 | Aladdin ; or, The Wonderful Lamp |  |
The Harem.
Gulnare
(in a bridal dress).
The dreadful hour approaches! How I tremble!
Deliver me, kind Heaven! Once hast thou saved me,
And brought me by a miracle to him,
Who reigns alone, supreme, within my heart.
How happy was I then! But, oh kind Allah!
Didst thou release me from the tiger's claws,
That I might fall a victim to the pard?
Oh no; that cannot be! It must not be!
For then thy mercy had been cruelty.
Ah me! what fate was ever like to mine?
Bound to a man I loathed,—then, in the hour
Of my despair, saved by a youth divine.
Oh, how I love him! Thou slim cedar, thou!
Like palm-leaves waves thy undulating hair;
Thy kindling eye is like the antelope's,
And like the crimson tulip are thy cheeks.
The moon shines in the firmament of heaven
Not half so fair as thou in that of love!
What free-born pine-tree on the rocks doth lift
Its head so high and haughtily as thou?
Yet was a shepherd's mildness in thy glance.
Love's gentle yearnings nestle in thy heart.
Oh, how he loved me! and how blest was I!
But woe's me,—sever'd suddenly again,
Alone within my chamber I am left
To mourn the piteous loss, until the tears
Of my despair are stifled, as they flow,
By the dread news of fresh calamity.
Oh cruel father, wilt thou sell me now
To some coarse creature of the boorish mob?
How blest is woman in the Frankish land!
There her best feelings—all she prizes most—
Are not contemned and trampled in the dust.
Man doth respect her there, and cherish her
As nature's fairest blossom. There a maid
Culls for herself, and is not handed o'er,
The mindless bond-slave of an unknown lord.
The husband there for mistress owns his wife;
And there the lion lets himself be led,
Gentle and tame, by beauty's leading strings.
Oh, that must be a good, a glorious land!
Would I might live there! Yet I would not, no!
For then were I still farther from thy side,
Invisible beloved one of my heart!
Oh, if thou wert no phantom of a dream,
Appear: come forth in all thy youthful pride,
Strong as a lion, as a tiger lithe,
Warm as the sun, and lovely as the moon!
Thine own love calls to thee in her despair!
Oh, come, and bring her rescue from a strait
More piteous, and more cruel far than death!
Enter Soliman with Aladdin, the Suite, and Court Jester.
Oh heavens! (Throws herself at Aladdin's feet.)
Good Angel, hast thou heard my prayer?
And hasted hither, from the vulture's claws
To save the frightened lamb? My Gabriel thou!
For my sake hast thou left thy glorious home
In Paradise above?
Aladdin.
My dearest bride!
Soliman
(aside).
What means all this? I thought to find her still
Bathed in her tears, and overwhelmed with grief.
I had my father's sternness all prepared,
And now, instead of scratching out his eyes,
As she declared she was resolved to do,
Down at his feet she falls, and worships him
As an archangel! Well, well! I must say,
They are strange creatures, these same womenfolks!
Gulnare.
Oh, most unlooked for chance! Oh, sweet surprise!
Soliman.
How! Chance!—Surprise! Reflect, reflect, Gulnare!
What will this hairbrained creature come to next?
Thou wert prepared beforehand.
Gulnare.
I prepared?
You told me I was destined for a wretch,—
A miserable slave you called Aladdin.
Soliman.
That miserable slave, that wretch, my child,
Is he, you clasp so fondly to your breast.
Gulnare.
Art thou he?
Aladdin.
Yes, my love!
Soliman.
Compose yourself.
It gives me joy to see you weep no more;
Yet must you not give full career to mirth.
The gravity, which evermore should grace
A princely forehead, is a flower that scorns
The rain of tears and sun of smiles alike;
For only in the shade it strikes a root,
And blooms the fairest in an arid soil.
Jester.
Marry, well said; that's my opinion too.
Soliman.
She neither sees nor hears me.
