PERKINS LIBRARY Duke University Gift of WiJLlLam F. Hugke,6 I LARA, A TALE. BY LORD BYRON. FOURTH EDITION. Hon&ott: PRINTED FOR JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE-STREET. 1814. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 with funding from Duke University Libraries http://archive.org/details/laratale11byro LARA, A TALE. CANTO I. I LARA: CANTO I. I. X he Serfs are glad through Lara's wide domain, And Slavery half forgets her feudal chain; He, their unhop'd, but unforgotten lord, The long self-exiled chieftain is restored : There be bright faces in the busy hall, Bowls on the board, and banners on the wall ; Far chequering o'er the pictured window plays The unwonted faggots' hospitable blaze; And gay retainers gather round the hearth With tongues all loudness, and with eyes all mirth. 10 4 LARA. C'into I. II. The chief of Lara is returned again: And why had Lara cross'd the bounding main \ Left by his sire, too young such loss to know, Lord of himself; — that heritage of woe, That fearful empire which the human breast But holds to rob the heart within of rest ! — With none to check, and few to point in time The thousand paths that slope the way to crime; Then, when he most required commandment, then Had Lara's daring boyhood govern'd men. «o It skills not, boots not, step by step to trace His youth through all the mazes of its race ; Short was the course his restlessness had run, But long euough to leave him half undone. III. And Lara left in youth his father-land; But from the hour he waved his parting hand Each trace wax'd fainter of his course, till all Had nearly ceased his memory to recall. Cnnto I. LARA. r> His sire was dust, his vassals could declare, 'Tvvas all they knew, that Lara was not there ; 30 Nor sent, nor came he, till conjecture grew Cold in the many, anxious in the few. His hall scarce echoes with his wonted name, His portrait darkens in its fading frame, Another chief consoled his destined bride, The young forgot him, and the old had died ; " Yet doth he live!" exclaims the impatient heir, And sighs for sables which he must not wear. A hundred scutcheons deck with gloomy grace The Laras' last and longest dwelling place ; 40 But one is absent from the mouldering file That now were welcome in that Gothic pile. IV. He comes at last in sudden loneliness, And whence they know not, why they need not guess; They more might marvel, when the greeting's o'er, Not that he came, but came not long before : No train is his beyond a single page, Of foreign aspect, and of tender age. 6 LARA. Canto I. Years had roll'd on, and fast they speed away To those that wander as to those that stay ;- 50 But lack of tidings from another clime Had lent a flagging wing to weary Time : They see, they recognise, yet almost deem The present dubious, or the past a dream. He lives, nor yet is past his manhood's prime, Though seared by toil, and something touch'd by time; His faults, whate'er they were, if scarce forgot, Might be untaught him by his varied lot; Nor good nor ill of late were known, his name Might yet uphold his patrimonial fame : 60 His soul in youth was haughty, but his sins No more than pleasure from the stripling wins; And such, if not yet harden'd in their course, Might be redeem'd, nor ask a long remorse. V. And they indeed were changed — 'tis quickly seen Whate'er he be, 'twas not what he had been} Canto I. LARA. 7 That brow in furrow'd lines had fix'd at last, And spake of passions, but of passion past ; The pride, but not the fire, of early days, Coldness of mien, and carelessness of praise; 10 A high demeanour, and a glance that took Their thoughts from others by a single look ; And that sarcastic levity of tongue," The stinging of a heart the world hath stung, That darts in seeming playfulness around, And makes those feel that will not own the wound ; All these seem'd his, and something more beneath Than glance could well reveal, or accent breathe: Ambition, glory, love, the common aim That some can conquer, and that all would claim, 80 Within his breast appear'd no more to strive, Yet seem'd as lately they had been alive ; And some deep feeling it were vain to trace At moments lighten'd o'er his livid face. VI. Not much he lov'd long question of the past, Nor told of wondrous wilds, and desarts vast S LARA. Canto I. In those far lands where he had wandered lone, And — as himself would have it seem — unknown: Yet these in vain his eye could scarcely scan, Nor glean experience from his fellow man; 90 But what he had beheld he shunn'd to show, As hardly worth a stranger's care to know ; If still more prying such enquiry grew, His brow fell darker, and his words more few. VII. Not unrejoiced to see him once again, Warm was his welcome to the haunts of men ; Born of high lineage, link'd in high command, He mingled with the Magnates of his land; Join'd the carousal of the great and gay, And saw them smile or sigh their hours away : J 00 But still he only saw, and did not share The common pleasure or the general care ; He did not follow what they all pursued With hope still baffled, still to be renew'd ; Nor shadowy honour, nor substantial gain, Nor beauty's preference, and the rival's pain : Canto J. LARA. 9 Around him some mysterious circle thrown Repell'd approach, and showed him still alone ; Upon his eye sate something of reproof, That kept at least frivolity aloof; 1 10 And things more timid that beheld him near, In silence gaz'd, or whisper'd mutual fear ; And they the wiser, friendlier few confess'd They deem'd him better than his air express'd. VIII. 