Page:Poet Lore, volume 34, 1923.djvu/50

 in thy heart, shall bleed until thy reason shall become dazed because of thy grief! O, my curse stands firmly as the Tatras! Thou hast heard it, earth, our mother; thou hast heard it, I have felt thee tremble!

Mahulena (Throwing herself on the ground and kissing it).—As I kiss thee, mother earth, so have pity and mercy on me! Thou art not a mother who curses, thou art a mother full of tenderness for thy children; thou hast heard the curse, now thou hearest also my weeping!

Radúz.—Come, Mahulena! (Leads her away, completely exhausted, in the direction to which she points.) How thou dost tremble, my soul!

Runa.—A curse, a curse, a curse upon you!

Mahulena (Already behind the scenes).—Woe! Woe!

Runa.—Follow them, O my curse! Follow her, follow Radúz! A curse, a curse, a curse!—

''A sparse forest in Magura. On one side is a distant view of a hilly region; in its midst extends a delightful meadow and large gardens can be seen, behind which a fantastic city appears on the horizon. Radúz and MathulenaMahulena [sic] approach from the denser portion of the forest and pause by a huge oak in the shade of which lie several large boulders.''

Radúz.—O Mahulena, I greet this tree as a friend of my youth! As a child I used to play here, and from these moss-covered stones there is a wide view into regions far away! O, look, look!

Mahulena.—How thine eyes sparkle, my dear one!

Radúz.—Greeting to thee, my beloved home! O Mahulena, greet my native land! That meadow, flooded with sunshine, that gave me birth! Those gardens comforted me with their fragrant shadows; and there, there is my city! ‘That old castle, towering above white ramparts, that was my cradle! O, if thou but knew how delightful is that dwelling! Swallows love it; nest is crowded against nest beneath the old cornice! And there beneath that lofty roof, around which incessantly circle hundreds of white doves, there my mother lives and my father! O blessèd land of my birth, greeting to thee! (Kneels and kisses the ground.)

Mahulena.—Before thee is thy city, Radúz, but behind me