Angels unseen will hush thee to repose;
Thy dreams will be Elysian!
The world recedes! Speak thus, until my mind,
Forgetting all the past, consents to part
With every earthly wish.
The hopes which did mislead thee are decay'd;
The ties that bound thee to the world are gone.
My Margaretta lives, but not for me!
Oh never more mine eyes will gaze upon
Her sunny ringlets and her snowy brow!
Her eyes, from which mine borrow'd brightness, now
Are dimmed by tears; the faintly roseate hue,
Which tinged her cheek, is gone: and he who lived
Only for her is shrunk into a shadow!
Look on my form, yet youthful, but how changed
In every feature since the happy hour
When first I own'd the secret of my love,
And heard my Margaretta vow return!
She would not know me now-look on my arm!
Shrivelled and shrunk with premature decay.
Those limbs, which, but two years ago, were full
Of health and vigour, are more weak than those
Of age. My mind hath suffer'd too: I feel
At times strange fits of madness-but I will
Not tamely yield-O leave me to my fate,
For death alone can overcome my wish
To be revenged.
Then fare-thee-well, poor youth! Upon this earth
Thy days shall not be many, and thy soul
Is lost for ever, shouldst thou still refuse
The offers I have made thee. Enemies
Have now completed thy destruction, and
Death soon will have his victim. But the grave
Is not the tranquil rest that some have said;
'Tis not the Lethe of the Sceptic's creed;
The guilty sleep not there untroubled-think,
Leave me not, aged father! Yet a while
Linger, that I may hear thee speak of love,
Of hope and heaven-Gone!
I strive to crush the thoughts of vengeance that
Now throng upon my soul. What have I done?
What fearful sin committed, that I am
The sport of misery-the victim of despair?
Renounce the world-forgive the Count Francesco-
Forget my Margaretta, and the wrongs
My name has suffer'd! Think not of revenge,
Tame down my spirit, and forget the past!
Look forward to the future-die in peace,
A woe-worn brother of Saint Dominic!
Drag out my wretched life in penitence,
For sins I ne'er committed! Serve the altar,
When I might serve iny country in the field;
And lay aside my sword to count my beads!
Assume a monk's cowl for my cap and plume,
And lead the mournful children of the church,
Chaunting their doleful hymns, through gloomy aisles,
Re-echoing their sad choruses, when I,
Sprung from the noblest house in Venice, should
Lead my poor countrymen to avenge their wrongs!
Repeat my Aves with a feigned look
Of unfelt deep humility! Hearken
To tales, by passing travellers told, of deeds
Conferring immortality on man-
Of actions worthy of the days when Rome
Beheld the nations kneeling at her feet-
In which I may not share! It is in vain
Such promises are made me!
For all the joys Saint Dominic can give,—
For e'en the bliss the Virgin can bestow,-
The busy world I never shall renounce
Until revenge is mine-or death o'erpowers!
[Throws himself on his pallet.
MARGARETTA (at a window, looking towards the setting sun).
Farewell, thou glorious orb! My weary eyes
Will never see thee smile on earth again.
When from old ocean's depths thou shalt arise,
Cold shall my heart be, and devoid of pain:
Fast it is breaking, and to it in vain
Hope whispers future happiness. Away
The tide of life recedes: another day,
And thy warm light shall fall upon my cheek,
Cold, pale, and lifeless-other lands I seek,
Where man hath not dominion.
Oh that it may, and give me fortitude
To bear what is to come!
Dry up thy tears, my child! Be glad That, ere to-morrow's evening, thou shalt be United to
Nay, Margaretta! speak not thus-'tis wrong-
'Tis impious! Think'st thou that Heaven can smile
On one who cares not for her father's will-
Despises his commands; into whose ears
The sacred admonitions of the church
Enter unheeded? Dost thou not dread
Our power, or that of Him for whom we act?
MARGARETTA.
I do not dread thy power;
An humble penitent to that of Heaven
Thou speak'st too boldly, child.
Leave me! I did not seek thy presence here.
Thou haunt'st me as an evil spirit that
Whispers of tortures in its victim's ear-
By day and night thou follow'st me-Away!
Alas, alas! that in so fair a form
The Evil one should have dominion!
(Showing her a crucifix)—Look on this holy symbol,
Thy evil thoughts! I do entreat thee, child-
Command thee, to return to God and live!
No more, thou hypocrite! Shall I unmask
Thee to the world, and tell the crimes that stain
Thy soul? I know thee well!
An abject creature art thou of a man,
Still baser than thyself—I mean Francesco-
Whom thou wouldst serve in preference to God.
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