After a moment of thought, the Queen, with the same indifference with
which she would have called for her waiting-maid, desired to see
Cleopatra; for the Egyptian queen not having been quite as _comme il
faut_ as the British, the latter treated her accordingly. The beautiful
Cleopatra quickly made her appearance at the extremity of the
gallery,--and Elizabeth expected that this apparition would fully make
up for the disappointment which the others had occasioned. Scarcely had
she entered, when the air was loaded with the rich perfumes of Arabia.
Her bosom (that had been melting as charity) was open as day; a loop of
diamonds and rubies gathered the drapery as much above the left knee as
it might as well have been below it; and a woven wind of transparent
gauze softened the figure which it did not conceal.
In this gay and gallant costume, the mistress of Antony glided through
the gallery, making a similar pause as the others. No sooner was her
back turned, than the courtiers began to tear her person and frippery to
pieces,--the Queen calling out, like one possessed, for paper to burn
under her nose, to drive away the vapours occasioned by the gums with
which the mummy was filled,--declared her insupportable in every sense,
and far beneath even the wife of Herod or the daughter of Leda,--shocked
at her Diana drapery, to exhibit the most villanous leg in the
world,--and protested that a thicker robe would have much better become
her.
Whatever the two courtiers might have thought, they were forced to join
in these sarcasms, which the frail Egyptian excited in peculiar
severity.
"Such a cocked nose!" said the Queen.
"Such impertinent eyes!" said Essex.
Sydney, in addition to her other defects, found out that she had too
much stomach and too little back.
"Say of her as you please," returned Faustus--"one she is, however, who
led the Master of the World in her chains. But, madam," added he,
turning to the Queen, "as these far-famed foreign beauties are not to
your taste, why go beyond your own kingdom? England, which has always
produced the models of female perfection--as we may even at this moment
perceive--will furnish an object perhaps worthy of your attention in the
Fair Rosamond." Now Faustus had heard that the Queen fancied herself to
resemble the Fair Rosamond; and no sooner was the name mentioned, than
she was all impatience to see her.
"There is a secret instinct in this impatience," observed the Doctor,
craftily; "for, according to tradition, the Fair Rosamond had much
resemblance to your Majesty, though, of course, in an inferior style."
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.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account