University of Virginia Library

Leoni, or the Orphan of Venice.

A Tragedy in Five Acts

When I was a student of Medicine in Transylvania University, some person gave me a pamphlet containing the Confession of Beauchampe, who was condemned to die for the murder of Colonel Sharpe of Kentucky. I then made a sketch of the outlines of a Play which I intended to write upon that remarkable occurence; but before I had finished it, some person took the pamphlet away from me, and I then wrote the following play. Any person acquainted with that unparalleled circumstance, will see, at once, that the play is based upon it, and that the catastrophe is the same.—The young lady who was seduced by Colonel Sharpe, and afterwards married to Beauchampe, will be recognized in the character of Leoni. Beauchampe, who was instigated by her to kill Sharpe, will be recognized in the character of Alvino, and Sharpe, in that of Count Alvar. The Scene of the action, and the names of the characters are

only omitted—the spirit is the same. The creation of the other characters, and the construction of the plot, are my own invention.

Dramatis Personae

• Men
• Count Alvar, Leoni's seducer, afterwards married to Theresa.
• Don Carlos, friend to Leoni, and brother to Elvira.
• Alvino, cousin and husband to Leoni.
• Don Pedro, friend to Count Alvar.
• Count Rodolph, father to Theresa, and one of the Duke's Council.
• Duke and his Council.
• Officer and Guard.
• Women
• Leoni, Orphan of Venice.
• Elvira, her friend.
• Theresa, wife to Count Alvar.

Act I

Scene I

A magnificent apartment in the palace of Count Alvar. Enter Count Alvar and Leoni.
Count Alvar
You know what pains most people take to lie.
What said Elvira on thy quick return?

Leoni
She bade me keep the face of Virtue bright.

Count Alvar
That means that thou shalt shun my company?

Leoni
Nay! give me but one atom of thy love,
And like the healing medicine of old,
'Twill cure the heart that thou hast wounded so!
For there are priceless joys along our path—
They scatter now their rich perfumes to Heaven.

Count Alvar
I cannot swallow down Elvira's words. (Starting away.)


Leoni
Nay, stay but one sweet moment, that my life
May not be darkened longing for thy love!
The Dove will love but one fond mate through life,
And if the fowler's hand should lay that low,
Thou mayest at noontide in the sultry sun,
When wanton zephyrs play around her wings,
Stand auditor beneath the much loved pine,
And hear her plead the merits of his cause—
'Twould lend affection to the hardest heart!

Count Alvar
My soul must link itself with larger views
Than with Leoni's love.

Leoni
What! sayst thou so?
Would'st thou betray the trust reposed in thee,
For that poor paltry recompense called pride,
And drive me loathesome from myself and Heaven!

Count Alvar
(Aside.)
What if the link that bind me to the world,
Should break in nature's chain? 'Twould let me down
To dark nonentity with Devil's damned
To rise no more! But Gods! It must be done!
(Aloud.)
So now, Leoni, fare thee well!

Leoni
What! now?
And break the chain that binds me unto Heaven?

Count Alvar
If that will break it, it must break.

Leoni
And you,
Have sworn this from your heart?

Count Alvar
I have not sworn—
But it must be.

Leoni
So, you will leave me now,
And yield me for another's love.

Count Alvar
I must.

Leoni
Then, by the eternal Gods, there is no hope—
No recompense beneath the sun!

Count Alvar
There is—
Go, marry with your cousin now in Rome.

Leoni
I thank thee for that noble thought, my lord!
I thank thee for that thought! for after this,
Methinks the wretched lies that thou hast told,
Will make each second of thy dying life
A thousand years of misery! Hear me now!
(Dashing away her jewels.)
I would not wear another gift of thine,
If every hair upon thy head were gold!
But this fond heart—so full it fain would burst—
That would not harm the simplest thing on earth—
As both to scorn as fierce to insult given—
(Until despite is on its honor thrown!)
Shall turn an August for thy dying life,
And thirst for every drop that fills thy heart!
So now, farewell! (Weeping.)


Count Alvar
Leoni, fare the well!
(Exit Count Alvar.)

Enter Elvira.
Elvira
Leoni, why have you been shedding tears?

Leoni
My soul is full of sorrow and my heart
Is crushed beneath the mountain of my woes!

Elvira
Count Alvar has deceived you then!

Leoni
He has,
And bitterly shall he repent the deed!

Elvira
Perhaps he loves Theresa better then?

Leoni
An enemy to virtue, love? Tell me
That Heaven is Hell! that he will go to Heaven!
The mountains' heights are ascertained—the seas
Are fathomed, and the oceans' depths are known—
The Heavens are fettered by material space—
Revenge in woman hath no limitations!

Elvira
Revenge? Why talk you of revenge?

Leoni
'Tis sweet!
I tell you there is in my breaking heart,
A chronic sorrow most incurable!
A fell disease, unequalled by the worst
Of all contagions, striking to the soul!
Then mark me well! Keep this, my secret hate,
As silent as the grave confines the dead,
And go to Carlos—tell him that my soul
Desires that he should watch the perjured Count,
And then report to me what he may see
Between Count Rodolph's daughter and himself.

Elvira
I will. It shall be done this very night.
(Exit Elvira.)

Leoni
And now, by yon eternal sun that rolls
His chariot through the confines of the sky;
And every star that gems the arch of Heaven,
I swear that never shall my soul find rest,
Until the purple mirror of his blood
Reflect the deep damnation of his deeds
And make Seduction stare him in the face!

(Exit.)

Scene II

A magnificent apartment in Count Rodolph's palace.
Enter Count Alvar and Theresa. Don Carlos enters, unobserved, behind them.
Count Alvar
The air is filled with freshness from the sea,
And all the winds seem laden down with balm.
And now, Theresa, blessed of my heart,
How sweet to trace the outlines of thy face,
And drink the living music of thy voice,
Whose tones first taught me what it was to love!
How sweet to hear the softness of thy sighs,
And fold thee gently on my bosom thus!

(Embracing her.)
Theresa
When next we meet, my lord, this hand of mine
Will have the privilege of grasping thine
In everlasting love.

Count Alvar
Then shall thine eyes,
Twin-born divinities, gaze into all
The secret sanctuary of my soul,
And learn the richness of my love for thee.

Don Carlos
(Aside.)
That voice reminds me of my native land.

Count Alvar
(Observing him.)
What brought you here?

Don Carlos
(Aside.)
Foul fiend!
(Aloud.)
When that is told,
Thou wilt not hate Leoni's love.

Count Alvar
(Drawing his sword.)
Begone!

Theresa
(Preventing him.)
What, would you have his blood upon your sword?

Count Alvar
(Putting up his sword.)
No, by the Gods! Retire awhile, farewell!
(Exit Theresa.)
Well, Carlos, stealing on me as thou hast,
What business have you with me at this hour?

Don Carlos
(Aside.)
If that is not the everlasting voice
Which drowned the music of my soul, there is
No discord in the language of the damned. (Aloud.)

I come as some dark whirlwind from the sea,
Crushing the oak amid the silent woods,
When from the forest boughs the morning dew,
Is shaken by the mighty sound in rain.

Count Alvar
Who made thee bearer of such wondrous news?

Don Carlos
Leoni, she who was betrayed by thee!

Count Alvar
What could have urged her on to this extreme?

Don Carlos
Revenge! Ay, deeper than thy perjury,
And stronger than the whirlwinds of the sea!

Count Alvar
Then go, foul braggart! tell her that the down
Upon the turtle's wing were better armed
Against the furious hurricane!—Revenge!

Don Carlos
You know that schoolboy friend of hers,
Who means to marry her on his return?

Count Alvar
By heavens, if that is all, he will do well.

Don Carlos
By Jove, that is not all. He will do well!

Count Alvar
(Aside.)
He will do well. By Heavens, he is too bold!
There must be something devilish in his talk.
(Aloud.)
What, heard you Leoni was his bride?

Don Carlos
I did not come to tell you what I heard.

Count Alvar
I trace the outlines of some devilish deed,
Upon the marble of thy lofty brow.

Don Carlos
But if Count Alvar would advise me how
To shame the Devil of the mask he wears,
I would unfold to him the foulest crime
That ever stained the Annals of the damned.

Count Alvar
Foul crime! Will Carlos tell me what he means?

Don Carlos
With joy if you will listen to my tale.

Count Alvar
I will with all my heart. Speak on.

Don Carlos
Then mark,
It was the gentlest of those summer eves,
When day stood pausing on the hills of Spain,
That, wandering through the orange groves alone,
I met Almeda coming from the sea-
A sweeter spirit never came from Heaven.
She stood so sinless that you might have plucked
Perfection from her lofty brow.

