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THE WHOLE WORKS OF 
 
 WliUtam iSrotone, 
 
THE 
 
 WHOLE WORKS OF WILLIAM BROWNE, 
 
 OF TAVISTOCK, AND OF THE INNER TEMPLE; 
 
 NOW FIRST COLLECTED AND EDITED, 
 
 WITH A MEMOIR OF THE POET, 
 
 AND NOTES, 
 
 BY W'?'^ CAREW HAZLITT, 
 
 OF THE INNER TEMPLE. 
 THE FIRST VOLUME. 
 
 PRINTED FOR THE ROXBURGHE LIBRARY. 
 
 M.D.CCC.LXVIII. 
 
 Tl. 
 
 ^ 
 
A>»'2-^']^ 
 
 7^] 
 
PREFACE, 
 
 |H0MAS DAVIES, thev enterprifing and intelli- 
 gent bookfeller to who^'p the world was indebted 
 for the only colledive edition of the Works of 
 William HBrowne^ hitherto procurable (1772, 
 i2mo., three volumes), was allifted in his laudable undertaking 
 by more than one of the dlftinguiHied fcholars of that day, and 
 had the advantage of the occafional notes made In a copy of the 
 folio impreflion of the Paftorals by the Rev. W. Thompfon, of 
 Queen's College, Oxford. Davies mentions among his corref- 
 pondents and coadjutors in this matter the Rev. John Price, 
 Keeper of the Bodleian Library, Dr. Farmer, and the Rev. T. 
 Warton. The works of Browne poflefs in our eyes and eftima- 
 tion the peculiar intereft, that there is good reafon for believing 
 the ftatement to be corredt, to a certain extent at leaft, that 
 Milton was indebted to them for fuggeftions in no fewer than 
 three of his own produ6tions, Lycidas, Comus, and Paradife 
 Regained. Critics have detedled the germs of fome of the beft 
 thoughts and fineft paflages in thefe immortal efforts in the 
 
vi Preface. 
 
 Monologue on the Death of Mr. nomas Manwood, the Inner 
 Temple Mqfque, and Britannia's Pajiorals, all the compositions 
 of William Browne, and all written before Browne had attained 
 his eight-and-twentieth year ! 
 
 The firft book of Britannia's Pajiorals appeared in folio, 
 without any note of date on the title-page, but with an addrefs 
 to the reader direfted from the Inner Temple, June i8, 1613. 
 The probability is, that the volume was not ready for publication 
 till the beginning of 16 14, and it is likely that this and the 
 Shepheards Pipe came out very nearly at the fame time. Both 
 were dedicated to Lord Zouch. The Paftorals were accompanied 
 by an engraved title-page from the hand of W. Hole, but as a 
 work of art it feemed fo worthlefs, that the idea of its reproduc- 
 tion was relinquifhed. Book II. followed after a lapfe of two 
 years (16 16), and was printed for the fame ftationer as the 
 former. The title-page was a letter-prefs one in this cafe, and 
 the poet thought fit to place the fequel of his labours under new 
 patronage — that of the Earl of Pembroke. 
 
 In the edition of 1772 the original copies have not been 
 followed in refpedb to the diftribution of the commendatory 
 verfes. I have adhered to the old plan, and have left the 
 thirteen panegyrics found in the author's two editions of 16 16 
 and 1625 before the /^coW book juft as they ftand there. The 
 motive for difturbing the arrangement at all is not particularly 
 clear. It could have been wiftied, alfo, that in the edition of 
 1772 the publiflier had not thrown the author's marginalia 
 into the foot-notes, and mixed them with the Rev. W. Thomp- 
 fon's obfervations, in a manner which, at leaft, was confufing, 
 and in certain cafes was not unlikely to miflead readers. Yet 
 
Preface. vii 
 
 upon the whole, Davies's edition of Browne is by no means 
 a contemptible performance, and the fame may be faid of his 
 reprodudlions of Suckling and Carew. 
 
 The firfb and fecond books of the Paftorals are here repub- 
 lifhed from the fecond edition, which appeared in 1625, 8vo., 
 during the life of the author. This odtavo corrects feveral errors 
 of the folio, and retains the original marginal notes, with which 
 Browne himfelf elucidated what he looked upon as obfcure 
 paflages in his poem, or places fufceptible of illuftration. But as 
 the wood-engravings at the end of the firft book are in the 
 folio very fuperior imprefllons, I thought it defirable to have 
 them copied exadtly as they fland in the latter. There is alfo 
 a curious woodcut there, omitted in the odtavo, and this, too, 
 has been accurately copied for the prefent republication ; as it 
 was my anxious ftudy to prefent the moft perfeft edition of 
 Browne's Works poffible, partly in too long deferred juftice to 
 that pleafing writer's memory, and partly from a defire to give 
 fatlsfadtion to fubfcribers. I have added to Browne's notes a 
 few of my own, where fuch appeared to be neceflary. 
 
 The Third Book of Britannia's Pajiorals was not publiflied 
 during the life-time of the author, and the original MS. has 
 been long preferved in the Cathedral Library at Salifbury. Its 
 exiftence was firfl: pointed out by the late Beriah Botfield, Efq., 
 in his work on Cathedral Libraries, and in 1851 it was printed 
 for the Percy Society, from a tranfcript collated with the original 
 in proof by J. O. Halliwell, Efq. F.R.S. Some doubt was enter- 
 tained at the time, and has been fince, whether this additional 
 book was the compofition of Browne, or that of fome fuccefsful 
 and able imitator of his manner and ftyle. After careful exami- 
 
Vlll 
 
 Preface, 
 
 nation, I feel thoroughly convinced that there was never any 
 real ground for queftioning the authenticity of the MS. ; and 
 one very valid reafon for fuch an opinion lies in the fadt that 
 fome of the fongs in the third book are likewife to be found in 
 the Lanfdowne MS., 777 (to be more particularly defcribed 
 prefently), being there inferted as the works of Browne. I 
 believe that this circumftance was not known to the editor of 
 the Percy Society volume in 1851, and certainly Sir Egerton 
 Brydges was not aware of it. 
 
 The Shepheards Pipe is printed from the edition of 16 14, 
 8vo., and the old text is reprefented with fcrupulous fidelity. 
 The Elegy on Mr. Thomas Manwood, which forms the fourth 
 eclogue, has been collated with the copy in the Lanfdowne MS. 
 The publiiher of Browne's Works in 1772 (the only modern 
 edition of value) reforted to the reprint appended to the Workes 
 of Majler George Wither^ 1620, 8vo., but the differences are 
 few and immaterial. 
 
 The Lanfdowne MS., 777, contains a variety of poems by 
 Browne and others. It is fuppofed to have been formerly the 
 property of John Warburton, the herald, from whom it pafled 
 into the hands of the Marquis of Lanfdowne, who bequeathed 
 his MSS. colledtions to the Britilh Mufeum. 
 
 I feel unable to fpeak with entire confidence of the hand- 
 writing of this MS. ; it is not unlike Browne's autograph in the 
 earlier part, but there feem to have been fubfequent additions 
 by a fecond perfon. The title-leaf mentions only the poems by 
 Browne, which take precedence of the remainder. Among them 
 is the celebrated monologue on the death of Mr. Thomas Man- 
 wood, which is alfo found in the Shepheards Pipe, 16 14, and 
 
Preface. ix 
 
 1 6 20, and to which the author of Lycidas is fufpedted to have 
 been under obligations. In the fame hand as the reft, alfo, and 
 fide by fide with pieces which may be held to be the undoubted 
 productions of Browne, occurs the epitaph on Mary Sydney, 
 Countefs of Pembroke, ufually afcribed to Jonfon, with an 
 additional ftanza, firft printed by Ofborne in his Traditional 
 Memoirs of King James I. But the fupplement, which fpoils the 
 fine conceit embodied in the firft portion of the epigram, is 
 inferted among the compofitions of Lord Pembroke in the col- 
 leftive edition of his lordfhip's poems fuperintended in 1660 by 
 the younger Donne. The truth may be, therefore, that whoever 
 compofed the original fextain as it is to be feen printed in 
 Jonfon's works, edit. 18 16, the addition was the work of 
 another pen, namely, Lord Pembroke's. But it fhould be 
 borne in mind that there is no very authoritative reafon for 
 affigning the epitaph itfelf (of {\y. lines) to Jonfon, and that it is 
 by no means an improbable fuppofition, on the other hand, that 
 Browne, who, during many years of his life, was patronized by 
 the countefs's family, wrote thefe lines, his noble friend tacking 
 on what he might confider an appropriate conclufion. 
 
 It is only necefi*ary to add, that the poems found in the 
 Lanfdowne MS. were firft printed by Sir Egerton Brydges at the 
 Lee Priory Prefs, in 1 8 1 5, 4to. The orthography was unluckily 
 modernized, and the text is, moreover, thick-fown with blunders 
 of the grofl"eft kind. I may inftance the fubftitution of univerjal 
 for unufual, did for ere, with for worth, lying by the brook for 
 laying by my book, expel for exeel, and then leave it to the judg- 
 ment of the reader whether fuch miftakes (there are fome hun- 
 dreds) do not deprive a book of any value and intereft which it 
 
 b 
 
X 
 
 Preface. 
 
 might otherwife pofTefs. Only eighty copies of the Lee Priory 
 edition were printed, and one may not improperly fay, under 
 the circumftances, that the fewer the better. 
 
 The Inner 'Temple Majque is preferved in MS. in the library 
 of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and from that fource it was 
 publiflied for the firft time (not too accurately) in the edition of 
 1772. For the prefent purpofe the text has been carefully 
 collated with the original. 
 
 My beft acknowledgments are due to Henry Huth, Efq., 
 for the ufe of the valuable copy of Britannia's Paftorah, which 
 certainly belonged to Milton; to John Shelly, Efq., of Ply- 
 mouth, for his warm and unfolicited exertions in obtaining 
 information refpedting William Browne at Taviftock and Ottery 
 St. Mary, and for other help ; and to the vicar of Taviftock, 
 Dr. Tancock, for his obliging co-operation ; to George A. 
 Greenhill, Efq., of St. John's College, Cambridge, for the care- 
 ful manner in which he collated the original MS. of the Inner 
 Temple Majque., depofited in the library of Emmanuel College, 
 with the printed text of 1772 ; and to the Rev. Odtavius Glover, 
 B.D., fellow and librarian of Emmanuel, for his kind attendance 
 during the time, agreeably to the rules of the foundation ; and 
 to George Edwards, Efq., Sub-Treafurer of the Inner Temple, 
 and John Edward Martin, Efq., Librarian to that Society, for 
 their help in examining the regifters and other records, and for 
 the opportunity of procuring an exad facfimile of the entry of 
 Browne's name and defcription in the Book of Admiflions, 
 fubfcribed by the poet's two fureties. 
 
 I tender my thanks to John Duke Coleridge, Efq., M.P., 
 Q.C., for inftituting inquiries for me at Ottery St. Mary, the 
 
Preface. xi 
 
 cradle of the Coleridges, refpefting the death and burial of the 
 poet there, and to Dr. Cornifh, vicar of Ottery, and Samuel 
 Evans,Efq.,of Ottery,on the fame account; to T. DufFus Hardy, 
 Efq., Keeper of the Public Records, for affifting me in obtain- 
 ing a copy of a document belonging to the old Court of Wards 
 and Liveries, which I once thought might be of fervice in eluci- 
 dating Browne's pbfcure career ; to George Waring, Efq., M.A., 
 of Oxford, for furnifliing me, at my requeft, with a tranfcript of 
 the Letter from W. Browne to Sir Benj. Ruddier d, in Afhmole 
 MS. 830; to the Rev. H. O. Coxe, M.A., Keeper of the 
 Bodleian, for a tranfcript of a MS. copy of verfes in the fame 
 colledtion, and other ufeful affiftance ; and to Mrs. Bray, widow 
 of the late Mr. Bray, of Taviftock, for her courteous refponfe 
 to my communication on a fubjedl which is not lefs interefting 
 to her than it is to myfelf. 
 
 Mr. Huth, with his ufual kindnefs, lent me the Ghojl of 
 Richard III., by Chr. Brooke, 16 14, 4to., which contains a 
 complimentary poem by Browne, and the fecond edition of 
 Englands Helicon., 16 14, 8vo., to which the fame writer contri- 
 buted one piece. All thefe articles, together with the elegy on 
 Henry, Prince of Wales, 16 13, are inferted in the edition of 
 1772; but a ftrift procefs of collation was, in every cafe, ob- 
 vioufly indifpenfable. Browne's epicede on the prince was printed 
 in a quarto volume with a fimilar tribute from the pen of his 
 friend Brooke in 1 6 1 3 ; and it was very fliortly afterwards re- 
 produced in the Paftorals; and in the Bodleian Library is a 
 MS. of it, with the author's lateft corredions. 
 
 W. C. H. 
 
 KenJingUn, May, 1868. 
 
MEMOIR OF WILLIAM BROWNE. 
 
 LL the then known fadls relative to the perfonal 
 hlftory of this poet were colledled by Brydges in 
 1 8 15, and his account was bafed on that furniflied 
 by Anthony Wood in the Athena. Wood's nar- 
 rative is extremely jejune and unfatisfaftory, and it is pleafant to 
 have been enabled, in the prefent cafe, to add confiderably to the 
 exifting ftate of knowledge on fo interefting a fubjedb as the 
 biography of the author of Britannia's Pajiorals. 
 
 William Browne was the third child, but fecond fon, of 
 Thomas Browne, of Taviftock, in Devonfhire, and was born 
 there, according to a hint furnifhed by himfelf in one of his 
 later poems, in the year 1588, when the mind of England was 
 engrofled by the imminent profpeft of a Spanifti invafion. The 
 Brownes of Taviftock, whom Prince, in his Worthies of Devon 
 (bafed upon Fuller), 1701, identifies with the Brownes of 
 Browne's-Ilafh, in the parifh of Langtree, near Great Torring- 
 ton, appear to have been a branch of the Brownes of Betch- 
 worth Caftle, in Surrey,' and to have been immediately defcended 
 
 ' Harl. MS. 6164, firft pointed out by Sir E. Brydges, 1815. 
 
xiv Memoir of William Browne. 
 
 from William Browne, fecond fon of Sir Thomas Browne, of 
 Betchworth,' whofe eldeft fon, John, firft migrated into the 
 South of England, and intermarried with a Devonfliire houfe- 
 Thomas Browne, his fon and heir, married one of the Karflakes 
 or Carflakes, by whom he had two children, William and John, 
 The latter, by Mary Amidas, his wife, had an only fon, Thomas, 
 the father of the poet. 
 
 Anthony Wood ftands fponfor to the aflertion, which pre- 
 fents, befides, a very probable circumftance, that William Browne 
 received the rudiments of his education at the grammar-fchool 
 of his native town. About the beginning of the reign of James I. 
 he removed to Exeter College, Oxford, where, in the words of the 
 Life prefixed to the edition of his works in 1772, " he became a 
 great proficient in claffical learning, and in the belles lettres was 
 fcarcely equalled." This ftatement feems to be little more than 
 a paraphrafe of that in Wood's Fafti. From Oxford he went to 
 London, where he entered himfelf at Clifford's Inn, but fhortly 
 afterwards migrated to the Inner Temple, where he was admitted 
 on the I ft March, 1612-13. Subjoined is the exaft form in 
 which the entrance is recorded in the books of the fociety : — ' 
 
 * " The Brownes of Betchworth were a known branch of the Vifcounts 
 Montagu. ^r«jj [of W. Browne] : The fame as Browne, Vifcount Montacute 
 [or Montagu], viz., fable, three lions between two bendlets ; Arg. a crefcent 
 within a mullet, for difference. Crejl : A griffin's head, erafed, Or." — Brydges. 
 
 ^ [161Z-13] Will". Browne de Tavyftocke in Com. Devon, et nuper de 
 Cliffords Inne generofus admiflus eft in Societatem iftius couiitibe in confideratione 
 xx' p. manibus folut. primo die Marcii an° fuperdifto — ix° Jacobi. 
 
Memoir of William Browne. 
 
 XV 
 
 
 
 The regifters of ClifFord's Inn, originally rented by the 
 lawyers of the Clifford family, do not go fo far back, or rather 
 the earlier records of the fociety have difappeared. We cannot, 
 therefore, afcertain the particulars of Browne's connexion with 
 the inn, or the precife date at which he joined it. 
 
 The poet probably remained in London for fome time, and 
 if he is the fame perfon whofe name occurs in the following memo- 
 randum among the public records, it is to be inferred, that his 
 objedl in coming up to London was not confined to the publica- 
 tion of his Paftorals. The memorandum in queftion ftands 
 fimply thus : — " Browne — 18 Aprill [1615] a graunt 
 
 to William Browne 
 
 of the place of purfuivant of wards 
 
 and liverys during life." 
 This is the whole of the entry. The Court of Wards and 
 Liveries was eftablifhed 32 Hen. VIIL The office of purfuivant 
 would feem, from not being mentioned in the original inftitution 
 
xvi Memoir of William Browne. 
 
 of the office, or long afterwards, to have been a place created in 
 favour of William Browne. Peck, in the firfl: volume of his 
 Defiderata Curio/a, 1779, printed from a MS. in his own poflef- 
 fion an account of Queen Elizabeth's expenditure. The Court 
 of Wards and Liveries is mentioned there, and the officers are 
 enumerated, with their falaries and perquifites, but there is no 
 purfuivant in the lift. 
 
 My hefitation as to the identity of the poet with the pur- 
 fuivant is ftrengthened by the fufficiently curious circumftance 
 that there were two William Brownes belonging to the Inner 
 Temple at this period. They were admitted nearly at the fame 
 time, and were called to the bar, feemingly, on the fame day, 
 Nov. 28, 1630. The poet's namefake was a Stafford/hire man. 
 
 In the verfes prefixed by John Morgan, of the Inner Temple, 
 to the fecond book of the Pajlorah, in 16 16, are thefe lines: — 
 
 " Goe on : I know thou artvtoo good to feare. 
 And may thy earely ftraines aiFeft the eare 
 Of that rare Lord, who iudge and guerdon can 
 The richer gifts which doe aduantage man" 
 
 The writer can fcarcely allude to the poet's attainment of celeftial 
 felicity through the publication of his work, and the meaning 
 muft be, that his fellow^ernplar defired for him, through the 
 medium of his early literary fame, the valuable patronage of the 
 Earl of Pembroke, to whom the fecond- inftalmenf of the Paftorals 
 is infcribed. Poffibly, if my doubts are unfoundW, Browne was 
 indebted to Lord Pembroke for his preferment to the poft of 
 purfuivant, and fuch being the cafe, he muft have ceafed, at a 
 very early ftage in his career, to be dependent on his literary 
 gains. Indeed, as he publifhed very little, and nothing at all 
 
Memoir of William Browne, xvii 
 
 after 1616, it follows that he had fome official emolument or a 
 private fortune, by marriage or inheritance. He was not the 
 eldeft fon, however, and there is infufficient ground for fup- 
 pofing that his wife brought him an eftate. According to the 
 Harl. MS., 6164, already quoted, this lady was the daughter of 
 Sir Thomas Eversfield of Den, near Horfham, in Suflex, knight. 
 When the union took place, we have no information ; but it 
 refts on the fame authority that there were two fons of the 
 marriage, who both died in infancy, and that Browne furvived 
 his wife, there is fuperior evidence in the epitaph which he 
 wrote upon her, and which is preferved among the other poems 
 in the Lanfdowne MS.' 
 
 * It may not be inexpedient to introduce the pedigree of the Brownes in this 
 place, exadlly as it occurs in the edition of fome of his poems printed in 1 8 1 5 by 
 Sir E. Brydges : — 
 
 WILLIAM BROWNE, fecond=p 
 fon of Sir Thomas Browne of 
 Beachworth Caftle, in Surrey. 
 
 John Browne, =j=. . . . daughter of. . . 
 
 went to live at Taviftock. Grills of Devonlhire. 
 
 Thomas Browne, fon and =p daughter of . 
 
 heir of John. 
 
 Carflake of Devonfhire. 
 
 William Browne, eldeft fon, John Browne,=yMary, daughter of 
 from whom there is ilTue. fecond fon; 1 Mr. Amidas. 
 
 Thomas Browne of 7'fli'//?»ri.=j=Joane, daughter of 
 
 . . Healen. 
 
 John, fecond Elizabeth, married William Browne, of=^ Tymothy, daughter 
 ion. to John Polwhield. ihe Inner Temple, ' " ""' 
 
 in London. 
 
 of Sir Thomas 
 Eversfield of Den, 
 near Horlham, in 
 Suflex, Knight. 
 
 Robert, died an infant. Robert, a fecond fon, alfo died an infant. 
 
xviii Memoir of IVilliam Browne. 
 
 The earlieft publication, but decidedly not the earlieft work, 
 of Browne, was his elegy on Prince Henry, fon of James I., who 
 died in the November of i6ia. Our poet aflbciated himfelf 
 with his friend Chriftopher Brooke, the author of a fimilar 
 efFufion, and their two offerings were printed together in a little 
 quarto volume, 1613.' The elegy was afterwards incorporated 
 with Britannia's Paflorals, in a flightly altered form ; and in the 
 Bodleian Library there is a MS. copy of it, communicated to 
 Davies's edition in 1772 by the Rev. John Price, the Bodleian 
 librarian. 
 
 The firfl: book of Britannia's Paftorals, if the time afligned 
 
 to Browne's birth be corred, and if implicit reliance is- to be 
 
 placed in the following paflage, was written, or partly fo, long 
 
 before the poet came up to London, and entered at CliiFord's 
 
 Inn ; for in the fifth fong (p. 1 27 of prefent edition) he exprefsly 
 
 fays — 
 
 O how (methinkes) the impes of Mneme bring 
 Dewes of Inuention from their facred fpring ! 
 Here could I fpend that fpring of Poejie, 
 Which not twice ten Sunnes haue beftow'd on me. 
 
 By funs he evidently fignifies revolutions of the fun ; and this 
 feems to carry back the compofition of the firfl: book of the 
 P aft orals to 1607 or 1608. 
 
 I fufpedt that there is an allegorical underplot in the firfl: 
 two Books of Britannia's Paftorals. There the Poet paints his 
 
 ' Two Elegies confecrated to the never-dying Memorie of the moft worthily 
 admyred : moft hartily loued ; and generally bewayled Prince, Henry Prince of 
 Wales. London : Printed by T[homas] S[nodham] for Richard Moore, &c. 
 1 61 3. 4to., 17 leaves. 
 
Memoir of William Browne. xix 
 
 courtftiip ; he is his own Remond, and the Marina of the ftory 
 is beloved by a rival. In his later produdions, we feem to get 
 the unfuccefsful refult of a long love-fuit, and the rejedted 
 Remond's expreffions of grief and defpair. But who was the 
 objedb of the poet's admiration is another queftion ; for if the 
 genealogical table in Harl. MS. 6164, be reliable, he obtained 
 the hand of the daughter of Sir Thomas Eversfield. Perhaps 
 he had an earlier and unreciprocated paffion. The allegory, if 
 it be one, was compofed, it muft be borne in mind, when 
 Browne was a mere youth, and when the heart is peculiarly 
 fufceptible to tender impreflions. 
 
 I think that it may be collefted from the tenor of the MSS. 
 poems found by Mr. Beloe in a copy of the edition of 1625, 
 and included in the prefent volume, that at that time Browne 
 had not compofed the Third Book of the Paftorals, but had 
 retired from the fociety of his literary friends, and abandoned 
 poetry, under the prefliire of the private forrow, to which we 
 find fo many allufions in his mifcellaneous produ6lions extant in 
 the Lanfdowne MS. While Britannia's Paftorals remained 
 unfiniflied, and his friends, fo late as 1625 (nine years after the 
 publication of the Second Book), were vainly exhorting him to 
 complete what he had fo well begun, Browne, I apprehend, wrote 
 many, if not all, of the pieces, which were firft printed at the 
 Lee Priory Prefs, and will form, in due courfe, part of the 
 prefent colleded edition. They were the fruits of folitude, and 
 breathe a melancholy vein, which fupports the conjedlure here 
 hazarded as to the period and the circumftances of their com- 
 pofition. 
 
 The father of Englifti paftoral poetry (if we except the 
 
XX Memoir of JViUiam Browne. 
 
 writer of the Complaint of the Shepherd Harpalus, in Tottel's 
 
 Mifcellany, iSSl)^ ^^^ Spenfer. In his footsftep followed 
 
 feveral of his contemporaries, fuch as Drayton, Lodge, and 
 
 Breton. Thefe were fucceeded, in the next generation, by 
 
 Phineas Fletcher, Browne, Wither, Brooke, and others, who 
 
 copied their conceits, without always rivalling their beauties, or 
 
 imitating very happily the eafy, graceful, uninvolved ftyle, 
 
 which is the greateft charm of this fchool of compofition, Con- 
 
 ftable's Shepherd's Song of Venus and Adonis, Breton's Phillida 
 
 and Corydon, Lodge's admirable lyrics on various fubjeds, all 
 
 inferted in England s Helicon, 1600, as well as two or three of 
 
 Drayton's produftions contributed to the fame Mifcellany, were 
 
 not approached in merit by any of the poets of King James the 
 
 Firft's time. 
 
 At the auftion rooms of MefTrs. Sotheby and Wilkinfon, in 
 1851, a copy of the folio edition of Britannia's Pajiorals was 
 offered for faie, with fome MSS. notes, unqueftionably in the 
 hand of Milton. The point was, at the time, confidered 
 doubtful, and the volume was bought by a dealer for 7/. It is 
 now in the library of Henry Huth, Efq., to whofe liberality I 
 owe the opportunity of examining it on the prefent occafion. 
 
 In a note to his moft valuable acceflion to our {lores of in- 
 formation on Shakefpearian and other early literature, his New 
 llluflrations of Shakefpeare, 1845, ^ ^°^s- 8vo., the late Mr. 
 Hunter has afforded what I confider a clue to the pedigree of 
 this annotated copy of the Pajiorals. The Rev. Mr. Stedman 
 of Shrewfbury, Mr. Hunter flates, had a copy of the Natura 
 Brevium, edit. 1584, which had belonged to Milton, as attefted 
 by the great poet's autograph. This was prefented to Mr. 
 
Memoir of Willtam Browne. xxi 
 
 Stedman, it appears, by Mr. Jofhua Eddowes, a bookfeller at 
 Shrewfbury, '' to whofe hands it is believed to have come from 
 the efFefts of Mrs. Elizabeth Milton (originally Elizabeth 
 Minftiull), the poet's third wife, who furvived him fifty-four 
 years, and died at Nantwich in 1729." It is my ftrong im- 
 preflion that the copy of Britannia! s Pajlorab came from the 
 fame fource, after remaining in the pofleffion of the Miltons 
 many years into the lafl: century. 
 
 A former pofleffor fays, in a memorandum on the fly-leaf: 
 — " The whole of the MS. notes are entirely in the autograph 
 of the celebrated John Milton, the author of * Paradife Lofl:,' 
 &c., and on reference it will be found that he had taken portions 
 of this work as his model for his Paradife Regained. On com- 
 parifon with fome of his MSS. ftill exifting, I find fuch [7?f] 
 the cafe, and which has been difcovered by fome former pro- 
 prietor, who has written in pencil on the top of page 2 of the 
 work. The volume was formerly fold in London by a diftant 
 relation of Milton, by the late Mr. Chriftie, and afterward 
 went to Liverpool, and ultimately I obtained the fame from a 
 friend, who purchafed the fame there. It has been re-bound 
 fince ; it was in the old calf binding. — M. T." 
 
 There is alfo a note on the fame blank page by Mr. Ford, 
 the well-known bookfeller of Manchefter, accompanied by his 
 autograph. The note on the top of page 2, referred to by 
 M. T., is fimply this : — " All the notes are written by Milton 
 the Poet." The engraved title bears the autograph fignature 
 of « Odavius Gilchrift, 1 803." ' 
 
 ' Mr. Gilchrift fuperintended an edition of Biftiop Corbet's poems in 1807. 
 He is the author of a letter to Mr. Gifford on Weber's edition of Ford, 1 8 1 1 ; 
 and he contributed fome notes to the laft edition of Dodfley's Old Plays, 1825. 
 
xxii Memoir of William Browne. 
 
 I fliall now proceed to feled: thofe remarks which appear to 
 me to be of chief intereft. 
 
 Browne. 
 
 Book i. Song i. 
 
 High on the plaines, &c. 
 
 As when to feeke her foode, &c. 
 
 But as cleere Phtrbus, &c. 
 
 Saide to the Swaine, &c. 
 
 And after much debating did refolue. 
 And therefore leauing foone the chriftall 
 
 flood. 
 Remand, young Remand, that full well 
 
 could iing. 
 Know briefly Remond, then, &c. 
 And neuer love except thou be belou'd. 
 
 Song z. 
 
 In right (he cannot me defpife, &c. 
 How hard it is to leaue and not to do. 
 That which by nature we are prone 
 
 ynto. 
 My Maiden-Mufe flies the lafciuious 
 
 Swaines. 
 Reply'd his Mother, doe but cut the 
 Of any Tree. (limbe 
 
 Song 4. 
 Then came fufpeft, &c. 
 
 Where many a bufie Bee came flying 
 at her. 
 
 Milton's Notes. 
 
 A title given to f He. 
 
 A Jimile of a Dove befet with z hawks, 
 
 and a Jhip with contrary windes. 
 The fun breaking from a cloud, and f 
 
 moon encreejing. 
 They who drinke of Lethe never think 
 
 of love or y' world. 
 The lover will not manifeji his love. 
 A darke cave from which a pleafant 
 
 fountain gujhes. 
 A handjome Shepheard, as well in mind 
 
 as body. 
 On [one] defperately in love. 
 The contrarietys of women. 
 
 The power of water. 
 Naturam expellas furco licet ufqu' re- 
 currit. 
 
 He fays his mufe is modeft. 
 
 Tis y' nature of mothers to grieve for 
 their children, proov'd by a Jimile. 
 
 The Sylver, Iron Ages creep Jlowly on, 
 by a fimile of the young wrens. 
 
 Are fo fweet, y' bees miftaken gather 
 honey from her inftead of flowers. 
 
Memoir of William Browne. xxiii 
 
 The hollow caues refound her meanings Are greivoajly oppreft i^ entreating 
 
 neere it. pitty, from whence pretty fancy is 
 
 rais'd. 
 
 Thus went I on, &c. Fame and arithmetick fimiles for greif. 
 
 A Hunters frolicke life in Woods he The ftory of Cephalus, a good jhooter 
 
 lead. l£ hunter. 
 
 Laftly cold Winters rage, &c. Poft Imbres fol. 
 
 Song 5. 
 To glut the fences of an epicure. Men ftrive to get f aire Mrs [ejfesj. 
 
 Book 2, Song i. 
 
 The tyred body of the fwarty clown. Great men have not fuch reft as clowns. 
 His Farmers Teame from furrowing Poor labour to feed y' luxury of y' rich. 
 
 his lands. 
 (Whofc being great, was being Para- Parajites are enlighted by y' beams of 
 
 fites). kings. 
 
 If Monarchs ne would take an Inftru- The iffues y* follow good governement. 
 
 ment. 
 So mainely Thetis droue her filuer The voiage of Thetis on y' fea. 
 
 throne. 
 What wights Ihould haue their temples Poetts live for ever. 
 
 crown'd with Bayes. 
 There will flie Anchor caft, to heare the The excellency of our Englip poetts. 
 
 fongs 
 Of Englifti Shepheards. 
 
 Song 2. 
 
 Yet to this Lad not wanted Enuies Good Poetts are envied, yett in fpite of 
 fting. envy get immort all pray fe. 
 
 At p. 368 (of the folio edit.), he has carefully noted in the 
 margin the names of the poets introduced by Browne : — Sydney, 
 Drayton, Johnfon, Daniel, Brooke, Davies, and Wither. 
 
 It muft be owned that thefe Notes are curious rather as 
 fhowing the paflages in the Pajiorals which ftruck the writer 
 
XX iv Memoir of JVilliam Browne. 
 
 more efpecially, than as pofTeffing any intrinfic value or intereft. 
 At any rate, I found it difficult to refift the temptation of 
 tranfcribing thofe, which were not mere verbal jottings ; what 
 remain are of no moment whatever. But, at the fame time, 
 Milton had evidently read the poem with great attention, for, 
 at the foot of p. 28, he has written, "Read over y^ other leaf, 
 for it is mifplac'd ; " and the conclufion is rendered inevitable by 
 the verbal glofs which he has made from beginning to end. 
 But there is no opinion exprefled on any paflage, not a trace of 
 Milton's eftimate of Browne, — there is merely the bare running 
 commentary fo frequently found in old books, and amounting 
 to little more than to a marginal index or key. 
 
 Whatever judgment may be formed of Britannia's Pajiorals 
 as a whole, it cannot at leaft be denied, that through the three 
 Books of which they confift, are interfperfed many cabinet 
 drawings or Sketches of rare excellence and beauty ; and when 
 the age at which the poem was placed before the world is con- 
 fidered, we ought fairly to allow that Browne is remarkable for 
 eafe and vigour of ftyle, corrednefs of rhythm, and chaftenefs 
 of expreffion. One of the paflages, againft which Milton jotted 
 down a note in his copy of the old folio, was where Browne 
 fpeaks of his modeft Muje ; and Milton placed in the margin :— 
 "He fays that his Mufe is modeft;" which, in fadt, was only 
 faying what was literally true. And this feature, with Browne's 
 pidurefque defcriptions of the country and its pleafures, and his 
 naturalnefs of manner, was what attrafted, I fufped, Milton's 
 notice, and made the Devonfhire bard one of his favourite 
 authors. 
 
 An ode on the death of a friend, who was loft by drowning. 
 
Memoir of William Browne. xxv 
 
 occurs in the firft Song of the fecond Book : who this friend 
 was does not appear ; and the compofition itfelf, though it is 
 far from being deftitute of merit, has been eclipfed by that 
 beautiful Monody on the death of Philarete (Mr. Thomas 
 Manwood), which forms the fourth eclogue of the Shepheards 
 Pipe, 1 6 14; and is, perhaps, on the whole, the moft favourable 
 fpecimen of Browne's genius. This monody is alfo found 
 in the Lanfdowne MS. Confidering the time of life at which 
 the poet produced it, it muft be allowed to be among the moft 
 remarkable fpecimens of elegiac verfe in the language. It was 
 certainly worthier of the imitation of Milton than anything 
 which is to be found in the Pastorals. 
 
 Browne fpeaks of his Pajlorals as " the firft Bloomes of his 
 Poefie ; " yet they were probably not in print till both the Elegy 
 on Prince Henry, and the Shepheards Pipe had appeared. The 
 latter is dated 16 14; the Paftorals bear no note of year. A 
 fecond edition of the Eclogues was inferted among the works of 
 his friend Wither in 1620; Wither having, in fa6t, an intereft 
 in the publication as author of one of the bucolics, of which it 
 confifts. Browne's portion of the volume has a feparate title :— 
 
 THE 
 
 SHEPHEARDS 
 
 PIPE. 
 
 LONDON, 
 
 Printed by lobn Beak for -Thomas Walkley, and are to 
 
 be fold at his (hop at the Eagle and Child in 
 
 Brittanes Burfe. 1620. 
 
xxvi Memoir of William Browne. 
 
 Warton' has obferved that Occleve, from the beautiful tale 
 in the [Englifh] Gefta Romanorum, of the legacy of King 
 Darius to his three fons, " framed a poem in the oflave ftanza, 
 which was printed in the year 1614 by William Browne, in his 
 fet of Eclogues called the Shepheards Pipe. Occleve .... 
 has given no fort of embellifhment to his original, and by no 
 
 means deferves the praifes which Browne has beftowed 
 
 on his performance, and which more juftly belong to the genuine 
 Gothic, or rather Arabian inventor." But Browne is very 
 excufable for his ignorance of Gothic or Arabian originals, a 
 fpecies of knowledge which fcarcely exifted in his day to any 
 appreciable extent. One of the moft accomplifhed fcholars of 
 our age. Sir F. Madden, obferves (notes to Gejla Romanorum^ 
 1838, p. 516): — "This ftory has been borrowed by Occleve, 
 who has framed a poem on it, MS. Reg. 17. D. vi. f. 135 b. 
 (atcompanied by a profe moralization), which, with fome 
 omiffions, was publifhed by Will. Browne, in his ' Shepheards 
 Pipe,' 8vo. 1614. It is probable the fidtion came originally 
 from the Eaft, as traces of refemblance are to be found in the 
 Arabian Nights. It alfo prefents, perhaps, one of the oldeft 
 forms of the popular ftory of Fortunatus." 
 
 The political vein, which pervades many of the eclogues 
 which compofe the Shepheards Pipe, is difcernible alfo in the 
 fourth Song of the firft Book of the Pajlorals, whence we feem 
 to be warranted in forming a conjedture that Browne was dif- 
 appointed in the hopes with which he removed to the metropolis 
 from his native county (probably in 16 12), and found, at firft 
 
 ' Hift. of Engl. Poetry, ed. 1824, i. cxxix-xxx. 
 
Memoir of William Browne. xxvii 
 
 at any rate, the road to preferment barred againft him by the 
 prevailing fyftem of corruption and court-favouritifm. 
 
 The biographical and hiftorical intereft of the Pajiorals and 
 Shepheards Pipe does not appear to have been fufpedled hitherto, 
 or at leafl: I have not feen it alluded to anywhere. In fuch few 
 notes as are appended to thefe volumes, I fhall draw attention to 
 this point, and endeavour to illuftrate my meaning. In the 
 Argument to the Fifth Eclogue, the poet reprefents himfelf as 
 urged by a friend to attempt — 
 
 " things of a higher fame 
 Then filly Ihephards vfe endite, 
 Vail'd in a Shepheards name." 
 
 Browne, in faft, worked upon a Virgilian model, for the 
 Bucolics are, for the moft part, mere political apologues, and 
 fuch is the cafe partially with the Shepheards Pipe. The paftoral 
 fchool of poetry, with its fliepherds and fhepherdefles, not un- 
 frequently, as in the cafe of Browne's Eclogues, prefenting real 
 incidents and fufFerings under a bucolic difguife, feems to be 
 fatirized in a woodcut to Witt's Recreations, where two gallants 
 in hats and feathers are depifted with crooks in their hands. 
 The two figures in the engraved title-page of the folio 
 edition of the Paftorals were furely not intended to be 
 fatirical, but they are, neverthelefs, apt to provoke a fmile at 
 the prefent day. Here, in fadt, Browne merely followed the 
 courfe purfued by the greater part of our own bucolic writers, and 
 thofe alfo of foreign countries. Warton obferves, in reference 
 to the Latin paftorals of Petrarch, Mantuan, and others, " that 
 thefe writers judged that this indiredt and difguifed mode of 
 dialogue, confifting of fimple charadters, which fpeak freely and 
 
xxviii Memoir of William Browne. 
 
 plainly, the moft fafe and convenient vehicle for abufing the 
 corruptions of the church."^ 
 
 The Inner Temple Masque was compofed on the favourite 
 and familiar claffical ftory of Ulyjes and Circe, and was prefented 
 by the gentlemen of that fociety on the 13th January, 1&14-15.'' 
 The fubjedt had been made to a certain extent popular, and was 
 recommended poffibly to the young poet's attention by Samuel 
 Daniel's beautiful lyric, entitled UlyJJes and the Syrens. Circe 
 and Ulyjfes, another epifode in the Odyfley, might not un- 
 naturally be fuggefted by the produftion of the elder bard, and 
 this inference may be thought to derive additional plaufibility 
 from the fad that Browne himfelf, in the fifth Song of his 
 Paftorals, touches on the incident treated by Daniel as one 
 with which he had been made familiar through that channel. 
 Daniel's Certaine Small Poems, in which UlyJJ'es and the Sirens 
 firft appeared, were printed in 1605, 8vo. ; but certainly Chap- 
 man's tranflation of the Odyjfey was publiflied in 16 14, ac- 
 cording to the general opinion ; while the Inner Temple Mafque 
 was not, probably, compofed till towards the clofe of the fame 
 
 ' Our language is rich in political apologues. Two are printed in Excerpta 
 Hiftorica, 1833. See, alfo. The Parlament of Byrdes, in Rem. of the early 
 Pop. Poetry of Eng. iii. 167, et feqq., where Drayton's Owle, 1604, is pointed 
 out as a kindred compofition. The fame may be faid of Friar Bacons Brazen- 
 heads Prophejie, 1604 (Rem. of the E. P. P. of E. iv. 268, et feqq.). 
 
 * Search has been made in the Books of the Inn, which are in an excellent 
 ftate of prefervation, under the years L614-15, for any record of the circum- 
 ftances under which Browne's mafque was performed ; but there feems to be no 
 trace of any aftual expenditure under this head ; and it is open to doubt whether 
 fome diiEculty may not have arifen, and whether the arrangements may not have 
 been at the laft moment countermanded. 
 
Memoir of William Browne. xxix 
 
 year. That Browne was perfonally known to Chapman there 
 can be no queftion : for in the fifth Song of the Paftorals, 
 Book I, written, perhaps, between 1610 and 161 2, and revifed 
 from time to time prior to publication, he explicitly alludes to 
 Chapman's Homer. The poet feigns that if the ancients had 
 known Idya [England], various circumftances would not have 
 arifen : — 
 
 " The Phrygian foile had not been drunk with blood, 
 Achilles longer breath 'd, and Troy yet flood : 
 The Prince of Poets had not fung his ftory. 
 My friend had loft his euer-liuing glory." 
 
 That " my friend " can be no other than Chapman, who, as 
 early as 16 10, printed twelve Books of the Iliad, and in 161 1 
 the entire epic, appears to be almoft beyond difpute. But the 
 ftory of Ulyjfes and Circe is alfo related in the fixth Book of 
 Gower's Confeffio Amantis^ a work with which Browne could 
 fcarcely have been unacquainted. Browne certainly, however, 
 poflefled a fair tindture of fcholarfhip, and doubtlefs was a com- 
 petent Latinift, and he may have owed a hint or two to Gager's 
 Ulyjfes Redux, performed in 1583, and publi/hed at Oxford in 
 1592. 
 
 Warton^ has extradled the little incantation called The 
 Charme from this piece, and obferves upon it as follows : — 
 " In praife of this fong it will be fufficient to fay that it re- 
 minds us of fome favourite touches in Milton's Comus, to 
 which it perhaps gave birth. Indeed, one cannot help obferv- 
 ing here in general, although the obfervation more properly 
 
 1 H. E. P. 1824, III, 228. 
 
XXX Memoir of William Browne. 
 
 belongs to another place, that a ftory thus recently exhibited 
 on the ftory of Circe, which there is reafon to think had 
 acquired fome popularity, fuggefted to Milton the idea of a 
 mafque on the fubjedt of Comus." 
 
 In MS. Afhmole, 2^, is a copy of verfes by Abraham 
 Holland, in which he fpeaks of having recently made our poet's 
 acquaintance. The title is: "To my honefl: father M. Michael 
 Drayton, and my new yet loued friend, Mr. Will. Browne, A. H. 
 wifheth a health." The lines have never been publiftied, and I 
 {hall therefore infert them here. 
 
 " To my honeft father Mr. Michael Drayton, and my new yet loved friend 
 Mr. Will. Browne, A. H. wijhetb a health. 
 
 " Since I was with you from myfelf I was, 
 Not oiiely 'caufe from you : it came to pafle 
 Drowned with too good company : y' wine 
 Was not yet of fuch vigour to confine 
 My memory and weary corps to fleepe, 
 But y' I would my promife duely keepe. 
 My promife checkt my cups, and bid 'em ftay. 
 If it were poffible till it were day. 
 Wherat y' fmiling Nedlar glad to fave me, 
 Turn'd itfelfe to a nymph, and water gave me. 
 Though I drunke Sacke, and high-fwolne Bacchus fwore. 
 Though I out-drunke him, I fliould drinke no more 
 Of Lethes draughte ; and if twere his December 
 I fliould not quaffe too much but to remember. 
 Parted from thefe, unto my freindly light 
 My onely refuge was and to the night 
 Foule night, though I meant yet be w"" her later 
 Purl'd on my caz'ment drops of fuUen water 
 (Cold comfort to y' Mufes) yea ftie fware 
 She would not lay in all y' welkin bare. 
 
Memoir of William Browne. xxxi 
 
 A lucky ftarre unto mee but enlhrowd 
 The fparks of heaven in a furly cloud. 
 The fun, fays ftiee though to y" Mufes lent 
 
 In ye your Prefident 
 
 The Moone is yet fcarce lighted from her waine 
 The Northern wagon nere carouft y= maine 
 So no freind to you. 
 
 As for thee, father, I'le no higher praife. 
 Than fay that thou art father of our bayes. 
 Heroick Ovid, Lucart, Juvenall : 
 Our ftill reviving Spencer I'le thee call. 
 So long as thou ftill liv'ft, and if I lift, 
 I will turne heere a deepe Pythagorift, 
 And fweare thou haft y"^ foule of all y'^ beft 
 That ever yet have flept in Parnafle creft. 
 As I loue thee fo let my Infant mufe 
 Grow up and impe her tender wings and choofe 
 To pen but good and fcorning to be mute 
 Yet Ihee may fcorne to be a proftitute. 
 So may thy bays ftill grow upon thy head ; 
 So may y'= place wherein wee both were bred 
 Bring forth good poets; fo may all y' land 
 Beholden to thee yet indebted ftand ; 
 So may wee both to each ingaged bee. 
 Thou ftill my friend and I a friend to thee. 
 And you, fweet fir, whom I lov'd long before, 
 I faw and feeing ftill affefled more. 
 Grow ftill, till laurels croune thee, follow on 
 Untill thou drinkft y° head of Helicon. 
 I envie thee yet only to this end. 
 Thereby to make thee worthier for thy friend. 
 So let Pan oft lend his own Syrinx to thee. 
 So let y' nymphs crown'd with frefti ghirlands woo thee 
 And dauncing prettely about thee ftraine, 
 W'"" of them firft Ihall kiffe fo fweet a fwaine. 
 So may the Satyres pipe thee into flumbers, 
 And learned Shepheards liften to thy numbers. 
 
xxxii Memoir of William Browne. 
 
 So profper thy With flocks : fo let y' Faunes 
 
 Skipping about the flow'r-embroyder'd launes 
 
 Make Echo found thee ; fo let my Mufe live, 
 
 Untill it may to thoufands honour give 
 
 As I defire this end my wifch may crowne. 
 
 That Browne may Holland love, and Holland Browne. 
 
 Your loving fonne and freind 
 
 Ab. Holland. 
 
 After the fubfcription follows this note : — " Father, I hope I 
 need not y" fecond time excufe this rude elegy, V I may truely 
 fay was rather written than endited to you ; however, take it as 
 a fodaine triall of mee in freindftiip, not Poetry. Till \ 
 fee you, farewell both " 
 
 Between the publication of the firft Book of the Pajlorals in 
 i6i4[?] and the appearance of the fecond Book in 1616, 
 Browne formed feveral new friendfhips, including, feemingly, 
 that with Ben Jonfon. The encomiaftic verfes, which accom- 
 pany the firft book, fhow that he was then on an intimate 
 footing with feveral of the moft eminent writers of the day, 
 including Selden and Drayton. In 1629, Samuel Auftin, of 
 Loftwithiel, dedicated to him, jointly with Drayton and Serjeant 
 Pollexfen, the fecond Book of his Urania. 
 