Jester.
Talk away.
I'll lend a patient hearing to thy saws,
While the young folks are in each other wrapt.
Gulnare
(to Aladdin).
And that great lovely palace, is it thine?
Aladdin.
No, no; thou dearest of all womankind,
That is thy temple, and the throne of love!
Gulnare.
And thou my bridegroom?
Aladdin.
Yes, beloved, yes!
Gulnare.
I know not if I wake, or if I dream.
If waking, I am blest past words to tell;
But if a dream it be,—oh, sweetest dream,
Sink with me in the slumber of the grave!
Soliman.
They're both in such a state of ecstasy,
I cannot make them hear.
Jester.
Stay where you are,
I will approach them and perform your part.
My dignity will not be compromised,
If they shall turn as deaf an ear to me.
[Goes up to Aladdin and Gulnare, who are conversing in the background.
The Ruler of the Faithful, sweet young people,
Requests you will attend him to the palace,
Where, for this hour and more, in the great hall,
A most select assemblage waits your coming.
Aladdin.
The golden hour invites us, my sweet bride:
Bliss waves us onward: let us haste to meet it!
Jester
(pulls him back).
Here, my good friend, haste goes with measured step!
At court, sir, ceremonies govern all;
And pray you note, I'm master of them,—I;
An office which from immemorial time
Has with the Jester's piously been link'd.
First comes a lengthen'd train of negro slaves,
With sabres, and with halberds in their hands,
To keep aloof the mob of lookers-on.
Then follow the Vizirs and Privy Council.
These are not negro slaves, friend; they are white.
Next comes the Sultan 'neath a velvet pall,
Attended like a shadow by his fool,
And only then the princess and yourself
Appear upon a handsome dromedary.
(He arranges the procession, then makes a sign from the windows with his bauble and exclaims,)
Now blow, ye rascals, all your trumpets blow,
As fierce and loudly as your lungs can strain;
Let cannon thunder, bells by thousands ring,
And all the world in joyful chorus sing!
[They go off in procession.
Gulnare
(in a bridal dress).
The dreadful hour approaches! How I tremble!
Deliver me, kind Heaven! Once hast thou saved me,
And brought me by a miracle to him,
Who reigns alone, supreme, within my heart.
How happy was I then! But, oh kind Allah!
Didst thou release me from the tiger's claws,
That I might fall a victim to the pard?
Oh no; that cannot be! It must not be!
For then thy mercy had been cruelty.
Ah me! what fate was ever like to mine?
Bound to a man I loathed,—then, in the hour
Of my despair, saved by a youth divine.
Oh, how I love him! Thou slim cedar, thou!
Like palm-leaves waves thy undulating hair;
Thy kindling eye is like the antelope's,
And like the crimson tulip are thy cheeks.
The moon shines in the firmament of heaven
Not half so fair as thou in that of love!
What free-born pine-tree on the rocks doth lift
Its head so high and haughtily as thou?
Yet was a shepherd's mildness in thy glance.
Love's gentle yearnings nestle in thy heart.
Oh, how he loved me! and how blest was I!
But woe's me,—sever'd suddenly again,
Alone within my chamber I am left
To mourn the piteous loss, until the tears
Of my despair are stifled, as they flow,
By the dread news of fresh calamity.
Oh cruel father, wilt thou sell me now
125
How blest is woman in the Frankish land!
There her best feelings—all she prizes most—
Are not contemned and trampled in the dust.
Man doth respect her there, and cherish her
As nature's fairest blossom. There a maid
Culls for herself, and is not handed o'er,
The mindless bond-slave of an unknown lord.
The husband there for mistress owns his wife;
And there the lion lets himself be led,
Gentle and tame, by beauty's leading strings.
Oh, that must be a good, a glorious land!
Would I might live there! Yet I would not, no!
For then were I still farther from thy side,
Invisible beloved one of my heart!