Count Alvar
And then—

Don Carlos
As innocence hath ever done, she sought
Protection, due her gentler sex, within
My arms.

Count Alvar
Which bore her soon away.

Don Carlos
I did,
Alas!

Count Alvar
And married her that night.

Don Carlos
I did.
But Gods! it ended sooner than 'twas done.
Two years had scarcely told our hopes were crowned,
When late one night about the hour of ten,
A villian came tapping upon my door,
And waking her from slumber by my side,
Playing upon his lute, won her heart.
She rose like Venus from her downy sea,
And leaping in his arms with frantic joy,
There, Devil-like, forgot that she was mine!
Oh, God, such earthquake vengeance rent my heart,
I chased her Paris with Achille's speed,
And like another Grecian—

Count Alvar
Stabbed him dead!

Don Carlos
No, by the eternal Gods, the villain lives!

Count Alvar
And did she die?

Don Carlos
I neither knew nor cared.
I left my perjured Helen from that hour,
A jewel worn upon my breast in joy—
And from that fatal hour, now twenty years,
I have not seen my childhood's native land.

Count Alvar
And did you ever learn that villain's name?

Don Carlos
I did—although he traveled in disguise—
A Florentine, who courted with his lute,
And oft repeated songs—who never knew
Nor cared what garment virtue wore, so he
Could win her by the sorcery of false smiles,
To his lascivious arms. Should he not die?
By Heavens, the answer stifles in thy throat!

Count Alvar
Away!

Don Carlos
Count Alvar, thou shalt die tonight!

(Exit.)
Count Alvar
Tonight, by Heavens, the villain said tonight!
As if there were no time to die but night!
The reed that cannot stay the torrent's course,
Must die beneath the glory of its force.

(Exit.)

Scene III

A magnificent apartment in Don Carlos' palace.
Enter Leoni, attended by Elvira.
Let nature reinstate herself again.
The past in happiness has gone forever,
And lends the present only sterner grief.
We cannot feel the joys we have enjoyed,
And only know the joys we now enjoy.

Leoni
The fiery blood leaps through my burning brain,
And there enkindles thoughts too wild too name—
Foul, murderous thoughts!

Elvira
Thy vengeance then will seek
The villain throughout all the world?

Leoni
It will;
And finding him will open every vein,
And filling each foul tube with molten lead,
Shall hang him up for mockery to the world,
Till he has grown so old in ugliness,
That every fowl that soars through Heaven shall scream,
And every wolf stand howling at his course!
But did your brother watch him to my wish?

Elvira
He did. He has more in his heart against
The Count, than ever entered thy soft soul.

Leoni
Then he has watched the fiend for something more
Than friendship for an injured girl?

Elvira
He has;
But every fibre of thy tender heart
Will echo back the justness of the cause.

Leoni
The cause? What cause is that?

Elvira
Revenge! revenge!
But see, my brother comes.

Enter Don Carlos
Don Carlos
Leoni weeps
Would that my hand could stay those gentle tears.

Leoni
Ah, know you not some way to wipe them off,
And make the cheeks of poor Leoni smile?

Don Carlos
If I could muster in my faithful soul
A single thought that would, when called to act,
Be beneficial to thy injured cause,
I would devote the remnant of my days
In exercising it for thee!

Leoni
Then mark,
I would not have him chronicled on earth,
But have thee dip thy dagger in his blood,
And write upon the tablet of his heart
The fulness of the vengeance of my hate.

Don Carlos
Then glut the hunger of my own revenge!
But then his wife—

Leoni
His wife?

Don Carlos
Ay, wife, by Heaven!

Leoni
Then you have seen her with the Count.

Don Carlos
I have;
And told him if every hair upon
His head were gifted with ten thousand lives,
And every life were punished by the inch
Through all eternity, that he would not
Repay you for the injury he has done.

Leoni
But why not blast him to Theresa's face!

Don Carlos
I would have told her of the blackest crime
That ever lashed the groping soul to Hell,
Had it not been that, when he drew his sword,
She spat upon me with her words and said,
“What, would you have your blood upon his sword?”
As if she looked upon me with disdain!
Then pity, that moment, left my heart,
And such eternal vengeance took its place,
I said, “Now may his pestilential breath
Contaminate the air in which she lives,
Breed foul consumption in her honored blood,
And rot her bones through all eternity!”

Leoni
Then, in the name of all that is most dear,
Let not another day roll round!

Don Carlos
But stay!
What if she heard me tell him he would die?

Leoni
Well, did you say it, Carlos?

Don Carlos
Yes, I did.
And sorry am I that the word was said.

Leoni
Why so? Alas, all false!

Don Carlos
You called me false!
How false, Leoni?

Leoni
Puerile as the child,
That over-fed will vomit in its sleep.
I thought thou wert the thorn among the flowers,
Who stood to wound the hand that came to pluck
The rose. But, like the Dead Sea Apples, thou
Hast won upon my appetite to taste
The hope that turns to ashes on my lips!

Don Carlos
By Jove, you wrong me!

Leoni
Then, revenge thyself!
Revenge thyself upon Theresa's lord!
Wait not another day—not even an hour!

Don Carlos
I told the villain he should die tonight.

Leoni
Then let it be tonight—the dead of night!

Don Carlos
Nay, wronged Leoni, that would never do.
She may have heard my threat, which, if she did,
Such foul suspicion would be fixed upon
Me from that hour, that all would say at once,
“'Twas Carlos killed the Count!” No—mark me now!
Let not the fragment of an evil thought
Give utterance to the breathing of his name,
And write Alvino to return from Rome.

Leoni
Alvino, call that blessed name again,
And let the music settle in my soul,
And tune the discord of my broken heart
To childhood melody!

Don Carlos
And when he comes—

Leoni
The Count—

Don Carlos
But let no human being know
That Carlos ever knew the Count—

Leoni
Shall die!
I thank thee for that blessed thought, good friend!
I thank you for that thought—Count Alvar dies!

(Exeunt omnes.)
Curtain falls. End of Act First.

Act II

Scene I.

The same apartment in Don Carlos' palace. Enter Leoni attended by Elvira.
Elvira
Ah, Leoni, why should sorrow weigh
So heavily upon thy heart? Come, speak.

Leoni
If an unbroken trust in human truth,
Prompt the pure soul to its idolatry;
And if the heart in its fond, gushing love,
Pour out itself to one no less than self,
And in its trusting innocence become
The victim of that villain's power—should it
Be called the harlot of that man? By Heaven!
And by the heart that he has broken—he
Shall die!

Elvira
Would not repentance urge thee on
To some forgiveness, if upon the depths
Of his great sacrilege be poured the balm
Of penitence!

Leoni
No, that can never be.
There is no stream of mercy in my soul.
But now, from out the fountains of my heart,
A tide of indignation rushes up,
And mounting to my brain forever drowns,
Beneath the wide oblivion of its roar,
The voice of all persuasion. He shall die!

Elvira
The bird that soars the highest into Heaven,
If once its wing is broken in its flight,
Is only bruised the greater by its fall.
And like the Angels that once were so pure,
Will mourn the humbleness of its descent,
Just in proportion to its flight above.

Leoni
I now remember when Alvino loved
Me first, the first time that we ever met.
The day was very beautiful. No cloud
Was seen in all the vastness of the sky,
But Nature seemed so much in love with Heaven,
That she forbade the rustling of the boughs
To wake the silence of her noontide joy!

Elvira
Oh, still this sorrow of thy gentle heart,
And like the priceless diamond in the mine,
Tossed by the earthquake into purity,
Suffer the ills of life but now to add
New particles of beauty to thy soul.

Leoni
Let not the tears of pity cease to flow
Upon the wasting sands of this poor life!
But let them fall upon each golden grain,
As softly as an Angel's sighs upon
The soul of Virtue dying by the hands
Of enemies!

Elvira
Methinks that Nature heard,
The awful sadness of that prayer.

Leoni
She did;
And God has registered each word in Heaven.

Elvira
If that be so, why should the God of Heaven
Not punish him for guilt?

Leoni
He will—through us. (Exeunt severally.)


Enter Don Carlos and Alvino, as in conversation.
Don Carlos
Before High Heaven, Alvino, it is true!
I could divulge to thee the foulest news
That ever hung upon the lips of truth.

Alvino
What news is that? Come, let me hear it now!

Don Carlos
Since thy return thou hast not heard the news
Which float about like chaff upon the wind,
Whichever way it choses to blow?

Alvino
No, Gods,
You speak as if some devilish deed had come
To light again! What is the matter now?

Don Carlos
True—if some devilish deed had not been brought
To light, these hands had not been proffered in
The cause. You know Count Alvar, do you not?

