Drip ! drip ! drip ! drip !— in such a place as this It has nothing else to do but drip ! drip ! drip ! I wish it had not dripp 'd upon my torch . Faith ‘ twas a moving letter — very moving ! His life in danger — no place safe but this . 5 ‘ Twas his turn now to talk of gratitude ! And yet — but no ! there can n't be such a villain . It cannot be ! Thanks to that little cranny Which lets the moonlight in ! I 'll go and sit by it . To peep at a tree , or see a he-goat 's beard , 10 Or hear a cow or two breathe loud in their sleep , ‘ Twere better than this dreary noise of water-drops !returns after a minute 's elapse in an ecstasy of fear . A hellish pit ! O God — ‘ tis like my night-mair ! I was just in !— and those damn 'd fingers of ice Which clutch 'd my hair up ! Ha ! what 's that ? it moved ! 15 I swear , I saw a something moving there ! The moonshine came and went , like a flash of lightning . I swear , I saw it move ! You see that little cranny ? But first permit me , I walk 'd up to it , meaning to sit there . When I had reach 'd it within twenty paces —— Merciful Heaven ! Do go , my lord ! and look . 30 If every atom of a dead man 's flesh Should move , each one with a particular life , Yet all as cold as ever — ‘ twas just so ! Or if it drizzled needle-points of frost 35 Upon a feverish head made suddenly bald — OsorioWhy , Ferdinand ! I blush for thy cowardice . It would have startled any man , I grant thee . But such a panic . When a boy , my lord ! I could have sat whole hours beside that chasm , 40 Push 'd in huge stones and heard them thump and rattle Against its horrid sides ; and hung my head Low down , and listen 'd till the heavy fragments Sunk , with faint crash , in that still groaning well , Which never thirsty pilgrim blest , which never 45 A living thing came near ; unless , perchance , Some blind-worm battens on the ropy mould , Close at its edge . Call him that fears his fellow-men a coward . I fear not man . But this inhuman cavern 50 It were too bad a prison-house for goblins . Besides but true it is , My last night 's sleep was very sorely haunted By what had pass 'd between us in the morning . I saw you in a thousand hideous ways , 55 And doz 'd and started , doz 'd again and started . I do entreat your lordship to believe me , In my last dream —— I was in the act Of falling down that chasm , when Alhadra Waked me . She heard my heart beat ! Never , my lord ! But my eyes do not see it now more clearly Than in my dream I saw that very chasm . What is , my lord ? Except in self-defence . Something doth trouble you . How can I serve you ? By the life you gave me , 70 By all that makes that life of value to me , My wife , my babes , my honour , I swear to you , Name it , and I will toil to do the thing , If it be innocent ! But this , my lord ! Is not a place where you could perpetrate , 75 No , nor propose a wicked thing . The darkness Collects the guilt and crowds it round the heart . It must be innocent . Who ? when ? my lord . What ? he was mad ? Ah , poor wretch ! Madmen are mostly proud . I have a prattler three years old , my lord ! In truth he is my darling . As I went From forth my door , he made a moan in sleep — But I am talking idly — pray go on ! And what did this man ? I would , my lord , you were by my fireside ! I 'd listen to you with an eager eye , Tho ’ you began this cloudy tale at midnight . But I do listen — pray proceed , my lord ! He of whom you tell the tale — 115 Ah ! what of him , my lord ? A dark tale darkly finish 'd ! Nay , my lord ! 130 Tell what he did . Osorio That which his wisdom prompted . He made the traitor meet him in this cavern , And here he kill 'd the traitor . No !— the fool . He had not wit enough to be a traitor . Poor thick-eyed beetle ! not to have foreseen 135 That he , who gull 'd thee with a whimper 'd lie To murder his own brother , would not scruple To murder thee , if e'er his guilt grew jealous And he could steal upon thee in the dark ! O yes , my lord ! 140 I would have met him arm 'd , and scared the coward ! And all my little ones fatherless ! Die thou first .FerdinandStill I can strangle thee !