 At the time of Browne's publication of his Paftorals in 1 6 1 4 (as 
 I believe), and not in 16 13, as it has been ufually ftated, Drayton 
 was already one of the foremoft poets of the day ; he had given 
 to the world all his beft works, including the firft twelve fongs 
 of the Polyolbion ; and he muft have been advanced in years. 
 He had firft appeared as an author fo far back as 1551. At the 
 fame time he was by no means an old man, and Holland in 
 
Memoir of William Browne. xxxiii 
 
 addreffing him as his " [poetical] father," pointed rather to his 
 great achievements than to his great age. Holland was probably 
 one of the many admirers whom the appearance of the Pajiorals 
 drew round Browne, and in Browne's cafe, admirers ufually 
 ripened into friends. 
 
 Although Browne's name does not appear on the lift of the 
 original Society of Antiquaries, inftituted in the reign of James I., 
 it is tolerably certain that he was on intimate terms with the 
 illuftrious Selden, and that he was among the feledt and fmall 
 literary circle which that great fcholar attradted round him. At 
 the very opening of Britannia's Pajiorals Browne cites, in a 
 marginal note, a MS. copy of William of Malmefbury in the 
 library of his learned friend, fuperior, as he tells us, to the 
 printed copies; and the works exhibit throughout a converfance 
 with claflical ftory, without being overloaded by erudite allufions 
 or fmelling to excefs of the ink-horn, as Gafcoigne has it. 
 Drayton had certainly profited by Selden's accomplifliments and 
 extenfive information, and the earlier inftalments of the Poly- 
 olbion were enriched by the notes of one of the moft diligent 
 readers and moft inteliedlual men of his time. We muft re- 
 member, too, that Browne was the means of preferving to us 
 Occleve's tale, which he has incorporated with the firft eclogue 
 of thtShepheards Pipe, and which is certainly far fuperior to 
 anything in the volume printed by Mr. Mafon in 1796. He 
 tantalizes us when he adds, in the poem, that he had Occleve's 
 works by him quite complete, and makes us wifti cordially that, 
 inftead of affording a fpecimen, he had given the whole feries of 
 ftories compofed by Occleve from the Gefta Romanorum or other 
 fources. 
 
xxxiv Memoir of William Browne. 
 
 In 1624, Browne refumed his refidence at Exeter College, in 
 the capacity of tutor to the Honourable Robert Dormer, eideft 
 fon of the Earl of Carnarvon ; and it was during this ftay at the 
 univerfity that the poet took his Matter's degree. Under the 
 date of Auguft 25, 1624, Wood, in his Fafti (ed. Blifs), has the 
 foUov/ing entry : — 
 
 " Will. Browne of Exeter coll. had leave then given to him 
 to be aftually created M. of A. but twas not put in execution till 
 16 Nov. following. He is ftiled in the public regifter, ' vir omni 
 humana literatura & bonarum artium cognitione inftrudlus.' " 
 
 He was ftill prefumably diredling the ftudies of Mr. Dormer 
 when, in 1625, a fecond edition of both parts of the Paftorals 
 came from the prefs in an odtavo volume. A copy exifted fome 
 years ago, in which feveral fellow-collegians or friends of the 
 poet had inferted additional commendatory verfes, each appa- 
 rently in his own handwriting; its prefent deftination is un- 
 known to me, but Mr. Beloe fortunately printed the whole of 
 the MS. matter in his Anecdotes of Literature. The poems thus 
 preferved are, in fome cafes, fuperior to any which accompanied 
 the printed volume. In this edition they occur (enclofed between 
 brackets) immediately after the other panegyrics prefixed to the 
 firft: book of the Paftorals. 
 
 Browne appears to have been of a melancholy and defpond- 
 ing turn of mind in later life, when fome private misfortune, 
 known only to us fo far as the fufFerer has chofen to difclofe to 
 our view and fympathy glimpfes of it in allufions fcattered 
 through his works ; but he was, at the fame time, evidently a 
 man who formed many life friendfhips, and who endeared him- 
 felf to his intimates by his amiability of charadter, fcarcely lefs 
 
Memoir of William Browne. xxxv 
 
 than by his poetical genius and his accomplilhments. He was 
 a fcholar alfo, and the companion of fcholars ; and the efteem in 
 which he was held by fuch men as Jonfon, Drayton, and Selden 
 is alone almofl: fufficient to ftiow that thofe in the midft of whom 
 he lived and moved, fomething more than a name, looked upon 
 him not as a mere flimfy and fmooth verfe-writer, but as a man 
 of fterling virtues and folid intelledlual endowments. 
 
 In fome of thofe elegiac compofitions which appear to have 
 been the work of his maturer years, while they are afTuredly 
 not the moft favourable fpecimens of his genius, Browne takes 
 occafion to lament the ravages which Death had made in the 
 ranks of his early friends, the forlornnefs of his deftiny, and his, 
 difappointment in love. But whether this alleged unhappinefs 
 was real, or is to be regarded partly as poetical licence, we fhall 
 perhaps never difcover. That he was married, and was warmly 
 attached to his wife, feems conclufively {hown by an epitaph on 
 that lady in the Lanfdowne MS., and by the pedigree preferved 
 in Harl. MS., 6164. His friend Chriftopher Brooke was cer- 
 tainly living in 1625; Jonfon did not die till 1637; and Selden 
 and Wither, and probably Davies of Hereford, furvived him 
 many years. But, at the fame time, the poet's allufions may be 
 to fome early blight of the affedtions,' and to bereavements 
 among his kindred or connexions, of which we are admitted to 
 no further knowledge. 
 
 At what time his relations with Mr. Dormer ceafed does 
 not appear, but Wood ftates that, after the feverance of that tie, 
 
 ' Mr. Beloe fuppofed that an allufion might have been intended to' Browne's 
 difappointment in love in the lines prefixed by Samuel Harding (ftanzas lo-i I, 
 p. 18 of new edition) ; but I confefs that this does not feem very probable. 
 
xxxvi Memoir of JVilliam Browne. 
 
 Browne domefticated himfelf at Wilton with the Herberts, with 
 whom he had certainly enjoyed an acquaintance of fome kind 
 fince i6 13. But Wood's ftory about the " purchafe of an eftate" 
 through this medium at a ftage comparatively fo late in the poet's 
 career I take to be an anachronifm. 
 
 From a letter now firfl: printed from one of the Aflimolean 
 MSS. feveral new fadls are to be collefted ; namely, that in 1640 
 Browne was refident, either permanently or temporarily, at 
 Dorking, in Surrey, in what he terms "his poore cell and 
 fequeftration from all bufinefle," and that among his acquaintance 
 he counted the diftinguifhed Sir Benjamin Ruddyerd. It is alfo 
 interefting to find, as we do here, that the poet, befides his love 
 of rural objefts and fcenery, had a tafte for higher matters, 
 and a patriotic appreciation of the great political movements 
 which were foon to fbake England to its centre. This document, 
 which is undoubtedly in the poet's handwriting, alfo acquaints 
 us that, in the decline of life, he ftill preferved the friendfhip of 
 Mr. Dormer. 
 
 ^u Sir Benjamin Rudyard. 
 Sir,— 1 befeech you to pardon my interpofing your moft ferious 
 affaires with the remembrance of my Service. The caufe re- 
 quires it, and every man whoe knows I haue y' honour to be 
 knowne by you, would thinck me ftupid in not congratulating 
 what every one thincks he hath a fhare in. I meane your late 
 fpeech in Parliament,' wherein they beleeve the fpirit w^" in- 
 fpird the Reformation & the Genius w* dilated the Magna 
 
 _ ' This fpeech is printed in extenfo from the original +to. traft of four leaves 
 in Mannings Memoirs of Sir B. Ruddyerd, 1841, 8vo. 
 
Memoir of William Browne. xxxvii 
 
 Charta poflefs'd you. In my poore Cell and fequeftration from 
 all bufinefle I blefle God & praye for more fuch members in 
 the Comonwealth ; and coulde you but heare (as it is pitty but 
 you fliould) what I doe, it would add fome yeares to your 
 honor'd hayres, Beleive it (Sir) you haue given fuch a main- 
 tenance to that Repute w"'' your former Deportment had begotten 
 that it will need noe other liveiyhood then a Chronicle w''" I hope 
 our enfuing age will not fee it want for. I haue nowe done, 
 (Tis fundaye night) when I haue prayde for my honor'd Lord the 
 Lord Chamberlayne, my good Lord and Matter the Earle of 
 Caernarvon, and for you and your good proceedings, I hope 
 I fhall wake with the fame thoughts againe, and be ever 
 
 y moft obliged fervant "^ 
 Dorking No'"' 29 
 1640. 
 
 ^^?7W4tj 
 
 After his wife's death, preceded or followed (we cannot 
 be fure which) by the death of a fecond child, chriftened, like 
 the firft, Robert, Browne may have fpent fome time at Wil- 
 ton, the honoured gueft of the Herberts ; and it alfo appears 
 from the foregoing letter to Sir B. Ruddyerd, that at that date, 
 he was ftill on good terms with his old pupil, who had fince 
 become Earl of Carnarvon. '^ Under fuch circumftances, 
 
 ' I find no mention in Brayley and Britton's Surrey ot Browne's refidence at 
 Dorking in 1640. It is furely an incident in the early local hiftory of that place 
 which was worth recording. I therefore prefume that the writers were unaware 
 of it. Moft probably the poet's ftay there was temporary. 
 
 ^ He perifhed on the field of Newbury, Sept. zo, 1643. 
 
xxxviii Memoir of William Browne. 
 
 whether his own private eftate was fo flourifliing as Wood 
 wifhes us to underftand, or not, he could be in no want of 
 a home or a friend. But as poverty, or dependence on the 
 bounty of others, is a point to which there is nowhere in his. 
 works the moft remote allufion, it is tolerably fafe to conclude 
 that his relations with the Herberts and Dormers did not arife 
 from pecuniary neceflities on his fide. From one of his 
 mifcellaneous poems, it is evident that he made a tour abroad 
 at one period of his life, perhaps as the companion of Mr. 
 Dormer. Others teftify to his acquaintance with the vicinity of 
 Croydon, and the delightful fcenery of the Mole. 
 
 In the regifter of Taviftock, under March 27, 1643, is this 
 laconic entry: " William Browne was buried." Whether this 
 was the poet, or another perfon of the fame Chriftian name and 
 furname, it is at prefent difficult, if not impoflible, to determine; 
 and it is the fole clue to the date of Browne's deceafe which we 
 feem to poflefs. Wood conjedured that he died in 1645,' ^"' 
 he felt, and we can feel, no fort of certainty on the fubjedl. It 
 is a very ufual dilemma, for authors' entrances and exits do not 
 feem formerly to have been regarded as an important fedion of 
 the chronology of hiftory ; and it is wholly due to the exertions 
 of Anthony Wood that even the bare outline of fails touching 
 
 ' But it appears from refearches lately undertaken for me at Ottery St. Mary 
 that the William Browne, who periflied in the great local diftemper, occafioned, 
 it is fuppofed, by the crowded ftate of the town during the prefence of Crom- 
 well's troops, who was interred there in December, 1645, and who is probably 
 the perfon meant by Wood, had a wife named Ann, who died two years before. 
 This does not correfpond with Harl. MS., 6164, where the poet's wife is faid to 
 have been named Tymothy. 
 
Memoir of William Browne. xxxix 
 
 many men whofe works are a glory to the literature of England, 
 has been tranfmitted to us. It is the moft natural fuppofition 
 that Browne, fuller of fame than years, would return to the 
 place of his nativity to draw his laft breath, and to lie among 
 his anceftors. But it feems to be fufpicious that the entry at 
 Taviftock is unaccompanied by any indication that the perfon 
 interred there on the 27th March, 1643, ^^^ of gentle birth. 
 
 Wood fays that Browne had a great mind in a little body; 
 but no portrait of the poet, by which we might gain a more vivid 
 idea of his appearance, is known to furvive. 
 
B R IT A N N I a's 
 
 PASTORALS. 
 
 T'hefirft Booke. 
 
 HoR AT. 
 
 Carmine Di] fuperi placantur, carmine 
 Manes. 
 
 L O ND N, 
 
 Printed by Iohn Haviland. 
 
 1625. 
 
TO 
 
 THE NO LESSE ENOBLED 
 BY VERTVE, THEN ANCIENT 
 
 In Nobilitie, the Right Honorable Edward 
 
 Lord Zouch, Saint-Maure, and Cantelufe, and 
 
 one of his Maie sties ?no/l Honourable 
 
 Privie Covncell. 
 
 ONORS bright Ray, 
 
 More highly crown'd with Vertue the with 
 yeares. 
 
 Pardon a Rufticke Mufe that thus appeares 
 In Shepheards gray, 
 Intreating your attention to a Lay 
 Fitting a Siluan Bowre, not Courtly Trainei ; 
 
 Such choifer eares. 
 Should haue Apollo's Priefts, not Pans rude Swaines : 
 But if the Mufick of contented Plaines 
 
 A thought vpreares 
 For your approuement of that part ftie beares. 
 When time (that Embrions to perfedion brings) 
 
 Hath taught her ftraines, 
 May better boaft their being from the Spring 
 Where braue Heroes worths the Sifters iing : 
 
 (In Lines whofe raignes 
 In fpight of Enuy and her reftleffe paines : 
 
4 The Epijlle Dedicatorie. 
 
 Be vnconfin'd as bleft eternitie :) 
 The Vales fhall ring 
 Thy Honor'd Name ; and euery Song fhall be 
 A Pyramis built to thy Memorie. 
 
 Tour Honors : 
 
 W. Browne. 
 
 To the Reader. 
 
 THE times are fwolnejo big with nicer wits. 
 That nought founds good but what O'^vmonjirikes. 
 Cenfure with Iudgement_/f/^ together fits ; 
 And now the Man more then the Matter likes. 
 
 The great Rewardrefle of a Poets Pen, 
 Fame, is by thofefo clog^ d fhee feldome flyes, 
 The NiuCes fitting on the graues of men. 
 Singing that Vertue Hues and neuer dyes. 
 
 Are chas'd away by the malignant Tongues 
 Offuch, by whom Detradion is ador'd : 
 Hence growes the want of euer-liuing Songs, 
 With which our He was whilome brauely fiofd. 
 
 Iffuch a Bafilifke dart downe his Eye, 
 {Impyfon'd with the dregs of vtmofl hate) 
 To kill the fir ft Bloomes of my Poefie, 
 It is his worft, and makes me fortunate. 
 
 Kinde wits I vaile to, but to fooles precife 
 
 I am as confident as they are nice. 
 
 W. B. 
 
 From the Inner Temple, lune the i8. 1613. 
 
In Bucolica G. Brovn. 
 
 Quodj per feceflus Ruftici otia, Licuit ad 
 jimic. & Bon. Lit. amantijf. 
 
 Anacreonticvm. 
 
 T)75 S/iHV a£K8l7Hf 
 
 Xll 
 
 yaf 
 
 s^aro; 
 
 "i'uxri, E'vvEa Tw ou 
 ^euysa-' aura 'iwoVTai 
 O f TT^orocrcTET' E'^UTO!;. 
 Mii<rcxi!->c A'lpfaysvEi't? 
 
 ITfoSWJoV tStO 7r£>,£<7HE. 
 
 Ad Amoris Numina. 
 
 Q^/iV vofirum Paphie, Anteros, Erofq ; 
 Vt Regnum capiat mali quid, abftt ! 
 Venus, per Syrium niniis venujium ! 
 Amplexus teneros, pares, Juaues 
 Pfyches, per, tibi, Bajiationum 
 Eros quantum erat ! ^ per Anterotis 
 Fcelices Animas ! periclitanti 
 Ohtejior, dubiaq; confulatis 
 Reivoftra! Mijerum magis fauete 
 Languori, Mijerum fauete Amantum, 
 Dixi, cordolio ! ^od eft amatum 
 I^u propitij ferite peStus ! 
 
* Arnica, Do- 
 tnina (noftro 
 idiomate 
 amatorio, 
 
 &f Neara 
 funtvtifyno- 
 nyma Pru- 
 dentk, ante 
 alios, Peri 
 Steph. 
 Jlymn 12. 
 & alicubi. v, 
 li placet & 
 "Jof. Scali^. 
 ad i.TibulIi. 
 
 * Horat. 
 Carm. i. od. 
 '3- 
 
 * Ne fcilicet 
 quis pernu- 
 metet Fini- 
 tus n. & 
 notus nume- 
 rus fafcino, 
 apud Vene- 
 res, obnoxi- 
 us. Idq; in 
 Bajijs obfer- 
 uatum lia- 
 bes ap. Catul. 
 carm. 5. & 7. 
 
 * Amor a 
 Paftore 
 omne genus 
 Mufices 
 olim edoc- 
 tus. Bion 
 Idyll. 3. 
 
 Commendatory Verfes. 
 
 l£lus quinfit ab aureajagitta ! 
 Ortas Spe flacitd foueteflammas ! 
 Ortis quin Similes parate flammas ! 
 Suas gnauiter ambiant * Neaeras ! 
 Ei caufim laciant Juos Neasrae ! 
 Dextras Jiernuite adprobationes ! 
 Adjulfis detur O/culum labellis ! 
 Et iunStis detur OJculum Jaliuis ! 
 'Tui NeBaris adde, Diua* quinSiam. 
 Conturbet tremula libido lingua, 
 Ne quis Bajia * fafcinare pojfit ! 
 Morfus mutua temperet voluptas ! 
 Dormitis, nimiumq; defuijiis 
 Procis, atq; Adamantinis Puellis. 
 Iflhac profpiciens tibi, Cupldo, 
 Audax admonui. 'Tuas Apollo, 
 Deufq; Arcadias, Minerua, &f Hermes 
 Supplantant Veneres. Murinus arcum 
 Tendit, quin iaculis tud pharetrd 
 Surreptis petimur. Camena texit 
 Cantu dadala, blandulum Aphrodites 
 Ceftum, &' injidias plicat. Mineruas 
 Buxus, Mercurij Chelys, Cicuta 
 Fauni, dulce melos canunt. Erota 
 En, olim * docuit, plagas Eroti 
 lam tendit, luuenis, Poeta, Paftor, 
 IJihac profpiciens tibi Cupido, 
 Audax admonui. Faue Cupido. 
 
 By the Same. 
 
 SO much a Stranger my Seuerer Muje 
 Is not to Loue-ftraines, or a Shepwards Reed, 
 But that She knowes fome Rites of Phcebus dues, 
 Of Pan, of Pallas, and hir Sifters meed. 
 Reade and Commend She durft thefe tun'd eflaies 
 
Commendatory Verfes. 7 
 
 Of Him that hues her (She hath euer found 
 Hir ftudies as one circle.) Next She prayes 
 His Readers be with Roje and Myrtle crown'd ! 
 No Willow touch them ! As His * Baies are free 
 From wrong of Bolts, fo may their Chaplets bee. 
 
 I. Selden luris C. 
 
 To his Friend the Avthor. 
 
 DRIUE forth thy Flock, young Pajlor, to that Plaine, 
 Where our old Shepheards wont their flocks to feed ; 
 To thofe clear e walkes, where many a fkilfull Swaine 
 To'ards the calme eu'ning, tun'd his pleafant Reed. 
 Thofe, to the Mufes once fo f acred, Downes, 
 As no rude foot might there prefume to ft and : 
 {Now made the way of the vnworthieft Clownes, 
 Dig'd and plow'd vp with each vnhallowed hand) 
 If pofjible thou canfi, redeeme thofe places. 
 Where, by the brim of many a Siluer Spring, 
 The learned Maidens, and delightfull Graces 
 Often hauefate to heare our Shepheards Jing : 
 Where on thofe Pines the neighboring Groues among, 
 (Now vtterly tiegle£led in thefe daies) 
 Our Garlands, Pipes, and Cornamutes were hung 
 The monuments of our deferued praife. 
 So may thy Sheepe like,fo thy Lambs increafe. 
 And from the Wolfe feed euer fafe and free ! 
 So maift thou thriue, among the learned preafe. 
 As thou young Shepheard art beloud of nice ! 
 
 Michael Draiton. 
 
 * Bales (/a/« 
 Readers) be- 
 ing the mate- 
 riaisof Posts 
 Girlands^ [as 
 Myrtle afid 
 Rofes are fit 
 emoyjng Lo- 
 uers, and the 
 fruitleJ/iWd- 
 lov/Jhr them 
 uohich your 
 •unconjiancy f 
 too oft, makes 
 mofi •unhap- 
 py) arefup- 
 pojed notjub- 
 ie£i to any 
 hurt 0/* Jupi- 
 ters thunder- 
 holts, as other 
 Trees are. 
 
 To his Ingenious and worthy Friend the Avthor. 
 
 HE that will tune his Oaten-pipe aright. 
 To great Apollo's Harp : he that will write 
 A liuing Poem ; muft haue many yeeres. 
 
8 Commendatory Verfes. 
 
 And fetled iudgement 'mongft his equall peeres, 
 
 In well-rig'd Barke to fteere his doubtfull courfe ; 
 
 Left fecret, rocky Enuy, or the fource 
 
 Of froathy, but fky-towring Arrogance ; 
 
 Or fleeting, fandy vulgar- cenfure chance 
 
 To leaue him ftiip-wrackt, on the defert Maine 
 
 Imploring aged Neptunes help in vaine. 
 
 The younger Cygnet, euen at beft doth teare, 
 
 With his harfli fquealings, the melodious eare : 
 
 It is the old, and dying Swan that fings 
 
 Notes worthy life, worthy the Thejfian Springs. 
 
 But thou art young ; and yet thy voice as fweet. 
 
 Thy Verfe as fmooth, Compofure as difcreet 
 
 As any Swans, whofe tunefull Notes are fpent 
 
 On 'Thames his bancks ; which makes me confident, 
 
 He knowes no Mufick, hath nor eares, nor tongue. 
 
 That not commends a voice fo fweet, fo young. 
 
 On htm ; a Pajiorall Ode to his faireft 
 Shepheardeffe. 
 
 STR EN more then earthly faire, 
 Sweetly breake the yeelding Ayre : 
 Sing on Jlbions whiteft Rocks : 
 Sing ; whilft Willy to his Flocks, 
 Deftly tunes his various Reed. 
 Sing ; and hee, whilft younghngs feed, 
 Anfwer fliall thy beft of fmging, 
 With his Rurall Muficke, bringing 
 Equall pleafure ; and requite 
 Mufickes fweets with like delight. 
 What though Willyes Songs be plaine .? 
 Sweet they be : for hee's a Swaine 
 Made of purer mould then earth. 
 Him did Nature from his birth. 
 
Commendatory Verfes. 
 
 And the Mufes fingle out, 
 
 For a fecond Colin Clout. 
 
 'Tityrus made him a Singer : 
 
 Pan him taught his Pipe to finger : 
 
 Numbers, curious eares to pleafe, 
 
 Learn 'd he of Philifides. 
 
 Kala loues him : and the Lafles 
 
 Point at him, as by he pafles, 
 
 Wifhing neuer tongue that's bad 
 
 Cenfure may fo blithe a Lad. 
 
 Therefore well can he requite 
 
 Muficks fweets with like delight : 
 
 Sing then ; breake the yeelding ayre, 
 
 Syren more then earthly faire. 
 
 Edward Heyward, 
 
 e So, Int. Tempi. 
 
 To his Friend the Avthor vpon his Poem. 
 
 THIS Plant is knotlefle that puts forth thefe leaues, 
 Vpon whofe Branches I his praife doe fing : 
 Fruitfull the Ground, whofe verdure it receiues 
 From fertile Nature, and the learned Spring. 
 In zeale to Good ; knowne, but vnpradtiz'd 111, 
 Chaft in his thoughts, though in his youthfull Prime, 
 He writes of Paft'rall Loue, with Nedtar'd Quill, 
 And offers vp his firft Fruits vnto Time. 
 Receiue them (Time) and in thy Border place them 
 Among thy various Flowers of Poefie ; 
 No Enuy blaft, nor Ignorance deface them. 
 But keepe them frelh in faireft Memorie ! 
 
 And, when from Daphne's tree he plucks more Baies, 
 His Shepheards Pipe may chant more heau'nly laies. 
 
 Christopher Brooke. 
 
lo Commendatory Verfes. 
 
 ANAGRAMMJ. 
 GviLiELMvs Browne. Ne vulgo Librum eius. 
 
 SI vulgus gujiare tuo veils apta palato ; 
 I, pete vulgares, ac aliunde, dapes. 
 Nil vulgare Japit Liber hie ; hinc vulgus abefto : 
 Non nift delicias hac tibi menja dabit. 
 
 Fr : Dynne, 
 
 } So. Int. Tempi. 
 
 To his Friend the Author. 
 
 ON (lolly Lad) and hye thee to the Field 
 Among the befl: Swains that the Vallies yeeld j 
 Goe boldly, and in prefence of them all, 
 Proceed a Shepheard with this Paftorall. 
 Let Pan, and all his rurall Traine attending, 
 From ftately Mountaines to the Plaines defcending, 
 Salute this Paftor with their kinde embraces ; 
 And entertaine him to their holy places. 
 Let all the Nymphes of Hills and Dales together 
 Kifle him for earneft of his welcome thither : 
 Crowne him with Garlands of the choiceft flowres. 
 And make him euer dwell within their Bowres : 
 For well I wote in all the Plaines around, 
 There are but few fuch Shepheards to be found, 
 That can fuch learned Layes and Ditties frame, 
 Or aptly fit their tunes vnto the fame. 
 And let them all (if this young Swaine fliould die) 
 Tune all their Reeds to fing his Memorie. 
 
 Tho. Gardiner, 
 e So. Int. Tempi. 
 
Commendatory Verfes. 1 1 
 
 To the AvTHOR. 
 
 HAT) I beheld thy Mufe vfon the Stage, 
 A Poejie infa/hion with this age ; 
 Or had Ifeene, when firft I view'd thy tajke. 
 An aEliue wit dance in a Satyres Majke, 
 I Jhould in thqfe haue prais'd thy Wit and Art, 
 But not thy ground, A Poems better fart : 
 Which being the perfeSl'ft Image of the Braine, 
 Not fram'd to any baje end, but to gaine 
 True approbation of the Artifts worth. 
 When to an open view he fets it forth, 
 ludicioufly, he ftriues ; no lejfe fadorne 
 By a choife SubieSl, then a curious Forme : 
 Well haft thou then paft o'er all other rhime. 
 Arid in a PaHorallfpent thy leafures time : 
 Where fruit fo f aire, and field fo fruit full is. 
 That hard it is to iudge whether in This 
 The Subftance or the fafhion more excell, 
 So precious is the lem, and wrought fo well. 
 Thus reft thou prais'd of me. Fruit, Field, lem, Art, 
 Doe claime much praife to equallfuch Defart. 
 
 W. Ferrar, 
 
 e So. Med. Tempi. 
 
 To the AvTHOR. 
 
 FRIEND, He not erre in blazing of thy Worth ; 
 This Worke in trueft termes will fet it forth : 
 In thefe few lines the all I doe intend, 
 Is but to fhew that I haue fuch a Friend. 
 
 Fr. OVIDE. 
 
 e S. In. Tempi. 
 
12 Commendatory Verfes. 
 
 [Euterpe to her deerefi Darling W. B. 
 
 THY lines, thy worth, thy wit to prayfe. 
 Were mine owne honor to upraife, 
 And thofe fame gifts commend in thee 
 Which thou received haft of me ; 
 Yet may I boaft that by mine aide 
 All eares to thee are captive made. 
 And thy (amazed) country-men 
 Admire, extoll thy golden pen : 
 Hearing fuch madrigalls as thefe 
 Aftonifht is Philifides, 
 And vanquifht by thy fweeter layes 
 
 D r his pipe ; yeilds thee the bayes : 
 
 And Colyn Clout his oaten reede, 
 Which did to us fuch pleafure breede, 
 Refignes to thee ; grieved becaufe his 
 Mulla by Tavy, vanquifht is. 
 Marina fayns though in her neede 
 The ftorme did helpe ; yet fhee indeede 
 Was raviftit, but (tis her excufe) 
 Twas only with thy fweete-tongu'd mufe ; 
 That though the Robin Red-breaft fed 
 Her body, yet fh' ad fufFered 
 Death, hadft not thou with lines refind 
 As with ambrofia fed her minde, 
 Doridon weepes (although for who 
 He trows not) if t' be not for you ; 
 Since thee to write he could not move 
 One Canto more on his true love : 
 See how each fwalne y' fhould this day 
 Before Dame Thetis fing his lay. 
 Sighing gives backe, for he doth feare 
 Willy their Captaine won't be there. 
 
Commendatory Verfes. i ' 
 
 All fay thou art the elme (they know) 
 
 Wheerby the mufes vine doth grow. 
 
 And that if Coelia merit death. 
 
 All they muft with her loofe their breath. 
 
 That fairer boughs have pul'd from thee 
 
 Than ere grew on Pans golden tree. 
 
 Laftly thy Alatheia fayes, 
 
 That future times fhall fing thy praife. 
 
 And th'-after ages ftrive in vaine. 
 
 As thou haft done, to do againe. — 
 
 Phil. Papillon, E. Coll. Exon. 
 
 Carmina amo, mihi ^ \\.\.^£. flacet tua fiftula : falix I 
 En rejonant laudes ilia, vel ilia tuas. 
 
 BUT flop my mufe, liften to Willys lays, 
 Harke whiles the Eccho doth refound his praife. 
 Let others fpeak, forbid not, but let mee 
 Thou charminge fweetly, liften unto thee. 
 
 P. S. Coll. Ex. 
 
 On the Author of Britannias Peerlejfe Pafioralls. 
 
 I'LL take thy judgment golden Mydas now, 
 Nor will of Phoebus harmony allow, 
 Since Pan hath fuch a ftiepheard, whofe fweet layes 
 May claim defervedly the Delphique bayes. 
 Thrice happy Syrinx, onely great in this. 
 Thou kifleft him in metamorphofis. 
 Flocke hither fatires, learne a roundelay 
 Of him to grace Sylvanus holyday. 
 Come hither ftiepheardes, let your bleating flockes 
 Of bearded goates browze on the mofly rockes. 
 Come from Arcadia, baniftit ftiepheardes, come. 
 Let flourifhing Britannia bee your home. 
 
14 Commendatory Verfes. 
 
 Crown'd with your anadems and chaplets trim. 
 
 And invocate no other Pan but him : 
 
 'Tis he can keepe you fafe from all your flockes. 
 
 From greedy wolfe, or oft beguiling fox : 
 
 Let him but tune his notes, and you (hall fee 
 
 The wolfe abandon his rapacity, 
 
 And innocently trip and friflc among 
 
 Your wanton lambkins at his fwanlike fong ; 
 
 Yea had the Thraclan fung but half fo well, 
 
 Hee had not left Euridice in hell. 
 
 Then rally fwaine, aftonifh humane eyes. 
 
 And let thy Tavy high as Tyber rife. 
 
 On the Same. 
 
 AN ODE. 
 
 FEARE not Willy, but goe on 
 With thy fong of Dorydon, 
 Which will neer furpafled bee 
 By the beft pipe in Arcady. 
 What though Roger of the plaines, 
 Hobinoll and other fwaynes, 
 Joynd with Colin of the glen, 
 Perigot and other men. 
 Warble fweetly, thou when they 
 Sung on Pan's laft holyday, 
 Wonft the chaplet which was made, 
 Hard by Tavy in a glade, 
 Walla, Marina, Fida too. 
 Doe thy lafting favour wooe : 
 The fountains god will rifing bee. 
 From his waters to heare thee ; 
 Hungring for thee makes us rave. 
 All fhut up in Limos cave ; 
 
Commendatory Verfes. 1 5 
 
 O bee thou the Redbreaft, cherifh 
 
 Thofe who but for thee would perifh. 
 
 Or bee Triton who alone 
 
 Mayft remove the mighty ftone, 
 Then in thine honour every ftiepheard fhall 
 Keepe the day ftridter than Pans feftivall. 
 
 Edw. Hall, e Coll. Exon. 
 
 On the Author of Britannias PeerleJJe Pajioralls. 
 
 CEASE Ikilfull Orpheus, whofe mellifluous ftraynes 
 Have earft made ilones and trees fkip ore the 
 playnes, 
 A fweeter harmonye invites our eares 
 Than ere was fent from the celefliall fpheeres : 
 Cleare Tavy now his filver head may rayfe, 
 A fhephearde of his owne can finge his prayfe. 
 Sweet toung'd Arion flrive not with fuch odds. 
 Thy fong moved but the dolphins : his the godds. 
 O hadft thou daignd to move thy fweeter toung, 
 The wolfe had ftayd to hearken to thy fonge ; 
 Had Pans eares fuckt the nedtar of thy breath. 
 For thy fake Caelia had beene free from death. 
 But that the Fates denyde, as who fhould fay 
 By Willys pen her fame fliall live for aye : 
 Walla a garland will compofe noe more. 
 To crowne her Tavyes temples as before ; 
 But as to them that beft deferve the prayfe. 
 She'll give to thee the garland and the bayes. 
 And if a verfe thy glorye may confine. 
 Thou fing'fl: Brittannias prayfe, Brittannia thine, 
 
 Jo. Dynham, e Coll. Exon. 
 
1 6 Commendatory Verfes. 
 
 Uppon the occafion of Readinge this compleet Poem. 
 
 TO THE AUTHOR W. BROWNE. 
 I. 
 
 CEASE, ceafe Pierian dames, 
 Be henceforth mute. 
 Leave of your wanton games, 
 Apollos lute 
 Hath crackt a ftringe : it grates my eares, 
 'Tis harfh, as are the heavenly fpheares : 
 Lift Willie fings and tunes his oaten reed. 
 To whom all hearts, all eares doe yield themfefs* : as meed. 
 
 2. 
 
 Hearke, hearke, the joylly lad 
 
 So fweetly fings, 
 The vales as proude, as glad 
 The murmuring fpringes : 
 Both joyne to tell the neighbour hills 
 That theres no muficke like to Willes. 
 Eccho enamoured one the pipinge fwaine 
 Recovers (fylly wretch !) her voice, repeats each ftraine. 
 
 3- 
 The buckfome fheepheardefle 
 
 Hearke ! ha ! no more ? 
 Ah ! what unhappinefie 
 Waft left us poore. 
 Bereft by thy neglefted fongs 
 Of life, of joy ! tell tell w' wrongs 
 What fad difafter (Willie) is betide, 
 That we thy laies (not yet half done) ftiould be denyed? 
 
 * Sic in BeWe. 
 
Commendatory Verfes. 
 
 17 
 
 4- 
 What has fome fatyre rude, 
 
 Wode to thofe groves 
 His wiJy fnares beftrewd 
 To catch your loves ? 
 To tempt a credlous Iheepheardefle, 
 Who crying out in her diftrefle, 
 Have made you breake or flinge your pipe away, 
 Oh no ! your charmes would erft have made the monfter 
 ftay. 
 
 5- 
 Or is your pipe ybroke. 
 
 And 'twill not founde ? 
 Goe, goe unto the oake 
 By yonder mounde : 
 Take Colins pipe (there't hangs) in hand, 
 Or if not that you may command 
 The whillome jolly fwaine's Philicides, 
 But ah your broken pipe will found as well as thefe. 
 
 6. 
 
 Has fubtell Reynard caught 
 
 A frilkinge lambe. 
 Or the fearce woolfe diftraught 
 The bleatinge dam ? 
 And you by riffling of their folds. 
 Which to regaine your fport witholds. 
 Or has your lagginge ewe a lambkin yean'd. 
 Which makes you ceafe your notes, and midwifrie attend. 
 
 7- 
 Or did fome fheep beards boy 
 
 (Thy layes are good,) 
 Nod 's head or paufe and coy. 
 
 He underftood. 
 
1 8 Commendatory Verfes. 
 
 Not that it which he did foe taunt 
 
 (If there were fuch) dull ignorant. 
 
 Or elfe defpairinge ere to rife fo high. 
 
 Would worke thee fwaine from thy deferved fupremacy. 
 
 Did the round yefterday, 
 
 Which thou beganft 
 Soe merriely to play. 
 
 Thou them entrauncft'ft ? 
 O did they rayfe thy worth foe high. 
 And made thee blufti for modeftie : 
 Did they with garlands girt thy curled locks, 
 Cald thee fine piper while thou lookeft all griefe for 
 mocks. 
 
 9- 
 And w** th' had wood thee too, 
 
 A fecond part, 
 Caufe from their promifd vow 
 They gan to ftart : 
 In which th' hadft bound their feely fwaine, 
 Nor to commend nor praife thy veine. 
 Yet when they did begin, and who could fpare ? 
 Thou cruell tor'ft thy chaplets, and wouldft willow weare. 
 
 lO. 
 
 See cruell faire, fee, fee 
 
 Each fheapheards brow. 
 That wont to fmile with glee. 
 Is tearfwolne now ; 
 And prifninge up their pearly wealth. 
 The ftraglinge drops get out by ftealth, 
 Yet could they hope to win thee for their prize, 
 To finifh up thy fong theyde bankerupt all their eyes. 
 
Commendatory Verfes. 19 
 
 II. 
 
 The pretty birds were mute 
 
 To heare thee finge, 
 And fee the ftiepheard youth 
 All wantonninge ; 
 When having ceaft thy noates all fitty. 
 They all refervd there mournful dittye : 
 Philomel fearinge tis her fate denyes, 
 Thy fweeter accents falls into thy breaft and dyes. 
 
 12. 
 The winds that erft were whill 
 
 Beginne to roare, 
 Each tree y'' fonges beinge mift, 
 Skreeks as before : 
 Each fproutinge pauncie in the meade 
 For greife begins to hang a head, 
 
 The weepinge brooke in grumblinge tones glide[s] doune, 
 Dimples its once fleeke cheeks, and thanks you with a 
 frowne, 
 
 13- 
 Come, come lets heare your flcill, 
 
 Here fay you can't, 
 W are you angrie ftill. 
 By Pan you flia'nt. 
 Nere let your modeftie deprive 
 Y' of what will keepe your name alive, 
 Whilft ore the curld-haird-Tavies flowery fide 
 There does on[e] fhepheard lodge or feely fheepe abide. 
 
 14. 
 
 Oh let not nice conceit. 
 
 You are too younge. 
 That there are lads more feete 
 
 Ith fhepheards thronge. 
 
2 Commendatory Verfes. 
 
 Who better able are to diftill 
 There foule in fonnets at their will. 
 If ftill to me you be obdurate then. 
 Let fheepe, birds, trees, winds, flowers, brooks, teach 
 thee melt again. 
 
 Sam. Hardinge, E. Coll. Exon. 
 
 'To the now unfarelleled Sydney of his time, W. B., the 
 ingenuous Author of Brittannid s Pafiorals. 
 
 PLAY on thy pipe new leflbns, Willy {Irike 
 More fuch as thefe which may each fhepheard like, 
 And if it chaunce Thetys doe once againe 
 Vifit our coafts, bee thou the eledted fwayne. 
 To greet her with thy layes, let her admire 
 The varying accents of thy matchlefle lyre. 
 And fo afFed thee for thy poems fake. 
 Adopt thee hers, and thee her ufher make, 
 But leave us not, blithe fwayne, let Tavys ftreame 
 Leave of to murmurre liftning to thy theame. 
 Left thy fweet layes fo great effect obtayne. 
 As here on land, fo there upon the mayne, 
 As lafles here admired thy matchlefTe verfe. 
 So there the fea-nimphs ftill thy praife rehearfe, 
 Twixt both a great contention it will breed. 
 Who hath moft intereft in thyne oaten reed. 
 Which harder will appeafed bee than theires 
 Who ftrove to bee efteemed the blind bards heires : 
 Thofe claime thee theires in that thou doft forfake 
 Thy native cotes, and there thy man/ion make : 
 The lambkins heere did frifke to heare thee play, 
 Leffe nouriflied by theire graffe than with thy lay ; 
 So would the dolphins then attend thy fong. 
 And none left Triton whom to ride upon. 
 
Commendatory Verfes. 21 
 
 Which might incenfe him feeing one the frye, 
 And vafter fholes preffing to come moft nye, 
 To heare thy melody, and to refufe 
 His trumpets founds, to which they ftill did ufe 
 Before to thronge, to pry thee do not come. 
 But fweetly pipen at thy native home. 
 Continue ftill with us, and let our vales 
 Reverberate in eccho thy fweet tales. 
 
 Chr. Gewen, e Coll. Exon. 
 
 An Ode entreating him to proceed in the continuation of his 
 Brittannias Paftorals. 
 
 WILLY fee but how the fwaines 
 Mourne thy filence on the plaines, 
 And do fadly pace along, 
 Caufe they cannot heare thy fong ; 
 Roget grieves : thefe notes would heare, 
 Faine which ravifhd earft his eare, 
 And to hear thy fong a! way 
 In his prifon would he ftay, 
 With moft willingnefs then bee 
 Deprived thereof, though fet free. 
 He and Cuddy, that blith fwayne, 
 Whofe flockes feed on yonder playne. 
 Would bee glad their fkill to trye 
 At your opportunitye, 
 And though fent to bee one tome, 
 They would undergoe thy doome. 
 And bee glad to yeeld to thee. 
 To whom is due all vitftorye, 
 Tis their wifti each place could tell, 
 Thy conquefts like Saint Dunftanes well. 
 And that thy pipe would found fo well, 
 As't whilome did in thicke fame dell ; 
 
22 Commendatory Verfes. 
 
 Dorydon mourns 'caufe his fweet 
 
 Guided is not by thy feet, 
 
 To her haven of wifht joy. 
 
 But is left to all annoy 
 
 By thy crueltye, he feares 
 
 Leaft by this fhee's drownd in teares i 
 
 Old fwaines would dye, could they have 
 
 Thee but write upon theire grave 
 
 Sith affoored thou wilt not all 
 
 Once to heare thy paftorall. 
 
 Each fhepheardefle doth lament, 
 
 Caufe thou art theire difcontent, 
 
 And had it been another lad 
 
 Which theire wakes thus hindred had, 
 
 Theyd reveng it, and with fpeed 
 
 Difcard his filent oaten reed. 
 
 But thy former layes have got 
 
 Thee praifes neer to bee forgot. 
 
 Therefore they forbeare to fpoyle 
 
 Thy pipe which hath given the foyle 
 
 To oppofers : nor would bee 
 
 Cruell to thy pipe or thee. 
 
 All the fwaines are yonder fate 
 
 On the hillocke, and are mete. 
 
 To celebrate Pans feftivall 
 
 With fome pleafing madrigal 1, 
 
 But theyre dumb, and fo will bee, 
 
 LefTe that thou augment their glee, 
 
 For their cuftome 's at this feaft. 
 
 Here mongft fhepheards that the beft 
 
 Muft begin, and then each one 
 
 Follows till they all have done. 
 
 Why doft then thy mufique linger. 
 
 And fupprefle theires ? they would finger 
 
 Willingly their pipes, they ftay 
 
 But till thou thy lefTon play. 
 
Commendatory Verfes. 23 
 
 Hye thee, Willye, hye apace, 
 
 With all fpeed to the place 
 
 Where the fhepheards are fet round, 
 
 Wayting there till thy pipe found. 
 
 At thy tuning, when thy lay 
 
 Thou haft ended, they will play. 
 
 For which art brave Thetys fhall 
 
 Crowne with praife thy madrigall. 
 
 And Pan himfelfe fhall always bee 
 
 A patron to thy mufe and thee. 
 When that he knowes in this her matchlefle lay. 
 Thy mufe keepes his, not her own holyday. 
 
 B. N. 
 
 To the AuTHouR, W. B. 
 
 R IVERS be filent, peace you mufes nine, 
 
 O rpheus be dumbe, for now no praife is thine ; 
 
 B end all your eares unto Britannia's peere, 
 
 E ver be praifing, nere to praife him feare ; 
 
 R ight as the painters garnifli with theire fable 
 
 T heir brighter colours in a curious table. 
 
 T ime fo will place thee in the fhield of fame, 
 
 A s chiefe of men t' immortalize thy name ; 
 
 Y et why fhould I with rude rimes feeke to raife thee, 
 
 L et every fonnet in thy paftorals praife thee ; 
 
 O dafht Apollo, hide thy face for (hame, 
 
 R ender to fhepheards henceforth all the fame. 
 
 E. Coll. Exon. 
 
 On the Author, W. B. 
 
 SHALL I implore the mufes nine. 
 To grace with fweetes my ruder line, 
 When all the art the mufes cann 
 Are fweetely fung within this fpann ? 
 
24 Commendatory Verfes. 
 
 Or fhal I invocate great Pann 
 
 To tune the fong thy pipe beft cann ? 
 
 Pann fwore to me the other day 
 
 He broke his pipe, and ran to heare thy lay. 
 
 Apollo lend thy facred quill, 
 
 That I may chant a note more flirill. 
 
 Alas ! Apollos drownd in teares. 
 
 To fee a god oer rule his fpheares ; 
 
 Lets fee what golden Spenfer cann, 
 
 Hees dead, and thou the living mann : 
 
 The godde I fee can weare no bayes 
 
 But what is pluckt from, thy bright layes ; 
 
 If Pann a fong more fmoother lings, 
 
 Tis caufe twas dipt in Tavies fprings. 
 
 Ro. Tayler, Exon. Coll. 
 
 'To the unparalleled Author of the Jequent Poems, W. B. 
 
 HAILE Albions fwaine, whofe worthy brow thofe 
 bayes 
 G'en to the vidor in Pans paftoral playes, 
 Ere fince thy pipes firft birth have bound, whofe toungue 
 Our loves on once lovd Syrinx freely founge, 
 When mountains heads and ftorm wrongd ftirubs did caft 
 Theyre long (hades weftward, and when fhepheards haft, 
 To 'nbed their pended flocks, how ofte amonge 
 The various fonnets of a neighbouring thronge 
 Haft thou enchanted with a ftrong defire. 
 To learne thy accents great Sylvanus quire. 
 Who like younge infants willing to obtaine 
 Their nurfes dialed and perfedt ftraine, 
 Labored a repetition ; heare the thrufti 
 Stroove with his whiftell ; in next bordring bufh. 
 Shrouded about, was the fmall redbreaft fet, 
 With liftning eares, and unwiling to'lett 
 
Commendatory Verfes. 25 
 
 Nought pafle turned eccho to thy tunes, above 
 
 The foring larke did meditating move 
 
 Her gutling tounge, but each in vaine, at laft 
 
 Though out of tune, proud Philomels diftaft, 
 
 To heare a rival! did difpofe the choice 
 
 Of natrall notes into an artlike voice. 
 
 Thy heavenly harmonie founding below 
 
 Among the vales, the river gods did draw 
 
 Above theyre ftreames fhaking their filver haire. 
 
 Then lifted up the anthumes feemed more rare, 
 
 Rap'd with fuch muficke theire cold monarchie 
 
 Abandoned ftraight, they mounted up on hie, 
 
 There flood attentive all, as if uppon 
 
 Parnaflus topp, Apollos ftation, 
 
 Hee harping lay, and with fmooth Mercurie 
 
 Had fliared the fpheares by better melodie ; 
 
 Thus long in admiration of both layes. 
 
 They gave the fentence, thou obtaineft the praife. 
 
