Alma is dead! Alma the fair!—
By love of Ferdinand whelmed in his fate.—
Lament her, O lament.
(1.) Joy of our heavy prison; _Ch._ Rescued too late—
Beauty too fair. (1.) Ah! surely in earth’s prison....
_Ch._ A mortal as immortal made— 2302
O unforeseen her end! Lament, lament!
(1.) Our woe is a storm, our hope the fringe of a shade,
The smile of a cloud by tempest rent.
_Ch._ A dawn in vain arisen—
Alma is dead:
And we, to our superfluous prayer
Permitted still, our lives have won,—
Shaking in fear to be untimely undone,— 2310
By long misdoing undone, unworthy who were;—
Saved by her, but saved too late.
Alma the fair,
Our Alma is dead.
_En._ What mean these words?
_Sa._ O prince,
The woes so suddenly befallen us here
Make a long tale. In brief, these whom thou seest
Embraced in death, were drawn in life together
By love’s o’ermastering bond. Fate’s stroke at me
Is that I live to tell it.
_En._ And was’t for that 2320
Thy king slew Ferdinand?
_Sa._ That was not all:
For Satan did persuade our thwarteous king
To make a godless bargain of their loves:
He would have given his daughter to the Prince
As Ceuta’s price. When he refused, ’twas then
In pride and wrath he slew him.
_En._ Alas, my brother.
Inflexible in honour against thyself.
If but for a day thou hadst seemed to make consent,
All had been well.
_Sa._ Not well for him. He lived
And died with tongue as faithful as his soul. 2330
_Ch._ He tells not all. Maybe he doth not know.
_En._ What’s more to tell?
_Ch._ O sir, the princess here,
Who loved thy brother, learned the faith of us.
Her name is Alma. She is a Christian.
_Sa._ Yea,
’Tis true. I knew it. I would have hidden it from thee.
In this we are shamèd most. Prince Ferdinand
Conquered us here. His love and not his arms
Wove our disaster.
_Ch._ Love and faith have conquered.
Yet did his sword no less avenge his death. 2339
See, prince, ’tis here, wet with the murderer’s blood.
It savèd thee. For this we may rejoice:
And that we shall return.
_En._ Ye shall return. But now ’tis not an hour
For your rejoicing. Still your tongues. And, Sala,
It lies with thee in place of thy king dead
To treat with me. Here is thy sword: and thus
[_Giving._
I wipe out debt; knowing that thou hast been
Generous and faithful to my hapless brother.
Let us make peace. Possess you what was yours
Before this war: I shall lead back my troops, 2350
Nor vex your kingdom further. But I claim
The body of your princess, to inter
In Christian ground. One grave shall hold these lovers.
_Sa._ I would not separate them,—Heaven be my witness,—
But shouldst thou bury Almeh in some spot
Whereto I might not come, there’s nothing left
For Sala on this earth but still to fight,
To gain possession of that holy tomb.
_En._ Fear not, for I will have their sepulchre
In Ceuta, and there to thee it shall be granted
To enter when thou wilt.
_Sa._ I loved her, prince, 2361
Before thy brother.
_En._ For myself, I vow
Ne’er to draw sword again. I count all days
That ever I spent in arms lost to my life.
Man’s foe is ignorance: and the true soldier
May sit at home, and in retirement win
Kingdoms of knowledge; or to travel forth
And make discovery of earth’s bounds, and learn
What nations of his fellows God hath set
In various countries; and by what safe roads 2370
They may knit peaceful commerce,—this is well,
And this hath been my choice. To shed man’s blood
Brings but such ills on man as here ye see.
To save my brother and these Christian captives
I drew this sword, which thus I sheathe again
For ever.
_Ch._ Thou wilt lead us home.
_En._ Peace! peace!
So much is saved. Now have ye mournful duty
Unto the dead. Bring ye these lovers in.
Let there be no more speech.
THE HUMOURS
OF
THE COURT
A COMEDY
IN THREE ACTS