Isabella supplies Robert with a fresh
horse and arms; nevertheless he is beguiled away from Palermo by some
trickery of Bertram's, and fails to put in an appearance at the
tournament. The only means, therefore, left to him of obtaining the hand
of Isabella is to visit the tomb of his mother, and there to pluck a
magic branch of cypress, which will enable him to defeat his rivals. The
cypress grows in a deserted convent haunted by the spectres of
profligate nuns, and there, amidst infernal orgies, Robert plucks the
branch of power. By its aid he sends the guards of the Princess into a
deep sleep, and is only prevented by her passionate entreaties from
carrying her off by force. Yielding to her prayers, he breaks the
branch, and his magic power at once deserts him. He seeks sanctuary from
his enemies in the cathedral, and there the last and fiercest strife
for the possession of his soul is waged between the powers of good and
evil. On the one hand is Bertram, whose term of power on earth expires
at midnight. He has now discovered himself as Robert's father, and
produces an infernal compact of union which he entreats his son to sign.
On the other is Alice, pleading and affectionate, bearing the last words
of Robert's dead mother, warning him against the fiend who had seduced
her. While Robert is hesitating between the two, midnight strikes, and
Bertram sinks with thunder into the pit.
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