THE STORY OF TWO LIVES.
I.—HIS LIFE.
[Scene—An English Park. Time—Evening.]
My long deep swoon is o'er—I dimly feel
These palsied senses wake; and now, the wheel
Of Time, so long fast-locked, revolves again,—
Again I live through all that past of pain:
Regret and longing, shame, resentment, pride,
Conscience—too long suppressed, too oft defied—
Unite to sting me; every writhing nerve
Thrills into torture, till my senses swerve
Perplexed and racked. Life founders in the shock;
The mast is down . . . the ship has struck a rock.
These palsied senses wake; and now, the wheel
Of Time, so long fast-locked, revolves again,—
Again I live through all that past of pain:
Regret and longing, shame, resentment, pride,
Conscience—too long suppressed, too oft defied—
Unite to sting me; every writhing nerve
Thrills into torture, till my senses swerve
Perplexed and racked. Life founders in the shock;
The mast is down . . . the ship has struck a rock.
