SCENE III.—A Prison.
CARMAGNOLA.
They must have heard it now.—Oh! that at least
I might have died far from them! Though their hearts
Had bled to hear the tidings, yet the hour,
The solemn hour of nature's parting pangs,
Had then been past. It meets us darkly now,
And we must drain its draught of bitterness
Together, drop by drop. O ye wide fields!
Ye plains of fight, and thrilling sounds of arms!
O proud delights of danger! Battle-cries!
And thou, my war-steed! and ye, trumpet-notes
Kindling the soul! Midst your tumultuous joys
Death seemed all beautiful—and must I then,
With shrinking cold reluctance, to my fate
Be as a felon dragg'd; on the deaf winds
Pouring vain prayers and impotent complaints?
And Marco! hath he not betrayed me too?
Vile doubt! that I could cast it from my soul
Before I die!—But no! What boots it now
Thus to look back on life with eye that turns
To linger where my footstep may not tread!
Now, Philip! thou wilt triumph! Be it so!
I too have proved such vain and impious joys,
And know their value now. But oh! again
To see those loved ones, and to hear the last,
Last accents of their voices! By those arms
Once more to be encircled, and from thence
To tear myself for ever!—Hark! they come!
O God of mercy, from thy throne look down
In pity on their woes!
SCENE IV.
Antonietta, Matilda, Gonzago, and Carmagnola.
ANTONIETTA.
My husband!
MATILDA.
Oh! my father!
ANTONIETTA.
Is it thus
That thou returnest? and is this the hour
Desired so long?
CARMAGNOLA.
O ye afflicted ones!
Heaven knows I dread its pangs for you alone.
Long have my thoughts been used to look on Death,
And calmly wait his time. For you alone
My soul hath need of firmness; will ye, then,
Deprive me of its aid?—When the Most High
On virtue pours afflictions, he bestows
The courage to sustain them. Oh! let yours
Equal your sorrows! Let us yet find joy
In this embrace, 'tis still a gift of Heaven.
Thou weep'st, my child! and thou, beloved wife!
Ah! when I made thee mine, thy days flowed on
In peace and gladness; I united thee
To my disastrous fate, and now the thought
