Page images
PDF
EPUB

Well couth hee tune his pipe and frame his stile:
Tho1 to a hill his faynting flocke hee ledde,

[ocr errors]

And thus him playnde, the while his shepe there fedde.

Yee Gods of love, that pitie lovers paine,

(If any gods the paine of lovers pitie,)

Looke from above, where you in joyes remaine,
And bowe your eares unto my dolefull dittie:

And, Pan, thou shepheards God that once didst love.
Pitie the paines that thou thy selfe didst prove.

'Thou barrein ground, whome winters wrath hath wasted,

Art made a myrrhour to behold my plight:

Whilome2 thy fresh spring flowrd, and after hasted
Thy sommer prowde, with Daffadillies dight;
And now is come thy wynters stormy state,
Thy mantle mard wherein thou maskedst late.

'Such rage as winters reigneth in my heart,
My life-bloud friesing with unkindly cold;
Such stormy stoures3 do breede my balefull smart,
As if my yeare were wast and woxen old;

And yet, alas! but now my spring begonne,
And yet, alas! yt is already donne.

'You naked trees, whose shady leaves are lost,
Wherein the byrds were wont to build their bowre,
And now are clothd with mosse and hoary frost,
In stede of bloosmes, wherwith your buds did flowre;
I see your teares that from your boughes doe raine,
Whose drops in drery ysicles remaine.

'All so my lustfull leafe is drye and sere,
My timely buds with wayling all are wasted;

The blossome which my braunch of youth did beare
With breathed sighes is blowne away and blasted;
And from mine eyes the drizling teares descend,
As on your boughes the ysicles depend.

1 Then.

.' Formerly.

Attacks.

Thou feeble flocke, whose fleece is rough and rent,
Whose knees are weake through fast and evill fare,
Mayst witnesse well, by thy ill governement,
Thy maysters mind is overcome with care:

Thou weake, I wanne; thou leane, I quite forlorne:
With mourning pyne I; you with pyning mourne.
'A thousand sithes1 I curse that carefull hower
Wherein I longd the neighbour towne to see,
And eke tenne thousand sithes I blesse the stoure
Wherein I sawe so fayre a sight as shee:

Yet all for naught: such sight hath bred my bane.
Ah, God! that love should breede both joy and payne!

'It is not Hobbinol wherefore I plaine,

Albee my love he seeke with dayly suit;
His clownish gifts and curtsies I disdaine,
His kiddes, his cracknelles, and his early fruit.
Ah, foolish Hobbinol! thy gyfts bene vayne;
Colin them gives to Rosalind againe.

'I love thilke lasse, (alas! why doe I love ?)
And am forlorne, (alas! why am I lorne ?)
Shee deignes not my good will, but doth reprove,
And of my rurall musick holdeth scorne.

Shepheards devise she hateth as the snake,
And laughes the songs that Colin Clout doth make.
'Wherefore, my pype, albee rude Pan thou please,
Yet for thou pleasest not where most I would;
And thou, unlucky Muse, that wontst to ease
My musing mynd, yet canst not when thou should;
Both pype and Muse shall sore the while abye.'2
So broke his oaten pype, and down dyd lye.

By that, the welked Phoebus3 gan availe1
His wearie waine; and nowe the frosty Night
Her mantle black through heaven gan overhaile :5
Which seene, the pensife boy, halfe in despight,
Arose, and homeward drove his sonnëd sheepe,

Whose hanging heads did seeme his carefull case to weepe.

1 Times.

Abide, suffer.

• To bring down.

The setting sun.
To draw across.

SONNETS

(From Amoretti)

THIS holy season, fit to fast and pray,
Men to devotion ought to be inclynd:
Therefore, I lykewise, on so holy day,

For my sweet Saynt some service fit will find.
Her temple fayre is built within my mind,

In which her glorious ymage placed is;

On which my thoughts doo day and night attend,
Lyke sacred priests that never thinke amisse !
There I to her, as th' author of
my blisse,

Will builde an altar to appease her yre;
And on the same my hart will sacrifise,
Burning in flames of pure and chast desyre:
The which vouchsafe, O goddesse! to accept,
Amongst thy deerest relicks to be kept.

