 | Aladdin ; or, The Wonderful Lamp |  |
A Beautiful Marble Bath.
Aladdin (waited on by invisible fairies).
Peribanou,
their Queen.
Fair youth, we wait thy pleasure;
Lo, all thou seest is thine;
Here all thy heart but yearned for
In magic light doth shine.
The chamber's lofty arches
Are bold and sculptured fair,
And walls of polished marble
Are round thee everywhere.
With sand of alabaster
The floor is softly strewn;
The bath exhales the perfume
Of sweet flowers newly blown.
Its surface, like a mirror,
Reflects thy visage near;
Oh, see the limpid water,
As starry diamonds clear!
Here, to the right, a fountain
Of icy coolness flows;
Along a bed it wimples
Of the lily and the rose.
Here to the left is streaming
A river's tiny arm;
It gushes from the mountain,
And it is soft and warm.
Then mingle at thy pleasure—
The means are by thy side—
The cool flower-shaded brooklet,
With the glowing rock-born tide.
And when with quickened vigour
Thou leav'st the waters bright;
Fair maiden hands shall dry thee,
And lap thee in delight.
Aladdin.
Ha! voice of sweetness, let me see thy mouth,
The flute through which thy witching accents flow!
Why dost thou hide thyself, oh beauteous rose,
So cruelly, the whilst a nightingale
Trills on thy crimson petals her glad strain?
Peribanou.
Content thee, youth, content thee
With the perfume of the rose;
Seek not to view, nor fondle,
What are but airy shows.
We are here, above, around thee,
But of earth thy glances be;
The creatures of the element
They pierce, but cannot see.
Then such fond wishes banish,
Learn thou our might to prize;
Ourselves we show but rarely
In earthly woman's guise.
Oh dear young man, but rarely,
And ne'er in open day;
In the bath before a stripling
So frolicsome and gay.
Aladdin.
Oh, pain in every pleasure—every joy!
The Fairies
(sing).
Play, ye limpid waters, fondly
Round these limbs so sweetly rounded;
Make the sturdy sinews pliant,
Hard and strong the youthful nerves.
Aladdin.
How! Was it not as though the water sang?
Fairies.
Cool is now thy hot blood's crimson;
Sweetly is thy heart refreshed;
Glorious are thy locks resplendent;
From the bath new-nerved arise!
Aladdin.
How! Was it not as though the ether rang?
Fairies.
From the bath new-nerved arise!
Aladdin.
I rise! What tones, what rapturous sensation!
By zephyr's viewless pinions I am fann'd,
By breezes, which a fragrant warmth have drawn
From the deep bosom of a bursting rose.
Peribanou.
Now let Beauty come apace
To the bath with rosy grace;
Strength too, rough, o'ergrown with hair,
Hasting from his forest lair!
Strength and Beauty, a giant and a fairy, enter, but are also invisible to Aladdin; the former bearing a sponge, the latter bearing a hyacinth.
Strength.
Strong art thou, but at my bidding greater strength shall soon be thine.
Beauty.
Fair art thou, but soon, Aladdin, shalt thou fairer be at mine.
Strength.
Every thew shall swell and harden, underneath my rubbing hand.
Beauty.
Every limb I'll round and soften with this flower from fairy land.
Strength.
Ampler still must be thy shoulders, stalwart each and rounded well.
Beauty.
In thine eyes a deeper hazel shall love's secrets sweetly tell.
Strength.
Now thy chest is narrow, quickly shall it arch in amplest might.
Beauty.
Cheek, to me too like a maiden's seems thy rosy lustre bright!
Strength.
Let the back in sinewy vigour, like hewn marble, smoothly shine.
Beauty.
Only just a trifle smaller must I make those lips of thine.
Strength.
Broader be thy feet, and stronger; like a rock thou'lt stand in place.
Beauty.
Thine shall be a just proportion, not too tall to move with grace.
Strength.
Boldly shall thy lofty forehead tell of spirit, power, and pride.
Beauty.
Arching eyebrows shall betoken worth doth there with strength abide.
Strength.
Beauty, he is not a maiden, but a man. Then have a care!
Beauty.
Right; so they must droop serenely, with a high and thoughtful air.
Strength.
Straighter still the swelling haunches, and the arm an oaken root.
Beauty.
Whiter still the fair round fingers, smaller too must be the foot.
Strength.
In thy heart I pour, all glowing, heroes' blood unstained by guile.
Beauty.
Love's pure flame, the sweet, the holy, thus unto thine eyes I smile.
Strength.
Of thy foes be thou the terror; like a lion to pursue.
Beauty.
Bloom thou, ever loved of beauty, and to loving beauty true.
Both.
Thus have I, oh youth belovèd, all my gifts bestowed on thee.