'Twas strange — in youth all action and all life, Burning for pleasure, not averse from strife ; Woman — the field — the ocean — all that gave Promise of gladness, peril of a grave, In turn he tried — he ransack'd all below, And found his recompence in joy or woe, ISO No tame, trite medium ; for his feelings sought In that intenseness an escape from thought : The tempest of his heart in scorn had gazed On that the feebler elements hath rais'd ; The rapture of his heart had look'd on high, And ask'd if greater dwelt beyond the sky : W LARA. Can/o 1. Chain'd to excess, the slave of each extreme, How woke he from the wildness of that dream ? Alas ! he told not — but he did awake To curse the wither'd heart that would not break. 130 IX. Books, for his volume heretofore was Man, With eye more curious he appear'd to scan, And oft in sudden mood for many a day From all communion he would start away : And then, his rarely call'd attendants said, Through night's long hours would sound his hurried tread O'er the dark gallery, where his fathers frowu'd In rude but antique portraiture around. They heard, but whisper'd — " that must not be known — " The sound of words less earthly than his own. 140 " Yes, they who choose might smile, but some had seen " They scarce knew what, but more than should have been. " Why gaz'd he so upon the ghastly head " Which hands profane had gather'd from the dead, " That still beside his opened volume lay, " As if to startle all save him away? Canto I. LARA. 11 " Why slept he not when others were at rest ? u Why heard no music/ and received no guest ? '* All was not well they deemed— but where the wrong ? <( Some knew perchance— but 'twere a tale too long; 150 " And such besides were too discreetly wise, " To more than hint their knowledge in surmise ; " But if they would — they could" — around the board Thus Lara's vassals prattled of their lord. X. It was the night — and Lara's glassy stream The stars are studding, each with imaged beam : So calm, the waters scarcely seem to stray, And yet they glide like happiness away ; Reflecting far and fairy-like from high The immortal lights that live along the sky : 160 Its banks are fringed with many a goodly tree, And flowers the fairest that may feast the bee ; Such in her chaplet infant Dian wove, And Innocence would offer to her love. These deck the shore ; the waves their channel make In windings bright and mazy, like the snake. 12 LAtlA. Canto /. All was so still, so soft in earth and air, You scarce would start to meet a spirit there ; Secure that nought of evil could delight To walk in such a scene, on such a night I 1 70 It was a moment only for the good : So Lara deemed, nor longer there he stood, But turned in silence to his castle-gate ; Such scene his soul no more could contemplate : Such scene reminded hiin of other days, Of skies more cloudless, moons of purer blaze, Of nights more soft and frequent, hearts that now — No — no — the storm may beat upon his brow, Unfelt — unsparing — but a night like this, A night of beauty mock'd such breast as his. 180 XI. He turned within his solitary hall, And his high shadow shot along the wall ; There were the painted forms of other times, Twas all they left of virtues or of crimes, Save vague tradition : and the gloomy vaults That hid their dust, their foibles, and their faults ; Canto I. LARA. 31 And half a column of the pompous page, That speeds the specious tale from age to age ; Where history's pen its praise or blame supplies, And lies like truth, and still most truly lies. 190 He wandering mused, and as the moon-beam shone Through the dim lattice o'er the floor of stone, And the high fretted roof, and saints, that there O'er Gothic windows knelt in pictured prayer, Reflected in fantastic figures grew, Like life, but not like mortal life, to view ; His bristling locks of sable, brow of gloom, And the wide waving of his shaken plume Glanced like a spectre's attributes, and gave His aspect all that terror gives the grave. 200 XII. Twas midnight — all was slumber; the lone light Dimm'd in the lamp, as loth to break the night. Hark! there be murmurs heard in Lara's hall — A sound — a voice — a shriek — a fearful call! A long, loud shriek— and silence — did they hear That frantic echo burst the sleeping ear ? 14< LARA. Canto h They heard and rose, and tremulously brave Rush where *he sound invoked their aid to save; They come with half-lit tapers in their hands, And snatch'd in startled haste unbelted brands. 210 XIII. Cold as the marble where his length was laid, Pale as the beam that o'er his features played, Was Lara stretch'd ; his half drawn sabre near, Dropp'd it should seem in more than nature's fear; Yet he was firm, or had been firm till now, And still defiance knit his gathered brow ; Though mix'd with terror, senseless as he lay, There lived upon his lip the wish to slay ; Some half form'd threat in utterance there had died, Some imprecation of despairing pride; 220 His eye was almost seal'd, but not forsook, Even in its trance, the gladiator's look, That oft awake his aspect could disclose, And now was fix'd in horrible repose. They raise him — bear him ; — hush ! he breathes, he speaks, The swarthy blush recolours in his cheeks, «* 41 Drawn by Rich" West aJl RA. Engr»v«& W Ch«i Heaia . ILAIEAo HT''l 1.ARAS PROSTRATE ToRM HE KENT BESIDE, l.MED ins OWN REPLIED, '-auto I Lino 2*1 PUBLISHED BY JOHKT MtJEBAKAtBEMARI^E STREET, EEC. ! 