Abbot. I fear thee not-hence-hence-
Avaunt thee, evil one!-help, ho! without there!
Man. Convey this man to the Shreckhorn-to its
peak-

Man. And what are they who do avouch these To its extremest peak-watch with him there

From now till sunrise; let him gaze, and know
He ne'er again will be so near to heaven,
But harm him not; and when the morrow breaks,
Set him down safe in his cell-away with him!
Ash. Had I not better bring his brethren too,

I come to save, and not destroy-Convent and all to bear him company?

Man. No, this will serve for the present. Take him up.

Ash. Come, friar! now an exorcism or two,

With the true church, and through the church to And we shall fly the lighter.

MANFRED alone.

One chamber where none enter; I would give

Man. Why would this fool break in on me, and The fee of what I have to come these three years, To pore upon its mysteries.

force

My art to pranks fantastical?—no matter,
It was not of my seeking. My heart sickens
And weighs a fix'd foreboding on my soul;
But it is calm-calm as a sullen sea
After the hurricane; the winds are still,
But the cold waves swell high and heavily,
And there is danger in them. Such a rest
Is no repose. My life hath been a combat,
And every thought a wound, till I am scarr'd
In the immortal part of me.-What now?

Re-enter HERMAN.

Manuel.

'Twere dangerous; Content thyself with what thou know'st already. Her. Ah! Manuel! thou art elderly and wise, And couldst say much; thou hast dwelt within the castle

Of features or of form, but mind and habits:
Count Sigismund was proud,-but gay and free,-

Her. My lord, you bade me wait on you at sunset: A warrior and a reveller; he dwelt not
He sinks behind the mountain.

Man.

I will look on him.

Doth he so?

With books and solitude, nor made the night
A gloomy vigil, but a festal time,
Merrier than day, he did not walk the rocks

[MANFRED advances to the window of the hall. And forests like a wolf, nor turn aside

Glorious orb!* the idol

Of early nature, and the vigorous race
Of undiseased mankind, the giant sons
Of the embrace of angels, with a sex
More beautiful than they, which did draw down
The erring spirits who can ne'er return.-
Most glorious orb! that were a worship, ere
The mystery of thy making was reveal'd!
Thou earliest minister of the Almighty,
Which gladden'd, on their mountain tops, the hearts
Of the Chaldean shepherds, till they pour'd
Themselves in orisons! thou material God!
And representative of the Unknown-

Who chose thee for his shadow! thou chief star!
Centre of many stars! which mak'st our earth
Endurable, and temperest the hues

And hearts of all who walk within thy rays!
Sire of the seasons! Monarch of the climes,
And those who dwell in them! for, near or far,
Our inborn spirits have a tint of thee,
Even as our outward aspects;-thou dost rise,
And shine, and set in glory! Fare thee well!
I ne'er shall see thee more. As my first glance
Of love and wonder for thee, then take
My latest look: thou wilt not beam on one
To whom the gifts of life and warmth have been
Of a more fatal nature. He is gone:
I follow.

SCENE II.

Her.

Come, be friendly;
Relate me some, to while away our watch:
I've heard thee darkly speak of an event
Which happen'd hereabouts, by this same tower.
Manuel. That was a night indeed! I do remember
'Twas twilight, as it may be now, and such
Another evening;-yon red cloud, which rests
On Eigher's pinnacle, so rested then,-
So like it that it might be the same; the wind
Was faint and gusty, and the mountain snows
Began to glitter with the climbing moon;
Count Manfred was, as now, within his tower,-
How occupied, we knew not, but with him
The sole companion of his wanderings
And watchings-her, whom of all earthly things
That lived, the only thing seem'd to love,
As he, indeed, by blood was bound to do,
The lady Astarte, his-
Her.

Look-look-the tower-
[Exit MANFRED. The tower's on fire. Oh, heavens and earth! what

The Mountains.-The Castle of Manfred at some distance.-A Terrace before a Tower.-Time, Twilight.

HERMAN, MANUEL, and other Dependants of

sound,

What dreadful sound is that?

[A crash like thunder. Manuel. Help, help, there !-to the rescue of the Count,

The Count's in danger,-what ho! there! approach! [The Servants, Vassals, and Peasantry ap proach, stupified with terror. If there be any of you who have heart Her. 'Tis strange enough; night after night, for And love of human kind, and will to aid

years,

MANFRED.

He hath pursed long vigils in this tower,
Without a witness. I have been within it,-
So have we all been ofttimes; but from it,
Or its contents, it were impossible
To draw conclusions absolute of aught
His studies tend to. To be sure, there is

• This soliloquy, and a great part of the subsequent scene, have been Jeaned in the present form of the drama.

Her. (within.) Not so-even now methought he He changes rapidly.

Re-enter MANUEL and HERMAN, bearing MANFRED Alone-we know not how-unshrived-untended➡