FOOTNOTES:

Ordonio.I have hurl'd him down the chasm! treason for treason.He dreamt of it: henceforward let him sleep,A dreamless sleep, from which no wife can wake him.170His dream too is made out—Now for his friend.[ExitOrdonio.

[859:1]18-20. CompareThis Lime-Tree Bower my Prison, ll. 17-20, p. 179. See note by J. D. Campbell,P. W., 1893, p. 651.

[860:1]38-9. These two lines uttered in an under-voice, and timidly, as anticipating Ordonio's sneer, and yet not able to disguise his own superstition. (Marginal Note to First Edition.)What trouble had I not, and at last almost fruitless, to teach De Camp the hurried under-voice with which Isidore should utter these two lines, as anticipating Ordonio's scorn, and yet unable to suppress his own superstition—and yet De Camp, spite of voice, person, and inappropriate protrusion of the chest, understood and realised his part better than all the rest—to the man of sense, I mean.MS. H.

[860:1]38-9. These two lines uttered in an under-voice, and timidly, as anticipating Ordonio's sneer, and yet not able to disguise his own superstition. (Marginal Note to First Edition.)

What trouble had I not, and at last almost fruitless, to teach De Camp the hurried under-voice with which Isidore should utter these two lines, as anticipating Ordonio's scorn, and yet unable to suppress his own superstition—and yet De Camp, spite of voice, person, and inappropriate protrusion of the chest, understood and realised his part better than all the rest—to the man of sense, I mean.MS. H.

[861:1]72-3. In theBiographia Literaria, 1817, ii. 73 Coleridge puts these lines into another shape:—The simplest and the most familiar thingsGain a strange power of spreading awe around them.See note by J. D. Campbell,P. W., 1893, p. 651.

[861:1]72-3. In theBiographia Literaria, 1817, ii. 73 Coleridge puts these lines into another shape:—

The simplest and the most familiar thingsGain a strange power of spreading awe around them.

See note by J. D. Campbell,P. W., 1893, p. 651.

After12[He goes . . . moonlight: returns after a minute's elapse, in an extasy of fear.Editions 1, 2, 3, 1829.

[13]pit]pitEditions 1, 2, 3, 1829.

pit]pitEditions 1, 2, 3, 1829.

[18]Ordonio (goes . . . returns, and with great scorn).Editions 1, 2, 3, 1829.

Ordonio (goes . . . returns, and with great scorn).Editions 1, 2, 3, 1829.

[20]Isidore (forcing a laugh faintly.)Editions 1, 2, 3, 1829.

Isidore (forcing a laugh faintly.)Editions 1, 2, 3, 1829.

[47]ever] eveEdition 1.

ever] eveEdition 1.

[49]Ordonio (interrupting him).Editions 1, 2, 3, 1829.

Ordonio (interrupting him).Editions 1, 2, 3, 1829.

[51]brave]braveEditions 1, 2, 3, 1829.

brave]braveEditions 1, 2, 3, 1829.

[60]battens] fattensEdition 1.

battens] fattensEdition 1.

[68-73]om. Edition 1.

om. Edition 1.

[71]afraid]afraidEditions 2, 3, 1829.

afraid]afraidEditions 2, 3, 1829.

[82]Ordonio (stands lost in thought, then after a pause).Editions 1, 2, 3, 1829.is]isEditions 1, 2, 3, 1829.

Ordonio (stands lost in thought, then after a pause).Editions 1, 2, 3, 1829.

is]isEditions 1, 2, 3, 1829.

[97]It must be innocent.[Ordoniodarkly, and in the feeling of self-justification, tells what he conceives of his own character and actions, speaking of himself in the third person.Editions 1, 2, 3, 1829.

It must be innocent.

[Ordoniodarkly, and in the feeling of self-justification, tells what he conceives of his own character and actions, speaking of himself in the third person.

Editions 1, 2, 3, 1829.

[103]He? He] He?HeEditions 1, 2, 3, 1829.

He? He] He?HeEditions 1, 2, 3, 1829.

[124]this]hisEditions 1, 2, 3, 1829.

this]hisEditions 1, 2, 3, 1829.

[127]Well it was done![Then very wildly.Editions 1, 2, 3, 1829.

Well it was done![Then very wildly.

Editions 1, 2, 3, 1829.

