breaking them.

_The Nun_--To what art thou now pledged?

_Sigurd_--Pledged to the blind king I took from the cloister; pledged to
the men I have led hither.

_The Nun_--And these pledges thou shalt redeem--how?

_Sigurd_--By fighting and falling at their head.

_The Nun [springs to her feet. Sigurd also rises_.]--No! No! No! Shall I
now, after a lifetime of sorrow, behold thy death?

_Sigurd_--Yes, mother. The Lord of life and death will have it so.

_The Nun_--Ah! what sufferings a moment's sin may bring! [_She falls
upon his breast, then sinks, with outstretched arms_.] O my son,
spare me!

_Sigurd_--Do not tempt me, mother!

_The Nun_--Hast thou taken thought of what may follow? Hast thou thought
of capture, of mutilation?

_Sigurd_--I have some hymns left me from childhood. I can sing them.

_The Nun_--But I--thy mother--spare me!

_Sigurd_--Make not to me this hour more bitter than death itself.