Alvino
He was the guardian of my youth. In Spain—

Don Carlos
He traveled in disguise, and still he was
The guardian of thy youth! Then watch the dog,
And show the villain thou art old enough
To teach him honesty!

Alvino
Thou wouldst impugn
Him with thy very wrath!

Don Carlos
I would, by Heaven,
And cut the rascal's throat besides. You know,
Leoni, do you not?

Alvino
Leoni? she
Who was the playmate jewel of my heart?
Thou hast beheld the straying Hart, with wild
Exultant bound, leap from the azure hills,
And rushing with impatient speed, dash where
The silver Swan lay sleeping on the lake,
And frighten her to Heaven?

Don Carlos
Ay, watched the Fawn,
Bounding along the river bank at noon,
Pause on the margin of the mossy brink
To sip the cool, delicious wave that curled
In dimpled eddyings near the shore, take fright
At its own picture in the limpid stream,
And dash away with wild, delirious bound,
To where its mother watched it from the hill,
As if it were too lovely for this world.

Alvino
So did Leoni look upon herself,
And see too bright an object for this world.

Don Carlos
But now her cheeks are furrowed down with tears.

Alvino
With tears? Leoni has no tears!

Don Carlos
She has,
And needs the strength of such an honest arm,
To crush the wretch who made them flow!

Alvino
Why so?

Don Carlos
She is deceived!

Alvino
Deceived?

Don Carlos
Yes, by heavens,
And by Count Alvar!

Alvino
The hound!
She was the orphan cousin of our house.
By Jove, he must have used some violent means!

Don Carlos
And if he did—which thou shalt seek to know—
Not only tear the wolf-skin from his back—

Alvino
But draining every life-blood from his veins,
Winters of death shall blow upon his soul,
And freeze up his existence into ice!
The eagle that has roosted on the pine,
Will shake his pinions on the pensive bough,
And rising on the dewy breath of morn,
Will speed him to the sun's eye gloriously,
Nor heed the frozen armor that has weighed
All night upon his snowy wings!

Don Carlos
Then shake
Him from the altitude whereon he roosts,
And let the clamor of his mighty wings
Strike terror to the ear of Night!

Alvino
Night! night!
Thou wouldst not have me kill him in the night?

Don Carlos
I would—secure him in the dead of night,
Then balance consequence with insult given!
Pluck out the thorn that wounds Leoni's heart—
Stamping the adder underneath thy feet!

Alvino
(Seriously.)
I would not wound the feelings of his slave;
But if the chalice of my hopes, so full
Of pure and perfect love be drained to the dregs,
And I am forced to drink the wormwood left—
By Heavens, my run-mad heart will quench its fire!
For there are crimes which, when committed, call
For aid which, when bestowed, would be but crime
Itself wer't not for this—the shedding blood,
As sacrifice, for orphan honor stolen.

Don Carlos
Then let the vengeance of thy burning heart,
But cheer impatience on to swifter speed,
Till grasping hold the dagger by its hilt,
And seeing how its face will shine—thou'lt sheathe
It in the foulest heart that ever beat!
For such an absolution sweeps away
The guilt that dyed the name of innocence!

Alvino
Till then, farewell! We may not meet again,
Until Leoni listens to my voice.

Don Carlos
Farewell! May all the Gods defend thy steps!

(Exeunt severally.)

Scene II

A magnificent apartment in Count Alvar's palace.
Enter Count Alvar and Don Pedro.
Count Alvar
Then answer me, who was the greatest friend
That ever helped thee in the hour of need?

Don Pedro
I swear, my lord, Count Alvar, is the man.

Count Alvar
Do you believe this from your very heart?

Don Pedro
I do, if ever words came from my heart.

Count Alvar
Knowing that all thy words come from thy heart,
I would divulge to thee the secretest thing
That ever came from out the soul of man,
And have thee keep it secret as thy own.

Don Pedro
I will, my lord.

Count Alvar
Then listen to me now.
I have been taunted by the vilest foe,
That ever mocked the royalty of pride,
And I would have thee whisper in his ear
The loudest vengeance that the voice of man
Hath ever uttered to the soul. Be firm!
I would not have thee suffer in thy heart
A single sympathy to dwell. His blood—

Don Pedro
His blood, my lord? Whose blood?

Count Alvar
Thy face is pale.
Now promise me before the Gods, whose frown
Is darker than clouds above Olympus,
That Carlos shall not live!

Don Pedro
What, must he die?

Count Alvar
And by thy hand!

Don Pedro
What, murdered by my hand?

Count Alvar
Thy hand!

Don Pedro
What for, my lord?

Count Alvar
The foulest blot
That ever stained the dignity of man
Will then be wiped away!

Don Pedro
Then he must die!

Count Alvar
Yes, plunge thy dagger in his cursed heart,
And send him to the river of the dead!
Be thou thyself revenged!

Don Pedro
Revenged, my lord?

Count Alvar
Ay, who has kept thee from Elvira's arms?

Don Pedro
Elvira? Carlos!—damned as he is—
I cannot slay Elvira's friend.

Count Alvar
Her friend?
What, cannot take the life of him who robbed
Thee of the sweetest joys on earth? Oh, fool!

Don Pedro
The sweetest spirit ever sent from Heaven,
But will the death of Carlos make her mine?

Count Alvar
It will. She would be with thee even tonight,
If it were not for him.

Don Pedro
Then he must die!

Count Alvar
Swear, then, that thou wilt take his life!

Don Pedro
I swear!

Count Alvar
Remember that his destiny is death!

Don Pedro
It shall be done, my lord, farewell!

Count Alvar
Adieu!
(Exit Don Pedro.)
Now, if he is the soldier that he seems,
And loves Elvira as he says he does,
And only serves the wishes of his heart,
And he has served the prompter of its ire;
The savage that has prowled along my path,
Will find the depths of my revenge so deep,
He will not seek to lavish out his own!

(Exit.)

Scene III

The same apartment in Don Carlos' palace.
Enter Leoni meeting Alvino.
Alvino
Leoni!

Leoni
(Embracing him.)
Oh, Alvino!

Alvino
Speak again!
I love to see thee shed such anxious tears.
They speak the language of thy virgin soul,
Shed lofty fervour round expectant joy,
And make the pathway of my purpose bright.

Leoni
(Weeping.)
Alvino!

Alvino
Speak, my love, tell me thy grief!

Leoni
There have been strange vicissitudes to damp
The ardor of my spirit, since we met.
I have no resting place beneath the sun.

Alvino
What, cannot he who loved thee in thy youth,
Find recompense enough for thee? Say, love!

Leoni
Alas, Alvino!

Alvino
Carlos told me all!
I would not have you name it for the world!
I only want the whispers of revenge!

Leoni
Revenge? The sweetest music to my soul
That ever calmed the discord of my heart!
Then you have sworn—

Alvino
Destruction to his soul!

Leoni
And thou wilt keep that promise to the last?

Alvino
The latest moment of my life, if thou
Wilt only promise to be mine!

Leoni
Not thine,
Nor to bestow this hand on mortal man,
Until my woes are baptized in his blood,
And this poor life redeemed by loss of his!

Alvino
The mighty Gods have registered that oath
Upon the shining Adamant of Heaven!

Leoni
And thou wilt dip thy dagger in his blood,
And send him with the legacy to Hell!

Alvino
As sure as yonder sun will ever set!

Leoni
Let not reluctance weigh upon thy purpose,
Be buoyant as the Turtle on the wing!
Take thou this Dove into thy bosom's Ark,
Who brings the Olive-leaf of peace to thee—
And let her sorrows make thee more than bold!

Alvino
But will the crystal mirror of the lake,
Enbosomed in the forest-girdled vale,
Be wreathed the less by the tempestuous wind,
Because the rosy-scented breath of morn
Has settled on its pinions? No, my love!

Leoni
And lest one breath should blow him back his soul,
And kindle life again, be sure to tramp
The embers into ashes. Be not rash—
The thing should be well done. Tonight! tonight!

Alvino
This night shall be his soul's eternity!

Leoni
When it is done, return to me again.
I'll wash thy bloody hands with tears of joy.
Swear now before we part, that he shall die!

Alvino
(Kneeling.)
Ye silver lamps, which hang tonight in Heaven,
Ye auditors to God, whose beauty lights
The glorious dome that canopies the world,
I call upon ye from the dim abodes
Of everlasting ether, to behold me now!
In reverential awe, upon my knees,
I offer up to you the holy vow
That ever shall as sacrifice ascend
From off the altar of my soul to Heaven!
And now in the allotted duty which
I owe myself, to nature and the world;
I do devote the remnant of my days
But to the shedding of that villain's blood! (Rising.)

