And we again will be [The figure vanishes. My heart is crush'd! [MANFRED falls senseless. (A voice is heard in the Incantation which follows.) When the moon is on the wave, And the meteor on the grave, And the wisp on the morass; In the shadow of the hill, Shall my soul be upon thine, Though thy slumber may be deep, Yet thy spirit shall not sleep, There are shades which will not vanish, There are thoughts thou canst not banish; By a power to thee unknown, Thou canst never be alone; Thou art wrapt as with a shroud, Thou art gather'd in a cloud; And for ever shalt thou dwell In the spirit of this spell. Though thou seest me not pass by, And a magic voice and verse Hath begirt thee with a snare; And the day shall have a sun, Which shall make thee wish it done. From thy false tears I did distil An essence which hath strength to kill; From thy own heart I then did wring The black blood in its blackest spring; From thy own smile I snatch'd the snake, For there it coil'd as in a brake; From thy own lip I drew the charm Which gave all these their chiefest harm; In proving every poison known, I found the strongest was thine own. By thy cold breast and serpent smile, Which pass'd for human thine own heart; And by thy brotherhood of Cain, And on thy head I pour the vial Shall be in thy destiny; Though thy death shall still seem near Lo! the spell now works around thee, And the clankless chain hath bound thee; O'er thy heart and brain together Hath the word been pass'd-now wither! SCENE II. The Mountain of the Jungfrau.-Time, Morning.MANFRED alone upon the Cliffs. MAN. The spirits I have raised abandon me- It hath no power upon the past, and for And thou fresh breaking Day, and you, ye Mountains, VOL. V. C My breast And my brain reels-and yet my foot is firm: There is a power upon me which withholds, And makes it my fatality to live; If it be life to wear within myself My own soul's sepulchre, for I have ceased The last infirmity of evil. Ay, Thou winged and cloud-cleaving minister, [An eagle passes. Whose happy flight is highest into heaven, How glorious in its action and itself! But we, who name ourselves its sovereigns, we, To sink or soar, with our mix'd essence make A conflict of its elements, and breathe |