She shal be a Grace,

To fyll the fourth place,

And reigne with the rest in heaven.

"And whither rennes this bevie of Ladies bright,
Raunged in a rowe?

They bene all Ladyes of the lake behight,
That unto her goe.

Chloris, that is the chiefest Nymph of all,
Of olive braunches beares a Coronall:
Olives bene for peace,

When warres do surcease:

Such for a Princesse bene principall.

"Ye shepheards daughters, that dwell on the greene, Hye you there apace:

Let none come there but that Virgins bene,
To adorne her grace:

And, when you come whereas shee is in place,
See that your rudenesse doe not you disgrace:
Binde your fillets faste,

And gird in your waste,

For more finenesse, with a tawdrie lace.

"Bring hether the Pincke and purple Cullambine, With Gelliflowres1:

Bring Coronations and Sops in wine2,

Worne of Paramoures:

Strowe mee the ground with Daffadowndillies, And Cowslips, and Kingcups, and loved Lillies:

1 Gelliflowres, stocks and wall-flowers.

Sops in wine, single pinks.

The pretie Pawnce1,

And the Chevisaunce,2

Shall match with the fayre flowre Delice.

"Now rise up, Elisa, decked as thou art
In royall array;

And now yee daintie Damsells may depart
Eche one her way.

I feare, I have troubled your troupes to longe:
Let dame Elisa thanke you for her song:
And, if you come hether

When Damsines I gether,

I will part them all you among."

V. MAY.

The opening of an Eclogue in which "under the persons of two shepheards, Piers and Palinodie, be represented two forms of pastoures or Ministers, or the Protestant and the Catholique"

Palinode.

S not thilke the mery moneth of May,

When love-lads masken in fresh aray?
How falles it, then, wee no merrier bene,
Ylike as others, girt in gawdy greene?
Our bloncket3 liveries bene all to sadde

For thilke same season, when all is ycladde

With pleasaunce; the grownd with grasse, the Woods With grene leaves, the bushes with bloosming buds. Yougthes folke now flocken in every where,

To gather May buskets and smelling brere;

1 Pawnce, pansy.

2 Chevisaunce. This is not elsewhere used as the name of a flower,

and no one knows what Spenser meant. 'provision'.

3 bloncket, blanket, gray cloth.

Ordinarily the word means

• buskets, bushes.

And home they hasten the postes to dight,
And all the kirke pillours eare day-light,
With Hawthorne buds, and swete Eglantine',`
And girlonds of roses, and Sopps in wine2.
Such merimake holy Saints doth queme3,
But we here sitten as drownd in a dreme.

Piers.

For Younkers, Palinode, such follies fitte,
But wee tway bene men of elder witt.

Palinode.

Sicker this morrowe, no lenger agoe,
I sawe a shole of shepheardes outgoe
With singing, and shouting, and jolly chere:
Before them yode a lusty Tabrere*,
That to the many a Horne-pype playd,
Whereto they dauncen, eche one with his mayd.
To see those folkes make such jovysaunce,
Made my heart after the pype to daunce:
Tho to the greene Wood they speeden hem all,
To fetchen home May with their musicall;
And home they bringen in a royall throne,
Crowned as king; and his Queene attone
Was lady Flora, on whom did attend

A fayre flocke of Faeries, and a fresh bend 5
Of lovely Nymphs. (O that I were there,
To helpen the Ladyes their Maybush beare!)
Ah! Piers, bene not thy teeth on edge, to thinke
How great sport they gaynen with little swinck?

VI. JUNE.

This eclogue was probably written about 1578, when Spenser seems to have moved, perhaps at Gabriel Harvey's suggestion, from Lancashire to Kent.

Hobbinol.

O! Collin, here the place whose pleasaunt syte

Lo!

From other shades hath weand my wandring mynde, Tell me, what wants mee here to worke delyte? The simple ayre, the gentle warbling wynde, So calme, so coole, as no where else I fynde; The grassye grounde with daintye Daysies dight, The Bramble bush, where Byrds of every kynde To the waters fall their tunes attemper right.

Colin.

O, happy Hobbinoll, I blesse thy state,
That paradise hast founde whych Adam lost:
Here wander may thy flocke early or late,
Withouten dread of wolves to bene ytost;
Thy lovely layes here mayst thou freely boste:
But I, unhappy man! whom cruell fate

And angry gods pursue from coste to coste,

Can no where finde to shroude my lucklesse pate.

Hobbinol.

Then, if by mee thou list advised be,

Forsake the soyle that so doth thee bewitch;
Leave me those hilles where harbrough nis to see,
Nor holy-bush, nor brere, nor winding witche1;
And to the dales resort, where shepheards ritch,
And fruictful flocks, bene every where to see:

1 witche, reed.

Here no night-ravenes lodge, more black then pitch, Nor elvish ghosts, nor gastly owles doe flee.

But friendly Faeries, met with many Graces,
And lightfoote Nymphes, can chace the lingring Night
With heydeguyes1, and trimly trodden traces,
Whilst systers nyne, which dwell on Parnasse hight,
Doe make them musick for their more delight;
And Pan himselfe, to kisse their christall faces,
Will pype and daunce, when Phoebe shineth bright:
Such pierlesse pleasures have we in these places.

Colin.

And I, whylst youth, and course of carelesse yeeres,
Did let me walke withouten lincks of love,

In such delights did joy amongst my peeres;
But ryper age such pleasures doth reprove:
My fancye eke from former follies moove
To stayed steps; for time in passing weares,
(As garments doen, which wexen old above,)
And draweth newe delights with hoary haires.
Tho couth I sing of love, and tune my pype
Unto my plaintive pleas in verses made;
Tho would I seeke for Queene-apples unrype,
To give my Rosalind, and in Sommer shade
Dight gaudy Girlonds was my common trade,
To crowne her golden locks; but yeeres more rype,
And losse of her, whose love as lyfe I wayde,
Those weary wanton toyes away did wype.

Hobbinol.

Colin, to heare thy rymes and roundelayes,
Which thou wert wont on wastefull hylles to singe,

1 heydeguyes, the hay, a country dance.