"The sun shines bright and clear
O'er the waters far and near,
And the moon wanders in the night
Above in the heavenly sphere.
But never again will the sun supreme
Shine down on the forgotten troth,
And never again shall the gentle moon's beam
Illumine the brave knight's holy oath.
"The only one I loved so dear
Lives far away in a palace fine,
Surrounded by splendour he leaves me here
Alone with grief and sorrow mine.
He is served by many, I have but one knight,
He has castles, towns, and land.
I spread my pearls in the evening light
And sing to the waves on the strand.
"The bird flies to the south so fair,
Far away to the castle grand,
And sings on the tree a sorrowful air,
As I in my lonely land.
The brave knight listens to the song,
How strangely his heart doth beat,
And before one knows the evening long
Hath gone like the joys that never repeat."
The more Lady Regina listened to the simple strains, which to her were foreign and strange, and yet appealing through their deep melancholy, the more she was affected by this sorrow so like her own. She wished to breathe the fresh evening air; the little window, however, long resisted her attempts to open it, but all Lady Marta's prudence could not prevent the hinges from being old and rusty, and at last they yielded to the young girl's persistent efforts. She had only been a guest in this castle for a few hours, and yet she inhaled the evening fragrance as a prisoner for long years finally breathes the air of his freedom. Her heart expanded and her eyes regained their fire; her mind became filled with a dreamy ecstasy, and she sang softly, so as not to be heard by her custodian, but clearly and melodiously.
REGINA'S SONG.
"Great as my sufferings are
Still to thee I will repair.
Holy Virgin, wilt thou bless
What to thee I now confess,
My soul's desire sincere
To die without fear.
"Amongst the kings of the earth
My loved one hath his birth,
Far flash his dread strokes
As the Almighty's lightnings rend the oaks.
But victor and conqueror tho' he be
Yet mild and merciful is he.
"I'll all forget, and firmly stand,
If you give me the dread command
To stop the hero's great career.
O holy Virgin, bright and dear,
God's mother, thou me hear,
Spare the noble heart that knows no fear.
"Make the heretic king his faults forswear,
And that he will our glorious faith declare.
Then my weary heart will gain its rest.
O Mary, grant me this request,
Spare his life, his throne,
Let me with my death for his crime atone."
The solitary figure which had sung the first song now slowly approached the castle walls; it was a woman of the people, with once beautiful features, now pale and expressing a winning and sympathetic heart. She tried to listen to the strange girl's song, but could not succeed on account of the foreign language and suppressed tones. She then seated herself on a stone a short distance from the castle, and fixed her mild gaze on the prisoner at the window. In her turn, Regina also fastened her dark penetrating eyes on the visitor. One would think that they perfectly understood each other, for the language of songs needs no other lexicon than the heart. Or did a presentiment tell them, the girl of seventeen and the woman of thirty-six, that their loves were concentrated on the same object, and that both sang their shipwrecked hopes on the lonely shore, but in an infinitely differing way?