 And with infinuation did entreat 
 
 That Tavies banckes myght be thy frequent feat : 
 
 They had theire will, thou yealdft a loth confent, 
 
 Thy windes muft calme theire fwelling element. 
 
 And heare the water nymphes eer fince that time. 
 
 Wee hindes remembering thy mellifluous rime, 
 
 Covett to drive our cheretie flockes alonge 
 
 That cryftall lake to heare thy wonted fonge. 
 
 That fong which metamorphofed raping bares, 
 
 And trained the crafty fox into her fnares, 
 
 The happier fates had favoured faire Marine, 
 
 Had thy lipps wood for her her Celadine, 
 
 If Rennard could perfuade as thou canft move. 
 
 Had changd to hate that beauties difdaind love. 
 
 Nor had the labor of a deity 
 
 Needed to quicken her mortality, 
 
 Thy charming voice had don't, for thy fongs fake 
 
 Caron had wherried from the Stygian lake 
 
26 Commendatory Verfes. 
 
 Againe her ghoft, nor hath thy peerlefle verfe 
 
 Don lefle, thou muft immortalize thy herfe, 
 
 Thouft quite forfook Pans fports, the more the griefe. 
 
 His joy the more, thou abfent, he's the chiefe ; 
 
 Weeve loft thy fellowfhip, not loft thy fame, 
 
 We'll teach our children to adore thy name. 
 
 When as our Cornifti or Devonian fwaines 
 
 Still fport among their lamkins on the plaines. 
 
 Or celebrate their feftivalls, wee'll raife 
 
 Our old reed once to Pans, twice to thy praife ; 
 
 And when great Jove thy foul angelicall 
 
 Shall fummon us to finge thy madrigall. 
 
 Our .... * Ihall want their tallow, but we'll burn 
 
 Continual candels on thy lafting urne. 
 
 NicH. Downey, Coll. Exon. 
 
 Idem ad Eundem. 
 
 AN ODE. 
 
 IHEARDE the mountaine gods complaine. 
 Sweet Willy thou neglefts thy ftraine. 
 And that thou wouldft not blefle againe 
 Thy fellow fwaine. 
 
 The fifters did bewaile. 
 
 That hee whofe notes did oft aflaile 
 
 Apollos {kill, yea did prevaile. 
 
 Their art difdaines. 
 
 What if fome forward ftub-chind boy 
 Takes upp a reed, and dos employ 
 His artlefie lipps, can this annoy 
 
 Thy fweeter fong ? 
 
 * Left blank by Belve, who could not read the MS. here. 
 
Commendatory Verfes. 27 
 
 Could thy exadlnefle brooke a foile, 
 Without difparagement ; their foile 
 Commends thy tounge more fmoothe than oile. 
 Our fports amonge. 
 
 Great Pan eer fince thou wentft away. 
 Has mift the glories of his day, 
 No fhepheard dares begin a lay 
 
 To honor him. 
 
 Behold how all our joyes do turne 
 To fadnefTe, fee hot fighs which burne 
 Our brefts, look how our fwolne eyes mourne 
 And weepe till drie. 
 
 Our crooks are trailed along the ground. 
 Our pipes grow dumb, or fadly found. 
 No flowrie chaplets eer hath crownd, 
 
 Since thine a browe. 
 
 Each fhepheardefle as in defpaire, 
 Mean more to be proclaimed faire, 
 T' fitt time to trim her fluent haire 
 
 Doth fcarce allow. 
 
 Our lambs doe leave to Ikipp about, 
 And ape their dames fad pace throughout. 
 The hills with woes, as if they doubt 
 Securitie. 
 
 Now thou art abfent, whofe fmooth reed 
 Did in the woulfs and tigers breed 
 A nature tame, and thus them freed 
 From crueltie. 
 
28 Commendatory Verfes. 
 
 Each mufe, godd, fheep, and fhepheards all, 
 Joyn in the art thy madrigal!. 
 For Pans fake at thy fcftivall 
 
 Renew thy ftraines. 
 
 Why fhould that fpright which fored fo hie 
 Above the ken of emulous eye, 
 Eer Doridon be finiflid die. 
 
 And fhun our playnes. 
 
 N. D. Ex. Coll. 
 
 On the Author of Brittanias Matchleffe {though unfinijht) 
 
 Paftorals. 
 
 LOOKE how the dying fwan on Tagus fhore. 
 Singing a lullaby to her laft fleepe, 
 Tyes to her golden tongue the leaping ore. 
 
 And bindes th' afhamed water nymphs to keepe 
 Eternall filence, whilft the dumbe waves ftay, 
 And dare not with their murmuring pebles play. 
 Or through the whittling rufhes take their wonted way. 
 
 Looke how the gentle breath of foutherne gales. 
 
 Buzzing their tunes amongft the querulous reedes. 
 Or whifpering muficke to the founding vales. 
 In all the aery nation envy breedes. 
 
 And into fleepe the lazy groomes doth rocke, 
 Or calls th' amazed flieapheard from his flocke. 
 And prompts the ftrayning eccho of the neighbouring 
 rocke. 
 
Commendatory Verfes. 29 
 
 3- 
 
 So fate our noble Willy, happy fwayne. 
 
 With peerelefle fongs incroaching forrow drowning, 
 And Tavyes curled locks (who danc't amaine 
 Unto his pipe) with bayes immortall crowning, 
 The whilft the woods their leafy heads inclined. 
 In liftening wife, and mixt their envious winde 
 With thofe more heavenly aires which in his voyce they 
 finde. 
 
 4 
 Once when the jolly lad began a lay. 
 
 Of his Marina's fate, the wondring route 
 Of neighbouring fwaynes, leaving their wonted play. 
 Ran to incircle their new Pan about. 
 
 Where growne forgetful of theire former care. 
 Although they fed on nought but his fweet ayre, 
 Vowd that the quinteflence of nedar was their fare. 
 
 5- 
 And as their captive foules were chained unto 
 
 The charming pipe ; when they it leafl; fufpefted. 
 The fmiles and winkes which forth did fteale, would fhow 
 How much that loved found they all refpefted. 
 And all amafed in a deep extafy 
 Would fweare he was fome chorifter of the fky. 
 Or (though their eyes fayd no) Phosbus owne deity. 
 
 6. 
 Each peerelefle nymph that baths her dewy curls 
 
 In too too happy Tavyes chryftall waves, 
 Into the finging ecchoing champion hurles, 
 
 And there our Willyes head with flowers embraves, 
 Robs her own bankes, and decks a coronet 
 With blufliing rofes and the violet. 
 Which on the head of her admired fwayne is fet. 
 
30 Commendatory Verfes. 
 
 7- 
 
 The merry emulous fongfters of the wood 
 
 In filence liftened to his better fong, 
 And the foft murmurs of the bubbling flood 
 (Which feemed to laugh as he did ride along) 
 Prefumed to beare the burthen of his lay. 
 The whilft the jocund fatyres all would fay 
 They were not half fo bleft even on Pan's holyday. 
 
 But midft thefe thankful {houts and fignes of joy, 
 
 Whilft all exped to fee a happy clofe, 
 Upon the fudden ftarts the peevifh boy. 
 And runs away in hafte as from his foes : 
 
 Nor can our fpeaking fighs, and begging teares. 
 
 Nor all our prayers and plaints he daily heares. 
 
 Or melt his ftubborn heart, or banifh his vain feares., 
 
 9- 
 
 So, when as Philomel her haplefle fate 
 
 Unto the tell-tale eccho doth bemoane. 
 The whilft fome envious bough prefents in hate 
 A dagger to her breaft, and there is none 
 
 That praifes not her muficks heavenly grace. 
 The bafhful bird with leaves doth vaile her face, 
 Or to her ftirowd and tombe fome thicket, flyes apace. 
 
 lO. 
 
 And now he hauntes the woodes and filent groves, 
 
 (Poore lad) and teaches filence to the windes, 
 H' as now forgot our fports and harmlefle loves, 
 Ah can fuch deeds agree with heavenly mindes ; 
 Great flakes of mofs, bred in fome filent cave. 
 Stop his pipes mouth, and now his fpirit leave. 
 Now a dead foule entombed within a living grave. 
 
Commendatory Ferfes, 31 
 
 II. 
 But Willy boy, let not eternall fleepe 
 
 Captive thy fprightly mufe ; fo fhall we all 
 Rejoice at her new life, and henceforth keepe 
 Unto thy name a yearly feftivall ; 
 
 May fhee but impe her wings with thy bleft pen. 
 And take her wonted flight, heaven fays Amen, 
 The muficke of the fpheares fhall nere be heard agen. 
 
 12. 
 
 So may a fun fliine day fmile on our fports. 
 
 So may the pretty lambs live free from harme. 
 So may the tender lafle that here reforts, 
 
 Nere feele the clownifh winds cold boifterous arm. 
 As we do love thee Willy, as we all 
 Do wiftly for thy peerelefs mufick call, 
 And as we plat for thee a matchlefle coronall. 
 
 Perigot.J 
 
BRITANNIA'S 
 
 Pastorals. 
 
 The First Song. 
 
 Argv 
 
 Marina's Loue ycleep'd the f aire, 
 Celand's dijdaine, and her deffaire. 
 Are the fir ft wings my Mufe puts on 
 To reach the facred Helicon, 
 
 That whileare neere Tauies* ftragling fpring, , ^^^^^ ^^ ^ 
 Vnto my feely Sheepe did vfe to fing, riuer,hauing 
 
 And plaid to pleafe my felfe, on rufticke ^^,;^^:^/" 
 Reed, 
 
 lore in 
 DeuoTij fome 
 
 Nor fought for Bayy (the learned Shep- flor^Mlrie 
 heards meed,) Tauh, and 
 
 But as a Swaine vnkent fed on the plaines, ward into 
 
 And made the Eccho vmpire of my ftraines : rawar:out 
 
 * ■' or the lame 
 
 Moore rifeth, running Northward, another called Tau : which by the way the rather I fpeake of, 
 becaufe in the printed Malmejburie de gefi. Pontific, lib. z, fol. 146. you reade. Eft in Domnonia 
 canobium Monachorum tuxta Tau JJuuiuniy quod Tauiftock 'vacatur : whereas vpon Tau ftands (neere 
 the North-fide of the Shire) Tauftoke, being no remnants of a Monafterie : fo thct you muft there 
 reade, Juxta "Taut Fluulum, as in a manufcript Copie of Malmejbury (the forme of the hand afTuring 
 Malmejburiei time) belonging to the Abbey of 5. Augujimein Canterburie I haue feene, in the hands 
 of my very learned Friend Mr. Selden. 
 
 F 
 
34 Britannia s Pajlorah. Booke r, 
 
 Am drawne by time (although the weak'ft of many) 
 
 To fing thofe Laies as yet vnfung of any. 
 
 What need I tune the Swaines of "Theffaly ? 
 
 Or, bootlefle, adde to them of Arcadie ? 
 
 No : faire Arcadia cannot be compleater. 
 
 My praife may leffen, but not make thee greater. 
 
 My Muje for lofty pitches Ihall not rome, 
 
 But homely pipen of her natiue home : 
 
 And to the Swaines, Loue rurall Minftralfie, 
 
 Thus deare Britannia will I fing of thee. 
 
 High on the plaines of that renowned He, 
 Which all men Beauties Garden-plot enftile ; 
 A Shepherd dwelt, whom Fortune had made rich 
 With all the gifts that filly men bewitch. 
 Neere him a Shepherdefle for beauties ftore 
 Vnparalell'd of any Age before. 
 Within thofe Brefts her face a flame did moue. 
 Which neuer knew before what twas to loue, 
 Dazeling each Shepherds fight that viewd her eies. 
 And as the Perfians did Idolatrife 
 Vnto the Sunne : they thought that Cinthid's light 
 Might well be fpar'd, where flie appear'd in night. 
 And as when many to the goale doe runne. 
 The prize is giuen neuer but to one ; 
 So firft, and onely Celandine was led. 
 Of Deftinies and Heauen much fauoured. 
 To gaine this Beauty, which I here doe offer 
 To memory : his paines (who would not proffer 
 Paines for fuch pleafures ?) were not great nor much. 
 But that his labours recompence was fuch 
 As counteruailed all : for fhe whofe paflion, 
 (And paffion oft is loue) whofe inclination 
 Bent all her courfe to him-wards, let him know 
 He was the Elme whereby her Vine did grow : 
 Yea, told him, when his tongue began this tafke. 
 She knew not to deny when he would afke. 
 
Song t. Britannia s Pajiorals. 35 
 
 Finding his fuit as quickly got as mou'd. 
 
 Celandine, in his thoughts not well approu'd 
 
 What none could difallow, his loue grew fained. 
 
 And what he once affedted now difdained. 
 
 But faire Marina (for fo was fhe call'd) 
 
 Hauing in Celandine her loue inftall'd, 
 
 AfFefted fo this faithleffe Shepherds Boy, 
 
 That flie was rapt beyond degree of ioy. 
 
 Briefly, fliee could not Hue one houre without him. 
 
 And thought no ioy like theirs that Jiu'd about him. 
 
 This variable Shepherd for a while 
 Did Natures lewell by his craft beguile : 
 And fl:ill the perfedler her loue did grow. 
 His did appeare more counterfeit in fliow. 
 Which fhe perceiuing that his flame did flake. 
 And lou'd her onely for his Trophies fake : 
 " For hee that's ftuff^ed with a faithlefle rumour, 
 " Loues only for his lufl: and for his humour : 
 And that he often in his merry fit 
 Would fay, his good came, ere he hop'd for it : 
 His thoughts for other fubiefts being prefl:, 
 Efl:eeming that as nought which he pofleft : 
 " For what is gotten but with little paine, 
 " As little griefe we take to lofe againe : 
 Well-minded Marine grieuing, thought it fl:range 
 That her ingratefull Swaine did feeke for change. 
 Still by degrees her cares grew to the full, 
 loyes to the wane, heart-rending griefe did pull 
 Her from her felfe, and flie abandon'd all 
 To cries and teares, fruits of a funerall : 
 Running, the mountaines, fields, by watry fprings. 
 Filling each caue with wofull ecchoings ; 
 Making in thoufand places her complaint. 
 And vttering to the trees what her teares meant. 
 " For griefes conceal'd (proceeding from defire) 
 " Confume the more, as doth a clofe pent fire. 
 
36 Britannia s Pajiorals. Booke 
 
 Whilft that the dales fole Eye doth guild the Seas, 
 
 In his daies iourney to th' Antipodes : 
 
 And all the time the letty-Chariotere 
 
 Hurles her blacke mantle through our Hemifphere, 
 
 Vnder the couert of a fprouting Pine 
 
 She fits and grieues for faithlefle Celandine. 
 
 Beginning thus : Alas ! and muft it be 
 
 That Lone which thus torments and troubles me 
 
 In fetling it, fo fmall aduice hath lent 
 
 To make me captiue, where enfranchifement 
 
 Cannot be gotten ? nor where, like a flaue. 
 
 The office due to faithfull Prifoners, haue ? 
 
 Oh cruell Celandine, why ihouldft thou hate 
 
 Her, who to loue thee, was ordain'd by Fate ! 
 
 Should I not follow thee, and facrifice 
 
 My wretched life to thy betraying eies ? 
 
 Aye me ! of all my moft vnhappy lot ; 
 
 What others would, thou maift, and yet wilt not. 
 
 Haue I reie6ted thofe that me ador'd. 
 
 To be of him, whom I adore, abhor'd ? 
 
 And pafs'd by others teares, to make elecftion 
 
 Of one, that fhould fo pafle-by my affection ? 
 
 I haue : and fee the heau'nly powers intend, 
 
 " To punifh finners in what they offend. 
 
 May be he takes delight to fee in me 
 
 The burning rage of hellifli lealoufie ; 
 
 Tries if in fury any loue appeares ; 
 
 And bathes his ioy within my floud of teares. 
 
 But if he louM to foile my fpotlefl"e foule. 
 
 And me amongft deceiued Maids enroule. 
 
 To publilh to the world my open fhame : 
 
 Then, heart, take freedome ; hence, accurfed flame ; ' 
 
 And, as Queene regent, in my heart fhall moue 
 
 " Dijdaine, that only ouer-ruleth Loue : 
 
 By this infranchiz'd fure my thoughts fliall be. 
 
 And in the fame fort loue, as thou lou'ft me. 
 
Song i. Britannia's Pajiorals. 37 
 
 But what ? or can I cancell or vnbinde 
 
 That which my heart hath feal'd & loue hath fign'd ? 
 
 No, no, griefe doth deceiue me more each houre ; 
 
 " For, who fo truly loues, hath not that power. 
 
 I wrong to fay fo, fince of all 'tis knowne, 
 
 " Who yeelds to loue doth leaue to be her owne. 
 
 But what auailes my liuing thus apart ? 
 
 Can I forget him ? or out of my heart 
 
 Can teares expulfe his Image ? furely no. 
 
 " We well may flie the place, but not the woe : 
 
 " Loues fire is of a nature which by turnes 
 
 " Confumes in prefence, and in abfence burnes. 
 
 And knowing this : aye me ! vnhappy wight ! 
 
 What meanes is left to helpe me in this plight ? 
 
 And from that peeuifh fhooting, hood-winckt elfe. 
 
 To repoflefle my Loue, my heart, my felfe ? 
 
 Onely this helpe I finde, which I eledl : 
 
 Since what my life nor can nor will effedl, 
 
 My ruine fhall : and by it, I fhall finde, 
 
 " Death cures (when all helps faile) the grieued mind. 
 
 And welcome here, (then Loue, a better gueft) 
 
 That of all labours are the onely reft : 
 
 Whilft thus I Hue, all things difcomfort giue. 
 
 The life is fure a death wherein I Hue : 
 
 Saue life and death doe differ in this one. 
 
 That life hath euer cares, and death hath none. 
 
 But if that he (difdainfull Swaine) fhould know 
 
 That for his loue I wrought my ouerthrow ; 
 
 Will he not glory in't ? and from my death 
 
 Draw more delights, & giue new ioyes their breath ? 
 
 Admit he doe, yet better 'tis that I 
 
 Render my felfe to Death then Mil'ery. 
 
 I cannot Hue, thus barred from his fight. 
 
 Nor yet endure, in prefence, any wight 
 
 Should loue him but my felfe. O reafons eye. 
 
 How art thou blinded with vilde lealoufie ! 
 
38 Britannia s Pajtorah. Booke i. 
 
 And is it thus ? Then which (hall haue my blood. 
 
 Or certaine ruine, or vncertaine good ? 
 
 Why do I doubt ? Are we not ftill aduiz'd 
 
 " That certaintie in all things beft is priz'd ? 
 
 Then, if a certaine end can helpe my mone, 
 
 " Know 'Death hath certaintie, but Life hath none. 
 
 Here is a Mount, whofe top feemes to defpife 
 The farre inferiour Vale that vnder lies : 
 Who like a great man raifd aloft by Fate, 
 Meafures his height by others meane eftate : 
 Neere to whofe foot there glides a filuer-flood, 
 Falling from hence, He climb vnto my good : 
 And by it finifh Loue and Reafons ftrife. 
 And end my mifery as well as life. 
 But as a Cowards hartener in warre, 
 The ftirring Drum, keepes lefler noyfe from farre : 
 So feeme the murmuring waues, tell in mine eare, 
 That guiltlefle bloud was neuer fpilled there. 
 Then ftay a while ; the Beafts that haunt thofe fprings, 
 Of whom I heare the fearefull bellowings. 
 May doe that deed, (as moued by my cry) 
 Whereby my foule, as fpotlefle luory. 
 May turn from whence it came, and, freed from hence, 
 Be vnpolluted of that foule offence. 
 But why protraft I time ? Death is no ftranger : 
 " And generous fpirits neuer feare for danger : 
 " Death is a thing moft naturall to vs, 
 " And Feare doth onely make it odious. 
 As when to feeke her food abroad doth roue 
 The Nuncius of peace, the feely Doue, 
 Two fharpe-fet hawkes doe her on each fide hem. 
 And Ihe knowes not which way to flie from them : 
 Or like a fhip that tofled to and fro 
 With wind and tide ; the wind doth fternly blow, 
 And driues her to the Maine, the tide comes fore 
 And hurles her backe again towards the fhore. 
 
Song i. Britannia s Pajlorah. 39 
 
 And fince her balaft, and her failes doe lacke, 
 One brings her out, the other beats her backe : 
 Till one of .them increafing more his fhockes, 
 Hurles her to Ihore, and rends her on the Rockes : 
 So ftood Ihe long, twixt Loue and Reafon toft, 
 Vntill Defpaire (who where it comes rules moft) 
 Wonne her to throw her felfe, to meet with Death, 
 From off the Rocke into the floud beneath. 
 The waues that were aboue when as fhe fell. 
 For feare flew backe againe into their Well ; 
 Doubting enfuing times on them would frowne. 
 That they fo rare a beauty helpt to drowne. 
 Her fall, in griefe, did make the ftreame fo rore. 
 That fuUen murmurings fiU'd all the fhore. 
 
 A Shepheard (neere this floud that fed his flieepe. 
 Who at this chance left grazing and did weepe) 
 Hauing fo fad an obied: for his eyes. 
 Left Pipe and Flocke, and in the water flyes. 
 To faue a lewell, which was neuer fent 
 To be pofl'eft by one fole Element : 
 But fuch a worke Nature difpofde and gaue. 
 Where all the Elements concordance haue. 
 He tooke her in his armes, for pittie cride. 
 And brought her to the Riuers further fide : 
 Yea, and he fought by all his Art and paine. 
 To bring her likewife to her felfe againe : 
 While flie that by her fall was fenfelefl"e left, 
 And almoft in the waues had life bereft, 
 Lay long, as if her fweet immortall fpirit 
 Was fled fome other Palace to inherit. 
 
 But as cleere Phisbus, when fome foggy cloud 
 His brightnefle from the world a while doth ftirowd. 
 Doth by degrees begin to ftiew his light 
 Vnto the view : Or, as the Queene of night. 
 In her increafing homes, doth rounder grow. 
 Till full and perfed ftie appeare in fliow : 
 
40 Britannia's Pajiorals. Booke i, 
 
 Such order in this Maid the Shepheard fpies, 
 
 When fhe began to fhew the world her eyes. 
 
 Who (thinking now that fhe had paft Deaths dreame, 
 
 Occafion'd by her fall into the ftreame. 
 
 And that Hells Ferriman did then deiiuer 
 
 Her to the other fide th'infernall Riuer) 
 
 Said to the Swaine : O Charon, I am bound 
 
 More to thy kindnefle, then all elfe, that round 
 
 Come thronging to thy Boat : thou haft paft ouer 
 
 The wofulft Maid that ere thefe fhades did couer : 
 
 But prithee Ferriman diredt my Spright 
 
 Where that blacke Riuer runs that Lethe hight, 
 
 That I of it (as other Ghofts) may drinke, 
 
 And neuer of the world, or Loue, more thinke, 
 
 The Swaine perceiuing by her words ill forted, 
 
 That fhe was wholly from her felfe tranfported : 
 
 And fearing left thofe often idle fits 
 
 Might cleane expell her vncollefted wits : 
 
 Faire Nymph, (faid he) the powers aboue deny 
 
 So faire a Beauty fhould fo quickly die. 
 
 The Heauens vnto the World haue made a loane. 
 
 And muft for you haue intereft. Three for One : 
 
 Call backe your thoughts ore-caft with dolours night ; 
 
 Do you not fee the day, the heauens, the light ? 
 
 Doe you not know in Plutoes darkfome place 
 
 The light of heauen did neuer fhew his face ? 
 
 Do not your pulfes beat, y'are warme, haue breath. 
 
 Your fenfe is rapt with feare, but not with death } 
 
 I am not Charon, nor of Plutoes hoft ; 
 
 Nor is there flefh and bloud found in a Ghoft : 
 
 But as you fee, a feely Shepheards fwaine. 
 
 Who though my meere reuenues be the traine 
 
 Of milk-white fheepe, yet am I ioyd as much. 
 
 In fauing you, (O, who would not faue fuch ?) 
 
 As euer was the wandring youth of Greece, 
 
 That brought, from Colchos, home, the golden Fleece. 
 
Song i. Britannia s Pajlorals. 41 
 
 The neuer-too-much-praifed faire Marine, 
 Hearing thofe words, beleeu'd her eares and eyne :^ 
 And knew how (he efcaped had the flood 
 By meanes of this young Swaine that neere her ftood. 
 Whereat for griefe fhe gan againe to faint, 
 Redoubling thus her cryes and fad complaint : 
 Alas ! and is that likewife barr'd from me. 
 Which for all perfons elfe lies euer free ? 
 Will life, nor death, nor ought abridge my paine ? 
 But Hue ftill dying, dye to Hue againe ? 
 Then moft vnhappy I ! which finde moft fure, 
 The wound of Loue negleSted is paft cure. 
 Moft cruell God of Loue (if fuch there be). 
 That ftill to my defires art contrarie ! 
 Why fliould I not in reafon this obtaine, 
 That as I loue, I may be lou'd againe ? 
 Alas ! with thee too, Nature playes her parts. 
 That fram'd fo great a difcord tweene two harts : 
 One flyes, and alwayes doth in hate perfeuer ; 
 The other foUowes, and in loue growes euer. 
 Why doft thou not extinguifh cleane this flame. 
 And plac't on him that beft deferues the fame ? 
 Why had not I afFedted fome kinde youth, 
 Whofe euery word had beene the word of Truth ? 
 Who might haue had to loue, and lou'd to haue, 
 So true a Heart as I to Celand gaue. 
 For Pfyches loue ! if beautie gaue thee birth. 
 Or if thou haft attradtiue power on earth. 
 Dame Venus fweeteft Childe, requite this loue. 
 Or Fate yeeld meanes my foule may hence remoue ! 
 Once feeing in a fpring her drowned eyes, 
 O cruell beautie, caufe of this, (ftie cryes,) 
 Mother of Loue, (my ioyes moft fatall knife) 
 That workft her death, by whom thy felfe haft life 1 
 
 The youthful 1 Swaine that heard this louing Saint 
 So oftentimes to poure forth fuch complaint. 
 
42 Britannia s Pajiorals. Booke i 
 
 Within his heart fuch true afFedlion prais'd, 
 And did perceiue kinde loue and pittie rais'd 
 His minde to fighs ; yea, beautie forced this. 
 That all her griefe he thought was iikewife his. 
 And hauing brought her what his lodge afFords, 
 Sometime he wept with her, fometime with words 
 Would feeke to comfort ; when alas poore elfe 
 He needed then a comforter himfelfe. 
 Daily whole troopes of griefe vnto him came. 
 For her who languifti'd of another flame. 
 If that fhe figh'd, he thought him lou'd of her. 
 When 'twas another faile her wind did ftirre : 
 But had her fighs and teares beene for this Boy, 
 Her forrow had beene lefle, and more her ioy. 
 Long time in griefe he hid his loue-made paines. 
 And did attend her walkes in woods and plaines : 
 Bearing a fuell, which her Sun-like eies 
 Enflam'd, and made his heart the facrifice. 
 Yet he, fad Swaine, to (hew it did not dare ; 
 And fhe, left he fliould loue, nie dy'd for feare. 
 She, euer-wailing, blam'd the powers aboue. 
 That night nor day giue any reft to Loue. 
 He prais'd the Heauens in filence, oft was mute. 
 And thought with teares and fighs to winne his fute. 
 
 Once in the fhade, when fhe by fleepe repos'd, 
 And her cleere eies twixt her faire lids enclos'd ; 
 The Shepheard Swaine began to hate and curfe 
 That day vnfortunate, which was the nurfe 
 Of all his forrowes. He had giuen breath 
 And life to her which was his caufe of death. 
 O Mfops Snake, that thirfteft for his bloud. 
 From whom thy felfe receiu'dft a certaine good. 
 Thus oftentimes vnto himfelfe alone 
 Would he recount his griefe, vtter his mone ; 
 And after much debating, did refolue 
 Rather his Grandame earth fhould cleane inuolue 
 
Song i. Britannia's Pajiorals. 43 
 
 His pining bodie, ere he would make knowne 
 To her, what Tares Loue in his breaft had fowne. 
 Yea, he would fay when griefe for fpeech hath cride ; 
 " Tis better neuer aflce than be denide. 
 
 But as the Queene of Riuers, fairefl: Thames, 
 That for her buildings other flouds enflames 
 With greateft enuie : Or the Nymph of Kent, 
 That ftatelieft Ships to Sea hath euer fent ; 
 Some bafer groome, for lucres hellifh courfe. 
 Her channell hauing ftopt, kept backe her fourfe, 
 (Fill'd with difdaine) doth fwell aboue her mounds, 
 And ouerfloweth all the neighboring grounds. 
 Angry ftie teares vp all that flops her way. 
 And with more violence runnes to the Sea : 
 So the kinde Shepheards gi;iefe (which long vppent 
 Grew more in power, and longer in extent) 
 Forth of his heart more violently thruft. 
 And all his vow'd intentions quickly burft. 
 Marina hearing fighs, to him drew neere. 
 And did intreat his caufe of griefe to heare : 
 But had {he knowne her beautie was the fting 
 That caufed all that inftant forrowing ; 
 Silence in bands her tongue had ftronger kept. 
 And fti'ad not aflc'd for what the Shepheard wept. 
 
 The Swaine firft, of all times, this beft did thinke. 
 To fhew his loue, whilft on the Riuers brinke 
 They fate alone, then thought, hee next would moue her 
 With fighs and teares, (true tokens of a Louer :) 
 And fince {he knew what helpe from him {he found 
 When in the Riuer {he had elfe beene drown'd. 
 He thinketh fure fhe cannot but grant this, 
 To giue reliefe to him, by whom {he is : 
 By this incited, faid ; Whom I adore. 
 Sole Mi{lre{re of my heart, I thee implore. 
 Doe not in bondage hold my freedome long. 
 And fince I life or death hold from your tongue. 
 
44 Britannia s Pajiorals. Booke i . 
 
 Suffer my heart to loue ; yea, dare to hope 
 
 To get that good of loues intended fcope. 
 
 Grant I may praife that light in you I fee, 
 
 And dying to my felfe, may liue in thee. 
 
 Faire Nymph, furceafe this death-alluring languifh. 
 
 So rare a beautie was not borne for anguifh. 
 
 Why fhouldft thou care for him that cares not for thee ? 
 
 Yea, moft vnworthy wight, feemes to abhorre thee. 
 
 And if he be as you doe here paint forth him, 
 
 He thinkes you, beft of beauties, are not worth him ; 
 
 That all the ioies of Loue will not quite cofl: 
 
 For all lou'd-freedome which by it is loft. 
 
 Within his heart fuch felfe-opinion dwels. 
 
 That his conceit in this he thinkes excels ; 
 
 Accounting womens beauties fugred baits. 
 
 That neuer catch, but fooles, with their deceits : ' 
 
 " Who of himfelfe harbours fo vaine a thought, 
 
 " Truly to loue could neuer yet be brought. 
 
 / Then loue that heart where lies no faithleffe feed. 
 That neuer wore diffimulations weed : 
 Who doth account all beauties of the Spring, 
 That iocund Summer-daies are vftiering. 
 As foiles to yours. But if this cannot moue 
 Your minde to pittie, nor your heart to loue ; 
 Yet fweeteft grant me loue to quench that flame. 
 Which burnes you now. Expell his worthlefle name, 
 Cleane root him out by me, and in his place 
 Let him inhabit, that will runne a race 
 More true in loue. It may be for your reft. 
 And when he fees her, who did loue him beft, 
 Poffeffed by another, he wilLrate 
 The much of good he loft, when 'tis too late : 
 
 \ " For what is in our powers, we little deeme, 
 " And things poffeft by others, beft efteeme. 
 If all this gaine you not a Shepherds wife. 
 Yet giue not death to him which gaue you life. 
 
Song i. Britannia s Pajlorah. 45 
 
 Marine the faire, hearing his wooing tale, 
 Perceiued well what wall his thoughts did fcale. 
 And anfwer'd thus : I pray fir Swaine, what boot 
 Is it to me to plucke vp by the root 
 My former loue, and in his place to fow 
 As ill a feed, for any thing I know ? 
 Rather gainft thee I mortall hate retaine, 
 That feek'fl: to plant in me new cares, new paine : 
 Alas ! th'haft kept my foule from deaths fweet bands, 
 To giue me ouer to a Tyrants hands ; 
 Who on his racks will torture by his power, 
 This weakned, harmelefle body, euery howre. 
 Be you the ludge, and fee if reafons lawes 
 Giue recompence of fauour for this caufe : 
 You from the ftreames of death, brought life on fhore ; 
 Releas'd one paine, to giue me ten times more. 
 For loues fake, let my thoughts in this be free ; 
 Obiedl no more your hapleffe fauing mee : 
 That Obligation which you thinke fhould binde ; 
 Doth ftill increafe more hatred in my minde ; 
 Yea, I doe thinke more thankes to him were due 
 That would bereaue my life, than vnto you. 
 
 The Thunder-ftroken Swaine lean'd to a tree, 
 As void of fenfe as weeping Niobe : 
 Making his teares the inftruments to wooe her. 
 The Sea wherein his loue fhould fwimme vnto her : 
 And, could there flow from his two-headed font. 
 As great a floud as is the Hellejpont ; 
 Within that deepe he would as willing wander. 
 To meet his Hero, as did ere Leander. 
 Meane while the Nymph with-drew her felfe afide. 
 And to a Groue at hand her fleps applide. 
 
 With that fad figh (O ! had he neuer feene. 
 His heart in better cafe had euer beene) 
 Againfl; his heart, againft the ftreame he went. 
 With this refolue, and with a full intent. 
 
46 
 
 Britannia s Pajlorals. Booke 
 
 Dees fane^ 
 L NymphiSj 
 plerumque 
 Jont'ibus fif 
 jiuuijs pra~ 
 Junt apud 
 poetas, qua, 
 Ephydriade^, 
 £f Naiades 
 diBte t 've- 
 rum & nobis 
 tamen deum 
 prafcere(Jic 
 Alpheum Ty' 
 berinum, fef 
 Rhenum, ©* 
 id genus alios 
 dittos /egimus) 
 baud illici- 
 tum. 
 
 When of that ftreame he had difcouered 
 
 The fount, the well-fpring, or the bubling head, 
 
 He there would fit, and with the Well drop vie. 
 
 That it before his eies would firft runne drie : 
 
 But then he thought the * god that haunts that Lake, 
 
 The fpoihng of his Spring would not well take. 
 
 And therefore leauing foone the Cryftall flood, 
 
 Did take his way vnto the neerefl Wood : 
 
 Seating himfelfe within a darkfome Caue, 
 
 (Such places heauie Saturnifts doe craue,) 
 
 Where yet the gladfome day was neuer feene, 
 
 Nor Phcebus peircing beames had euer beene. 
 
 Fit for the Synode houfe of thofe fell Legions, 
 
 That walke the Mountaines, and Siluanus regions. 
 
 Where Tragedie might haue her full fcope giuen. 
 
 From men afpefts, and from the view of heauen. 
 
 Within the fame fome crannies did deliuer 
 
 Into the midfl: thereof a pretty Riuer ; 
 
 The Nymph whereof came by out of the veines 
 
 Of our firft mother, hauing late tane paines 
 
 In fcouring of her channell all the way. 
 
 From wher^ it firft began to leaue the Sea. 
 
 And in her labour thus farre now had gone. 
 
 When coming through the Caue, ftie heard that one 
 
 Spake thus : If I doe in my death perfeuer, 
 
 Pittie may that effeSi, which Loue could neuer. 
 
 By this ftie can coniedture 'twas fome Swaine, 
 
 Who ouerladen by a Maids difdaine. 
 
 Had here (as fitteft) chofen out a place. 
 
 Where he might giue a period to the race 
 
 Of his loath'd life : which ftie (for pitties fake) 
 
 Minding to hinder, diu'd into her Lake, 
 
 And haftned where the euer-teeming Earth 
 
 Vnto her Current giues a wiftied birth ; 
 
 And by her new-deliuered Riuers fide, 
 
 Vpon a Banke of flow'rs, had foone efpide 
 
Song i. Britannia s Pajiorals. 
 
 Remond, young Remond, that full well could fing. 
 
 And tune his Pipe at Pans-hvcth. carolling : 
 
 Who for his nimble leaping, fweeteft layes, 
 
 A Lawrell garland wore on Holy-dayes ; 
 
 In framing of whofe hand Dame Nature fwore 
 
 There neuer was his like, nor fhould be more : 
 
 Whofe locks (infnaring nets) were like the rayes. 
 
 Wherewith the Sunne doth diaper the Seas : 
 
 Which if they had been cut, and hung vpon 
 
 The fnow-white CliiFes of fertile Albion, 
 
 Would haue allured more, to be, their winner. 
 
 Then all the * Diamonds that are hidden in her. 
 
 Him fhe accofted thus : Swaine of the Wreathe, 
 
 Thou art not placed, onely here to breathe ; 
 
 But Nature in thy framing fhewes to mee. 
 
 Thou fhouldft to others, as fhe did to thee. 
 
 Doe good ; and furely I my felfe perfwade. 
 
 Thou neuer wert for eulll adllon made. 
 
 In heauens Confiftory 'twas decreed. 
 
 That choyceft fruit fhould come from choyceft feed ; 
 
 In bafer vefTels we doe euer put 
 
 Bafeft materials, doe neuer fhut 
 
 Thofe lewels moft In eftlmatlon fet. 
 
 But in fome curious coflly Cabinet. 
 
 If I may iudge by th'outward fhape alone. 
 
 Within, all vertues haue conuentlon : 
 
 " For't glues mofl luftre vnto Vertues feature, 
 
 " When fhe appeares cloth'd In a goodly creature. 
 
 Halfe way the hill, neere to thofe aged trees, 
 
 Whofe Infides are as Hiues for labrlng Bees, 
 
 (As who fhould fay (before their roots were dead) 
 
 For good workes fake and almes, they harboured 
 
 Thole whom nought elfe did couer but the Skies :) 
 
 A path (vntroden but of Beafls) there lies, 
 
 DIrecSting to a Caue In yonder glade. 
 
 Where all this Forrefts Citizens, for fhade 
 
 47 
 
 • lulium 
 Caefarem, 
 JpeMargari- 
 taru Britan- 
 niam petijji, 
 fcriiitSae- 
 ton. in lu!. 
 cap, 47. Sf 
 ex ijs Tiora- 
 cemfaClum 
 Veneri gene- 
 trici dkajje. 
 Plin. Hifi. 
 Nat. 9, ca. 
 35. DeMar- 
 gartiis verb 
 nojiris cott- 
 fulas Cam- 
 den, in Cor- 
 nub. & 
 Somerjet. 
 
48 Britannia s Pajiorals. Booke i. 
 
 At noone-time come, and are the firft, I thinke. 
 
 That (running through that Caue) my waters drinke : 
 
 Within this Rocke there fits a wofull wight. 
 
 As void of comfort as that Caue of light ; 
 
 And as I wot, occafioned by the frownes 
 
 Of fome coy Shepheardejfe that haunts thefe Downes. 
 
 This I doe know (whos'euer wrought his care) 
 
 He is a man nye treading to defpaire. 
 
 Then hie thee thither, fince 'tis charitie 
 
 To faue a man ; leaue here thy flocke with me : 
 
 For whilft thou fau'ft him from the Stygian Bay, 
 
 He keepe thy Lambkins from all beafts of prey. 
 
 The neernefle of the danger (in his thought) 
 
 As it doth euer, more companion wrought : 
 
 So that with reuerence to the Nymph, he went 
 
 With winged fpeed, and haft'ned to preuent 
 
 Th'vntimely feifiire of the greedy graue : 
 
 Breathlefle, at laft, he came into the Caue ; 
 
 Where, by a figh diredted to the man, 
 
 To comfort him he in this fort began : 
 
 Shepheard all haile, what meane thefe plaints ? this Caue 
 
 (Th'image of death, true portrait of the graue) 
 
 Why doft frequent? and waile thee vnder ground. 
 
 From whence there neuer yet was pitty found ? 
 
 Come forth, and fhew thy felfe vnto the light, 
 
 Thy griefe to me. If there be ought that might 
 
 Giue any eafe vnto thy troubled minde. 
 
 We ioy as much to giue, as thou to finde. 
 
 The Loue-ficke Swaine replide : Remond, thou art 
 
 The man alone to whom I would impart 
 
 My woes, more willing then to any Swaine, 
 
 That Hues and feeds his fheepe vpon the plaine. 
 
 But vaine it is, and 'twould increafe my woes 
 
 By their relation, or to thee or thofe 
 
 That cannot remedy. Let it fuffife. 
 
 No fond diftruft of thee makes me precife 
 
Song i. Britannia s Pajiorals. 49 
 
 To fliew my griefe. Leaue me then, and forgo 
 
 This Caue more fad, fince I haue made it fo. 
 
 Here teares broke forth, and Remand gan anew 
 
 With fuch intreaties, earneft to purfue 
 
 His former fuit, that he (though hardly) wan 
 
 The Shepherd to difclofe ; and thus began : 
 
 Know briefly Remand then, heauenly face. 
 
 Natures Idea, and perfeftions grace. 
 
 Within my breaft hath kindled fuch a fire. 
 
 That doth confume all things, except defire ; 
 
 Which daily doth increafe, though alwaies burning, 
 
 And I want teares, but lacke no caufe of mourning : 
 
 " For he whome Loue vnder his colours drawes, 
 
 " May often want th'effedb, but ne're the caufe. 
 
 Quoth th'other, haue thy flarres maligne been fuch. 
 
 That their predominations fway fo much 
 
 Ouer the refl, that with a milde afpedl 
 
 The Liues and loues of Shepherds doe afifedl ? 
 
 Then doe I thinke there is fome greater hand. 
 
 Which thy endeuours flill doth countermand : 
 
 Wherfore I wifh thee quench the flame, thus mou'd, 
 
 " And neuer loue except thou be belou'd : 
 
 " For fuch an humour euery woman feifeth, 
 
 " She loues not him that plaineth, but that pleafeth. 
 
 " Whe much thou loueft, mofl; difdain corns on thee ; 
 
 " And whe thou thinkft to hold her, flie flies fro thee : 
 
 " She follow'd, flies ; flie fled from followes poit, 
 
 " And loueth beft where flie is hated moft. 
 
 " 'Tis euer noted both in Maids and Wiues, 
 
 " Their hearts and tongues are neuer Relatiues. 
 
 " Hearts full of holes, (fo elder Shepherds faine) 
 
 " As apter to receiue then [to] retaine. 
 
 Whofe crafts and wiles did I intend to fliow. 
 
 This day would not permit me time I know : 
 
 The dayes fwift horfes would their courfe haue run. 
 
 And diu'd themfelues within the Ocean, 
 
 H 
 
50 Britannia s Pajiorah. Booke i 
 
 Ere I ftiould haue performed halfe my tafke, 
 Striuing their craftie fubtilties t'vnmafke. 
 And gentle Swaine fome counfell take of me ; 
 Loue not ftill where thou maift ; loue, who loues thee ; 
 Draw to the courteous, flie thy loues abhorror, 
 " And if fhe be not for thee, be not for her. 
 If that fhe ftill be wauering, will away, 
 Why Ihouldft thou ftriue to hold that will not ftay ? 
 This Maxime, Reafon neuer can confute, 
 " Better to Hue by lofle then die by fute. 
 If to fome other Loue fhe is inclinde, 
 Time will at length cleane root that from her minde. 
 Time will extinft Loues flames, his hell-like flafhes, 
 And like a burning brand confum'd to afhes. 
 Yet maift thou ftill attend, but not importune : 
 " Who feekes oft mifTeth, fleepers light on fortune. 
 Yea and on women too. " Thus doltifh fots 
 " Haue Fate and faireft women for their lots. 
 " FauGur and pittie wait on Patience : 
 And hatred oft attendeth violence. 
 If thou wilt get defire, whence Loue hath pawn'd it, 
 Beleeue me, take thy time, but ne'r demand it. 
 Women, as well as men, retaine defire ; 
 But can diffemble, more then men, their fire. 
 Be neuer caught with looks, nor felfe- wrought rumor ; 
 Nor by a quaint difguife, nor finging humor. 
 Thofe out-fide fhewes are toies, which outwards fnare : 
 But vertue lodg'd within, is onely faire. 
 If thou haft feene the beautie of our Nation, 
 And find'ft her haue no loue, haue thou no pafTion : 
 But feeke thou further ; other places fure 
 May yeeld a face as faire, a Loue more pure : 
 Leaue (6 then leaue) fond Swaine this idle courfe. 
 For Loue's a God no mortall wight can force. 
 Thus Remond faid, and faw the faire Marine 
 Plac'd neere a Spring, whofe waters Cryftalline 
 
Song i. Britannia's Pajiorals. 51 
 
 Did in their murmurings beare a part, and plained 
 That one fo true, fo faire, (hould be difdained : 
 Whilft in her cries, that fild the vale along, 
 Still Celand was the burthen of her fong. 
 The ftranger Shepherd left the other Swaine, 
 To giue attendance to his fleecy traine ; 
 Who in departing from him, let him know. 
 That yonder was his freedomes ouerthrow, 
 Who fate bewailing (as he late had done) 
 That loue by true affedlion was not wonne. 
 This fully knowne : Remond came to the Maid 
 And after fome few words (her teares allaid) 
 Began to blame her rigour, call'd her cruell. 
 To follow hate, and flie loues chiefeft lewell, 
 
 Faire, doe not blame him that he thus is moued ; 
 For women fure were made to be beloued. 
 If beautie wanting louers long fhould fl:ay. 
 It like an houfe vndwelt in would decay : 
 When in the heart if it haue taken place 
 Time cannot blot, nor crooked age deface. 
 The Adamant and Beauty we difcouer 
 To be alike ; for Beauty drawes a Louer, 
 The Adamant his Iron. Doe not blame 
 His louing then, but that which caus'd the fame. 
 Who fo is lou'd, doth glory fo to be : 
 The more your Louers, more your vidlorie. 
 Know, if you ftand on faith, moft womens lothing, 
 Tis but a word, a charadter of nothing. 
 Admit it fomewhat, if what we call conftance. 
 Within a heart hath long time refidence. 
 And in a woman, ftie becomes alone 
 Faire to her felfe, but foule to euery one. 
 If in a man it once haue taken place. 
 He is a foole, or dotes, or wants a face 
 To win a woman, and I thinke it be 
 No vertue, but a meere neceffitie. 
 
52 Britannia s Pajlorals. Booke i, 
 
 Heauens powers deny it Swain (quoth fhe) haue done, 
 
 Striue not to bring that in derifion. 
 
 Which whofoe'er detrads in fetting forth. 
 
 Doth truly derogate from his owne worth. 
 
 It is a thing which heauen to all hath lent 
 
 To be their vertues chiefeft ornament : 
 
 Which who fo wants, is well compar'd to thefe 
 
 Falfe tables, wrought by Alcibiades; 
 
 Which noted well of all, were found t'haue bin 
 
 Moft faire without, but moft deform'd within. 
 
 Then Shepherd know, that I intend to be 
 
 As true to one, as he is falfe to me. 
 
