was my girl's dream,
My fancy's idol, till Dimitri kindled
Another flame—not love but hatred—ob,
What have you all done to me, you, so strangely
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