Page:The Vespers of Palermo.pdf/28

Delay the stroke, till guilt, made manifest,
Shall bid stern Justice wake.

Eri.I am not one
Of those weak spirits, that timorously keep watch
For fair occasions, thence to borrow hues
Of virtue for their deeds. My school hath been
Where power sits crown'd and arm'd.—And, mark me, sister!
To a distrustful nature it might seem
Strange, that your lips thus earnestly should plead
For these Sicilian rebels. O'er my being
Suspicion holds no power.—And yet take note.
—I have said, and they must die.

Con. Have you no fear?

Eri. Of what?—that heaven should fall?

Con. No!—but that earth
Should arm in madness.—Brother! I have seen
Dark eyes bent on you, e'en midst festal throngs,
With such deep hatred settled in their glance,
My heart hath died within me.

Eri.Am I then
To pause, and doubt, and shrink, because a girl,
A dreaming girl, hath trembled at a look?

Con. Oh! looks are no illusions, when the soul,
Which may not speak in words, can find no way
But theirs, to liberty!—Have not these men
Brave sons, or noble brothers?

Eri.Yes! whose name
It rests with me to make a word of fear,
A sound forbidden midst the haunts of men.