Edwin and Angelina ; or the Banditti An opera, in three acts |
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| 1. | SCENE I. |
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| 3. |
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 | Edwin and Angelina ; or the Banditti |  |
SCENE I.
A Hermitage: Edwin, disguised as a Hermit, sitting in the entrance; in profound contemplation. He rises, and comes, slowly, forward.Edwin.
O Memory! thou fond deceiver;
Still importunate and vain;
To former joys recurring ever;
And turning all the past to pain.
Still importunate and vain;
To former joys recurring ever;
And turning all the past to pain.
Thou, like the world, the opprest oppressing;
Thy smiles increase the wretch's woe;
And he who wants each other blessing,
In thee must ever find a foe.
Thy smiles increase the wretch's woe;
And he who wants each other blessing,
In thee must ever find a foe.
How sad! and, yet, how true! How many suns
Have cours'd their daily round; how many moons
Have silver'd o'er this dell, and sunk in night;
Since first I enter'd!—Yet, nor the jocund
Sun, nor moon soft-smiling, cheer my soul.
In vain, the hermit's sacred robe invests me;
In vain, at earliest morn and deepest night,
I kneel before my rustic altar; press,
With trembling lips, the crucifix; and strive
To frame some apt, and well-according prayer;
Love and despair still triumph in my breast.
Angelina!—Angelina!—This cell,
These dark and dreary woods, alone reply;
Alone make answer to my mournful cries.
Time! thine are the spendthrift's promises!
And life! thou'rt full of agony! Ah where!
Where shall the wretched find some sure repose?
Have cours'd their daily round; how many moons
Have silver'd o'er this dell, and sunk in night;
Since first I enter'd!—Yet, nor the jocund
Sun, nor moon soft-smiling, cheer my soul.
In vain, the hermit's sacred robe invests me;
In vain, at earliest morn and deepest night,
I kneel before my rustic altar; press,
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To frame some apt, and well-according prayer;
Love and despair still triumph in my breast.
Angelina!—Angelina!—This cell,
These dark and dreary woods, alone reply;
Alone make answer to my mournful cries.
Time! thine are the spendthrift's promises!
And life! thou'rt full of agony! Ah where!
Where shall the wretched find some sure repose?
| Edwin and Angelina ; or the Banditti | |