SCENE V.
ESTRELLA. — THE SAME.
ESTRELLA. Welcome may your Highness be,
Welcomed oft to this thy throne,
Which long longing for its own
Finds at length its joy in thee;
Where, in spite of bygone fears,
May your reign be great and bright,
And your life in its long flight
Count by ages, not by years.
SIGISMUND (to CLARIN). Tell me, thou, say, who can be
This supreme of loveliness —
Goddess in a woman's dress —
At whose feet divine we see
Heaven its choicest gifts doth lay?—
This sweet maid? Her name declare.
CLARIN. 'Tis your star-named* cousin fair.
[footnote] *'Estrella', which means star in Spanish.
SIGISMUND. Nay, the sun, 'twere best to say.—
[To ESTRELLA.]
Though thy sweet felicitation
Adds new splendour to my throne,
'Tis for seeing thee alone
That I merit gratulation;
Therefore I a prize have drawn
That I scarce deserved to win,
And am doubly blessed therein:—
Star, that in the rosy dawn
Dimmest with transcendent ray
Orbs that brightest gem the blue,
What is left the sun to do,
When thou risest with the day?—
Give me then thy hand to kiss,
In whose cup of snowy whiteness
Drinks the day delicious brightness.
ESTRELLA. What a courtly speech is this?
ASTOLFO [aside]. If he takes her hand I feel
I am lost.
SECOND SERVANT [aside]. Astolfo's grief
I perceive, and bring relief:—
Think, my lord, excuse my zeal,
That perhaps this is too free,
Since Astolfo . . . .