He'll task thy skill anon. Look, here he Never would I have sought to win her from you prepared? Lara. I am. Are Hyp. It grieves me much to see this quarrel Between you, gentlemen. Is there no way But you must make one with your swords? I do entreat thee, dear Hypolito, Our tongues have spoken. Let these tongues of steel End our debate. Upon your guard, Sir Count. (They fight. VICTORIAN disarms the COUNT.) Your life is mine; and what shall now withhold me From sending your vile soul to its account? Lara. Strike! strike! Vict. You are disarmed. I will not kill you. Her memory in the dust! O Count of Lara, I will not murder you. Take up your We both have been abused, been much sword. (FRANCISCO hands the COUNT his sword, and HYPOLITO interposes.) abused! I thank you for your courtesy and frank ness. Though, like the surgeon's hand, yours gave me pain, Yet it has cured my blindness, and I thank you. I now can see the folly I have done, Though it is, alas! too late. So fare you well! To-night I leave this hateful town forever. Regard me as your friend. Once more farewell! Hyp. Farewell, Sir Count. [Exeunt VICTORIAN and HYPOLITO. Lara. Farewell! farewell! farewell! Thus have I cleared the field of my worst foe! I have none else to fear; the fight is done, Cruz. And so, Bartolomé, the expedition failed. But where wast thou for the most part? Bart. In the Guadarrama mountains, near San Ildefonso. Cruz. And thou bringest nothing back with thee? Didst thou rob no one? Bart. There was no one to rob, save a party of students from Segovia, who looked as if they would rob us; and a jolly little friar, who had nothing in his pockets but a missal and a loaf of bread. Cruz. Pray, then, what brings thee back to Madrid ? Bart. First tell me what keeps thee here ? Cruz. Preciosa. Bart. And she brings me back. Hast thou forgotten thy promise? Cruz. The two years are not passed yet. Wait patiently. The girl shall be thine. Bart. I hear she has a Busné lover. Cruz. That is nothing. Bart. I do not like it. I hate him,the son of a Busné harlot. He goes in and out, and speaks with her alone, and I must stand aside, and wait his pleasure. Cruz. Be patient, I say. Thou shalt have thy revenge. When the time comes, thou shalt waylay him. Bart. Meanwhile, show me her house. Cruz. Come this way. But thou wilt not find her. She dances at the play to-night. Bart. No matter. Show me the house. [Exeunt. Good night! Good night, beloved! Thine eyes are stars of morning, Cruz. They are not coming this way. SONG (coming nearer) Ah! thou moon that shinest All night long enlighten Bart. Woe be to him, if he comes this way! Cruz. Be quiet, they are passing down the street. SONG (dying away) The nuns in the cloister Sang to each other; For so many sisters Is there not one brother! The cat has run away with the partridge! Bart. Follow that! follow that! Come with me. Puss! puss! (Exeunt. On the opposite side enter the CoUNT OF LARA and gentlemen with FRANCISCO.) Vict. In truth, a pretty song. Hyp. With much truth in it. I hope thou wilt profit by it; and in earnest Try to forget this lady of thy love. Vict. I will forget her! All dear recollections Pressed in my heart, like flowers within a book, Shall be torn out, and scattered to the winds ! I will forget her! But perhaps hereafter, When she shall learn how heartless is the world, A voice within her will repeat my name, And she will say, "He was indeed my friend!" Oh, would I were a soldier, not a scholar, That the loud march, the deafening beat of drums, The shattering blast of the brass-throated trumpet, The din of arms, the onslaught and the storm, And a swift death, might make me deaf forever To the upbraidings of this foolish heart! Hyp. Then let that foolish heart upbraid no more! Vict. Yes, Love is ever busy with his To conquer love, one need but will to con quer. Vict. Yet, good Hypolito, it is in vain I throw into Oblivion's sea the sword That pierces me; for, like Excalibar, With gemmed and flashing hilt, it will not sink. There rises from below a hand that grasps it, And waves it in the air; and wailing voices Like a dead weight thou hangest on the wheels. Thou art too young, too full of lusty health To talk of dying. Vict. Yet I fain would die ! To go through life, unloving and unloved; To feel that thirst and hunger of the soul We cannot still; that longing, that wild impulse, And struggle after something we have not And cannot have; the effort to be strong; And, like the Spartan boy, to smile, and smile, While secret wounds do bleed beneath our cloaks; All this the dead feel not, - the dead alone! Would I were with them! Нур. Of the bewildering masquerade of Life, Where strangers walk as friends, and friends as strangers; Where whispers overheard betray false hearts; And through the mazes of the crowd we chase Some form of loveliness, that smiles, and beckons, And cheats us with fair words, only to leave SCENE II. - Public square in the village of Guadarrama. The Ave Maria still tolling. A crowd of villagers, with their hats in their hands, as if in prayer. In front, a group of Gypsies. The bell rings a merrier peal. A Gypsy dance. Enter PANCHO, followed by PEDRO CRESPO. Pancho. Make room, ye vagabonds and Gypsy thieves! Make room for the Alcalde and for me! Pedro C. Keep silence all! I have an edict here From our most gracious lord, the King of Spain, |