Obrazy na stronie
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Enter a PEASANT and presents a letter to VALDEZ. VALDEZ (reading it).

"He dares not venture hither!" Why what can this mean?

"Lest the Familiars of the Inquisition,

That watch around my gates, should intercept him;
But he conjures me, that without delay

I hasten to him-for my own sake entreats me
To guard from danger him I hold imprison'd—
He will reveal a secret, the joy of which

Will even outweigh the sorrow."-Why what can this be?

Perchance it is some Moorish stratagem,
To have in me a hostage for his safety.

Nay, that they dare not? Ho! collect my servants!
I will go thither-let them arm themselves.
[Exit VALDEZ.

TERESA (alone).

The moon is high in heaven, and all is hush'd.
Yet, anxious listener! I have seem'd to hear
A low dead thunder mutter through the night,
As 't were a giant angry in his sleep.

O Alvar! Alvar! that they could return,
Those blessed days that imitated heaven,
When we two wont to walk at even-tide;
When we saw naught but beauty; when we heard
The voice of that Almighty One who loved us
In every gale that breathed, and wave that mur-
mur'd!

O we have listen'd, even till high-wrought pleasure
Hath half assumed the countenance of grief,
And the deep sigh seem'd to heave up a weight
Of bliss, that press'd too heavy on the heart.

[A pause.

To float for ever with a careless course,
And think myself the only being alive!

My children!-Isidore's children!-Son of Valdez,
This hath new-strung mine arm. Thou coward tyrant!
To stupify a woman's heart with anguish,
Till she forgot even that she was a mother!
[She fixes her eye on the earth. Then drop in one after
another, from different parts of the stage, a con.
siderable number of Morescoes, all in Moorish gar
ments and Moorish armor. They form a circle at
a distance round ALHADRA, and remain silent till
the second in command, NAOMI, enters, distinguished
by his dress and armor, and by the silent obeisance
paid to him on his entrance by the other Moors.

NAOMI.

Woman! may Alla and the Prophet bless thee!
We have obey'd thy call. Where is our chief?
And why didst thou enjoin these Moorish garments!
ALHADRA (raising her eyes, and looking round on the
circle).

Warriors of Mahomet! faithful in the battle!
My countrymen! Come ye prepared to work
An honorable deed? And would ye work it
In the slave's garb? Curse on those Christian robes!
They are spell-blasted and whoever wears them,
His arm shrinks wither'd, his heart melts away,
And his bones soften.

NAOMI.

Where is Isidore ?

ALHADRA (in a deep low voice).

This night I went from forth my house, and left
His children all asleep: and he was living!
And I return'd and found them still asleep,
But he had perish'd-

ALL THE MORESCOES.

And this majestic Moor, seems he not one
Who oft and long communing with my Alvar
Hath drunk in kindred lustre from his presence,
And guides me to him with reflected light?
What if in yon dark dungeon coward Treachery
Be groping for him with envenom'd poniard-
Hence, womanish fears, traitors to love and duty-Sleep on, poor babes! not one of you doth know

I'll free him.

[Exit TERESA.

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Yon hanging woods, that touch'd by autumn seem
As they were blossoming hues of fire and gold;
The flower-like woods, most lovely in decay,
The many clouds, the sea, the rock, the sands,
Lie in the silent moonshine: and the owl,
(Strange! very strange!) the screech-owl only wakes!
Sole voice, sole eye of all this world of beauty!
Unless, perhaps, she sing her screeching song
To a herd of wolves, that skulk athirst for blood.
Why such a thing am I?-Where are these men?
I need the sympathy of human faces,
To beat away this deep contempt for all things,
Which quenches my revenge. Oh! would to Alla,
The raven, or the sea-mew, were appointed
To bring me food! or rather that my soul
Could drink in life from the universal air!
It were a lot divine in some small skiff
Along some Ocean's boundless solitude,

Perish'd?

ALHADRA.

He had perish'd!

That he is fatherless-a desolate orphan!
Why should we wake them? can an infant's arm
Revenge his murder?

ONE MORESCOE (to another).

Did she say his murder?

NAOMI.

Murder? Not murder'd?

ALHADRA.

