Part 2 / Act 2 — Scene II.—A ruined Tower surrounded by woods.

Pro. Thy vassals are prepared, then? Vit. Yes; they wait Thy summons to their task. Pro. Keep the flame bright, But hidden till this hour. Wouldst thou dare, lady, To join our councils at the night’s mid watch, In the lone cavern by the rock-hewn cross? Vit. What should I shrink from? Pro. Oh! the forest-paths Are dim and wild, e’en when the sunshine streams Through their high arches; but when powerful night Comes, with her cloudy phantoms, and her pale Uncertain moonbeams, and the hollow sounds Of her mysterious winds; their aspect then Is of another and more fearful world— A realm of indistinct and shadowy forms, Waking strange thoughts almost too much for this— Our frail terrestrial nature. Vit. Well I know All this, and more. Such scenes have been th’ abodes Where through the silence of my soul have pass’d Voices and visions from the sphere of those That have to die no more! Nay, doubt it not! If such unearthly intercourse hath e’er Been granted to our nature, ’tis to hearts Whose love is with the dead. They, they alone, Unmadden’d could sustain the fearful joy And glory of its trances! At the hour Which makes guilt tremulous, and peoples earth And air with infinite viewless multitudes, I will be with thee, Procida. Pro. Thy presence Will kindle nobler thoughts, and, in the souls Of suffering and indignant men, arouse That which may strengthen our majestic cause With yet a deeper power. Know’st thou the spot? Vit. Full well. There is no scene so wild and lone, In these dim woods, but I have visited Its tangled shades. Pro. At midnight, then, we meet. [Exit Procida. Vit. Why should I fear? Thou wilt be with me—thou, Th’ immortal dream and shadow of my soul, Spirit of him I love! that meet’st me still In loneliness and silence; in the noon Of the wild night, and in the forest depths, Known but to me; for whom thou giv’st the winds And sighing leaves a cadence of thy voice, Till my heart faints with that o’erthrilling joy! —Thou wilt be with me there, and lend my lips Words, fiery words, to flush dark cheeks with shame That thou art unavenged! [Exit Vittoria.