Strafford was written, at Macready's earnest request, in an interval of the composition of Sordello.
What if there were a Cause higher and nobler than either, and he (Sordello) were to be its true discoverer?
His heart thudded frantically, and he prayed that Sordello could not see the consternation that filled him.
"Manfred died in a most chivalrous manner," said Sordello, showing no sympathy for the anguish he was causing.
Thus when, in 1840, Sordello was at length complete, it bore the traces of many influences and many moods.
