Page:Poems Shore.djvu/215

But now I think of it againCons. I guess
That was brave Ruggiero, he who first
Brought the blest news that you were still in life,
And warned us of the mighty Provence fleet
Arrayed to crush us, and then won his knighthood
By service in our ranks. You soon shall see him,
And thank him.
And thank him.Beat. Shall I?
And thank him.Beat. Shall I?Cons. When you came on deck,
That holy, happy daybreak; when you saw
Palermo rise before you from the sea
(Just as I saw it when I left it first,
A child, a bride, with Pedro; and again
When I came back after so many years
Of love and woe, woe for my dear slain father,
And love for my dear lord, my noble Pedro,
And showed my children first their mother's home
And birthplace). What felt you? Surely no fear!
 Beat. I could not tell you—never!
:Beat. I could not tell you—never!Cons. Try to tell me.
 Beat. When the Admiral
Pointed me out that silent, glittering city,
I could not answer him for tears. And then
Those bells! Like messages from Paradise,
How suddenly they broke upon the air
And trembled in my heart! I seemed new made—
Until he spoke some strange and horrible words,

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