And now that his suspicion may not prompt
Him to the coming of that dread hour;
I must mature the purpose of my plans
Amid the grandeur of the mighty hills,
Whereon the thunders of the roaring winds
Shall make dolorous music to my soul!

(Exeunt omnes.)

Scene IV

A chamber in Don Carlos' palace. Don Carlos is lying asleep on his couch. Enter Don Pedro with a knife in his hand.
Don Pedro
(Approaching him.)
Now then, he dies! He sleeps! Still as the dead!
As if the silence of the grave were all
That reigned around such sweet repose. Now then—
But he should not be murdered in his sleep!
For then his eyes will not behold whose hand
It is that takes revenge upon him for
His dear Elvira's sake! No, he must rise!
Awake! thou murderer of my happiness,
Arise!

Don Carlos
(Waking and rising.)
What, Pedro! Villain that thou art!
Who set thee on to this foul deed? (Wresting the dagger from his hand.)


Don Pedro
Hold! hold!
And thou shalt hear!

Don Carlos
(Grasping him by the throat.)
No, thou shalt die, with all
The multitude of sins upon thy head!
If thou hast any prayers to offer up
To God's offended majesty, 'tis time
The voice of penitence had cried aloud
For mercy!

Don Pedro
Carlos, spare my life!

Don Carlos
To die
A thousand deaths for every day you live!

Don Pedro
No, you shall hear it all!

Don Carlos
Then speak the truth!

Don Pedro
Count Alvar—

Don Carlos
Devil that he is! Now die! (Raising the dagger.)


Don Pedro
Oh, Carlos, spare me for Elvira's sake!

Don Carlos
Elvira? Villain, call that name again,
And thou shalt strangle in thy cursed blood!

Don Pedro
Count Alvar—

Don Carlos
Pedro, utter not that name again
Or all the elements that shake my soul,
Will in consuming me destroy thee too!
What is thy destiny? (Letting go his throat.)


Don Pedro
To do thy wish.

Don Carlos
Well, that will be to drown thee in the sea!

Don Pedro
But thou wilt hear the truth?

Don Carlos
Speak, then, the truth!

Don Pedro
I did not come to murder thee in sleep,
But frighten thy compassion for the soul
That loves Elvira.

Don Carlos
(Contemptuously.)
Murderer for the Count!

Don Pedro
I would convey thy vengeance to his soul.

Don Carlos
That is, that you will kill the Count for me!

Don Pedro
If killing him would make Elvira mine.

Don Carlos
(Raising his dagger.)
Then swear before this bright, uplifted steel,
That should descend upon thee in revenge—
That thou wilt never serve Count Alvar more!

Don Pedro
I swear it from my heart, my lord, if you
Will promise that Elvira shall be mine

Don Carlos
That choice is with herself.

Don Pedro
Then promise me
That we shall see each other once again.

Don Carlos
It may be so.

Don Pedro
Then, by yon heavenly light,
Whose beauty is the image of her eyes—
I swear to dedicate my life to thee!

(Exeunt omnes.)
Curtain falls.

Act III

Scene I.

A magnificent apartment in Count Rodolph's palace. Enter Count Rodolph, Count Alvar and Theresa.
Count Rodolph
I understand Don Carlos was the man.

Count Alvar
He was, my lord. He had the impudence
To chide me to my face.

Count Rodolph
Not in the street!

Count Alvar
No, in this very house, my lord.

Count Rodolph
By Jove,
I would have crushed the villain where he stood!

Count Alvar
I would have slain the recreant in his tracks.
Theresa, being nigh, prevented me—

Theresa
I saw
The fellow who addressed you yesterday
With some strange accusation, which has been
A puzzle to my senses ever since.

Count Alvar
Nay—Carlos was not conscious what he said;
And, doubtless, had been tasting, too much wine.

Count Rodolph
But had you no dispute before?

Count Alvar
Before,
My lord? He had not seen my face before?

Count Rodolph
Perhaps he may have seen you when in Spain.

Count Alvar
He may have seen me casually in Spain.

Count Rodolph
But who was thy companion in the tour?

Count Alvar
Alvino, one who loved me well; a youth
Of promise, who disdained the very earth
He trod upon. He was a noble soul.
But she, of whom Don Carlos spoke, was young
Alvino's cousin.

Theresa
She it was, my lord,
Whom Carlos mentioned when he said to you,
I think, “Thou wilt not hate Leoni's love.”
And when you drew your sword upon him there,
I saw him brighten with an evil fire,
As if he wished he had his own with him,
Which, having, there is no doubt he had used.

Count Alvar
I knew that well, therefore prepared for him,
I told Don Pedro from that moment forth,
To watch the prowling of the cursed wolf;
And if he found him straying from his path,
To cut the life strings from his iron heart,
And dash him to the dogs!

Theresa
Then he is dead!
I would not hesitate to swear that some
Foul mischief is now breeding in the world!

Count Alvar
Oh yes—some mischief. Some foul, devilish thought
Is always uppermost in woman's mind.

Theresa
But has he not been absent now too long?
You may depend upon it, he is not
The man he seems to be.

Count Rodolph
It may be so;
She may have seen more of his thoughts than you;
For women oftener see more faults in men,
Than they see in themselves.

Count Alvar
By Jove! What if
He has beheld Elvira? Sight of her
Would change the purpose of his amorous soul,
And make the hardness of his iron heart
As soft as down upon the turtle's wing,
For love will cool the fever of revenge.

Theresa
Revenge, my lord? On whom?

Count Alvar
When Pedro comes
The message of his mission will be read.

Theresa
Now written with an iron pen in blood!

Count Alvar
The fancies always paint some cloud upon
The dawn of thine expectancy.

Count Rodolph
Revenge!

Count Alvar
That same infernal Carlos, whom our friend,
Don Pedro hates, is brother to his love,
Who, having sworn that they shall meet no more,
Don Pedro swears that he shall die. That's all.

Theresa
May Heaven protect the innocent from harm!

Count Rodolph
Amen to that!

Count Alvar
(Aside.)
Who cares, so Carlos dies.

(Exeunt omnes.)

Scene II

The same apartment in Don Carlos' palace. Enter Don Carlos and Alvino.
Don Carlos
What is your wish? You have not told me that.

Alvino
Revenge—revenge as powerful as death.
And greedy as the yearnings of the grave!

Don Carlos
The universal cry of vengeance is—
Revenge! that everlasting, bring hate
Which oozes from the bottom of the soul
And storms the passions of the heart to rage!
But mark! the hardest whetstone to the edge
Of our revenge, is Pedro.

Alvino
Pedro?

Don Carlos
Yes,
The rascal's friend, Don Pedro, came within
An ace of frightening me to death last night.

Alvino
Of frightening you to death?

Don Carlos
Indeed, he did—
Of murdering me in sleep!

Alvino
Most devilish fiend!
Who set the coward on? Where is he now?

Don Carlos
We shall confer with him in private soon,
He may be of especial use to us.
There is some lying, to be done, you know,
And he will fill that office to the life.
I mean to instigate him to the death
Of Rodolph, promising Elvira's hand,
And then both murders will be fixed on him.

Alvino
The innocent will suffer for the guilty.

Don Carlos
What, Pedro innocent? Are you prepared?

Alvino
I am.

Don Carlos
Then mark me. Lodging in my room
Tonight, which looks upon Count Alvar's house,
Will save you from the watchmen in the streets,
And hide suspicion. Therefore, go thou thence,
And after you have sacrificed the dog
Upon the altar of legitimate, revenge,
Return back from the palace of the dead,
And lodge there all night. Now, mind the storm,
And navigate your vessel through the sea,
As though you this pilot at the helm;
And when you shall approach the happy shore,
The far-off scenery bristling on the sky,
Will seem Elysian Gardens to the soul.

Alvino
The traitor then will have no home.

Don Carlos
Farewell!
Take lodgings in my room tonight.
(Exit Don Carlos.)

Alvino
Farewell! Who knows how soon man's nature may misgive.
But stronger than my fear is my revenge.
Ye Gods, support me in that trying hour,
Which is to set an everlasting seal
Upon the soul of him whose life is death,
And whose eternal destiny is Hell!

(Exit.)
Enter Don Pedro and Elvira
Don Pedro
But are there still suspicions in his mind
That Alvar sent me to destroy his life?

Elvira
There are although your future conduct may
Dispel the cloud which overhangs his soul.

Don Pedro
But would Elvira doubt her Pedro's word?

Elvira
The idea has not wholly left my mind.

