University of Virginia Library

XIII.

“Manuel thou know'st, with what a jealous guard
“These towers he strengthened and this cell he barred,—
“Barred from approach alike of friend and foe,
“A spy within, a bloodhound lurked below,
“That so, if ev'n the virtue of the grape
“Might steep all others, this might track escape.
“Whilst thou, my life, wert near at times to soothe
“My hopes, all blighted in their fire of youth,
“To give thy soft voice to the summer-wind,
“And teach the sullen warder to be kind,—
“Whilst thy stol'n visits made my chains sit well,
“I was a Prince, though fettered in my cell!—
“My first, sole feelings, giv'n to love and thee,
“I recked not of the bliss of being free;
“But when his active hate afar removed
“The form I worshipped, and the voice I loved,
“I felt an angry malice in my veins,
“And burned, and fretful, strove to break my chains,
“If only in defiance of the wrong,
“To sting the' unfeeling, and to pique the strong;
“But every rivet of the fettering coil
“With firmness mocked the toiler and the toil,
“Till, late last night, in grinding rage I lent
“My utmost vigour to the fierce intent;—
“It bent! it snapped as by a powerful charm!
“Oh! it was heaven once more to stretch my arm
“In freedom to the stars, and wave abroad
“The bickering splendours of my sheathless sword!
“He left me this with sneers but ill concealed
“To mock the hand which should essay to wield,—
“But wielding this, I still the power command
“To teach the long-chained arm, the writhing hand,
“The long reversion of their wrongs to quit,
“Till pride of art repays his scornful wit.
“I next surveyed my cell from side to side,
“With loftier instinct, and an ampler stride,
“And each lethargic sense, with freedom, rose
“To tenfold strength from languor's long repose;
“And prying grew my gaze; that gaze was thrown
“By chance, at length, upon a loosening stone,
“Through whose small cleft I felt the crannying air:
“The stone removed, light broke on my despair,—
“I saw the semblance of a broken stair!
“A glimpse of hope, one glimpse, however brief,
“Will rouse the loneliest captive from his grief.
“I toiled till midnight, in that secret way;
“On arched walls in ruinous decay
“The moon through rifts her lonely lustre threw;
“I hailed the omen with dilated view;
“And now resolved the cavern to explore,
“Replaced, with care, the loose stones of the floor.
“There have I walked, and heard the quickening sound
“Of waters rolling freely, but profound.
“I know not where it leads, but, where it leads
“Are tangled roots, loose earth, and clustering weeds,
“And there some outlet we may find, or shape
“By mine or breach, the means of our escape.
“I heard all day the shrilling horn proclaim
“The captive's freedom, and the monarch's shame,
“And smiled to think, that I, in my dim vault,
“Could with such dread the purple-born assault!
“I heard the rush of steeds, the creaking gates,
“(How my heart shudders whilst my tongue relates!)—
“Which to this sullen cell my love betrayed:—
“But, fear not, all shall sternly be repaid;
“And if to bound once more upon the tide,
“In nature's freedom, be a wish denied,
“Life yet shall roll rejoicingly away,
“Thy arms my camp, thy smile of smiles my ray,
“Till, tempered to thy loveliness of soul,
“Death opes a portal to the years which roll
“In music, and our bark obeys the breeze,
“To happy islands o'er celestial seas.”