But revelry? My lord, these dull intrusions
Mar the bright spirit of the festal scene!
Eri. (to the Messenger.) Hence! Tell the Lord De Couci, we will talk
Of life and death to-morrow.
[Exit Messenger.
Let there be
Around me none but joyous looks to-day,
And strains whose very echoes wake to mirth!
A band of the conspirators enter, to the sound of music, disguised as shepherds, bacchanals, &c.
Eri. What forms are these? What means this antic triumph?