Murder'd by a Christian!
[They all at once draw their sabres
ALHADRA (to NAOMI, who advances from the circle).
Brother of Zagri! fling away thy sword;
This is thy chieftain's! [He steps forward to take il
Dost thou dare receive it?

For I have sworn by Alla and the Prophet,
No tear shall dim these eyes, this woman's heart
Shall heave no groan, till I have seen that sword
Wet with the life-blood of the son of Valdez!

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⚫ I crept into the cavernTwas dark and very silent

[Then wildly. What saidst thou? No! no! I did not dare call, Isidore, Lest I should hear no answer! A brief while, Belike, I lost all thought and memory. Of that for which I came! After that pause, O Heaven! I heard a groan, and follow'd it: And yet another groan, which guided me Into a strange recess-and there was light, A hideous light! his torch lay on the ground; Its flame burnt dimly o'er a chasm's brink: I spake; and whilst I spake, a feeble groan Came from that chasm! it was his last! his deathgroan!

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I look'd far down the pitMy sight was bounded by a jutting fragment: And it was stain'd with blood. Then first I shriek'd, My eye-balls burnt, my brain grew hot as fire, And all the hanging drops of the wet roof Turn'd into blood-I saw them turn to blood! And I was leaping wildly down the chasm, When on the farther brink I saw his sword, And it said, Vengeance!-Curses on my tongue! The moon hath moved in Heaven, and I am here, And he hath not had vengeance! Isidore! Spirit of Isidore! thy murderer lives! Away! away!

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This is the process of our love and wisdom
To each poor brother who offends against us-
Most innocent, perhaps and what if guilty?
Is this the only cure? Merciful God!
Each pore and natural outlet shrivell'd up,
By ignorance and parching poverty,

His energies roll back upon his heart,

And stagnate and corrupt, till, changed to poison, They break out on him, like a lothesome plaguespot!

Then we call in our pamper'd mountebanks:

And this is their best cure! uncomforted
And savage faces, at the clanking hour,
And friendless solitude, groaning and tears,

Seen through the steam and vapors of his dungeon
By the lamp's dismal twilight! So he lies
Circled with evil, till his very soul
Unmoulds its essence, hopelessly deform'd
By sights of evermore deformity!
With other ministrations thou, O Nature!
Healest thy wandering and distemper'd child:
Thou pourest on him thy soft influences,

Thy sunny hues, fair forms, and breathing sweets;
Thy melodies of words, and winds, and waters!
Till he relent, and can no more endure

To be a jarring and a dissonant thing
Amid this general dance and minstrelsy;
But, bursting into tears, wins back his way,
His angry spirit heal'd and harmonized
By the benignant touch of love and beauty.
I am chill and weary! Yon rude bench of stone,
In that dark angle, the sole resting-place!
But the self-approving mind is its own light,
And life's best warmth still radiates from the heart
Where Love sits brooding, and an honest purpose.
[Retires out of sight.

Enter TERESA with a Taper.

TERESA.

It has chill'd my very life-my own voice scares me !
Yet when I hear it not, I seem to lose
The substance of my being-my strongest grasp
Sends inwards but weak witness that I am.

I seek to cheat the echo.-How the half sounds
Blend with this strangled light! Is he not here-
[Looking round.

O for one human face here-but to see
One human face here to sustain me.--Courage!
It is but my own fear! The life within me,
It sinks and wavers like this cone of flame,
Beyond which I scarce dare look on ward! Oh!
[Shuddering.

If I faint! If this inhuman den should be
At once my death-bed and my burial vault!
[Faintly screams as ALVAR emerges from the recess.
ALVAR (rushes towards her, and catches her as she
is falling).

O gracious Heaven! it is, it is Teresa!
I shall reveal myself? The sudden shock
Of rapture will blow out this spark of life,
And Joy complete what Terror has begun.
O ye impetuous beatings here, be still!
Teresa, best beloved! pale, pale, and cold!
Her pulse doth flutter! Teresa! my Teresa!

TERESA (recovering, looks round wildly).

I heard a voice; but often in my dreams

I hear that voice! and wake and try-and try

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TERESA (retires from him, and feebly supports herself O that my joy could spread its sunshine round thee!

against a pillar of the dungeon).

