Britain ... - Blue-Lite

Scene III.] THE DEVOTED ONE. 23?
The torments of the damned, when they behold
The blissful bowers of heaven for ever lost !
EDITH.
Mistaken youth ! the bridegroom I have chosen
Is not of earth, for I this night shall be
The veiled spouse of Christ. Take, ere I go,
My
last kind counsel. Cherish those fair virtues
Which in thy heart a struggling lustre shed
Amid the dark cold shade of stormy passions,
Like wandering sunbeams in the forest lost.
Hope flings her rainbow light of gladness through
The long-drawn vista of succeeding years,
Which false ambition fills with scenes of pomp.
But mark me, and beware ! If once thou tread
That star-bright track of glory, at its close
Darkness and horrid shadows thou shalt meet !
Remember my last words, and peace be with thee !
Now, then, farewell to all ! Farewell, vain world,
Heaven in its distant splendour on me dawns !
[A solemn Offertorie on the organ. .Enter a train of
Nuns from the aisles of the cathedral, led by the
Lady Abbess; who takes the hand of Edith, and
conducts her during the chorus to the altar. God-
win follows a few steps, and then falls, overpowered
by his feelings, on the ground.
GRAND CHORUS.
Lovely votress, child of Heaven,
All thy sins are now forgiven.
Safely hast thou reached the shore
Of that happy land of rest,
Where the storms of life no more
Shall thy sacred peace molest.