50

55

Or wearied with bearing of her bag

Of needments at his backe. Thus as they past,
The day with cloudes was suddeine overcast,
And angry Jove an hideous storme of raine
Did poure into his lemans lap so fast,

That everie wight to shrowd it did constrain,
And this faire couple eke to shroud themselves were fain.

Enforst to seeke some covert nigh at hand,
A shadie grove not farr away they spide,
That promist ayde the tempest to withstand:
Whose loftie trees yclad with sommers pride
Did spred so broad, that heavens light did hide,
60 Not perceable with power of any starre:

And all within were pathes and alleies wide,
With footing worne, and leading inward farre :
Faire harbour that them seems; so in they entred arre.
And foorth they passe, with pleasure forward led,
65 Joying to heare the birdes sweete harmony,
Which therein shrouded from the tempest dred,
Seemd in their song to scorne the cruell sky.
Much can they praise the trees so straight and hy,
The sayling pine, the cedar proud and tall,
The vine-prop elme, the poplar never dry,
The builder oak, sole king of forrests all,
The aspine good for staves, the cypresse funerall,

70

75

The laurell, meed of mightie conquerours
And poets sage, the firre that weepeth still,
The willow worne of forlorne paramours,
The eugh obedient to the benders will,

52. Leman; lady, mistress. The M. E. form, lefmon, points distinctly to the derivation from O. E. leof, beloved, and man, a human being.

53. Wight; a being, person.

54. Fain; glad.

56. A shadie grove; the grove of Errour, pleasant at first.

68. Can they praise; can is probably

for gan, "much they began to praise." Others take can as an auxiliary verb, equivalent to do; i. e. " much did they praise."

69. Sayling pine; the pine from which sailing ships are made.

75. Willow worne, &c.; the willow was used as a badge by deserted lovers. 76. Eugh; yew.

80

85

The birch for shaftes, the sallow for the mill,
The mirrhe sweete bleeding in the bitter wound,
The warlike beech, the ash for nothing ill,

The fruitful olive, and the plantane round,
The carver holme, the maple seeldom inward sound.

Led with delight, they thus beguile the way,
Untill the blustring storme is overblowne;
When weening to returne, whence they did stray,
They cannot find that path, which first was showne,
But wander too and fro in wayes unknowne,.
Furthest from end then, when they neerest weene,
That makes them doubt their wits be not their owne:
So many pathes, so many turnings seene,

90 That which of them to take in diverse doubt they been.

5

10

One day, nigh wearie of the yrkesome way,
From her unhastie beast she did alight;
And on the grasse her dainty limbs did lay
In secrete shadow, far from all mens sight;
From her fayre head her fillet she undight,
And layd her stole aside: Her angels face,
As the great eye of heaven, shyned bright,
And made a sunshine in the shadie place;
Did ever mortall eye behold such heavenly grace?

It fortuned, out of the thickest wood
A ramping lyon rushed suddainly,
Hunting full greedy after salvage blood:

1. Yrkesome, tiresome, fr. O. E. earg, slothful, dull.

5. Undight, took off. Dight, to dress, adorn, comes fr. O. E. dihtan, to set in order; and that from Lat. dictare

raging, fr. O. Fr. ramper, to clamber, th. fr. It. rampa, a claw. Compare "lion rampant" in heraldry.

12. Salvage; the presence of the lin this word brings us a step nearer to its ultimate derivation silvaticus, a dweller in the woods.

15

20

25

30

35

40

Soone as the royall Virgin he did spy,
With gaping mouth at her ran greedily,
To have attonce devourd her tender corse :
But to the pray when as he drew more ny,
His bloody rage aswaged with remorse,

And, with the sight amazd, forgat his furious forse.

In stead thereof he kist her wearie feet,
And lickt her lilly hands with fawning tong;
As he her wronged innocence did weet.

O how can beautie maister the most strong,
And simple truth subdue avenging wrong!
Whose yielded pryde and proud submission,
Still dreading death, when she had marked long,
Her hart gan melt in great compassion,

And drizling teares did shed for pure affection.

"The lyon, lord of everie beast in field,"
Quoth she, "his princely puissance doth abate,
And mightie proud to humble weake does yield,
Forgetfull of the hungry rage, which late
Him prickt, in pittie of my sad estate :-
But he, my lyon, and my noble lord,
How does he find in cruell hart to hate

Her, that him lov'd, and ever most adord
As the god of my life? why hath he me abhord?

Redounding tears did choke th' end of her plaint,
Which softly echoed from the neighbour wood;
And, sad to see her sorrowfull constraint,
The kingly beast upon her gazing stood;

15. Corse; corpse was used of the living, as well as of the dead body.

17. Remorse, as still in remorseless, once meant pity.

18. Forgat. Subject he omitted or implied in "his bloody rage."

21. As; "as though," "as if."

Weet, know.

24. Whose yielded pryde, &c.; "when she had long marked, though she still dreaded death, his pride that had yielded,

and his noble submission" (Kitchin).

27. Did shel; again the subject she omitted, or, rather involved in "her hart" (Kitchin).

Affection, sympathy.

36. Abhor; once meant only to shrink from, repudiate; sometimes, but not always, with loathing.

37. Redounding, overflowing, fr. Lat. redundare.

With pittie calmd, downe fell his angry mood,
At last, in close hart shutting up her payne,
Arose the Virgin borne of heavenly brood,
And to her snowy palfrey got agayne,

45 To seek her strayed Champion if she might attayne.

50

The lyon would not leave her desolate,

But with her went along, as a strong gard

Of her chast person, and a faythfull mate

Of her sad troubles and misfortunes hard :

Still, when she slept, he kept both watch and ward;
And, when she wakt, he wayted diligent,
With humble service to her will prepard :
From her fayre eyes he took commandément,
And ever by her lookes conceived her intent.

44. Palfrey, Fr. palefroi, It. palafreno, fr. paraveredus, a side - horse, L. L. palafredus, whence Ger. pferd.

50. Watch and ward; that is, both waking and guarding, for this is the

distinction. "Watch" (0. E. wacce) is "wake," (and a watch is an instrument which is awake all night), and "to ward” (O. E. weardian) is to guard, or look after anything carefully (Kitchin).

28. THE CARE OF ANGELS OVER MEN. Book II., Canto 8.

5

And is there care in heaven? And is there love
In heavenly spirits to these creatures bace,
That may compassion of their evils move?

There is :-else much more wretched were the cace
Of men then beasts: But O! th' exceeding grace
Of Highest God that loves his creatures so,
And all his workes with mercy doth embrace,
That blessed Angels he sends to and fro,
To serve to wicked man, to serve his wicked foe!

10 How oft do they their silver bowers leave

To come to succour us that succour want!
How oft do they with golden pineons cleave
The flitting skyes, like flying pursuivant,

13. Flitting, fleeting, yielding. Pursuivant, an attendant upon

heralds.

Against fowle feendes to ayd us militant!

15

They for us fight, they watch and dewly ward,

And their bright squadrons round about us plant;
And all for love and nothing for reward:

O, why should Hevenly God to men have such regard!

16. Squadrons:-comes from L. L. ex-quadare, to square, through It. squadrone. A squadron is therefore an "acies quadrata," or body of troops arranged in a square.

29. SONNET LXXXVIII.

Like as the culver, on the bared bough,
Sits mourning for the absence of her mate,
And in her songs sends many a wishful vow
For his return that seems to linger late;

5 So I alone, now left disconsolate,

Mourn to myself the absence of my love,

And, wand'ring here and there, all desolate,
Seek with my plaints to match that mournful dove:
Ne joy of aught that under heaven doth hove,
10 Can comfort me but her own joyous sight,
Whose sweet aspect both God and man can move,
In her unspotted pleasures to delight.

Dark is my day, whiles her fair light I miss,
And dead my life, that wants such lively bliss.

1. Culver, dove, pigeon, fr. O. E. culfre. 9. Hove, hover, which is indeed a diminutive of hove, fr. M. E. hovin, to abide, remain.

13. Whiles, like needs, else, once, is an old genitive, fr. O. E. hwile, time, still found in meanwhile.

30. THE HARDSHIPS OF A COURTIER'S LIFE.

[From Mother Hubbard's Tale.]

Full little knowest thou, that hast not tride,
What hell it is, in suing long to bide :

To loose good dayes, that might be better spent ;
To wast long nights in pensive discontent;

SPECS. ENG. LIT.

E