But broken is Mazeppa's sleep,

His gloomy soul finds no repose,

And in the silence of the night

His name is whispered. Starting up,

With frightened gaze he looks around,

And, trembling as beneath the fall

Of sharpened axe, before him sees

A silent form, with finger raised.

And there, with loose, dishevelled hair,

With bright and glittering, sunken eyes,

In garments torn, full pale and wan,

A moon-ray falling on her, stands...

"Or do I dream?... Marie!... Tis thou?"

MARIE.

Hush, hush, my darling! But just now,

Have father, mother, closed their eyes:

So, wait... or they may hear us... hush!

MAZEPPA.

Marie, ah poor Marie, I pray,

Recall thy thoughts! What dost thou here?

MARIE.

Listen the trick they have dared play,

The juggling trick they have devised!

Last night she came with warning words

That father had been done to death,

And secretly an old white head

She showed to me. Oh, righteous God!

Where can we fly from man's deceit?

For, think, the head she brought with her

Bore not the shape of human skull,

Was like a wolfs... You see, the kind

She is! With cheating lies like these

She thought to trick and gull her child:

Now, shame on her to torture me!

And why? That I might courage lack

With thee, my love, this night to flee: