Touched the low level sands, and died: So thick the dun haze hung below. Glanced quivering on their distant goal.” The arrival of Almanzor, king of Lybia, is then described, who comes to demand the hand of Constance. He offers the alternative of peace and plentiful supplies, or war; and the famished garrison favor his suit. The king refers the decision to Constance. "Amid Corunna's suppliant throng "Save!-for thou canst-for thee we die!" Thus Constance is pledged to become the bride of Almanzor, unless within a year his kingdom should be restored to Pedro, and the hand of Constance be demanded by some Christian knight of princely rank. The next canto describes the court of Edward, the black prince, at Bourdeaux; at that time thronged with knights, for the celebration of a festival. The songs of the minstrels are finished, when “A stranger, clad in palmer's weed, "The stranger, at the banquet door, On the fresh reeds that strowed the floor, Nor boy, nor man, in bloom of life, So wan his hue, so fair his face, Where woe had left its lingering trace.” This page was Julian, the illegitimate child of Ellen, the sister of Pedro. He was the companion and friend of Constance. He had left Corunna before Pedro had returned. His suit for assistance for Constance is seconded by the princess Joanna, Edward's spouse; and he departs with pledges of love and assistance from the duke of Lancaster,* and with an invitation from Edward to Constance to repair to his court. The tale of Julian is introduced, in which are the following verses. ""Twas when Maria sunk to rest, The new-born Constance on her breast, The blessing trembling on his tongue, From the last kiss of Ellenor, The Nuns her hapless Orphan bore. The famed John of Gaunt. Laid on Maria's couch, the child Looked on her face, and sweetly smiled. "Hence the stern Monarch fiercely cried→→→ Maria's sigh alone replied. She thought on Ellen, dead and gone, Their arms in innocence entwined.- That sight o'erpowered stern Pedro's mind- So pass,' he cried-' your infant year!" And blest them with a father's tear." Shortly after the return of Julian to Corunna, an English vessel arrives, and Pedro embarks with Constance for Bourdeaux, to claim assistance from allied England. Meanwhile at Edward's court a splendid tournament was preparing; and a long description is given of the dresses of the combatants, which were assumed to represent the heroes of the times of Arthur and Charlemagne, in which there is a greater display of chivalric lore than of poetry, and which is probably introduced to occupy the time necessary for king Pedro's voyage. His arrival is announced by the page Julian, who rushes amid the prepared combatants, breathless and wounded, and alarms them by cries for assistance for Constance and Pedro, who, even in the harbor of Bourdeaux, were attacked by a Moorish vessel. "Speed, Conqueror-speed!-the Paynims fling And rudely seized the captive Maid. What earthly power shall Constance aid? Lo!-Lancaster high waves the blade, And bold the peerless fair to save, Spurs down the stream his foaming steed. A... The captive king and his daughter were soon released. In the following night Pedro has a dream, in which he foresees his own final subjugation and murder by his brother Henry.* This is a proof of Mr. Sotheby's want of very great inventive genius; for it is merely a versification of the history of the death of the king, and has nothing in it of the wildness and confusedness of terrifying dreams. Edward, with the assembled knights of his court, among whom appeared one unknown to the rest, being concealed under the disguise of his closed armour, on the day after the arrival of Pedro, declares his readiness to hear his suit. "Yet blood is charged on Pedro's brow," and he must exculpate himself from the heavy charges against him. This produces a confession from the king; after which, upon his promise to endow a chantry, and to go as a warrior to the holy land, he is absolved by a reverend priest who was present, and then more successfully again urges his claims. "At once, ere Pedro's closing word, Up from their seats the warriors sprung, Exultant to the Virgin prest, His hand now hovered o'er the veil : When in the thunder of his mail, 'Hence or this poniard drinks her blood. But Lancaster throws down his gauntlet, and challenges his rival to prove his merit by the sword. A combat, after the common fashion of such combats, ensues, in which Almanzor is slain. The veil is removed from Constance, and Lancaster claims her as his bride. The last canto commences with an allusion to the modern glories of Britain, particularly her late victories in Spain. The march of Edward's army is then described, in which Constance proceeds, attended by Julian and Lancaster. "Gay balancing with flexile grace And realms, for love of ladies, won. 'Twas Constance, 'twas her subtile thread That o'er his belt its broidery spread; Emblem of bliss and nuptial love. There floating in a pearly shell Whence light as from a rain-bow fell, His rudder was a diamond dart: Wide waved his plumes, each wing a sail, Fluttering its feathers in the gale. An emerald its centre shone, And changeful opals clasped the zone." |