UGOLINO.
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Whom not his guilt nor thy stern icy grasp,
Can make less dear to poor Angelica.
Count. Angelica! no! no! thou didst not say so
Not, not Angelica!
Ange. O, Ugolino!
By all the injuries that thou hast done me,
For which may heaven pardon thee as I do
Harm not Olympia. With her latest breath,
Angelica, thy poor forsaken victim,
Thy loving faithful page, beseeches thee—
Oh, my strength fails me—Promise ere I die,
Oh, promise! Promise me.[Dies.
Can make less dear to poor Angelica.
Count. Angelica! no! no! thou didst not say so
Not, not Angelica!
Ange. O, Ugolino!
By all the injuries that thou hast done me,
For which may heaven pardon thee as I do
Harm not Olympia. With her latest breath,
Angelica, thy poor forsaken victim,
Thy loving faithful page, beseeches thee—
Oh, my strength fails me—Promise ere I die,
Oh, promise! Promise me.[Dies.
Ugolino, who appears horror struck during this speech, with a frantic cry utters the name of Angelica and sinks beside the body. The scene closes.
SCENE V.—Street in Venice. Night, storm at intervals, but much fainter.
Enter First and Second Merchants, r.
First Mer. You then were present at the trial, sir.
Sec. Mer. No—but I heard their sentence publicly
Proclaim'd from the Pieto del Bando.[Bell.
First Mer. Hark The procession has begun.
Sec. Mer. The Doge
Will, I am told, be present.
First Mer. Certainly,
She was his kinswoman—Alas! poor lady!
This eve was to have join'd her to Serassi;
And so it doth; but with what different pomp
To that which should have grac'd so fair a union.[Distant thunder.
Methinks the very elements did seem
To sympathize with Venice for their loss—
A wilder roar than what was heard to night,
Ne'er shook the welkin—the vexed Adriatic
Leap'd up and lash'd its marble confines. Torrent
Pour'd after torrent till the leaky clouds
Have scarce a tear to shed, and the hoarse thunder,
Wearied with constant bellowing, now mutters
Sullen and faintly to the distant flash.
Sec. Mer. I thought the Countess could not long survive
The shock which threw her reason from its seat—
Pray heaven the murderer be brought to justice,
For I do strongly think the banish'd nobles
Are innocent, despite the proofs against them.
First Mer. 'Tis the belief of Venice—will you on, sir,
And see this ceremony?
Sec. Mer. Sir—have with you.[Exeunt Merchants, l.
First Mer. You then were present at the trial, sir.
Sec. Mer. No—but I heard their sentence publicly
Proclaim'd from the Pieto del Bando.[Bell.
First Mer. Hark The procession has begun.
Sec. Mer. The Doge
Will, I am told, be present.
First Mer. Certainly,
She was his kinswoman—Alas! poor lady!
This eve was to have join'd her to Serassi;
And so it doth; but with what different pomp
To that which should have grac'd so fair a union.[Distant thunder.
Methinks the very elements did seem
To sympathize with Venice for their loss—
A wilder roar than what was heard to night,
Ne'er shook the welkin—the vexed Adriatic
Leap'd up and lash'd its marble confines. Torrent
Pour'd after torrent till the leaky clouds
Have scarce a tear to shed, and the hoarse thunder,
Wearied with constant bellowing, now mutters
Sullen and faintly to the distant flash.
Sec. Mer. I thought the Countess could not long survive
The shock which threw her reason from its seat—
Pray heaven the murderer be brought to justice,
For I do strongly think the banish'd nobles
Are innocent, despite the proofs against them.
First Mer. 'Tis the belief of Venice—will you on, sir,
And see this ceremony?
Sec. Mer. Sir—have with you.[Exeunt Merchants, l.
SCENE VI.—Interior of the Ducal Church of St. Mark—Funeral procession of Olympia and Serassi. The Doge, Monteno, Mourners, Guards, Noblemen, &c.—Bell at intervals—Music.
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