From “The Tempest,” Act IV. Sc. 1.
OUR revels now are ended. These our actors,
As I foretold you, were all spirits, and
Are melted into air, into thin air;
And, like the baseless fabric of this vision,
The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve,...
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From the German by Sir Theodore Martin and William Edmondstoune Aytoun
WHO rides so late through the midnight blast?
’T is a father spurs on with his child full fast;
He gathers the boy well into his arm,
He clasps him close and he keeps him warm.“My son, why thus to my arm dost cling?”—
“Father, dost thou not see the elfin-king?
The... -
Anonymous translation from the French
TOWN, tower,
Shore, deep,
Where lower
Cliffs steep;
Waves gray,
Where play
Winds gay,—
All sleep.Hark! a sound,
Far and slight,... -
From “Comus”
THE LADY.—This way the noise was, if mine ear be true,
My best guide now; methought it was the sound
Of riot and ill-managed merriment,
Such as the jocund flute or gamesome pipe
Stirs up amongst the loose, unlettered hinds,
When for their teeming flocks and granges full
In wanton dance they praise the bounteous Pan,
... -
From “Comus”
SPIRIT.—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,
That had the sceptre from his father Brute.
She, guiltless damsel, flying the mad pursuit
Of her enragèd stepdame Guendolen,
Commended her... -
A Tale
“Of Brownyis and of Bogilis full is this Buke.”
—GAWIN DOUGLAS.WHEN chapman billies leave the street,
And drouthy neebors neebors meet,
As market-days are wearing late,
An’ folk begin to tak the gate;
While we sit bousing at the nappy,
An’ getting fou and unco happy,
We think na on the lang Scots miles,... -
Anonymous translation from the German
I KNOW not whence it rises,
This thought so full of woe;—
But a tale of times departed
Haunts me—and will not go.The air is cool, and it darkens,
And calmly flows the Rhine;
The mountain peaks are sparkling
In the sunny evening-shine.And yonder sits a maiden,
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From the German by Charles Timothy Brooks
THE WATERS purled, the waters swelled,—
A fisher sat near by,
And earnestly his line beheld
With tranquil heart and eye;
And while he sits and watches there,
He sees the waves divide,
And, lo! a maid, with glistening hair,
Springs from the troubled tide.She sang to him,...
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From the “Inner Temple Masque”
STEER hither, steer your wingèd pines,
All beaten mariners:
Here lie undiscovered mines,
A prey to passengers;
Perfumes far sweeter than the best
That make the phœnix urn and nest:
Fear not your ships,
Nor any to oppose you save our lips;
But come on shore,
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Come, dear children, let us away;
Down and away below.
Now my brothers call from the bay;
Now the great winds shorewards blow;
Now the salt tides seaward flow;
Now the wild white horses play,
Champ and chafe and toss in the spray.
Children dear, let us away.
This way, this way.Call her once before you go....