Poetical Works of Robert Bridges, Volume 3Bridges, Robert
General
Poetical Works of Robert Bridges, Volume 3
Bridges, Robert
English drama; English poetry
_Deid._ Hear ye, girls, 950
Make each her choice. I will o’erlook your taste
When all is done.
_Ul._ Come, buy my wares: come buy.
Come, come buy; I’ve wares for all,
Were ye each and all princesses.
Clasps and brooches, large and small,
Handy for holding your flowing dresses.
_Ch._ What is this little box for?
_Ul._ Open it.
_Ch._ What is this vial?
_Ul._ Smell it. Buy, come buy!
Charms for lovers, charms to break,
Charms to bind them to you wholly. 960
Medicines fit for every ache,
Fever and fanciful melancholy.
_Ch._ O smell this scent.—Here be fine pins.—See this!
_Ul._ (_aside_). I spy none here to match my notion yet.
_Ch._ I have found amber beads.—What is it is tied
In little packets?
_Ul._ Toilet secrets those,
Perfumes, and rare cosmetics ’gainst decay.
_Deid._ (_to one apart_). Alexia, see. I will buy this for Pyrrha.
’Tis pity she is not here. What thinkest thou of it?
He said it was his best. This other one 970
I’ll give to thee if thou find nothing better.
Go see. I will seek Pyrrha. [_Exit._
_Ul._ Buy, come buy!
Tassels, fringes, silken strings,
Girdles, ties, and Asian pockets,
Armlets, necklaces and rings,
Images, amulets, lovers’ lockets.
_Ch._ Pray, what are these, good man?
_Ul._ Of soft doe-skin
These gilded thongs are made for dancers’ wear,
To tie their sandals.
_Ch._ And is this a pin,
This golden grasshopper?
_Ul._ Ay, for the hair. 980
The Athenian ladies use nought else. See here
This little cup.
_Ch._ Didst thou make that?
_Ul._ Nay, ladies.
_Ch._ Show us some work of thine which thou didst make
Thy very self.
_Ul._ See then this silver snake.
Fear not. Come near and mark him well: my trade is,
Or was, I should say, in such nice devices.
’Twill coil and curl, uncoil, dart and recoil. [_Showing._
_The Chorus crowd about him, when enter unperceived
by him Achilles and Deidamia._
_Deid._ Come, come, there never hath been one like him here.
Hark! see the girls: they crowd and chatter round
As greedily as birds being fed. I bade them choose
Each one a present, but I took the best, 991
This ruby brooch. Look at it: ’tis for thee.
Let me now put it on thee. I’ll unclasp
Thy robe and set it in the place of the other.
_Ach._ Nay, Deidamia, unfasten not my robe!
_Deid._ Why, ’twould not matter if he looked this way.
_Ach._ Nay, prithee.—
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account