Chapter XXIII

“Now, prisoner, helpless, and betrayed
To evil power, I claim thine aid,
By every step that thou hast trod
To holy shrine and grotto dim,
By every martyr’s tortured limb,
By angel, saint, and seraphim,
And by the Church of God!
For mark:—When Wilton was betrayed,
And with his squire forged letters laid,
She was, alas! that sinful maid
By whom the deed was done—
Oh! shame and horror to be said!—
She was a perjured nun!
No clerk in all the land, like her
Traced quaint and varying character.
Perchance you may a marvel deem
That Marmion’s paramour
(For such vile thing she was) should scheme
Her lover’s nuptial hour;
But o’er him thus she hoped to gain,
As privy to his honour’s stain,
Illimitable power:
For this she secretly retained
Each proof that might the plot reveal,
Instructions with his hand and seal;
And thus Saint Hilda deigned,
Through sinners’ perfidy impure,
Her house’s glory to secure
And Clare’s immortal weal.