Page:The Fall of the Alamo.djvu/168

 Devoted to the service of your State, Oh, father! why, why wouldst thou not receive Thy daughter's warning voice, her fervid prayer, Three years, ah, e'en three hours ago? Now lies The glorious city of thy golden dreams Invaded, conquered, pillaged and destroyed, While I, thy daughter, must, Cassandra-like, Roam wailingly the ruins of thy Troy.

I self am bound to say, that hitherto My credence in your father's loyalty Has been as firm as your belief; and loath To do him wrong, I have delayed the order For his arrest, till when on his return A while ago his words, ah! proved too well Of his conversion to the rebel-cause, So openly he spake in its behalf. [Suddenly transgressing from deepest despair to highest joy.] He has? My father has? Deceive me not! He has defended Freedom's rights, you say? No rebel steeped in disaffection's venom Could have pronounced a more seditious speech To shock our outraged ears, than he!