feared to mix:—be brave—Drink it to the lees, and thou shalt find withinA pearl of price. Eliz. ’Tis bitter! Con. Bitter, truly:Even I, to whom the storm of earthly loveIs but a dim remembrance—Courage! Courage!There’s glory in’t; fulfil thy sacrifice;Give up thy noblest on the noblest serviceGod’s sun has looked on, since the chosen twelveWent conquering, and to conquer, forth. If he fall— Eliz. Oh, spare mine ears! Con. He falls a blessed martyr,To bid thee welcome through the gates of pearl;And next to his shall thine own guerdon beIf thou devote him willing to thy God.Wilt thou? Eliz. Have mercy! Con. Wilt thou? Sit not thusWatching the sightless air: no angel in itBut asks thee what I ask: the fiend aloneDelays thy coward flesh. Wilt thou devote him? Eliz. I will devote him;—a crusader’s wife!I’ll glory in it. Thou speakest words from God—And God shall have him! Go now—good my master;My poor brain swims. [Exit Conrad.]Yes—a crusader’s wife!And a crusader’s widow! [Bursts into tears, and dashes herself on the floor.] SCENE X A street in the town of Schmalcald. Bodies of Crusading troops defiling past. Lewis and Elizabeth with their suite in the foreground. Lewis. Alas! the time is near; I must be gone—There are our liegemen; how you’ll welcome us,Returned in triumph, bowed with paynim spoils,Beneath the victor cross, to part no more! Eliz. Yes—we shall part no more, where next we meet.Enough to have stood here once on such an errand! Lewis. The bugle calls.—Farewell, my love, my lady,Queen, sister, saint! One last long kiss—Farewell! Eliz. One kiss—and then another—and another—Till ’tis too late to go—and so return—O God! forgive that craven thought! There, take himSince Thou dost need him. I have kept him everThine, when most mine; and shall I now deny Thee?Oh! go—yes, go—Thou’lt not forget to pray, [Lewis goes.] With me, at our old hour? Alas! he’s goneAnd lost—thank God he hears me not—for ever.Why look’st thou so, poor girl? I say, for ever.The day I found the bitter blessed