Henceforth may thy life be sunshine, ever happy, ever free!
[They vanish.
Aladdin (waited on by invisible fairies).
Peribanou,
their Queen.
Fair youth, we wait thy pleasure;
Lo, all thou seest is thine;
Here all thy heart but yearned for
In magic light doth shine.
The chamber's lofty arches
Are bold and sculptured fair,
And walls of polished marble
Are round thee everywhere.
With sand of alabaster
The floor is softly strewn;
The bath exhales the perfume
Of sweet flowers newly blown.
Its surface, like a mirror,
Reflects thy visage near;
Oh, see the limpid water,
As starry diamonds clear!
Here, to the right, a fountain
Of icy coolness flows;
Along a bed it wimples
Of the lily and the rose.
113
A river's tiny arm;
It gushes from the mountain,
And it is soft and warm.
Then mingle at thy pleasure—
The means are by thy side—
The cool flower-shaded brooklet,
With the glowing rock-born tide.
And when with quickened vigour
Thou leav'st the waters bright;
Fair maiden hands shall dry thee,
And lap thee in delight.
Aladdin.
Ha! voice of sweetness, let me see thy mouth,
The flute through which thy witching accents flow!
Why dost thou hide thyself, oh beauteous rose,
So cruelly, the whilst a nightingale
Trills on thy crimson petals her glad strain?
Peribanou.
Content thee, youth, content thee
With the perfume of the rose;
Seek not to view, nor fondle,
What are but airy shows.
We are here, above, around thee,
But of earth thy glances be;
The creatures of the element
They pierce, but cannot see.
Then such fond wishes banish,
Learn thou our might to prize;
Ourselves we show but rarely
In earthly woman's guise.
Oh dear young man, but rarely,
And ne'er in open day;
In the bath before a stripling
So frolicsome and gay.
Aladdin.
Oh, pain in every pleasure—every joy!
The Fairies
(sing).
Play, ye limpid waters, fondly
Round these limbs so sweetly rounded;
114
Hard and strong the youthful nerves.
Aladdin.
How! Was it not as though the water sang?
Fairies.
Cool is now thy hot blood's crimson;
Sweetly is thy heart refreshed;
Glorious are thy locks resplendent;
From the bath new-nerved arise!
Aladdin.
How! Was it not as though the ether rang?
Fairies.
From the bath new-nerved arise!
Aladdin.
I rise! What tones, what rapturous sensation!
By zephyr's viewless pinions I am fann'd,
By breezes, which a fragrant warmth have drawn
From the deep bosom of a bursting rose.
Peribanou.
Now let Beauty come apace
To the bath with rosy grace;
Strength too, rough, o'ergrown with hair,
Hasting from his forest lair!
Strength and Beauty, a giant and a fairy, enter, but are also invisible to Aladdin; the former bearing a sponge, the latter bearing a hyacinth.
Strength.
Strong art thou, but at my bidding greater strength shall soon be thine.
Beauty.
Fair art thou, but soon, Aladdin, shalt thou fairer be at mine.
Strength.
Every thew shall swell and harden, underneath my rubbing hand.
115
Every limb I'll round and soften with this flower from fairy land.
Strength.
Ampler still must be thy shoulders, stalwart each and rounded well.
Beauty.
In thine eyes a deeper hazel shall love's secrets sweetly tell.
Strength.
Now thy chest is narrow, quickly shall it arch in amplest might.
Beauty.
Cheek, to me too like a maiden's seems thy rosy lustre bright!
Strength.
Let the back in sinewy vigour, like hewn marble, smoothly shine.
Beauty.
Only just a trifle smaller must I make those lips of thine.
Strength.
Broader be thy feet, and stronger; like a rock thou'lt stand in place.
Beauty.
Thine shall be a just proportion, not too tall to move with grace.
Strength.
Boldly shall thy lofty forehead tell of spirit, power, and pride.
Beauty.
Arching eyebrows shall betoken worth doth there with strength abide.
Strength.
Beauty, he is not a maiden, but a man. Then have a care!
Beauty.
Right; so they must droop serenely, with a high and thoughtful air.
116
Straighter still the swelling haunches, and the arm an oaken root.
Beauty.
Whiter still the fair round fingers, smaller too must be the foot.
Strength.
In thy heart I pour, all glowing, heroes' blood unstained by guile.
Beauty.
Love's pure flame, the sweet, the holy, thus unto thine eyes I smile.
Strength.
Of thy foes be thou the terror; like a lion to pursue.
Beauty.
Bloom thou, ever loved of beauty, and to loving beauty true.
Both.
Thus have I, oh youth belovèd, all my gifts bestowed on thee.
Henceforth may thy life be sunshine, ever happy, ever free!
[They vanish.
| Aladdin ; or, The Wonderful Lamp | |