Don Pedro
By all the Gods, at once dispel the thought!
There is not in the vastness of my soul,
A single thought that is not spent for him;
And all the bright things of the living world,
Are brightened in the presence of thy smiles!
The fanciful array of odorous flowers
Which deck the emerald mantle of the spring
Whose perfumes, rising on the breath of morn,
Float upward to the embrace of the sun,
Are coloured by the beauty of thy smiles,
And sweetened by the odor of thy breath!

Elvira
I tell you, Pedro, that my brother thinks
Count Alvar sent you to destroy his life,
And if he find you feeble in his wish,
Or faltering in the purpose of his hate,
His enmity will grow upon you fresh,
But if he find you wedded to his soul,
And quick to execute his simplest thought,
Then will he look upon you as his friend,
And treat you as if he had never been
Aught but the friend that he will be to you.

Don Pedro
Such is the temper of his manly heart.
But he who would deceive an orphan girl
By blushes, silvered over with his tears,
Would murder Carlos in the dead of night.
But see, he comes!

(Exit Elvira.)
Enter Don Carlos.
Don Carlos
The hour will soon arrive.

Don Pedro
Is every thing prepared?

Don Carlos
Tonight! tonight!
Alvino seeks him by the moon tonight.

Don Pedro
Then will his soul ascend above the stars.

Don Carlos
Ascend? Descend into the depths of Hell!
But mark! There is one villain living yet,
Besides Count Alvar, Pedro. He must die!

Don Pedro
Who can that be?

Don Carlos
Count Rodolph—he that stands
Against Alvino, if Count Alvar die.
Now swear before high Heaven that he shall die!

Don Pedro
Then promise that Elvira shall be mine!

Don Carlos
I tell you, Pedro, she is free to choose,
And thou art standing now above my soul,
As does the unchanged thundercloud of Heaven.
Above the parched lips of the cracking earth,
And if thou wilt descend upon that fiend,
The sweet refreshment of the stormy shower
Will make the dearest April of my life.
Now swear!

Don Pedro
I swear, my lord, that he shall die
As surely as Elvira shall be mine.

Don Carlos
The oath is registered among the Gods!
This way. (Going.)


Don Pedro
The Gods shall see the duty done.

(Exeunt.)

Scene III

Time, midnight. In front of Count Alvar's palace. Thunder and lightning. Enter Alvino drest in dark clothes.
Alvino
Roll on, thou billowy trumpeter of night!
And let the clamour of thy mighty voice
Fill up the embrace of eternity!
Spread out the groaning Hell-tones of thy bass,
Until the mountains echo back your song,
And scorch the foldings of the curtained earth,
With thy cloud-breaking vengeance!
(Ceases thundering.)
All is still!
Still as the awful silence of the grave!
Now that the mantle, night, is thrown around
The cradle, earth, whereon mankind repose—
There is no time so suited to the deed—
No deed so hateful to the eye of day!
But who shall wake him from that fatal sleep,
And bring him back to consciousness again?
Of all the periods in the Book of Time,
There is no full stop to the human soul
So awful in its nature as that point
Which ends the final chapter of his life!
For when we turn the last leaf over, we
Behold the everlasting blank beyond
The which is that eternity wherein
No light shall ever enter to the damned!
Now then, the villain slumbers for the last!
Enter Count Alvar from the palace, not seeing him.
Count Alvar! in the presence of the Gods,
I call upon thee to defend thy life!
Judgment hath come against thee in the world,
And thou shalt liquidate thy last account!
The fiery fingers of the fiends of Hell
Can only grasp the pages of thy deeds!
Think of the beauteous rose that thou hast plucked!
And though it seemed to wither at thy feet,
The thorn is here to stab thee to the heart!

Count Alvar
(Drawing his sword.)
Alvino, is it thou?

Alvino
(Rushing at him.)
Leoni! Die! (They fight.)

Look on the vengeance of an injured girl!
This very night thou shalt descend to Hell!

Count Alvar
Alvino, art thou mad? beside thyself?

Alvino
I have enough to make me mad—to burn
Up every atom of my raging blood!

Count Alvar
Alvino, mark the danger thou art in!

Alvino
Behold, my sword is thirsting for thy blood
And it shall drink the river of thy life!

Count Alvar
Alvino, speak! The cause?

Alvino
(Rushing at him.)
Leoni! Die!

They fight again, when Alvino stabs him to the heart and he falls.
Count Alvar
Alvino, may the vengeance of the Gods
Descend upon thee now! My soul is gone. (Dies.)


Exit Alvino. Scene closes.

Scene IV

The same apartment in Don Carlos' palace. Enter Leoni.
Leoni
I have been waiting like the lonesome Dove,
And still my comforter delays his time.
What if the villain has been rash indeed?
Enter Alvino
Alvino, thou hast saved my tears! Oh, love!
Did you not hear some sweet dolorous sound?
It was my soul that went out audibly
In search of thee, but never returned with thine.

Alvino
Oh, how the monster trembled at my sight!
I called upon him to defend his life,
And three times offered him this pointed steel,
Which he as many times refused with his.
I then stood o'er him, as the cypress mourns,
Preaching his funeral with exalted wrath,
Till like the willow twig snapt from its stem,
I cut the brittle thread of life in twain;
And left him weltering in his own heart's blood!

Leoni
Then he is dead, indeed!

Alvino
Yes, he is dead!
Gone down to Hell, where all seducers go!

Leoni
Plunged you the dagger in his perjured heart?

Alvino
I did, but disinterred it o'er again,
I would not let it rot in such a grave!

Leoni
(Embracing him.)
Then I am thine, forever thine!

Alvino
'Tis sworn!

(Exeunt.)
Curtain falls.

Act IV

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.)

Scene II

The same apartment in Don Carlos' palace. Enter Don Carlos, Don Pedro and Elvira.
Don Carlos
So, he that was the gardner of the flower—
Who plucked the sweetest rose that ever bloomed,
And left the nectar of its ruby folds
To perish in the stagnant winds of Heaven—
Has withered by the frost before the flower!

Don Pedro
What, has Alvino lashed him for the deed?

Don Carlos
I heard that he had murdered him last night—
Although no one suspects he is the man.

Elvira
What, is it possible he is dead?
I fear, dear Carlos you have been too rash!

Don Carlos
But no one saw me save his wife.

Elvira
Behold, who enters there?

Don Carlos
I need not doubt—

Elvira
Alas,
Then for your sister's sake, dear Carlos, fly!

Don Carlos
Why should I fly?

Elvira
They come for thee, away!

Enter Officer and Guard.
Officer
Sir, by the oath invested in this writ,
I am compelled to fetter thee in chains.

Elvira
In chains? Why bind the innocent in chains?

Officer
I am compelled to do so by the law.

Don Carlos
(Giving himself up.)
It is your duty thus to do.

Elvira
(Taking his hand and kneeling.)
Alas,
And shall my brother die? We must not part.

Don Carlos
Arise, my gentle sister. We shall meet
Again. (She rises)


Elvira
Perhaps no more on earth.

Don Carlos
We shall.
And, Pedro, parting as the best of friends,
I owe thee obligations, which shall live
As long as thou shalt live to think of them.
So, fare thee well!

Don Pedro
Farewell to meet again.

Exit Don Carlos followed by Officer and Guard.
Elvira
Oh, Pedro, what will be our prospects now,
Seeing the brightest of our hopes is gone?
Can you not save him from that cruel death?

Don Pedro
And prove that Pedro is the friend of one
Who called upon him in the hour of need?
Then he who would not promise me thy hand,
Shall have the joy of being saved by mine.

Elvira
He will consent. My heart, you know, is thine.

Don Pedro
Elvira, Pedro cannot lie to thee,
For he has worshipped thee in all his dreams!
And when the chambers of the night were hung
With all the silver shining lamps that deck
The azure palace of the glorious sky,
Like roses blossoming in the fields of Heaven,
He has communed in silence with thee.
And think that Pedro can forget thee now?
I swear, Elvira, Carlos shall be saved!

Elvira
Oh, Pedro, never did my heart believe
That mortal man could be so true as thee!
But see, Alvino comes. He looks not strange?
(Enter Alvino.)

Alvino
I see, Don Pedro, Carlos is not here.

Don Pedro
He is not here for he is prisoner in thy stead.

Elvira
Alvino, if thou art the man thou art,
I now conjure thee to be true to him!

Alvino
What, think you that Alvino will be false?
The heart that urged him on to that great deed—
To mend the broken vessel at the fount,
Which after ministering to his delight,
Was thrown in wilful wantonness away,
Shall be the prompter to restore his friend.
Alvino will be faithful to the last.

Elvira
Then instantly release him from the chains!

Alvino
This letter shall be evidence of that
I wish it, Pedro, to be borne to him,
And after Carlos has divulged it thee,
I wish an answer speedily returned.
I would not trust another man on earth,
And hope you will be faithful as
The trust reposed in you. (Giving the letter.)