[140]him . . . He]him . . . He,Editions 1, 2, 3, 1829.

him . . . He]him . . . He,Editions 1, 2, 3, 1829.

[155]thee]theeEditions 1, 2, 3, 1829.

thee]theeEditions 1, 2, 3, 1829.

After167[They fight . . . standing.(The rest of the stage-direction is here omitted.)Isid. (springing wildly towards Ordonio).Still I can strangle thee!Ord.Nay fool, stand off!I'll kill thee, but not so. Go fetch thy sword.[Isidorehurries into the recess with his torch,Ordoniofollows him . . . returns alone.Edition 1.

After167

[They fight . . . standing.(The rest of the stage-direction is here omitted.)Isid. (springing wildly towards Ordonio).Still I can strangle thee!Ord.Nay fool, stand off!I'll kill thee, but not so. Go fetch thy sword.

[They fight . . . standing.(The rest of the stage-direction is here omitted.)

Isid. (springing wildly towards Ordonio).Still I can strangle thee!

Ord.Nay fool, stand off!I'll kill thee, but not so. Go fetch thy sword.

[Isidorehurries into the recess with his torch,Ordoniofollows him . . . returns alone.

Edition 1.

[169]dreamt]dreamtEditions 1, 2, 3, 1829.

dreamt]dreamtEditions 1, 2, 3, 1829.

[171]dream]dreamEditions 1, 2, 3, 1829.

dream]dreamEditions 1, 2, 3, 1829.

The interior Court of a Saracenic or Gothic Castle, with the Iron Gate of a Dungeon visible.

Teresa.Heart-chilling superstition! thou canst glazeEv'n pity's eye with her own frozen tear.In vain I urge the tortures that await him;[865]Even Selma, reverend guardian of my childhood,My second mother, shuts her heart against me!5Well, I have won from her what most importsThe present need, this secret of the dungeonKnown only to herself.—A Moor! a Sorcerer!No, I have faith, that Nature ne'er permittedBaseness to wear a form so noble. True,10I doubt not that Ordonio had suborned himTo act some part in some unholy fraud;As little doubt, that for some unknown purposeHe hath baffled his suborner, terror-struck him,And that Ordonio meditates revenge!15But my resolve is fixed! myself will rescue him,And learn if haply he knew aught of Alvar.

EnterValdez.

Valdez.Still sad?—and gazing at the massive doorOf that fell dungeon which thou ne'er had'st sight of,Save what, perchance, thy infant fancy shap'd it20When the nurse still'd thy cries with unmeant threats.Now by my faith, girl! this same wizard haunts thee!A stately man, and eloquent and tender—Who then need wonder if a lady sighsEven at the thought of what these stern Dominicans—25Teresa.The horror of their ghastly punishmentsDoth so o'ertop the height of all compassion,That I should feel too little for mine enemy,If it were possible I could feel more,Even though the dearest inmates of our household30Were doom'd to suffer them. That such things are—Valdez.Hush, thoughtless woman!Teresa.Nay, it wakes within meMore than a woman's spirit.Valdez.No more of this—What if Monviedro or his creatures hear us!I dare not listen to you.Teresa.My honoured lord,35These were my Alvar's lessons, and whene'erI bend me o'er his portrait, I repeat them,As if to give a voice to the mute image.

Teresa.The horror of their ghastly punishmentsDoth so o'ertop the height of all compassion,That I should feel too little for mine enemy,If it were possible I could feel more,Even though the dearest inmates of our household30Were doom'd to suffer them. That such things are—

Valdez.Hush, thoughtless woman!

Teresa.Nay, it wakes within meMore than a woman's spirit.

Valdez.No more of this—What if Monviedro or his creatures hear us!I dare not listen to you.

Teresa.My honoured lord,35These were my Alvar's lessons, and whene'erI bend me o'er his portrait, I repeat them,As if to give a voice to the mute image.

