No one can harm you! I am a poor girl, Whom chance has taken from the public streets.
I have no other shield than mine own virtue.
That is the charm which has protected me!
Amid a thousand perils, I have worn it Here on my heart! It is my guardian angel.
Ang.(rising).I thank you for this counsel, dearest lady.
Prec.Thank me by following it.
Ang.Indeed I will.
Prec.Pray, do not go.I have much more to say.
Ang.My mother is alone.I dare not leave her.
Prec.Some other time, then, when we meet again.
You must not go away with words alone.
(Gives her a purse.)
Take this.Would it were more.
Ang.I thank you, lady.
Prec.No thanks.To-morrow come to me again.
I dance to-night,--perhaps for the last time.
But what I gain, I promise shall be yours, If that can save you from the Count of Lara.
Ang.O, my dear lady! how shall I be grateful For so much kindness?
Prec.I deserve no thanks, Thank Heaven, not me.
Ang.Both Heaven and you.
Prec.Farewell.
Remember that you come again tomorrow.
Ang.I will.And may the Blessed Virgin guard you, And all good angels.[Exit.
Prec.May they guard thee too, And all the poor; for they have need of angels.
Now bring me, dear Dolores, my basquina, My richest maja dress,--my dancing dress, And my most precious jewels! Make me look Fairer than night e'er saw me! I've a prize To win this day, worthy of Preciosa!
(Enter BELTRAN CRUZADO.)
Cruz.Ave Maria!
Prec.O God! my evil genius!
What seekest thou here to-day?
Cruz.Thyself,--my child.
Prec.What is thy will with me?
Cruz.Gold! gold!
Prec.I gave thee yesterday; I have no more.
Cruz.The gold of the Busne,--give me his gold!
Prec.I gave the last in charity to-day.
Cruz.That is a foolish lie.
Prec.It is the truth.
Cruz.Curses upon thee! Thou art not my child!
Hast thou given gold away, and not to me?
Not to thy father? To whom, then?
Prec.To one Who needs it more.
Cruz.No one can need it more.
Prec.Thou art not poor.
Cruz.What, I, who lurk about In dismal suburbs and unwholesome lanes I, who am housed worse than the galley slave;I, who am fed worse than the kennelled hound;I, who am clothed in rags,--Beltran Cruzado,--Not poor!
Prec.Thou hast a stout heart and strong hands.
Thou canst supply thy wants; what wouldst thou more?
Cruz.The gold of the Busne! give me his gold!
Prec.Beltran Cruzado! hear me once for all.
I speak the truth.So long as I had gold, I gave it to thee freely, at all times, Never denied thee; never had a wish But to fulfil thine own.Now go in peace!
Be merciful, be patient, and erelong Thou shalt have more.
Cruz.And if I have it not, Thou shalt no longer dwell here in rich chambers, Wear silken dresses, feed on dainty food, And live in idleness; but go with me, Dance the Romalis in the public streets, And wander wild again o'er field and fell;For here we stay not long.
Prec.What! march again?
Cruz.Ay, with all speed.I hate the crowded town!
I cannot breathe shut up within its gates Air,--I want air, and sunshine, and blue sky, The feeling of the breeze upon my face, The feeling of the turf beneath my feet, And no walls but the far-off mountain-tops.
Then I am free and strong,--once more myself, Beltran Cruzado, Count of the Cales!
Prec.God speed thee on thy march!--I cannot go.
Cruz.Remember who I am, and who thou art Be silent and obey! Yet one thing more.
Bartolome Roman--
Prec.(with emotion).O, I beseech thee If my obedience and blameless life, If my humility and meek submission In all things hitherto, can move in thee One feeling of compassion; if thou art Indeed my father, and canst trace in me One look of her who bore me, or one tone That doth remind thee of her, let it plead In my behalf, who am a feeble girl, Too feeble to resist, and do not force me To wed that man! I am afraid of him!
I do not love him! On my knees I beg thee To use no violence, nor do in haste What cannot be undone!
Cruz.O child, child, child!
Thou hast betrayed thy secret, as a bird Betrays her nest, by striving to conceal it.
I will not leave thee here in the great city To be a grandee's mistress.Make thee ready To go with us; and until then remember A watchful eye is on thee.[Exit.
Prec.Woe is me!
I have a strange misgiving in my heart!
But that one deed of charity I'll do, Befall what may; they cannot take that from me.
SCENE II -- A room in the ARCHBISHOP'S Palace.The ARCHBISHOPand a CARDINAL seated.
Arch.Knowing how near it touched the public morals, And that our age is grown corrupt and rotten By such excesses, we have sent to Rome, Beseeching that his Holiness would aid In curing the gross surfeit of the time, By seasonable stop put here in Spain To bull-fights and lewd dances on the stage.
All this you know.
Card.Know and approve.
Arch.And further, That, by a mandate from his Holiness, The first have been suppressed.
Card.I trust forever.
It was a cruel sport.
Arch.A barbarous pastime, Disgraceful to the land that calls itself Most Catholic and Christian.
Card.Yet the people Murmur at this; and, if the public dances Should be condemned upon too slight occasion, Worse ills might follow than the ills we cure.
As Panem et Circenses was the cry Among the Roman populace of old, So Pan y Toros is the cry in Spain.
Hence I would act advisedly herein;
And therefore have induced your Grace to see These national dances, ere we interdict them.
(Enter a Servant)
Serv.The dancing-girl, and with her the musicians Your Grace was pleased to order, wait without.
Arch.Bid them come in.Now shall your eyes behold In what angelic, yet voluptuous shape The Devil came to tempt Saint Anthony.
(Enter PRECIOSA, with a mantle thrown over her head.She advances slowly, in modest, half-timid attitude.)Card.(aside).O, what a fair and ministering angel Was lost to heaven when this sweet woman fell!
Prec.(kneeling before the ARCHBISHOP).
I have obeyed the order of your Grace.
If I intrude upon your better hours, I proffer this excuse, and here beseech Your holy benediction.
Arch.May God bless thee, And lead thee to a better life.Arise.
Card.(aside).Her acts are modest, and her words discreet!
I did not look for this! Come hither, child.