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Ha! speak on!

ALVAR.

Beloved Teresa!

It told but half the truth. O let this portrait
Tell all-that Alvar lives-that he is here!
Thy much deceived but ever faithful Alvar.

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Hail, potent wizard! in my gayer mood

I pour'd forth a libation to old Pluto,
And as I brimm'd the bowl, I thought on thee.
Thou hast conspired against my life and honor,
Hast trick'd me foully; yet I hate thee not.
Why should I hate thee? this same world of ours,
'Tis but a pool amid a storm of rain,
And we the air-bladders that course up and down,
And joust and tilt in merry tournament;
And when one bubble runs foul of another,
[Waving his hand to ALVAR

The weaker needs must break.

ALVAR..

I see thy heart!
There is a frightful glitter in thine eye
Which doth betray thee. Inly-tortured man!
This is the revelry of a drunken anguish,
Which fain would scoff away the pang of guilt,
And quell each human feeling.

ORDONIO.

Feeling! feeling!
The death of a man-the breaking of a bubble-
'Tis true I cannot sob for such misfortunes;
But faintness, cold and hunger-curses on me
If willingly I e'er inflicted them!

Come, take the beverage; this chill place demands it.
[ORDONIO proffers the goblet.

Yon insect on the wall,

ALVAR.

Which moves this way and that its hundred limbs,
Were it a toy of mere mechanic craft,

It were an infinitely curious thing!

But it has life, Ordonio! life, enjoyment!

And by the power of its miraculous will

Wields all the complex movements of its frame

[Takes her portrait from his neck, and gives it her. Unerringly to pleasurable ends!

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Saw I that insect on this goblet's brim,

I would remove it with an anxious pity!

ORDONIO.

What meanest thou?

ALVAR.

There's poison in the wine.

ORDONIO.

Thou hast guess'd right; there's poison in the wine.
There's poison in 't-which of us two shall drink it?
For one of us must die!

ALVAR.

Whom dost thou think me?

ORDONIO.

The accomplice and sworn friend of Isidore.

ALVAR.

I know him not.

How sweet and musical the name of Alvar!
Then, then, Ordonio, he was dear to thee,
And thou wert dear to him; Heaven only knows
How very dear thou wert! Why didst thou hate him?

And yet methinks I have heard the name but lately. O heaven! how he would fall upon thy neck,
And weep forgiveness!

Means he the husband of the Moorish woman?
Isidore? Isidore?

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ORDONIO.

Spirit of the dead! Methinks I know thee! ha! my brain turns wild At its own dreams!-off-off, fantastic shadow!

ALVAR.

I fain would tell thee what I am! but dare not!

ORDONIO.

Cheat! villain! traitor! whatsoever thou be-
I fear thee, man!

TERESA (rushing out and falling on ALVAR's neck).
Ordonio! 'tis thy brother.

[ORDONIO with frantic wildness runs upon ALVAR
with his sword. TERESA flings herself on
ORDONIO and arrests his arm.
Stop, madman, stop.

ALVAR.

Does then this thin disguise impenetrably
Hide Alvar from thee? Toil and painful wounds
And long imprisonment in unwholesome dungeons,
Have marr'd perhaps all trait and lineament
My anguish for thy guilt!
Of what I was! But chiefly, chiefly, brother,

Ordonio-Brother!
Nay, nay, thou shalt embrace me.
ORDONIO (drawing back and gazing at ALVAR with a
countenance of at once awe and terror).
Touch me not!

Touch not pollution, Alvar! I will die.
[He attempts to fall on his sword: ALVAR and TERESA
prevent him.

ALVAR.

We will find means to save your honor. Live,
Oh live, Ordonio! for our father's sake!
Spare his gray hairs!

TERESA.

And you may yet be happy.

ORDONIO.

O horror! not a thousand years in heaven
Could recompose this miserable heart,
Or make it capable of one brief joy!"
Live! Live! Why yes! 't were well to live with you:
For is it fit a villain should be proud?
My brother! I will kneel to you, my brother!

[Kneeling. Forgive me, Alvar!-Curse me with forgiveness!

ALVAR.