1* Canto I. LARA, -15 His lip resumes its red, his eye, though dim, Rolls wide aud wild, each slowly quivering limb Recalls its function, but his words are strung In terms that seem not of his native tougue; 230 Distinct but strange, enough they understand To deem them accents of another land, And such they were, and meant to meet an ear That hears him not — alas! that cannot hear! XIV. His page approach'd, and he alone appear'd To know the import of the words they heard; And by the changes of his cheek and brow They were not such as Lara should avow, Nor he interpret, yet with less surprise Than those around their chieftain's state he eyes, 240 But Lara's prostrate form he bent beside, And in that tongue which seem'd his own replied, And Lara heeds those tones that gently seem To soothe away the horrors of his dream ; If dream it were, that thus could overthrow A breast that needed not ideal woe. 16 LARA. Canto J. XV. Whate'er his phrenzy dream'd or eye beheld, If yet remember'd ne'er to be reveal'd, Rests at his heart: the custom'd morning came, And breath'd new vigour in his shaken frame ; 250 And solace sought he none from priest nor leech, And soon the same in movement and in speech As heretofore he fill'd the passing hours, Nor less he smiles, nor more his forehead lours Than these were wont ; and if the coming night Appear'd less welcome now to Lara's sight, He to his marvelling vassals show'd it not, Whose shuddering prov'd their fear was less forgot. In trembling pairs (alone they dared not) crawl The astonish'd slaves, and shun the fated hall; 2(]0 The waving banner, and the clapping door, The rustling tapestry, and the echoing floor; The long dim shadows of surrounding trees, The flapping bat, the night song of the breeze ; Aught they behold or hear their thought appals As evening saddens o'er the dark grey walls. Canto I. LARA. I 7 XVI. Vain thought ! that hour of ne'er unravell'd gloom Came not again, or Lara could assume A seeming of forgetfulness that made His vassals more amaz'd nor less afraid — 270 Had memory vanish'd then with sense restored ? Since word, nor look, nor gesture of their lord Betrayed a feeling that recalled to these That fevered moment of his mind's disease — Was it a dream ? was his the voice that spoke Those strange. wild accents; his the cry that broke Their slumber ? his the oppress'd o'er-laboured heart That ceased to beat, the look that made them start I Could he who thus had suffered, so forget When such as saw that suffering shudder yet ? 280 Or did that silence prove his memory fix'd Too deep for words, indelible, unmix'd In that corroding secrecy which gnaws The heart to show the effect, but not the cause ? Not so in him ; his breast had buried both, Nor common gazers could discern the growth c 18 LARA Canto I. Of thoughts that mortal lips must leave half told ; They choak the feeble words that would unfold. XVII. In him inexplicably mix'd appeared Much to be loved and hated, sought and feared; 290 Opinion varying o'er his hidden lot, In praise or railing ne'er his name forgot ; His silence formed a theme for others' prate — They guess'd — they gazed — they fain would know his fate. What had he been ? what was he, thus unknown, Who walked their world, his lineage only known ? A hater of his kind ? yet some would say, With them he could seem gay amidst the gay; But own'd, that smile if oft observed and near, Waned in its mirth and withered to a sneer ; 300 That smile might reach his lip, but passed not by, None e'er could trace its laughter to his eye : Yet there was softness too in his regard, At times, a heart as not by nature hard, But once perceiv'd, his spirit seem'd to chide Such weakness, as unworthy of its pride, Canto I. LARA. 19 And steel'd itself, as scorning to redeem One doubt from others half withheld esteem ; In self-inflicted penance of a breast Which tenderness might once have wrung from rest; 310 In vigilance of grief that would compel The soul to hate for having lov'd too well. XVIII. There was in him a vital scorn of all : As if the worst had fall'n which could befall He stood a stranger in this breathing world, An erring spirit from another hurled ; A thing of dark imaginings, that shaped By choice the perils he by chance escaped; But 'scaped in vain, for in their memory yet His mind would half exult and half regret : 320 With more capacity for love than earth Bestows on most of mortal mould and birth, His early dreams of good outstripped the truth, And troubled manhood followed baffled youth ; With thought of years in phantom chace mispent, And wasted powers for better purpose lent ; 20 LARA. Canto I And fiery passions that had poured their wrath In hurried desolation o'er his path, And left the better feelings all at strife In wild reflection o'er his stormy life; 330 But haughty still, and loth himself to blame, He called on Nature's self to share the shame, And charged all faults upon the fleshly form She gave to clog the soul, and feast the worm ; 'Till he at last confounded good and ill, And half mistook for fate the acts of will : Too high for common selfishness, he could At times resign his own for others' good, But not in pity, not because he ought, But in some strange perversity of thought, 340 That swayed him onward with a secret pride To do what few or none would do beside; And this same impulse would in tempting time Mislead his spirit equally to crime ; So much he soared beyond, or sunk beneath The men with whom he felt condemned to breathe, And longed by good or ill to separate Himself from all who shared his mortal state; Cattiol. LARA. 21 His mind abhorring this had fixed her throne Far from the world, in regions of her own; 350 Thus coldly passing all that passed below, His blood in temperate seeming now would flow: Ah! happier if it ne'er with guilt had glowed, But ever in that icy smoothness flowed! 