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      Teresa. Who wakes anew my fears, and speaks of peril?

      Valdez. O best Teresa, wisely wert thou prompted!

       This was no feat of mortal agency!

       That picture — Oh, that picture tells me all!

       With a flash of light it came, in flames it vanished, 15

       Self-kindled, self-consum’d: bright as thy life,

       Sudden and unexpected as thy fate,

       Alvar! My son! My son! — The Inquisitor —

      Teresa. Torture me not! But Alvar — Oh of Alvar?

      Valdez. How often would he plead for these Morescoes! 20

       The brood accurst! remorseless, coward murderers!

      Teresa. So? so? — I comprehend you — He is ——

      Valdez. He is no more!

      Teresa. O sorrow! that a father’s voice should say this,

       A Father’s Heart believe it!

      Valdez. A worse sorrow

       Are fancy’s wild hopes to a heart despairing! 25

      Teresa. These rays that slant in through those gorgeous windows,

       From yon bright orb — though coloured as they pass,

       Are they not light? — Even so that voice, Lord Valdez!

       Which whispers to my soul, though haply varied

       By many a fancy, many a wishful hope, 30

       Speaks yet the truth: and Alvar lives for me!

      Valdez. Yes, for three wasting years, thus and no other,

       He has lived for thee — a spirit for thy spirit!

       My child, we must not give religious faith

       To every voice which makes the heart a listener 35

       To its own wish.

      Teresa. I breath’d to the Unerring

       Permitted prayers. Must those remain unanswer’d,

       Yet impious sorcery, that holds no commune

       Save with the lying spirit, claim belief?

      Valdez. O not to-day, not now for the first time 40

       Was Alvar lost to thee —

       Accurst assassins!

       Disarmed, o’erpowered, despairing of defence,

       At his bared breast he seem’d to grasp some relique

       More dear than was his life ——

      Teresa. O Heavens! my portrait!

       And he did grasp it in his death pang!

       Off, false demon, 45

       That beat’st thy black wings close above my head!

      [ORDONIO enters with the keys of the dungeon in his

       hand.

      Hush! who comes here? The wizard Moor’s employer!

       Moors were his murderers, you say? Saints shield us

       From wicked thoughts ——

      [VALDEZ moves towards the back of the stage to meet

       ORDONIO, and during the concluding lines of

       TERESA’S speech appears as eagerly conversing

       with him.

      Is Alvar dead? what then?

       The nuptial rites and funeral shall be one! 50

       Here’s no abiding-place for thee, Teresa. —

       Away! they see me not — Thou seest me, Alvar!

       To thee I bend my course. — But first one question,

       One question to Ordonio. — My limbs tremble —

       There I may sit unmark’d — a moment will restore me. 55

      [Retires out of sight.

      Ordonio (as he advances with Valdez). These are the dungeon keys.

       Monviedro knew not,

       That I too had received the wizard’s message,

       ‘He that can bring the dead to life again.’

       But now he is satisfied, I plann’d this scheme

       To work a full conviction on the culprit, 60

       And he entrusts him wholly to my keeping.

      Valdez. ‘Tis well, my son! But have you yet discovered

       (Where is Teresa?) what those speeches meant —

       Pride, and hypocrisy, and guilt, and cunning?

       Then when the wizard fix’d his eye on you, 65

       And you, I know not why, look’d pale and trembled —

       Why — why, what ails you now? —

      Ordonio. Me? what ails me?

       A pricking of the blood — It might have happen’d

       At any other time. — Why scan you me?

      Valdez. His speech about the corse, and stabs and murderers, 70

       Bore reference to the assassins ——

      Ordonio. Dup’d! dup’d! dup’d!

       The traitor, Isidore! [A pause, then wildly.

       I tell thee, my dear father!

       I am most glad of this.

      Valdez. True — sorcery

       Merits its doom; and this perchance may guide us

       To the discovery of the murderers. 75

       I have their statures and their several faces

       So present to me, that but once to meet them

       Would be to recognize.

      Ordonio. Yes! yes! we recognize them.

       I was benumb’d, and staggered up and down

       Through darkness without light — dark — dark — dark! 80

       My flesh crept chill, my limbs felt manacled

       As had a snake coil’d round them! — Now ‘tis sunshine,

       And the blood dances freely through its channels!

      [Then to himself.

      This is my virtuous, grateful Isidore!

      [Then mimicking ISIDORE’S manner and voice.

      ‘A common trick of gratitude, my lord!’ 85

       Old Gratitude! a dagger would dissect

       His ‘own full heart’—’twere good to see its colour.

      Valdez. These magic sights! O that I ne’er had yielded

       To your entreaties! Neither had I yielded,

       But that in spite of your own seeming faith 90

       I held it for some innocent stratagem,

       Which love had prompted, to remove the doubts

       Of wild Teresa — by fancies quelling fancies!

      Ordonio. Love! love! and then we hate! and what? and wherefore?

       Hatred and love! fancies opposed by fancies! 95

       What? if one reptile sting another reptile?

       Where is the crime? The goodly face of nature

       Hath one disfeaturing stain the less upon it.

       Are we not all predestined transiency,

      

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