Oh, if thou wert no phantom of a dream,
Appear: come forth in all thy youthful pride,
Strong as a lion, as a tiger lithe,
Warm as the sun, and lovely as the moon!
Thine own love calls to thee in her despair!
Oh, come, and bring her rescue from a strait
More piteous, and more cruel far than death!
Enter Soliman with Aladdin, the Suite, and Court Jester.
Oh heavens! (Throws herself at Aladdin's feet.)
Good Angel, hast thou heard my prayer?
And hasted hither, from the vulture's claws
To save the frightened lamb? My Gabriel thou!
For my sake hast thou left thy glorious home
In Paradise above?
Aladdin.
My dearest bride!
Soliman
(aside).
What means all this? I thought to find her still
Bathed in her tears, and overwhelmed with grief.
I had my father's sternness all prepared,
126
As she declared she was resolved to do,
Down at his feet she falls, and worships him
As an archangel! Well, well! I must say,
They are strange creatures, these same womenfolks!
Gulnare.
Oh, most unlooked for chance! Oh, sweet surprise!
Soliman.
How! Chance!—Surprise! Reflect, reflect, Gulnare!
What will this hairbrained creature come to next?
Thou wert prepared beforehand.
Gulnare.
I prepared?
You told me I was destined for a wretch,—
A miserable slave you called Aladdin.
Soliman.
That miserable slave, that wretch, my child,
Is he, you clasp so fondly to your breast.
Gulnare.
Art thou he?
Aladdin.
Yes, my love!
Soliman.
Compose yourself.
It gives me joy to see you weep no more;
Yet must you not give full career to mirth.
The gravity, which evermore should grace
A princely forehead, is a flower that scorns
The rain of tears and sun of smiles alike;
For only in the shade it strikes a root,
And blooms the fairest in an arid soil.
127
Marry, well said; that's my opinion too.
Soliman.
She neither sees nor hears me.
Jester.
Talk away.
I'll lend a patient hearing to thy saws,
While the young folks are in each other wrapt.
Gulnare
(to Aladdin).
And that great lovely palace, is it thine?
Aladdin.
No, no; thou dearest of all womankind,
That is thy temple, and the throne of love!
Gulnare.
And thou my bridegroom?
Aladdin.
Yes, beloved, yes!
Gulnare.
I know not if I wake, or if I dream.
If waking, I am blest past words to tell;
But if a dream it be,—oh, sweetest dream,
Sink with me in the slumber of the grave!
Soliman.
They're both in such a state of ecstasy,
I cannot make them hear.
Jester.
Stay where you are,
I will approach them and perform your part.
128
If they shall turn as deaf an ear to me.
[Goes up to Aladdin and Gulnare, who are conversing in the background.
The Ruler of the Faithful, sweet young people,
Requests you will attend him to the palace,
Where, for this hour and more, in the great hall,
A most select assemblage waits your coming.
Aladdin.
The golden hour invites us, my sweet bride:
Bliss waves us onward: let us haste to meet it!
Jester
(pulls him back).
Here, my good friend, haste goes with measured step!
At court, sir, ceremonies govern all;
And pray you note, I'm master of them,—I;
An office which from immemorial time
Has with the Jester's piously been link'd.
First comes a lengthen'd train of negro slaves,
With sabres, and with halberds in their hands,
To keep aloof the mob of lookers-on.
Then follow the Vizirs and Privy Council.
These are not negro slaves, friend; they are white.
Next comes the Sultan 'neath a velvet pall,
Attended like a shadow by his fool,
And only then the princess and yourself
Appear upon a handsome dromedary.
(He arranges the procession, then makes a sign from the windows with his bauble and exclaims,)
Now blow, ye rascals, all your trumpets blow,
As fierce and loudly as your lungs can strain;
Let cannon thunder, bells by thousands ring,
And all the world in joyful chorus sing!
[They go off in procession.
| Aladdin ; or, The Wonderful Lamp | |