Call back thy soul, Ordonio, and look round thee:
Now is the time for greatness! Think that Heaven-

TERESA.

O mark his eye! he hears not what you say.
ORDONIO (pointing at the vacancy).
Yes, mark his eye! there's fascination in it!
Thou saidst thou didst not know him-That is he!
He comes upon me!

ALVAR.

Heal, O heal him, Heaven!
ORDONIO.

Nearer and nearer! and I cannot stir!
Will no one hear these stifled groans, and wake me!

He would have died to save me, and I kill'd him-She hath avenged the blood of Isidore!
A husband and a father!-

Drinks up his spirits!

TERESA.

Some secret poison

ORDONIO (fiercely recollecting himself).
Let the eternal Justice

Prepare my punishment in the obscure world-
I will not bear to live-to live-O agony!
And be myself alone my own sore torment!
[The doors of the dungeon are broken open, and in
rush ALHADRA, and the band of MORESCOES.

Seize first that man!

ALHADRA.

I stood in silence like a slave before her,
That I might taste the wormwood and the gall,
And satiate this self-accusing heart

With bitterer agonies than death can give.
Forgive me, Alvar!

Oh! couldst thou forget me! [Dies. [ALVAR and TERESA bend over the body of ORDONIO. ALHADRA (to the Moors).

I thank thee, Heaven! thou hast ordain'd it wisely,
That still extremes bring their own cure. That point
In misery, which makes the oppressed Man
Regardless of his own life, makes him too
Lord of the Oppressor's-Knew I a hundred men
Despairing, but not palsied by despair,

[ALVAR presses onward to defend ORDONIO. This arm should shake the Kingdoms of the World;

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ORDONIO.

Off, ruffians! I have flung away my sword.
Woman, my life is thine! to thee I give it!
Off! he that touches me with his hand of flesh,
I'll rend his limbs asunder! I have strength
With this bare arm to scatter you like ashes.

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Yes, I murder'd him most foully.

ALVAR and TERESA.

ALHADRA.

Why didst thou leave his children?
Demon, thou shouldst have sent thy dogs of hell
To lap their blood! Then, then I might have harden'd
My soul in misery, and have had comfort.

I would have stood far off, quiet though dark,
And bade the race of men raise up a mourning
For a deep horror of desolation,

Too great to be one soul's particular lot!
Brother of Zagri! let me lean upon thee.

[Struggling to suppress her feelings.
The time is not yet come for woman's anguish.
I have not seen his blood-Within an hour
Those little ones will crowd around and ask me,
Where is our father? I shall curse thee then!

Wert thou in heaven, my curse would pluck thee

thence!

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ALVAR (while with TERESA supporting ORDONIO).

Arm of avenging Heaven,

Thou hast snatch'd from me my most cherish'd hope.
But go! my word was pledged to thee.

ORDONIO.

Away!

The deep foundations of iniquity

Should sink away, earth groaning from beneath them;
The strong-holds of the cruel men should fall,
Their Temples and their mountainous Towers should

Till Desolation seem'd a beautiful thing,

And all that were, and had the Spirit of Life,
Sang a new song to her who had gone forth,
Conquering and still to conquer!

[ALHADRA hurries off with the Moors; the stage fills
with armed Peasants and Servants, ZULIMEZ
and VALDEZ at their head. VALDEZ rushes into
ALVAR's arms.

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Were ominous. In these strange dread events
Delights so full, if unalloy'd with grief,
Just Heaven instructs us with an awful voice,
That Conscience rules us e'en against our choice.
Our inward monitress to guide or warn,
If listen'd to; but if repell'd with scorn,
At length as dire Remorse, she reappears,
Works in our guilty hopes, and selfish fears!
Still bids, Remember! and still cries, Too late!
And while she scares us, goads us to our fate.

APPENDIX.

Note 1, page 81, col. 1.

You are a painter.

The following lines I have preserved in this place, not so much as explanatory of the picture of the assassination, as (if I may say so without disrespect

Brave not my father's rage! I thank thee! Thou-to the Public) to gratify my own feelings, the passage [Then turning his eyes languidly to ALVAR. being no mere fancy portrait; but a slight, yet not

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