Page:Court and Lady's Magazine (vol 3, 1839).djvu/128

   Come on! come on!
   The fire is gleaming,
   The herbs are steaming
   In the huge cauldron.
   Come on! come on!
   More water in pour,
   Let it seethe and roar,
   And then bubble o’er.
   Come on! come on!
  In a bath with my sprite I’ll plunge anon.

“See! from the river’s brink through air
 Backwards to and fro he dashes,
 Speeding fast as lightning flashes—
He’s no sooner here than there;
The cauldron spacious—thanks to him—
Is filling—is fill’d to the brim.
Hold—enough! my besom docile,
 To swim or dive there’s water plenty
 For both of us—and others twenty,
Slender as I and my sylph agile.
   Come on! come on!
   And now quench the flame
   For I see my dame
   Near the cauldron.
   Come on! come on!
   Our water’s lukewarm,
   And clear and calm;
   Then cease the charm.
   Come on! come on!
  In my bath with my sprite I’ll plunge anon.

“Goblin! that word can I forget
 Which power hath thee to restrain?
 Dear broomstick, cease to pour amain,
With further labour do not fret:
Empty, if thy full pot needs
Its water to the ravine reeds.
With snow-white shoulders, jewell’d hands,
 Clear ’neath the crystal rippling wave
 I see my queen her beauty lave,
Who blushing, scarce my gaze withstands.
   Come on! come on!
   And now quench the flame,
   For I see my dame
   In the cauldron.
   Come on! come on!
   The water’s lukewarm,
   And clear and calm;
   Then cease the charm.
   Come on! come on!
  In my bath with my sprite I’ll plunge anon.

“Stay thee, devilish broomstick!
 Hast no reason in thy pate?
 Would’st the mansion inundate,
Slave to strongest powers of magic?