MARK when she smiles with amiable cheare,
And tell me whereto can ye lyken it;
When on each eyelid sweetly doe appeare
An hundred Graces as in shade to sit.
Lykest it seemeth, in my simple wit,
Unto the fayre sunshine in somers day;

That, when a dreadfull storme away is flit,

Thrugh the broad world doth spred his goodly ray:
At sight whereof, each bird that sits on spray,

And every beast that to his den was fled,
Comes forth afresh out of their late dismay,
And to the light lift up their drouping hed.

So my storme-beaten hart likewise is cheared
With that sunshine, when cloudy looks are cleared.

THE RED CROSS KNIGHT, UNA AND THE
DWARF

(BOOK I., CANTO I., STANZAS I to 6)

A GENTLE Knight was pricking1 on the plaine,
Ycladd in mightie armes and silver shielde,
Wherein old dints of deepe woundes did remaine,
1 Spurring his horse.

The cruell markes of many a bloody fielde; Yet armes till that time did he never wield. His angry steede did chide his foming bitt, As much disdayning to the curbe to yield: Full jolly1 knight he seemd, and faire did sitt, As one for knightly giusts and fierce encounters fitt.

And on his brest a bloodie Crosse he bore,

The deare remembrance of his dying Lord,

For whose sweete sake that glorious badge he wore,
And dead, as living, ever him ador'd:
Upon his shield the like was also scor'd,

For soveraine hope which in his helpe he had.
Right faithfull true he was in deede and word;
But of his cheere2 did seeme too solemne sad;
Yet nothing did he dread, but ever was ydrad.

Upon a great adventure he was bond,

That greatest Gloriana to him gave,

(That greatest Glorious Queene of Faery lond)
To winne him worshippe, and her grace to have,
Which of all earthly thinges he most did crave;
And ever as he rode his hart did earne3
Το prove his puissance in battell brave
Upon his foe, and his new force to learne
Upon his foe, a Dragon horrible and stearne.

A lovely Ladie rode him faire beside,

Upon a lowly asse more white then snow,
Yet she much whiter; but the same did hide
Under a vele, that wimpled was full low;
And over all a blacke stole shee did throw:
As one that inly mournd, so was she sad,
And heavie sate upon her palfrey slow;
Seemed in heart some hidden care she had,
And by her, in a line, a milke white lambe she lad.

So pure and innocent, as that same lambe,
She was in life and every vertuous lore;
And by descent from Royall lynage came

1 Handsome.

2 Countenance.

3 Yearn.

Of ancient Kinges and Queenes, that had of yore
Their scepters stretcht from east to westerne shore,
And all the world in their subjection held;
Till that infernall feend with foule uprore
Forwasted all their land, and them expeld;

Whom to avenge she had this Knight from far compeld.

Behind her farre away a Dwarfe did lag,

That lasie seemd, in being ever last,

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.

PRINCE ARTHUR SLAYS THE GIANT
ORGOGLIO

(BOOK I., CANTO VIII., STANZAS I to 25)

Ay me! how many perils doe enfold

The righteous man, to make him daily fall,
Were not that heavenly grace doth him uphold,
And stedfast truth acquite him out at all.
Her love is firme, her care continuall,

So oft as he, thorough his own foolish pride

Or weaknes, is to sinfull bands made thrall:

Els should this Redcrosse knight in bands have dyde, For whose deliverance she1 this Prince2 doth thether guyd.

They sadly traveild thus, untill they came

Nigh to a castle builded strong and hye:

Then cryde the Dwarfe, Lo! yonder is the same,

In which my Lord, my liege, doth lucklesse ly,

Thrall to that gyaunts hatefull tyranny:

Therefore, deare Sir, your mightie powres assay.'
The noble knight alighted by and by

From loftie steed, and badd the Ladie stay,

To see what end of fight should him befall that day.

1

Lady Una

2 Prince Arthur.

E

« EelmineJätka »