Valdez.——We have mourned for Alvar.Of his sad fate there now remains no doubt.40Have I no other son?Teresa.Speak not of him!That low imposture! That mysterious picture!If this be madness, must I wed a madman?And if not madness, there is mystery,And guilt doth lurk behind it.Valdez.Is this well?45Teresa.Yes, it is truth: saw you his countenance?How rage, remorse, and scorn, and stupid fearDisplaced each other with swift interchanges?O that I had indeed the sorcerer's power.——I would call up before thine eyes the image50Of my betrothed Alvar, of thy first-born![866:1]His own fair countenance, his kingly forehead,His tender smiles, love's day-dawn on his lips!That spiritual and almost heavenly lightIn his commanding eye—his mien heroic,55Virtue's own native heraldry! to manGenial, and pleasant to his guardian angel.Whene'er he gladden'd, how the gladness spreadWide round him! and when oft with swelling tears,Flash'd through by indignation, he bewail'd60The wrongs of Belgium's martyr'd patriots,Oh, what a grief was there—for joy to envy,Or gaze upon enamour'd!O my father!Recall that morning when we knelt together,And thou didst bless our loves! O even now,65Even now, my sire! to thy mind's eye present him,As at that moment he rose up before thee,Stately, with beaming look! Place, place beside himOrdonio's dark perturbéd countenance!Then bid me (Oh thou could'st not) bid me turn70From him, the joy, the triumph of our kind!To take in exchange that brooding man, who neverLifts up his eye from the earth, unless to scowl.Valdez.Ungrateful woman! I have tried to stifleAn old man's passion! was it not enough,75That thou hast made my son a restless man,[867]Banish'd his health, and half unhing'd his reason;But that thou wilt insult him with suspicion?And toil to blast his honour? I am old,A comfortless old man!Teresa.O grief! to hear80Hateful entreaties from a voice we love!

Valdez.——We have mourned for Alvar.Of his sad fate there now remains no doubt.40Have I no other son?

Teresa.Speak not of him!That low imposture! That mysterious picture!If this be madness, must I wed a madman?And if not madness, there is mystery,And guilt doth lurk behind it.

Valdez.Is this well?45

Teresa.Yes, it is truth: saw you his countenance?How rage, remorse, and scorn, and stupid fearDisplaced each other with swift interchanges?O that I had indeed the sorcerer's power.——I would call up before thine eyes the image50Of my betrothed Alvar, of thy first-born![866:1]His own fair countenance, his kingly forehead,His tender smiles, love's day-dawn on his lips!That spiritual and almost heavenly lightIn his commanding eye—his mien heroic,55Virtue's own native heraldry! to manGenial, and pleasant to his guardian angel.Whene'er he gladden'd, how the gladness spreadWide round him! and when oft with swelling tears,Flash'd through by indignation, he bewail'd60The wrongs of Belgium's martyr'd patriots,Oh, what a grief was there—for joy to envy,Or gaze upon enamour'd!O my father!Recall that morning when we knelt together,And thou didst bless our loves! O even now,65Even now, my sire! to thy mind's eye present him,As at that moment he rose up before thee,Stately, with beaming look! Place, place beside himOrdonio's dark perturbéd countenance!Then bid me (Oh thou could'st not) bid me turn70From him, the joy, the triumph of our kind!To take in exchange that brooding man, who neverLifts up his eye from the earth, unless to scowl.

Valdez.Ungrateful woman! I have tried to stifleAn old man's passion! was it not enough,75That thou hast made my son a restless man,[867]Banish'd his health, and half unhing'd his reason;But that thou wilt insult him with suspicion?And toil to blast his honour? I am old,A comfortless old man!

Teresa.O grief! to hear80Hateful entreaties from a voice we love!

Enter aPeasantand presents a letter toValdez.

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 delay85I hasten to him—for my own sake entreats meTo guard from danger him I hold imprison'd—He will reveal a secret, the joy of whichWill even outweigh the sorrow.'—Why what can this be?Perchance it is some Moorish stratagem,90To 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.[ExitValdez.Teresa (alone).The moon is high in heaven, and all is hush'd.Yet anxious listener! I have seem'd to hear95A low dead thunder mutter thro' the night,As 'twere 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 eventide;100When we saw nought but beauty; when we heardThe voice of that Almighty One who loved usIn every gale that breathed, and wave that murmur'd!O we have listen'd, even till high-wrought pleasureHath half assumed the countenance of grief,105And the deep sigh seemed to heave up a weightOf bliss, that pressed too heavy on the heart.[A pause.And this majestic Moor, seems he not oneWho oft and long communing with my AlvarHath drunk in kindred lustre from his presence,110And guides me to him with reflected light?What if in yon dark dungeon coward treacheryBe groping for him with envenomed poniard—Hence, womanish fears, traitors to love and duty—I'll free him.[ExitTeresa.

