Stole through the mists of alabaster lamps,
And every air was heavy with the sighs
Of orange groves and music from sweet lutes,
And murmurs of low fountains that gush forth
I’ the midst of roses!—dost thou like the picture?
This has been frequently parodied. In “Cinderella,” by Albert Smith, the book of which is now exceedingly scarce, the following was spoken by Alfred Wigan, in the part of Prince Rodolph:
Say dearest, say, if thou wouldst have me paint
The lodging whither, but not till we are wed,
The bus shall take thee, listen,
A cottage making to external splendour