Thank you for visiting SNEWPapers!
Sign up free
Literary
December 2, 1888
The Cheyenne Daily Leader
Cheyenne, Laramie County, Wyoming
What is this article about?
A poem evoking sensual oriental fantasies triggered by the scent of attar of rose, featuring luxurious scenes of a divan, jewels, and music, transforming the speaker into a Turk, ending in a eunuch's deadly bowstring attack on the beloved.
Clipping
OCR Quality
98%
Excellent
Full Text
ALTAR OF ROSES.
A subtle odor from the east
Is wafted along the room;
A penetrating scent—a feast
Of delicate, sweet perfume.
My vagrant fancies wing such flights,
Such wonderful scenes disclose
A page from out th' Arabian Nights
On a whiff of attar of rose.
I hear the plash of fountains play
Over tessellated floors:
And music steals from far away
Through curtained and latticed doors.
Your couch's a divan soft, whereon
You lie in voluptuous pose.
Strange such fancies should float upon
A whiff of attar of rose.
Sequins shine in your dusky hair
And jewels swing at your ears,
And glist'ning on your bosom bare
There are pearls that gleam like tears.
I'm transformed to a swarthy Turk,
My pipe a nargileh grows—
Strange what curious fancies lurk
In a whiff of attar of rose.
With a muffled, stealthy, catlike tread,
A eunuch creeps through the gloom;
His bowstring does its work! and dead
You lie in your fresh young bloom.
I watch revengeful, cruel, dumb,
The horrid scene to its close—
Strange what hideous fancies come
With a whiff of attar of rose.
-Edith Sessions Tupper in Frank Leslie's
A subtle odor from the east
Is wafted along the room;
A penetrating scent—a feast
Of delicate, sweet perfume.
My vagrant fancies wing such flights,
Such wonderful scenes disclose
A page from out th' Arabian Nights
On a whiff of attar of rose.
I hear the plash of fountains play
Over tessellated floors:
And music steals from far away
Through curtained and latticed doors.
Your couch's a divan soft, whereon
You lie in voluptuous pose.
Strange such fancies should float upon
A whiff of attar of rose.
Sequins shine in your dusky hair
And jewels swing at your ears,
And glist'ning on your bosom bare
There are pearls that gleam like tears.
I'm transformed to a swarthy Turk,
My pipe a nargileh grows—
Strange what curious fancies lurk
In a whiff of attar of rose.
With a muffled, stealthy, catlike tread,
A eunuch creeps through the gloom;
His bowstring does its work! and dead
You lie in your fresh young bloom.
I watch revengeful, cruel, dumb,
The horrid scene to its close—
Strange what hideous fancies come
With a whiff of attar of rose.
-Edith Sessions Tupper in Frank Leslie's
What sub-type of article is it?
Poem
Vision Or Dream
What themes does it cover?
Love Romance
Death Mortality
What keywords are associated?
Attar Of Rose
Oriental Fantasy
Imagination
Perfume
Eunuch
Death
Turk
Divan
Sequins
Nargileh
What entities or persons were involved?
Edith Sessions Tupper In Frank Leslie's
Literary Details
Title
Altar Of Roses.
Author
Edith Sessions Tupper In Frank Leslie's
Key Lines
A Subtle Odor From The East
Is Wafted Along The Room;
A Penetrating Scent—A Feast
Of Delicate, Sweet Perfume.
Strange Such Fancies Should Float Upon
A Whiff Of Attar Of Rose.
I'm Transformed To A Swarthy Turk,
My Pipe A Nargileh Grows—
Strange What Curious Fancies Lurk
In A Whiff Of Attar Of Rose.
His Bowstring Does Its Work! And Dead
You Lie In Your Fresh Young Bloom.
Strange What Hideous Fancies Come
With A Whiff Of Attar Of Rose.