 | The Heroine of Cambria |  |
SCENE III.
After a short pause, GWENDYLEN enters with circumspection.'Twas but the dark illusion of my fears:
O guilt! what terror and dismay must haunt
Each step of thine, if I, sustained and guided
By filial piety, yet start at shadows,
And halt in my good purpose! but at last
I've reached the sacred sepulchre, that if
My bold and kind informer may be trusted,
Shall at my voice unfold its doors of darkness,
And give my living father to my arms.
Here is the subterraneous pass, by which
I am directed to descend: its gloom,
And icy dampness chill my trembling bosom:
Base terrors hence! I will descend! not all
The powers of darkness should by terror tempt me
To leave a father, so revered and loved,
To die unsuccoured in these dreary charnels.
Dear duty, be my guide!
| The Heroine of Cambria | |