Teresa (alone).The moon is high in heaven, and all is hush'd.Yet anxious listener! I have seem'd to hear95A low dead thunder mutter thro' the night,As 'twere 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 eventide;100When we saw nought but beauty; when we heardThe voice of that Almighty One who loved usIn every gale that breathed, and wave that murmur'd!O we have listen'd, even till high-wrought pleasureHath half assumed the countenance of grief,105And the deep sigh seemed to heave up a weightOf bliss, that pressed too heavy on the heart.[A pause.And this majestic Moor, seems he not oneWho oft and long communing with my AlvarHath drunk in kindred lustre from his presence,110And guides me to him with reflected light?What if in yon dark dungeon coward treacheryBe groping for him with envenomed poniard—Hence, womanish fears, traitors to love and duty—I'll free him.[ExitTeresa.

[866:1]52-63. Compare Fragment No.39, p. 1005.

Before1stage-directionom.Scene II is headed 'The Sea-Coast'Edition 1.

The interior . . . of Dungeon visible.Editions 2, 3, 1829.

[17]know] knewEditions 1, 2, 3, 1829.

know] knewEditions 1, 2, 3, 1829.

[18]Valdez.Still sad, Teresa! This same wizard haunts youEdition 1.

Valdez.Still sad, Teresa! This same wizard haunts youEdition 1.

[19-22]om. Edition 1.

om. Edition 1.

After23[With a sneer.Editions 1, 2, 3, 1829.

[26]Teresa (with solemn indignation).Editions 1, 2, 3, 1829.

Teresa (with solemn indignation).Editions 1, 2, 3, 1829.

[33]woman's] womanEdition 1.

woman's] womanEdition 1.

[62]thereEditions 2, 3, 1829.

thereEditions 2, 3, 1829.

[80, 81]Teresa.O Grief . . . we love!om. Edition 1.

Teresa.O Grief . . . we love!om. Edition 1.

The mountains by moonlight.Alhadraalone in a Moorish dress.

Alhadra.Yon hanging woods, that touch'd by autumnseemAs they were blossoming hues of fire and goldThe flower-like woods, most lovely in decay,The many clouds, the sea, the rock, the sands.Lie in the silent moonshine: and the owl,5(Strange! very strange!) the screech-owl only wakes!Sole voice, sole eye of all this world of beauty!Unless, perhaps, she sing her screeching songTo a herd of wolves, that skulk athirst for blood.Why such a thing am I?—Where are these men?10I need the sympathy of human faces,To beat away this deep contempt for all things,Which quenches my revenge. O! would to Alla,The raven, or the sea-mew, were appointedTo bring me food! or rather that my soul15Could drink in life from the universal air!It were a lot divine in some small skiffAlong some Ocean's boundless solitude,To float for ever with a careless course.And think myself the only being alive!20My children!—Isidore's children!—Son of Valdez,This hath new strung mine arm. Thou coward tyrant!To stupify a woman's heart with anguishTill she forgot—even that she was a mother!

My children!—Isidore's children!—Son of Valdez,This hath new strung mine arm. Thou coward tyrant!To stupify a woman's heart with anguishTill 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 considerable number ofMorescoes,all in Moorish garments and Moorish armour. They form a circle at a distance roundAlhadra, and remain silent tillNaomienters.

Naomi.Woman! May Alla and the Prophet bless thee!25We have obeyed 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 workAn honourable deed? And would ye work it30In 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.This night I went from forth my house, and left35His children all asleep: and he was living!And I return'd and found them still asleep,But he had perished——All Morescoes.Perished?Alhadra.He had perished!Sleep on, poor babes! not one of you doth knowThat he is fatherless—a desolate orphan!40Why should we wake them? Can an infant's armRevenge his murder?One Moresco (to another).Did she say his murder?Naomi.Murder? Not murdered?Alhadra.Murdered by a Christian!

Naomi.Woman! May Alla and the Prophet bless thee!25We have obeyed 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 workAn honourable deed? And would ye work it30In 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.This night I went from forth my house, and left35His children all asleep: and he was living!And I return'd and found them still asleep,But he had perished——

All Morescoes.Perished?

