Scene I.
An apartment in Alvino's house. Enter Alvino and Leoni.
Alvino
Now, we commence another path of thorns.
Thou hast beheld the bark upon the sea,
With swan-like majesty ascend the waves,
And spreading out her penons to the winds,
All pregnant with the glory of the storm,
Plough on her journey for the destined port,
But as she rises on the billowy hills,
To see the forest bristling on the coast,
When every heart beats gladly at the sight,
Behold, the breakers of an angry sea
Dash on the languor of her wave-worn sides,
When shrieking to the mercy of the storm,
She bows, once more in grandeur to the gale,
And conquered by the rudeness of the blast,
Sinks down an hour's sail of land.
Leoni
Oh yes, we have beheld all this in time,
But why the downcast sadness of thine eyes
In which there was so much of youthful joy,
And love ineffable? Tell me the cause.
Alvino
A wintry fear lies cold about my heart.
Leoni
But did he not deserve to die?
Alvino
He did—
Ten thousand deaths!
Leoni
Then why regret the act?
Is there not comfort in the downy arms
Of her, who prompted thee to that great deed?
And consolation in the happy thought
That she would die ten thousand deaths for thee?
Alvino
There is, indeed.
Leoni
Then rest assured thou art
The great avenger of an injured girl,
Whose honor has been trampled on by one
Who now inherits all the misery of his guilt
In Hell's deep gulf, where hope can never come.
Alvino
You know that handkerchief I used to have?
I left it on the bed where Carlos sleeps!
Leoni
Not where you slept last night?
Alvino
That very place!
I have been thinking that if Carlos find
It there, he will be false enough to swear
'Tis mine, if he is borne to prison.
Leoni
He?
Alvino
Yes, I am not suspected by the Count.
I never showed Count Alvar any hate,
But he has, threatening him with instant death.
Leoni
But if they find it there, will they not think—
Alvino
That Carlos killed the Count.
Leoni
So let them think!
Alvino
And have him suffer for an act of mine?
Leoni
No, find some cunning means to set him free.
By all the golden links that bind us in
The chain of everlasting love, let not
An outward show of honor ruin thee now.
No, summon Pedro, if it should be so,
To go to Carlos, when confined in chains,
And hear the secrets of the then formed plot,
And tell Don Carlos for his own soul's sake,
By promising Elvira to be his
To instigate Don Pedro to the death
Of Count Rodolph. Then contrive some means
When that is done, to set Don Carlos free.
Alvino
Oh, blessed women! Angel that thou art!
Man says that thou art weaker than his sex;
But what is lost in feebleness of limb,
Is made up in the cunning of thy soul!
For with one effort of thy dazzling thought
In dangerous hours of fierce extreme, thy plans
Can minister to his relief, when all
His own have failed him in despair! Then let
The Warriour on the battlefield think not
To win the victory by his power alone,
But seek some gentle creature, like thyself
And ere the ramparts of the enemy
Appear in living lines along the field,
Commune in gentle earnestness with her,
And he will gain more glory on that day,
Than ever was the lot of one proud man.
Leoni
Then listen to the voice of one that loves.
Alvino
Well, let it be as thou hast said. Come on.
(Exeunt.)