'Tis true, with other men their path he walked, And like the rest in seeming did and talked, Nor outraged Reason's rules by flaw nor start, His madness was not of the head, but heart; And rarely wandered in his speech, or drew His thoughts so forth as to offend the view. 360 XIX. With all that chilling mystery of mien, And seeming gladness to remain unseen ; He had (if 'twere not nature's boon) an art Of fixing memory on another's heart : It was not love perchance — nor hate — nor aught That words can image to express the thought ; But they who saw him did not see in vain, And once beheld, would ask of him again : 22 LARA. Canto I. And those to whom he spake remembered well, And on the words, however light, would dwell : 370 None knew, nor how, nor why, but he entwined Himself perforce around the hearer's mind ; There he was stamp'd, in liking, or in hate, If greeted once ; however brief the date That friendship, pity, or aversion knew, Still there within the inmost thought he grew. You could not penetrate his soul, but found, Despite your wonder, to your own he wound ; His presence haunted still ; and from the breast He forced an all unwilling interest; 380 Vain was the struggle in that mental net, His spirit seemed to dare you to forget! XX. There is a festival, where knights and dames, And aught that wealth or lofty lineage claims Appear — a highborn and a welcomed guest To Otho's hall caine Lara with the rest. The long carousal shakes the illumin'd hall, Well speeds alike the banquet and the ball; Canto I. LARA. 23 And the gay dance of bounding Beauty's train Links grace and harmony in happiest chain : 390 Blest are the early hearts and gentle hands That mingle there in well according bands ; It is a sight the careful brow might smooth, And make Age smile, and dream itself to youth, And Youth forget such hour was past on earth — So springs the exulting bosom to that mirth! XXI. And Lara gaz'd on these sedately glad, His brow belied him if his soul was sad, And his glance followed fast each fluttering fair, Whose steps of lightness woke no echo there : 400 He lean'd against the lofty pillar nigh With folded arms and long attentive eye, Nor mark'd a glance so sternly fix'd on his — I'll brook'd high Lara scrutiny like this : At length he caught it ; 'tis a face unknown, But seems as searching his, and his alone ; Prying and dark, a stranger's by his mien, Who still till now had gaz'd on him unseen; 24 LARA Canto I At length encountering meets the mutual gaze Of keen enquiry, and of mute amaze; 410 On Lara's glance emotion gathering grew, As if distrusting that the stranger threw ; Alongthe stranger's aspect fix'd and stern Flash'd more than thence the vulgar eye could learn. XXII. " 'Tis he ! " the stranger cried, aud those that heard Re-echoed fast and far the whisper'd word. " 'Tis he!"—" 'Tis who?" they question far and near, Till louder accents rung on Lara's ear; So widely spread, few bosoms well could brook The general marvel, or that single look; 420 But Lara stirr'd not, changed not — the surprise That sprung at first to his arrested eyes Seem'd now subsided; neither sunk nor rais'd Glanced his eye round, though still the stranger gaz'd; And drawing nigh, exclaim'd, with haughty sneer, " 'Tis he! — how came he thence? — what doth he here?" Canto I LARA. 25 XXIII. It were too much for Lara to pass by Such question, so repeated fierce and high ; With look collected, but with accent cold, More mildly firm than petulantly bold, 430 He turn'd, and met the inquisitorial tone — " My name is Lara! — when thine own is known, " Doubt not my fitting answer to requite " The unlook'd for courtesy of such a knight. " 'Tis Lara ! — further wouldst thou mark or ask ? " I shun no question, and I wear no mask." " Thou shun'st no question! Ponder — is there none " Thy heart must answer, though thine ear would shun? " And deem'st thou me unknown too? Gaze again! "At least thy memory was not given in vain : 440 * Oh! never canst thou cancel half her debt, " Eternity forbids thee to forget." With slow and searching glance upon his face Grew Lara's eyes, but nothing there could trace They knew, or chose to know — with dubious look He deign'd no answer, but his head he shook, 26 LARA. Canto 1. And half contemptuous turn'd to pass away ; But the stern stranger motioned him to stay. " A word! — I charge thee stay, and answer here " To one, who, wert thou noble, were thy peer; 450 " But as thou wast and art — nay, frown not, lord, '* If false, 'tis easy to disprove the word — " But, as thou wast and art, on thee looks down, " Distrusts thy smiles, but shakes not at thy frown. " Art thou not he whose deeds ?" " Whate'er I be, " Words wild as these, accusers like to thee u I list no further ; those with whom they weigh " May hear the rest, nor venture to gainsay " The wondrous tale no doubt thy tongue can tell, w Which thus begins so courteously and well. 460 " Let Otho cherish here his polish'd guest, " To him my thanks and thoughts shall be expressed." And here their wondering host hath interposed— " Whate'er there be between you undisclosed, " This is no time nor fitting place to mar " The mirthful meeting with a wordy war. Canto 1. LARA. 27 " If thou, Sir Ezzelin, hast ought to show " Which it befits Count Lara's ear to know, " To-morrow, here, or elsewhere, as may best " Beseem your mutual judgment, speak the rest; 470 " I pledge myself for thee, as not unknown, " Though like Count Lara now return'd alone " From other lands, almost a stranger grown ; " And if from Lara's blood and gentle birth " I augur right of courage and of worth, " He will not that untainted line belie, " Nor aught that knighthood may accord deny." " To-morrow be it," Ezzelin replied, " And here our several worth and truth be tried ; " I gage my life, my falchion to attest 480 " My words, so may I mingle with the blest !" What answers Lara? to its centre shrunk His soul, in deep abstraction sudden sunk ; The words of many, and the eyes of all That there were gather'd seem'd on him to fall; But his were silent, his appear'd to stray In far forgetfulness away — away — 28 LARA. Canto /. Alas! that heedlessness of all around Bespoke remembrance only too profound. XXIV. " To-morrow ! — ay, to-morrow !" further word 490 Than those repeated none from Lara heard ; Upon his brow no outward passion spoke, From his large eye no flashing anger broke; Yet there was something