Don Pedro
It shall be done.
I will be with him straight.
(Exit Don Pedro.)

Alvino
(Aside.)
The work is done!

Elvira
What was there in that letter?

Alvino
Pedro knows,
Or soon will know, when it is read.

Elvira
But tell
Me, what was in it?

Alvino
Know you not our plans?

Elvira
I know them not.

Alvino
Then you shall never know
From me.

Elvira
Perhaps it may effect his life?

Alvino
If Pedro is the friend he seems to be
He will divulge it all, when he returns.
No woman ever kept a secret yet.

(Exeunt omnes.)

Scene III

A prison. Carlos is discovered bound in chains. Enter Don Pedro.
Don Carlos
What, Pedro, is it you? What is the news?
Does Carlos own thy heart?

Don Pedro
He does, my lord.
And he is destined—

Don Carlos
Destined?

Don Pedro
To be free.

Don Carlos
Alas, those cherished hopes were almost gone.

Don Pedro
Amen
To that! Alvino bade me hand you this,
And wished an answer speedily returned.

Don Carlos
(Reading the letter.)
Alvino? Is he faithful to the last?

Don Pedro
He wears the aspect on his brow full well.

Don Carlos
Alvino—Pedro, listen! swear that thou
Art harder than the adamant of Hell,
And thou shalt have the Jewel of my house!

Don Pedro
I am, to do the simplest thing for thee.

Don Carlos
Alvino instigates me here to prompt
You to the murder of Count Rodolph—go!
That we may be as free as air again—
And bear this unsealed letter to him straight!
And should he question you about its truth,
Then show him, when the message has been read,
This handkerchief he left upon my bed!

(Giving him the handkerchief and letter.)
Don Pedro
If this will save thy life by risking mine
It shall be done.

Don Carlos
It will—be quick!

Don Pedro
Then swear Elvira shall be mine

Don Carlos
By Heavens, she shall!
But go find Rodolph at the risk of life.

(Exit Pedro. Scene closes.)

Scene IV

The same apartment in Count Rodolph's house.
Enter Count Rodolph and Theresa.
Count Rodolph
The trial comes at the hour of three.

Theresa
But will he be condemned?

Count Rodolph
As sure as fate.
But you will be required to swear that he,
Don Carlos, threatened him with instant death.
Leoni was the cause.

Theresa
Who told you so?
I heard the thing from good men's mouths. Then, mark!
The evidence against Don Carlos will
Be truer than the truth, when that is known.

Theresa
Why so?

Count Rodolph
Because he killed him for that girl.

Theresa
But as Alvino married her, why did
He not revenge himself upon the Count?

Count Rodolph
There is the mystery which will be cleared
Of all its darkness when the truth is known,
And brought before the Council. Who comes there?
Withdraw—perhaps he may dissolve the doubt.

(Exit Theresa.)
Enter Don Pedro.
Pedro
(Bowing)
My lord.

Count Rodolph
Don Pedro?

Don Pedro
That's my name, my lord.

Count Rodolph
Who saved you when the sentence of your death
Was registered upon the Book of Fate?

Don Pedro
Count Alvar did.

Count Rodolph
Then why forsake that man?
Why, rather than be faithful to your friend,
Colleague yourself with that damned infidel,
Who, laden with the heavy chains of State,
Now reads his destiny among the dead?

Don Pedro
Because the trust reposed in me by him,
Was sacrificed to gain another's love.

Count Rodolph
Who could be dearer to you than he was?

Don Pedro
My love for her—Elvira's love for me.

Count Rodolph
No, thou art forging in thy cursed heart
The lying words which hang upon thy lips,
I will not suffer thee to live an hour!

Don Pedro
Hold, let me show thee to thy naked eyes,
That Carlos is not guilty of the deed!

(Handing him the letter.)
Count Rodolph
(Reading it.)
Now tell me at the peril of thy life,
If under any circumstance of hate,
Alvino wished to instigate thee, by
This letter to Don Carlos, to destroy
My life!

Don Pedro
He did, my lord. He surely did,
Leoni being prompter to the deed,
This handkerchief was found upon his bed.

(Giving him the handkerchief.)
Count Rodolph
Ye Gods, how eloquent is this poor thing!
My ears are sated with its silent speech.
It says more than the clamorous tongue of man,
With all his liquid fluency of words!
There is no evidence against his soul,
Can speak so loudly as this drop of blood!

Don Pedro
And then his name is on the corner there.

Count Rodolph
Alvino, yes, it is most true—'tis here!
And though he used the cunning of his soul,
To keep the secret of the deed untold,
Yet, he has spoken more by this same thing,
Then if he had proclaimed it to the world.
But go—tell Carlos he is free again—
Alvino shall be prisoner in his stead.

(Exit.)
Don Pedro
And man may call me coward, if he will,
But who would not, in such an hour as this,
Lie boldly in the very face of truth,
To gain possession of that woman's love!
Since but to hesitate is losing all!
Then, as my interest prompts me to the act,
And as Elvira will be mine, if done,
And happiness must follow, if she is,
There shall be nothing to deter my power.

(Exit.)

Scene V

The same apartment in Alvino's house. Enter Alvino and Leoni.
Leoni
So, of the handkerchief thou hast not heard?
And Pedro has not yet returned?

Alvino
He stays,
And by that staying brings me nearer death!

Leoni
Oh, say not so! He may have been detained.

Alvino
I must say so; there is no other hope.

Leoni
You do not think that Pedro will be false?

Alvino
If Carlos promise him Elvira's hand,
He will betray to Rodolph all our plans,
And then the sentence of the law will fall
Upon us with avenging wrath!

Leoni
Most true!
But cannot there be something done to ward
Away this direful blow? Yes, let us fly!

Alvino
Leoni, it is best that we should stay—
Flying would only serve to prove our guilt,
And give suspicion stronger claims to proof,
And not remember in this trying hour,
If any portent should retard our hopes—
Be strong as love is infinite!

Leoni
I will;
And drink the last drop of the bitter cup,
As freely as the first one—to the dregs!
But when is Carlos to be tried?

Alvino
At three—
The Duke is sitting now in Council.

Leoni
Now?
Then, let us fly! Alvino, why delay?
The icy fingers of the hands of death
Are tugging at my heartstrings—now thy pull,
And stretch beyond endurance.

Alvino
Hush, my love!
An officer is coming with his guard.

Leoni
Then, fly! Leoni will be with thee—fly!

Alvino
I cannot, dearest, all is over now!
It is too late! Don Pedro has been false!
And now, forsaken as we are on earth,
Remember that we have two friends in Heaven.
And as we are united here on earth,
So let us be when we shall meet in death.

Leoni
In death? Thou wilt be dear to me then,
Than thou hast ever been in life. No, love,
They cannot separate us in this world!
And, come whatever bitterness there may,
They cannot do it in the world to come.
For that which prompted me to hate the Count,
Has only made me value thee the more,
And love thee better in the hour of need.
And, therefore, dying at whatever hour,
The pleasure, that my life shall end with thine,
Will blot away the terrors death may bring.
But look, they come!

Alvino
Now, reconcile thyself.

Enter Officer and Guard
Officer
Seize on him, Guard!

Alvino
(Drawing his sword.)
Stand back, obedient dogs!
Your mothers bore your fathers no such sons.
In Lombardy the Axeman says, that when
The storm is raging loudest on the hills,
The tallest trees bend lowest to the ground.
And I would spill thy blood upon the earth
Like rain! (To Leoni.)

Now like the Persian Shepherd, when
He wandered through the Desert of the East,
And, from the wilderness beheld the glimpse
Of Arem's Gardens, never to behold
The beauty of that paradise again,
So do we turn away from all things dear,
And from the radiant vision of that hope
Whose glory burst upon us yesterday,
To gaze upon the icy shape of Death! (Turning to the Officer.)

Bind me in chains! (They bind him.)


Leoni
Oh, ye of little souls!
Have ye in office love to show your power!
I do despise you from my very soul!

Alvino
(Aside to Leoni.)
Leoni, recollect the vow we made! (To Officer.)

Now we are ready to abide the law.

Leoni
And if the Duke's decision be thy death,
The sentence of thy guilt shall be my death!
For if the life that is in thee shall die,
The dying of that life shall be my death!

Alvino
Leoni, that has sunk deep in my heart!

(Exit Alvino and Leoni, attended by Officer and Guard.)

Scene VI

The same apartment in Don Carlos' palace. Enter Don Carlos to Elvira.
Elvira
Don Carlos, are you free?

Don Carlos
As free as air.

Elvira
Who set you free?

