Giovanni.
If riches are thine object, here are gems
Would prove a monarch's ransom; all my wealth
Is freely thine: in distant kingdoms blaze,
With eastern splendor; leave me a poor hut,
And the most precious treasures of my soul.
Rosmunda.
Waste not the time in idle words—I sought
The fond protection of my husband's arms.
He hath denied my suit; but Justice still
Reigns upon earth enthroned; my cause is linked
With sacred attributes; an injured wife,
A helpless woman will not plead in vain.
Across the Arno, where Zenaldi's gate
Opes to the sufferer's tale, I'll speed my way;
Unlike his cruel sire, who wrought the fall
Of my unhappy father, he will aid
The righteous cause. My brother hath obtained
A safe asylum in his broad domains,
And I will rush amid his marble halls,
And tell my piercing wrongs.