fix'd in that low tone Which show'd resolve, determined, though unknown. He seiz'd his cloak — his head he slightly bow'd, And passing Ezzelin he left the crowd ; And, as he pass'd him, smiling met the frown With which that chieftain's brow would bear him down : It was nor smile of mirth, nor struggling pride 500 That curbs to scorn the wrath it cannot hide; But that of one in his own heart secure Of all that he would do, or could endure. Could this mean peace ? the calmness of the good ? Or guilt grown old in desperate hardihood ? Alas ! too like in confidence are each For man to trust to mortal look or speech ; Canio I. LARA. 29 From deeds, and deeds alone, may he discern Truths which it wrings the unpractised heart to learn. XXV And Lara called his page, and went his way — 5 1 © Well could that stripling word or sign obey : His only follower from those climes afar Where the soul glows beneath a brighter star; For Lara left the shore from whence he sprung, In duty patient, and sedate though young ; Silent as him he served, his faith appears Above his station, and beyond his years. Though not unknown the tongue of Lara's land, la such from him he rarely heard command ; But fleet his step, and clear his tones would come, 520 When Lara's lip breath'd forth the words of home : Those accents as his native mountains dear, Awake their absent echoes in his ear, Friends', kindreds', parents', wonted voice recall, Now lost, abjured, for one — his friend, his all: For him earth now disclosed no other guide ; What marvel then he rarely left his side ? SO LARA. Canto I. XXVI. Light was his form, and darkly delicate That brow whereon his native sun had sate, But had not marr'd, thougfcin his beams he grew, 530 The cheek where oft the unbidden blush shone through ; Yet not such blush as mounts when health would show All the heart's hue in that delighted glow; But 'twas a hectic tint of secret care That for a burning moment fevered there; And the wild sparkle of his eye seemed caught From high, and lightened with electric thought, Though its black orb those long low lashes fringe, Had tempered with a melancholy tinge; Yet less of sorrow than of pride was there, 540 Or if 'twere grief, a grief that none should share : Aud pleased not him the sports that please his age, The tricks of youth, the frolics of the page, For hours on Lara he would fix his glance, As all forgotten in that watchful trance ; And from his chief withdrawn, he wandered lone, Brief were his answers, and his questions none ; Cento I. LARA. 31 His walk the wood, his sport some foreign book ; His resting-place the bank that curbs the brook : He seem'd, like him he served, to live apart 550 From all that lures the eye, and fills the heart ; To know no brotherhood, and take from earth No gift beyond that bitter boon— our birth. XXVII. If aught he lov'd, 'twas Lara ; but was shown His faith in reverence and in deeds alone ; In mute attention ; and his care, which guessed Each wish, fulfilled it ere the tongue expressed. Still there Was haughtiness in all he did, A spirit deep that brook'd not to be chid ; His zeal, though more than that of servile hands, 560 In act alone obeys; his air commands, As if 'twas Lara's less than his desire That thus he served, but surely not for hire. Slight were the tasks enjoined him by his lord, To hold the stirrup, or to bear the sword ; To tune his lute, or if he willed it more, Oh tomes of other times and tongues to pore; SS LARA. Canto I But ne'er to mingle with the menial train, To whom he showed nor deference nor disdain, But that well-Worn reserve which proved he knew 570 No sympathy with that familiar crew : His soul, whate'er his station or his stem, Could bow to Lara, not descend to them. Of higher birth he seemed, and better days, Nor mark of vulgar toil that hand betrays, So femininely white it might bespeak Another sex, when matched with that smooth cheek, But for his garb, and something in his gaze, More wild and high than woman's eye betrays ; A latent fierceness that far more became 580 His fiery climate than his tender frame; True, in his words it broke not from his breast, But from his aspect might be more than guessed. Kaled his name, though rumour said he bore Another ere he left his mountain-shore ; For sometimes he would hear, however nigh, That name repeated loud without reply, As unfamiliar, or, if roused again, Start to the sound, as but remembered then ; Canto I. LARA. 33 Unless 'twas Lara's wonted voice that spake, 590 For then, ear, eyes, and heart would all awake. XXVIII. He had looked down upon the festive hall, And marked that sudden strife so marked of all ; And when the crowd around and near him told Their wonder at the calmness of the bold, Their marvel how the high-born Lara bore Such insult from a stranger, doubly sore, The colour of young Kaled went and came, The lip of ashes, and the cheek of flame ; And o'er his brow the dampening heart-drops threw 600 The sickening iciness of that cold dew That rises as the busy bosom sinks With heavy thoughts from which reflection shrinks. Yes — there be things that we must dream and dare, And execute ere thought be half aware : Whate'er might Kaled's be, it was enow To seal his lip, but agonise his brow. He gazed on Ezzelin till Lara cast That sidelong smile upon the knight he passed ; r> 34 LARA. Canto 1. When Kaled saw that smile his visage fell, 610 As if on something recognized right well ; His memory read in such a meaning more Than Lara's aspect unto others wore : Forward he sprung — a moment, both were gone, And all within that hall seem'd left alone ; Each had so fix'd his eye on Lara's mien, All had so mix'd their feelings with that scene, That when his long dark shadow through the porch No more relieves the glare of yon high torch, Each pulse beats quicker, and all bosoms