Classic Poem

Scene V.

Enter E DMUND and C ANUTUS .

EDMUND.

My Elgiva?

ELGIVA.

The voice of Edmund!

EDMUND.

Check thy anxious fears,
And give thy hand, the tender sign of Friendship,
To great Canutus, who restores thine Edmund,
Whate'er his sword hath gain'd.

CANUTUS.

Oh! royal Lady!
Subdu'd by excellence, transcending human,
I come to shew th' astonish'd world, what love
I bear thy Lord.

ELGIVA.

Can I support this rapture?
My Edmund! I was weeping for thy death.
Whence sprang that false report?

EDMUND.

Perhaps the sight
Of the black raven, moving toward the Castle,
Alarm'd inventive fear. Doubt not, Canutus,
But noble Emma will receive, with joy,
The hand of such a lover. Kindred merit
Binds soul to soul, and makes Earth seem like Heaven.