 | Elvira |  |
SCENE IV.
ALONZO, the QUEEN, ELVIRA, RODRIGO, ALVAREZ.[The King ascends his throne, placing the Queen on his left, the Ambassador and his train range themselves.]
AMBASSADOR.
Sir, my royal master,
Don Ferdinand, by his ambassador
Thus speaks the true fraternal part he takes
In your full joy. He holds himself most happy,
That his lov'd parent shares a throne with you;
And that his sister, his Almeyda, weds
So great a monarch's heir, and who renews
The virtues of his race. Don Pedro's fame
Spreads not o'er Portugal more welcome beams
Than o'er our friendly Spain. And you enjoy
The bliss supreme, that noblest minds taste deepest,
A son that loves the sire he emulates!
Yes, you have seen him, from his earliest youth,
Pursue the path your valour trod before
To conquest and renown. Your arm, by him,
Has oft been felt in Afric; oft has shook
Her strongest forts, her deepest squadrons pierc'd;
And now, even now, of laurels fairly won
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Are link'd with ours by bonds of mutual friendship:
And where allies are mutual in their love,
The happiness is common. Our Castile,
Itself triumphant, triumphs too with you!
ALONZO.
Your sovereign is the partner of my heart.
His mother, now my queen, and who adorns
The seat she fills, has made our nations one:
And that same treaty, which declar'd her mine,
Assures Don Pedro to her daughter's arms;
Assures my kingdom's safety: for these nuptials,
Tho by the guilt of intervening war
Too long delay'd, shall be accomplish'd now;
While, to the holy temple, Peace and Leisure,
His best attendants, wait in Hymen's train.
Go, bear this message to my brother back;
That all Castile may share the joy it gives.
| Elvira | |