seem 620- To bound as doubting from too black a dream, Such as we know is false, yet dread in sooth, Because the worst is ever nearest truth. And they are gone — but Ezzelin is there, With thoughtful visage and imperious air ; But long remain'd not ; ere an hour expired He waved his hand to Otho, and retired. ■ XXIX. The crowd are gone, the revellers at rest ; The courteous host, and all-approving guest, Canto I. LARA. 35 Again to that accustomed couch must creep 630 Where joy subsides, and sorrow sighs to sleep, And man o'er-laboured with his being's strife, Shrinks to that sweet forgetfulness of life : There lie love's feverish hope, and cunning's guile, Hate's working brain, and lull'd ambition's wile, O'er each vain eye oblivion's pinions wave, And quench'd existence crouches in a grave. What better name may slumber's bed become ? Night's sepulchre, the universal home, Where weakness, strength, vice, virtue, sunk supine, 640 Alike in naked helplessness recline ; Glad for awhile to heave unconscious breath, Yet wake to wrestle with the dread of death, And shun, though day but dawn on ills increased, That sleep, the loveliest, since it dreams the least. CANTO II. LARA. CANTO II. I. JN ight wanes — the vapours round the mountains curFd Melt into morn, and Light awakes the world. Man has another day to swell the past, And lead him near to little, but his last; But mighty Nature bounds as from her birth, 650 The sun is in the heavens, and life on earth, Flowers in the valley, splendour in the beam, Health on the gale, and freshness in the stream. Immortal man ! behold her glories shine, And cry, exulting inly, " they are thine!" 40 LARA. Canto II. Gaze on, while yet thy gladdened eye may see — A morrow comes when they are not for thee ; And grieve what may above thy senseless bier, Nor earth nor sky will yield a single tear; Nor cloud shall gather more, nor leaf shall fall, 660 Nor gale breathe forth one sigh for thee, for all; But creeping things shall revel in their spoil, And fit thy clay to fertilize the soil. II. Tis morn— 'tis noon — assembled in the hall, The gathered chieftains come to Otho's call; *Tis now the promised hour that must proclaim The life or death of Lara's future fame; When Ezzelin his charge may here unfold, And whatsoe'er the tale, it must be told. His faith was pledged, and Lara's promise given, 610 To meet it in the eye of man and heaven. Why comes he not ? Such truths to be divulged, Methinks the accuser's rest is long indulged. fyntoll. LARA. 41 III. The hour is past, and Lara too is there, With self-confiding, coldly patient air ; Why comes not Ezzelin ? The hour is past, And murmurs rise, and Otho's brow's o'ercast : " I know my friend ! his faith I cannot fear, " If yet he be on earth, expect him here ; " The roof that held him in the valley stands 68© " Between my own and noble Lara's lands ; H My halls from such a guest had honour gain'd, " Nor had Sir Ezzelin his host disdain'd, " But that some previous proof forbade his stay, " And urged him to prepare against to-day ; " The word I pledged for his I pledge again, ° Or will myself redeem his knighthood's stain." He ceased — and Lara answer'd, " I am here " To lend at thy demand a listening ear ; " To tales of evil from a stranger's tongue, 690 " Whose words already might my heart have wrung, " But that I deem'd him scarcely less than mad, " Or, at the worst, a foe ignobly bad. 42 LARA. Canto II. " I know him not — but me it seems he knew " In lands where — but I must not trifle too : " Produce this babbler — or redeem the pledge ; " Here in thy hold,- and with thy falchion's edge." Proud Otho on the instant, reddening, threw His glove on earth, and forth his sabre flew : " The last alternative befits me best, 100 " And thus I answer for mine absent guest." With cheek uuchanging from its sallow gloom, However near his own or other's tomb; With hand, whose almost careless coolness spoke, Its grasp well-used to deal the sabre-stroke ; With eye, though calm, determined not to spare, : Did Lara too his willing weapon bare. In vain the circling chieftains round them closed, For Otho's phrenzy would not be opposed ; And from his lip those words of insult fell — 710 His sword is good who can maintain them well. IV. Short was the conflict, furious, blindly rash, Vain Otho gave his bosom to the gash : Canto II. LARA. 43 He bled, and fell ; but not with deadly wound, Stretched by a dextrous sleight along the ground. " Demand thy life!" He answered not: and then From that red floor he ne'er had risen again, For Lara's brow upon the moment grew Almost to blackness in its demon hue ; And fiercer shook his angry falchion now 720 Than when his foe's was levelled at his brow; Then all was stern collectedness and art, Now rose the unleavened hatred of his heart ; So little sparing to the foe he fell'd, That when the approaching crowd his arm withheld, He almost turned the thirsty point on those Who thus for mercy dared to interpose ; But to a moment's thought that purpose bent, Yet look'd he on him still with eye intent, As if he loathed the ineffectual strife 730 That left a foe, howe'er o'erthrown, with life ; As if to search how far the wound he gave Had sent its victim onward to his grave. 