Information prepared by the Project Gutenberg legal advisor 15
for Semiramis . Say thou wilt walk : we will bestrew the ground : Or wilt thou ride ? Thy horses shall be trapp ' d , Their harness studded all with gold and pearl . Dost thou love hawking ? Thou hast hawks will soar Above the morning lark : or wilt thou hunt ? Thy hounds shall make the welkin answer them And fetch shall echoes from the hollow earth .
FIRST SERVANT . Say thou wilt course ; thy greyhounds are as swift As breathed stags ; ay , fleeter than the roe .
SECOND SERVANT . Dost thou love pictures ? We will fetch thee straight Adonis painted by a running brook , And Cytherea all in sedges hid , Which seem to move and wanton with her breath Even as the waving sedges play with wind .
LORD . We ' ll show thee Io as she was a maid And how she was beguiled and surpris ' d , As lively painted as the deed was done .
THIRD SERVANT . Or Daphne roaming through a thorny wood , Scratching her legs , that one shall swear she bleeds And at that sight shall sad Apollo weep , So workmanly the blood and tears are drawn .
LORD . Thou art a lord , and nothing but a lord : Thou hast a lady far more beautiful Than any woman in this waning age .
FIRST SERVANT . And , till the tears that she hath shed for thee Like envious floods o ' er-run her lovely face , She was the fairest creature in the world ; And yet she is inferior to none .
SLY . Am I a lord ? and have I such a lady ? Or do I dream ? Or have I dream ' d till now ? I do not sleep : I see , I hear , I speak ; I smell sweet savours , and I feel soft things : Upon my life , I am a lord indeed ; And not a tinker , nor Christophero Sly . Well , bring our lady hither to our sight ; And once again , a pot o ' the smallest ale .
SECOND SERVANT . Will ' t please your mightiness to wash your hands ?