Against the canon laws of our foundation. I must not suffer this; yet 'tis but the lees But this will cure all straight; one sip of this 810 The BROTHERS rush in with swords drawn, wrest his glass out of his In stony fetters fixed and motionless. Yet stay be not disturbed; now I bethink me, 820 Some other means I have which may be used, Which once of Melibous old I learnt, The soothest shepherd that e'er piped on plains. There is a gentle Nymph not far from hence, That with moist curb sways the smooth Severn stream: Sabrina is her name: a virgin pure; Whilom she was the daughter of Locrine, 830 That had the sceptre from his father Brute. 840 And underwent a quick immortal change, And throw sweet garland wreaths into her stream 850 Of pansies, pinks, and gaudy daffodils. And, as the old swain said, she can unlock The clasping charm, and thaw the numbing spell, If she be right invoked in warbled song; For maidenhood she loves, and will be swift To aid a virgin, such as was herself, And add the power of some adjuring verse. Sabrina fair, Song. Listen where thou art sitting Under the glassy, cool, translucent wave, The loose train of thy amber-dropping hair; Goddess of the silver lake, 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, 860 870 By Leucothea's lovely hands, And her son that rules the strands; And bridle in thy headlong wave, Till thou our summons answered 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 azurn sheen That in the channel strays; That bends not as I tread. Gentle swain, at thy request I am here! Spir. Goddess dear, We implore thy powerful hand To undo the charmed band Of true virgin here distressed Through the force and through the wile Of unblessed enchanter vile. 880 890 900 I have kept of precious cure; Thrice upon thy finger's tip, Thrice upon thy rubied lip: Smeared with gums of glutinous heat, I touch with chaste palms moist and cold. And I must haste ere morning hour To wait in Amphitrite's bower. SABRINA descends, and THE LADY rises out of her seat. Spir. Virgin, daughter of Locrine, Sprung of old Anchises' line, May thy brimmèd waves for this Their full tribute never miss From a thousand petty rills, That tumble down the snowy hills: May thy lofty head be crowned With many a tower and terrace round, With groves of myrrh and cinnamon. 920 930 Come, Lady; while Heaven lends us grace, Let us fly this cursed place, Lest the sorcerer us entice With some other new device. 940 Not a waste or needless sound Will double all their mirth and cheer. Come, let us haste; the stars grow high, But Night sits monarch yet in the mid sky. 950 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. Spir. Back, shepherds, back! Enough your play Till next sun-shine holiday. Here be, without duck 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. 960 Heaven hath timely tried their youth, 970 |