VII |
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VII
But not for vengeance, long delay`d,
Alone, did Alp, the renegade,
The Moslem warriors sternly teach
His skill to pierce the promised breach:
Within those walls a maid was pent
His hope would win, without consent
Of that inexorable sire,
Whose heart refused him in its ire,
When Alp, beneath his Christian name,
Her virgin hand aspired to claim.
In happier mood, and earlier time,
While unimpeach`d for traitorous crime,
Gayest in gondola or hall,
He glitter`d through the Carnival;
And tuned the softest serenade
That e`er on Adria`s waters play`d
At midnight to Italian maid.
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