 To one ? (quoth he) why fo ? Maids pleafure take 
 To fee a thoufand languifh for their fake : 
 Women defire for Louers of each fort. 
 And why not you ? Th' amorous Swaine for fport ; 
 The Lad that driues the greatefl: flocke to field. 
 Will Bufkins, Gloues, and other fancies yeeld ; 
 The gallant Swaine will faue you from the iawes 
 Of rauenous Beares, and from the Lions pawes. 
 Beleeue what I propound ; doe many chufe, 
 " The leaft Herbe in the field ferues for fome vfe. 
 
 Nothing perfwaded, nor aflwag'd by this. 
 Was faireft Marine, or her heauinefl'e : 
 But prai'd the Shepherd as he ere did hope 
 His filly flieepe fhould fearlefle haue the fcope 
 Of all the fhadowes that the trees doe lend. 
 From Raynards ftealth, when 'Titan doth afcend. 
 And runne his mid-way courfe : to leaue her there, 
 And to his bleating charge againe repaire. 
 He condefcended ; left her by the brooke. 
 And to the Swaine and 's fheepe himfelfe betooke. 
 
 He gone : fhe with her felfe thus gan to faine ; 
 Alas poore Marine, think'ft thou to attaine 
 His loue by fitting here ? or can the fire 
 Be quencht with wood ? can we allay defire 
 
Song r. Britannia s Pajiorals. 53 
 
 By wanting what's defired ? O that breath. 
 The caufe of life, fhould be the caufe of death ! 
 That who is fliipwrackt on loues hidden fhelfe. 
 Doth Hue to others, dies vnto her felfe. 
 Why might not I attempt by Death as yet 
 To gaine that freedome, which I could not get. 
 Being hind'red heretofore, a time as free : 
 A place as fit offers it felfe to me, 
 Whofe feed of ill is growne to fuch a height. 
 That makes the earth groane to fupport his weight. 
 Who fo is lull'd afleepe with Midas' treafures. 
 And onely feares by death to lofe lifes pleafures ; 
 Let them feare death : but fince my fault is fuch, 
 And onely fault, that I haue lou'd too much, 
 On ioyes of life, why fhould I fland ! for thofe 
 Which I neere had, I furely cannot lofe. 
 Admit a while I to thefe thoughts confented, 
 "Death can be but deferred, not preuented. 
 Then raging with delay, her teares that fell 
 Vfher'd her way, and fhe into a Well 
 Straight-waies leapt after : " O ! how defperation / 
 " Attends vpon the minde enthral'd to paffion ! / 
 
 The fall of her did make the God below, 
 Starting, to wonder whence that noife fhould grow : 
 Whether fome ruder Clowne in fpight did fling 
 A Lambe, vntimely falne, into his Spring : 
 And if it were, he folemnly then fwore 
 His Spring fhould flow fome other way : no more 
 Should it in wanton manner ere be feene 
 To writhe in knots, or giue a gowne of greene 
 Vnto their Meadowes, nor be feene to play. 
 Nor driue the Rufhy-mils, that In his way 
 The Shepherds made : but rather for their lot. 
 Send them red waters that their fheepe fhould rot. 
 And with fuch Moorifh Springs embrace their field. 
 That it fhould nought but MofTe and Rufhes yeeld. 
 
'^Hyphearad 
 Jaginanda 
 Pecora vti- 
 limus : nino 
 autemfatum 
 nulla modo 
 najc'itur, nee 
 nijiperaluum 
 [alvum] 
 auium reddi- 
 turn maxime 
 Palumbis & 
 Turdis.Vlin. 
 Hiji. Nat. 
 16. cap. 44. 
 Hinc illud 
 •vetus 'uer- 
 bum 'Tur- 
 dusjibl ma- 
 lum cacat^ 
 
 54 Britannia s Pajtorals. Booke i. 
 
 Vpon each hillocke, where the merry Boy- 
 Sits piping in the fhades his Notes of ioy, 
 Hee'd fhew his anger, by fome floud at hand. 
 And turne the fame into a running fand. 
 Vpon the Oake, the Plunibe-tree, and the Holme, 
 The Stock-doue and the Blackbird fhould not come, 
 Whofe muting on thofe trees doe make to grow 
 Rots curing * Hyphear, and the Mijfeltoe. 
 Nor fhall this helpe their fheep, whofe flomacks failes. 
 By tying knots of wool! neere to their tailes : 
 But as the place next to the knot doth die. 
 So ftiall it all the body mortlfie. 
 Thus fpake the God : but when as in the water 
 The corps came finking downe, he fpide the matter, 
 And catching foftly in his armes the Maid, 
 He brought her vp, and hauing gently laid 
 Her on his banke, did prefently command 
 Thofe waters in her to come forth : at hand 
 They ftraight came guihing out, and did conteft 
 Which chiefly fliould obey their Gods beheft. 
 This done, her then pale lips he flraight held ope, 
 And from his filuer haire let fall a drop 
 Into her mouth, of fuch an excellence. 
 That call'd backe life, which grieu'd to part from thence. 
 Being for troth afTur'd, that, then this one, 
 She^e'er pofleft a fairer manfion. 
 Then -did the God her body forwards fteepe. 
 And caft her for a while into a fleepe ; 
 Sitting ftill by her did his full view take 
 Of Natures Mafter-peece. Here for her fake. 
 My Pipe in filence as of right fhall mourne. 
 Till from the watring we againe returne. 
 
Song 2. Britannia s Pajlorals. 
 
 55 
 
 The Second Song. 
 
 Obliuions Spring, and Dory's loue. 
 With f aire Marina's rape,firft moue 
 Mine Oaten Pipe, which after fings 
 The birth of two renowned Springs. 
 
 Ow till the Sunne fhall leave vs to our reft. 
 And Cynthia haue her Brothers place pofleft, 
 I fhall goe on : and firft in difFring ftripe. 
 The floud-Gods fpeech thus tune on Oaten 
 Pipe. 
 
 Or mortall, or a power aboue, 
 
 Inrag'd by Fury, or by Loue, 
 
 Or both, I know not ; fuch a deed 
 
 Thou would'ft efFedled, that I bleed 
 
 To thinke thereon : alas poore elfe. 
 
 What growne a traitour to thy felfe ? 
 
 This face, this haire, this hand fo pure 
 
 Were not ordain'd for nothing fure. 
 
 Nor was it meant fo fweet a breath 
 
 Should be expos'd by fuch a death ; 
 
56 Britannia's Pafiorals. Booke i, 
 
 But rather in fome louers breft 
 
 Be giuen vp, the place that befl: 
 
 Befits a louer yeeld his foule. 
 
 Nor fhould thofe mortals ere controule 
 
 The Gods, that in their wifdome fage 
 
 Appointed haue what Pilgrimage 
 
 Each one fhould runne : and why fhould men 
 
 Abridge the iourney fet for them ? 
 
 But much I wonder any wight 
 
 If he did turne his outward fight 
 
 Into his inward, dar'd to aft 
 
 Her death, whofe body is compadt 
 
 Of all the beauties euer Nature 
 
 Laid vp in flore for earthly creature. 
 
 No fauage beafl can be fo cruel I 
 
 To rob the earth of fuch a lewell. 
 
 Rather the flately Vnicorne 
 
 Would in his breaft enraged fcorne, 
 
 That Maids committed to his charge 
 
 By any beaft in Forreft large 
 
 Should fo be wronged. Satyres rude 
 
 Durfl not attempt, or ere intrude 
 
 With fuch a minde the flowry balkes 
 
 Where harmlefTe Virgins haue their walkes. 
 
 Would fhe be won with me to flay. 
 
 My waters fhould bring from the Sea 
 
 The Corrall red, as tribute due. 
 
 And roundefl pearles of Orient hue : 
 
 Or in the richer veines of ground 
 
 Should feeke for her the Diamond. 
 
 And whereas now vnto my Spring 
 
 They nothing elfe but grauell bring, 
 
 They fhould within a Mine of Gold 
 
 In piercing manner long time hold. 
 
 And hauing it to dufl well wrought. 
 
 By them it hither fhould be brought ; 
 
Song 2. Britannia s Pajiorals. ^j 
 
 With which He paue and ouer-fpread 
 My bottome, where her foot fhall tread. 
 The beft of Fifhes in my flood 
 Shall giue themfelues to be her food. 
 The Trout, the Dace, the Pike, the Breame, 
 The Eeky that loues the troubled ftreame. 
 The Millers thombe, the hiding Loach, 
 The Perch, the euer-nibbling Roach, 
 The Shoats with whom is Tauie fraught. 
 The foolifh Gudgeon, quickly caught. 
 And laft the little Minnow-f[{\\, 
 Whofe chiefe delight in grauell is. 
 
 In right flie cannot me defpife 
 Becaufe fo low mine Empire lies. 
 For I could tell how Natures ftore 
 Of Maiefty appeareth more 
 In waters, then in all the reft 
 Of Elements. It feem'd her beft 
 To giue the waues moft ftrength and power : 
 For they doe fwallow and deuoure 
 The earth; theAvaters quench and kill 
 The flames of fire : and mounting ftill 
 Vp in the aire, are feene to be. 
 As challenging a Seignorie 
 Within the heauens, and to be one 
 That fliould haue like dominion. 
 They be a feeling and a floore 
 Of clouds, caus'd by the vapours ftore 
 Arifing from them, vitall fpirit 
 By which all things their life- inherit 
 From them is ftopped, kept afunder. 
 And what's the reafon elfe of Thunder, 
 Of lightnings flafties all about. 
 That with fuch violence breake out, 
 Caufing fuch troubles and fuch iarres, 
 As with it felfe the world had warres ? 
 
58 Britannia s Pajiorals. Booke 
 
 And can there any thing appeare 
 
 More wonderfull, then in the aire 
 
 Congealed waters oft to fpie 
 
 Continuing pendant in the Skie ? 
 
 Till falling downe in haile or fnow. 
 
 They make thofe mortall wights below 
 
 To runne, and euer heipe defire 
 
 From his foe Element the fire, 
 
 Which fearing then to come abroad, 
 
 Within doores maketh his aboad. 
 
 Or falling downe oft time in raine. 
 
 Doth giue greene Liueries to the plaine, 
 
 Make[s] Shepheards Lambs fit for the difti. 
 
 And giueth nutriment to fifli. 
 
 Which nourifheth all things of worth 
 
 The earth produceth and brings forth ; 
 
 And therefore well confidering 
 
 The nature of it in each thing : 
 
 As when the teeming earth doth grow 
 
 So hard, that none can plow nor fow. 
 
 Her breaft it doth fo mollifie, 
 
 That it not onely comes to be 
 
 More eafie for the ihare and Oxe, 
 
 But that in Harueft times the fliocks 
 
 Of Ceres hanging eared corne 
 
 Doth fill the Houell and the Barne. 
 
 To Trees and Plants I comfort giue. 
 
 By me they frudifie and Hue : 
 
 For firfl: afcending from beneath 
 
 Into the Skie, with liuely breath, 
 
 I thence am furnifti'd, and beftow 
 
 The fame on Herbs that are below. 
 
 So that by this each one may fee 
 
 I caufe them fpring and multiply. 
 
 Who feeth this, can doe no lefle. 
 
 Then of his owne accord confefTe, 
 
Song 2. Britannia s^ Pajiorals. 59 
 
 That notwithftanding all the ftrength 
 
 The earth enioyes in breadth and length. 
 
 She is beholding to each ftreame, 
 
 And hath receiued all from them. 
 
 Her loue to him {he then muft giue 
 
 By whom her felfe doth chiefly Hue. 
 This being fpoken by this waters God, 
 He {Iraight-way in his hand did take his rod. 
 And ftroke it on his banke, wherewith the flood 
 Did fuch a roaring make within the wood, 
 
 That ftraight the *Nimph who then fate on her fliore, tV^Nymph 
 Knew there was fomewhat do be done in {tore : thatfpoke 
 
 And therefore ha{ling to her Brothers Spring '" ^""°''^- 
 
 She fpide what cauf'd the waters ecchoing. 
 Saw where faire Marine fa{l afleepe did lie, 
 Whilfl: that the God {till viewing her fate by : 
 Who when he faw his Sifter Nymph draw neare. 
 He thus gane tune his voice vnto her eare. 
 
 My faire{l Si{ler (for we come 
 
 Both from the fwelling Thetis wombe) 
 
 The reafon why of late I {Irooke 
 
 My ruling wand vpon my Brooke 
 
 Was for this purpofe ; Late this Maid 
 
 Which on my banke a{leepe is laid. 
 
 Was by her felfe or other wight, 
 
 Caft in my fpring, and did affright 
 
 With her late fall, the fifh that take 
 
 Their chiefeft pleafure in my Lake : 
 
 Of all the Fry within my deepe. 
 
 None durfl out of their dwellings peepe. 
 
 The 'Trout within the weeds did feud. 
 
 The Eele him hid within the mud. 
 
 Yea, from this feare I was not free : 
 
 For as I mu{lng fate to fee 
 
 How that the prettie Pibbles round 
 
 Came with my Spring from vnder ground. 
 
6o Britannia s Pajiorals. Booke i, 
 
 And how the waters iffuing 
 
 Did make them dance about my Spring ; 
 
 The noife thereof did me appall : 
 
 That ftarting vpward therewithal!, 
 
 I in my armes her bodie caught. 
 
 And both to light and life her brought : 
 
 Then call: her in a fleepe you fee. 
 
 But Brother, to the caufe (quoth Ihe) 
 
 Why by your raging waters wilde 
 
 Am I here called? T'hetis childe, 
 
 Replide the God, for thee I fent. 
 
 That when her time of fleepe is fpent, 
 
 I may commit her to thy gage. 
 
 Since women beft know womens rage. 
 
 Meanewhile, faire Nymph, accompanie 
 
 My Spring with thy fweet harmonic ; 
 
 And we will make her foule to take 
 
 Some pleafure, which is faid to wake, 
 
 Although the body hath his reft. 
 She gaue confent, and each of them addreft 
 Vnto their part. The watrie Nymph did fing 
 In manner of a prettie queftioning : 
 The God made anfwer to what ftie propounded, 
 Whilft from the Spring a pleafant muficke founded, 
 (Making each ftirub in filence to adore them) 
 Taking their fubied from what lay before them. 
 
 Nymph. 
 
 WHats that, compaSl of earth, infufd with aire ; 
 A certaine, made full with vncertainties ; 
 Sway'd by the motion of eachfeuerall Spheare ; 
 Who's fed with nought but infelicities ; 
 
 Endures nor heat nor cold; is like a Swan, 
 That this houre fings, next dies ? 
 
 God. // is a Man. 
 
Song 2. Britannia s Pajiorah. 6i 
 
 Nymph. Whats he, home to beficke,fo alwaies dying, 
 'That's guided by ineuitable Fate ; 
 That comes in weeping, and that goes out crying ; 
 Whoje Kalender of woes is ftill in date ; 
 
 Whoje life's a bubble, and in length afpan ; 
 A con/or t ftill in dif cords ? 
 
 God. Tis a man. 
 
 Nymph. Whafs hee, whoje thoughts are ftill quell'd in 
 th'euent. 
 Though ne'r/o lawfull, by an oppoftte. 
 Hath all things fleeting, nothing permanent : 
 And at his eares weares ftill a Parafite : 
 
 Hath friends in wealth, or wealthie friends, who can 
 In want proue meere illujions ? 
 
 God. Tis a Man. 
 
 Nymph. What's he, that what he is not,ftriues to Jeeme, 
 That doth fupport an Atla.s-weight of care: 
 That of an outward good doth beft efteeme : 
 And looketh not within how Jolid they are : 
 That doth not vertuous, but the richeft Jean ; 
 Learning and worth by wealth ? 
 
 God. // is a Man. 
 
 Nymph. What's that pojfejfor, which of good makes bad ; 
 And what is worft, makes choice ftill for the beft ; 
 That grieueth moft to thinke of what he had ; 
 And of his chief eft lojfe accounteth leaft ; 
 
 That doth not what he ought, but what he can ; 
 Whoje fancie' s euer boundlejfe? 
 
 God. Tis a man. 
 
 Nymph. But what is it wherein Dame Nature wrought Thefirft 
 
 The beft of works, the onely frame of Heauen ; Sd'to^ 
 
 And hauing long to finde a prejent Jought , ^= "j™='^. 
 
 Wherein the worlds whole beautie might be giuen ; a creatuJe' 
 
62 
 
 Britannia s Pajlorals. Booke i, 
 
 framed of 
 the concur- 
 rence of the 
 gifts and 
 ornaments 
 of all the 
 Gods. As 
 
 Hefiod, QTl 
 
 dXvfiTria 
 
 Awpov 
 kSopijaav. 
 
 * Plinie 
 writes of 
 two Springs 
 riling in 
 Boe[o]tia, 
 thearft 
 helping me- 
 mory, called 
 liviiiiri : 
 The latter 
 cauling 
 obliuion, 
 called 
 Krierj. 
 
 She did rejolue in it all arts tofummon. 
 To ioine with Natures framing ? 
 
 God. Tis this Woman, 
 
 Nymph. If beautie be a thing to be admired ; 
 And if admiring draw to it affeSion ; 
 And what we doe affeB is mofi defired; 
 IVhat wight is he to hue denies JubieEiion ? 
 And can his thoughts within himfelfe confine ? 
 
 Marine that waking lay, faid : Celandine. 
 He is the man that hates which fome admire ; 
 He is the wight that loathes whom moft defire : 
 'Tis onely he to loue denies fubieding, 
 And but himfelfe, thinkes none is worth afFeding. 
 Vnhappy me the while, accurft my Fate, 
 That Nature giues no loue where fhe gaue hate. 
 The watrie Rulers then perceiued plaine. 
 Nipt with the Winter of loues froft, Difdaine ; 
 This Non-far-el of beautie had beene led 
 To doe an a6l which Enuie pitied : 
 Therefore in pitie did conferre together, 
 What Phyficke beft might cure this burning Feuer. 
 At laft found out that in a Groue below. 
 Where Hiadowing Sicamours paft number grow, 
 A Fountaine takes his iourney to the Maine, 
 Whofe liquors nature was fo foueraigne, 
 (Like to the wondrous Well and famous Spring, 
 Which in * Boe[o']tia hath his ifluing) 
 That whofo of it doth but onely tafte. 
 All former memorie from him doth wafte. 
 Not changing any other worke of Nature, 
 But doth endow the drinker with a feature 
 More louely, faire Medea tooke from hence 
 Some of this water, by whofe quinteflence, 
 j/Efon from age came backe to youth. This knowne. 
 
Song 2. Britannia s Pajiorals. 63 
 
 The God thus fpake : 
 
 Nymphj be thine owne, 
 And after mine. This Goddefle here 
 (For Ihees no lefle) will bring thee where 
 Thou flialt acknowledge Springs haue do[n]e 
 As much for thee as any one. 
 Which ended, and thou gotten free, 
 If thou wilt come and Hue with me, 
 No Shepherds daughter, nor his wife. 
 Shall boaft them of a better life. 
 Meane while I leaue thy thoughts at large. 
 Thy body to my fitters charge ; 
 Whilft I into my Spring doe diue. 
 To fee that they doe not depriue 
 The Meadowes neere, which much doe thirft. 
 Thus heated by the Sunne. May firfl: 
 (Quoth Marine) Swaines giue Lambs to thee ; 
 And may thy Floud haue feignorie 
 Of all Flouds elfe, and to thy fame 
 Meet greater Springs, yet keepe thy name. 
 May neuer Euet nor the Tode, 
 Within thy bankes make their abode ! 
 Taking thy iourney from the Sea, 
 Maift thou ne'er happen in thy way 
 On Niter or on Brimftone Mine, 
 To fpoile thy tafte ! this Spring of thine 
 Let it of nothing tafte but earth, 
 And fait conceiued, in their birth 
 Be euer frefli ! Let no man dare 
 To fpoile thy Fifh, make locke or ware. 
 But on thy Margent ftill let dwell 
 Thofe flowers which haue the fweeteft fmell. 
 And let the duft vpon thy ftrand 
 Become like Tagus golden fand. 
 Let as much good betide to thee. 
 As thou haft fauour ftiew'd to mee. 
 
64 Britannia's Pajiorals. Booke i. 
 
 Thus faid, in gentle paces they remoue, 
 
 And haftned onward to the fhadie Groue : 
 
 Where both arriu'd ; and hauing found the Rocke, 
 
 Saw how this precious water it did locke. 
 
 As he whom Auarice pofleffeth moft, 
 
 Drawne by neceflitie vnto his coft. 
 
 Doth drop by peece-meale downe his prifon'd gold. 
 
 And feemes vnwilling to let goe his hold : 
 
 So the fl-rong rocke the water long time flops. 
 
 And by degrees lets it fall downe in drops. 
 
 Like hoording hufwiues that doe mold their food, 
 
 And keepe from others, what doth them no good. 
 
 The drops within a Cefterne, fell of ftone. 
 Which fram'd by Nature, Art had neuer one 
 Halfe part fo curious. Many fpells then vfing, 
 The waters Nymph twixt Marines lips infufing 
 Part of this water, fhe might ftraight perceiue 
 How foone her troubled thoughts began to leaue 
 Her Loue-fwolne-breafl ; and that her inward flame 
 Was cleane aflwaged, and the very name 
 Of Celandine forgotten ; did fcarce know 
 If there were fuch a thing as Loue or no. 
 And fighing, therewithal! threw in the aire 
 All former loue, all forrow, all defpaire ; 
 And all the former caufes of her mone 
 Did therewith burie in obliuion. 
 Then muftring vp her thoughts, growne vagabonds 
 Preft to releeue her inward bleeding wounds. 
 She had as quickly all things paft forgotten. 
 As men doe Monarchs that in earth lie rotten. 
 As one new borne fhe feem'd, fo al difcerning, 
 " Though things long learned are the longft vnlearning. 
 Then walk'd they to a Groue but neere at hand, 
 Where fierie Titan had but fmall command, 
 Becaufe the leaues confpiring kept his beames. 
 For feare of hurting (when hee's in extreames) 
 
Song 2. Britannia s Pajiorals. 65 
 
 The vnder-flowers, which did enrich the ground 
 
 With fweeter fents than in Arabia found. 
 
 The earth doth yeeld (which they through pores exhale) 
 
 Earths beft of odours, th'Aromaticall : 
 
 Like to that fmell which oft our fenfe defcries 
 
 Within a field which long vnplowed lies. 
 
 Somewhat before the fetting of the Sunne ; 
 
 And where the Raine-bow in the Horizon 
 
 Doth pitch her tips : or as when in the prime. 
 
 The earth being troubled with a drought long time. 
 
 The hand of Heauen his fpungie Clouds doth ftraine, 
 
 And throwes into her lap a fhowre of raine ; 
 
 She fendeth vp (conceiued from the Sunne) 
 
 A fweet perfume and exhalation. 
 
 Not all the Ointments brought from Helos He ; 
 
 Nor from the confines of feuen-headed Nile ; 
 
 Nor that brought whence Phoenicians haue abodes ; 
 
 Nor Cyprus wilde Vine-flowers, nor that of Rhodes, 
 
 Nor Rofes-oile from Naples, Capua, 
 
 SafFron confedled in CHicia ; 
 
 Nor that of ^inces, nor of Marioram, 
 
 That euer from the He of Coos came. 
 
 Nor thefe, nor any elfe, though ne'er fo rare. 
 
 Could with this place for fweetefl: fmels compare./ 
 
 There ftood the Elme, whofe fhade fo mildly dim 
 
 Doth nourifh all that groweth vnder him. 
 
 Cyprejfe that like Piramides runne topping, 
 
 And hurt the leafl: of any by their dropping. 
 
 The Alder, whofe fat fhadow nouriftieth. 
 
 Each Plant fet neere to him long flourilheth. 
 
 The -heauie-headed Plane-tree., by whofe fhade 
 
 The grafle growes thickeft, men are frefher made. 
 
 The Oake, that beft endures the Thunder- fhocks 
 
 The euerlafting Ebene, Cedar, Box. 
 
 The Oliue that in Wainfcot neuer cleaues. 
 
 The amorous Vine which in the Elme ftill weaues. 
 
 K 
 
66 Britannia s Pajlorals. Booke i 
 
 The Lotus, luniper, where wormes ne'er enter : 
 
 The Pyne, with whom men through the Ocean venter. 
 
 The warhke Yewgh, by which (more then the Lance) 
 
 The ftrong-arm'd Englijh fpirits conquer'd France. 
 
 Amongft the reft the 'Tamarijke there ftood. 
 
 For Hufwiues bofomes oneJyknowne moft good. 
 
 The cold-place-Iouing Birch, and Seruis tree : 
 
 The Walnut louing vales, and Mulbury. 
 
 The Maple, A/he ; that doe delight in Fountaines, 
 
 Which haue their currents by the fides of Mountains. 
 
 The Laurell, Mirtle, luy. Date, which hold 
 
 Their leaues all Winter, be it ne'er fo cold. 
 
 The Firre, that oftentimes doth Rofin drop : 
 
 The Beech that fcales the Welkin with his top : 
 
 All thefe, and thoufand more within this Groue, 
 
 By all the induftry of Nature ftroue 
 
 To frame an Harbour that might keepe within it 
 
 The beft of beauties that the world hath in it. 
 
 Here entring, at the entrance of which fhroud, 
 The Sunne halfe angry hid him in a cloud. 
 As raging that a Groue fhould from his fight 
 Locke vp a beauty whence himfelfe had light. 
 The flowers pull'd in their heads as being fham'd 
 Their beauties by the others were defam'd. 
 
 Neere to this Wood there lay a pleafant Mead, 
 Where Fairies often did their Meafures tread. 
 Which in the Meadow made fuch circles g[r]eene, 
 As if with Garlands it had crowned beene. 
 Or like the Circle where the Signes we tracke. 
 And learned Shepherds call't the Zodiacke : 
 Within one of thefe rounds was to be feene 
 A Hillocke rife, where oft the Fairy-^ueene 
 At twy-light fate, and did command her Elues, 
 To pinch thofe Maids that had not fwept their fhelues : 
 And further if by Maidens ouer-fight, 
 Within doores water were not brought at night : 
 
Song 2. Britannia s Pajlorals. 67 
 
 Or if they fpread no Table, fet no Bread, 
 They fhould haue nips from toe vnto the head : 
 And for the Maid that had perform'd each thing. 
 She in the Water-paile bade leaue a Ring. 
 
 Vpon this Hill there fat a louely Swaine, 
 As if that Nature thought it great difdaine 
 That he fhould (fo through her his Genius told him) 
 Take equal] place with Swaines, fince fhe did hold him 
 Her chiefeft worke, and therefore thought it fit. 
 That with inferiours he fhould neuer fit. 
 Narcijfus change, fure Ouid cleane miflooke. 
 He dy'd not looking in a Cryflall brooke. 
 But (as thofe which in emulation gaze) 
 He pinde to death by looking on this face. 
 When he flood fifhing by fome Riuers brim. 
 The fifh woald leape, more for a fight of him 
 Then for the flie. The Eagle higheft bred, 
 Was taking him once vp for Ganimed. 
 The fhag-haird Satyres, and the tripping Fawnes, 
 With all the troope that frolicke on the Lawnes, 
 Would come and gaze on him, as who fhould fay 
 They had not feene his like this many a day. 
 Yea Venus knew no difference twixt thefe twaine, 
 Saue Adon was a Hunter, this a Swaine. 
 The woods fweet Queriflers from fpray to fpray 
 Would hop them neerer him, and then there flay : 
 Each ioying greatly from his little hart. 
 That they with his fweet Reed might beare a part : 
 This was the Boy, (the Poets did miflake) 
 To whom bright Cynthia fo much loue did make ; 
 And promis'd for his loue no fcornfull eyes 
 Should euer fee her more in horned guize : 
 But fhe at his command would as of dutie 
 Become as full of light as he of beautie. 
 Lucina at his birth for Mid-wife ftucke : 
 And Citherea nurc'd and gaue him fucke. 
 
68 Britannia's Pajiorals. Booke i, 
 
 Who to that end, once Doue-drawne from the Sea, 
 Her full Paps dropt, whence came the Milkie-way. 
 And as when Plato did i'th* Cradle thriue. 
 Bees to his lips brought honey from their Hiue : 
 So to this Boy they came, I know not whether 
 They brought, or from his lips did honey gather. 
 The Wood-Nymphs oftentimes would bufied be. 
 And plucke for him the blufhing Strawberie : 
 Making of them a Bracelet on a Bent, 
 Which for a fauour to this Swaine they fent. 
 Sitting in fhades, the Sunne would oft by Ikips 
 Steale through the boughes, and feize vpon his lips. 
 The chiefeft caufe the Sunne did condefcend 
 To Phaetons requeft, was to this end. 
 That whilft the other did his Horfes reyne. 
 He might Aide from his Spheare, & court this Swaine ; 
 Whofe fparkling eyes vi'd luftre with the Starres, 
 The trueft Center of all Circulars. 
 In briefe, if any man in (kill were able 
 To finifli vp Afelles halfe-done Table, 
 This Boy (the man left out) were fitteft fure 
 To be the patterne of that portraiture. 
 
 Piping he fate, as merry as his looke. 
 And by him lay his Bottle and his Hooke. 
 His buflcins (edg'd with filuer) were of filke, 
 Which held a legge more white then mornings milk. 
 Thofe Bulkins he had got and brought away 
 For dancing beft vpon the Reuell day : 
 His Oaten Reede did yeeld forth fuch fweet Notes, 
 loyned in confort with the Birds fhrill throtes. 
 That equaliz'd the Harmony of Spheares, 
 A Muficke that would rauifh choicefl; eares. 
 Long look'd they on (who would not long looke on, 
 That fuch an obied had to looke vpon ?) 
 Till at the laft the Nymph did Marine fend. 
 To a{ke the neereft way, whereby to wend 
 
Song 2. Britannia s Pajiorals. ( 
 
 To thofe faire walkes where fprung Marina's ill 
 Whilft fhe would ftay : Marine obey'd her will. 
 And haftned towards him (who would not doe fo, 
 That fuch a pretty iourney had to goe ?) 
 Sweetly fhe came, and with a modeft blufli, 
 Gaue him the day, and then accofted thus : 
 
 Faireft of men, that (whilft thy flocke doth feed) 
 Sitt'ft fweetly piping on thine Oaten Reed 
 Vpon this Little berry (fome ycleep 
 A Hillocke) void of care, as are thy fheepe 
 Deuoid of fpots, and fure on all this greene 
 A fairer flocke as yet was neuer feene : 
 Doe me this fauour (men fhould fauour Maids) 
 That whatfoeuer path diredtly leads. 
 And void of danger, thou to me doe {how, 
 That by it to the Marifh I might goe. 
 Mariage ! (quoth he) miftaking what (he faid. 
 Natures perfedion : thou moft faireft Maid, 
 (If any fairer then the faireft may be) 
 Come fit thee downe by me ; know louely Ladie, 
 Loue is the readieft way : if tane aright 
 You may attaine thereto full long ere night. 
 The Maiden thinking he of Marifh fpoke, 
 And not of Mariage, ftraight-way did inuoke. 
 And praid the Shepheards God might alwaies keepe 
 Him from all danger, and from Wolues his fheepe. 
 Wifhing withall that in the prime of Spring 
 Each fheepe he had, two Lambs might yeerely bring. 
 But yet (quoth fhe) arede good gentle Swaine, 
 If in the Dale below, or on yond Plaine ; 
 Or is the Village fituate in a Groue, 
 Through which my way lies, and ycleeped loue ? 
 Nor on yond Plaine, nor in this neighbouring wood ; 
 Nor in the Dale where glides the filuer flood ; 
 But like a Beacon on a hill fo hie, 
 That euery one may fee't which pafTeth by. 
 
 \ 
 
70 Britannia s Pajiorals. Booke i, 
 
 Is Loue yplac'd : ther's nothing can it hide. 
 Although of you as yet 'tis vnefpide. 
 But on which hill (quoth fhe) pray tell me true ? 
 Why here (quoth he) it fits and talkes to you. 
 And are you Loue (quoth ftie ?) fond Swaine adue. 
 You guide me wrong, my way lies not by you. 
 Though not your way, yet you may lye by me : 
 Nymph, with a Shepherd thou as merrily 
 Maift loue and Hue, as with the greateft Lord. 
 " Greatnefle doth neuer moft content afford. 
 I loue thee onely, not affedt worlds pelfe, 
 '• She is not lou'd, that's lou'd not for her felfe. 
 How many Shepherds daughters, who in dutie 
 To griping fathers haue inthral'd their beautie. 
 To wait vpon the Gout, to walke when pleafes 
 Old January halt. O that difeafes 
 Should linke with youth : She that hath fuch a mate 
 Is like two twins borne both incorporate : 
 Th'one lining, th'other dead ; the liuing twin 
 Muft needs be flaine through noyfomneffe of him 
 He carrieth with him : fuch are their eftates. 
 Who meerely marry wealth and not their mates. 
 
 As ebbing waters freely Aide away. 
 To pay their tribute to the raging Sea ; 
 When meeting with the floud they iuftle ftout. 
 Whether the one fhall in, or th'other out : 
 Till the ftrong floud new power of waues doth bring. 
 And driues the Riuer backe into his Spring : 
 So Marine's words offring to take their courfe. 
 By Loue then entring, were kept backe, and force 
 To it, his fweet face, eyes, and tongue aflign'd, 
 And threw them backe againe into her minde. 
 " How hard it is to leaue and not to do 
 " That which by nature we are prone vnto ? 
 " We hardly can (alas why not ?) difcufle, 
 " When Nature hath decreed it muft be thus. 
 " It is a Maxime held of all, knowne plaine. 
 
Song i, Britannia s Pajiorals. 71 
 
 " Thruft Nature ofF with forkes, fhe'll turne againe. 
 
 Blithe Doridon (fo men this Shepherd hight) 
 Seeing his GoddefTe in a filent plight, 
 (" Loue often makes the fpeeches organs mute,) 
 Began againe thus to renue his fute : 
 
 If by my words your filence hath beene fuch. 
 Faith I am forry I haue fpoke fo much. 
 Barre I thofe lips ? fit to be th'vttrers, when 
 The heauens would parly with the chiefe of men. 
 Fit to direft (a tongue all hearts conuinces) 
 When befl: of Scribes writes to the beft of Princes, 
 Were mine like yours, of choiceft words compleateft, 
 " Ide fhew how grief's a thing weighs down the greateft 
 " The beft of formes (who knows not) grief doth taint it, 
 " The fkilfull'ft Pecil neuer yet could paint it. 
 And reafon good, fince no man yet could finde 
 What figure reprefents a grieued minde. 
 Me thinkes a troubled thought is thus expreft. 
 To be a Chaos rude and indigeft : 
 Where all doe rule, and yet none beares chiefe fway : 
 Checkt onely by a power that's more then they. 
 This doe I fpeake, fince to this euery louer 
 That thus doth loue, is thus ftill giuen ouer. 
 If that you fay you will not, cannot loue : 
 Oh Heauens ! for what caufe then do you here moue ? 
 Are you not fram'd of that experteft mold. 
 For whom all in this Round concordance hold ? 
 Or are you framed of fome other faftiion. 
 And haue a forme and heart, but yet no ' paflion ? 
 It cannot be; : for then vnto what end 
 Did the beft worke-man this great worke intend ? 
 Not that by minds commerce, and ioynt eftate. 
 The worlds continuers ftill fliould propagate ? 
 Yea, if that Reafon (Regent of the Senfes) 
 Haue but a part amongft your excellences, 
 
 ' Old eds. have a. 
 
72 Britannia s Pajiorals. Booke i, 
 
 Shee'll tell you what you call Virginitie, 
 Is fitly llk'ned to a barren tree ; 
 Which when the Gardner on it paines beftowes, 
 To grafFe an Impe thereon, in time it growes 
 To fuch perfeftion, that it yeerely brings 
 As goodly fruit, as any tree that fprings. 
 Beleeue me Maiden, vow no chaftitie : 
 For maidens but imperfeft creatures be. 
 
 Alas poore Boy (quoth Marine) haue the Fates 
 Exempted no degrees ? are no eftates 
 Free from Loues rage ? Be rul'd : vnhappy Swaine, 
 Call backe thy fpirits, and recoiled againe 
 Thy vagrant wits. I tell thee for a truth 
 " Loue is a Syren that doth fhipwracke youth. 
 Be well aduis'd, thou entertainft a gueft 
 That is the Harbinger of all vnreft : 
 Which like the Vipers young, that licke the earth, 
 Eat out the breeders wombe to get a birth. 
 
 Faith (quoth the Boy) I know there cannot be, 
 Danger in louing or inioying thee. 
 For what caufe were things made and called good. 
 But to be loued ? If you vnderftood 
 The Birds that prattle here, you would know then. 
 As birds wooe birds, maids fhould be woo'd of men. 
 But I want power to wooe, fince what was mine 
 Is fled, and lye as vafTals at your fhrine : 
 And fince what's mine is yours, let that fame moue, 
 Although in me you fee nought worthy Loue. 
 Marine about to fpeake, forth of a fling 
 (Fortune to all misfortunes plyes her wing 
 More quicke and fpeedy) came a fliarpned flint. 
 Which in the faire boyes necke made fuch a dint. 
 That crimfon bloud came ftreaming from the wound. 
 And he fell downe into a deadly fwound. 
 The bloud ran all along where it did fall. 
 And could not finde a place of buriall : 
 
Song 2. Britannia s P aft or ah. 73 
 
 But where it came, it there congealed flood. 
 
 As if the Earth loath'd to drinke guiltlefle blood. 
 
 Gold-haird Apollo, Mufes facred King, 
 VVhofe praife in Delphos He doth euer ring : 
 Phyfickes firft founder, whofe Arts excellence 
 Extradted Natures chiefeft quinteflence, 
 Vnwilling that a thing of fuch a worth 
 Should fo be loft ; ftraight fent a Dragon forth 
 To fetch his bloud, and he perform'd the fame : 
 And now Apothecaries giue it name. 
 From him that fetcht it: (Dodtors know it good 
 In Phyficks vfe) and call it Dragons bloud. 
 Some of the bloud by chance did down-ward fall. 
 And by a veine got to a Minerall, 
 Whence came a Red, decayed Dames infufe it 
 With Venice Ceruje, and for painting vfe it. 
 Marine aftonifht (moft vnhappy Maid) 
 O'er- come with feare, and at the view afraid. 
 Fell downe into a trance, eyes loft their fight, 
 Which being open, made all darknefle light. 
 Her bloud ran to her heart, of life to feed. 
 Or lothing to behold fo vile a deed. 
 
 And as when Winter doth the Earth array 
 In filuer fute, and when the night and day 
 Are in diflention, Night locks vp the ground. 
 Which by the helpe of day is oft vnbound : 
 A fhepherds boy with bow and ftiafts addreft. 
 Ranging the fields, hauing once pierc'd the breft 
 Of fome poore fowle, doth with the blow ftraight rufli 
 To catch the Bird lyes panting in the Bufti : ^on"f the 
 
 So ruftit this ftriker in, vp Marine tooke, natures of 
 
 And haftned with her to a neare-hand Brooke. 'mng^neere 
 
 Old Shepherds faine (old ftiepherds footh haue falne) together, 
 Two Riuers tooke their ifl"ue from the Maine, j^g ;„ their 
 
 Both neere together, and each bent his race, '^ftes and 
 
 Which of them both fhould firft behold the face l^nn?ng.° 
 
74 Britannia s Pajiorals. Booke i. 
 
 Of Radiant Phcebus : One of them in gliding 
 
 Chanc'd on a Veine where Niter had abiding : 
 
 The other loathing that her purer Waue 
 
 Should be defil'd with that the Niter gaue, 
 
 Fled faft away, the other follow'd faft. 
 
 Till both beene in a Rocke ymet at laft. 
 
 As feemed beft, the Rocke did firft deliuer 
 
 Out of his hollow fides the purer Riuer : 
 
 (As if it taught thofe men in honour clad. 
 
 To helpe the vertuous and fupprefle the bad.) 
 
 Which gotten loofe, did foftly glide away. 
 
 As men from earth, to earth ; from fea to fea ; 
 
 So Riuers run : and that from whence both came 
 
 Takes what fhe gaue : Wanes, Earth : but leaues a name. 
 
 As waters haue their courfe, & in their place 
 
 Succeeding ftreames will out, fo is mans race : 
 
 The Name doth ftill furuiue, and cannot die, 
 
 Vntill the Channels ftop, or Spring grow dry. 
 
 As I haue feene vpon a Bridall day 
 Full many Maids clad in their beft array. 
 In honour of the Bride come with their Flaflcets 
 Fill'd full with flowers : others in wicker-bafkets 
 Bring from the Marifh Rufties, to o'er-fpread 
 The ground, whereon to Church the Louers tread ; 
 Whilft that the quainteft youth of all the Plaine 
 Vfhers their way with many a piping ftraine : 
 So, as in ioy, at this faire Riuers birth, 
 'Triton came vp a Channell with his mirth. 
 And call'd the neighb'ring Nymphs each in her turne 
 To poure their pretty Riuilets from their Vrne ; 
 To wait vpon this new-deliuered Spring. 
 Some running through the Meadowes, with them bring 
 Cowjlip and Mint : and 'tis anothers lot 
 To light vpon fome Gardeners curious knot, 
 Whence fhe vpon her breft (loues fweet repofe) 
 Doth bring the Ciueene of flowers, the Engli/h Ro/e. 
 
Song 2. Britannia s Pajiorals. 75 
 
 Some from the Fenne bring Reeds, Wilde-tyme from 
 Some fro a Groue the Bay that Poets crowns ; (Downs ; 
 Some from an aged Rocke the Mofle hath torne. 
 And leaues him naked vnto winters ftorme : 
 Another from her bankes (in meere good will) 
 Brings nutriment for fifh, the Camomill. 
 Thus all bring fomewhat, and doe ouer-fpread 
 The way the Spring vnto the Sea doth tread. 
 
 This while the Floud which yet the Rocke vp pent. 
 And fuiFered not with iocund merriment 
 To tread rounds in his Spring, came rufhing forth, 
 As angry that his waues (he thought) of worth 
 Should not haue libertie, nor helpe the pry me. 
 And as fome ruder Swaine compofing ryme. 
 Spends many a gray Goofe quill vnto the handle, 
 Buries within his focket many a Candle ; 
 Blots Paper by the quire, and dries vp Inke, 
 As Xerxes Armie did whole Riuers drinke, 
 Hoping thereby his name his worke fhould raife 
 That it fhould liue vntill the lafl- of dayes : 
 Which finifhed, he boldly doth addrefle 
 Him and his workes to vnder-goe the PreJJe ; 
 When loe (O Fate !) his worke not feeming fit 
 To walke in equipage with better wit. 
 Is kept from light, there gnawne by Moathes and wormes. 
 At which he frets : Right fo this Riuer ftormes : 
 But broken forth ; As Tauy creepes vpon 
 The Wefterne vales of fertile Albion, 
 Here daflies roughly on an aged Rocke, 
 That his entended paflage doth vp locke ; 
 There intricately mongft the Woods doth wander, 
 Lofing himfelfe in many a wry Meander : 
 Here amoroufly bent, clips fome faire Mead ; 
 And then difperft in rils, doth meafures tread 
 Vpon her bofome 'mongft her flowry ranks : 
 There in another place beares downe the banks. 
 
76 Britannia s Pajiorals. Booke i. 
 
 Of fome day-labouring wretch : here meets a rill. 
 
 And with their forces ioyn'd cuts out a Mill 
 
 Into an Hand, then in iocund guife 
 
 Suruayes his conqueft, lauds his enterprife : 
 
 Here digs a Caue at fome high Mountaines foot : 
 
 There vndermines an Oaice, teares vp his root : 
 
 Thence rufhing to fome Ccuntry-farme at hand. 
 
 Breaks o'er the Yeomans mounds, fweepes from his land 
 
 His Harueft hope of Wheat, of Rye, or Peafe : 
 
 And makes that channell which was Shepherds leafe : 
 
 Here, as our wicked age doth facriledge, 
 
 Helpes downe an Abbey, then a naturall bridge 
 
 By creeping vnder ground he frameth out. 
 
 As who fhould fay he either went about 
 
 To right the wrong he did, or hid his face. 
 
 For hauing done a deed fo vile and bafe : 
 
 So ran this Riuer on, and did beftirre 
 
 Himfelfe, to finde his fellow-Traueller. 
 
 But th'other fearing leaft her noyfe might fhow 
 What path fhe took, which way her ftreams did flow : 
 As fome way-faring man flrayes th'row a wood. 
 Where beafts of prey thirfting for humane bloud 
 Lurke in their dens, he foftly liftning goes. 
 Not trufting to his heeles, treads on his toes : 
 Dreads euery noife he heares, thinks each fmall bu(h 
 To be a beaft that would vpon him rufh : 
 Feareth to dye, and yet his winde doth fmother ; 
 Now leaues this path, takes that, then to another: 
 Such was her courfe. This feared to be found. 
 The other not to finde, fwels o'er each mound, 
 Roares, rages, foames, againfl a mountaine daflies, 
 And in recoile, makes Meadowes ftanding plafhes : 
 Yet findes not what he feekes in all his way. 
 But in defpaire runs headlong to the Sea. 
 This was the caufe them by tradition taught, 
 Why one floud ran fo faft, th'other fo foft. 
 
Song 2. Britannia s Pajtorals. jj 
 
 Both from one head. Vnto the rougher ftreame, 
 
 (Crown'd by that Meadowes flowry Diadem, 
 
 Where t>oridon lay hurt) the cruell Swaine 
 
 Hurries the Shepherdefle, where hauing laine 
 
 Her in a Boat like the Canmwes of Inde, 
 
 Some filly trough of wood, or fome trees rinde ; 
 
 Puts from the fhoare, and leaues the weeping ftrand. 
 
 Intends an aft by water, which the land 
 
 Abhorr'd to boulfter ; yea, the guiltlefle earth 
 
 Loath'd to be Mid-wife to fo vile a birth. 
 
 Which to relate I am inforc'd to wrong 
 
 The modeft blufhes of my Maiden-fong. 
 
 Then each faire Nymph whom Nature doth endow 
 
 With beauties cheeke, crown'd with a fhamefaft brow ; 
 
 Whofe well-tun'd eares, chaft-obiedt-louing eyne 
 
 Ne'er heard nor faw the workes of '^Aretine ; . ^n ob- 
 
 Who ne'er came on the Citherean fhelfe, f^ene Italian 
 
 But is as true as Chaftitie it felfe ; °° ' 
 
 Where hated Impudence ne'er fet her feed ; 
 
 Where luft lies not vail'd in a virgins weed : 
 
 Let her with-draw. Let each young Shepherdling 
 
 Walke by, or ftop his eare, the whilft I fing. 
 
 But yee, whofe bloud, like Kids vpon a plaine. 
 Doth flcip, and dance Lauoltoes in each veine ; 
 Whofe brefts are fwolne with the Venerean game, 
 And warme your felues at lufts alluring flame ; 
 Who dare to a6t as much as men dare thinke. 
 And wallowing lye within a fenfuall finke ; 
 Whofe fained geftures doe entrap our youth 
 With an apparancie of fimple truth ; 
 Infatiate gulphs, in your defeftiue part 
 By Art helpe Nature, and by Nature, Art : 
 Lend me your eares, and I will touch a firing 
 Shall lull your fenfe afleepe the while I fing. 
 
