Two lovely apples on it did shine;
I clomb the pole to make them mine.
The Young Witch.
For apples your sire in Paradise
And primal dame had longing eyes:
And, if your eyes are wise to see,
You’ll find such apples on my tree.
Mephistopheles. [dancing with the old Witch]
An ugly dream once came to me,
I dreamed I saw a cloven tree;
In the tree there sat an ugly owl;
I called it fair, though it was foul.
The Old Witch.
My best salute this night shall be,
Thou knight of the cloven foot, to thee;
A cloven tree with an ugly owl,
And I for thee, or fair, or foul.
Proctophantasmist.[n14] [to the dancers]
Listen to order, you presumptuous brood!
Have we not proved beyond disputing,
That ghosts on terra firma have no footing?
And yet you dance like any flesh and blood?
The Young Witch. [dancing]
What wants he here, that rude-like fellow there?
Faust. [dancing]
O, he is everywhere!
What others dance ’tis his to prize;
Each step he cannot criticise
Had as well not been made. But in the dance
It grieves him most when we advance.
If we would wheel still round and round in a ring,
As he is fond to do in his old mill,
He would not take it half so ill;
Especially if you take care to bring
Your praiseful offering to his master skill.
Proctophantasmist.
What! still there, phantoms? this is past endurance!
In this enlightened age you have the assurance
To show your face and play your tricks undaunted;
We are so wise, and yet a man’s own house is haunted.
