and look before he leaps; till now 390
He hath ta'en a jump i' the dark.

_Sieg._ But you consent?

_Ulr._ I did, and do.

_Sieg._ Then fix the day.

_Ulr._ Tis usual,
And, certes, courteous, to leave that to the lady.

_Sieg._ _I_ will engage for _her_.

_Ulr._ So will not _I_
For any woman: and as what I fix,
I fain would see unshaken, when she gives
Her answer, I'll give mine.

_Sieg._ But 'tis your office
To woo.

_Ulr._ Count, 'tis a marriage of your making,
So be it of your wooing; but to please you,
I will now pay my duty to my mother, 400
With whom, you know, the lady Ida is.--
What would you have? You have forbid my stirring
For manly sports beyond the castle walls,
And I obey; you bid me turn a chamberer,
To pick up gloves, and fans, and knitting-needles,
And list to songs and tunes, and watch for smiles,
And smile at pretty prattle, and look into
The eyes of feminine, as though they were
The stars receding early to our wish
Upon the dawn of a world-winning battle-- 410
What can a son or man do more? [_Exit_ ULRIC.

_Sieg._ (_solus_). Too much!--
Too much of duty, and too little love!
He pays me in the coin he owes me not:
For such hath been my wayward fate, I could not
Fulfil a parent's duties by his side
Till now; but love he owes me, for my thoughts
Ne'er left him, nor my eyes longed without tears
To see my child again,--and now I have found him!
But how! obedient, but with coldness; duteous
In my sight, but with carelessness; mysterious-- 420
Abstracted--distant--much given to long absence,
And where--none know--in league with the most riotous
Of our young nobles; though, to do him justice,
He never stoops down to their vulgar pleasures;
Yet there's some tie between them which I can not
Unravel. They look up to him--consult him--
Throng round him as a leader: but with me
He hath no confidence! Ah! can I hope it
After--what! doth my father's curse descend
Even to my child? Or is the Hungarian near 430
To shed more blood? or--Oh!