Who chose thee for his shadow! Thou chief star! And hearts of all who walk within thy rays! I follow. SCENE II. [Exit MANFRED. The Mountains-the Castle of Manfred at some distance-A Terrace before a Tower-Time, Twilight. HERMAN, MANUEL, and other Dependants of MANFRED. He hath pursued long vigils in this tower, Without a witness. I have been within it,— So have we all been oft-times; but from it, To draw conclusions absolute of aught His studies tend to. To be sure, there is One chamber where none enter; I would give Manuel. 'Twere dangerous; Content thyself with what thou know'st already. Her. Ah! Manuel! thou art elderly and wise, And couldst say much; thou hast dwelt within the castle How many years is't? Manuel. Ere Count Manfred's birth, I served his father, whom he nought resembles. Her. There be more sons in like predicament. But wherein do they differ? Manuel. I speak not and free, Of features or of form, but mind and habits: Merrier than day; he did not walk the rocks But those were jocund times! I would that such As if they had forgotten them. Relate me some, to while away our watch: I've heard thee darkly speak of an event Look-look-the tower Her. [A crash like thunder. Manuel. Help, help, there!—to the rescue of the Count,— [The Servants, Vassals, and Peasantry approach, stupified If there be any of you who have heart And love of human kind, and will to aid Those in distress-pause not-but follow me— The portal's open, follow. Her. [MANUEL goes in. Come-who follows? What, none of ye ?-ye recreants! shiver then Vassal. Hark! No-all is silent-not a breath-the flame [HERMAN goes in. * Altered in the present form, to 'some strange things in them, Herman.' Her. (within.) Not so-even now methought he moved; But it is dark-so bear him gently out Softly how cold he is! take care of his temples In winding down the staircase. Re-enter MANUEL and HERMAN, bearing MANFRED in their arms. Manuel. Hie to the castle, some of ye, and bring What aid you can. Saddle the barb, and speed For the leech to the city-quick! some water there! Her. His cheek is black-but there is a faint beat Still lingering about the heart. Some water. [They sprinkle MANFRED with water; after a pause, he gives some signs of life. Manuel. He seems to strive to speak-come-cheerly, Count! He moves his lips-canst hear him? I am old, And cannot catch faint sounds. Her. [HERMAN inclining his head and listening. I hear a word Or two-but indistinctly-what is next? What's to be done? let's bear him to the castle. [MANFRED motions with his hand not to remove him. Manuel. He disapproves-and 'twere of no avail— Manuel. Oh! what a death is this! that I should live Of the house of Sigismund.-And such a death! Manfred. (speaking faintly and slowly.) Old man! 'tis not so dif ficult to die. [MANFRED having said this expires. Her. His eyes are fix'd and lifeless.-He is gone.— Manuel. Close them.-My old hand quivers.-He departs Whither? I dread to think-but he is gone! LETTER 278. TO MR. MURRAY. Rome, May 9th, 1817. 'Address all answers to Venice; for there I shall ' return in fifteen days, God willing. 'I sent you from Florence "The Lament of Tasso," ' and from Rome the Third Act of Manfred, both of ' which, I trust, will duly arrive. The terms of these two I mentioned in my last, and will repeat in this: it is three hundred for each, or six hundred guineas for the two-that is, if you like, and they are good ' for anything. 'At last one of the parcels is arrived. In the notes 'to Childe Harold there is a blunder of yours or mine: 'you talk of arrival at St. Gingo, and, immediately after, add-" on the height is the Chateau of Cla'rens." This is sad work: Clarens is on the other 'side of the Lake, and it is quite impossible that I 'should have so bungled. Look at the MS.; and at any rate rectify it. 'The "Tales of my Landlord" I have read with great pleasure, and perfectly understand now why my sister and aunt are so very positive in the very erroneous persuasion that they must have been written by me. If you knew me as well as they do, you 'would have fallen, perhaps, into the same mistake. Some day or other, I will explain to you why-when 'I have time; at present, it does not much matter; but you must have thought this blunder of theirs very 'odd, and so did I, till I had read the book. Croker's letter to you is a very great compliment; I shall ' return it to you in my next. I perceive you are publishing a Life of Raffael 'd'Urbino it may perhaps interest you to hear that a 'set of German artists here allow their hair to grow, VOL. II. 2 A and trim it into his fashion, thereby drinking the 'cummin of the disciples of the old philosopher; if they would cut their hair, convert it into brushes, ' and paint like him, it would be more "German to 'the matter." 'I'll tell you a story: the other day, a man herean English-mistaking the statues of Charlemagne ' and Constantine, which are equestrian, for those of 'Peter and Paul, asked another which was Paul of 'these same horsemen ?-to which the reply was,“I thought, sir, that St. Paul had never got on 'horseback since his accident?" 'I'll tell you another: Henry Fox, writing to some ' one from Naples the other day, after an illness, adds —“and I am so changed, that my oldest creditors 'would hardly know me." 'I am delighted with Rome-as I would be with a 'bandbox, that is, it is a fine thing to see, finer than 'Greece; but I have not been here long enough to 'affect it as a residence, and I must go back to Lombardy, because I am wretched at being away from 'Marianna. I have been riding my saddle-horses ' every-day, and been to Albano, its Lakes, and to the top of the Alban Mount, and to Frescati, Aricia, ' &c. &c. with an &c. &c. &c. about the city, and in the city for all which-vide Guide-book. As a whole, 'ancient and modern, it beats Greece, Constantinople, 'everything at least that I have ever seen. But I 'can't describe, because my first impressions are always strong and confused, and my memory selects and 'reduces them to order, like distance in the landscape, ' and blends them better, although they may be less 'distinct. There must be a sense or two more than we 'have, us mortals; for * * **** where there is much |