 | The Portrait |  |
11
2. PART THE SECOND.
SCENE continues.Leander, Isabella and Colombine.
LEANDER.
Do I behold my Isabel once more?
Happy the moment I regain'd the shore!
ISABELLA.
Blest be the waves, and blest the prosp'rous gales
That bore your ship, and fill'd the swelling sails!
AIR.
LEANDER.
Tho' doom'd to tempt fickle sea,
Still constant was my soul:
Still, still it pointed true to thee,
As needle to the pole.
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COLOMBINE.
In troth, good sir, 'twas well you came so soon,
Or Isabel had married Pantaloon.
LEANDER.
My uncle! Heaven forbid the black design!
Who cou'd advise her to it?
ISABELLA.
Colombine.
COLOMBINE.
True: but Leander was not on the spot,
Nor any other husband to be got.
AIR.Nor any other husband to be got.
When beaux and smarts abound,
And lovers are in plenty;
When youths in swarms surround,
A maiden may be dainty;
May pick and chuse,
And ten refuse,
When she has choice of twenty.
And lovers are in plenty;
When youths in swarms surround,
A maiden may be dainty;
May pick and chuse,
And ten refuse,
When she has choice of twenty.
13
But when she's left alone,
To sigh and hug her pillow,
'Tis vain to sit and moan,
Or wear the mournful willow:
No Damon near,
What wit cou'd sneer,
When Cælia took Twangdillo?
To sigh and hug her pillow,
'Tis vain to sit and moan,
Or wear the mournful willow:
No Damon near,
What wit cou'd sneer,
When Cælia took Twangdillo?
RECITATIVE.
LEANDER.
And cou'd my Isabella prove
False to Leander, false to love?
ISABELLA.
Banish thy idle fears, dear youth;
Nor doubt my constancy and truth.
AIR.Nor doubt my constancy and truth.
Leander was my daily theme,
Leander was my nightly dream;
For him I wept, I sigh'd.
Why wilt thou tempt the dang'rous main?
Ah, when wilt thou return again?
When bless these eyes? I cried.
Leander was my nightly dream;
For him I wept, I sigh'd.
Why wilt thou tempt the dang'rous main?
Ah, when wilt thou return again?
When bless these eyes? I cried.
14
LEANDER.
Tansporting confession!
ISABELLA.
Believe it, dear youth.
BOTH.
How sweet the expression
Of faith, love, and truth!
LEANDER.
My heart beats to thine.
ISABELLA.
By thy soul, judge of mine.
BOTH.
One passion, one flame
Each bosom inspires:
Our fears are the same;
The same our desires.
[Exeunt.
RECITATIVE.
COLOMBINE
alone.
So have I seen two amorous turtle doves,
Billing and cooing, murmur forth their loves.
Poor Colombine! how cruel is thy fate!
Left, like a turtle, here without a mate!
Billing and cooing, murmur forth their loves.
Poor Colombine! how cruel is thy fate!
Left, like a turtle, here without a mate!
15
Of all evils under the sun
Of one, only one, I'm afraid:
I fear no misfortune but one;
And that is to die an old maid.
Of one, only one, I'm afraid:
I fear no misfortune but one;
And that is to die an old maid.
O Venus, avert the disgrace!
O Cupid, be true to thy trade!
What mortal can look in my face,
And think I would die an old maid?
O Cupid, be true to thy trade!
What mortal can look in my face,
And think I would die an old maid?
RECITATIVE.
Enter PIERROT.
PIERROT.
Die an old maid? No, never fear,
While honest Pierrot is so near.
COLOMBINE.
Pierrot return'd?
[They embrace.]
PIERROT.
'Tis even so.
Troth I was very loth to go.
16
Poor servants must attend their masters.
COLOMBINE.
Have you been well?
PIERROT.
Damn'd sea-sick: if I sail
A second voyage, set me down a whale.
AIR.A second voyage, set me down a whale.
Oh, think of the winds in a roar, the vast, ocean
Swelling, rolling, and foaming in dreadful commotion!
Now up to the skies we are tost,
And now in a gulph we seem lost;
For succour we cry,
While nothing we spy,
But mountains of water and acres of sky.
Swelling, rolling, and foaming in dreadful commotion!
Now up to the skies we are tost,
And now in a gulph we seem lost;
For succour we cry,
While nothing we spy,
But mountains of water and acres of sky.
RECITATIVE.
COLOMBINE.
Dreadful, indeed! But since you're now on shore,
Let us be gay and joyous as before!
17
With all my heart! you know I ne'er lov'd rigour;
I'm full of spirits, and brim-full of vigour.
COLOMBINE.
Sweet loving soul! let each goose have her gander;
I have my Pierrot; Madam Bell, Leander.
DUET.
[COLOMBINE.]
Like mistress, like maid.
PIERROT.
Like master, like man.
BOTH.
Nature will be obey'd
On a general plan.
COLOMBINE.
Rich and poor, high and low,
Are distinctions of art;
Love's a levelling blow,
For it aims at the heart.
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Like mistress, like maid.
Like master, like man.
Nature will be obey'd
On a general plan.
Like master, like man.
Nature will be obey'd
On a general plan.
Rich and poor, high and low,
Are distinctions of art;
Love's a levelling blow,
For it aims at the heart.
Are distinctions of art;
Love's a levelling blow,
For it aims at the heart.
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