And, as the old swain said, she can unlock In hard-besetting need; this will I try, Sabrina fair, SONG. Listen where thou art sitting Under the glassy, cool, translucent wave, Listen, and save. Listen, and appear to us, In name of great Oceanus; By the earth-shaking Neptune's mace, By hoary Nereus' wrinkled look, Tethys:' wife of Oceanus. 2 เ Carpathian wizard:' Proteus. 3 'Glaucus,' ' Leucothea,'' her Son' Palaemon, Thetis:' all sea-deities. Parthenope:' a Syren buried in Naples; see Wordsworth's sonnet on the Departure of Scott for Italy. Ligea:' another of the Syrens. Wherewith she sits on diamond rocks, And bridle in thy headlong wave, Till thou our summons answer'd have. Listen, and save! SABRINA rises, attended by Water-Nymphs, and sings. By the rushy-fringed bank, Where grows the willow, and the osier dank, My sliding chariot stays, Thick set with agate, and the azure sheen Of turkis blue, and emerald green, That in the channel strays; We implore thy powerful hand To undo the charmed band Of true virgin here distress'd, Through the force, and through the wile, Of unblest enchanter vile. Sab. Shepherd, 'tis my office best To help ensnared chastity: I have kept, of precious cure; Thrice upon thy rubied lip: I touch with chaste palms moist and cold :- Now the spell hath lost his hold; And I must haste, ere morning hour, To wait in Amphitrite's bower. SABRINA descends, and the LADY rises out of her Seat. Spi. Virgin, daughter of Locrine,1 Sprung of old Anchises' line, May thy brimmed waves for this Come, Lady, while Heaven lends us grace, Let us fly this cursed place, With some other new device. Not a waste or needless sound Till we come to holier ground; ''Locrine:' descended from Eneas, the son of Anchises. I shall be your faithful guide Will double all their mirth and chere: The Scene changes, presenting Ludlow Town and the President's Castle; then come in Country Dancers ; after them the ATTENDANT SPIRIT, with the Two BROTHERS and the LADY. SONG. Spi. Back, Shepherds, back; enough your play, Till next sun-shine holiday: Here be, without duck1 or nod, Other trippings to be trod Of lighter toes, and such court guise As Mercury did first devise, With the mincing Dryades, On the lawns, and on the leas. This second Song presents them to their Father and Mother. Noble Lord, and Lady bright, I have brought ye new delight; ''Duck:' bow. Here behold so goodly grown To triumph in victorious dance O'er sensual Folly and Intemperance. The Dances being ended, the SPIRIT epiloguizes. Spi. To the ocean now I fly, And those happy climes that lie All amidst the gardens fair Of Hesperus,1 and his daughters three Nard and Cassia's balmy smells. Waters the odorous banks, that blow Flowers of more mingled hue And drenches with Elysian dew (List, mortals, if your ears be true), Beds of hyacinth and roses, ''Hesperus:' see Ovid, Met. ix.-2 Purfled:' fringed. |