93
An opening in the trees took Paulo's eye,
As, with his brother, mutely he went by:
It was a glimpse of the tall wooded mound,
That screened Francesca's favorite spot of ground:
Massy and dark in the clear twilight stood,
As in a lingering sleep, the solemn wood;
And through the bowering arch, which led inside,
He almost fancied once, that he descried
A marble gleam, where the pavilion lay;—
Starting he turned, and looked another way.
As, with his brother, mutely he went by:
It was a glimpse of the tall wooded mound,
That screened Francesca's favorite spot of ground:
Massy and dark in the clear twilight stood,
As in a lingering sleep, the solemn wood;
And through the bowering arch, which led inside,
He almost fancied once, that he descried
A marble gleam, where the pavilion lay;—
Starting he turned, and looked another way.
Arrived, and the two squires withdrawn apart,
The prince spoke low, as with a labouring heart,
And said, "Before you answer what you can,
"I wish to tell you, as a gentleman,
"That what you may confess," (and as he spoke
His voice with breathless and pale passion broke)
"Will implicate no person known to you,
"More than disquiet in its sleep may do."
The prince spoke low, as with a labouring heart,
And said, "Before you answer what you can,
"I wish to tell you, as a gentleman,
"That what you may confess," (and as he spoke
His voice with breathless and pale passion broke)
"Will implicate no person known to you,
"More than disquiet in its sleep may do."