44 LARA. Canto II. V. They raised the bleeding Otho, and the Leech Forbade all present question, 6ign, and speech ; The others met within a neighbouring hall, And he, incensed and heedless of them all, The cause and conqueror in this sudden fray, In haughty silence slowly strode away ; He back'd his steed, his homeward path he took, 740 Nor cast on Otho's tower a single look. VI. But where was he ? that meteor of a night, Who menaced but to disappear with light ? Where was this Ezzelin? who came and went To leave no other trace of his intent. He left the dome of Otho long ere morn, In darkness, yet so well the path was worn He could not miss it ; near his dwelling lay ; But there he was not, and with coming day Came fast enquiry, which unfolded nought 750 Except the absence of the chief it sought ; Canto II. LARA. 45 A chamber tenantless, a steed at rest, His host alarmed, his murmuring squires distressed : Their search extends along, around the path, In dread to meet the marks of prowlers' wrath: But none are there, and not a brake hath borne Nor gout of blood, nor shred of mantle torn ; Nor fall nor struggle hath defaced the grass, Which still retains a mark where murder was ; Nor dabbling fingers left to tell the tale, 160 The bitter print of each convulsive nail, When agonized hands that cease to guard, Wound in that pang the smoothness of the sward. Some such had been, if here a life was reft, But these were not; and doubting hope is left; And strange suspicion, whispering Lara's name, Now daily mutters o'er his blackened fame; Then sadden silent when his form appeared, Awaits the absence of the thing it feared Again its wonted wondering to renew, 770 And dye conjecture with a darker hue. \ 46 LARA. Canto U VII. Days roll along, and Otho's wounds are healed, But not his pride; and hate no more concealed: He was a man of power, and Lara's foe, The friend of all who sought to work him woe, And from his country's justice now demands Account of Ezzelin at Lara's hands. Who else than Lara could have cause to fear His presence ? who had made him disappear, If not the man on whom his menaced charge 780 Had sate too deeply were he left at large ? The general rumour, ignorantly loud, The mystery, dearest to the curious crowd; The seeming friendlessness of him who strove To win no confidence, and wake no love; The sweeping fierceness which his soul betray'd, The skill with which he wielded his keen blade; Where had his arm unwarlike caught that art? Where had that fierceness grown upon his heart? For it was not the blind capricious rage 790 A word can kindle and a word assuage, Canto II. LARA. 47 But the deep working of a soul unmix'd With aught of pity where its wrath had fix'd ; Such as long power and overgorged success Concentrates into all that's merciless: These, link'd with that desire which ever sways Mankind the rather to condemn than praise, Gainst Lara gathering raised at length a storm, Such as himself might fear, and foes would form ; And he must answer for the absent head SCO Of one that haunts him still, alive or dead. VIII. Within that land was many a malcontent, Who cursed the tyranny to which he bent ; That soil full many a wringing despot saw, Who worked his wantonness in form of law ; Long war without and frequent broil within Had made a path for blood and giant sin, That waited but .a signal to begin New havock, such as civil discord blends, Which knows no neuter, owns but foes or friends : S 1 48 LARA. Canto II. Fix'd in his feudal fortress each was lord, In word and deed obeyed, in soul abhorr'd. Thus Lara had inherited his lands, And with them pining hearts and sluggish hands; But that long absence from his native clime Had left him stainless of oppression's crime, And now diverted by his milder sway, All dread by slow degrees had worn away ; The menials felt their usual awe alone, But more for him than them that fear was grown ; 820 They deem'd him now unhappy, though at first Their evil judgment augur'd of the worst, And each long restless night and silent mood Was traced to sickness, fed by solitude ; And though his lonely habits threw of late Gloom o'er his chamber, cheerful was his gate ; For thence the wretched ne'er unsoothed withdrew ; For them, at least, his soul compassion knew : Cold to the great, contemptuous to the high, The humble passed not his unheeding eye ; 830 Much he would speak not, but beneath his roof They found asylum oft, and ne'er reproof ; Canto II. LARA. 40 And they who watched might mark that day by day, Some new retainers gathered to his sway; But most of late since Ezzeliu was lost. He played the courteous lord and bounteous host: Perchance his strife with Otho made him dread Some snare prepared for his obnoxious head ; Whate'er his view, his favour more obtains With these, the people, than his fellow thanes. 840 If this were policy, so far 'twas sound, The million judged but of him as they found; From him by sterner chiefs to exile driven They but required a shelter, and 'twas given : By him no peasant mourn'd his rifled cot, And scarce the Serf could murmur o'er his Iotj With him old avarice found its hoard secure, With him contempt forbore to mock the poor; Youth present cheer and promised recompence Detained, till all too late to part from thence : 850 To hate he offered with the coming change The deep reversion of delayed revenge ; To love, long baffled by the unequal match, The well-won charms success was sure to snatch, a 50 LARA. Canto J I, All now was ripe, he waits but to proclaim That slavery nothing which was still a name. The moment came, the hour when Otho thought Secure at last the vengeance which he sought : His summons found the destined criminal Begirt by thousands in his swarming hall, 860 Fresh from their feudal fetters newly riven, Defying earth, and confident of heaven. That morning he had freed the soil-bound slaves, Who dig no land for tyrants but their graves ! Such is their cry— some watchword for the fight Must vindicate the wrong, and warp the right : Religion — freedom — vengeance — what you will, A word's enough to raise mankind to kill ; Some factious phrase by cunning caught and spread That guilt may reign, and wolves and worms be fed ! 