Don Carlos
That letter which our friend,
Don Pedro, brought to me.

Elvira
Then, Carlos, let
Revenge now sleep.

Don Carlos
It has been sleeping long—
Just now waked up, never to sleep again!

Elvira
You hate him still. Reward him for his pains.

Don Carlos
I will reward him for his pains! He is
My creditor vast arrears. The debt,
If nothing happens, will be paid today!
He lent me ruin—I mean to pay him—death!

Elvira
Where go you now?

Don Carlos
I go to do my work!
The raging fever of my heart for years,
Parching my soul with an immortal thirst,
Will soon be medicined to coldness now.
The last Act of the Drama then will close.
With the redemption of my noblest friend.

(Exeunt severally.)

Scene VII

The Council Chamber.
The Duke and his Council assembled. Enter Alvino attended by Leoni, and followed by Officer and Guard. Enter, afterwards, Count Rodolph and Theresa.
Count Rodolph
(With a paper in his hand.)
My Liege, before you for an awful crime,
The murder of Count Alvar in the night,
Alvino stands accused of that foul deed!
That he was murdered in the dead of night,
When God's all-seeing eye alone could see,
Is sworn to in this sacred writ of mine.
And that the murderer stands before you now,
Is proven by this letter, which he sent
To Carlos by Don Pedro when in chains,
To prompt him to the taking of my life.
And by this handkerchief which you behold,
Which Carlos said he found upon his bed,
The which, if not sufficient to convict,
Shall be confirmed by evidence of both.

Duke
(To Officer.)
Then bring them forward—they shall both be sworn.
(Exit Officer.)
Alvino, if you have a word to say,
Against the evidence adduced, speak out!
My liege, that innocence may plead, without
Disguise, her own truth-telling cause, there is
No more than truth in what the Count has said.
That in the dead of night Count Alvar fell,
When some life-taking hand drove off his soul,
And left him sleeping in the arms of Death,
May all be true, but that this thing was done
And by Alvino's hand, must yet be proven.

Re-enter Officer, bringing in Don Carlos and Pedro.
Count Rodolph
Now, that the evidence may be adduced,
I charge you, Carlos, by an awful oath,
To say if this foul letter came from him.

Don Carlos
It did!

Count Rodolph
And that this handkerchief was found
Upon his bed.

Don Carlos
It was.

Alvino
(To Carlos.)
Oh, man! Frail man!
When thou art false, thou art, indeed, most vile!
There stands the injured cause of all this guilt,
A Sanctuary holy—perfect—pure!
From that bright bush he plucked the sweetest rose
That ever bloomed—whose virtuous sweets he stole—
Then spurned her, that she had no more to steal!
The last soft tendril of the dearest vine
That ever wreathed the pillar of affection!
The rest are gone to an untimely grave!
And, now that we are destined to that place,
Where all our ills shall be forgotten—we
Shall be the first in this assembly who
Shall covet no remembrance in this world.
And now, whatever lot may fall on one,
I crave this boon, that it may fall on both!

Duke
Alvino, that the law is blood for blood—
That justice may be given to whom 'tis due—
That human passion may rich lesson learn—
But more than all, that Heaven may be appeased,
I now pronounce thy sentence—it is Death!
May all good Angels guard thee to thy home!

Leoni
Have you no tongue to speak the same to me?
Oh, if you have, pronounce it now—yes, now!

Alvino
(Aside to Leoni)
Leoni, recollect the vow we made!

Leoni
(Taking a phial from her bosom and drinking.)
What, think you Count Rodolph has the power
To take revenge upon such love as this?

Alvino
(Aside to Leoni)
Revenge! thou hast revenge upon them all!
Yes, deeper than the depths of Heaven from Hell!

(He takes the phial from her hand and empties it.)
Leoni
(Aside.)
The sweetest death that ever mortal died!
I have another friend, if that should fail.
It sleeps beside the beatings of my heart,
Counting each anxious sorrow, one by one!
And when the curtains of dark night shall fall
Upon the eyelids of the Day—the last
Of all that is now spoken be known!

Alvino
Ye Gods, behold the power of my revenge
And pity all that has been done in hate!

End of Act Fourth. Curtain falls.

Act V

Scene 1.

The same apartment in Don Carlos' palace. Enter Don Pedro and Elvira.
Don Pedro
Open thy bosom—take me to thy heart—
And cage my soul there, where it loves to live,
For, as the matchless Swan long from his home,
Waits for the coming of the gentle Spring,
To leave the sunny waters of the South,
And seek the milder Summer of his own
And rising from the languid blades at even,
Soars through the untrod regions of the air,
And from the pathless altitudes above,
Descends upon the bosom of his home,
And meeting with his fellows floats in joy;
So hath my longing soul from day to day,
Soared through the desert—bleakness of dark deeds,
To gain possession of this longed-for joy.

Elvira
And Carlos lives to recompense thee now,
For all the benefits bestowed on him,
And see thee happy in Elvira's love.
In giving thee my hand my heart is given;
In yielding up my heart my soul is thine,
And giving that there is no more to give,
But that devotedness in after life,
Which is the consequence of all my gifts.

Don Pedro
Then are the buddings of my earliest hopes,
Expanded to the fulness of that flower,
Which only decks the paradise of bliss.

Elvira
And now the pulse of Carlos is as calm
As that most solemn pause in nature, when
The silence doth succeed the raging storm.
For there is not within his friendly heart
A single pulse that beats beyond the time
In which the sympathies of tranquil life
Are chained in one harmoneous round of joy.
But poor Alvino, fettered as he is,
And doomed to suffer for an act so just,
And poor Leoni, faithful to the last,
It makes me sorry from my very soul.

Don Pedro
Is she permitted still to stay with him?

Elvira
She is more faithful to Alvino's love
Than is the sunflower to the God of Day.
For though it meet him at the rising morn,
And follow him through all the weary hours,
To the soft drooping of the languid West,
At night there is no sun to follow then;
But through the weary hours of all the sun,
And through the weary hours of all the night,
Has she been faithful to Alvino's love.
But see, my brother comes. How mild he seems!

(Enter Don Carlos.)
Don Carlos
Don Pedro, in the presence of the Gods,
I now present to thee the richest gem
That ever sparkled in the mind of truth!
And one that has been worn upon my breast
For eighteen gentle summers—she is thine!
And now, as if the heavenly gift were made
To be restored again at some blest hour,
With all the richness of her present worth,
I charge you to be dutiful to her,
And cherish her with all the power of love,
For she is thine—forever to be thine!
(Uniting their hands.)
And like the mountain rock forever more,
Standing amid the brief decay of things,
Robed with the greenness of its velvet moss,
Which while it hides its inequalities,
Gives beauty to the outline of its forms;
May all thy years, while others fall around,
Present the greenness of enduring youth!

Don Pedro
Then, Carlos, in this hour—this single hour—
Thou dost behold more joy in Pedro's soul,
Than ever lived in man. Give me thy hand!

Don Carlos
(Giving his hand.)
Thou hast been faithful, Pedro, to the last,
And for thine honesty shouldst have the girl,
Therefore, the gift is thine, forever thine.
For you, Elvira, you may wait awhile,
I have some business with your lord, before
Your wedding day! (Exit Elvira.)

Oh, ye immortal Gods!
How I do thank you for this hour, this hour
Of all my life is sweetest to my soul!
It sweeps away all former grief, as if
It had not been. I thank you. Oh, ye Gods,
One villain in the grave—the other here!
They should have both been tumbled in one hole,
Rotting in death as they have lived in life!

Don Pedro
(Aside, much agitated.)
I have foreboded this! What must be done?

Don Carlos
Don Pedro, come this way, come near to me!
The Chalice which I offered thee just now,
So full of perfect joy that it ran o'er,
I dash to fragments on the Rock of Hell!

Don Pedro
Oh, Carlos, you are angry with me now!
If I have wronged you, let it pass—forgive!
For I am sorry from my soul!

Don Carlos
Base fiend!
Did you expect my sister's hand? That hand
Which is as dear to me as life! Think you
That I would give my sister to a fiend?
Oh, cursed fool, I gave her thee, to show
Thee, snatching her away, the cruel pangs
Of unrequited love! She loves thee not,
No, hates thee—hates thee as my soul does now!

Don Pedro
Oh, Carlos, kill me rather than say that!

Don Carlos
Kill thee? I mean to cut thee all to pieces!
The splintery lightnings of the unsealed Heavens,
Were snailpaced to the thunders of revenge!

Don Pedro
Think, Carlos, who has saved thy life?

Don Carlos
My life?
My cunning, not thy treachery, or if
It did, you should not live for it, but die—yes, die!
Nay, rather say, who stole my life? Who helped
Count Alvar bear Almeda from my arms?
Ah, tremble, tremble at my power!

