And more than that, they send me a report
Of what at other times would have provoked
My merriment, but now appals my mind
With spectral fear: my scouts announce to me
The Independence of the State of Texas,
As so declared by her Convention. [Impatiently.] Ha!
Were but this fortress in my hands, I should
Soon overthrow their lofty aspirations,
And make the Texans free and independent
Of land and lives and fortunes. [Violently.] I must have
This Alamo, e'en though it clung by chains
To heaven itself. Where stays that Colonel Bradburn?
Well, Prado! in thy countenance I read:
Thou bringest me some tidings worth the hearing.
Prado.
And so they are! The Alamo is yours,
Without so much as an assault or treaty.
Santa Anna.
What sayest, man! thou ravest—
Prado.
Concealed behind the tent of Colonel Bradburn,
I overheard a touching colloquy,
Well apt to move me to the bitterest tears,
