Be silent, Conrad !-dearest! come and share

« The feast these hands delighted to prepare ;

Light toil! to cull and dress thy frugal fare!

« See, I have plucked the fruit that promised best,

« And where not sure, perplexed, but pleased, I guessed «< At such as seemed the fairest : thrice the hill

My steps have wound to try the coolest rill;

« Yes! thy sherbet to-night will sweetly flow,
« See how it sparkles in its vase of snow!
« The grapes' gay juice thy bosom never cheers;
« Thou more than Moslem when the cup appears:
« Think not I mean to chide-for I rejoice
« What others deem a penance is thy choice.
« But come, the board is spread; our silver lamp
« Is trimmed, and heeds not the Sirocco's damp:
« Then shall my handmaids while the time along,
« And join with me the dance, or wake the song;
« Or my guitar, which still thou lov'st to hear,
« Shall soothe or lull—or, should it vex thine
« We'll turn the tale, by Ariosto told,

« Of fair Olympia loved and left of old.1

ear,

Why-thou wert worse than he who broke his vow << To that lost damsel, shouldst thou leave me now;

« Or even that traitor chief—I've seen thee smile,

« When the clear sky showed Ariadne's isle,

« Which I have pointed from these cliffs the while: « And thus, half sportive, half in fear, I said,

« Lest Time should raise that doubt to more than dread,

Thus Conrad, too, will quit me for the main :

« And he deceived me-for-he came again!»

"

Again-again-and oft again-my love!

<< If there be life below, and hope above,

« He will return-but now, the moments bring The time of parting with redoubled wing:

« The why-the where-what boots it now to tell? << Since all must end in that wild word-farewell! «Yet would I fain-did time allow-disclose

"Fear not-these are no formidable foes;

And here shall watch a more than wonted guard, « For sudden siege and long defence prepared: « Nor be thou lonely-though thy lord's away, « Our matrons and thy handmaids with thee stay; «And this thy comfort-that, when next we meet, Security shall make repose more sweet:

"

List! 'tis the bugle-Juan shrilly blew«One kiss-one more-another-Oh! adieu! »

She rose-she sprung-she clung to his embrace,
Till his heart heaved beneath her hidden face.
He dared not raise to his that deep-blue eye,
Which downcast drooped in tearless agony.
Her long fair hair lay floating o'er his arms,
In all the wildness of dishevelled charms;
Scarce beat that bosom where his image dwelt
So full-that feeling seemed almost unfelt!
Hark-peals the thunder of the signal-gun!
It told 'twas sunset-and he cursed that sun.
Again-again-that form he madly pressed,
Which mutely clasped, imploringly caressed!
And tottering to the couch his bride he bore,
One moment gazed-as if to gaze no more;
Felt-that for him earth held but her alone,
Kissed her cold forehead-turned-is Conrad gone?

XV.

a And is he gone?»-on sudden solitude
How oft that fearful question will intrude?
« 'Twas but an instant past-and here he stood!
« And now »—without the portal's porch she rushed,
And then at length her tears in freedom gushed;
Big-bright-and fast, unknown to her they fell;
But still her lips refused to send-« Farewell! »
For in that word—that fatal word-howe'er
We promise-hope-believe-there breathes despair.
O'er every feature of that still, pale face,
Had sorrow fixed what time can ne'er erase:
The tender blue of that large loving eye

Grew frozen with its gaze on vacancy,
Till-Oh, how far!-it caught a glimpse of him,
And then it flowed-and phrenzied seemed to swim
Through those long, dark, and glistening lashes dewed
With drops of sadness oft to be renewed.

« He's gone!»-against her heart that hand is driven,
Convulsed and quick—then gently raised to heaven;
She looked and saw the heaving of the main;
The white sail set-she dared not look again,
But turned with sickening soul within the gate-
<< It is no dream-and I am desolate ! »

XVI.

From crag to crag descending-swiftly sped
Stern Conrad down, nor once he turned his head;
But shrunk whene'er the windings of his way
Forced on his what he would not survey,

eye

His lone, but lovely dwelling on the steep,

That hailed him first when homeward from the deep:

And she-the dim and melancholy star,
Whose ray of beauty reached him from afar,
On her he must not gaze, he must not think,
There he might rest-but on Destruction's brink :
Yet once almost he stopped-and nearly gave
His fate to chance, his projects to the wave;
But no-it must not be-a worthy chief
May melt, but not betray to woman's grief.
He sees his bark, he notes how fair the wind,
And sternly gathers all his might of mind:
Again he hurries on-and as he hears
The clang of tumult vibrate on his ears,
The busy sounds, the bustle of the shore,
The shout, the signal, and the dashing oar;
As marks his eye the seaboy on the mast,
The anchor's rise, the sails unfurling fast,
The waving kerchiefs of the crowd that urge
That mute adieu to those who stem the

surge;
And more than all, his blood-red flag aloft,
He marvelled how his heart could seem so soft.
Fire in his glance, and wildness in his breast,
He feels of all his former self possest;
He bounds-he flies-until his footsteps reach
The verge where ends the cliff, begins the beach,
There checks his speed; but pauses less to breathe
The breezy freshness of the deep beneath,
Than there his wonted statelier step renew;
Nor rush, disturbed by haste, to vulgar view :
For well had Conrad learned to curb the crowd,
By arts that veil, and oft preserve the proud;
His was the lofty port, the distant mien,
That seems to shun the sight-and awes if seen
The solemn aspect, and the high-born eye,
That checks low mirth, but lacks not courtesy ;

All these he wielded to command assent:
But where he wished to win, so well unbent,
That kindness cancelled fear in those who heard,
And other's gifts shewed mean beside his word,
When echoed to the heart as from his own
His deep yet tender melody of tone:

But such was foreign to his wonted mood,
He cared not what he softened, but subdued;
The evil passions of his youth had made
Him value less who loved-than what obeyed.

XVII.

ע

Around him mustering ranged his ready guard.
Before him Juan stands-« Are all prepared? »
They are-nay more-embarked: the latest boat
<< Waits but my chief

"

«My sword, and my capote. »

Soon firmly girded on, and lightly slung,

His belt and cloak were o'er his shoulders flung;
« Call Pedro here! » He comes-and Conrad bends,
With all the courtesy he deigned his friends;
<< Receive these tablets, and peruse with care,
« Words of high trust and truth are graven there;
« Double the guard, and when Anselmo's bark
་ Arrives, let him alike these orders mark :

<< In three days (serve the breeze) the sun shall shine
« On our return-till then all peace be thine! »
This said, his brother Pirate's hand he wrung,
Then to his boat with haughty gesture sprung.
Flashed the dipt oars, and sparkling with the stroke,
Around the waves' phosphoric 2 brightness broke;
They gain the vessel-on the deck he stands;
Shrieks the shrill whistle-ply the busy hands-