 But flay : me thinkes I heare fomething in me 
 That bids me keepe the bounds of modeflie ; 
 
78 Britannia s Pajlorals. Booke i. 
 
 SayeSj " Each mans voice to that is quickly moued 
 
 " Which of himfelfe is beft of all beloued ; 
 
 " By vttring what thou knowft lefle glory's got, 
 
 " Then by concealing what thou knoweft not. 
 
 If fo, I yeeld to it, and fet my reft 
 
 Rather to lofe the bad, then wrong the beft. 
 
 My Maiden-Mufe flies the lafciuious Swaines, 
 
 And fcornes to foyle her lines with luftfull ftraines : 
 
 Will not dilate (nor on her fore-head beare 
 
 Immodefties abhorred Charader) 
 
 His ftiamelefle pryings, his vndecent doings ; 
 
 His curious fearches, his refpeftlefle wooings : 
 
 How that he faw. But what ? I dare not breake it. 
 
 You fafer may conceiue then I dare fpeake it. 
 
 Yet verily had he not thought her dead, 
 
 Sh'ad loft, ne'er to be found, her Maiden-head. 
 
 The rougher ftreame loathing a thing compared 
 Of fo great fhame, ftiould on his Floud be adted ; 
 (According to our times not well allow'd 
 In others, what he in himfelfe auow'd) 
 Bent hard his fore-head, furrow'd vp his face. 
 And danger led the way the boat did trace. 
 And as within a Landjkip that doth ftand 
 Wrought by the Pencill of fome curious hand. 
 We may difcry, here meadow, there a wood : 
 Here ftanding ponds, and there a running floud : 
 Here on fome mount a houfe of pleafure vanted. 
 Where once the roaring Cannon had beene planted : 
 There on a hill a Swaine pipes out the day, 
 Out-brauing all the Quirifters of May. 
 A Hunts-man here foUowes his cry of hounds, 
 Driuing the Hare along the fallow grounds : 
 Whilft one at hand feeming the fport t'allow, 
 Followes the hounds, and carelefl*e leaues the Plow. 
 There in another place fome high-rais'd land. 
 In pride beares out her breafts vnto the ftrand. 
 
Song 2. Britannia s Pajiorals. 79 
 
 Here ftands a bridge, and there a conduit head : 
 Here round a May-pole fome the meafures tread : 
 There boyes the truant play and leaue their booke : 
 Here ftands an Angler with a baited hooke. 
 There for a Stagge one lurkes within a bough : 
 Here fits a Maiden milking of her Cow. 
 There on a goodly plaine (by time throwne downe) 
 Lies burled in his duft fome ancient Towne ; 
 Who now inuillaged, there's onely feene 
 In his vafte ruines what his ftate had beene : 
 And all of thefe in fhadowes fo expreft 
 Make the beholders eyes to take no reft. 
 So for the Swaine the Floud did meane to him 
 To ftiew in Nature (not by Art to limbe) 
 A Tempefts rage, his furious waters threat. 
 Some on this ftioare, fome on the other beat. 
 Here ftands a Mountaine, where was once a Dale ; 
 There where a Mountaine ftood is now a Vale. 
 Here flowes a billow, there another meets : 
 Each, on each fide the fkifFe, vnkindly greets. 
 The waters vnderneath gan vpward moue, 
 Wondring what ftratagems were wrought aboue : 
 Billowes that mift the boat, ftill onward thruft. 
 And on the ClifFes, as fwolne with anger, burft. 
 All thefe, and more, in fubftance fo expreft. 
 Made the beholders thoughts to take no reft. 
 Horror in triumph rid vpon the waues ; 
 And all the Furies from their gloomy caues 
 Came houering o're the Boat, fummond each fence 
 Before the fearefull barre of Conjcience ; 
 Were guilty all, and all condemned were 
 To vnder-goe their horrors with defpaire. 
 
 What Mufe ? what Powre ? or what thrice facred Herfe, 
 That Hues immortall in a well-tun'd Verfe, 
 Can lend me fuch a fight that I might fee 
 A guilty confcience true Anatomie ; 
 
8o Britannia s P aft or ah. Booke i. 
 
 That well-kept Regifter wherein is writ 
 
 All ils men doe, all goodnefle they omit ? 
 
 His pallid feares, his forrowes, his afFrightings ; 
 
 His late wiftit had-l-wijis, remorcefuU bitings : 
 
 His many tortures, his heart-renting paine : 
 
 How were his griefes compofed in one chaine, 
 
 And he by it let downe into the Seas, 
 
 Or th'row the Center to t\i' Antipodes ? 
 
 He might change Climates, or be barr'd Heauens face ; 
 
 Yet finde no falue, nor euer change his cafe. 
 
 Feares, forrowes, tortures, fad affrights, nor any. 
 
 Like to the Confcience fting, though thrice as many ; 
 
 Yet all thefe torments by the Swaine were borne. 
 
 Whilft Deaths grim vifage lay vpon the ftorme. 
 
 But as when fome kinde Nurfe doth long time keep 
 Her pretty babe at fucke, whom falne afleepe 
 She layes downe in his Cradle, ftints his cry 
 With many a fweet and pleafing Lullaby ; 
 Whilft the fweet childe, not troubled with the fliock, 
 As fweetly flumbers, as his Nurfe doth rocke : 
 So lay the Maid, th'amazed Swaine fate weeping. 
 And death in her was difpofTeft by fleeping. 
 The roaring voyce of winds, the billowes raues ; 
 Nor all the muttring of the fullen waues 
 Could once difquiet, or her flumber ftirre : 
 But lull'd her more afleepe then wakened her. 
 Such are their ftates, whofe foules from foule offence 
 Enthroned fit in fpotlefTe Innocence. 
 Where reft my Mufe ; till (iolly Shepheards Swaines) 
 Next morne with Pearles of' dew bedecks our plaines 
 Wee'll fold our flockes, then in fit time goe on 
 To tune mine Oaten pipe for Doridon. 
 
Song 3. Britannia s Pajiorah. 
 
 81 
 
 The Shepheards Swaine here fingirig on, 
 Tels of the cure i3/"Doridon : 
 And then vnto the waters f ah 
 Chanteth the rufticke Pajiorah. 
 
 Ow had the Sunne, in golden chariot hurl'd. 
 Twice bid good-morrow to the nether world : 
 And Cynthia, in her orbe and perfeft round. 
 Twice view'd the fhadowes of the vpper 
 ground. 
 
 Twice had the Day-ftarre vfher'd forth the light ; 
 And twice the Euening-ftarre proclaim'd the night ; 
 Ere once the fweet-fac'd Boy (now all forlorne) 
 Came with his Pipe to refalute the Morne. 
 
 When grac'd by time (vnhappy time the while) 
 The cruell Swaine (who ere knew Swaine fo vile ?) 
 Had ftroke the Lad, in came the watry Nymph, 
 To raife from found poore Doridon (the Impe, 
 Whom Nature feem'd to haue feleded forth 
 To be ingraffed on fome ftocke of worth ;) 
 
 M 
 
82 Britannia s Pajiorals. Booke i. 
 
 And the Maids helpe, but fince " to doomes of Fate 
 " Succour, though ne'er fo foone, comes ftill too late." 
 She rais'd the youth, then with her armes inrings him, 
 And fo with words of hope fhe home-wards brings him. 
 
 At doore expedting him his Mother fate, 
 Wondring her Boy fhould ftay from her fo late ; 
 Framing for him vnto her felfe excufes. 
 And with fuch thoughts gladly her felfe abufes : 
 As that her fonne, fince day grew old and weake. 
 Staid with the Maids to runne at Barlibreake : 
 Or that he cours'd a Parke with females fraught. 
 Which would not run except they might be caught. 
 Or in the thickets layd fome wily fnare 
 1*0 take the Rabbet, or the pourblinde Hare. 
 Or taught his Dogge to catch the climbing Kid : 
 Thus Shepheards doe ; and thus flie thought he did. 
 " In things expeEied meeting with delay, 
 " Though there be none, we frame Jome cauje of flay. 
 And fo did fhe, (as fhe who doth not fo ?) 
 Coniefture Time vnwing'd he came fo flow. 
 But Doridon drew neere, fo did her griefe : 
 " 111 lucke, for fpeed, of all things elfe is chiefe. 
 Hmer. For as the Blinde-man fung. Time Jo prouides. 
 That loy goes flill on foot, andjorrow rides. 
 Now when fhe faw (a wofull fight) her fonne. 
 Her hopes then fail'd her, and her cries begun 
 To vtter fuch a plaint, that fcarce another. 
 Like this, ere came from any loue-ficke mother. 
 
 If man hath done this, heauen why mad'fl thou men ? 
 Not to deface thee in thy children ; 
 But by the worke the Worke-man to adore ; 
 Framing that fomething, which was nought before. 
 Aye me vnhappy wretch ! if that in things 
 Which are as we (faue title) men feare Kings, 
 That be their Pofiures to the life limb'd on 
 Some wood as fraile as they, or cut in flone. 
 
Song 3. Britannia's Paftorals. 83 
 
 " Tis death to ftab : why then fhould earthly things 
 
 Dare to deface his forme who formed Kings ? 
 
 When the world was but in his infancy, 
 
 Reuenge, Defires vniuft, vile lealoufie, 
 
 Hate, Enuy, Murther, all thefe fix then raigned. 
 
 When but their halfe of men the world contained : 
 
 Yet but in part of thefe, thofe ruled then, 
 
 When now as many vices liue as men. 
 
 Liue they ? yes liue I feare to kill my Sonne, 
 
 With whom my ioyes, my loue, my hopes are done. 
 
 Ceafe, quoth the Waters Nymph, that led the Swain ; 
 Though 'tis each mothers caufe thus to complaine : 
 Yet " abftinence in things we muft profefle 
 " Which Nature fram'd for need, not for excefle. 
 
 Since the leafl: bloud, drawne from the lefler part 
 Of any childe, comes from the Mothers hart. 
 We cannot chufe but grieue, except that wee 
 Should be more fenflefle than the fenflefTe tree, 
 Reply'd his Mother. Doe but cut the limbe 
 Of any Tree, the trunke will weepe for him : 
 Rend the cold * Sicamor's thin barke in two, ' Aiiuding 
 
 His Name and Teares, would fay. So Loue Jhould do. 'i(h°pronun- 
 " That Mother is all flint (then beafts lefle good) p".'°" ^■^^ 
 
 " Which drops no water when her childe ftreames blood, orthogra- 
 
 At this the wounded Boy fell on his knee, p'''^- 
 
 Mother, kinde Mother (faid) weepe not for mee. 
 Why, I am well .'' Indeed I am : If you 
 Ceafe not to weepe, my wound will bleed anew. 
 When I was promift firfl: the lights fruitipn. 
 You oft haue'told me^ 'twas on this condition, ■» 
 
 That I fhould hold it with like rent and paine 
 As others doe, and one time leaue't againe. 
 Then deereft mother leaue, oh leaue to waile, 
 " Time will efFedt, where teares can nought auaile. 
 
 Herewith Marinda taking vp her fonne. 
 Her hope, her loue, her ioy, her Doridon ; 
 
84 Britannia s Pajiorals. Booke i 
 
 She thank'd the Nymph, for her kinde fuccour lent. 
 Who ftrait tript to her watry Regiment. 
 •luiytooke Downe ill a dell (where in that * Month whofe fame 
 his name Growcs greater by the man who gaue it name, 
 Cffifar. Stands many a weil-pil'd cocke of fliort fweet hay 
 That feeds the hufbands Neat each Winters day) 
 A mountaine had his foot, and gan to rife 
 In ftately height to parlee with the Skies. 
 And yet as blaming his owne lofty gate, 
 Waighing the fickle props in things of ftate. 
 His head began to droope, and down-wards bending, 
 Knockt on that breft which gaue it birth and ending : 
 And lyes fo with an hollow hanging vaut. 
 As when fonie boy trying the Somerfaut, 
 Stands on his head, and feet, as hee did lie 
 To kicke againft earths fpangled Canopie ; 
 When feeing that his heeles are of fuch weight. 
 That he cannot obtaine their purpos'd height, 
 Leaues any more to ftriue ; and thus doth fay, 
 What now I cannot doe, another day 
 May well effed: : it cannot be denide 
 I (hew'd a will to ad, becaufe I tride : 
 The Scornefull'hill men call'd him, who did fcorne 
 So to be call'd, by reafon he had borne 
 No hate to greatnefle, but a minde to be 
 The flaue of greatnefle, through Humilitie : 
 For had his Mother Nature thought it meet 
 He meekly bowing would haue kift her feet. 
 
 Vnder the hollow hanging of this hill 
 There was a Caue cut out by Natures fkill : 
 Or elfe it feem'd the Mount did open's brefl:. 
 That all might fee what thoughts he there poflefl. 
 Whofe gloomy entrance was enuiron'd round 
 With flirubs that cloy ill hufbands Meadow-ground ; 
 The thick-growne Haw-thorne & the binding Bryer, 
 The Holly that out-dares cold Winters ire : 
 
Song 3. Britannia s Pajlorals. 85 
 
 Who all intwinde, each limbe with Hmbe did deale. 
 That fcarfe a glympfe of light could inward fteale. 
 An vncouth place, fit for an vncouth minde, 
 That is as heauy as that caue is blinde ; 
 Here liu'd a man his hoary haires call'd old, 
 Vpon whofe front time many yeares had told. 
 Who, fince Dame Nature in him feeble grew. 
 And he vnapt to giue the world ought new. 
 The fecret power of Hearbes that grow on mold. 
 Sought ought, to cherifh and relieue the old. 
 
 Hither Martnda all in hafte came running. 
 And with her teares defir'd the old mans cunning. 
 When this good man (as goodnefle ftill is preft 
 At all aflayes to helpe a wight diftreft) 
 As glad and willing was to eafe her fonne. 
 As fhe would euer ioy to fee it done. 
 And giuing her a falue in leaues vp bound ; 
 And fhe diredted how to cure the wound. 
 With thanks, made home-wards, (longing flill to fee 
 Th'efFedl of this good Hermits Surgerie) 
 There carefully, her fonne laid on a bed, 
 (Enriched with the bloud he on it fhed) 
 She wafhes, dreffes, bindes his wound (yet fore) 
 That grieu'd, it could weepe bloud for him no more. 
 
 Now had the glorious Sunne tane vp his Inne, 
 And all the lamps of heau'n inlightned bin. 
 Within the gloomy fhades of fome thicke Spring, 
 Sad Philomel gan on the Haw-thorne fing, 
 (Whilft euery beafl at reft was lowly laid) 
 The outrage done vpon a filly Maid. 
 All things were hufht, each bird flept on his bough ; 
 And night gaue reft to him, day tyr'd at plough ; 
 Each beaft, each bird, and each day-toy ling wight, 
 Receiu'd the comfort of the filent night : 
 Free from the gripes of forrow euery one. 
 Except poore Philomel and Doridon ; 
 
86 Britannia s Pajiorah. Booke i, 
 
 She on a Thorne fings fweet though fighing ftraines ; 
 He on a couch more foft, more fad 'complaines : 
 Whofe in-pent thoughts him long time hauing pained, 
 He fighing wept, & weeping thus complained. 
 
 Sweet Philomela (then he heard her fing) 
 I doe not enuy thy fweet carolling, 
 But doe admire thee, that each euen and morrow, 
 Canft carelefly thus fing away thy forrow. 
 Would I could doe fo too ! and euer be 
 In all my woes ftill imitating thee : 
 But I may not attaine to that ; for then 
 Such moft vnhappy, miferable men 
 Would ftriue with Heauen, and imitate the Sunne, 
 Whofe golden beames in exhalation. 
 Though drawn from Fens, or other grounds impure, 
 Turne all to fruflifying nouriture. 
 When we draw nothing by our Sun-like eyes. 
 That euer turnes to mirth, but miferies : 
 Would I had neuer feene, except that fhe 
 Who made me wifti fo, loue to loolce on rae. 
 Had Colin Clout yet liu'd, (but he is gone) 
 That beft on earth could tune a louers mone, 
 Whofe fadder Tones inforc'd the Rocks to weepe, 
 And laid the greateft griefes in quiet fleepe : 
 Who when he fung (as I would doe to mine) 
 His trueft loues to his faire Rojaline, 
 Entic'd each Shepherds eare to heare him play. 
 And rapt with wonder, thus admiring fay : 
 Thrice happy plaines (if plaines thrice happy may be) 
 Where fuch a Shepherd pipes to fuch a Lady. 
 Who made the LafTes long to fit downe neere him ; 
 And woo'd the Riuers fro their Springs to heare him. 
 Heauen reft thy Soule (if fo a Swaine may pray) 
 And as thy workes Hue here, liue there for aye. 
 Meane while (vnhappy) I fhall ftill complaine 
 Loues cruell wounding of a feely Swaine. 
 
Song 3. Britannia s Pajiorals. 87 
 
 Two nights thus paft : the Lilly-handed Morne 
 Saw Vhcebus ftealing dewe from Ceres Corne. 
 The mounting Larke (dales herauld) got on wing 
 Bidding each bird chufe out his bough and fing. 
 *The lofty Treble fung the little M^ren ; * Adefcrip- 
 
 Robin the Meane, that beft of all loues men ; M^aii 
 
 The Nightingale the Tenor ; and the 'Thru/h Confort of 
 
 The Counter-tenor fweetly in a bufh : 
 And that the Muficke might be full in parts. 
 Birds from the groues flew with right willing hearts : 
 But (as it feem'd) they thought (as doe the Swaines, 
 Which tune their Pipes on fack'd Hibernians plaines) 
 There fhould fome droaning part be, therefore will'd 
 Some bird to flie into a neighb'ring field. 
 In Embaffie vnto the King of Bees, 
 To aid his partners on the flowres and trees : 
 Who condifcending gladly flew along 
 To beare the Bafe to his well-tuned fong. 
 The Crow was willing they fhould be beholding 
 For his deepe voyce, but being hoarfe with flcolding, 
 He thus lends aide ; vpon an Oake doth climbe. 
 And nodding with his head, fo keepeth time. 
 
 O true delight, enharboring the brefts 
 Of thofe fweet creatures with the plumy crefls. 
 Had Nature vnto man fuch fimpl'efl'e giuen, 
 He would like Birds be farre more neere to heauen. 
 But Doridon well knew (who knowes no lefl'e ?) 
 " Mans compounds haue o'er thrown his fimplenefle. 
 
 Noone-tide the Morne had woo'd, and fhe gan yeeld. 
 When Doridon (made ready for the field) 
 Goes fadly forth (a wofull Shepherds Lad) 
 Drowned in teares, his minde with griefe yclad. 
 To ope his fold and let his Lamkins out, 
 (Full iolly flocke they feem'd, a well fleec'd rout) 
 Which gently walk'd before, he fadly pacing. 
 Both guides and followes them towards their grazing. 
 
88 Britannia s Pajiorals. Booke i. 
 
 When from a Groue the Wood-Nymphs held full deare. 
 
 Two heauenly voyces did intreat his eare. 
 
 And did compell his longing eyes to fee 
 
 What happy wight enioy'd fuch harmonie. 
 
 Which ioyned with fiue more, and fo made feauen. 
 
 Would parallel in mirth the Spheares of heauen. 
 
 To haue a fight at firft he would not prefle, 
 
 For feare to interrupt fuch happinefle : 
 
 But kept aloofe the thicke growne fhrubs among. 
 
 Yet fo as he might heare this wooing Song. 
 
 F. TT^Ie Shepherds Swaine, why fitfl; thou all alone, 
 
 jO Whil'ft other Lads are {porting on the leyes ? 
 R. loy may haue company, but Grief e hath none : 
 
 Where pleafure neuer came, fports cannot pleafe. 
 F. Yet may you pleafe to grace our this daies fport. 
 
 Though not an adlor, yet a looker on. 
 R. A looker on indeede, fo Swaines of fort, 
 
 Caft low, take ioy to looke whence they are thrown ? 
 F. Seeke ioy and finde it. 
 R. Griefe doth not minde it. 
 
 BOTH. 
 
 Then both agree in one. 
 
 Sorrow doth hate 
 
 To haue a mate ; 
 " True griefe is Jiill alone. 
 
 F. Sad Swaine areade, (if that a Maid may alke) 
 
 What caufe fo great efFefts of griefe hath wrought ?) 
 R. Alas, Loue is not hid, it weares no maflce ; 
 
 To view 'tis by the face conceiu'd and brought. 
 F. The caufe I grant : the caufer is not learned : 
 
 Your fpeech I doe entreat about this tafke. 
 R. If that my heart were feene, 'twould be difcerned ; 
 
 And Fida's name found grauen on the calke. 
 
Song 3. Britannia s Pajiorals. 89 
 
 F. Hath Loue young Remond moued ? 
 R. 'Tis Fida that is loued. 
 
 BOTH. 
 
 Although 'tis /aid that no men 
 
 Will with_ their hearts. 
 
 Or goods chief e 'parts 
 Truft either Seas or Women. 
 
 F. How may a Maiden be aflur'd of loue. 
 
 Since falfhood late in euerie Swaine excelleth ? 
 R. When proteftations faile, time may approue 
 
 Where true afFeftion Hues, where falfhood dwelleth. 
 F. The trueft caufe eledls a Judge as true : 
 
 Fie, how my fighing, my much louing telleth. 
 R. Your loue is fixt in one whofe heart to you 
 
 Shall be as conftancy, which ne'er rebelleth. 
 F. None other fhall haue grace. 
 R. None elfe in my heart place. 
 
 BOTH. 
 
 Goe Shepherds Swaines and wiue all. 
 
 For Loue and Kings 
 
 Are two like things 
 Admitting no Corriuall. 
 
 As when fome Malefaftor iudg'd to die 
 For his offence, his Execution nye, 
 Cafteth his fight on ftates vnlike to his. 
 And weighs his ill by others happinefle : 
 So Doridon thought euery ftate to be 
 Further from him, more neere felicitie. 
 
 O blefled fight, where fuch concordance meets, 
 Where truth with truth, and loue with liking greets. 
 Had (quoth the Swain) the Fates giuen me fome meafure 
 Of true delights inefl;imable treafure, 
 I had beene fortunate : but now fo weake 
 My bankrupt heart will be inforc'd to breake. 
 
90 Britannia s Pajlorals. Booke \, 
 
 Sweet Loue that drawes on earth a yoake fo euen ; 
 
 Sweet life that imitates the blifle of heauen ; 
 
 Sweet death they needs muft haue, who fo vnite 
 
 That two diftindt make one Hermaphrodite : 
 
 Sweet loue, fweet life, fweet death, that fo doe meet 
 
 On earth ; in death, in heauen be euer fweet! 
 
 Let all good wiflies euer wait vpon you. 
 
 And happinefle as hand-maid tending on you. 
 
 Your loues within one centre meeting haue ! 
 
 One houre your deaths, your corps poffefle one graue ! 
 
 Your names ftill greene, (thus doth a Swaine implore) 
 
 Till time and memory Ihall be no more ! 
 
 Herewith the couple hand in hand arofe. 
 And tooke the way which to the fheep-walke goes. 
 And whil'ft that Doridon their gate look'd on. 
 His dogge difclos'd him, rufhing forth vpon 
 A well-fed Deere, that trips it o'er the Meade, 
 As nimbly as the wench did whilome tread 
 On Ceres dangling eares, or Shaft let goe 
 By fome faire Nymph that beares Diana's Bowe. 
 When turning head, he not a foot would fturre. 
 Scorning the barking of a Shepheards curre : 
 So fhould all Swaines as little weigh their fpite. 
 Who at their fongs doe bawle, but dare not bite. 
 
 Remand, that by the dogge the Mafter knew, 
 Came backe, and angry bade him to purfue ; 
 Dory (quoth he) If your ill-tuter'd dogge 
 Haue nought of awe, then let him haue a clogge. 
 Doe you not know this feely timorous Deere, 
 (As vfuall to his kinde) hunted whileare. 
 The Sunne not ten degrees got in the Signes, 
 Since to our Maides, here gathering Columbines, 
 She weeping came, and with her head low laid 
 In Fida's lap, did humbly begge for aide. 
 Whereat vnto the hounds they gaue a checke. 
 And fauing her, might fpie about her necke 
 
Song 3. Britannia s Pajiorals. 91 
 
 A Coller hanging, and (as yet is feene) 
 
 Thefe words in gold wrought on a ground of greene : 
 
 Maidens : fince 'tis decreed a Maid Jhall haue me, 
 
 Keepe me till he Jhall kill me that muji Jaue me. 
 
 But whence ftie came, or who the words concerne. 
 
 We neither know nor can of any learne. 
 
 Vpon a pallat fhe doth lie at night, 
 
 Neere Fida's bed, nor will fhe from her fight : 
 
 Vpon her walkes fhe all the day attends. 
 
 And by her fide fhe trips where ere fhe wends. 
 
 Remand (replide the Swaine) if I haue wrong'd 
 Fida in ought which vnto her belong'd : 
 I forrow for't, and truelie doe proteft, 
 As yet I neuer heard fpeech of this Beafl: : 
 Nor was it with my will ; or if it were. 
 Is it not lawful] we fhould chafe the Deere, 
 That breaking our inclofures euery morne 
 Are found at feed vpon our crop of corne ? 
 Yet had I knowne this Deere, I had not wrong'd 
 Fida in ought which vnto her belong'd. 
 
 I thinke no lefTe, quoth Remand; but I pray. 
 Whither walkes Doridan this Holy-day ? 
 Come driue your fheepe to their appointed feeding. 
 And make you one at this our merry meeting. 
 Full many a Shepherd with his louely LafTe, 
 Sit telling tales vpon the clouer grafTe : 
 There is the merry Shepherd of the hole ; 
 Thenot, Piers, Nilkin, Duddy, Hobbinall, 
 Alexis, Siluan, Teddy of the Glen, 
 Rowly and Perigot here by the Fen, 
 With many more, I cannot reckon all 
 That meet to folemnize this feftiuall. 
 
 I grieue not at their mirth, faid Doridan : 
 Yet had there beene of Feafls not any one 
 Appointed or commanded, you will fay, 
 " Where there's Content 'tis euer Holy-day. 
 
92 Britannia s Paftorah. Booke 
 
 Leaue further talke (quoth Remond) let's be gone. 
 He helpe you with your fheepe, the time drawes on. 
 Fida will call the Hinde, and come with vs. 
 
 Thus went they on, and Remond did difcufle 
 Their caufe of meeting, till they won with pacing 
 The circuit chofen for the Maidens tracing. 
 It was a Roundell feated on a plaine. 
 That flood as Sentinell vnto the Maine, 
 Enuiron'd round with Trees and many an Arbour, 
 Wherein melodious birds did nightly harbour : 
 And on a bough within the quickning Spring, 
 Would be a teaching of their young to fing ; 
 Whofe pleafing Noates the tyred Swaine haue made 
 To fteale a nap at noone-tide in the fhade. 
 Nature her felfe did there in triumph ride, 
 And made that place the ground of all her pride, 
 Whofe various flowres deceiu'd the raflier eye 
 In taking them for curious Tapiftrie. 
 A filuer Spring forth of a rocke did fall. 
 That in a drought did ferue to water all. 
 Vpon the edges of a graffie banke, 
 A tuft of Trees grew circling in a ranke. 
 As if they feem'd their fports to gaze vpon, 
 Or flood as guard againfl the winde and Sunne : 
 So faire, fo frefh, fo greene, fo fweet a ground 
 The piercing eyes of heauen yet neuer found. 
 Here Do^idon all ready met doth fee, 
 (Oh who would not at fuch a meeting be ?) 
 Where he might doubt, who gaue to other grace. 
 Whether the place the Maids, or Maids the place. 
 Here gan the Reede, and merry Bag-pipe play. 
 Shrill as a Thrufli vpon a Morne of May, 
 (A rurall Muficke for an heauenly traine) 
 And euery ShepherdefTe danc'd with her Swaine. 
 As when fome gale of winde doth nimbly take 
 A faire white locke of wooU, and with it make 
 
Song 3. Britannia s Pajiorals. 93 
 
 Some prettie driuing ; here it fweepes the plaine : 
 There ftaies, here hops, there mounts, and turns again : 
 Yet all fo quicke, that none fo foone can fay- 
 That now it ftops, or leapes, or turnes away : 
 So was their dancing, none look'd thereupon. 
 But thought their feuerall motions to be one. 
 A crooked meafure was their firfl: eledtion, 
 Becaufe all crooked tends to beft perfedtion. 
 And as I weene this often bowing meafure. 
 Was chiefly framed for the women's pleafure. 
 Though like the rib, they crooked are and bending, 
 Yet to the beft of formes they aime their ending : 
 Next in an (/) their meafure made a reft. 
 Shewing when Loue is plaineft it is beft. 
 Then in a {T) which thus doth Loue commend. 
 Making of two at firft, one in the end. 
 And laftly clofing in a round do enter. 
 Placing the lufty Shepherds in the center : 
 About the Swaines they dancing feem'd to roule. 
 As other Planets round the Heauenly Pole. 
 Who by their fweet afpedt or chiding frowne. 
 Could raife a Shepherd vp, or caft him downe. 
 Thus were they circled till a Swaine came neere. 
 And fent this fong vnto each Shepherds eare : 
 The Note and voyce fo fweet, that for fuch mirth 
 The Gods would leaue the heauens, & dwell on earth, 
 
 HAppy are you Jo enclofed, 
 May the Maids be ftill dijpojed 
 In their geftures and their dances. 
 So to grace you with intwining, 
 That Enuy wijh injuch combining. 
 Fortunes /mile with happy chances. 
 
 Here it Jeemes as if the Graces 
 Meajufd out the Plaine in traces, 
 
94 Britannia s Pajiorals. Booke r. 
 
 In a Shepherdejfe difguifing. 
 Are the Sphearesfo nimbly turning ? 
 Wandring Lamps in heauen burning. 
 
 To the eye Jo much intifing ? 
 
 Yes, Heauen meanes to take theje thither. 
 And adde one ioy to fee both dance together. 
 
 Gentle Nymphes be not refujing, 
 Loues negleSl is times abufing. 
 
 They and beauty are but lent you. 
 Take the one and keepe the other : 
 Loue keepes.frejh, what age doth/mother. 
 
 Beauty gone you will repent you. 
 
 'Twill be /aid when yee haue proued, 
 Neuer Swaines more truly loued : 
 
 O then flye all nice behauiour. 
 Pitty faine would {as her dutie') 
 Be attending ftill on beautie, 
 
 Let her not be out of fauour. 
 
 Difdaine is now Jo much rewarded. 
 That Pitty weepes fince Jhe is unregarded. 
 
 The meafure and the Song here being ended : 
 
 Each Swain his thoughts thus to his Loue comended. 
 
Song 
 
 i' 
 
 Britannia s Pajiorals. 
 'The firji prefents his Dogge, with thefe : 
 
 95 
 
 r4i 
 
 x*^ 
 
 ^C*fK 
 
 When I my flocke neere you doe kee-pe. 
 And bid my Dogge goe take a Sheepe, 
 He cleane mijiakes what I bid doe. 
 And bends his pace Jiill towards you. 
 Poore wretch, he knowes more care I keepe 
 To get you, then ajeely Sheep. 
 
 i2*X^ 
 
 jiiOC^ 
 
 The fecond, his Pipe, with thefe : 
 
 
 % 
 
 Bid me tojing {/aire Maid) my Song Jhal proue 
 There ne^er was truer Pipe Jung truer Loue. 
 
 The third, a paire of Gloues, thus : 
 
 ihsdi 
 
 
 A\ 
 
 i\ 
 
 Thefe will keepe your hands from burning, 
 Whilji the Sunne isfwiftly turning : 
 -^^ But who can any veile deuife 
 
 To fhield my Heart from your faire Eyesi 
 
 x*z~ 
 
 % 
 
 jr' 
 
 
 ^Iniy^ 
 
 ijc^ 
 
96 
 
 Britannia's Pajlorals. Booke i. 
 
 •X*f7>< 
 
 The fourth, an Anagram. 
 Maiden aid Men. 
 
 J^ JK 
 
 .<b 
 
 Maidens Jhould be ay ding Men, 
 And for hue giue hue agen : 
 Learne this kjfon from your Mother, 
 One good wijh requires another. 
 They deferue their names hefi, when 
 Maids moji willingly aid Men. 
 
 i2»JC^ 
 
 P 
 
 r- 
 
 
 The fift, a Ring, with a Pi<5ture 
 in a lewell on it. 
 
 Nature hath framed a lemme beyond compare, 
 'The world's the Ring, but you the lewell are. 
 
 ^M 
 
 The fixt, a Nofegay of Rofes, with a 
 Nettle in it. 
 
 Such is the Pofie, Loue compojes ; 
 A flinging Nettle mixt with Rofes. 
 
 'Mi 
 
Song 3. Britannia's Pajiorals. 
 
 97 
 
 The feuenth, a Girdle. 
 
 This during light I giue to clip your Waft, 
 Faire, grant mine armes that place when day 
 is paft. 
 
 OfQ 
 
 m 1^^ 
 
 mhmw the substance, and lUue 
 But by ihe shadowe which you aiue , 
 Substance and shadow e.hom are dtte,\ 
 Andaiuen of me to none but yonj 
 Then whence is life hatjrom that 'pari, \ 
 Whch is -possessor of lie hart . 
 
 *c /7 Tht Hooki afnght ielm^qs loyou.for when I take hat seelie- Sheepe,yo slmMcM en/ 
 
98 
 
 Britannia s Pajiorals. Booke i. 
 
 '^ITe'^ni/f 
 
 •sMiiunq ^ 2(101 iijivqiiom 33i^ 
 
 •simiwif 311 ^"l "l ?"" '^"■^ ^"Q 
 
 hovielie maiden Itst ofan./ ~^ 
 Ofourplaiues' ihou^h ihriceasTnS^ ^ 
 Vhile fo laue andhaue dmye'mjT^^ 
 
 ■)ipiV3qdnor3pvi{S Ols^JOi ofuj JE W/ej kmas- lett fates hefyev^T^^ 
 
 Biinp spi iopjQiu f/C/SmsiifJ, >Sf uch ajQce,soJi/ne a/ealure 
 
 sdss3jq.ofmooms oj3qu/03 ousp33j}i 
 
 J ^mde^JcdTest sweetest creiiSf?)^ 
 Never yet wasjound, but Immi^T^ 
 
 S3SS31P iJXipM ^^OW TO^oflA OthenldtTnjplamU,bemoum':. 
 
 36um/3}]d npsp3 sdoii /Cujri^ Tmsf ashep?ieardthay,^h ^meanesf^ 
 
 Tndh is best when shee isplaineslT^ 
 
 ^lm3mmo}piV3q3mjpiiUHif/fp}273 g' 
 
 psu/^si f^isiq miaimo ifov^ 
 
 "pm^moj iS3(j SI i(ino/Cijim t/pio^ 
 
 •3£iiQU3ddJ. ipis j^i]fd3W puy 
 
 m 9q p]mii[s fjt/s suspmu^ 
 
 I huejwt, with voives cmiestmJJ^^ 
 Fayih isjai/ih mthoutpnteslin^^^ ^ 
 1tme_^allthkgesddth inJieriH 2I > 
 a. enders each desert hisTnemS^ 
 
 'e m 'me, as me man. 
 
 Doubtlespmenere wowneawom^ 
 
Song 3. Britannia s Pajiorah. 
 
 99 
 
loo Britannia s Pajiorah. Booke i, 
 
 Tweijrtf; 
 
 {m Cifid lecaies his howe^ his reason is. 
 
 Because jour eyes woundt when his shafts doe misse 
 
 Whilft euery one was ofFring at the fhrine 
 Of fuch rare beauties might be ftil'd diuine : 
 This lamentable voyce towards them flyes : 
 O Heauenfend aid, or elje a Maiden dies ! 
 Herewith fome ran the way the voyce them led ; 
 Some with the Maiden ftaid which (hooke for dread ; 
 What was the caufe time ferues not now to tell. 
 Harke ; for my iolly Wether rings his bell, 
 And almoft all our flocks haue left to graze, 
 Shepherds 'tis almoft night, hie home apace. 
 When next we meet (as we ftiall meet ere long) 
 He tell the reft in fome enfuing Song. 
 
Song 4. Britannia s Pajlorals. 
 
 101 
 
 
 The Fovrth Song. 
 
 i^^^® 
 
 The ARGv^ 
 
 Fida's dijireffe, the Hinde is Jlaine, 
 Tet from her ruines Hues againe. 
 Riots defcription next I rime i 
 Then Aletheia, and old Time : 
 And lajlly, from this Song I goe, 
 Hauing defcrib'd the Vale of Woe. 
 
 Appy yee dayes of old, when euery wafte 
 Was like a Sanctvarie to the chafte : 
 When Incefts, Rapes, Adulteries, were not 
 
 knowne ; 
 All pure as bloflbmes, which are newly blowne. 
 
 Maids were as free from fpots, and foiies within. 
 
 As moft vnblemifht in the outward fkin. 
 
 Men euery Plaine and Cottage did afford, 
 
 As fmooth in deeds, as they were faire of word. 
 
 Maidens with Men as fifters with their brothers ; 
 
 And Men with Maids conuers'd as with their Mothers ; 
 
 Free from fufpition, or the rage of blood. 
 
 Strife onely raign'd, for all ftriu'd to be good. 
 
102 Britannia s Pajlorah. Booke i 
 
 But then as little Wrens but newly fledge, 
 Firft, by their neits hop vp and downe the hedge ; 
 Then one from bough to bough gets vp a tree : 
 His fellow noting his agilitie, 
 Thinlces he as well may venter as the other, 
 So flufhing from one fpray vnto another. 
 Gets to the top, and then enbold'ned flies, 
 Vnto an height paft ken of humane eyes : 
 So time brpught worfe, men firft defir'd to talke ; 
 Then came fufpedl ; and then a priuate walke ; 
 Then by confent appointed times of meeting, 
 Where moft fecurely each might kifle his fweeting ; 
 Laflly, with lufts their panting brefts fo fwell. 
 They came to. But to what I blufli to tell. 
 And entred thus. Rapes vfed were of all, 
 Inceft, Adultery, held as Veniall : 
 The certainty in doubtfull ballance refts, 
 If beafts did learne of men, or men of beafl:s. 
 Had they not learn 'd of man who was their King, 
 So to infult vpon an vnderling. 
 They ciuilly had fpent their liues gradation. 
 As meeke and milde as in their firfl creation ; 
 Nor had th' infedtions of infefted minds 
 So alter'd nature, and diforder'd kinds, 
 Fida had beene lefle wretched, I more glad. 
 That fo true loue fo true a progrefle had. 
 
 When Remond left her {Remond then vnkinde) 
 Fida went downe the dale to feeke the Hinde ; 
 And found her taking foyle within a flood : 
 Whom when flie call'd fl;raight follow'd to the wood. 
 Fida then wearied, fought the cooling fliade. 
 And found an arbour by the Shepherds made 
 To frolike in (when Sol did hottefl; fliine) 
 With cates which were farre cleanlier then fine. 
 For in thofe dayes men neuer vs'd to feed 
 So much for pleafure as they did for need. 
 
Song 4. Britannia s Pajiorals. 103 
 
 Enriching then the arbour downe flie fate her ; 
 Where many a bufie Bee came flying at her : 
 Thinking when flie for ayre her brefts difclofes. 
 That there had growne fome tuft of Damafke-Rofes, 
 And that her azure veines which then did fwell. 
 Were Cohduit-pipes brought from a liuing Well. 
 Whofe liquor might the world enioy for money, 
 Bees would be bank-rupt, none would care for honey. 
 The Hinde lay ftill without (poore filly creature. 
 How like a woman art thou fram'd by nature ? 
 Timerous, apt to teares, wilie in running, 
 Caught beft: when force is intermixt with cunning) 
 Lying thus diftant, different chances meet them. 
 And with a fearfull obiedr Fate doth greet them. 
 
 Something appear'd, which feem'd farre off, a man, ^^^^^-^ ^^^^ 
 In ftature, habit, gate, proportion : of rm. 
 
 But when their eyes their obiefts Mafters were, 
 And it for ftridter cenfure came more neere. 
 By all his properties one well might ghefle. 
 Than of a man, he fure had nothing lefle. 
 For verily fince old Deucalions flood 
 Earths flime did ne'er produce a viler brood. 
 Vpon the various earths embrodered gowne 
 There is a weed vpon whofe head growes Downe ; 
 Sow-thijlle 'tis ycleep'd, whofe downy wreath, 
 If any one can blow ofi^ at a breath. 
 We deeme her for a Maid : fuch was his haire, 
 Ready to flied at any ftirring ayre. 
 His eares were flirucken deafe when he came nie. 
 To heare the Widowes or the Orphans crie. 
 His eyes encircled with a bloody chaine, 
 With poaring in the blood of bodies flaine. 
 His mouth exceeding wide, from whence did flie 
 VoUies of execrable blafphemie ; 
 Banning the Heauens, and he that rideth on them, 
 Dar'd vengeance to the teeth to fall vpon him : 
 
104 Britannia s Pajiorals, Booke i. 
 
 • Men of Like Scythian Wolues, or *men of wit bereauen, 
 SllnftfhT' Which howle and ftioot againft the lights of Heauen. 
 starrci. His hands (if hands they were) like fome dead corfe. 
 With digging vp his buried anceftors ; 
 Making his Fathers tombe and facred fhrine 
 The trough wherein the Hog-heard fed his Swine. 
 And as that Beaft hath legs (which Shepherds feare, 
 Ycleep'd a Badger, which our Lambs doth teare) 
 One long, the other fhort, that when he runs 
 Vpon the plaines, he halts ; but when he wons 
 On craggy Rocks, or fteepy ftils, we fee 
 None runs more fwift, nor eafier then he : 
 Such legs the Monfter had, one finew fhrunke. 
 That in the plaines he reel'd, as being drunke ; 
 And halted in the paths to Veriue tending : 
 And therefore neuer durft be that way bending : 
 But when he came on carued Monuments, 
 Spiring Colojfes, and high raifed rents. 
 He paft them o're, quicke, as the Eafterne winde 
 Sweepes through a Meadow ; or a nimble Hinde, 
 Or Satyre on a Lawne ; or fkipping Roe ; 
 Or well-wing'd Shaft forth of a Parthian bow. 
 His body made (ftill in confumptions rife) 
 A miferable prifon for a life. 
 
 Riot he hight ; whom fome curs'd Fiend did raife. 
 When like a Chaos were the nights and daies : 
 Got and brought vp in the Cymerian Clime, 
 Where Sun nor Moon, nor daies, nor nights do time : 
 As who fhould fay, they fcorn'd to fhew their faces 
 To fuch a Fiend fhould feeke to fpoile the Graces. 
 
 At fight whereof, Fida nigh drown'd in feare, 
 Was cleane difmaid when he approched neare ; 
 Nor durft fhe call the Deere, nor whiftling winde her. 
 Fearing her noife might make the Monfter finde her ; 
 Who flily came, for he had cunning learn'd him, 
 And feiz'd vpon the Hinde, ere fhe difcern'd him. 
 
Song 4. Britannia s Pajlorals. 105 
 
 Oh how fhe ftriu'd and ftrugled ; euery nerue 
 
 Is preft at all aflaies a life to ferue : 
 
 Yet foone we lofe, what we might longer keepe 
 
 Were not Preuention commonly a fleepe. 
 
 Maids, of this Monfters brood be fearefull all. 
 
 What to the Hinde may hap to you befall. 
 
 Who with her feet held vp in ftead of hands. 
 
 And teares which pittie from the Rocke commands, 
 
 She fighes, and fhrikes, & weeps, and looks vpon him : 
 
 Alas fhe fobs, and many a groane throwes on him ; 
 
 With plaints which might abate a Tyrants knife ; 
 
 She begs for pardon, and entreats for life. 
 
 The hollow caues refound her meanings neere it. 
 
 That heart was flint which did not grieue to heare it : 
 
 The high topt Firres which on that mountaine keep, 
 
 Haue euer fince that time beene feene to weepe. 
 
 The Owle till then, 'tis thought full well could fing. 
 
 And tune her voyce to euery bubling Spring : 
 
 But when fhe heard thofe plaints, then forth fhe yode 
 
 Out of the couert of an luy rod. 
 
 And hollowing for aide, fo ftrain'd her throat. 
 
 That fince fhe cleane forgot her former noat. 
 
 A little Robin fitting on a tree, 
 
 In dolefull noats bewail'd her Tragedie. 
 
 An jijpe, who thought him flout, could not difTemble, 
 
 But fhew'd his feare, and yet is feene to tremble. 
 
 Yet Cruelty was deafe, and had no fight 
 
 In ought which might gain-fay the appetite : 
 
 But with his teeth rending her throat afunder, 
 
 Befprinkl'd with her blood the greene grafTe vnder 
 
 And gurmundizing on her flefh and blood, 
 
 He vomiting returned to the Wood. 
 
 Ryot but newly gone, as ftrange a vifion 
 Though farre more heauenly, came in apparition. 
 As that Arabian bird (whom all admire) 
 Her exequies prepar'd and funerall fire. 
 
io6 Britannia s Pajiorals. Booke i, 
 
 Burnt in a flame conceiued from the Sun, 
 . And nouriftied with flips of Cynamon, 
 Out of her aflies hath a fecond birth. 
 And flies abroad, a wonderment on earth : 
 So from the ruines of this mangled Creature 
 Arofe fo faire and fo diuine a feature, 
 of Trar"°" That Enuy for her heart would doat vpon her ; 
 
 Heauen could not chufe but be enamour'd on her : 
 
 Were I a Starve, and ftie a fecond Spheare, 
 
 Ide leaue the other, and be fixed there. 
 
 Had faire Arachne wrought this Maidens haire. 
 
 When flie with Pallas did for flcill compare, 
 
 Mineruds worlce had neuer beene efteem'd. 
 
 But this had beene more rare and highly deem'd. 
 
 Yet gladly now flie would reuerfe her doome, 
 
 Weauing this haire within a Spiders Loome. 
 
 Vpon her fore-head, as in glory fate 
 
 Mercy and Maiefl;y, for wondring at. 
 
 As pure and fimple as Albania's fnow. 
 
 Or milke-\vhite Swans which ftem the ftreams of Voe : 
 
 Like to fome goodly fore-land, bearing out 
 
 Her haire, the tufts which fring'd the Ihoare about. 
 
 And lefl: the man which fought thofe coafts might flip. 
 
 Her eyes like Stars, did ferue to guide the fliip. 
 
 Vpon her front (heauens fairefl: Promontory) 
 
 Delineated was, th'Authentique Story 
 
 Of thofe Eleft, whofe flieepe at firfl; began 
 
 To nibble by the fprings of Canaan : 
 
 Out of whofe facred loynes (brought by the fl:em 
 
 Of that fweet Singer of leru/alem) 
 
 Came the befl: Shepherd euer flocks did keepe, 
 
 Who yeelded vp his life to faue his flieepe. 
 
 O thou Eterne ! by whom all beings moue, 
 Giuing the Springs beneath, and Springs aboue : 
 Whofe Finger doth this Vniuerje fuflaine, 
 Bringing the former and the latter raine : 
 
Song 4. Britannia s Pajiorals. 107 
 
 Who doft with plenty Meads and Failures fill. 
 
 By drops diftill'd like dew on Herman Hill : 
 
 Pardon a filly Swaine, who (farre vnable 
 
 In that which is fo rare, fo admirable) 
 
 Dares on an Oaten-pipe, thus meanly fing 
 
 Her praife immenfe, worthy a filuer fl:ring. 
 