870 IX. Throughout that clime the feudal chiefs had gain'd Such sway, their infant monarch hardly reign'd ; Now was the hour for faction's rebel growth, The Serfs contemn'd the one, and hated both : Canto II. LARA 51 They waited but a leader, and they found One to their cause inseparably bound ; By circumstance compell'd to plunge again In self-defence amidst the strife of men. Cut off by some mysterious fate from those Whom birth and nature meant not for his foes, 880 Had Lara from that night, to him accurst, Prepared to meet, but not alone, the worst : Some reason urged, whate'er it was, to shun Enquiry into deeds at distance done ; By mingling with his own the cause of all, E'en if he failed, he still delayed his fall. The sullen calm that long his bosom kept, The storm that once had spent itself and slept, Roused by events that seemed foredoom'd to urge His gloomy fortunes to their utmost verge, 890 Burst forth, and made him all he once had been, And is again ; he only changed the scene. Light care had he for life, and less for fame, But not less fitted for the desperate game : He deem'd himself mark'd out for other's hate, And mock'd at ruin so they shared his fate. 52 LARA. Canto II What cared he for the freedom of the crowd? He raised the humble but to bend the proud. He had hoped quiet in his sullen lair, But man and destiny beset him there : 900 Inured to hunters he was found at bay, And they must kill, they cannot snare the prey. Stern, unambitious, silent, he had been Henceforth a calm spectator of life's scene ; But dragg'd again upon the arena, stood A leader not unequal to the feud ; In voice — mien — gesture — savage nature spoke, And from his eye the gladiator broke. i X. What boots the oft-repeated tale of strife, The feast of vultures, and the waste of life? 910 The varying fortune of each separate field, The fierce that vanquish, and the faint that yield ? The smoking ruin, and the crumbled wall ? In this the struggle was the same with all ; Save that distempered passions lent their force In bitterness that banished all remorse. €anto II. LARA. 33 None sued, for Mercy knew her cry was vain, The captive died upon the battle-slain: In either cause one rage alone possessed The empire of the alternate victor's breast ; 920 And they that smote for freedom or for sway Deem'd few were slain, while more remain'd to slay. It was too late to check the wasting brand, And Desolation reaped the famished land ; The torch was lighted, and the flame was spread, And Carnage smiled upon her daily dead. XI. Fresh with the nerve the new-born impulse strung, The first success to Lara's numbers clung ; But that vain victory hath ruined all, They form no longer to their leader's call ; 930 In blind confusion on the foe they press, And think to snatch is to secure success. The lust of booty and the thirst of hate Lure on the broken brigands to their fate ; Iu vain he doth whate'er a chief may do To check the headlong fury of that crew \ 54 JLARA. Canto II. In vain their stubborn ardour he would tame, The hand that kindles cannot quench the flame ; The wary foe alone hath turn'd their mood, And shown their rashness to that erring brood : 940 The feign'd retreat, the nightly ambuscade, The daily harass, and the fight delayed, The long privation of the hoped supply, The tentless rest beneath the humid sky, The stubborn wall that mocks the leaguer's art, And palls the patience of his baffled heart, Of these they had not deem'd : the battle-day They could encounter as a veteran may ; But more preferred the fury of the strife, And present death to hourly suffering life : 950 And famine wrings, and fever sweeps away His numbers melting fast from their array ; Intemperate triumph fades to discontent, And Lara's soul alone seems still unbent : But few remain to aid his voice and hand, And thousands dwindled to a scanty band : Desperate, though few, the last and best remain'd To mourn the discipline they late disdain'd. Canto 11. LARA. 55 One hope survives, the frontier is not far, And thence they may escape from native war ; 9.6 And bear within them to the neighbouring state An exile's sorrows, or an outlaw's hate r Hard is the task their father-land to quit, But harder still to perish or submit. XII. It is resolved — they march — consenting Night Guides with her star their dim and torchless flight ; Already they perceive its tranquil beam Sleep on the surface of the barrier stream 5 Already they descry — Is yon the bank f Away ! 'tis lined with many a hostile rank. 970 Return or flyfc-^-What glitters in the rear? Tis Otho's banner — the pursuer's spear! Are those the shepherds' fires upon the height? Alas ! they blaze too widely for the flight : Cut off from hope, and compass'd in the toil, Less blood perchance hath bought a richer spoil! 56 LARA. Canto II. XIII. A moment's pause ; 'tis but to breathe their baud, Or shall they onward press, or here withstand? It matters little — if they charge the foes Who by the border-stream their march oppose, 980 Some few, perchance, may break and pass the line, However link'd to baffle such design. " The charge be ours ! to wait for their assault " Were fate well worthy of a coward's halt." Forth flies each sabre, reined is every steed, And the next word shall scarce outstrip the deed ; In the next tone of Lara's gathering breath How many shall but hear the voice of death ! XIV. His blade is bared, in him there is an air As deep, but far too tranquil for despair ; 990 • A something of indifference more than then Becomes the bravest if they feel for men-^- He turned his eye on Kaled, ever near, And still too faithful to betray one fear ; Perchance 'twas but the moon's dim twilight threw Along his aspect an unwonted hue Canto II. LARA. 57 Of mournful paleness, whose deep tint expressed The truth, and not the terror of his breast. This Lara mark'd, and laid his hand on his : It trembled not in such an hour as this ; 1000 His lip was silent, scarcely beat his heart, His eye alone proclaim'd, " We will not part!