The Vale of Cedars; Or, The Martyr

The quality of mercy is not strain'd, It droppeth as the gentle rain from Heaven Upon the place beneath. It is twice blessed, It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes; 'Ti...

"Hovers the steel above his head, Suspended by a spider thread: On, on! a life hangs on thy speed; With lightning wing the gallant steed! Buoy the full heart up! It will sink If...

"Yet was I calm. I knew the time My breast would thrill before thy look; But now, to tremble were a crime: We met, and not a nerve was shook."

ANGELO. We must not make a scarecrow of the law, Setting it up to fear the birds of prey; And let it keep one shape, till custom make it Their perch, and not their terror.

In an apartment, whose pale, green hangings, embroidered with richly-colored flowers, and whose furniture and ornaments, all of delicate material and refined taste, marked it as...

"Oh! love, love, strong as death--from such an hour Pressing out joy by thine immortal power; Holy and fervent love! Had earth but rest For thee and thine, this world were all t...

BERNARD.--As on I hastened, bearing thus my light, Across my path, not fifty paces off, I saw a murdered corse, stretched on its back, Smeared with new blood, as though but fres...

"She clasped her hands"!--the strife Of love--faith--fear, and the vain dream of life, Within her woman-heart so deeply wrought-- It seemed as if a reed, so slight and weak, _Mu...

LEONTES.--These sessions, to our great grief, we pronounce Even pushes 'gainst our heart. Let us be cleared Of being tyrannous, since we openly Proceed in justice--which shall h...

"I will have vengeance! I'll crush thy swelling pride! I'll still thy vaunting! I'll do a deed of blood! Now all idle forms are over-- Now open villany, now open hate-- Defend t...

In the first painful moments of awakening sense, Marie was only conscious of an undefined yet heavy weight on heart and brain; but as strength returned she started up with a fai...

During the examination of Don Alonzo of Aguilar, and of old Pedro and Juana, the prisoner remained with his arms calmly folded and head erect, without the smallest variation of...

"Doth Heaven Woo the free spirit for dishonored breath To sell its birthright? Doth Heaven set a price On the clear jewel of unsullied faith And the bright calm of conscience?"

"Oh! blissful days, When all men worship God as conscience wills! Far other times our fathers' grandsires knew. What tho' the skeptic's scorn hath dared to soil The record of th...

"Isabel.--Ha! little honor to be much believed, And most pernicious purpose--seeming, seeming. I will proclaim thee, Angelo! look for't; Sign me a present pardon-- Or, with an o...

One little week did Ferdinand spend within the home of his boyhood; and in that brief interval the earthly fate of Marie Henriquez was decided. He had deferred his visit till su...

"Meekly had he bowed and prayed, As not disdaining priestly aid; And while before the Prior kneeling, His heart was weaned from earthly feeling: No more reproach, no more despai...

A profound silence followed Don Felix's departure. Don Luis had so evidently evaded the King's demand, as to how he had witnessed this important interview, that even those most...

Don Ferdinand had scarcely quitted his mansion ere fleet steps resounded behind him, and turning, he beheld Don Luis Garcia, who greeted him with such a marked expression, both...

Clearly to comprehend the internal condition of Spain at the period of our narrative (1479)--a condition which, though apparently purely national, had influence over every domes...

List! hear ye, through the still and lonely night, The distant hymn of mournful voices roll Solemn and low? It is the burial rite; How deep its sadness sinks into the soul, As s...

In his private closet, far removed from the excitement stirring without, King Ferdinand was sitting, on the morning appointed for Stanley's execution: several maps and plans wer...

To attempt description of either face or form would be useless. The exquisite proportions of the rounded figure, the very perfection of each feature, the delicate clearness of t...

Our readers must imagine that nearly a year and a half has elapsed since the conclusion of our last chapter. During that interval the outward life of Marie had passed in a calm,...

For some months all was gayety and rejoicing in Segovia, not a little heightened by the exciting preparations for the much desired war. The time had now come when Ferdinand coul...

"I have lost for that Faith more than thou canst bestow, As the God who permits thee to prosper doth know. In His hand is my heart, and my hope; and in thine The land, and the l...

The fickle sun of "merrie England" shone forth in unusual splendor; and, as if resolved to bless the august ceremony on which it gazed, permitted not a cloud to shadow the lustr...

It was the custom of the inmates of the Vale of Cedars, once in every year, and generally about the season of Michaelmas, to celebrate a festival, which ordained the erection of...

The Vale of Cedars, as described in our first chapter, had been originally the work of a single individual, who had found there a refuge and concealment from the secret power of...

"Then Roderick from the Douglas broke, As flashes flame through sable smoke, Kindling its wreaths long, dark, and low. To one broad blaze of ruddy glow; So the deep anguish of d...

"Yet again methinks Some unknown sorrow, ripe in Future's womb, Is coming towards me; and my inward soul With nothing trembles. At something it grieves More than the parting wit...

'Twas a dark tale of crime, and awed and chilled E'en indignation seeming horror still'd, Men stood beside a murd'rer's couch of death, Watching-the glazing-eye and flickering-b...

'Tis done! and so she droops. Oh, woman-heart! How bold and brave to do thy destined part! Thro' sorrow's waves press firmly, calmly on, And pause not, sink not, till the goal i...

A deliciously cool, still evening, had succeeded the intense heat of a Spanish summer day, throwing rich shadows and rosy gleams on a wild, rude mountain pass in central Spain....

The wars ravaging Spain had nursed many a gallant warrior, and given ample opportunities for the possession and display of those chivalric qualities without which, in that age,...