And though
Ill tongues shall wound me, and our common name _150
Be as a mark stamped on thine
innocent
brow
For men to point at as they pass, do thou
Forbear, and never think a thought unkind
Of those, who perhaps love thee in their graves.
Shelley
Let me
Kiss those warm lips before their crimson leaves
Are blighted...white...cold. Say farewell, before
Death chokes that gentle voice! Oh, let me hear _140
You speak!
NOTE:
_136 was as a Rossetti cj.; was a editions 1819, 1821, 1839.
BEATRICE:
Farewell, my tender brother. Think
Of our sad fate with gentleness, as now:
And let mild, pitying thoughts lighten for thee
Thy sorrow's load. Err not in harsh despair,
But tears and patience. One thing more, my child: _145
For thine own sake be constant to the love
Thou bearest us; and to the faith that I,
Though wrapped in a strange cloud of crime and shame,
Lived ever holy and unstained.
And though
Ill tongues shall wound me, and our common name _150
Be as a mark stamped on thine
innocent
brow
For men to point at as they pass, do thou
Forbear, and never think a thought unkind
Of those, who perhaps love thee in their graves.
So mayest thou die as I do; fear and pain _155
Being subdued. Farewell! Farewell! Farewell!
BERNARDO:
I cannot say, farewell!
CAMILLO:
Oh, Lady Beatrice!
BEATRICE:
Give yourself no unnecessary pain,
My dear Lord Cardinal. Here, Mother, tie
My girdle for me, and bind up this hair _160
In any simple knot; ay, that does well.
And yours I see is coming down. How often
Have we done this for one another; now
We shall not do it any more. My Lord,
We are quite ready. Well, 'tis very well. _165
