Alv. The more behoves it, I should rouse within him Remorse! that I should save him from himself. Zul. Remorse is as the heart in which it grows: If that be gentle, it drops balmy dews Of true repentance; but if proud and gloomy, Alv. And of a brother, Dare I hold this, unproved? nor make one effort To save him?—Hear me, friend! I have yet to tell thee, That this same life, which he conspired to take, And at the imminent hazard of his own. Add too my oath— Zul. You have thrice told already The years of absence and of secrecy, To which a forced oath bound you: if in truth Left me no choice: the very wish too languished The assassin's strong assurance, when no interest, The murderous weapon, pointed at my breast, Zul. Heavy presumption ! Alv. It weighed not with me-Hark! I will tell thee all; As we passed by, I bade thee mark the base The morning of the day of my departure. Had'st thou seen How in each motion her most innocent soul Beamed forth and brightened, thou thyself would'st Guilt is a thing impossible in her! She must be innocent! Zul. [With a sigh.] Proceed, my lord! [tell me, Alv. A portrait which she had procured by stealth (For even then it seems her heart foreboded Or knew Ordonio's moody rivalry) A portrait of herself with thrilling hand She tied around my neck, conjuring me, With earnest prayers, that I would keep it sacred To my own knowledge: nor did she desist, Knew that which none but she could have disclosed. Alv. My own life wearied me! And but for the imperative voice within, With mine own hand I had thrown off the burthen. That voice, which quelled me, calmed me: and 1 sought The Belgic states: there joined the better cause; In death-like trance: a long imprisonment followed. Waned to a meditative melancholy; And still the more I mused, my soul became Now as a saintly sufferer, wan and tearful, Zul. All, all are in the sea-cave, Some furlong hence. I bade our mariners I will first seek to meet Ordonio's-wife! If possible, alone too. This was her wonted walk, Zul. Will they not know you? Alv. With your aid, friend, I shall unfearingly Trust the disguise; and as to my complexion, My long imprisonment, the scanty food, This scar,—and toil beneath a burning sun, Have done already half the business for us. Add too my youth;-since last we saw each other, Manhood has swoln my chest, and taught my voice A hoarser note-Besides, they think me dead; And what the mind believes impossible, The bodily sense is slow to recognise. Zul. "Tis yours, sir to command, mine to obey. Now to the cave beneath the vaulted rock, Where having shaped you to a Moorish chieftain, I'll seek our mariners; and in the dusk Transport whate'er we need to the small dell In the Alpuxarras-there where Zagri lived. Alv. I know it well: it is the obscurest haunt Of all the mountains [both stand listening Voices at a distance! [Exeunt. SCENE II.-Enter Teresa and Valdez. Ter. I hold Ordonio dear; he is your son And Alvar's brother. Val. Love him for himself, Nor 'make the living wretched for the dead. But heaven hath heard my vow, and I remain Val. Heaven knows with what delight I saw your loves, And could my heart's blood give him back to thee With that same look, with which he gave thee to me; I must not see thee wretched. Ter. There are woes Ill bartered for the garishness of joy! To watch those skiey tints, and this green ocean; |