English

Act 3
Scene 1
A Hall in the Castle of MANFRED. MANFRED and HERMAN.

manfred: What is the hour?
herman:It wants but one till sunset,
And promises a lovely twilight.
manfred:Say,
Are all things so disposed of in the tower
As I directed?
herman:All, my lord, are ready:
Here is the key and casket.
manfred:It is well:
Thou may'st retire.
[Exit HERMAN.]
manfred:[alone]. There is a calm upon me--
Inexplicable stillness! which till now
Did not belong to what I knew of life.

Act 2
Scene 1
A Cottage amongst the Bernese Alps. MANFRED and the CHAMOIS HUNTER.

chamois hunter: No, no--yet pause--thou must not yet go forth:
Thy mind and body are alike unfit
To trust each other, for some hours, at least;
When thou art better, I will be thy guide--
But whither?
manfred:It imports not; I do know
My route full well and need no further guidance.
chamois hunter: Thy garb and gait bespeak thee of high lineage--
One of the many chiefs, whose castled crags
Look o'er the lower valleys--which of these

Act 1
Scene 1
MANFRED alone.--Scene, a Gothic Gallery.--Time, Midnight.

manfred: The lamp must be replenished, but even then
It will not burn so long as I must watch:
My slumbers--if I slumber--are not sleep,
But a continuance of enduring thought,
Which then I can resist not: in my heart
There is a vigil, and these eyes but close
To look within; and yet I live, and bear
The aspect and the form of breathing men.
But grief should be the instructor of the wise;
Sorrow is knowledge: they who know the most

THE VISIT CONCLUDED

" No letters, Tom? " said Richard — " None to-day. "
" Excuse me, Brother, I must now away;
Matilda never in her life so long
Deferr'd — Alas! there must be something wrong! "

" Comfort! " said George, and all he could he lent;
" Wait till your promised day, and I consent;
Two days, and those of hope, may cheerfully be spent

And keep your purpose, to review the place,
My choice; and I beseech you do it grace:
Mark each apartment, their proportions learn,

THE CATHEDRAL WALK.

I N their discourse again the Brothers dwelt
On early subjects — what they once had felt,
Once thought of things mysterious; — themes that all
With some degree of reverence recall.
George then reverted to the days of old,
When his heart fainted, and his hope was cold;
When by the power of fancy he was sway'd,
And every impulse of the mind obey'd.

" Then, my dear Richard, " said the 'Squire, " my case
Was call'd consumptive — I must seek a place

WILLIAM BAILEY.

The letters Richard in a morning read
To quiet and domestic comforts led;
And George, who thought the world could not supply
Comfort so pure, reflected with a sigh;
Then would pursue the subject, half in play,
Half earnest, till the sadness wore away.

They spoke of Passion's errors, Love's disease,
His pains, afflictions, wrongs, and jealousies;
Of Herod's vile commandment — that his wife
Should live no more, when he no more had life,
He could not bear that royal Herod's spouse

THE WIDOW.

R ICHARD one morning — it was custom now —
Walk'd and conversed with labourers at the plough,
With thrashers hastening to their daily task,
With woodmen resting o'er the enlivening flask,
And with the shepherd, watchful of his fold
Beneath the hill, and pacing in the cold:
Further afield he sometimes would proceed,
And take a path wherever it might lead.

It led him far about to Wickham Green,
Where stood the mansion of the village queen;
Her garden yet its wintry blossoms bore,

GRETNA GREEN .

" I MET , " said Richard, when return'd to dine,
" In my excursion, with a friend of mine;
Friend! I mistake, — but yet I knew him well,
Ours was the village where he came to dwell;
He was an orphan born to wealth, and then
Placed in the guardian-care of cautious men;
When our good parent, who was kindness all,
Fed and caress'd him when he chose to call;
And this he loved, for he was always one
For whom some pleasant service must be done,
Or he was sullen — He would come and play

THE NATURAL DEATH OF LOVE

R ICHARD one month had with his brother been,
And had his guests, his friends, his favourites seen;
Had heard the rector, who with decent force,
But not of action, aided his discourse:
" A moral teacher! " some, contemptuous, cried;
He smiled, but nothing of the fact denied,
Nor, save by his fair life, to charge so strong replied
Still, though he bade them not on aught rely,
That was their own, but all their worth deny,
They call'd his pure advice his cold morality;

SIR OWN DALE .

A GAIN the Brothers saw their friend the priest,
Who shared the comforts he so much increased;
Absent of late — and thus the squire address'd,
With welcome smile, his ancient friend and guest.

" What has detain'd thee? some parochial case?
Some man's desertion, or some maid's disgrace?
Or wert thou call'd, as parish priest, to give
Name to a new-born thing that would not live,
That its weak glance upon the world had thrown,
And shrank in terror from the prospect shown?