Page:Poems of Sentiment and Imagination.djvu/162

158 ACT IV.

I.—Rome. A gallery.

Enter, pausing before a picture.

Alver. Bright being! how beautiful thou art!

Not many days shall pass ere I behold

The bright original. How in my heart

Hurries the quick, impatient pulse of love!

Dear Azlea! thou hast been my charm

Against the sins and follies of the world;

And mayst thou ever be my guardian spirit.

Lovely, and loving, and beloved, thou art

Worthy a mortal's worship!

Enter Citizens.

1st Cit.Ha! thou hast

Completed a new picture. Beautiful!

Methinks that face is one that I have seen;

Those eyes—the same sweet mouth, dimpled and full;

The brow so strangely pure, so like clear pearl,

Rounded and smooth, with the fine azure veins

Just clouding its translucency; the turn

Of the fine head, whose clustering curls of gold

And brown inwoven shadow a neck of snow;

The lovely arm; ah! it is very strange,

But she does seem like one that I have seen.

2d Cit. Bravo! good Claudio, hast fallen in love?

1st Cit. No, but you will, when you have looked on this.

Triuli, hast thou never seen this creature

Of wondrous loveliness in life?

2d Cit.What, her?

Now, by the saints, you're right! this is Viola,

The wonderful singer, who some years ago