 | The Opera of Operas ; or, Tom Thumb the Great |  |
SCENE I.
SCENE Arthur's Palace.Ghost solus.
Recitativo.
Ghost.Hail! ye black horrors of mid-night's mid-noon!
You Fairies, Goblins, Bats, and Screech-owls hail!
And on! ye mortal watch-men, whose hoarse throats
Th'immortal ghosts dread croakings counterfeit,
All hail!
King.
What noise is this? what villain dares,
At this dread hour, disturb our royal walls?
Ghost.
One who defies thy empty pow'r to hurt him.
King.
Presumptuous slave! thou diest!
Ghost.
Threat others with that word,
I am a Ghost, and am already dead.
King.
Have at thee Man, or Ghost—
Thou fly'st! 'tis well—
[Ghost retires.]
I thought what was the courage of a Ghost!
Yet dare not walk again within these walls
On pain of the Red-Sea;
For if henceforth I ever find thee here,
Sure as a Gun I'll have thee laid.
Ghost.
Were the Red-Sea, a Sea of Holland's-Gin,
The liquor, when alive, I did detest,
Yet for the sake of Thomas Thumb,
I wou'd be laid therein.
King.
Ha! said you?
Ghost.
Yes, my liege, I said Tom Thumb,
Whose Father's Ghost I am,
Once not unknown to mighty Arthur.
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Once not unknown to mighty Arthur.
AIR XXIV.
I am a civil, friendly sprite,And come not hither to affright:
I throw not topsy-turvy chairs,
Nor tables rumbling down the stairs;
Nor yet behind the Wainscot rap,
Nor sudden make the casement flap:
The doors not jar, nor curtains spread,
Nor peep I in at feet of bed.
King.
'Tis he—it is the honest gaffer Thumb,
Oh! let me press thee in my eager arms,
Thou best of Ghosts! thou something more than Ghost!
But say, thou dearest air! oh! say, what dread
Important business sends the back to earth?
Ghost.
Oh! then prepare to hear—
Thy Subjects are in arms, by Grizzle led,
Intending to besiege thy royal palace.
King.
Thou ly'st, and thy intelligence is false
Hence—or by all the torments of thy Hell,
I'll run thee thro' the body, tho' thou hast none.
Ghost.
Arthur, beware!—I must this moment hence,
Not frighted by thy voice, but by the cocks.
Not frighted by thy voice, but by the cocks.
AIR XXV.
Slight not the warnings of us rambling sprites,Sent, for your good, thro' air, on dismal nights;
Strive to avert thy yet impending Fate;
For kill'd to day, to morrow, care's too late.
King.
Oh! stay! and leave me not 'twixt Hawk and Buzzard.
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Queen.
Oh! what's the cause, my Arthur, that you steal
Thus silently from Dollalolla's breast?
Why dost thou leave me in the dark alone,
When well thou know'st, I'm so afraid of Sprites,
I cannot sleep?
King.
Prithee, Dollalolla, do not blame me;
I hop'd the fumes of last night's punch had laid
Thy lovely eye-lids fast—but on! I find
There is no pow'r in dreams to quiet wives.
Queen.
Think, what must be thy wretched wife's surprise,
When, stretching—out her arms to hold thee fast,
She folds her useless Bolster in her arms.
Think! think on that! oh think! think well on that.
When, stretching—out her arms to hold thee fast,
She folds her useless Bolster in her arms.
Think! think on that! oh think! think well on that.
AIR XXVI.
In bed we often lie awake,We cannot always sleep;
When winds are high, and house does shake,
We gladly closer creep.
We simple women, when alone,
Are nat'rally afraid;
Least motion puts us in a swoon,
Except when dear's in bed.
King.
Oh! didst thou know one quarter what I know,
Then wou'dst thou know—alas! what thou wou'dst know?
Queen.
What can I gather hence? why dost thou speak
Like men who carry Raree-shows about,
Now you shall see, gentlemen, what you shall see?
Oh, tell me more, or thou hast told too much.
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Noodle.
Long life attend your Majesties—
Lord Grizzle, with a bola, rebellious crowd,
Advances to the palace, storming loud,
Unless the princess be deliver'd strait,
And the victorious Thumb, without his pate,
They are resolv'd to batter down the gate.
Enter Huncamunca.
King.
See, where the princess come! where is Tom Thumb?
Hunc.
Oh! Sir, about an hour and a half ago,
He sallied out to fag the Foe,
And swore upon his great, his warlike soul,
He'd make a Grizzle's Head a Nine-pin bowl.
Come, Dollalolla, Huncamunca, come,
Within we'll wait securely for brave Thumb.
Tho' Men and Giants shou'd conspire with Gods,
Yet he alone is equal to those odds.
Queen.
He is indeed a Helmet to us all,
While he supports, we need not fear to fall.
While he supports, we need not fear to fall.
AIR XXVII.
His Life to us is what of yore,Was Pallas to the Trojan Loons;
While that's preserv'd, the State may snore,
And safely we may spend our Crowns.
Best watch-men of a nodding State;
In this a monarch's wisdom lies,
To chuse such servants as are great,
And fit for ev'ry enterprise.
[Exeunt.
| The Opera of Operas ; or, Tom Thumb the Great | |