 And thou which through the Defart and the Deepe, 
 
 Didft lead thy Chofen like a flocke of flieepe : 
 
 As fometime by a Starre thou guidedft them, 
 
 Which fed vpon the plaines of Bethelem ; 
 
 So by thy facred Spirit diredt my quill. 
 
 When I fhall fing ought of thy Holy hill, 
 
 That times to come, when they my rymes rehearfe. 
 
 May wonder at me, and admire my Verfe : 
 
 For who but one rapt in Coelefl;iall fire. 
 
 Can by his Mufe to fuch a pitch afpire ; 
 
 That from aloft he might behold and tell 
 
 Her worth, whereon an iron Pen might dwell. 
 
 When fhe was borne, Nature in fport began. 
 To learne the cunning of an Artizan, 
 And did Vermilion with a white compofe. 
 To mocke her felfe, and paint a Damafke Rofe. 
 But fcorning Nature vnto Art fhould feeke. 
 She fpilt her colours on this Maidens cheeke. 
 Her mouth the gate from whence all goodnefi"e came. 
 Of power to giue the dead a liuing name. 
 Her words embalmed in fo fweet a breath. 
 That made them triumph both on Time and Death, 
 Whofe fragrant fweets, fince the Camelion knew, 
 And taflied of, he to this humor grew : 
 Left other Elements, held this fo rare, 
 That fince he neuer feeds on ought but Ayre. 
 
 O had I Virgils verfe, or Tullies Tongue ! 
 Or raping numbers like the Thracian's Song, 
 I haue a Theame would make the Rocks to dance. 
 And furly Beafl:s that through the Defart prance. 
 
io8 Britannia s Pajiorah. Booke 
 
 Hie from their Caues, and euery gloomy den. 
 To wonder at the excellence of men. 
 Nay, they would thinke their ftates for euer raifed. 
 But once to looke on one, fo highly praifed. 
 
 Out of whofe Maiden brefts (which fweetly rife) 
 The Seers fuckt their hidden Prophecies : 
 And told that for her loue in times to come. 
 Many fhould feeke the Crowne of Martyrdome, 
 By fire, by fword, by tortures, dungeons, chaines. 
 By ftripes, by famine, and a world of paines ; 
 Yet conftant ftill remaine (to her they loued) 
 Like Syon Mount, that cannot be remoued. 
 Proportion on her armes and hands recorded. 
 The world for her no fitter place afforded. 
 Praife her who lift, he ftill fhall be her debter : 
 For yirt ne'er fain'd, nor Nature fram'd a better. 
 
 As when a holy Father hath began 
 To ofl^er facrifice to mighty Pan, 
 Doth the requeft of euery Swaine afTume, 
 To fcale the Welkin in a facred fume, 
 Made by a widow'd Turtles louing mate. 
 Or Lamkin, or fome Kid immaculate, 
 The ofFring heaues aloft, with both his hands ; 
 Which all adore, that neere the Altar ftands : 
 So was her heauenly body comely rais'd 
 On two faire columnes ; thofe that Quid prais'd 
 In lulia's borrowed name, compar'd with thefe. 
 Were Crabs to Apples of t\v' He/pherides ; 
 Or ftumpe-foot Vulcan in comparifon. 
 With all the height of true perfeftion. 
 
 Nature was here fo lauifh of her ftore, 
 That ftie beftow'd vntill ihe had no more. 
 Whofe Treafure being weakned (by this Dame) 
 She thrufts into the world fo many lame. 
 
 The higheft Synode of the glorious Skie, 
 (I heard a Wood-Nymph fing) fent Mercurie 
 
Song 4. Britannia s Pajiorals. 109 
 
 To take a furuay of the faireft faces. 
 And to defcribe to them all womens graces ; 
 Who long time wandring in a ferious queft, 
 Noting what parts by Beauty were pofleft : 
 At laft he faw this Maid, then thinking fit 
 To end his iourney, here, Nil-vltra, writ. 
 
 Fida in adoration kifs'd her knee. 
 And thus befpake ; Haile glorious Deitie ! 
 (If fuch thou art, and who can deeme you lefTe ?) 
 VVhether thou raign'ft ^ueene of the JVilderneJfe, 
 Or art that Goddefle ('tis vnknowne to me) 
 Which from the Ocean drawes her pettigree : 
 Or one of thofe, who by the moffie bankes 
 Of drifling Hellicon, in airie rankes 
 Tread Roundelayes vpon the filuer fands, 
 Whilfl; fhaggy Satyres tripping o're the ftrands, 
 Stand ftill at gaze, and yeeld their fenfes thrals 
 To the fweet cadence of your Madrigals : 
 Or of the Faiery troope which nimbly play. 
 And by the Springs dance out the Summers day ; 
 Teaching the little birds to build their nefts. 
 And in their finging how to keepen refts : 
 Or one of thofe, who watching where a Spring 
 Out of our Grandame Earth hath iffuing, 
 With your attraftiue Muficke wooe the ftreame 
 (As men by Faieries led, falne in a dreame) 
 To follow you, which fweetly trilling wanders 
 In many Mazes, intricate Meanders ; 
 Till at the laft, to mocke th'enamour'd rill. 
 Ye bend your traces vp fome fliady hill ; 
 And laugh to fee the waue no further tread ; 
 But in a chafe run foaming on his head. 
 Being enforc'd a channell new to frame, 
 Leauing the other deftitute of name. 
 If thou be one of thefe, or all, or more. 
 Succour a feely Maid, that doth implore 
 
no Britannia s Pafiorals. Booke i. 
 
 Aid, on a bended heart, vnfain'd and meeke. 
 As true as blufhes of a Maiden cheeke. 
 
 Maiden, arife, repli'd the new-borne Maid : 
 " Pure Innocence the fenflefle ftones will aide. 
 Nor of the Fairie troope, nor Mufes nine ; 
 Nor am I Venus, nor of Pro/erpine : 
 But daughter to a lufty aged Swaine, 
 That cuts the greene tufts off th'enamel'd plaine ; 
 And with his Sythe hath many a Summer fliorne 
 The plow'd-lands lab'ring with a crop of corne ; 
 • Defcrip- Who from the cloud-clipt mountaine by his ftroake 
 tion of peJs downe the lofty Pine, the Cedar, Oake : 
 He opes the flood-gates as occafion is 
 Sometimes on that mans land, fometimes on this. 
 When Verolame, a ftately Nymph of yore 
 Did vfe to decke her felfe on IJis fhore. 
 One morne (among the reft) as there fhe ftood. 
 Saw the pure Channell all befmear'd with blood ; 
 Inquiring for the caufe, one did impart, 
 Thofe drops came from her holy Albans hart ; 
 Herewith in griefe Ihe gan intreat my Syre, 
 That Jfts ftreame, which yeerely did attire 
 Thofe gallant fields in changeable array. 
 Might turne her courfe and run fome other way. 
 Left that her waues might wafh away the guilt 
 From oflF their hands which Albans blood had fpilt : 
 He condefcended, and the nimble waue 
 Her Fifli no more within that channell draue : 
 But as a witnefTe left the crimfon gore 
 To ftaine the earth, as they their hands before. 
 He had a being ere there was a birth. 
 And ftiall not ceafe vntill the Sea and Earth, 
 And what they both containe, ftiall ceafe to be. 
 Nothing confines him but Eternitie, 
 By him the names of good men euer Hue, 
 Which ftiort liu'd men vnto Obliuion giue : 
 
Song 4 • Britannia s Poftorals. iii 
 
 And in forgetfulnefle he lets him fall, 
 
 That is no other man then naturall : 
 
 'Tis he alone that rightly can difcouer, 
 
 Who is the true, and who the fained Louer. 
 
 In Summers heat when any Swaine to fleepe 
 
 Doth more addift himfelfe then to his flieepe ; 
 
 And whilft the Leaden God fits on his eyes. 
 
 If any of his Fold or ftrayes or dyes, 
 
 And to the waking Swaine it be vnknowne. 
 
 Whether his fheepe be dead, or ftraid, or ftolne ; 
 
 To meet my Syre he bends his courfe in paine. 
 
 Either where fome high hill furuaies the plaine ; 
 
 Or takes his ftep toward the flowrie vallies. 
 
 Where Zephyre with the Cowjlip hourely dallies ; 
 
 Or to the groues, where birds from heat or weather. 
 
 Sit fweetly tuning of their noates together : 
 
 Or to a Mead a wanton Riuer drefles 
 
 With richeft Callers of her turning EJfes ; 
 
 Or where the Shepherds fit old ftories telling, 
 
 Chronos my Syre hath no fet place of dwelling ; 
 
 But if the Shepherd meet the aged Swaine, 
 
 He tels him of his fheepe, or fhewes them flaine. 
 
 So great a gift the facred Powers of heauen 
 
 (Aboue all others) to my Syre haue giuen. 
 
 That the abhorred Stratagems of night. 
 
 Lurking in cauernes from the glorious light. 
 
 By him (perforce) are from their dungeons hurl'd. 
 
 And fhew'd as monfters to the wondring World. 
 
 What Mariner is he failing vpon 
 The watry Defart clipping Albion, 
 Heares not the billowes in their dances roare 
 Anfwer'd by Eccoes from the neighbour fhoare ? 
 To whofe accord the Maids trip from the Downes, 
 And Riuers dancing come, ycrown'd with Townes, 
 All finging forth the vidlories of 'fime, 
 Vpon the Monfters of the Wefterne Clime, 
 
1 1 2 Britannia s Pajiorals. Booke 
 
 VVhofe horrid, damned, bloody, plots would bring 
 
 Confufion on the Laureate Poets King, 
 
 VVhofe Hell-fed hearts deuis'd how neuer more 
 
 A Swan might finging fit on Ifis ftiore : 
 
 But croaking Rauens, and the Scrich-owles crie. 
 
 The fit Mufitians for a 'Tragedies 
 
 Should euermore be heard about her fl:rand. 
 
 To fright all Pafl"engers from that fad Land. 
 
 Long Summers dayes I on his worth might fpend, 
 And yet begin againe when I would end. 
 All Ages fince the firfl: age firft begun. 
 Ere they could know his worth their age was done : 
 VVhofe abfence all the Treafury of earth 
 Cannot buy out. From farre-fam'd Tagus birth, 
 Not all the golden grauell he treads ouer, 
 One minute paft, that minute can recouer. 
 I am his onely Childe (he hath no other) 
 Cleep'd Aletheia, borne without a Mother. 
 Poore Aletheia long defpis'd of all. 
 Scarce Charitie would lend an Hofpitall 
 To giue my Months cold watching one nights reft. 
 But in my roome tooke in the Mifers Cheft. 
 
 In winters time when hardly fed the flocks, 
 And Ificles hung dangling on the Rocks ; 
 When Hyems bound the floods in filuer chaines. 
 And hoary Frofl:s had candy'd all the Plaines ; 
 When euery Barne rung with the threfliing Flailes, 
 And Shepherds Boyes for cold gan blow their nailes : 
 (Wearied with toyle in feeking out fome one 
 That had a fparke of true deuotion ;) 
 It was my chance (chance onely helpeth need) 
 To finde an houfe y built for holy deed. 
 With goodly Archited;, and Cloifters wide. 
 With groues and walkes along a Riuers fide ; 
 The place it felfe afforded admiration. 
 And euery fpray a Theame of contemplation. 
 
Song 4. Britannia s Pajiorals. 
 
 But (woe is me) when knocking at the gate, 
 
 I gan intreat an enterance thereat : 
 
 The Porter afkt my name : I told ; He fwell'd, 
 
 And bade me thence : wherewith in griefe repell'd, 
 
 I fought for fhelter to a ruin'd houfe, 
 
 Harb'ring the Weafellr, and the duft-bred Moufe ; 
 
 And others none, except the two-kinde Bat, 
 
 Which all the day there melancholy fate : 
 
 Here fate I downe with winde and raine ybeat ; 
 
 Griefe fed my minde, and did my body eat. 
 
 Yet Idlenejfe I faw (lam'd with the Gout) 
 
 Had entrance when poore 'Truth was kept without. 
 
 There faw I Drunkennejfe with Dropfies fwolne ; 
 
 And pamper'd Lufl that many a night had ftolne 
 
 Ouer the Abby-wa\\ when Gates were lock'd. 
 
 To be in Venus wanton bofome rock'd : 
 
 And Gluttony that furfetting had bin, 
 
 Knocke at the gate and ftraight-way taken in : 
 
 Sadly I fate, .and fighing grieuM to fee, 
 
 Their happinefle, my infelicitie. 
 
 At laft came Knuy by, who hauing fpide 
 
 Where I was fadly feated, inward hide. 
 
 And to the Conuent eagerly fhe cries. 
 
 Why fit you here, when with thefe eares and eyes 
 
 I heard and faw a ftrumpet dares to fay, 
 
 She is the true faire Aletheia, 
 
 Which you haue boafted long to Hue among you. 
 
 Yet fufFer not a peeuifh Girle to wrong you ? 
 
 With this prouok'd, all rofe, and in a rout 
 
 Ran to the gate, ftroue who fhould firfl: get out. 
 
 Bade me be gone, and then (in tearmes vnciuill) 
 
 Did call me counterfait, witch, hag, whore, deuill ; 
 
 Then like a ftrumpet droue me from their eels. 
 
 With tinkling pans, and with the noife of bels. 
 
 And he that lou'd me, or but moan'd my cafe. 
 
 Had heapes of fire-brands banded at his face. 
 
 113 
 
 Metheia 
 feeks reliefe 
 at an Abbey, 
 and is 
 denide. 
 
114 Britannia s Pajiorals. Booke i. 
 
 Thus beaten thence (diftreft, forfaken wight) 
 Inforc'd in fields to fleepe, or wake all night ; 
 A filly fheepe feeing me fl:raying by, 
 Forfooke the fhrub where once flie meant to lye ; 
 As if file in her kinde (vnhurting elfe) 
 Did bid me take fuch lodging as her felfe : 
 Gladly I tooke the place the fiieepe had giuen, 
 Vncanopy'd of any thing but heauen. 
 Where nigh benumb'd with cold, with grief frequented, 
 Vnto the filent night I thus lamented : 
 
 Faire Cynthia, if from thy filuer Throne, 
 Thou euer lentfl: an care to Virgins mone 1 
 Or in thy Monthly courfe, one minute ftaid 
 Thy Palfrayes trot, to heare a wretched Maid ! 
 Pull in their reynes, and lend thine eare to me, 
 Forlorne, forfaken, cloath'd in miferie : 
 But if a woe hath neuer woo'd thine eare. 
 To flop thofe Courfers in their full Cariere ; 
 But as ftone-hearted men, vncharitable, 
 Pafl"e carelefle by the poore, when men lefle able 
 Hold not the needed^ helpe in long fufpence. 
 But in their hands poure their beneuolence. 
 O ! if thou be fo hard to fl:op thine eares ! 
 When ftars in pitty drop downe from their Spheares, 
 Yet for a while in gloomy vaile of night, 
 Inflirowd the pale beames of thy borrowed light : 
 O ! neuer once difcourage goodnefle (lending 
 One glimpfe of light) to fee misfortune fpending 
 Her vtmofl: rage on 'Truth, defpis'd, diftrefl"ed, 
 Vnhappy, vnrelieued, yet vndrefled. 
 Where is the heart at vertues fuiFring grieueth ? 
 Where is the eye that pittying relieueth ? 
 Where is the hand that ftill the hungry feedeth ? 
 Where is the eare that the decrepit fteedeth ? 
 That heart, that hand, that eare, or elfe that eye, 
 Giueth, relieueth, feeds, fteeds mifery ? 
 ' Ed. 1625 has veedies. 
 
Song 4- Britannia s Pajlor ah. 115 
 
 earth produce me one (of all thy ftore) 
 Enioyes ; and be vaine-glorious no more. 
 
 By this had Chanticlere, the village-clocke. 
 Bidden the good-wife for her Maids to knocke : 
 And the fwart plow man for his breakfaft ftaid. 
 That he might till thofe lands were fallow laid : 
 The hils and vallies here and there refound 
 With the re-ecchoes of the deepe-mouth'd hound. 
 Each Shepherds daughter with her cleanly Peale, 
 Was come a field to milke the Mornings meale. 
 And ere the Sunne had clymb'd the Eafterne hils. 
 To guild the muttring bournes, and pritty rils. 
 Before the lab'ring Bee had left the Hiue, 
 And nimble Fijhes which in Riuers diue. 
 Began to leape, and catch the drowned Flie, 
 
 1 rofe from reft, not in felicitie. 
 Seeking the place of Charities refort, 
 Vnware I hapned on a Princes Court ; 
 Where meeting GreatneJJe, I requir'd reliefe, 
 (O happy vndelay'd) (he faid in briefe. 
 
 To fmall efFedb thine oratorie tends. 
 How can I keepe thee and Jo many friends ? 
 If of my houfliold I fhould make thee one, 
 Farewell my feruant Adulation : 
 I know ftie will not ftay when thou art there : 
 But feeke fome Great mans feruice other-where. 
 Darknefle and light, fummer and winters weather 
 May be at once, ere you two liue together. 
 Thus with a nod fhe left me cloath'd in woe. 
 
 Thence to the Citie once I thought to goe. 
 But fomewhat in my mind this thought had thrown, 
 // was a place wherein I was not knowne. 
 And therefore went vnto thefe homely townes, 
 Sweetly enuiron'd with the Dazied Downes. 
 
 Vpon a ftreame wafliing a village end 
 A Mill is plac'd, that neuer difference kend 
 
ii6 Britannia s Pajior ah. Booke 
 
 Twixt dayes for worke, and holy-tides for reft. 
 Truth en- gyf. alwaics wrouffht & ground the neighbors greft. 
 
 treats succor *^- .. rri 77 1 
 
 from a Mil- Bcfore the doore I law the Miller walking, 
 
 feaw^aui" ^"^^ °'^^^'' *^° ^^^ neighbours) with him talking: 
 One of them was a Weauer, and the other 
 The Village Tayler, and his trufty brother ; 
 To them I came, and thus my fuit began : 
 Content., the riches of a Country-man, 
 Attend your Adlions, be more happy ftill, 
 Then I am hapleffe ! and as yonder Mill, 
 Though in his turning it obey the ftreame. 
 Yet by the head-ftrong torrent from his beame 
 Is vnremou'd, and till the wheele be tore, 
 It daily toyles ; then refts, and workes no more : 
 So in lifes motion may you neuer be 
 (Though fwayd with griefes) o'er-borne with mifery. 
 
 With that the Miller laughing, brufh'd his cloathes. 
 Then fwore by Cocke and other dung-hill oathes, 
 I greatly was to blame, that durft fo wade 
 Into the knowledge of the Wheel-wrights trade. 
 I, neighbour, quoth the 'Tayler (then he bent 
 His pace to me, fpruce like a lacke of Lent) 
 Your iudgement is not feame-rent when you fpend it, 
 Nor is it botching, for I cannot mend it. 
 And Maiden, let me tell you in difpleafure. 
 You muft not preffe the cloth you cannot meafure : 
 But let your fteps be ftitcht to wifdomes chalking, 
 And caft prefumptuous fhreds out of your walking. 
 The Weauer faid, Fie wench, your felfe you wrong, 
 Thus to let flip the fliuttle of your rong : 
 For marke me well, yea, marke me well, I fay, 
 I fee you worke your fpeeches Web aftray. 
 
 Sad to the Soule, o'er laid with idle words, 
 O heauen, quoth I, where is the place affords 
 A friend to helpe, or any heart that ruth 
 The moft deiefted hopes of wronged Truth ? 
 
Song 4- Britannia s Paji or ah. iij 
 
 Truth ! quoth the Miller, plainly for our parts, 
 
 I and the Weauer hate thee with our hearts : 
 
 The ftrifes you raife I will not now difcufle, 
 
 Betweene our honeft Cuftomers and vs : 
 
 But get you gone, for fure you may defpaire 
 
 Of comfort here, feeke it fome other-where. 
 
 Maid (quoth the Tayler) we no fuccour owe you. 
 
 For as I guefle her's none of vs doth know you : 
 
 Nor my remembrance any thought can feize 
 
 That I haue euer feene you in my dayes. 
 
 Scene you ? nay, therein confident I am ; 
 
 Nay, till this time I neuer heard your name. 
 
 Excepting once, and by this token chiefe. 
 
 My neighbour at that inftant cald me thiefe, 
 
 By this you fee you are vnknowne among vs. 
 
 We cannot help you, though your ftay may wrong vs. 
 
 Thus went I on, and further went in woe : 
 For as fhrill founding Fame, that's neuer flow, 
 Growes in her going, and increafeth more, 
 Where fhe is now, then where Ihe was before : 
 So Griefe (that neuer healthy, euer ficke. 
 That froward Scholler to Arethmeticke, 
 Who doth Diuifion and Subftradtion flie. 
 And chiefly learnes to adde and multiply) 
 In longeft iourneys hath the fl:rongeft fl:rength. 
 And is at hand, fupprefl:, vnquaild at length, Defcription 
 
 Betweene two hils, the higheft Phoebus fees ofafoiitarie 
 
 Gallantly crownd with large Skie-kifling trees, 
 Vnder whofe fliade the humble vallies lay ; 
 And Wilde-Bores from their dens their gambols play : 
 There lay a graueld walke ore-growne with greene. 
 Where neither tradl of man nor beaft was feene. 
 And as the Plow-man when the land he tils, 
 Throwes vp the fruitfull earth in ridged hils, 
 Betweene whofe Cheuron forme he leaues a balke ; 
 So twixt thofe hils had Nature fram'd this walke. 
 
1 1 8 Britannia s Pajiorals, Booke i , 
 
 Not ouer-darke, nor light, in angles bending, 
 
 And like the gliding of a Snake defcending : 
 
 All huHit and filent as the mid of night : 
 
 No chattring Fie, nor Crow appear'd in fight ; 
 
 But further in I heard the Turtk-Doue, 
 
 Singing fad Dirges on her lifelefTe Loue. 
 
 Birds that compaffion from the rocks could bring, 
 
 Had onely licenfe in that place to fing : 
 
 Whofe dolefull noates the melancholly Cat 
 
 Clofe in a hollow tree fate wondring at. 
 
 And Trees that on the hill-fide comely grew. 
 
 When any little blaft of 2E0I blew, 
 
 Did nod their curled heads, as they would be 
 
 The Judges to approue their melody. 
 
 luft halfe the way this folitary Groue, 
 A Cryfliall Spring from either hill-fide ftroue, 
 Which of them firft fhould wooe the meeker ground, 
 And make the Pibbles dance vnto their found. 
 But as when children hauing leaue to play. 
 And neare their Mafters eye fport out the day, 
 (Beyond condition) in their childifli toyes 
 Oft vex their Tutor with too great a noyfe. 
 And make him fend fome feruant out of doore. 
 To ceafe their clamour, left they play no more : 
 So when the prettie Rill a place efpies, 
 Where with the Pibbles flie would vvantonize ; 
 And that her vpper ftreame fo much doth wrong her 
 To driue her thence, and let her play no longer ; 
 If fhe with too loud mutt'ring ran away, 
 As being [too] much incens'd to leaue her play ; 
 A wefterne milde, and pretty whifpering gale. 
 Came dallying with the leaues along the dale. 
 And feem'd as with the water it did chide, 
 Becaufe it ran fo long vnpacifide : 
 Yea, and me thought it bade her leaue that coyle, 
 Or he would choake her vp with leaues and foyle : 
 
Song 4- Britannia s Poftorals. 119 
 
 Whereat the riuelet in my minde did weepe, 
 And hurl'd her head into a filent deepe. 
 
 Now he that guides the Chariot of the Sunne, 
 Vpon th' EcUpticke Circle had fo runne. 
 That his braffe-hoofd fire-breathing horfes wan 
 The ftately height of the Meridian : 
 And the day-lab'ring man (who all the morne 
 Had from the quarry with his Pick-axe torne 
 A large well fquared ftone, which he would cut 
 To ferue his ftile, or for fome water-fhut) 
 Seeing the Sunne preparing to decline, 
 Tooke out his Bag, and fate him downe to dine. 
 When by a Hiding, yet not fteepe defcent, 
 I gain'd a place, ne'er Poet did inuent 
 The like for forrow : not in all this Round 
 A fitter feat for paffion can be found. 
 
 As when a dainty Fount, and Cryftall Spring, 
 Got newly from the earths imprifoning. 
 And ready preft fome channell cleere to win. 
 Is round his rife by Rockes immured in. 
 And from the thirfty earth would be with-held. 
 Till to the Cefterne top the waues haue fwell'd : 
 But that a carefull Hinde the Well hath found, 
 As he walkes fadly through his parched ground ; 
 Whofe patience fuffring not his land to ftay 
 Vntill the water o'er the Cefterne play. 
 He gets a Picke-axe and with blowes fo ftout. 
 Digs on the Rocke, that all the groues about 
 Refound his ftroke, and ftill the rocke doth charge. 
 Till he hath made a hole both long and large, 
 Whereby the waters from their prifon run. 
 To clofe earths gaping wounds made by the Sun : 
 So through thefe high rais'd hils, embracing round 
 This fhady, fad, and folitary ground. 
 Some power (refpefting one whofe heauy mone 
 Requir'd a place to fit and weepe alone) 
 
120 Britannia s Pajlorals. Booke i 
 
 Had cut a path, whereby the grieued wight 
 Might freely take the comfort of this Scyte. 
 About the edges of whofe roundly forme. 
 In order grew fuch Trees as doe adorne 
 The fable hearfe, and fad forfaken mate ; 
 And Trees whofe teares their lofle commiferate. 
 Such are the Cyprejfe, and the weeping Myrrhe, 
 The dropping Amber, and the refin'd Fyrrhe, 
 The bleeding Vine, the watry Sicamour, 
 And Willough for the forlorne Paramour ; 
 In comely diftance : vnderneath whofe fhade 
 Moft neat in rudenefle Nature arbors made : 
 Some had a light ; fome fo obfcure a feat. 
 Would entertaine a fufFerance ne'er fo great : 
 Where grieued wights fate (as I after found, 
 Whofe heauy hearts the height of forrow crown'd) 
 Wailing in faddeft tunes the doomes of Fate 
 On men by vertue cleeped fortunate. 
 
 The firft note that I heard I foone was won. 
 To thinke the fighes of faire Endymion ; 
 The fubiedt of whofe mournfull heauy lay 
 Was his declining with faire Cynthia. 
 
 Next him a great man fate, in woe no lefle ; 
 Teares were but barren fhadowes to expreffe 
 The fubftance of his griefe, and therefore ftood 
 Diftilling from his heart red ftreames of blood : 
 He was a Swaine whom all the Graces kift, 
 A braue, heroicke, worthy Martialiji : 
 Yet on the Downes he oftentimes was feene 
 To draw the merry Maidens of the Greene 
 With his fweet voyce : Once, as he fate alone, 
 He fung the outrage of the lazy Drone, 
 Vpon the lab'ring Bee, in ftraines fo rare. 
 That all the flitting Pinnionifts of ayre 
 Attentiue fate, and in their kindes did long 
 To learne fome Noat from his well-timed Song. 
 
Song 4. Britannia s Pajiorals. 121 
 
 Exiled Nafo (from whofe golden pen 
 The Mujes did diftill delights for men) 
 Thus fang of Cefalus (whofe name was worne 
 Within the bofome of the bluftiing Morn^ :) 
 He had a dart was neuer fet on wing. 
 But death flew with it : he could neuer fling, 
 But life fled from the place where fl:ucke the head. 
 A Hunters frolicke life in Woods he lead 
 In feparation from his yoaked Mate, 
 Whofe beauty, once, he valued at a rate 
 Beyond Aurora's cheeke, when fhe (in pride) 
 Promis'd their ofF-fpring fliould be Deifide : 
 Procris flie hight ; who (feeking to refliore 
 Her felfe that happinefle fhe had before) 
 Vnto the greene wood wends, omits no paine 
 Might bring her to her Lords embrace againe : 
 But Fate thus crofl: her, comming where he lay 
 Wearied with hunting all a Summers day, 
 He fomewhat heard within the thicket rufh. 
 And deeming it fome Beafl:, hid in a bufti, 
 Raifed himfelfe, then fet on wing a dart. 
 Which tooke a fad reft in the reftlefle heart 
 Of his chafte wife ; who with a bleeding breft 
 Left loue and life, and flept in endleffe reft. 
 With Procris heauie Fate this Shepherds wrong 
 Might be compar'd, and afke as fad a fong. 
 
 In th' Autumne of his youth, and manhoods Springy 
 Defert (growne now a moft deiedled thing) 
 Won him the fauour of a Roy all Maid, 
 Who with Diana's Nymphs in forefts ftray'd, 
 And liu'd a Huntrefle life exempt from feare. 
 She once encountred with a furly Beare, 
 Neare to a Cryftall Fountaines flowery brink 
 Heat brought them thither both, and both would drinke. 
 When from her golden quiuer flie tooke forth 
 A Dart, aboue the reft efteem'd for worth, 
 
122 Britannia s P aft or ah. Booke i 
 
 And fent it to his fide : the gaping wound 
 
 Gaue purple ftreames to.coole the parched ground, 
 
 "Whereat he gnaflit his teeth, ftorm'd his hurt lym, 
 
 Yeelded the earth what it denied him : 
 
 Yet funke not there, but (wrapt in horror) hy'd 
 
 Vnto his hellifh caue, defpair'd and dy'd. 
 
 After the Beares juA death, the quickning Sunne 
 Had twice fix times about the Zodiacke run, 
 And (as refpeftlefle) neuer caft an eye, 
 Vpon the night-inuail'd Cymmerij, 
 When this braue Swaine (approued valorous) 
 In oppofition, of a tyrannous 
 And bloody Sauage being long time gone 
 Quelling his rage with faithlefle Gerion 
 Returned from the ftratagems of warres, 
 (Inriched with his quail'd foes bootlefl'e fcarres) 
 To fee the cleare eyes of his deareft Loue, 
 And that her fkill in hearbs might helpe remoue 
 The frefhing of a wound which lie had got 
 In her defence, by Enuies poyfon'd fhot. 
 And comming through a Groue wherein his faire 
 Lay with her brefts difplai'd to take the aire. 
 His rufliing through the boughes made her arife. 
 And dreading fome wilde hearts rude enterprize, 
 Diredts towards the noyfe a fharpned dart. 
 That reach'd the life of his vndaunted heart. 
 Which when fhee knew, twice twenty Moones nie fpent 
 In teares for him, and dy'd in languifhment. 
 
 Within an arbour fhadow'd with a Vine, 
 Mixed with Rofemary and Eglantine, 
 A Shepherdefle was fet, as faire as young, 
 Whofe praife full many a Shepherd whilome fung. 
 Who on an Altar faire had to her Name, 
 In confecration many an Anagram : 
 And when with fugred ftraines they ftroue to raife 
 Worth, to a garland of immortall Bayes ; 
 
Song 4. Britannia s Pajiorals. 125 
 
 She as the learnedft Maid was chofe by them, 
 (Her flaxen haire crown'd with an dnadeni) 
 To iudge who beft deferu'd, for flie could fit 
 The height of praife vnto the height of wit. 
 But well-a-day thofe happy times were gone, 
 (Millions admit a fmall fubtradlion.) 
 
 And as the Teere hath firft his iocund Spring, 
 Wherein the Leaues, to Birds fweet carrolling, 
 Dance with the winde : then fees, the Summers day 
 Perfedt the Embrion BlofTome of each fpray : 
 Next commeth Autumne, when the threfhed flieafe 
 Lofeth his graine, and every tree his leafe : 
 Laftly, cold Winters rage, with many a ftorme, 
 Threats the proud Vines which Idds top adorne. 
 And makes the fap leaue fuccourlefle the (hoot. 
 Shrinking to comfort his decaying root. 
 Or as a quaint Mufitian being won, 
 To run a point of fweet Diuifion, 
 Gets by degrees vnto the higheft Key ; 
 Then, with like order falleth in his play 
 Into a deeper Tone; and laflly, throwes 
 His Period in a Diapazon Clofe : 
 / So euery humane thing terrefliriall, 
 ' His vtmoft height attain'd, bends to his fall. 
 And as a comely youth, in faireft age, 
 Enamour'd on a Maid (whofe parentage 
 Had Fate adorn'd, as Nature deckt her eye, 
 Might at a becke command a Monarchic) 
 But poore and faire could neuer yet bewitch 
 A mifers minde, preferring foule and rich. 
 And therefore (as a Kings heart left behinde. 
 When as his corps are borne to be enfhrin'd) 
 (His Parents will, a Law) like that dead corfe, 
 Leauing his heart, is brought vnto his Horfe, 
 Carried vnto a place that can impart 
 No fecret Embaffie vnto his heart, 
 
124 Britannia s Pajiorals. Booke i. 
 
 Climbes fome proud hill, whofe ftately eminence 
 
 Vaflals the fruitfull vales circumference : 
 
 From whence, no fooner can his lights defcry 
 
 The place enriched by his Mijirejfe eye : 
 
 But fome thicke cloud his happy profpedt blends. 
 
 And he in forrow rais'd, in teares defcends : 
 
 So this fad Nymph (whom all commiferate) 
 
 Once pac'd the hill of GreatneJJe and of State, 
 
 And got the top ; but when fhe gan addrefle 
 
 Her fight, from thence to fee true happinefle. 
 
 Fate interpos'd an enuious cloud of feares. 
 
 And fhe with-drew into this vale of teares. 
 
 Where Sorrow fo enthral'd beft Vertues lewell. 
 
 Stones check'd griefs hardnes, call'd her too-too cruel, 
 
 A ftreame of teares vpon her faire cheekes flowes, 
 
 As morning dew vpon the Damafke-Rofe, 
 
 Or Cryftall-glafle vailing Vermilion \ 
 
 Or drops of Milke on the Carnation : 
 
 She fang and wept, (6 yee Sea- binding Cleeues, 
 
 Yeeld Tributary drops, for Vertue grieues !) 
 
 And to the Period of her fad fweet Key 
 
 Intwinn'd her cafe with chafte Penelope : 
 
 But fee the drifling South, my mournfull ftraine 
 
 Anfwers, in weeping drops of quickning raine. 
 
 And fince this day we can no further goe, 
 
 ReftlefTe I reft within this Fale of Woe, 
 
 Vntill the modeft morne on earths vaft Zone, 
 
 The euer gladfome day fliall re-inthrone. 
 
Song 5. Britannia s Pajiorals. 
 
 125; 
 
 
 The Fifth Song. 
 
 Tc*?: 
 
 In Noats that rocks to pittie moue, 
 lAy s.Jings her buried Loue: 
 And from her home of plentie giues 
 Comfort to Truth, whom none relieues 
 Repentance houfe next cah me on. 
 With Riots true conuerfion : 
 Leaning Amintas Loue to Truth, 
 To be the Theame the Mufe enfu'th. 
 
 Ere full of Afrill, vail'd with forrowes wing, 
 For louely Layes, I drearyDirges fing. 
 Who fo hath feene yong Lads (to fport 
 
 themfelues) 
 Run in a low ebbe to the fandy fhelues : 
 Where ferioufly they worke in digging wels, 
 Or building childifh forts of Cockle-fhels : 
 Or liquid water each to other bandy ; 
 Or with the Pibbles play at handy-dandy. 
 Till vnawares the Tyde hath clos'd them round, 
 And they muft wade it through or elfe be drown'd. 
 May (if vnto my Pipe he liften well) 
 My Mufe diftrefle with theirs foone paralell. 
 
126 Britannia's Pajlorals. Booke 
 
 For where I whilome fung the loues of Swaines, 
 And woo'd the Cryftall Currants of the Plalnes, 
 Teaching the Birds to loue, whilfl: euery Tree 
 Gaue his attention to my Melodie : 
 Fate now (as enuying my too-happy Theame) 
 Hath round begirt my Song with Sorrowes ftreame, 
 Which till my Mufe wade through and get on fhore, 
 My griefe-fwolne Soule can fing of Loue no more. 
 
 But turne we now (yet not without remorfe) 
 To heauenly Aletheias fad difcourfe. 
 That did from Fida's eyes fait teares exhale, 
 When thus fhe fhew'd the Solitarie Vale. 
 
 luft in the midft this ioy-forfaken ground 
 A hillocke flood, with Springs embraced round : 
 (And with a Cryftall Ring did feeme to marry 
 Themfelues, to this fmall He fad-folitarie :) 
 Vpon whofe breft (which trembled as it ran) 
 Rode the faire downie-filuer-coated Swan : 
 And on the bank.es each Cyprejfe bow'd his head, 
 
 * A Fune- To hcare the Swan fing her owne * Epiced. 
 
 fore thf °" -A^s when the gallant youth which liue vpon. 
 
 corps be in- The Weftemc Downes of louely Albion ; 
 Meeting, fome feftiuall to folemnize, 
 Choofe out two, fkil'd in wraftling exercife, 
 Who ftrongly, at the wrift or coller cling, 
 Whilft arme in arme the people make a Ring. 
 So did the water round this He inlinke. 
 And fo the Trees grew on the waters brinke : 
 Waters their ftreames about the Hand fcatter ; 
 And Trees perform'd as much vnto the water : 
 Vnder whofe fhade the Nightingale would bring 
 Her chirping young, and teach them how to fing. 
 The woods moft fad, Mufitians thither hie. 
 As it had beene the Siluians Cajialie, 
 And warbled forth fuch Elegy acke ftraines, 
 That ftrucke the windes dumbe ; & the motly plaines 
 
Song 5. Britannia s Pajlorals. 127 
 
 Were fiU'd with enuy, that fuch fhady places 
 Held all the worlds delights in their embraces. 
 
 O how (me think.es) the impes of Mneme bring 
 Dewes of Inuention from their facred Spring ! 
 Here could I fpend that fpring of Poejie, 
 Which not twice ten Sunnes haue beftow'd on me ; 
 And tell the world, the Mufes loue appeares 
 In nonag'd youth, as in the length of yeares. 
 But ere my Mufe erefted haue the frame. 
 Wherein t'enftirine an vnknowne Shepherds name. 
 She many a Groue, and other woods muft tread, 
 More Hils, more Dales, more Founts muft be difplaid. 
 More Meadowes, Rockes, and from them all eledt 
 Matter befitting fuch an Architedt. 
 
 As Children on a play-day leaue the Schooles, 
 And gladly runne vnto the fwimming Pooles, 
 Or in the thickets, all with nettles ftung, 
 Rufti to difpoile fome fweet 'Thru/h of her young ; 
 Or with their hats (for fifh) lade in a Brooke 
 Withouten paine : but when the Morne doth looke 
 Out of the Eafterne gates, a Snayle would fafter 
 Glide to the Schooles, then they vnto their Mafter : 
 So when before I fung the Songs of Birds, 
 (Whilft euery moment fweetned lines affords) 
 I pip'd deuoid of paine, but how I come 
 Vnto my tafke, my Mufe is ftricken dumbe. 
 My blubbring pen her fable teares lets fall. 
 In Charafters right Hyrogliphicall, 
 And mixing with my teares are ready turning. 
 My late white paper to a weed of mourning ; 
 Or Inke and Paper ftriue how to impart. 
 My words, the weeds they wore, within my hart : 
 Or elfe the blots vnwilling are my rimes 
 And their fad caufe fliould liue till after-times ; 
 Fearing if men their fubiedt fhould defcry. 
 They forth-with would diflblue in teares and die. 
 
128 Britannia s Pajiorals. Booke i, 
 
 Vpon the Hands craggy rifing hill, 
 A ^adrant ranne, wherein by Artlefle fkili, 
 At euery corner Nature did eredt 
 A Columne rude, yet void of all defefl: : 
 Whereon a Marble lay. The thick-growne Bryer, 
 And prickled Hawthorne (wouen all entyre) 
 Together clung, and barr'd the gladfome light 
 From any entrance, fitting onely night. 
 No way to it but one, fteepe and obfcure, 
 The ftaires of rugged ftone, feldome in vre. 
 All ouer-growne with Mofle, as Nature fate 
 To entertaine Grief e with a cloth of State. 
 
 Hardly vnto the top I had afcended. 
 But that the Trees (fiding the fteps) befriended 
 My weary limbes, who bowing downe their armes, 
 Gaue hold vnto my hands to fcape from harmes : 
 Which euermore are ready, ftill prefent 
 Our feet, in climbing places eminent. 
 Before the doore (to hinder Phcebus view) 
 A fhady Box-tree grafped with an Eugh, 
 As in the place behalfe they menac'd warre 
 Againft the radiance of each fparkling Star. 
 And on their barkes (which time had nigh deprau'd) 
 Thefe lines (it feem'd) had been of old engrau'd : 
 This place was fram'd of yore, to be fojfeji 
 By one which Jometime Hath Beene Happieft. 
 
 Louely Idya the moft beautious 
 Of all the darlings of Occeanus, 
 He/peria's enuy and the Wefterne pride, 
 Whofe party-coloured garment Nature dy'd 
 In more eye-pleafing hewes with richer graine. 
 Then Iris bow attending Aprils raine. 
 Whofe Lilly white infliaded with the Rofe 
 Had that man feene, who fung th'Eneidos, 
 Dido had ii] obliuion flept, and fhe 
 Had giu'n his Mu/e her beft eternitie. 
 
Song 5. Britannia s Pajlorals. 129 
 
 Had braue Atrides (who did erft imploy 
 His force to mix his dead with thofe of 'Troy') 
 Beene proffered for a truce her fained peece 
 Helen had ftaid, and that had gone to Greece : 
 The Phrygian foile had not been drunk with blood, 
 Achilles longer breath'd, and Troy yet flood : 
 The Prince of Poets had not fung his ftory, 
 My friend had loft his euer-liuing glory. 
 But as a fnowy Swan, who many a day 
 On Thamar's fwelling brefts hath had his play, 
 For further pleafure doth aflay to fwim 
 My natiue Tauy, or the fandy Plim : 
 And on the panting billowes brauely rides, 
 Whilft Country-lafles walking on the fides. 
 Admire her beauty, and with clapping hands. 
 Would force her leaue the ftreame, and tread the fands, 
 When fhe regardlefle fwims to th'other edge, 
 Vntill an enuious Bryer, or tangling Sedge 
 Dilpoyles her Plumes; or elfe a fharpned Beame 
 Pierceth her breft, and on the bloudy ftreame 
 She pants for life : So whilome rode this Maid 
 On ftreames of worldly blifle, more rich arrayd. 
 With Earths delight, then thought could put in vre. 
 To glut the fenfes of an Epicure. 
 Whilft neighbring Kings vpon their frontires ftood. 
 And off^er'd for her dowre huge Seas of blood : 
 And periur'd Gerion to winne her, rent 
 The Indian Rockes for gold, and bootlefTe fpent 
 Almoft his patrimony for her fake, 
 Yet nothing like refpedted as the Drake 
 That fkowr'd her Channels, and deftroyd the weede, 
 Which fpoyld her fifters nets, and fifties breede. 
 At laft her trueft loue ftie threw vpon 
 A royall Touth, whofe like, whofe Paragon 
 Heauen neuer lent the Earth : fo great a fpirit 
 The World could not containe, nor kingdonies merit : 
 
130 Britannia s Pajiorals, Booke 
 
 And therefore loue did with the Saints inthrone him, 
 And left his Lady nought but teares to mone him. 
 
 Within this place (as wofull as my Verfe) 
 She with her Cryftall founts bedew'd his Herfe, 
 Inuailed with a fable weed fhe fate. 
 Singing this fong which ftones diffolued at. 
 
 WHat time the world clad in a mourning robe, 
 A Stage made for a wofull Tragedie : 
 When fhowers of teares from the Cceleftiall Globe 
 Bewaild the fate of Sea-loud Britanie ; 
 Whenfighs as frequent were as various fights. 
 When Hope lay bed-rid , and all ■pleajures dying. 
 When Enuy weft. 
 And Comiovt flept : 
 When Cruelty it Jelfejate almoji crying. 
 Nought being heard but what the minde affrights, 
 When Autumne had di/rob'd the Summers pride. 
 Then Englands honour, Europes wonder dy'd. 
 
 Jaddeft ftraine that e'er the yiuitsjung ! 
 
 A text of Woe for Grief e to comment on ; 
 
 Teares, fighes, and fobs, giue paffage to my tongue. 
 
 Or I Jhall fpend you till the lafi is gone. 
 
 Which done, my heart in flames of burning loue 
 
 {Wanting his moifiure) fliall to cinders turne : 
 But fir ft, by me 
 Bequeathed be 
 
 To flrew the place wherein his /acred Vrne 
 
 Shall be inclos'd, this might in many moue 
 
 The like effect : (who would not doe it ?") when 
 No graue befits him but the hearts of men. 
 
 That man whoje maffe offorrowes hath beenfuch. 
 That by their weight laid on each feuer all part. 
 
Song 5. Britannia s Pajiorals. 131 
 
 His fount aims are Jo drie, he but as much 
 
 As one poore drop hath left to eafe his heart ; 
 
 Why fhould he keepe it ? Jince the time doth call. 
 
 That he ne'er better can beftow it in : 
 If Jo he fear es 
 That others teares 
 
 In greater number, greateji prizes winne ; 
 
 Know none giues more then he which giueth all . 
 Then he which hath but one poore teare in Jiore, 
 O let himfpend that drop, and weepe no more. 
 
 Why flowes not Helicon beyond her firands ? 
 Is Henry dead, and doe the Mujes Jleepel 
 Alas ! IJee each one amazed Jlands, 
 " Shallow foords mutter, filent- are the deepe : 
 Faine would they tell their grief es, but know not where : 
 All arefo full, nought can augment their ft ore : 
 Then how fhould they 
 Their grief es difplay 
 To men, fo chid, they faine would heare no more ? 
 Though blaming thofe whofe plaints they cannot heare : 
 And with this wifh their pafjions I allow. 
 May that Mufe neuer fpeake thaf s Jilent now ! 
 
 Is Henry dead ? alas ! and doe I Hue 
 Tojing a Scrich-owles Note that he is dead? 
 If any one a fitter Theame can giue, 
 Come giue it now, or neuer to be read. 
 But let him fee it doe of horror taft, 
 Anguifh, deftruSlion : could it rend infunder 
 With fe are full grones 
 The Jenjelejfe ftones, 
 Tet Jhould we hardly be enforc'd to wonder. 
 Our former grief es would fo exceed their laft : ■ 
 
 Time cannot make our forrowes ought compleater ; 
 
 Nor adde one grief e to make our mourning greater. 
 
132 Britannia 5 Pajtor ah. Booke 
 
 England was ne'er ingirt with wanes till now ; 
 
 Till now it held fart with the Continent : 
 
 Aye me ! Jome one in fitty /hew me, how 
 
 I might in dolefull numbers Jo lament ; 
 
 That any one which lou'd him, hated me. 
 
 Might dearely hue me, for lamenting him. 
 Alas 1 my -plaint 
 Injuch conflraint 
 
 Breaks forth in rage, that though my pajftons Jwimme , 
 
 Tet are they drowned ere they landed be : 
 ImperfeEl lines I O happy ! were I hurld 
 And cut from life as England from the world. 
 
 O happier had we beene ! if we had beene 
 Neuer made happie by enioying thee ! 
 Where hath the glorious eye of heauen Jeene 
 Afpeliacle of greater miferie ? 
 Time turne thy courje ; and bring againe the Spring; 
 Breake Natures lawes ; Jearch the records of old. 
 If ought befell 
 Might paralell 
 Sad Britain's cafe : weepe Rocks, and Heauen behold. 
 What Seas offorrow fhe is plunged in. 
 
