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ANCIENT PORTUGUESE BALLADS. 263 |
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" I will not be a cursed Jew,
Nor heathen Turk of grace denied, Nor will I change for all your wealth The faith of Jesus crucified."
" Why are you pale, Racbael, my girl, Beloved child, tell me the truth ; Have you been brought to shameful harm By this accursed Christian youth ? "
" Oh, let the Christian youth go free, For his amend I have no claim, If my flower of love he 's had, I gave it, and he 's not to blame."
He shut her in a dungeon tower,
Which he with heavy stone blocks made,
That the base Moors might never know That shame had touched a Jewish maid.
Oh, mandolin, my mandolin,
Rest silent hung upon the wall, My longing love across the sea
Is borne away beyond recall.
The.Faithful Paladin has a more tragical ending for the captive. The ballad had its origin in the province of Algarve, but there are several variants in Portuguese as well as similar ballads in Spanish. Calderon has made the theme the subject of a drama under the title of The Constant Prince, relating to the captivity and sufferings of Don Fer- |
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