28

COMUS

And bridle in thy headlong wave,

Till thou our summons answered have.

Listen and save!

[SCENE II.

While the invocation is being played, SABRINA comes slowly in, attended by the water nymphs, who perform a dance in the front of the stage. Then SABRINA steps forward and speaks to the swain.

Sabrina. By the rushy-fringèd 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;
Whilst from off the waters fleet
Thus I set my printless feet
O'er the cowslip's velvet head,
That bends not as I tread.
Gentle swain, at thy request
I am here!

Thyrsis. Goddess dear,

We implore thy powerful hand
To undo the charmed band

Of true maiden here distressed

Through the force and through the wile
Of unblessed enchanter vile.

Sabrina. Shepherd, 'tis my office best

To help ensnared chastity.

[Goes up to the LADY and sprinkles silver confetti over her, while

she repeats the seven next lines.]

Brightest Lady, look on me :

Thus I sprinkle on thy breast

Drops that from my fountain pure
I have kept, of precious cure;
Thrice upon thy finger's tip,
Thrice upon thy rubied lip:

I touch with chaste palms moist and cold.
Now the spell has lost his hold;

SCENE II.]

COMUS

29

And I must haste ere morning hour

To wait in Amphitrite's bower.

While SABRINA speaks the last three lines, the LADY slowly awakens and arises from her chair.

Thyrsis. [Addressing SABRINA.] Goddess, 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:
Summer drought or singèd air,
Never scorch thy tresses fair,
Nor wet October's torrent flood
Thy molten crystal fill with mud;
May thy billows roll ashore
The beryl and the golden ore;
May thy lofty head be crowned
With many a tower and terrace round,
And here and there thy banks upon
With groves of myrrh and cinnamon.

[SABRINA and the nymphs perform a little dance and disappear. THYRSIS holds his hand to the LADY and leads her from the table.]

Come, Lady, while Heaven lends us grace,

Let us fly this cursed place,

Lest the sorcerer us entice

With some other new device.
I shall be your faithful guide
Through this gloomy covert wide;
And not many furlongs thence
Is your father's residence,
Where this night are met in state
Many a friend to gratulate
His wished presence; and beside
All the swains, that there abide,

With jigs and rural dance resort.
We shall catch them at their sport,
And our sudden coming there

Will double all their mirth and cheer.
Come, let us haste; the stars grow high,
But Night sits monarch yet in the mid sky.

[SCENE III.

[Curtain falls.

SCENE III.

The scene changes, presenting Ludlow Town, and the President's Castle: the EARL and COUNTESS OF BRIDGEWATER are seated on the right; then come in COUNTRY DANCERS; after them the ATTENDANT SPIRIT, with the two brothers and the LADY.

Morris dance. ATTENDANT SPIRIT advances and stops the dancers.

Attendant Spirit. Back, shepherds, back! Enough your play

Till next sunshine 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.