 Where Jtormes of woefo mainly haue befet her ; 
 
 She hath no place for worje, nor hope for better. 
 
 Britaine was whilome knowne (by more then fame) 
 
 To be one of the Hands fortunate ; 
 
 What franticke man would giue her now that name. 
 
 Lying Jo rufull and dijconjolate ? 
 
 Hath not her watry Zone in murmuring, 
 
 Fill'd euery fhoare with Ecchoes of her crie ? 
 
 Tes, Thetis raues, 
 
 And bids her waues 
 Bring all the Nymphes within her Emperie 
 To be ajjiftant in her Jorrowing : 
 
Song 5. Britannia s Paftorals. 133 
 
 See where they Jadly fit on l{isfl)ore. 
 
 And rend their haires as they would toy no more. 
 
 Ifis the glory of the Wefterne world. 
 
 When our Heroe {honoured EfTex) dfd, 
 
 Strucken with wonder, backe againe Jhe hurld, 
 
 And fill' d her banckes with an vnwoonted 'Tyde : 
 
 As if /he flood in doubt, if it were Jo, 
 
 And for the certaintie had turned her way. 
 Why doe not now 
 Her waues reflow ? 
 
 Poore Nymph, her Jorrowes will not let her flay ; 
 
 Or flies to tell the world her Countries woe : 
 Or cares not to come backe, perhaps, as fhowing 
 Our teares fhould make the flood, not her reflowing. 
 
 Sometimes a 'tyrant held the reynes of Rome, 
 
 Wifhing to all the City but one head. 
 
 That all at once might vndergoe his doome. 
 
 And by one blow from life befeuered. 
 
 Fate wifht the like on England, and 'twas giuen : 
 
 (O miferable men, enthral' d to Fate !) 
 
 Whofe heauy hand 
 
 That neuerjcand 
 The mifery of Kingdomes ruinate. 
 Minding to leaue her of all ioyes bereauen. 
 With one fad blow \Alas ! can worfer fall /) 
 Hath giuen this little He her Funerall. 
 
 O come yee blejfed Impes of Memory, 
 
 Ereif a new Parnaflus on his graue ! 
 
 There tune your voices to an Elegy, 
 
 Thefaddefl Note that ere Apollo gaue. 
 
 Let euery Accent make the flander by 
 
 Keepe time vnto your Song with dropping teares. 
 
 Till drops that fell 
 
 Haue made a well 
 
134 Britannia s Pajiorah. Booke i. 
 
 To /wallow him which fiill vnmoued heares ? 
 
 And though my Jelfe proue fenfelejje of your cry, 
 Tet gladly Jhould my light of life grow dim, 
 To be intomb'd in teares are weft for him. 
 
 When laft he fickned, then we firfi began 
 To tread the Labyrinth of Woe about : 
 And by degrees we further inward ran, 
 Hauing his thread of life to guide vs out. 
 But Deftinie nofoonerfaw vs enter 
 Sad Sorrowes Maze, immured vp in night, 
 
 {Where nothing dwels 
 
 But cryes and yels 
 Throwne from the hearts of men depriud of light,) 
 When we were almoft come into the Center, 
 Fate {cruelly') to barre our ioyes returning. 
 
 Cut off our Thread, and left vs all in mourning. 
 
 If you haue feene at foot of fome braue hill. 
 Two Springs arife, and delicately trill. 
 In gentle chidings through an humble dale, 
 (Where tufty Daizies nod at euery gale) 
 And on the bankes a Swaine (with Lawrell crown'd) 
 Marying his fweet Notes with their filuer found : 
 When as the fpongy clouds fwolne big with water, 
 Throw their conception on the worlds Theater : 
 Downe from the hils the rained waters roare, 
 Whilft euery leafe drops to augment their ftore : 
 Grumbling the ftones fall o'er each others backe, 
 • A fall of Rending the greene turfes with their * Catara£t, 
 waters from ^„(j through the Mcadowes run with fuch a noife, 
 pia7e? That taking from the Swaine the fountaines voice, 
 Inforce him leaue their margent, and alone 
 Couple his bafe Pipe with their bafer Tone. 
 Aietheia to Know (Shepherdcfle) that fo I lent an eare 
 Fida. Xo thofe fad wights whofe plaints I told whileare : 
 
Song 5. Britannia s Pajiorals. 135 
 
 But when this goodly Lady gan addrefle 
 
 Her heauenly voyce to fweeten heauinefle. 
 
 It drown'd the reft, as torrents little Springs ; 
 
 And ftrucken mute at her great forrowings, 
 
 Lay ftill and wondred at her pitious mone. 
 
 Wept at her griefes, and did forget their owne, 
 
 Whilft I attentiue fate, and did impart, 
 
 Teares when they wanted drops, and from a hart. 
 
 As hie in forrow as e'er creature wore, 
 
 Lent thrilling grones to fuch as had no more. 
 
 Had wife VlyJJes (who regardleffe flung 
 Along the Ocean when the Syrens fung) 
 Pafs'd by and feene her on the fea-torne cleeues, 
 Waile her loft Loue (while Neptunes watry Theeues 
 Durft not approach for Rockes :) to fee her face 
 He would haue hazarded his Grecian race, 
 Thruft head-long to the ftiore, and to her eyes 
 OfFer'd his VefTell as a Sacrifice. 
 Or had the Syrens on a neighbour ftiore 
 Heard in what raping Notes flie did deplore 
 Her buried Glory, they had left their ftielues, 
 And to come neere her would haue drown'd themfelues. 
 
 Now filence lock'd the organs of that voyce ; Aietheia 
 
 Whereat each merry Syluan wont reioyce, idj^™^ 
 
 When with a bended knee to her I came. 
 And did impart my griefe and hated name : 
 But firft a pardon begg'd, if that my caufe 
 So much conftrain'd me as to breake the Lawes 
 Of her wifli'd fequeftration, or aflc'd Bread 
 (To faue a life) from her, whofe life was dead : 
 But lawlefl"e famine, felfe-confuming hunger, 
 Alas ! compel'd me : had I ftayed longer. 
 My weakned limmes had beene my wants forc'd meed. 
 And I had fed, on that I could not feed. 
 When flie (companionate) to my fad mone 
 Did lend a figh, and ftole it from her owne ; 
 
136 Britannia s Pajlorals. Booke i, 
 
 And (wofuU Lady wrackt on hapleffe fhelfe) 
 Yeelded me comfort, yet had none her felfe : 
 Told how fhe knew me well fince I had beene. 
 As chiefeft confort of the Fairy ^eene ; 
 O happy ^eene ! for euer, euer praife 
 Dwell on thy Tombe ; the period of all dayes 
 Onely feale vp thy fame ; and as thy Birth 
 Inrich'd thy temples on the fading earth. 
 So haue thy Vertues crown'd thy blefled foule. 
 Where thsfirft Mouer with his words controule ; 
 As with a girdle the huge Ocean bindes ; 
 Gathers into his fift the nimble Windes ; 
 Stops the bright Courfer in his hot careere ; 
 Commands the Moone twelue courfes in a yeere : 
 Liue thou with him in endlefle blifie, while we 
 Admire all vertues in admiring thee. 
 
 Thou, thou, the fautrefle of the learned Well ; 
 Thou nurfing Mother of Gods Ifrael ; 
 Thou, for whofe louing Truth, the heauens raines 
 Sweet Mel and Manna on our flowry plaines : 
 Thou, by whofe hand the facred Trine did bring 
 Vs out of bonds, from bloody Bannering. 
 Ye fuckling Babes, for euer blefle that Name 
 Releaf'd your burning in your Mothers flame ! 
 Thrice blefled Maiden, by whofe hand was giuen 
 Free liberty to tafl:e the food of Heauen. 
 Neuer forget her (^Albions louely Daughters) 
 Which led you to the Springs of liuing Waters ! 
 And if my Mtife her glory faile to fing, 
 May to my mouth my tongue for euer cling ! 
 Herewith (at hand) taking her Home of Plentie 
 idya Fil'd with the choyfe of euery Orchards daintie, 
 
 cheriflieth ^g Peares, Plums, Apples, the fweet Rajpis-herry , 
 The S^uince, the Apricocke, the blufliing Cherry; 
 The Mulberry (his blacke from Thijhie taking) 
 The clufter'd Filberd, Grapes oft merry-making. 
 
Song 5. BrTtannids Paflorals. 137 
 
 (This fruitfull Home th'immortall Ladies fiU'd. 
 With all the pleafures that rough Forrefts yeeld. 
 And gaue Idya^ with a further bleffing. 
 That thence (as from a Garden) without drefling, 
 She thefe fhould euer haue ; and neuer want 
 Store, from an Orchard without tree or pknt.) 
 With a right willing hand fhe gaue me, hence. 
 The Stomackes comforter, the pleafing ^ince ; 
 And for the chiefeft cheriftier fhe lent 
 The Royall Thiftles milkie nourifhment. 
 
 Here ftaid I long : but when to fee Aurora 
 Kifle the perfumed cheekes of dainty Flora, 
 Without the vale I trod one louely Morne, 
 With true intention of a quicke returne, 
 An vnexpedted chance ftroue to deferre 
 My going backe, and all the loue of her. 
 But Maiden fee the day is waxen old. 
 And gins to fhut in with the Marigold: 
 The Neat-herds Kine doe bellow in the yard ; 
 And Dairy Maidens for the milke prepar'd. 
 Are drawing at the Vdder, long ere now 
 The Plow-man hath vnyoak't his Teame from plow : 
 My transformation to a fearefuU Hinde 
 Shall to vnfold a fitter feafon finde ; 
 Meane while yond Pallace, whofe braue Turrets tops, 
 Ouer the ftately Wood furuay the cops, 
 Promis'th (if fought) a wiflied place of reft, 
 Till Sol our Hemijphere haue repofleft. 
 
 Now muft my Mufe afford a ftraine to Riot, 
 Who almofl kild with his luxurious diet. 
 Lay eating graffe (as dogges) within a wood. 
 So to difgorge the vndifgefted food : 
 By whom faire Aletheia paft along 
 With Fida Queene of euery fhepherds fong. 
 By them vnfeene (for he fecurely lay 
 Vnder the thicke of many a leauied fpray) 
 
138 Britannia s Pajlorals, Booke i. 
 
 And through the leueld Meadowes gently threw 
 Their neateft feet, wafht with refrefhing dew, 
 Where he durft not approach, but on the edge 
 Of th'hilly wood, in couert of a hedge. 
 Went onward with them, trode with them in paces. 
 And farre ofF much admir'd their formes and graces. 
 Into the Plaines at laft he headlong venter'd : 
 But they the hill had got and paliace enter'd. 
 
 When, like a valiant well refolued man 
 Seeking new paths i' th' pathleffe Ocean, 
 Vnto the fhores of monfter-breeding Nyle, 
 Or through the North to the vnpeopled ^hyle. 
 Where from the EquinoEliall of the Spring, 
 To that of Autumne, Titans golden Ring 
 Is neuer off; and till the Spring againe 
 In gloomy darknefle ail the ftioares remaine. 
 Or if he furrow vp the brynie Sea, 
 To caft his Ancors in the frozen bay 
 Of woody Norway'; (who hath euer fed 
 Her people more with fcaly fifh then bread) 
 Though ratling mounts of Ice thruft at his Helme, 
 And by their fall ftill threaten to o'rewhelme 
 His little Veflell : and though Winter throw 
 (What age fhould on their heads) white caps of Snow ; 
 Striues to congeale his bloud ; he cares not for't. 
 But arm'd in minde, gets his intended port : 
 
 So Ryot, though full many doubts arife, 
 Whofe vnknowne ends might grafpe his enterprife, 
 Climbes towards the Palace, and with gate demure. 
 With hanging head, a voice as faining pure. 
 With torne and ragged coat, his hairy legs 
 Bloudy, as fcratch'd with Bryers, he entrance begs. 
 
 Remembrance fate as Portrefle of this gate : 
 A Lady alwayes mufing as fhe fate. 
 Except when fometirae fuddainly Ihe rofe, 
 And with a back- bent eye, at length, fhe throwes 
 
Song 5. Britannia s Pajiorals. 139 
 
 Her hands to heauen : and in a wondring guize, 
 Star'd on each obiedl: with her fixed eyes : 
 As fome way-faring man pafling a wood, 
 (Whofe wauing top hath long a Sea-marke flood) 
 Goes iogging on, and in his minde nought hath, 
 But how the Primrofe finely ftrew the path. 
 Or fweeteft Violets lay downe their heads 
 At fome trees root on moflie feather-beds, 
 Vntill his heele receiues an Adders fling. 
 Whereat he ftarts, and backe his head doth fling. 
 
 She neuer mark'd the fute he did preferre, 
 But (carelefl'e) let him pafle along by her. 
 
 So on he went into a fpatious court. 
 All trodden bare with multitudes refort : 
 At th'end whereof a fecond gate appeares. 
 The Fabricke fliew'd full many thoufand yeares : 
 Whofe Pofterne-key that time a Lady kept. 
 Her eyes all fwolne as if ftie feldome flept ; 
 And would by fits her golden treflies teare. 
 And flriue to flop her breath with her owne haire : 
 Her lilly hand (not to be lik'd by Art) 
 A paire of Pincers held ; wherewith her heart 
 Was hardly grafped, while the piled ftones 
 Re-eccoed her lamentable grones. 
 
 Here at this gate the cuftome long had bin 
 When any fought to be admitted in, 
 Remorce thus vs'd them, ere they had the key. 
 And allthefe torments felt, pafs'd on their way. 
 
 When Riot came, the Ladies paines nigh done. 
 She pafl the gate ; and then Remorce begun 
 To fetter Riot in ftrong iron chaines ; 
 And doubting much his patience in the paines. 
 As when a Smith and's Man (lame Vulcans fellowes) 
 Call'd from the Anuile or the- puffing Bellowes, 
 To clap a well-wrought fliooe (for more then pay) 
 Vpon a ftubborne Nagge of Galloway ; 
 
140 Britannia s Pajiorals. Booke i. 
 
 Or vnback'd lennet, or a Flaunders Mare, 
 That at the Forge ftand fnufEng of the ayre ; 
 The fwarty Smith fpits in his Buckhorne fift, 
 And bids his Man bring out the fiue-fold twift. 
 His fhackles, fhacklocks, hampers, gyues and chaines, 
 His linked bolts ; and with no little paines 
 Thefe make him faft : and leaft all thefe fhould faulter, 
 Vnto a pofte with fome fix doubled halter 
 He bindes his head ; yet all are of the leaft 
 To curbe the fury of the head-ftrong beaft : 
 When if a Carriers lade be brought vnto him. 
 His Man can hold his foot whilft he can flioe him : 
 Remorce was fo inforc'd to binde him ftronger, 
 Becaufe his faults requir'd inflidlion longer 
 Then any fin-preft wight which many a day 
 Since ludas hung himfelfe had paft that way. 
 When all the cruell torments he had borne. 
 Galled with chaines, and on the racke nigh torne. 
 Pinching with glowing pincers his owne heart ; 
 All lame and reftlefl"e, full of wounds and fmart, 
 He to the Pofterne creepes, fo inward hies. 
 And from the gate a two-fold path defcries, 
 One leading vp a hill. Repentance way ; 
 And (as more worthy) on the right hand lay : 
 The other head-long, fteepe, and lik'ned well 
 Vnto the path which tendeth downe to hell : 
 All fteps that thither went Ihew'd no returning. 
 The port to paines, and to eternall mourning ; 
 Where certaine Death liu'd, in an Ebon chaire. 
 The foules blacke homicide meager De/paire 
 Had his abode : there gainft the craggie rocks 
 Some daflit their braines out, with relentleffe knocks. 
 Others on trees (6 moft accurfed elues) 
 Are ifaftening knots, fo to vndoe themfelues. 
 Here one in finne not daring to appeare 
 At Mercies feat with one repentant teare. 
 
Song 5. Britannia s Pafiorals, 141 
 
 Within his breft was launcing of an eye, 
 That vnto God it might for vengeance cry : 
 There from a Rocke a wretch but newly fell. 
 All torne in pieces, to goe whole to Hell. 
 Here with a fleepie Potion one thinkes fit 
 To grafpe with death, but would not know of it : 
 There in. a poole two men their Hues expire. 
 And die in water to reuiue in fire. 
 Here hangs the bloud vpon the guiltlefle ftones : 
 There wormes confume the flefh of humane bones. 
 Here lyes an arme : a legge there : here a head. 
 Without other lims of men vnburied, 
 Scattring the ground, and as regardlefie hurl'd. 
 As they at vertue fpurned in the world. 
 
 Fye haplefle wretch, 6 thou ! whofe graces fl:eruing, 
 Meafur'ft Gods mercy by thine owne deferuing ; 
 Which cry'ft (diftruftfull of the power of Heauen) 
 My ftnnes are greater then can be forgiuen: 
 Which ftill are ready to curje God and die. 
 At euery ftripe of worldly miferie ; 
 O learne (thou in whofe brefts the Dragon lurkes) 
 Gods mercy (euer) is o'er all his workes. 
 Know he is pitiful], apt to forgiue ; 
 Would not a finners death, but that he Hue. 
 O euer, euer reft vpon that word 
 Which doth afTure thee, though his two edg'd Sword 
 Be drawne in luftice gainft thy finfull foule, 
 To feparate the rotten from the whole ; 
 Yet if a facrifice of prayer be fent him. 
 He will not ftrike ; or if he ftrike repent him. 
 Let none defpaire : for curfed /«i^aj finne 
 Was not fo much in yeelding vp the King 
 Of life, to death, as when he thereupon 
 Wholy difpair'd of Gods remiffion. 
 
 Riot, long doubting ftood which way were beft 
 To leade his fteps : at laft preferring reft 
 
142 Britannia s Pajlorah. Booke i. 
 
 (As fooliftily he thought) before the paine 
 Was to be paft ere he could well attaine 
 The high-built Palace ; gan aduenture on 
 That path, which led to all confufion, 
 When fodainly a voice as fweet as cleere. 
 With words diuine began entice his eare : 
 Whereat as in a rapture, on the ground 
 He proftrate lay, and all his fenfes found 
 A time of reft ; onely that facultie 
 Which neuer can be feene, nor euer dye. 
 That in the eflence of an endlefle Nature 
 Doth fympathize with the All-good Creator, 
 That onely wak'd which cannot be interr'd 
 And from a heauenly Quire this ditty heard. 
 
 Va'ine man, doe not miftruft 
 
 Of heauen winning ; 
 Nor (though the moft vniuji) 
 De/paire for finning 
 God will be feene his fentence changing. 
 If he behold thee wicked wayes ejiranging. 
 
 Climbe vp where pleafures dwell 
 
 In flowry Allies : 
 And tafte the liuing Well 
 That decks the Fallies. 
 Faire Metanoia is attending 
 To crowne thee with thofe ioyes uchich know no ending. 
 
 Herewith on leaden wings Sleepe from him flew, 
 When on his arme he rofe, and fadly threw 
 Shrill acclamations ; while an hollow caue. 
 Or hanging hill, or heauen an anfwer gaue. 
 O facred Eflence lightning me this houre 1 
 How may I lightly ftile thy great Power? Ecch. Power. 
 
Song 5. Britannia s Pajiorals. 143 
 
 Power ? but of whence ? vnder the green-wood fpray. 
 
 Or liu'ft in heau'n ? fay. Ecch. In Heauens aye. 
 
 In heauens aye I tell, may I it obtaine 
 
 By almes ; by fafting, prayer, by paine. Ecch. By ■paine. 
 
 shew me the paine, 't fliall be vndergone : 
 
 I to mine end will ftill goe on, Ecch. Goe on. 
 
 But whither ? On ! Shew me the place, the time : 
 
 What if the Mountain I do climbe ? Ecch. Doe ; climbe. 
 
 Is that the way to ioyes which ftill endure ? 
 
 O bid my foule of it be fure ! Ecch. Be Jure. 
 
 Then thus aflured, doe I climbe the hill, 
 
 Heauen be my guide in this thy will. Ecch. I will. 
 
 As when a maid taught from her mother wing. 
 To tune her voyce vnto a filuer ftring, 
 When fhe ftiould run, ftie refts ; refts when fhould run. 
 And ends her leflbn hauing now begun : 
 Now mifleth fhe her ftop, then in her fong. 
 And doing of her beft fhe ftill is wrong. 
 Begins againe, and yet againe ftrikes falfe, 
 Then in a chafe forfakes her Virginals, 
 And yet within an houre fhe tries anew, 
 That with her daily paines (Arts chiefeft due) 
 She gaines that charming fkill : and can no lefTe 
 Tame the fierce walkers of the wildernefle. 
 Then that Oeagrin Harpijl, for whofe lay, 
 Tigers with hunger pinde and left their pray. 
 So Riot, when he gan to climbe the hill. 
 Here maketh hafte and there long ftandeth ftill, 
 Now getteth vp a ftep, then fals againe. 
 Yet not defpairing all his nerues doth ftraine, 
 To clamber vp a new, then flide his feet. 
 And downe he comes : but giues not ouer yet, 
 For (with the maid) he hopes, a time will be 
 When merit fhall be linkt with induftry. 
 
 Now as an Angler melancholy ftanding 
 Vpon a greene banke yeelding roome for landing. 
 
144 Britannia s Paflorals. Booke 
 
 A wrigling yellow worme thruft on his hooke. 
 Now in the midft he throwes, then in a nooke : 
 Here puis his line, there throwes it in againe, 
 Mendeth his Corke and Bait, but all in vaine, 
 He long ftands viewing of the curled ftreame ; 
 At laft a hungry Vike, or well-growne Breame 
 Snatch at the worme, and hafting faft away, 
 He knowing it, a Fifli of ftubborne fway. 
 Puis vp his rod, but foft : (as hauing fkill) 
 Wherewith the hooke faft holds the Fifhes gill. 
 Then all his line he freely yeeldeth him, 
 Whilft furioufly allvp and downe doth fwim 
 Th'infnared Fifti, here on the top doth feud. 
 There vnderneath the banks, then in the mud ; 
 And with his franticke fits fo fcares the (hole. 
 That each one takes his hyde, or flatting hole : 
 By this the Fike cleane wearied vnderneath 
 A Willow lyes, and pants (if Fifhes breath) 
 Wherewith the Angler gently puis him to him. 
 And leaft his hafte might happen to vndoe him, 
 Layes downe his rod, then takes his line in hand. 
 And by degrees getting the Fifh to land, 
 Walkes to another Poole : at length is winner 
 Of fuch a difti as ferues him for his dinner : 
 So when the Clmb§r halfe the way had got, 
 Mufing he ftood, and bufily gan plot, 
 How (fince the mount did alwaies fteeper tend) 
 He might with fteps fecure his iourney end. 
 At laft (as wandring Boyes to gather Nuts) 
 A hooked Pole he from a Ha/ell cuts ; 
 Now throwes it here, then there to take fome hold. 
 But bootlefle and in vaine, the rockie mold, 
 Admits no cranny, where his Ha/ell-hooke 
 Might promife him a ftep, till in a nooke 
 Somewhat aboue his reach he hath efpide 
 A little Oake, and hauing often tride 
 
Song 5. Britannia s Pafiorals. 145 
 
 To catch a bough with ftanding on his toe. 
 
 Or leaping vp, yet not preuailing fo ; 
 
 He rols a ftone towards the little tree. 
 
 Then gets vpon it, faftens warily 
 
 His Pole vnto a bough, and at his drawing 
 
 The early rifing Crow with clam'rous kawing, 
 
 Leauing the greene bough, flyes about the Rocke, 
 
 Whilft twenty twenty couples to him flocke : 
 
 And now within his reach the thin leaues waue. 
 
 With one hand onely then he holds his ftaue. 
 
 And with the other grafping firft the leaues, 
 
 A pretty bough he in his fift receiues ; 
 
 Then to his girdle making faft the hooke, 
 
 His other hand another bough hath tooke ; 
 
 His firft, a third, and that, another giues. 
 
 To bring him to the place where his root liues. 
 
 Then, as a nimble Squirrill from the wood. 
 
 Ranging the hedges for his Filberd-{ood, 
 
 Sits peartly on a bough his browne Nuts cracking. 
 
 And from the fhell the fweet white kernell taking. 
 
 Till (with their crookes and bags) a fort of Boyes, 
 
 (To fhare with him) come with fo great a noyfe, 
 
 That he is forc'd to leaue a Nut nigh broke. 
 
 And for his life leape to a neighbour Oake, 
 
 Thence to a Beech, thence to a row of AJhes; 
 
 Whilft th'row the Quagmires, and red water plalhes, 
 
 The Boyes run dabling thorow thicke and thin. 
 
 One teares his hofe, another breakes his fhin. 
 
 This, torne and tatter'd, hath with much adoe 
 
 Got by the Bryers ; and that hath loft his fhooe : 
 
 This drops his band ; that head-long fals for hafte ; 
 
 Another cries behinde for being laft : 
 
 With fticks and ftones, and many a founding hollow. 
 
 The little foole, with no fmall fport, they follow, 
 
 Whilft he, from tree to tree, from fpray to fpray. 
 
 Gets to the wood, and hides him in his Dray : 
 
146 Britannia s Pajiorals. Booke i. 
 
 Such fhift made Ryot, ere he could get vp. 
 And fo from bough to bough he won the top, 
 Though hindrances, for euer comming there. 
 Were often thruft vpon him by Difpaire. 
 
 Now at his feet the ftately mountaine lay. 
 And with a gladfome eye he gan furuay 
 What perils he had trod on fince the time 
 His weary feet and armes aflaid to climbe. 
 When with a humble voyce (withouten feare. 
 Though he look'd wilde and ouer-grown with haire) 
 A gentle Nymph in ruffet courfe array. 
 Comes and directs him onward in his way. 
 Firft, brings fhe him into a goodly Hall, 
 Defcription Faire, yct not beautified with Minerall : 
 of Repentf' But in a careleflc Art, and artlefle care, 
 ance. Made, loofe negledt, more louely farre then rare. 
 
 Vpon the floore (ypau'd with Marble flate) 
 (With Sack-cloth cloth'd) many in afties fate: 
 And round about the wals for many yeares. 
 Hung Cryftall Vials of repentant teares : 
 And Books of vowes, and many a heauenly deed, 
 Lay ready open for each one to read, 
 Some were immured vp in little fheads. 
 There to contemplate Heauen, and bid their Beads. 
 Others with garments thin of Cammels-haire, 
 With head, and armes, and legs, and feet all bare, 
 Were finging Hymnes to the Eternall Sage, 
 For fafe returning from their Pilgrimage, 
 Some with a whip their pamper'd bodies beat ; 
 Others in falling Hue, and feldome eat : 
 But as thofe Trees which doe in India grow 
 And call'd of elder Swaines full long agoe 
 The Sun and Moones faire Trees (full goodly deight) 
 And ten times ten feet challenging their height : 
 Hauing no helpe (to ouer-looke braue Towers) 
 From coole refrelhing dew, or drifling fhowers ; 
 
Song 5. Britannia s Pajiorals. 147 
 
 When as the Earth (as oftentimes is feene) 
 
 Is interpos'd twixt Sol and Nights pale ^eene ; 
 
 Or when the Moone ecclipfeth Titans light, 
 
 The Trees (all comfortlefle) rob'd of their fight 
 
 Weepe liquid drops, which plentifully (hoot 
 
 Along the outward barke downe to the root : 
 
 And by their owne flied teares they euer flourifti ; 
 
 So their own forrowes, their owne ioyes doe nourifh : 
 
 And fo within this place full many a wight, 
 
 Did make his teares his food both day and night. 
 
 And had it g[r]anted (from th' Almighty great) 
 
 To fwim th'row them vnto his Mercy-feat. 
 
 Faire Metanoia in a chaire of earth. 
 
 With count'nance fad, yet fadnefle promis'd mirth. 
 
 Sate vail'd in courfeft weeds of Cammels hayre, 
 
 Inriching pouertie ; yet neuer faire 
 
 Was like to her, nor fince the world begun 
 
 A louelier Lady kift the glorious Sun. 
 
 For her the God of Thunder, mighty, great, 
 
 Whofe Foot-ftoole is the Earth, and Heauen his Seat, 
 
 Vnto a man who from his crying birth 
 
 Went on ftill, fhunning what he carried, earth : 
 
 When he could walke no further for his graue. 
 
 Nor could ftep ouer, but he there muft haue 
 
 A feat to reft, when he would faine goe on ; 
 
 But age in euery nerue, in euery bone 
 
 Forbad his paflage : for her fake hath heauen 
 
 Fill'd vp the graue, and made his path fo euen. 
 
 That fifteene courfes had the bright Steeds run, 
 
 (And he was weary) ere his courfe was done. 
 
 For fcorning her, the Courts of Kings which throw 
 
 A proud rais'd pinnacle to reft the Crow ; 
 
 And on a Plaine out-braue a neighbour Rocke, 
 
 In ftout refiftance of a Tempefts fhocke. 
 
 For her contempt heauen (reining his difafters) 
 
 Haue made thofe Towers but piles to burne their mafters. 
 
148 Britannia s Pajiorah. Booke i. 
 
 To her the lowly Nymph {Humblejfa hight) 
 Brought (as her office) this deformed wight ; 
 To whom the Lady courteous fembknce fhewes. 
 And pittying his eftate in facred thewes. 
 And Letters (worthily ycleep'd diuine) 
 Refolu'd t'inftrud him : but her difcipline 
 She knew of true effed, would furely miffe. 
 Except the firft his Met amor phofis 
 Should cleane exile : and knowing that his birth 
 Was to inherit reafon, though on earth 
 Some Witch had thus transform'd him, by her fkill. 
 Expert in changing, euen the very will. 
 In few dayes labours with continuall prayer, 
 (A facrifice tranfcends the buxome ayre) 
 His grifly fhape, his foule deformed feature. 
 His horrid lookes, worfe then a fauage creature, 
 By Metanoia's hand from heauen, began 
 Receiue their fentence of diuorce from man. 
 
 And as a louely Maiden, pure and chafte. 
 With naked lu'rie necke, and gowne vnlac'd. 
 Within her chamber, when the day is fled. 
 Makes poore her garments to enrich her bed : 
 Firft, puts fbe off her lilly-filken gowne. 
 That ihrikes for forrow as {he layes it downe ; 
 And with her armes graceth a Waft-coat fine, 
 Imbracing her as it would ne'er vntwine. 
 Her flexen haire infnaring [the] beholders. 
 She next permits to waue about her ftioulders. 
 And though fhe caft it backe, the filken flips 
 Still forward fteale, and hang vpon her lips : 
 Whereat flie fweetly angry, with her laces 
 Bindes vp the wanton locks in curious traces, 
 Whilft (twifting with her ioynts) each haire long lingers. 
 As loth to be inchain'd, but with her fingers. 
 Then on her head a dreffing like a Crowne ; 
 Her breafts all bare, her Kirtle flipping downe. 
 
Song 5. Britannia s Pajiorals. 149 
 
 And all things oiF (which rightly euer be 
 
 Call'd the foule-faire markes of our miferie) 
 
 Except her laft, which enuioufly doth feize her, 
 
 Leaft any eye partake with it in pleafure. 
 
 Prepares for fweeteft reft, while Siluans greet her. 
 
 And (longingly) the down-bed fwels to meet her : 
 
 So by degrees his ftiape all brutifti vilde. 
 
 Fell from him (as loofe fkin from fome yong childe) 
 
 In lieu whereof a man-like (hape appeares. 
 
 And gallant youth fcarce fkill'd in twenty yeares. 
 
 So faire, fo frelh, fo young, fo admirable 
 
 In euery part, that fince I am not able 
 
 In words to (hew his pifture, gentle Swaines, 
 
 Recall the praifes in my former ftraines ; 
 
 And know if they haue graced any lim, 
 
 I onely lent it thofe, but ftole't from him. 
 
 Had that chafte Roman Dame beheld his face. 
 Ere the proud King pofTeft her Hufbands place. 
 Her thoughts had beene adulterate, and this ftaine 
 Had won her greater fame, had fhe beene flaine. 
 The Larke that many mornes her felfe makes merry 
 With the Ihrill chanting of her teery-lerry, 
 (Before he was transform'd) would leaue the Ikyes, 
 And houer o'er him to behold his eyes. 
 Vpon an Oten-pipe well could he play. 
 For when he fed his flocke vpon the lay 
 Maidens to heare him from the Plaines came tripping 
 And Birds fro bough to bough full nimbly flcipping ; 
 His flocke (then happy flocke) would leaue to feed. 
 And ftand amaz'd to liften to his Reed : 
 Lyons and Tygers, with each beaft of game ; 
 With hearing him were many times made tame : 
 Braue trees & flowers would towards him be bending 
 And none that heard him wifht his Song an ending: 
 Maids, Lyons, birds, flocks, trees, each flowre, each 
 Were wrapt with woder, whe he vs'd to fing (fpring. 
 
150 Britannia's Paftorals. Booke i. 
 
 So faire a perfon to defcribe to men 
 Requires a curious Pencill, not a Pen. 
 
 Him Metanoia clad in feemly wife 
 (Not after our corrupted ages guife. 
 Where gaudy weeds lend fplendor to the lim. 
 While that his cloaths receiu'd their grace from him,) 
 Then to a garden fet with rareft flowres. 
 With pleafant fountains ftor'd, and fhady bowres : 
 She leads him by the hand, and in the groues, 
 Where thoufand pretty Birds fung to their Loues, 
 And thoufand thoufand bloflbmes (from their ftalks) 
 Milde Zephyrus threw downe to paint the walkes : 
 Where yet the wilde Boare neuer durft appeare : 
 Here Fida (euer to kinde Raymond deare) 
 Met them, and fhew'd where Aletheia lay, 
 (The faireft Maid that euer bleft the day.) 
 Sweetly fhe lay, and cool'd her lilly-hands 
 Within a Spring that threw vp golden fands : 
 As if it would intice her to perfeuer 
 In liuing there, and grace the banks for euer. 
 
 To her Amintas {Riot now no more) 
 Came, and faluted : neuer man before 
 More bleft, nor like this kifle hath beene another 
 But when two dangling Cherries kift each other : 
 Nor euer beauties, like, met at fuch clofes ; 
 But in the kifles of two Damafke-Rofes. 
 O, how the flowres (preft with their treadings on the) 
 Stroue to caft vp their heads to looke vpon them ! 
 How iealoufly the buds that fo had feene them. 
 Sent forth the fweeteft fmels to ftep betweene them. 
 As fearing the perfume lodg'd in their powers 
 Once known of them, they might negled the flowres, 
 How often wiflat Amintas with his heart, 
 His ruddy lips from hers might neuer part ; 
 And that the heauens this gift were the bequeathing, 
 To feed on nothing but each others breathing ! 
 
Song 5. Britannia s Pajiorals. 151 
 
 A truer loue the Mujes neuer fung, 
 Nor happyer names ere grac'd a golden tongue : 
 
 ! they are better fitting his fweet ftripe, 
 Who on the bankes of Ancor^ tun'd his Pipe : 
 Or rather for that learned Swaine whofe layes 
 Diuineft Homer crown'd with deathlefle Bayes : ^ 
 Or any one fent from the facred Well 
 Inheriting the foule oi Aftro-phell:^ 
 
 Thefe, thefe in golden lines might write this Story, 
 And make thefe loues their owne eternall glory : 
 Whilft I a Swaine as weake in yeeres as Ikill, 
 Should in the valley heare them on the hill. 
 Yet (when my Sheepe haue at their Cefterne beene, 
 And I haue brought them backe to fheare the greene) 
 To mifle an idle houre, and not for meed. 
 With choiceft relifh fhall mine Oaten Reed 
 Record their worths : and though in accents rare 
 
 1 mifle the glory of a charming ayre. 
 
 My Mufe may one day make the Courtly Swaines 
 Enamour'd on the Muficke of the Plaines, 
 And as vpon a hill fhe brauely fings. 
 Teach humble Dales to weepe in Cryftall Springs. 
 
 ' Drayton. * Chapman. ' Sydney. 
 
 The end of the Jirji Booke. 
 
B R ITAN N I a's 
 
 PASTORALS. 
 
 'The fecond Booke. 
 
 HOR AT. 
 
 Carmine Dij fuperi placantur, carmine Manes. 
 
 L O ND N, 
 
 Printed by Iohn Haviland, 
 
 1625. 
 
 X 
 
TO 
 
 THE TRVLY NOBLE 
 
 AND LEARNED William 
 
 EARLE OF Pembroke, LORD 
 
 CHAMBERLAINE TO HIS 
 
 Maiestie, &c. 
 
 OT that the gift {Great Lord) deferues your 
 hand, 
 (Held euer worth the rareft workes of men) 
 OiFer I this ; but fince in all our Land 
 None can more rightly claime a Poet's Pen : 
 That Noble Bloud and Vertue truly knowne. 
 Which circular In you vnited run. 
 Makes you each good, & euery good your owne. 
 If it can hold in what my Mufe hath done. 
 But weake and lowly are thefe tuned Layes, 
 Yet though but weake to win faire Memorie, 
 You may improue them, and your gracing raife ; 
 For things are priz'd as their pofleflburs be. 
 If for fuch fauour they haue worthlefle ftriuen. 
 Since Loue the caufe was, be that Loue forgiuen ! 
 
 Tour Honours, 
 
 W. Browne. 
 
To the moft ingenious Author M'. W. Browne. 
 
 TNgenious Swaine ! that highly doji adorne 
 
 -^ Clear Tauy ! on who/e brinck we both were borne ! 
 
 lufi Praife in me would neWe be thought to moue 
 
 From thy Jole Worth, hut from my fartiall Loue. 
 
 Wherefore I will not doe thee fo much wrong. 
 
 As by fuch mixture to allay thy Song. 
 
 But while kinde fir angers rightly praife each Grace 
 
 Of thy chafle Mufe ; / {from the happy Place 
 
 That brought thee forth, and thinkes it not vnfit 
 
 To boaft now that it earjl bred fuch a Wit ;) 
 
 Would onely haue it knowne I much reioyce ; 
 
 To hear e fuch Matters, /««^ by fuch a Voyce. 
 
 loHN GlaNVILL. 
 
 To his Friend M\ Browne. 
 
 ALL that doe reade thy Workes, and fee thy face, 
 (Where fcarce a haire growes vp, thy chin to grace) 
 Doe greatly wonder how fo youthfull yeares 
 Could frame a Work, where fo much worth appears. 
 To heare how thou defcrib'ft a Tree, a Dale, 
 A Groue, a Greene, a folitary Vale, 
 
Commendatory Verfes. 157 
 
 The Euening Showers^ and the Morning Gleames, 
 The golden Mountaines, and the filuer Streames, 
 How fmooth thy Verfe is, and how fweet thy Rimes, 
 How fage, and yet how pleafant are thy Lines ; 
 What more or lefle can there be faid by men, 
 But, Mufes rule thy Hand, and guide thy Pen. 
 
 Tho. Wenman, 
 e Societate Inter. Templi. 
 
 A 
 
 To his worthily-afFedted Friend 
 M'. VV. Browne. 
 
 IVake/ad Mtife, and thou my Judder fpright , 
 Made Jo by Time, but more by Fortunes [fight. 
 Awake, and hie vs to the Greene, 
 
 There Jhall bejeene 
 The quaintejl Lad of all the time 
 
 For neater Rime : 
 Whoje Jree and vnaffeSted Jtraines 
 
 Take all the Swaines 
 That are not rude and ignorant. 
 
 Or Enuy want. 
 
 And Enuy left it's hate difcouered be 
 A Courtly Loue and Friend/hip offers thee : 
 The Shepherdeffes blithe and f aire 
 
 For thee dejpaire. 
 And whojoe're depends on Pan 
 
 Holds him a man 
 Beyond themjelues, {if not compare,) 
 
 He is Jo rare. 
 So innocent in all his wayes 
 As in his Layes. 
 He mafters no low Joule who hopes to pleaje 
 The Nephew of the braue Philifides. 
 
158 Commendatory Verfes. 
 
 Another to the fame. 
 
 WEre all mens enuies fixt in one mans lookes, 
 'That monfter that would frey onjafeft Fame, 
 Darjl not once checke at thine, nor at thy Name : 
 Se he who men can reade as well as Bookes 
 Attejl thy Lines ; thus tride, they /how to vs 
 As Scasua's Shield, thy Selfe Emeritus. 
 
 W. Herbert. 
 
 To my Browne, yet hrighteft Swaine 
 That woons, or haunts or Hill or Plaine. 
 
 Poeta nafcitur. 
 
 Pipe on, fweet Swaine, till loy, in Blifle, fleepe waking ; 
 Hermes, it feemes, to thee, of all the Swaines, 
 Hath lent his Pi'pe and Art : For thou art making 
 With fweet Notes (noted) Heau'n of Hils and Plaines ! 
 Nay, if as thou beginft, thou doft hold on. 
 The totall Earth thine Arcadie will bee ; 
 And Nef tunes Monarchy thy Helicon : 
 So, all in both will make a God of thee. 
 To whom they will exhibit Sacrifice 
 Of richeft Loue and Praife ; and enuious Swaines 
 (Charm'd with thine Accents) Ihall thy Notes agnize 
 To reach aboue great Pans in all thy Straines. 
 Then, ply this Veyne : for, it may well containe 
 The richeft Morals vnder pooreft Shroud ; 
 And fith in thee the Pafl'rallfpirit doth raigne. 
 On fuch Wits-Treajures let it fit abrood : 
 Till it hath hatch'd fuch Numbers as may buy 
 The rareft Fame that e're enriched Ayre ; 
 Or fann'd the Way faire, to Eternity, 
 To which vnfoil'd, thy Glory fhall repaire ! 
 
Commendatory Verjes, 159 
 
 Where (with the Gods that in faire Siarres doe dwell, 
 When thou fhalt, blazing, in a Starve abide) 
 Thou fhalt be ftil'd the Shepherds-Starre, to tell 
 Them many Myjieries; and be their Guide. 
 
 Thus, doe I fpurre thee on with fharpeft praife. 
 To vfe thy Gifts of Nature, and of Skill, 
 To double-gilde Af olios Browes, and Bayes, 
 Yet make great Natvre Arts true Sou'raigne ftill. 
 So, Fame Ihall euer fay, to thy renowne. 
 The Shepherds-Star, or bright'ft in Skie, is Browne ! 
 
 The true Louer of thine 
 
 Art and Nature, 
 
 loHN Davies of Heref 
 
 Ad Illvftriflimvm Iwenem Gvlielmvm Browne 
 
 Generofum, in Operis fui Tomum fecun- 
 
 dum Carmen gratulatorium, 
 
 SCripta prius vidi, legi, digitoq, notaui 
 Carminis ifiius Jingula verba meo. 
 Ex fcriptis fparjim quarebam carpere di£la. 
 
 Omnia Jed par eft, aut ego nulla not em. 
 Filia ft fuerit fades hac naSlafororis, 
 
 Laudator prolisfolus £sf Author eris : 
 Hac nondum vifi qui flagrat amore libelli 
 Pranarr at fcriptis omnia certa tuis. 
 
 Carolvs Croke. 
 
 To my noble Friend the Author. 
 
 APerfed: Pen, it felfe will euer praife. 
 So pipes our Shepherd in his Roundelayes, 
 That who could iudge, of Mufickes fweeteft ftraine. 
 Would fweare thy Mufe were in a heauenly vaine. 
 
i6o Commendatory Verfes. 
 
 A Worke of worth, fhowes what the Worke-man is : 
 When as the fault, that may be found amifTe, 
 (To fuch at leaft, as haue iudicious eyes) 
 Nor in the Worke, nor yet the Worke-man lyes. 
 
 Well worthy thou, to weare the Lawrell wreath : 
 
 When fr5 thy breft, thefe blefled thoughts do breath ; 
 
 That in thy gracious Lines fuch grace doe giue. 
 
 It makes thee, euerlaftingly to Hue. 
 
 Thy words well coucht, thy fweet inuention ftiow, 
 A perfeft Poet, that could place them fo. 
 
 Vnton Croke, 
 e Societate Inter. Templi. 
 
 To the Author. 
 
 THat priuiledge which others claime, 
 I'd flatter with their Friends 
 With thee (Friend) fliall not be mine ay me. 
 My Verjejo much pretends. 
 
 The generall Vmpire of befl: wit 
 
 In this willjpeake thy fame. 
 The Mufes Minions as they fit. 
 
 Will ftill confirme the fame. 
 
 Let mefing him that merits beft. 
 
 Let others /crape for fafhion ; 
 'Their buzzing prate thy worth will left. 
 
 And fleight fuch commendation. 
 
 Anth. Vincent. 
 
Commendatory Verfes. i6i 
 
 To his worthy Friend M\ W. Browne, 
 on his BooKE. 
 
 THat Poets are not bred fo, but fo borne. 
 Thy Muje it proues ; for in her ages morne 
 She hath ftroke enuy dumbe, and charm'd the loue 
 
 Of eu'ry MuJe whofe birth the Skies approue. 
 Goe on ; I know thou art too good to feare. 
 And may thy earely ftraines affedl the eare 
 Of that rare Lord, who iudge and guerdon can 
 The richer gifts which doe aduantage man ! 
 
 loHN Morgan, 
 e Societate Inter. Templi. 
 
 To his Friend the Authour. 
 
 Sometimes {deare friend) I make thy Booke my meat. 
 And then I iudge 'tis Hony that I eat. 
 Sometimes my drinke it is, and then I thinke 
 It is Apollo's Nedtar, and no drinke. 
 And being hurt in minde, I keepe in ft ore 
 'Thy Booke, a precious Balfame/or the fore. 
 'Tis Hony, Nedtar, Balfame moft diuine : 
 Or one word for them all; my Friend, 'tis thine. 
 
 Tho. Heygate, 
 i Societate Inter. Templi. 
 
 To his Friend the Author. 
 
 IF antique Swaines wanne fuch immortall praife. 
 Though they alone with their melodious Layes, 
 Did onely charme the Woods and flowry Lawnes : 
 Satyres, and Floods, and Stones, and hairy Fawnes : 
 
 Y 
 
1 62 Commendatory Verfes 
 
 How much braue Youth to thy due worth belongs, 
 That charm'ft not the but men with thy fweet Songs ? 
 
 AVGVSTVS C^SAR, 
 
 e Societate Inter. Templi. 
 
 To the Authour. 
 
 TIs knowne If come to flatter {or commend) 
 What merits not afplauje though in my Friend : 
 Which by my cen/ure fhould now more appear e. 
 Were this not full as good as thou art deare : 
 But fince thou couldft not {erring) make itfo. 
 That I might my impartiall humour Jhow 
 By finding fault ; Nor one of thefe friends tell 
 How to fhew louefo ill, that I as well 
 Might paint out mine : I feele an enuious touch. 
 And tell thee Swaine : that at thy fame I grutch, 
 Wijhing the Art that makes this Poeme fhine. 
 And this thy Worke {wert not thou wronged) mine. 
 For when DetraElion fhal forgotten be. 
 This will continue to eternize thee ; 
 And if hereafter any bufie wit 
 Should, wronging thy conceit, mifcenfure it. 
 Though feeming learn' d or wife : here he Jhallfee, 
 Tis prais'd by wifer and more learned then hee. 
 
