Britain ... - Blue-Lite

348 THE VARANGIAN. [Act III.
The crimson flash of wrath. O, let them fly !
A curse is falling on us.
HEREWARD.
Yet they come not.
O my
Zalmira ! 'tis for thee I feel
The bitterness of death. To leave thee here,
A slave again, in this vile robber's power
ZALMIRA.
Thy dagger shall release me from his bonds.
BEN-ZADOC.
Let omens threaten, treasures will I have.
Ransom or death !
Enter Hexulph and Rovers.
Lead onward to the fire !
[As Hexulph and his followers
seize Hereward,
they tear open his vest, and Ben-Zadoc observes
on his bosom the symbols of his Masonic Order :
he starts with astonishment, gives, unobserved
by others, the sign, which Hereward returns.
BEN-ZADOC.
God of my father Abraham ! can it be ?
As my soul liveth, 'tis a friend a brother !
[Ben-Zadoc rushes to embrace Hereward, who puts
out his hand and prevents him.
Safe art thou hence to go, and good speed wait thee !
Thou and the damsel both depart in peace,
Uninjured and unransomed.
[All the other Characters appear lost in astonishment.
Why
HEXULPH.
what new freak is this ?
Death and hell !