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280 ANCIENT PORTUGUESE BALLADS.
" It is no angel in the sky,
Nor magic siren in the sea, It is Dom Pedro in the tower,
Condemned to die for love of me. I 'd wish to have him for my spouse,
If that the King would set him free."
" Bid the jailer hasten there ;
Take off his chains and let him go. Take him, daughter, for your spouse, Since God himself has wished it so."
The ballad of Count Nillo may perhaps be attributed to the same real or imaginary origin as the preceding on account of some similarity in the name and the language, although the denouement is different. The trees which spring from the tombs of the unfortunate lovers and unite their branches is one of the most familiar images in folk-poetry, and hardly any collection of national ballads is without an example.
COUNT NILLO.
Count Nillo in the river halts to bathe his weary steed ; While the thirsty stallion drinks the Count sings loud and high; The evening shade had darkened down ; the King's sight was not clear : The Infanta asked her heart if she would laugh or cry. |
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