Gulnare tries to persuade him that the only way by which he can save
himself from tortures and impalement is by the assassination of Seyd,
but he refuses to accept the terms -
"Who spares a woman's seeks not slumber's life" -
and dismisses her. When she has done the deed and he sees the single
spot of blood upon her, he, the Corsair, is unmanned as he had never
been in battle, prison, or by consciousness of guilt.
"But ne'er from strife--captivity--remorse--
From all his feelings in their inmost force--
So thrill'd--so shudder'd every creeping vein,
As now they froze before that purple stain.
That spot of blood, that light but guilty streak,
Had banish'd all the beauty from her cheek!"
The Corsair's misanthropy had not destroyed him. Small creatures alone
are wholly converted into spite and scepticism by disappointment and
repulse. Those who are larger avenge themselves by devotion. Conrad's
love for Medora was intensified and exalted by his hatred of the world.
"Yes, it was Love--unchangeable--unchanged,
Felt but for one from whom he never ranged;"
and she was worthy of him, the woman who could sing -
"Deep in my soul that tender secret dwells,
Lonely and lost to light for evermore,
Save when to thine my heart responsive swells,
Then trembles into silence as before.
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