(Drawing his dagger.)
Don Pedro
(Kneeling.)
Forgive!
Have mercy on your friend!

Don Carlos
My foe, you mean!
Did you have mercy on my heart, when it lay
Bleeding—withering at your feet? No, no!
And do you ask forgiveness in this world?
Do you expect it in the next?

Don Pedro
I do,
And hope you will forgive.

Don Carlos
Hope not.
There is no hope—forgiveness none!

Don Pedro
Do spare my life!

Don Carlos
No, thou shalt die, guilt-spotted as thou art!
Thou shalt descend to that infernal world,
Where Hell's immortal dogs shall gnaw thy soul!

Don Pedro
Let me but see Elvira once!

Don Carlos
No more,
Not in this world or the world to come!
She shall not go to Hell, nor you to Heaven!

Don Pedro
Then, farewell world!

Don Carlos
(Taking him by the throat.)
That was well said. Thy life!

Don Pedro
Oh, spare me but one hour, but half an hour!

Don Carlos
No longer than the impatience of my soul
Can lead thee hence to instant death, come on!

(Leading him out.) (Re-enter Elvira.)
Elvira
What, gone? Yes, gone, but where? Ah, by this time
Poor Pedro's soul is on its way to Heaven!
If not to Heaven, to that unfathomed gulf,
Where all the sinful in this world must go.

(Re-enter Don Carlos in haste.)
Don Carlos
Elvira, it is done!

Elvira
What have you done?

Don Carlos
Dispatched that devil's soul to Hell; down—down!
Where Hell's lank wolves, forever famished, howl,
And bark obstreperous thunder round the damned!
Will he not serve the devil there as here?
What if my wife should meet him in that world?
Would she not know him there as here? She would!
If there is lechery in Hell, they have hot times,
Count Alvar being there among the rest.

Elvira
I wish it had not been.

Don Carlos
Why so, what now?

Elvira
I fear I shall never find rest.

Don Carlos
What, are
You better than I am? We need no rest!
There is no rest on earth, nor peace, nor joy,
Nor any thing that you should care about.

Elvira
I fear that I have sinned.

Don Carlos
You have not sinned.
You are as guiltless as a newborn child.

Elvira
But then I promised to be his.

Don Carlos
How his?
Don Pedro's wife? Then you have sinned indeed!
For that your soul can find no rest on earth.
I did not think that I could hate you so!

Elvira
Oh, hate me not, but do forgive, forgive!

Don Carlos
I have no time for parley now. Each grain
Of sand that from the hour-glass of old time,
Falls on the earth crowds on the life of one,
Olympus high, which must be saved. Ye Gods!
That through the vistas of long trying years,
Have smiled upon my purpose to this hour,
Look down upon me with propitious smiles,
And aid me to achieve my greatest work.

Elvira
Where go you now?

Don Carlos
I go to save my friend.

Elvira
Farewell, may God have mercy on your soul!

(Exit.)

Scene II

The same apartment in Count Rodolph's palace. He is seated by a table writing. Enter Theresa.
Theresa
When does Alvino die?

Count Rodolph
He dies at three.

Theresa
Where is Don Carlos?

Count Rodolph
He is free again.

Theresa
He should be free. He is a noble soul.

Count Rodolph
You talk of soul. Leoni has the soul—
She is All Soul!

Theresa
Does she remain with him?

Count Rodolph
She does.

Theresa
Think you she will die with him?

Count Rodolph
She will. Why should she live? She has no friends.
And living friendless is but living death.

Theresa
To die, you know, is terrible to all.
I question much if she will have the nerve.

Count Rodolph
A woman's spirit can do any thing
I almost wish he had not been condemned,
Or that he could be pardoned for her sake.

Theresa
That would not do. Then he would kill us all.
No, he must die! There must be no reprieve!

(Exit.)
Enter Don Carlos
Don Carlos
Count Rodolph, is Alvino dead?

Count Rodolph
Not yet.

Don Carlos
When does he die?

Count Rodolph
At three.

Don Carlos
Thou liest—he lives!

Count Rodolph
What do you mean?

Don Carlos
I mean he shall not die!
Not while this arm has power to wield this sword!

Count Rodolph
No power can save his life. He dies at three!

Don Carlos
Then say thy prayers. Thou shalt not live an hour!

Count Rodolph
Are you insane?

Don Carlos
Insane as sanity
Can make a man—distracted for my friend!
His life is in thy power—he must be saved!

Count Rodolph
My power? I cannot save his life!

Don Carlos
Then you
Can die!

Count Rodolph
I am astonished at this talk.

Don Carlos
Astonished? Did you ever love your friend?
Would you not die to save thy friend? Then die!
He is thy friend—yes, everybody's friend.

Count Rodolph
How can I save his life?

Don Carlos
Do you not know?
Give me the keys!

Count Rodolph
I have no keys.

Don Carlos
Then write me his reprieve.

Count Rodolph
I have no power to grant you his reprieve!

Don Carlos
Then sign the Duke's name to it.

Count Rodolph
Forge his name?
Then I shall die for forgery!

Don Carlos
Better that,
Then die so suddenly—so unprepared!

Count Rodolph
(Writing.)
Well, if it must be done—it must be done.

(Giving Don Carlos the paper.)
Don Carlos
Then by the Gods, he lives—he lives again!

(Exit.)
Count Rodolph
By Heavens, there is some mystery in this,
And I must leave the city for my life!

(Exit.)

Scene III

The interior of a prison. Alvino and Leoni are lying asleep, from the effects of the narcotic which they have taken. A noise, as from a crowd, is heard without.
Leoni
(Slowly recovering.)
So, twilight visions gather round my soul,
And Angels play about my couch tonight.
Where is Alvino? Was it he that spoke?
If it were Heaven, Alvino would be here.
There are no sounds in Heaven—there Angels sing.
There Angels' songs are heard. There Alvino sings!

Alvino
(Slowly waking.)
Leoni, darkness gathers round my soul.
What gloom is this that overhangs my head?
Oh, there are heavy things upon me now.
Leoni, gentlest of revengeful loves,
Look at these manly hands, all chained, yes chained
As if my soul found music in their links!
Oh, how they sing the requiem of my death!

Leoni
(Rising.)
Thou hast redeemed me unto death with thee,
The sweetest death that ever mortal died!
To live without thee would be living death,
To die with thee will be eternal life!
This is the gate through which we pass to Heaven.
We are not dead until we pass this gate.

Alvino
(Rising.)
Oh, for the carol of that heavenly bird!
The Nightingale that has complained so long—
Pouring the sweetness of her plaintive song
To the deaf ears of an offending world.
Sing on, sad bird, for those shalt sing no more!
(Noise without.)
Leoni! 'Tis too dark for Heaven—'tis Hell!

Leoni
Look here, thou dost not see this precious thing?
This was an Angel's gift. 'Twill couch all pain!
Through all the fibres of thy manly heart,
Send sleep—immortal sleep! Send night—dark night!
And wake thy morrow in another world!

(Noise without again.)
Alvino
What sound was that? The summons! We must part!

Leoni
We part? We will not sever in this world.
I have a tale to tell too sweet for that!
'Twill send an anthem through thy very soul.
It is too deep to fathom in this world!
(Raising the dagger.)
Here is one chapter thou hast never read.
Alvino, this shall drowse away all life.
'Tis warm with that which it shall turn to ice!

Alvino
A little moment more, Leoni, then—

Leoni
I, who have been thy pathway to the tomb,
Will be thy partner through the shades of death.
This is the marriage banquet of our loves!
Alvino, thou hast never known me yet.
This world has never known fond woman's love.
This is the place that lesson shall be taught,
That he who ever knew Leoni's love,
May love her that her love is woman's love!

(Noise at the door without.)
Alvino
They come, Leoni—hold, thou canst not kill!

Leoni
What, cannot kill? The strength of death too weak?
A lion's strength is weak to this—now, come!

(She stabs herself, hands him the dagger, and falls.)
Alvino
Now, that her own dear blood is on the blade,
And she is waiting at Heaven's Gate for me,
I cannot bear to stay so long from her!

Leoni
Alvino! (Dies.)


Alvino
Ha, she calls me—I must go!
(Stabs himself and falls.)
Leoni, see! Alvino comes to thee!

(Dies.)
(Enter Don Carlos in haste.)
Don Carlos
Gods, are they dead? Yes, they are dead, dead, dead!
And I have come too late to save my friend!
Oh, my Alvino, Carlos was your friend,
And yet you died believing him your foe!
Great powers above, where is my comfort now?
Here, with Alvino, poor Leoni—dead!

The Curtain Falls.