Alhadra.He had perished!Sleep on, poor babes! not one of you doth knowThat he is fatherless—a desolate orphan!40Why should we wake them? Can an infant's armRevenge his murder?

One Moresco (to another).Did she say his murder?

Naomi.Murder? Not murdered?

Alhadra.Murdered 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 it.Dost thou dare receive it?45For I have sworn by Alla and the Prophet,No tear shall dim these eyes, this woman's heartShall heave no groan, till I have seen that swordWet with the life-blood of the son of Valdez! [A pause.Ordonio was your chieftain's murderer!50Naomi.He dies, by Alla!All (kneeling).By Alla!Alhadra.This night your chieftain armed himself,And hurried from me. But I followed himAt distance, till I saw him enter—there!

Naomi.He dies, by Alla!

All (kneeling).By Alla!

Alhadra.This night your chieftain armed himself,And hurried from me. But I followed himAt distance, till I saw him enter—there!

Naomi.The cavern?Alhadra.Yes, the mouth of yonder cavern55After a while I saw the son of ValdezRush by with flaring torch; he likewise entered.There was another and a longer pause;And once, methought I heard the clash of swords!And soon the son of Valdez re-appeared:60He flung his torch towards the moon in sport,And seemed as he were mirthful! I stood listening,Impatient for the footsteps of my husband!Naomi.Thou called'st him?Alhadra.I crept into the cavern—'Twas dark and very silent.What said'st thou?65No! no! I did not dare call, Isidore,Lest I should hear no answer! A brief while,Belike, I lost all thought and memoryOf that for which I came! After that pause,O Heaven! I heard a groan, and followed it:70And yet another groan, which guided meInto 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 groan75Came from that chasm! it was his last! his death-groan!Naomi.Comfort her, Alla!Alhadra.I stood in unimaginable tranceAnd agony that cannot be remembered,Listening with horrid hope to hear a groan!80But I had heard his last: my husband's death-groan!Naomi.Haste! let us onward.Alhadra.I looked far down the pit—My sight was bounded by a jutting fragment:And it was stained with blood. Then first I shrieked,My eye-balls burnt, my brain grew hot as fire,85And all the hanging drops of the wet roofTurned 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!90[871]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!All.Away! away!

Naomi.The cavern?

Alhadra.Yes, the mouth of yonder cavern55After a while I saw the son of ValdezRush by with flaring torch; he likewise entered.There was another and a longer pause;And once, methought I heard the clash of swords!And soon the son of Valdez re-appeared:60He flung his torch towards the moon in sport,And seemed as he were mirthful! I stood listening,Impatient for the footsteps of my husband!

Naomi.Thou called'st him?

Alhadra.I crept into the cavern—'Twas dark and very silent.What said'st thou?65No! no! I did not dare call, Isidore,Lest I should hear no answer! A brief while,Belike, I lost all thought and memoryOf that for which I came! After that pause,O Heaven! I heard a groan, and followed it:70And yet another groan, which guided meInto 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 groan75Came from that chasm! it was his last! his death-groan!

Naomi.Comfort her, Alla!

Alhadra.I stood in unimaginable tranceAnd agony that cannot be remembered,Listening with horrid hope to hear a groan!80But I had heard his last: my husband's death-groan!

Naomi.Haste! let us onward.

Alhadra.I looked far down the pit—My sight was bounded by a jutting fragment:And it was stained with blood. Then first I shrieked,My eye-balls burnt, my brain grew hot as fire,85And all the hanging drops of the wet roofTurned 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!90[871]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!

All.Away! away!

[She rushes off, all following her.

Scene III.1-24om. Edition 1.

Before25The mountains by moonlight.Alhadraalone in a Moorish dress; her eye fixed on the earth. Then drop in one after another, from different parts of the stage, a considerable number of Morescoes, all in Moorish garments. They form a circle at a distance roundAlhadra.A Moresco,Naomi, advances from out the circle.Naomi.Woman! may Alla, &c.Edition 1.

Before25

The mountains by moonlight.Alhadraalone in a Moorish dress; her eye fixed on the earth. Then drop in one after another, from different parts of the stage, a considerable number of Morescoes, all in Moorish garments. They form a circle at a distance roundAlhadra.

