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is conscience slept--he deem'd her well, 260And safe secured in yonder cell;But, waken'd by her favourite lay,And that strange Palmer's boding say,That fell so ominous and drear,Full on the object of his fear, 265To aid remorse's venom'd throes,Dark tales of convent-vengeance rose;And Constance, late betray'd and scorn'd,All lovely on his soul return'd;Lovely as when, at treacherous call, 270She left her convent's peaceful wall,Crimson'd with shame, with terror mute,Dreading alike escape, pursuit,Till love, victorious o'er alarms,Hid fears and blushes in his arms. 275 'Alas!' he thought, 'how changed that mien!How changed these timid looks have been,Since years of guilt, and of disguise,Have steel'd her brow, and arm'd her eyes!No more of virgin terror speaks 280The blood that mantles in her cheeks;Fierce, and unfeminine, are there,Frenzy for joy, for grief despair;And I the cause--for whom were givenHer peace on earth, her hopes in heaven!-- 285Would,' thought he, as the picture grows,'I on its stalk had left the rose!Oh, why should man's success removeThe very charms that wake his love!--Her convent's peaceful solitude 290Is now a prison harsh and rude;And, pent within the narrow cell,How will her spirit chafe and swell!How brook the stern monastic laws!The penance how--and I the cause!-- 295Vigil, and scourge--perchance even worse!'--And twice he rose to cry, 'To horse!'And twice his Sovereign's mandate came,Like damp upon a kindling flame;And twice he thought, 'Gave I not charge 300She should be safe, though not at large?They durst not, for their island, shredOne golden ringlet from her head.'
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