Page 2832 - Shakespeare - Vol. 2

Like a strange soul upon the Stygian banks
Staying for waftage. O, be thou my Charon,
And give me swift transportance to those fields [10]
Where I may wallow in the lily-beds

Proposed for the deserver! O gentle Pandar,
From Cupid’s shoulder pluck his painted wings,
And fly with me to Cressid!

PANDARUS
Walk here i’th’orchard; I’ll bring her straight. [15]

Exit.

TROILUS

I am giddy; expectation whirls me round.
Th’imaginary relish is so sweet
That it enchants my sense. What will it be,
When that the watery palate tastes indeed

Love’s thrice-repurèd nectar? − death, I fear me, [20]
Swooning destruction, or some joy too fine,
Too subtle-potent, tuned too sharp in sweetness,
For the capacity of my ruder powers.

I fear it much; and I do fear besides
That I shall lose distinction in my joys, [25]
As doth a battle, when they charge on heaps
The enemy flying.

Enter Pandarus.

PANDARUS

She’s making her ready; she’ll come straight. You must be witty now She
does so blush, and fetches her wind so short, as if she were frayed with a
sprite. I’ll [30] fetch her. It is the prettiest villain; she fetches her breath as
short as a new-ta’en sparrow.

Exit.

TROILUS
Even such a passion doth embrace my bosom.
My heart beats thicker than a feverous pulse,