SIEGE OF VALENCIA.
111
ELMINA (in a low voice).
Whose was the blessed voice that spoke of hope?
—And there is hope!—I will not be subdued—
I will not hear a whisper of despair!
For Nature is all-powerful, and her breath
Moves like a quickening spirit o'er the depths
Within a father's heart.—Thou too, Gonzalez,
Wilt tell me there is hope!
GONZALEZ (solemnly).
Who bade the patriarch lay his fair young son
Bound on the shrine of sacrifice, and when
The bright steel quiver'd in the father's hand
Just raised to strike, sent forth his awful voice
Through the still clouds, and on the breathless air,
Commanding to withhold!—Earth has no hope,
It rests with Him.
ELMINA.
Thou father of my sons, within whose hands
Doth lie thy children's fate.
GONZALEZ.
