But I tell them, and I weep to tell, that I will ne'er forego
The creed my fathers fought for in centuries long ago!
And yet I might forswear it, but that that creed divine
'Tis vain I struggle to deny, for, ah, that creed is thine!"
King Chico read his lady's note and silent laid it down;
Then to the window he drew nigh, and gazed upon the town;
And lost in thought he pondered upon each tender line,
And sudden tears and a sigh of grief were his inward sorrow's sign.
And he called for ink and paper, that Vindaraja's heart
Might know that he remembered her and sought to heal its smart.
He would tell her that the absence which caused to her those fears
Had only made her dearer still, through all those mournful years.
He would tell her that his heart was sad, because she was not near--
Yes, far more sad than Moorish slave chained on the south frontier.
And then he wrote the letter to the darling Moorish slave,
And this is the tender message that royal Chico gave:
THE LETTER OF THE KING
"Thy words have done me grievous wrong, for, lovely Mooress, couldst thou
think
That he who loves thee more than life could e'er to such a treachery
sink?
His life is naught without the thought that thou art happy in thy lot;
And while the red blood at his heart is beating thou art ne'er forgot!
Thou woundest me because thy heart mistrusts me as a fickle fool;
Thou dost not know when passion true has one apt pupil taken to school.
Pages:
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88