dusky wings.

The fetters creak--and his ebon beak
Croaks to the close of the hollow sound;
And this is the tune, by the light of the Moon,
To which the Witches dance their round--
Merrily--merrily--cheerily--cheerily--
Merrily--merrily--speeds the ball: 30
The dead in their shrouds, and the Demons in clouds,
Flock to the Witches' Carnival.

_Abbot_. I fear thee not--hence--hence--
Avaunt thee, evil One!--help, ho! without there!

_Man_. Convey this man to the Shreckhorn--to its peak--
To its extremest peak--watch with him there
From now till sunrise; let him gaze, and know
He ne'er again will be so near to Heaven.
But harm him not; and, when the morrow breaks,
Set him down safe in his cell--away with him! 40

_Ash_. Had I not better bring his brethren too,
Convent and all, to bear him company?

_Man_. No, this will serve for the present. Take him up.

_Ash_. Come, Friar! now an exorcism or two,
And we shall fly the lighter.

ASHTAROTH _disappears with the_ ABBOT, _singing as follows:_--

A prodigal son, and a maid undone,[Sec.]
And a widow re-wedded within the year;
And a worldly monk, and a pregnant nun,
Are things which every day appear.

MANFRED _alone._

_Man_. Why would this fool break in on me, and force 50
My art to pranks fantastical?--no matter,
It was not of my seeking. My heart sickens,
And weighs a fixed foreboding on my soul.
But it is calm--calm as a sullen sea
After the hurricane; the winds are still,
But the cold waves swell high and heavily,
And there is danger in them. Such a rest
Is no repose. My life hath been a combat,
And every thought a wound, till I am scarred
In the immortal part of me.--What now?] 60

[*] "Raven-stone (Rabenstein), a translation of the German word for the
gibbet, which in Germany and Switzerland is permanent, and made of
stone." [Compare _Werner,_ act ii. sc. 2. Compare, too, Anster's
_Faust,_ 1883, p. 306.]

[Sec.]
_A prodigal son--and a pregnant nun, nun,_
_And a widow re-wedded within the year--_
_And a calf at grass--and a priest at mass._
_Are things which every day appear_.--[MS. erased.]

[155] {122}