 | Henriquez |  |
SCENE II.
A royal apartment. Enter Leonora and Friar.Friar.
The king will from his council come ere long;
Then wait, I pray, and take a little respite
From this impatient fever of your mind.
Leo.
Take respite! this impatience! O, good father!
Thou canst not know this agony, and speakst
Like one secured from human misery.
Heaven grant me patience! I have need of it;
But it must come from heaven.
Friar.
See; now his highness enters.
Enter King attended; and Leonora, running to him, casts herself at his feet, embracing his knees.
King.
The lady Leonora! rise, dear lady.
Leo.
No; to your knees I'll cling, nor quit my hold
Till from your royal pity I obtain
The mercy I implore.—My lord Henriquez—
Your valiant general—my dear, dear husband—
Say that he shall not die. This execution!
This malefactor's end! O save him! save him!
King
(raising her).
As far as I have power, your suit is granted.
Leo.
Then he is saved—he lives? Is it not so?
King.
Alas! I would it were. Your lord refuses
All royal mercy. I have sworn to him
Never to pardon Juan's murderer.
If thou canst move his stubborn spirit, kneel,
And at his feet implore him to release me
From this most fatal oath.
381
Move him! Alas, alas! this will not be;
I know him well: in what he deems the right,
He is inflexible. But solemn oaths,
E'en oaths upon the holy relics sworn,
The holy church annuls: it will release you.
Then say not you are bound.
King.
From oaths upon the holy relics sworn
The church can loose, as thou, no doubt, hast learnt
From sacred books and this good father's lore;
But, solemnly, upon Henriquez' sword
I've pledged a prince's word—a soldier's honour,
From which nought can release me, but the will
And free consent of him to whom 'tis pledged.
Hie, therefore, to thy lord: kneel at his feet,
And may heav'n give thee power to touch his heart.
Leo.
Is all my hope in this! Unhappy woman!
By heaven and man abandon'd—Dismal doom!
The woe of desperation!
[Franticly wringing her hands, and then turning in anger to the King.
There's mockery in this. Thou art a king,
And canst command what I would beg in vain;
Command him, as his royal liege and master,
That he release thee from this fatal pledge.
A king, and not obey'd! deceitful shadow!
Doth not thy power o'er all things reign supreme?
King.
Not o'er men's wills.—
This is a power heaven to itself retains,
And ne'er did delegate to mortal being.
Leo.
(pacing about as before).
Despair, despair!
What see I but despair,
Shame, infamy, a malefactor's end?
King.
Wring not thy hands so wildly, wretched lady!
His life, indeed, we must despair to save;
But infamy is from his name remov'd,
As heaven from hell. Yea, his proud house shall boast
Of this its noble malefactor, more
Than all its trophied chiefs.
When at the bar he stood arraign'd, and pled,
Proving his secret guilt, against himself,
Ne'er rose his form so nobly on the mind,
Even in his days of triumph.—
But when the fatal sentence was pronounced,
He raised his head, and sent a look to heav'n
Of pleased appeal and solemn thankfulness;
A look of pious hope so dignified,
He seem'd like some fall'n seraph that again
Had won his way to bliss.—A general murmur
Of admiration from deep silence rose.
Old men did clasp their hands, and young men wept;
And those who on his victories bestow'd
A cold and niggard praise, now, with full hearts,
Gave boundless tribute to his lofty virtue.
Leo.
And he was honour'd thus! high heaven be prais'd!
[Bursting into tears.
It makes me weep that they did weep for him.
Heaven's will be done!
I've been too stern and violent in my grief:
God grant me more submission to His will,
And I will learn to bear it. My Henriquez!
The brave with tears of admiration grace
Thy hapless end, and rescue thee from shame.
King.
Rescue! far more than rescue: his proud house
The very implements of execution
Will henceforth in their banners proudly weave.
Leo.
I needs must weep; but let my tears have vent,
And I shall be resign'd.
Enter Carlos and Antonio.
King
(to them).
How is Henriquez? came ye from his tower?
Car.
Most admirably well; his soul is up:
I left him shaking hands most cordially
With his worst enemy, and he intends,
Ere close the night's first watch, to spend an hour
In social converse with some early friends,
Who shared his first campaigns, and have desired
To see his face once more.—
His soul seems open'd now, and raised above
That close reserve, which was his greatest blemish.
King.
Some noble minds do from misfortune rise,
Yea, e'en from guilt, more noble than before;
As by the hardest blow the smitten ball
Bounds highest from the earth.—
Retire, fair Leonora: this good man (pointing to friar)
Will heavenly comfort to thy soul impart,
And strengthen it to bear the coming trial.
[Friar supports her on one side, while Antonio offers his aid also, as she goes off.
Leo.
(to Ant.)
Not thou; the hidden cause of all this woe.
Friar.
Nay, daughter, be not angry with this youth.
The will of heaven must be; the means appointed
Must also be: he is most innocent,
Since ignorant of ill.
Leo.
My grief is wayward still; but I'll subdue it.
[Takes hold of Antonio, and exit with him and friar, while King, Carlos, and attendants go out by another door.
| Henriquez | |