A Moresco,Naomi, advances from out the circle.

Naomi.Woman! may Alla, &c.

Edition 1.

Stage-directionafter24[She fixes . . . and remain silent till the Second in Command,Naomi, enters, distinguished by his dress and armour, and by the silent obeisance paid to him on his entrance by the otherMoors.Editions 2, 3, 1829.

Before28Alhadra (lifting up eyes, and looking, &c.).Edition 1.

[35]Alhadra (in a deep low voice).Editions 1, 2, 3, 1829.

Alhadra (in a deep low voice).Editions 1, 2, 3, 1829.

[54]thereEditions 1, 2, 3, 1829.

thereEditions 1, 2, 3, 1829.

[65]'Twas dark and very silent.[Then wildly.Editions 1, 2, 3, 1829.

'Twas dark and very silent.[Then wildly.

Editions 1, 2, 3, 1829.

[72]lightEditions 1, 2, 3, 1829.

lightEditions 1, 2, 3, 1829.

After77All.Haste, let us seek the murderer.Edition 1.

A Dungeon.

Alvar(alone) rises slowly from a bed of reeds.

Alvar.And this place my forefathers made for man!This is the process of our love and wisdomTo each poor brother who offends against us—Most innocent, perhaps—and what if guilty?Is this the only cure? Merciful God!5Each pore and natural outlet shrivelled upBy ignorance and parching poverty,His energies roll back upon his heart,And stagnate and corrupt, till, chang'd to poison,They break out on him, like a loathsome plague-spot!10Then we call in our pampered mountebanks:And this is their best cure! uncomfortedAnd friendless solitude, groaning and tears,And savage faces, at the clanking hour,Seen through the steam and vapours of his dungeon15By the lamp's dismal twilight! So he liesCircled with evil, till his very soulUnmoulds its essence, hopelessly deformedBy sights of evermore deformity!With other ministrations thou, O Nature!20Healest thy wandering and distempered child:Thou pourest on him thy soft influences,Thy sunny hues, fair forms, and breathing sweets;Thy melodies of woods, and winds, and waters!Till he relent, and can no more endure25To be a jarring and a dissonant thingAmid this general dance and minstrelsy;But, bursting into tears, wins back his way,[872]His angry spirit healed and harmonizedBy the benignant touch of love and beauty.30I 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 lightAnd life's best warmth still radiates from the heartWhere love sits brooding, and an honest purpose.35[Retires out of sight.

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 lightAnd life's best warmth still radiates from the heartWhere love sits brooding, and an honest purpose.35[Retires out of sight.

EnterTeresawith a taper.

Teresa.It has chilled my very life——my own voice scares me;Yet when I hear it not I seem to loseThe substance of my being—my strongest graspSends inwards but weak witness that I am.I seek to cheat the echo.—How the half sounds40Blend with this strangled light! Is he not here—[Looking round.O for one human face here—but to seeOne 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,45Beyond which I scarce dare look onward! Oh!If I faint? If this inhuman den should beAt once my death-bed and my burial vault?[Faintly screams asAlvaremerges from the recess.Alvar (rushes towards her, and catches her as she is falling).O gracious heaven! it is, it is Teresa!Shall I reveal myself? The sudden shock50Of 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!55Teresa (recovering).I heard a voice; but often in my dreamsI hear that voice! and wake and try—and try—To hear it waking! but I never could—And 'tis so now—even so! Well! he is dead—[873]Murdered perhaps! and I am faint, and feel60As if it were no painful thing to die!Alvar.Believe it not, sweet maid! Believe it not,Belovéd woman! 'Twas a low impostureFramed by a guilty wretch.Teresa.Ha! Who art thou?Alvar.Suborned by his brother—Teresa.Didst thou murder him?65And dost thou now repent? Poor troubled man,I do forgive thee, and may Heaven forgive thee!Alvar.Ordonio—he—Teresa.If thou didst murder him—His spirit ever at the throne of GodAsks mercy for thee: prays for mercy for thee,70With tears in Heaven!Alvar.Alvar was not murdered.Be calm! Be calm, sweet maid!Teresa.Nay, nay, but tell me![A pause.O 'tis lost again!This dull confuséd pain—[A pause.Mysterious man!Methinks I can not fear thee: for thine eye75Doth swim with love and pity—Well! Ordonio—Oh my foreboding heart! And he suborned thee,And thou didst spare his life? Blessings shower on thee,As many as the drops twice counted o'erIn the fond faithful heart of his Teresa!80Alvar.I can endure no more. The Moorish sorcererExists but in the stain upon his face.That picture—Teresa.Ha! speak on!Alvar.Beloved Teresa!It told but half the truth. O let this portrait[874]Tell all—that Alvar lives—that he is here!85Thy much deceived but ever faithful Alvar.[Takes her portrait from his neck, and gives it her.Teresa (receiving the portrait).The same—it is the same! Ah! Who art thou?Nay, I will call thee, Alvar![She falls on his neck.Alvar.O joy unutterable!But hark! a sound as of removing barsAt the dungeon's outer door. A brief, brief while90Conceal thyself, my love! It is Ordonio.For the honour of our race, for our dear father;O for himself too (he is still my brother)Let me recall him to his nobler nature,That he may wake as from a dream of murder!95O let me reconcile him to himself,Open the sacred source of penitent tears,And be once more his own beloved Alvar.Teresa.O my all virtuous love! I fear to leave theeWith that obdurate man.Alvar.Thou dost not leave me!100But a brief while retire into the darkness:O that my joy could spread its sunshine round thee!Teresa.The sound of thy voice shall be my music!Alvar! my Alvar! am I sure I hold thee?Is it no dream? thee in my arms, my Alvar![Exit.105

