 | The Haunted Glen |  |
263
SCENE IV.
The Grove.Enter Lu and Fairies.
Lu.
Fairies, the night wears on apace;
There's a paleness spread on the heaven's face,
A silvery haze so mild to see,
As lambent and as pure as we.
Soon will we mount with blithsome sway
Through these bright paths on our spiral way,
On the locks of the morning star to swing,
Or the veil of the sky for the dew to wring;
To gallop the blue so lightsome and boon;
Or braid the fair tresses of beauty so bright,
That wanton and wave at the horns of the moon,
They are half of them æther and half of them light.
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To follow the moonlight west away,
O Spirits, advise what shall be done,
This loveliest flower beneath the sun,
From shame, from sin, and from sorrow to win?
Dew.
Bear her away
'Twixt the night and the day;
We Spirits have might
When we work for the right,
And each of us as much weight can bear
Of aught corporeal through the air,
As the swallow can carry on wing opprest,
Or the merle upbear to her downy nest.
Then bear her away
'Twixt the night and the day,
For she is too pure in this world to stay.
Lu.
That may not be—By rite divine,
In holy church, and at holy shrine,
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And named by a name to which we bow.
Or she must change with free good will,
Or be as she is for good or for ill;
Should I her gain, say shall she be
The Queen of the Fairies, and queen to me?
Dew.
Treason and pain!
Speak not again!
Trial and penance must long remain!
Bonny Philany, Snowflake, and Foam;
Rainbow, Rainbow, blink and go home!
Phil.
(Aside.)
Regard not, Prince, that freakish thing,
From jealousy her ravings spring;
One we must have, whatever befal,
To-morrow is our great festival,
And nought but mortal virgin's hand
Must crown thee King of the Fairy land;
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From us and ours no more to sever.
Lu.
Would that the time were not so soon!
It is not yet the wane of the moon.
Phil.
Prince, I have a word to say to thee—
Your troubled mind and eye I see;
But if you dare to harbour a thought
Of yielding a crown so dearly bought,
With all the joys of the moonlight dell,
And the fervent beings that love you so well,
For the sake of a flower that will soon decay,
A piece of fair well-moulded clay,
We'll pick these bright eyes from your head,
And there we'll fix two eyes of lead;
We'll pull the heart from thy breast bone,
And there we'll lodge a heart of stone;
So take thou care, lest some espy
The thoughts that in thy bosom lie.
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Sweet friendly fay, 'tis all too true;
Nor thought nor wish I'll hide from you:
Either that maiden here I must have,
Or return to the world, to death, and the grave.
O haste thee, Snowflake, haste and glide
To yon little cot by the green-wood side,
And watch yon maid till the break of day,
For I hear the watch-dog's angry bay;
Watch by her pillow, and look to her bed,
For I fear that beauty is hard bested.
Nor thought nor wish I'll hide from you:
Either that maiden here I must have,
Or return to the world, to death, and the grave.
O haste thee, Snowflake, haste and glide
To yon little cot by the green-wood side,
And watch yon maid till the break of day,
For I hear the watch-dog's angry bay;
Watch by her pillow, and look to her bed,
For I fear that beauty is hard bested.
Then hie you away, fairies, hie you away!
Lean to the breeze, and ride in array
Over the land and the sea so fleet,
Over the rain, and the hail, and the sleet,
Keep aye the sun far under your feet;
The morning behind, and the stars by your side,
The moon-beam your path, and her crescent your guide,
For O her mild and humid flame
Suits best with the fairies' airy frame!
And meet we again to-morrow at even,
When the first star peeps through the veil of heaven;
And here such a palace of light shall be
As the world ne'er saw and never will see:
For there shall be lamps and glories in store,
And a thousand stars, and a thousand more;
And there shall the ruby and onyx be seen,
The amethyst blue, and the emerald green,
With millions of gems of varied flame,
That have no likeness and have no name.
And our columns shall reach to the middle sky,
And the throne shall stand as the pine-tree high;
Soft music shall flow of the spheres above,
The songs of gladness, and songs of love;
And our feast shall begin with glory and glee,
But little we know what the end shall be!
Lean to the breeze, and ride in array
Over the land and the sea so fleet,
Over the rain, and the hail, and the sleet,
Keep aye the sun far under your feet;
The morning behind, and the stars by your side,
The moon-beam your path, and her crescent your guide,
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Suits best with the fairies' airy frame!
And meet we again to-morrow at even,
When the first star peeps through the veil of heaven;
And here such a palace of light shall be
As the world ne'er saw and never will see:
For there shall be lamps and glories in store,
And a thousand stars, and a thousand more;
And there shall the ruby and onyx be seen,
The amethyst blue, and the emerald green,
With millions of gems of varied flame,
That have no likeness and have no name.
And our columns shall reach to the middle sky,
And the throne shall stand as the pine-tree high;
Soft music shall flow of the spheres above,
The songs of gladness, and songs of love;
And our feast shall begin with glory and glee,
But little we know what the end shall be!
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O weel befa' the guileless heart
In cottage, bught, or pen!
An' weel befa' the bonny May
That wons in yonder glen;
Wha lo'es the good and true sae weel—
Wha's aye sae kind, and aye sae leal,
An' pure as blooming asphodel
Amang sae mony men.
O weel befa' the bonny thing
That wons in yonder glen!
In cottage, bught, or pen!
An' weel befa' the bonny May
That wons in yonder glen;
Wha lo'es the good and true sae weel—
Wha's aye sae kind, and aye sae leal,
An' pure as blooming asphodel
Amang sae mony men.
O weel befa' the bonny thing
That wons in yonder glen!
There's beauty in the violet's vest,
There's hinny in the haw,
There's dew within the rose's breast,
The sweetest o' them a'.
The sun may rise and set again,
An' lace wi' burning goud the main,
The rainbow bend attour the plain
Sae lovely to the ken;
But there's naething like my bonny thing
That wons in yonder glen.
There's hinny in the haw,
There's dew within the rose's breast,
The sweetest o' them a'.
The sun may rise and set again,
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The rainbow bend attour the plain
Sae lovely to the ken;
But there's naething like my bonny thing
That wons in yonder glen.
'Tis sweet to hear the music float
Alang the gloaming lea;
'Tis sweet to hear the blackbird's note
Come pealing frae the tree;
To see the lambkin's lightsome race;
The speckled kid in wanton chace;
The young deer cower in lonely place
Deep in his flowery den;
But what is like the bonny face
That smiles in yonder glen!
Alang the gloaming lea;
'Tis sweet to hear the blackbird's note
Come pealing frae the tree;
To see the lambkin's lightsome race;
The speckled kid in wanton chace;
The young deer cower in lonely place
Deep in his flowery den;
But what is like the bonny face
That smiles in yonder glen!
| The Haunted Glen | |