The eastern or Turkish bath : $b its history, revival in Britain, and application to the purposes of healthWilson, Erasmus, Sir
History
The eastern or Turkish bath : $b its history, revival in Britain, and application to the purposes of health
Wilson, Erasmus, Sir
Baths, Turkish
I have portrayed Mr. Witt's bath; let me endeavour to draw a
sketch of Mr. Urquhart's bath--a bath dear to the memory of all
early bathers--the bath at Riverside. We arrive at the door of the
Frigidarium, we loosen the latchets of our shoes, and we leave them
behind the lintel; the portal opens, and we enter. The apartment is
small, but it is sunny and bright; through the glass doors we see a
balcony festooned with the tendrils of the rose, now leafless and out
of bloom, for it is early winter; beyond the parapet of the balcony are
terraces of which the rose is still the favoured ornament; further on,
the rippled surface of a boisterous, noisy stream; then meadows with
grazing herds and flocks, and the faithful horse; beyond, the wooded
hill, arching like an eyebrow around the bright spot in which, as the
apple of the eye, sparkles the bath. At our side is a dureta; over
against us a reclining chair; and along the sides of the apartment a
soft-cushioned divan; in mid space a _sofra_ supporting a nargillé;
while around are books, some Turkish ornaments and chibouques; we
tread on the carpet of Persia and the clean, fresh, matting of India.
Opposite the glass doors is an immense sheet of plate glass, through
it we see marble steps, and in the depths to which these steps descend
there is the reflection of the sun. Shades of Mecænas and Pliny, will
ye not smile? Shade of Seneca, look not austere at the luxury of this
Briton of ancient descent; who courts the rays of Phœbus, smiling
through festoons of roses, to visit the deepest pool of his bath. Here
he can swim, while the sun glistens in the crystal drops that linger on
his skin, or makes mimic rainbows in the spray that he dashes before
him in his plunging revel.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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