Alvar (rushes towards her, and catches her as she is falling).O gracious heaven! it is, it is Teresa!Shall I reveal myself? The sudden shock50Of 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!55

Teresa (recovering).I heard a voice; but often in my dreamsI hear that voice! and wake and try—and try—To hear it waking! but I never could—And 'tis so now—even so! Well! he is dead—[873]Murdered perhaps! and I am faint, and feel60As if it were no painful thing to die!

Alvar.Believe it not, sweet maid! Believe it not,Belovéd woman! 'Twas a low impostureFramed by a guilty wretch.

Teresa.Ha! Who art thou?

Alvar.Suborned by his brother—

Teresa.Didst thou murder him?65And dost thou now repent? Poor troubled man,I do forgive thee, and may Heaven forgive thee!

Alvar.Ordonio—he—

Teresa.If thou didst murder him—His spirit ever at the throne of GodAsks mercy for thee: prays for mercy for thee,70With tears in Heaven!

Alvar.Alvar was not murdered.Be calm! Be calm, sweet maid!

Teresa.Nay, nay, but tell me![A pause.O 'tis lost again!This dull confuséd pain—[A pause.Mysterious man!Methinks I can not fear thee: for thine eye75Doth swim with love and pity—Well! Ordonio—Oh my foreboding heart! And he suborned thee,And thou didst spare his life? Blessings shower on thee,As many as the drops twice counted o'erIn the fond faithful heart of his Teresa!80

Alvar.I can endure no more. The Moorish sorcererExists but in the stain upon his face.That picture—

Teresa.Ha! speak on!

Alvar.Beloved Teresa!It told but half the truth. O let this portrait[874]Tell all—that Alvar lives—that he is here!85Thy much deceived but ever faithful Alvar.[Takes her portrait from his neck, and gives it her.

Teresa (receiving the portrait).The same—it is the same! Ah! Who art thou?Nay, I will call thee, Alvar![She falls on his neck.

Alvar.O joy unutterable!But hark! a sound as of removing barsAt the dungeon's outer door. A brief, brief while90Conceal thyself, my love! It is Ordonio.For the honour of our race, for our dear father;O for himself too (he is still my brother)Let me recall him to his nobler nature,That he may wake as from a dream of murder!95O let me reconcile him to himself,Open the sacred source of penitent tears,And be once more his own beloved Alvar.

Teresa.O my all virtuous love! I fear to leave theeWith that obdurate man.

Alvar.Thou dost not leave me!100But a brief while retire into the darkness:O that my joy could spread its sunshine round thee!

Teresa.The sound of thy voice shall be my music!Alvar! my Alvar! am I sure I hold thee?Is it no dream? thee in my arms, my Alvar![Exit.105

[A noise at the Dungeon door. It opens, andOrdonioenters, with a goblet in his hand.

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