Page:The poems of Emma Lazarus volume 1.djvu/273

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THE SPAGNOLETTO.
259

Thy father, be it with all reverence said,
Hedges with jealous barriers his treasure;
Whilst thou, most duteous, tenderest of daughters,
Breath st but for him.

MARIA.

Dear father ! Were it so,
T were simple justice. Ah, if you knew him—
A proud, large, tameless heart. This is the cloister
Where he immures me—Naples gayest revels;
The only bar wherewith he hedges me
Is his unbounded trust, that leaves me free.
Let us go in; the late night air is chill.

DON JOHN.

Yet one more dance?

MARIA.

You may command, my lord.

[Exeunt.

Enter Ribera.

RIBERA.

I lost them in the press. Ah, there they dance
Again together. I would lay my hands
In blessing on that darling, haughty head.
Like the Ribera s child, she bears her honors
As lightly as a flower. Yet there glows
Unwonted lustre in her starry eyes,