 G. Wither. 
 
 To M'. Browne. 
 
 WEre there a thought fo ftrange as to deny 
 That happy Bayes doe fome mens Births adorne. 
 Thy worke alone might ferue to iuftifie, 
 That Poets are not made fo, but fo borne. 
 
Commendatory Verfes. 163 
 
 How could thy plumes thus foone haue foar'd thus hie 
 Hadfl; thou not Lawrell in thy Cfadle worne ? 
 
 Thy Birth o'er-tooke thy Youth : And it doth make 
 Thy youth (herein) thine elders ouer-take. 
 
 JV. B. 
 
 To my truly-belou'd Friend M. Browne, on 
 his Paftorals. 
 
 SOme men, of Bookes or Friends not /peaking right. 
 May hurt them more with praife, then Foes withfpight. 
 But Jhauefeene thy Worke, and I know thee: 
 
 And, if thou lift thy f elf e, what thou canfl hee. 
 For, though but early in thefe paths thou tread, 
 
 Ifinde thee write moft worthy to be read. 
 It mufl be thine owne iudgement, yet that fends 
 
 This thy worke forth : that iudgement mine commends. 
 And, where the moft reade bookes, on Authors fames. 
 
 Or, like our Money-brokers, take "Vp names 
 On credit, and are couzen'd ; fee, that thou 
 
 By offring not morefureties, then enow. 
 Hold thine owne worth vnbroke : which is fo good 
 
 Vpon th' Exchange of Letters, as I wou'd 
 More of our Writers would like thee, notfwell 
 
 With the how much they fet forth, but th' how well. 
 
 Ben. Ionson. 
 
BRITANNIA'S 
 
 Pastorals. 
 
 The Second Booke. 
 
 The First Song. 
 
 yidLTvaah freedome now I fing. 
 And of her nem endangering : 
 O/" Famines Caue, and then th' abufe 
 Tow'rds buried Colyn and his, Mufe. 
 
 l/tLXm. 
 
 ^S when a Mariner (accounted loft,) 
 Vpon the watry De/ert long time toft. 
 In Summers parching heat, in Winters cold. 
 In tempefts great, in dangers manifold : 
 Is by a fau'ring winde drawne vp the Maft, 
 Whence he defcries his natiue foile at laft : 
 For whofe glad fight he gets the hatches vnder, 
 And to the Ocean tels his iby in thunder, 
 (Shaking thofe Barnacles into the Sea, 
 At once, that in the wombe and cradle lay) 
 
1 66 Britannia s Pajlorals. Booke 2. 
 
 When fodainly the ftill inconftant winde 
 Mafters before, that did attend behinde ; 
 And growes fo violent, that he is faine 
 Command the Filot ftand to Sea againe ; 
 Left want of Sea-roome in a Channell ftreight. 
 Or cafting Anchor might caft o're his freight : 
 
 Thus gentle Muje it happens in my Song, 
 A iourney, tedious, for a ftrength fo young 
 I vnder-tooke : by filuer-feeming Floods, 
 Paft gloomy Bottomes, and high-wauing Woods, 
 Climb'd Mountaines where the wanton Kidling dallies. 
 The with foft fteps enfeal'd the meekned Vallies, 
 In queft of memory : and had pofleft 
 A pleafant Garden, for a welcome reft 
 No fooner, then a hundred Theames come on 
 And hale my Barke a-new for Helicon. 
 
 Thrice facred Powers ! (if facred Powers there be 
 Whofe milde afpedt engyrland Poejte) 
 Yee happy Sifters of the learned Spring, 
 Whofe heauenly notes the Woods are rauifhing ! 
 Braue The/pian Maidens, at whofe charming layes 
 Each Moffe-thrumb'd Mountaine bends, each Current 
 Pierian Singers ! O yee blefled Mufes ! (playes ! 
 
 Who as a lem too deare the world refufes ! 
 Whofe trueft louers neuer clip with age, 
 O be propitious in my Pilgrimage ! 
 Dwell on my lines ! and till the laft fand fall. 
 Run hand in hand with my weake Pajiorall! 
 Caufe euery coupling cadence flow in blifl"es. 
 And fill the world with enuy of fuch kifles. 
 Make all the rareft Beauties of our Clyme, 
 That deigne a fweet looke on my younger ryme. 
 To linger on each lines inticing graces. 
 As on their Louers lips and chafte imbraces ! 
 
 Through rouling trenches of felf-drowning wanes. 
 Where ftormy gufts throw vp vntimely graues. 
 
Song i. Britannia s P aft or ah. 167 
 
 By billowes whofe white fome fhew'd angry mindes, 
 
 For not out-roaring all the high-rais'd windes. 
 
 Into the euer-drinking thirfty Sea 
 
 By Rockes that vnder water hidden lay. 
 
 To fhipwracke paflengers, (fo in fome den 
 
 Theeues bent to robbry watch way-faring men.) 
 
 Faireft Marina, whom I whilome fung. 
 
 In all this tempeft (violent though long) 
 
 Without all fenfe of danger lay afleepe : 
 
 Till toffed where the ftill inconftant deepe 
 
 With wide fpred armes, flood ready for the tender 
 
 Of daily tribute, that the fwolne floods render 
 
 Into her Chequer : (whence as worthy Kings 
 
 She helpes the wants of thoufands leffer Springs :) 
 
 Here waxt the windes dumbe (fhut vp in their caues) 
 
 As flill as mid-night were the fullen waues. 
 
 And Neptunes filuer-euer-fhaking brefl 
 
 As fmooth as when the Halcyon builds her nefl. 
 
 None other wrinckles on his face were feene 
 
 Then on a fertile Mead, or fportiue Greene, 
 
 Where neuer Plow-fliare ript his mothers wombe 
 
 To glue an aged feed a liuing tombe, 
 
 Nor blinded Mole the batning earth ere fl;ir'd. 
 
 Nor Boyes made Pit-fals for the hungry Bird. 
 
 The whiftling Reeds vpon the waters fide 
 
 Shot vp their fharpe heads in a fl:ately pride. 
 
 And not a binding Ozyer bow'd his head, 
 
 But on his root him brauely carryed. 
 
 No dandling leafe plaid with the fubtill aire. 
 
 So fmooth the Sea was, and the Skie fo faire. 
 
 Now with his hands in flead of broad-palm'd Oares, 
 The Swaine attempts to get the fhell-ftrewd fhores. 
 And with continuall lading making way, 
 Thruft the fmall Boat into as faire a Bay 
 As euer Merchant wiflit might be the rode 
 Wherein to eafe his fea-torne Veflels lode. 
 
* Man 
 
 JBlam 
 
 iKumfiig. 
 
 • PetuKt 
 Clajfem omni- 
 bus bonis 
 onujiamyproj- 
 feris 'ventis 
 mare Jul' 
 cantes in 
 Toteneiio 
 littore felici- 
 tcr appiica- 
 runt. Galf. 
 Monum. 
 
 • Hebe. 
 
 1 68 Britannia s Pajiorals. Booke 2. 
 
 It was an Hand (hugg'd in Neptunes armes. 
 
 As tendring it againft all forraigne harmes,) 
 
 And Mona height : fo amiably faire. 
 
 So rich in foyle, fo healthfull in her aire, 
 
 So quicke in her increafe, (each dewy night 
 
 Yeelding that ground as greene, as frefli of plight 
 
 As't was the day before, whereon then fed 
 
 Of gallant Steeres, full many a thoufand head,) 
 
 So deckt with Floods, fo pleafant in her Groues, 
 
 So full of well-fleec'd Flockes and fatned Droues ; 
 
 That the braue iflue of the 'Troian line, 
 
 (Whofe worths, like Diamonds, yet in darknefle fhine,) 
 
 ,Whofe deeds were fung by learned Bards as hye. 
 
 In raptures of immortall Poefie, 
 
 As any Nations, fince the Grecian Lads 
 
 Were famous made by Homers Iliads.') 
 
 Thofe braue heroicke fpirits, twixt one another 
 
 Prouerbially call * Mona Cambria's Mother. 
 
 Yet Cambria is a land from whence haue come 
 
 Worthies well worth the race of Ilium. 
 
 Whofe true defert of praife could my Mufe touch, 
 
 I fhould be proud that I had done fo much. 
 
 And though of mighty Brute I cannot boaft. 
 
 Yet doth our warlike ftrong Deuonian coaft 
 
 Refound his worth, fince on her waue-worne ftrand 
 
 He and his Troians firfl: fet foot on land, 
 
 Strooke Saile, and Anchor caft on * Totnes fliore. 
 
 Though now no Ship can ride there any more. 
 
 In th'Ilands Rode the Swain now moares his Boat 
 Vnto a Willow (left it outwards float) 
 And with a rude embracement taking vp 
 The Maid (more faire then * She that fill'd the cup 
 Of the great Thunderer, wounding with her eyes 
 More hearts then all the troopes of Deities.) 
 He wades to fhore, and fets her on the fand, 
 That gently yeelded when her foot fhould land. 
 
Song i. Britannia's Pajlorals. 169 
 
 Where bubling waters through the pibbles fleet, 
 As if they ftroue to kifle her flender feet. 
 
 Whlift like a wretch, whofe curfed hand hath tane 
 The facred reliques from a holy Phane, 
 Feeling the hand of heauen (inforcing wonder) 
 In his returne, in dreadfull cracks of thunder. 
 Within a bufti his Sacriledge hath left. 
 And thinkes his punifhment freed with the theft : 
 So fled the Swaine, from one ; had Neptune fpide 
 At halfe an ebbe ; he would haue forc'd the Tyde 
 To fwell anew ; whereon his Carre fliould fweepe, 
 Deckt with the riches of fh'vnfounded deepe. 
 And he from thence, would with all fl:ate, on fliore. 
 To wooe this beautie, and to wooe no more. 
 
 Diuine EleEira (of the Siflrers feuen 
 That beautifie the glorious Orbe of heauen) 
 When lliums {lately towres, ferv'd as one light 
 To guide the Rauiflier in vgly night 
 Vnto her virgin beds, with-drew her face. 
 And neuer would looke downe on humane race 
 Til this Maids birth ; fince whe fome power hath won her 
 By often fits to fhine, as gazing on her. 
 Grim Saturnes fon, the dread Olimpcke loue 
 That dark't three dayes to frolicke with his Loue, 
 Had he in Alcmen's ftead dipt this faire wight, 
 The world had flept in euerlafting night. 
 For whofe fake onely (had flie liued then) 
 Deucalions flood had neuer rag'd on men : 
 Nor Phaeton perform'd his fathers duty. 
 For feare to rob the world of fuch a beauty : 
 In whofe due praife, a learned quill might fpend 
 Houres, daies, months, yeeres, and neuer make an end. 
 
 What wretch inhumane ? or what wilder blood 
 (Suckt in a defert from a 1'ygers brood) 
 Could leaue her fo difconfolate ? but one 
 Bred in the wafl;s of froft-bit Calydon ; 
 
lyo Britannia s Pajiorals. Booke 2. 
 
 For had his veynes beene heat with milder ayre, 
 He had not wrong'd fo foule, a Maid fo faire. 
 
 Sing on fweet Mufe, and whilft I feed mine eyes 
 Vpon a lewell and vn valued prize. 
 As bright a Starre, a Dame, as faire, as chafte. 
 As eye beheld, or fhall, till Natures lafl: : 
 Charme her quicke fenfes ! and with raptures fweet 
 Make her affedlion with your cadence meet ! 
 And if her graceful! tongue admire one ftralne. 
 It is the beft reward my Pipe would gaine. 
 In lieu whereof. In Laurell-worthy rimes 
 Her Loue ftiall Hue vntlll the end of times, 
 And fplght of age, the lafl: of dayes fliall fee 
 Her Name embalm'd in facred Poefie. 
 
 Sadly alone vpon the aged rocks. 
 Whom 'Thetis grac'd in wafliing oft their locks 
 Of branching Sampire, fate the Maid o'retaken 
 With fighes and teares, vnfortunate, forfaken. 
 And with a voice that floods fro rocks would borrow. 
 She thus both wept and fung her noates of forrow. 
 
 If Heauen be deafe and will not heare my cries. 
 But addes new dales to adde new miferies ; 
 Heare then ye troubled Waues and flitting Gales, 
 That coole the bofomes of the frultfull Vales ! 
 Lend, one, a flood of teares, the other, winde. 
 To weepe zndjigh that Heauen is fo vnkinde ! 
 But If ye will not fpare, of all your fl:ore 
 One teare, or figh, vnto a wretch fo poore ; 
 Yet as ye trauell on this fpacious Round, 
 Through Forrefts, Mountains, or the Lawny ground. 
 If 't happ' you fee a Maid weepe forth her woe, 
 As I haue done ; Oh bid her as ye goe 
 Not lauifli teares ! for when her owne are gone. 
 The world is flinty and will lend her none. 
 If this be eke deni'd ; O hearken then 
 Each hollow vaulted Rocke, and crooked Den ! 
 
Song i. Britannia s Pajiorals. x-jx 
 
 And if within your fides one Eccho be 
 
 Let her begin to rue my deftinie ! 
 
 And in your clefts her plainings doe not fmother. 
 
 But let that Eccho teach it to another ! 
 
 Till round the world in founding coombe and plaine. 
 
 The laft of them tell it the firft againe : 
 
 Of my fad Fate, fo fiiall they neuer lin. 
 
 But where one ends, another ftill begin. 
 
 Wretch that I am, my words I vainly wafte, 
 
 Eccho, of all woes onely fpeake the laft ; 
 
 And that's enough : for ftiould (he vtter all. 
 
 As at Medufa's head, each heart would fall 
 
 Into a flinty fubftance, and repine 
 
 At no one griefe, except as great as mine. 
 
 No carefull Nurfe would wet her watchfull eye. 
 
 When any pang ftiould gripe her infantry, 
 
 Nor though to Nature it obedience gaue. 
 
 And kneeld, to doe her Homage, in the graue. 
 
 Would fhe lament, her fuckling from her torne : 
 
 Scaping by death thofe torments I haue borne. 
 
 This figh'd, fhe wept (low leaning on her hand) 
 Her briny teares downe rayning on the fand. 
 Which feene by (them, that fport it in the Seas 
 On Dolphins backes) the faire Nereides, 
 They came on fhore, and flily as they fell 
 Conuai'd each teare into an Oyfter-fhell, 
 And by fome power that did afFe6t the Girles, 
 Transform'd thofe liquid drops to orient Pearles, 
 And ftrew'd them on the fhore : for whofe rich prize 
 In winged Pines, the Roman Colonies 
 Flung through the deepe Abyjfe to our white rocks 
 For lems to decke their Ladyes golden lockes : 
 Who valew'd them as highly in their kinds 
 As thofe the Sun-burnt ^Ethiopian finds. 
 
 Long on the fhore, diftreft Marina lay : 
 For he that opes the pleafant fweets of May 
 
172 Britannia s Paftorah. Booke 2. 
 
 Beyond the Noon-flead fo farre droue his teame. 
 
 That Harueft-folkes (with curds and clouted creame. 
 
 With cheefe and butter, cakes, and cates enow. 
 
 That are the Teomans from the yoake or Cowe) 
 
 On iheafes of corne were at their noonfliuns clofe, 
 
 Whilfl: them merrily the Bag^pipe goes : 
 
 Ere from her hand fhe lifted vp her head. 
 
 Where all the Graces then inhabited. 
 
 When cafting round her ouer-drowned eyes, 
 
 (So haue I feene a lem of mickle price 
 
 Roule in a Scallop-Jhell with water fild) 
 
 She, on a marble rocke at hand behild 
 
 In Charad:ers deepe cut with Iron ftroke, 
 
 A Shepherds moane, which read by her, thus fpoke : 
 
 Glide Joft ye filuer Floods, 
 
 And euery Spring : 
 Within the Jhady Woods , 
 Let no Birdjing ! 
 Nor from the Groue a Turtle Doue, 
 Be feene to couple with her loue. 
 But ftlence on each Dale and Mount aine dwell 
 Whilft Willy bids his friend and ioy Farewell. 
 
 But {of great Thetis trained 
 
 Tee Mermaids y«j:z>^, 
 Hhat on the Jhores doe plaine 
 Tour Sea-greene haire, 
 As ye in tramels knit your locks 
 Weepe yee ; andfo inforce the rocks 
 In heauy murmures through the broad jhores tell. 
 How Willy bade his friend and ioy Farewell. 
 
 Ceafe, ceafe, yee murdring winds 
 
 To moue a waue ; 
 But if with troubled minds 
 
 Toufeeke his graue ; 
 
Song I. Britannia s Pajiorals. ly^ 
 
 Know 'tis as various as yourjelues, 
 
 Now in the deepe, then on the Jhelues, 
 His coffin to/s'd by fijh and /urges fell, 
 Whilft Willy weepes and bids all ioy Farewell. 
 
 Had he Arion like 
 
 Beene iudg'd to drowne, 
 Hee on his Lute could fir ike 
 So rare ajowne ; 
 A thou/and Dolphins would haue come 
 And ioyntly ftriue to bring him home. 
 But he on Ship-boor d dide, by ficknejfe fell, 
 Since when his Willy bade all ioy Farewell. 
 
 Great Neptune heare a Swaine ! 
 
 His Coffin take, 
 And with a golden chaine 
 {For pittie) make 
 It f aft vnto a rocke neere land I 
 Where euWy calmy morne lie ft and 
 And ere one Jheepe out of my fold I tell. 
 Sad Willy's Pipe fhall bid his friend Farewell. 
 
 Ah heauy Shepherd (who fo ere thou be) 
 Quoth faire Marina, I doe pitty thee : 
 For who by death is in a true friend croft. 
 Till he be earth, he halfe himfelfe hath loft. 
 More happy deeme I thee, lamented Swaine, 
 Whofe body lies among the fcaly traine, 
 Since I ftiall neuer thinke, that thou canft dye, 
 Whilft Willy Hues, or any Poetry : 
 For well it feemes in verfing he hath fkill. 
 And though he (ayded from the facred Hill) 
 To thee with him no equall life can giue. 
 Yet by this Pen thou maift for euer Hue. 
 With this a beame of fudden brightnefle flyes 
 Vpon her face, fo dazeling her cleere eyes. 
 
174 Britannia s Pajtorals. Booke 2. 
 
 That neither flowre nor graffe which by her grew 
 
 She could difcerne cloath'd in their perfedt hue. 
 
 For as a Wag (to fport with fuch as pafle) 
 
 Taking the Sun-beames in a Looking-glajfe, 
 
 Conuayes the Ray into the eyes of one. 
 
 Who (blinded) either Humbles at a jftone, 
 
 Or as he dazeled walkes the peopled ftreets. 
 
 Is ready iuftling euery man he meets : 
 
 So then Apollo did in glory caft 
 
 His bright beames on a rocke with gold enchaft, 
 
 And thence the fwift refledion of their light 
 
 Blinded thofe eyes : The chiefeft Stars of night. 
 
 When ftreight a thick-fwolne Cloud (as if it fought 
 
 In beauties minde to haue a thankful! thought) 
 
 Inuail'd the luftre of great 'Titans Carre, 
 
 And fhe beheld, from whence fhe fate not farre. 
 
 Cut on a high-brow'd Rocke (inlaid with gold) 
 
 This Epitaph, and read it, thus enrold. 
 
 In depth of waues long hath Alexis Jlept, 
 
 So choiceji lewels are the clofeft kept ; 
 
 Whoje death the land hadjeene, hut it appeares 
 
 To counteruaile his lofTe, men wanted teares. 
 
 So here he lyes, whoJe Dirge each Mermaid 7?«^j, 
 
 For whom the Clouds weepe raine, the Earth her Jprings. 
 
 Her eyes thefe lines acquainted with her minde 
 Had fcarcely made ; when o're the hill behinde 
 She heard a woman cry ; Ah well-a-day. 
 What Jhall I doe ? goe home, or fly e, or ft ay. 
 Admir'd Marina rofe, and with a pace 
 As graceful! as the Goddejfes did trace 
 O're ftately Ida (when fond Paris doome 
 Kindled the fire, ftiould mighty Troy entombe.) 
 She went to aid the woman in diftrefle, 
 (True beauty neuer was found mercilefle) 
 
Song i. Britannia s Pajiorals. 175 
 
 Yet durft fhe not goe nye, left (being fpide) 
 Some villaines outrage, that might then betide 
 (For ought fhe knew) vnto the crying Maid, 
 Might grafpe with her : by thickets which arai'd 
 The high Sea-bounding hill, fo neere flie went. 
 She faw what wight made fuch lowd dreriment. 
 Lowd ? yes : fung right : for fince the Azure fkie 
 Imprifon'd firft the world, a mortals cry 
 With greater clangor neuer pierc'd the ayre. 
 
 A wight fhe was fo farre from being faire ; 
 None could be foule efteem'd, compar'd with her. 
 
 Defcribing Foulnejfe, pardon if I erre, 
 Ye Shepherds Daughters, and ye gentle Swaines ! 
 My Mufe would gladly chaunt more louely ftraines : 
 Yet fince on miry grounds (he trode, for doubt 
 Of finking, all in hafte, thus wades {he out. 
 As when great Neptune in his height of pride 
 The inland creeks fils with a high Spring-tyde, 
 Great fholes of fifh, among the Oyfters hye. 
 Which by a quicke ebbe, on the (hores, left dry. 
 The fifhes yawne, the Oyfters gapen wide : 
 So broad her mouth was : As fhe ftood and cride. 
 She tore her eluifh knots of haire, as blacke 
 And full of duft as any Collyers facke. 
 Her eyes vnlike, were like her body right. 
 Squint and miffe-fhapen, one dun, t'other white. 
 
 As in a picture limb'd vnto the life, 
 Or carued by a curious workmans knife, 
 If twenty men at once fhould come to fee 
 The great effedts of vntirde induftry. 
 Each feu'rally would thinke the pidtures eye 
 Was fixt on him, and on no ftander by : 
 So as fhe (bawling) was vpon the banke, 
 . If twice fiue hundred men ftood on a ranke. 
 Her ill face towards them ; euery one would fay. 
 She lookes on me ; when fhe another way 
 
176 Britannia s Pajiorals. Booke 2. 
 
 Had caft her eyes, as on fome rocke or tree. 
 
 And on no one of all that company. 
 
 Her Noje (6 crooked nofe) her mouth o're-hung, 
 
 As it would be direded by her tongue : 
 
 Her Fore-head fuch, as one might neere auow 
 
 Some Plow-man, there, had lately beene at plow. 
 
 Her Face fo fcorcht was, and fo vilde it fhowes. 
 
 As on a Peare-tree fhe had fcar'd the Crowes. 
 
 Within a 'Tanners fat I oft haue eyde 
 
 (That three moones there had laine) a large Oxe-hyde 
 
 In liquor mixt with ftrongeft barke (for gaine) 
 
 Yet had not tane one halfe fo deepe a ftaine 
 
 As had her fkin : and that, as hard well-nye 
 
 As any Brawnes, long hardned in the ftye. 
 
 Her Shoulders fuch, as I haue often feene 
 
 A filly Cottage on a Village greene 
 
 Might change his corner pofts, in good behoofe. 
 
 For foure fuch vnder-proppers to his roofe. 
 
 Hufwiues, goe hire her, if you yeerely gaue 
 
 A Lamkin more then vfe, you that might faue 
 
 In wafhing-Beetles, for her hands would paffe 
 
 To ferue that purpofe, though you daily wafh. 
 
 For other hidden parts, thus much I fay ; 
 
 As Ballad-mongers on a Market-day 
 
 Taking their ftand, one (with as harfti a noyfe 
 
 As euer Cart-wheele made) fqueakes the fad choice 
 
 Of 'Tom the Miller with a golden thumbe. 
 
 Who croft in loue, ran mad, and deafe, and dumbe, 
 
 Halfe part he chants, and will not fing it out. 
 
 But thus he fpeakes to his attentiue rout : 
 
 Thus much for loue I warbled from my breft. 
 
 And gentle friends, for money take the reft : 
 
 So fpeake I to the ouer-longing eare. 
 
 That would the reft of her defcription heare. 
 
 Much haue I fung for loue, the reft (not common) 
 
 Martial will fhew for coine, in's crabbed woman. 
 
Song i. Britannia s Pajtorals. lyj 
 
 If e're you faw a Pedant gin prepare 
 To fpeake fome graceful 1 fpeech to Mafter Maior, 
 And being bafhfull, with a quaking doubt 
 That in his eloquence he may be out ; 
 He oft fteps forth, as oft turnes backe againe ; 
 And long 'tis e're he ope his learned veine : 
 Thinke fo Marina flood : for now fhe thought 
 To venture forth, then fome coniedure wrought 
 Her to be iealous, left this vgly wight 
 (Since like a Witch fhe lookt) through fpels of night. 
 Might make her body thrall (that yet was free) 
 To all the foule intents of Witcherie : 
 This drew her backe againe. At laft fhe broke 
 Through all fond doubts, went to her, and befpoke 
 In gentle manner thus : Good day, good Maid ; 
 With that her cry fhe on a fodaine ftaid. 
 And rub'd her fquint eyes with her mighty fift. 
 But as a Miller hauing ground his grift. 
 Lets downe his flood-gates with a fpeedy fall. 
 And quarring vp the pafTage therewithall. 
 The waters fwell in fpleene, and neuer ftay 
 Till by fome cleft they finde another way : 
 So when her teares were ftopt from either eye 
 Her fingults, blubbrings, feem'd to make them flye 
 Out at her Oyfter-mouth and Nofe-thrils wide. 
 Can there (quoth faire Marina) e're betide 
 (In thefe fweet Groues) a wench, fo great a wrong. 
 That fhould inforce a cry fo loud, fo long ? 
 On thefe delightfull Plaines how can there be 
 So much as heard the name of villany ? 
 Except when Shepherds in their gladfome fit 
 Sing Hymnes to Pan that they are free from it. 
 
 But fhew me, what hath caus'd thy grieuous yell ? 
 As late (quoth fhe) I went to yonder Well, 
 (You cannot fee it here ; that Groue doth couer 
 With his thicke boughes his little channell ouer.) 
 
 A A 
 
178 Britannia s Pajlor ah. Booke 2. 
 
 To fetch fome water (as I vfe) to drefle 
 
 My Matters fupper (you may thinke of flefh ; 
 
 But well I wot he tafteth no fuch difh) 
 
 Of Rotchets, Whitings, or fuch common fifh, 
 
 That with his net he drags into his Boat : 
 
 Among the Flags below, there ftands his Coat 
 
 (A fimple one) thatch'd o're with Reede and Broome ; 
 
 It hath a Kitchen, and a feuerall roome 
 
 For each of vs. But this is nought : you flee, 
 
 Replide Marine, I prithee anfwer me 
 
 To what I queftion'd. Doe but heare me firft, 
 
 Anfwer'd the Hag. He is a man fo curft, 
 
 Although I toyle at home, and ferue his Swine, 
 
 Yet fcarce allowes he me whereon to dine : 
 
 In Summer time on Black-berries I liue. 
 
 On Crabs and Hawes, and what wilde Forrefts giue : 
 
 In Winters cold, bare-foot, I run to feeke 
 
 For Oyfters, and fmall Winkles in each creeke. 
 
 Whereon I feed, and on the Meager Slone. 
 
 But if he home returne and finde me gone, 
 
 I flill am fure to feele his heauy hand. 
 
 Alas and weale away, fince now I ftand 
 
 In fuch a plight : for if I feeke his dore 
 
 Hee'l beat me ten times worfe then e're before. 
 
 What haft thou done ? (yet afkt Marina) fay ? 
 
 I with my pitcher lately tooke my way 
 
 (As late I faid) to thilke fame ftiaded Spring, 
 
 Fill'd it, and homewards, rais'd my voyce to fing ; 
 
 But in my backe returne, I (haplefle) fpide 
 
 A tree of Cherries wilde, and them I eyde 
 
 With fuch a longing, that vnwares my foot 
 
 Got vnderneath a hollow-growing root. 
 
 Carrying my pot as Maids vfe on their heads, 
 
 I fell with it, and broke it all to fhreads. 
 
 This is my griefe, this is my caufe of mone. 
 
 And if fome kinde wight goe not to attone 
 
Song I. Britannia s Pajiorals. 179 
 
 My furly Mafter with me wretched Maid, 
 
 I fhall be beaten dead. Be not afraid. 
 
 Said fweet Marina, haften thee before ; 
 
 lie come to make thy peace : for fince I fore 
 
 Doe hunger, and at home thou haft fmall cheere, 
 
 (Need and fupply grow farre ofF, feldome neere.) 
 
 To yonder Groue lie goe, to tafte the fpring. 
 
 And fee what it affords for nouriftiing. 
 
 Thus parted they. And fad Marina bleft 
 
 The houre Ihe met the Maid, who did inveft 
 
 Her in aflured hope, fhe once ftiould fee 
 
 Her Flocke againe (and driue them merrily 
 
 To their flowre-decked layre, and tread the fhores 
 
 Of pleafant Albion) through the well poys'd Oares 
 
 Of the poore Filher-man that dwelt thereby. 
 
 But as a man who in a Lottery 
 Hath ventur'd of his coyne, ere he haue ought, 
 Thinkes this or that fhall with his Prize be bought, 
 And fo enricht, march with the better ranke. 
 When fodainly he's call'd, and all is Blanke : 
 To chafte Marina^ fo doth Fortune proue, 
 State/men and /he are neuer firme in hue) 
 
 No fooner had Marina got the wood. 
 But as the trees fhe neerly fearch'd for food, 
 A Villaine, leane, as any rake appeares. 
 That look't, as pinch'd with famine, Mgyfts yeeres, 
 Worne out and wafted to the pithlefTe bone. 
 As one that had a long Confumption. 
 His rufty teeth (forfaken of his lips 
 As they had feru'd with want two Prentifhips) 
 Did through his pallid cheekes, and lankeft fkin 
 Bewray what number were enranckt within. 
 His greedy eyes deepe funke into his head. 
 Which with a rough haire was o're couered. 
 How many bones made vp this ftarued wight 
 Was foone perceiu'd ; a man of dimmeft fight 
 
i8.o Britannia s Pajiorals. Booke 2. 
 
 Apparantly might fee them knit, and tell 
 
 How all his veines and euery finew fell. 
 
 His belly (inwards drawne) his bowels preft. 
 
 His vnfiU'd (kin hung dangling on his breft, 
 
 His feeble knees with paine enough vphold 
 
 That pined carkafle, caften in a mold 
 
 Cut out by Deaths grim forme. If fmall legs wan 
 
 Euer the title of a Gentleman ; 
 
 His did acquire it. In his flefti pull'd downe 
 
 As he had liu'd in a beleaguerd towne. 
 
 Where Plenty had fo long eftranged beene 
 
 That men moft worthy note. In griefe were feene 
 
 (Though they reioyc'd to haue attaln'd fuch meat) 
 
 Of Rats, and halfe-tann'd Hydes, and ftomacks great. 
 
 Gladly to feed : and where a Nurfe, moft vilde, 
 
 Drunke her owne milke, and ftaru'd her crying childe. 
 
 Yet he through want of food not thus became : 
 
 But Nature firft decreed. That as the flame 
 
 Is neuer feene to flye his nourifliment. 
 
 But all confumes : and ftill the more is lent 
 
 The more it couets. And as all the Floods 
 
 (Down treching from fmall groues, & greater woods) 
 
 The vaft infatiate Sea doth ftill deuoure. 
 
 And yet his thirft not quenched by their power : 
 
 So euer ftiould befall this ftarued wight ; 
 
 The more his vyands, more his appetite. 
 
 What ere the deepes bring forth, or earth, or ayre. 
 
 He rauine ftiould, and want in greateft fare. 
 
 And what a Citie twice feuen yeeres would ferue. 
 
 He ftiould deuoure, and yet be like to ftarue. 
 
 A wretch fo empty, that if e're there be 
 
 In Nature found the leaft vacuitie, 
 
 'Twill be in him. The graue to Ceres ftore ; 
 
 A Caniball to lab'rers old and poore ; 
 
 A Spunge-like-DropJie, drinking till it burft ; 
 
 The Sicknejfe tearm'd the JVoIfe, vilde and accurft ; 
 
Song i. Britannia s Pajiorals. i8i 
 
 In fome refpedts like th'art of Alchumy 
 
 That thriues leaft, when it long'ft doth multiply : 
 
 Limos he deeped was : whofe long-nayl'd paw 
 
 Seizing Marina, and his fharpe-fang'd iaw 
 
 (The ftrongeft part he had) fixt in her weeds, 
 
 He forc'd her thence, through thickets & high Reeds, 
 
 Towards his Caue. Her fate the fwift windes rue. 
 
 And round the Groue in heauy murmures flew. 
 
 The limbs of trees, that (as in loue with either) 
 
 In clofe embrafements long had liu'd together, 
 
 Rubb'd each on other, and in fhreeks did fhow 
 
 The windes had mou'd more partners of their woe. 
 
 Old and decaied flocks, that long time Ipent 
 
 Vpon their armes, their roots chiefe nourifhment ; 
 
 And that drawne dry, as freely did impart 
 
 Their boughes a feeding on their fathers heart, 
 
 Yet by refpeftlefTe impes when all was gone, 
 
 Pithleffe and faplefle, naked left alone. 
 
 Their hollow trunks, fill'd with their neighbours moanes, 
 
 Sent from a thoufand vents, ten thoufand groanes. 
 
 All Birds flew from the wood, as they had been 
 
 Scar'd with a ftrong Bolt ratling 'mong the treen. 
 
 Limos with his fweet theft full flily rufhes (buflies. 
 Through fliarp-hook'd brambles, thornes, & tangling 
 Whofe tenters flicking in her garments, fought 
 (Poore flirubs) to helpe her, but auailing nought. 
 As angry (beft intents mifs'd beft proceeding) 
 They fcratch'd his face & legs, cleere water bleeding. 
 Not greater hafte a fearefull fchoole-boy makes 
 Out of an Orchard whence by flealth he takes 
 A churlifh Farmers Plums, fweet Peares or Grapes, 
 Then Limos did, as from the thicke he fcapes 
 Downe to the fhore. Where refling him a fpace, 
 Reftlefle Marina gan intreat for grace 
 Of one whofe knowing it as defp'rate flood. 
 As where each day to get fupply of food. 
 
1 82 Britannia s Pajiorah. Booke 2. 
 
 O ! had flie (thirfty) fuch intreaty made 
 
 At fome high Rocke, proud of his euening fhade. 
 
 He would haue burft in two, and from his veines 
 
 (For her auaile) vpon the vnder Plaines 
 
 A hundred Springs a hundred wayes ftiould fwim. 
 
 To fliew her teares inforced floods from him. 
 
 Had fuch an Oratrefle beene heard to plead 
 
 For faire Polixena, the Murthrers head 
 
 Had beene her pardon, and fo fcap'd that (hocke. 
 
 Which made her louers tombe her dying blocke. 
 
 Not an inraged Lion, furly, wood. 
 
 No ^yger reft her young, nor fauage brood ; 
 
 No, not the foaming Boare, that durfl: approue 
 
 Louelefle to leaue the mighty ^eene of Loue, 
 
 But her fad plaints, their vncouth walkes among 
 
 Spent, in fweet numbers from her golden tongue. 
 
 So much their great hearts would in foftnes fl:eepe. 
 
 They at her foot would groueling lye, and weepe. 
 
 Yet now (alas !) nor words, nor floods of teares 
 
 Did ought auaile. The belly hath no eares. 
 
 As I haue knowne a man loath meet with gaine 
 That carrieth in his front leaft fliew of paine. 
 Who for his vittailes all his raiment pledges, 
 Whofe flrackes for firing are his neighbours hedges, 
 From whence returning with a burden great. 
 Wearied, on fome greene banke he takes his feat. 
 But fearefull (as fl;ill theft is in his fl:ay) 
 Gets quickly vp, and hafl:eth fafl; away : 
 So Limos fooner eafed then yreiled 
 Was vp, and through the Reeds (as much molefl:ed 
 As in the Brakes) who louingly combine. 
 And for her aide together twift and twine. 
 Now manachng his hands, then on his legs 
 Like fetters hang the vnder-growing Segs : 
 And had his teeth not beene of fl:rongeft hold. 
 He there had left his prey. Fates vncontrold. 
 
Song i. Britannia s Pajlorals. 183 
 
 Denide fo great a blifle to Plants or men. 
 And lent him ftrength to bring her to his den. 
 
 Weftj in Af olio's courfe to Tagus ftreame, 
 Crown'd with a filuer circling Diadem 
 Of wet exhaled mifts, there flood a pile 
 Of aged Rocks (torne from the neighbour He 
 And girt with waues) againft whofe naked breft 
 The furges tilted, on his fnowie creft 
 The towring Falcon whilome built, and Kings 
 Stroue for that Eirie, on whofe fcaling wings, 
 Monarchs, in gold refin'd as much would lay 
 As might a month their Army Royal! pay. 
 Braue Birds they were, whofe quick-felf-lefs-'ning kin 
 Still won the girlonds from the *Peregrin. * a Falcon 
 
 Not Cerna He in Affricks filuer maine, differing 
 
 Nor luftfuU- bloody- iT^r^aj Thnacian ftraine, Faicon- 
 
 Nor any other Lording of the ayre s^"''*- 
 
 Durft with this Eirie for their wing compare. 
 About his fides a thoufand Seaguls bred, 
 The Meuy and the Halcyon famofed 
 For colours rare, and for the peacefull Seas 
 Round the Sicilian coaft, her brooding dayes. 
 Puffins (as thicke as Starlings in a Fen) 
 Were fetcht from thence : there fate the Pewet hen. 
 And in the clefts the Martin built his neft. 
 But thofe by this curft caitife difpofl'eft 
 Of rooft and neft, the leaft ; of life, the moft : 
 All left that place, and fought a fafer coaft. 
 In ftead of them the Caterpiller hants, 
 And Cancre-worme among the tender plants. 
 That here and there in nooks and corners grew ; 
 Of Cormorants and Locufts not a few ; 
 The cramming Rauen, and a hundred more 
 Deuouring creatures ; yet when from the fhore 
 Limos came wading (as he eafily might 
 Except at high tydes) all would take their flight. 
 
184 Britannia s Pajtor ah. Booke 2. 
 
 Or hide themfelues in fome deepe hole or other. 
 Left one deuourer ftiould deuoure another. 
 
 Neere to the fhore that bord'red on the Rocke 
 No merry Swaine was feene to feed his Flocke, 
 No lufty Neat-heard thither droue his Kine, 
 Nor boorifh Hog-heard fed his rooting Swine : 
 A ftony ground it was, fweet Herbage fail'd : 
 Nought there but weeds, which Limos, ftrongly nail'd. 
 Tore from their mothers breft, to ftufFe his maw. 
 No Crab-tree bore his load, nor Thorne his paw. 
 As in a Foreft well compleat with Deere 
 We fee the Hollies, Afhes, euery where 
 Rob'd of their cloathing by the browfing Game : 
 So neere the Rocke, all trees where e're you came, 
 To cold Decembers wrath ftood void of barke. 
 Here danc'd no Nymph, no early-rifing Larke 
 Sung vp the Plow-man and his drowfie mate : 
 All round the Rocke['s] barren and defolate. 
 The def- ^^ midft of that huge pile was Limos Caue 
 
 cnption of pull large and round, wherein a Millers knaue 
 Fam/w ° ° Might for his Horfe and Querne haue roome at will : 
 Where was out-drawne by fome inforced (kill. 
 What mighty conquefts were atchieu'd by him. 
 Firft flood the fiege of great lerujalem. 
 Within whofe triple wall and facred Citie 
 (Weepe ye ftone-hearted men ! oh read and pittie ! 
 'Tis Sions caufe inuokes your briny teares : 
 Can any dry eye be when fhe appeares 
 As I muft iing her ? oh, if fuch there be; 
 Flie, flie th'abode of men ! and haften thee 
 Into the Defart, fome high Mountaine vnder. 
 Or at thee boyes will hifle, and old men wonder.) 
 Here fits a mother weeping, pale and wan. 
 With fixed eyes, whofe hopelefle thoughts feem'd ran 
 How (fince for many dales no food fhe tafted. 
 Her Meale, her Oyle confum'd, all fpent, all wafted) 
 
Song I. Britannia s Pajiorals. i8i 
 
 For one poore day fhe might attaine fupply. 
 And defp'rate of ought elie, fit, pine, and dye. 
 At laft her minde meets with her tender childe 
 That in the cradle lay (of Oziers wilde) 
 Which taken in her armes, fhe giues the teat. 
 From whence the little wretch with labour great 
 Not one poore drop can fucke : whereat fhe wood, 
 Cries out, 6 heauen ! are all the founts of food 
 Exhaufled quite ? and mufl my Infant yong 
 Be fed with fhooes ? yet wanting thofe ere long, 
 Feed on it felfe ? No : firfl the roome that gaue 
 Him foule and life, fhall be his timelefTe graue : 
 My dugs, thy befl reliefe, through griping hunger 
 Flow now no more, my babe ; Then fince no longer 
 By me thou canfl be fed, nor any other. 
 Be thou the Nurfe, and feed thy dying Mother. 
 Then in another place fhe flraight appeares. 
 Seething her fuckling in her fcalding teares. 
 From whence not farre the Painter made her fland 
 Tearing his fod flefh with her cruell hand. 
 In gobbets which fhe ate. O curfed wombe. 
 That to thy felfe art both the graue and tombe. 
 
 A little fweet lad (there) feemes to iritreat 
 (With held vp hands) his famifht Sire for meat. 
 Who wanting ought to giue his hoped ioy 
 But throbs and fighes ; the ouer-hungry boy. 
 For fome poore bit, in darke nooks making queft. 
 His Sachell finds, which growes a gladfome feafl 
 To him and both his Parents. Then, next day 
 He chewes the points wherewith he vs'd to play : 
 Deuouring lafl his Books of euery kinde. 
 They fed his body which fhould feede his minde : 
 But when his Sachell, Points, Books all were gone. 
 Before his Sire he droopes, and dies anon. 
 
 In height of Art then had the Work-man done, 
 A pious, zealous, mofl religious fonne, 
 
 B B 
 
i86 Britannia s Pajiorals. Booke 2. 
 
 Who on the enemy excurfion made. 
 And fpight of danger ftrongly did inuade 
 Their viftuals conuoy, bringing from them home 
 Dri'd figs. Dates, Almonds, and fuch fruits as come 
 To the beleagring foe, and fate's the want 
 Therewith of thofe, who, from a tender plant 
 Bred him a man for armes ; thus oft he went. 
 And Storke-like fought his Parents nourifhment, 
 Till Fates decreed, he on the Roman Speares 
 Should giue his bloud for them, who gaue him theirs. 
 A IVIillion of fuch throes did Famine bring 
 Vpon the Citie of the mighty King, 
 Till, as her people, all her buildings rare 
 Confum'd themfelues and dim'd the lightfome ayre. 
 
 Neere this the curious Pencell did exprefle 
 A large and folitary wilderneffe, 
 Whofe high well limmed Oakes in growing fhow'd 
 As they would eafe ftrong Atlas of his load : 
 Here vnderneath a tree in heauy plight 
 (Her bread and pot of water wafted quite) 
 Egyptian Hagar (nipt with hunger fell) 
 Sate rob'd of hope : her Infant I/hmael. 
 (Farre from her being laid) full fadly feem'd 
 To cry for meat, his cry fhe nought efteem'd, 
 But kept her ftill, and turn'd her face away, 
 Knowing all meanes were bootlefle to aflay 
 In fuch a Defert : and fince now they muft 
 Sleepe their eternall fleepe, and cleaue to duft. 
 She chofe (apart) to grafpe one death alone. 
 Rather then by her babe a million. 
 
 Then Erejichthons cafe in Quids Song 
 Was portraied out ; and many moe along 
 The infides of the Caue ; which were defcride 
 By many loope-holes round on euery fide. 
 
 Thefe faire Marina view'd, left all alone. 
 The Caue faft fhut, Limos for pillage gone ; 
 
Song i. Britannia s Pajiorals. 187 
 
 Neere the wafh'd fhore mong roots and breers, and thorns, 
 A BuUocke findes, who deluing with his homes 
 The hurtlefle earth (the while his tough hoofe tore 
 The yeelding turfFe) in furious rage he bore 
 His head among the boughs that held it round. 
 While with his bellowes all the fliores refound : 
 Him Limos kil'd, and hal'd with no fmall paine 
 Vnto the Rocke ; fed well ; then goes againe : 
 Which feru'd Marina fit, for had his food 
 Fail'd him, her veines had fail'd their deereft blood. 
 
 Now great Hyperion left his golden throne 
 That on the dancing waues in glory {hone. 
 For whofe declining on the Weflerne fhore 
 The orientall hils blacke mantles wore, 
 . And thence apace the gentle Twi-light fled, 
 That had from hideous cauernes vftiered 
 All-drowfie Night ; who in a Carre of let. 
 By Steeds of Iron-gray (which mainly fwet 
 Moift drops on all the world) drawne through the fkie, 
 The helps of darkneffe waited orderly. 
 Firft, thicke clouds rofe from all the liquid plaines : 
 Then mifts from Marifhes, and grounds whofe veines 
 Were Conduit-pipes to many a cryftall fpring : 
 From {landing Pooles and Fens were following 
 Vnhealthy fogs : each Riuer, euery Rill 
 Sent vp their vapours to attend her will. 
 Thefe, pitchie curtains drew, 'twixt earth & heauen. 
 And as Nights Chariot through the ayre was driuen, 
 Clamour grew dumb, vnheard was Shepheards fong, 
 And filence girt the Woods ; no warbling tongue 
 Talk'd to the Eccho ; Satyr es broke their dance. 
 And all the vpper world lay in a trance. 
 Onely the curled {Ireames foft chidings kept ; 
 And little gales that from the greene leafe fwept 
 Dry Summers dufl:, in fearefull whifp'rings ftir'd, 
 As loth to waken any {inging Bird. 
 
i88 Britannia s Pajior ah. Booke 2. 
 
 Darknefle no lefle then blinde Cimmerian 
 Of Famines Caue the full pofleffion wan. 
 Where lay the ShepherdefTe inwrapt with night, 
 (The wifhed garment of a mournfull wight) 
 Here filken {lumbers and refrefhing fleepe 
 Were feldome found; with quiet mindes thofe keepe. 
 Not with difturbed thoughts ; the beds of Kings 
 Are neuer preft by them, fweet reft inrings 
 The tyred body of the fwarty Clowne, 
 And oftner lies on flocks then fofteft downe. 
 
 Twice had the Cocke crowne, and in Cities ftrong 
 The Bel-mans dolefull noyfe and carefull fong, 
 Told men, whofe watchfull eyes no flumber hent, 
 What ftore of houres theft-guilty night had fpent. 
 Yet had not Morpheus with this Maiden been. 
 As fearing Limos ; (whofe impetuous teen 
 Kept gentle reft from all to whom his Caue 
 Yeelded inclofure (deadly as the graue.) 
 But to all fad laments left her (forlorne) 
 In which three watches ftie had nie outworne. 
 
 Faire filuer-footed Thetis that time threw 
 Along the Ocean with a beautious crew 
 Of her attending Sea-nymphs {loues bright Lamps 
 »Sea-horfes. Guiding from Rocks her Chariots * Hippocamps .') 
 A iourney, onely made, vnwares to fpye 
 If any Mighties of her Empery 
 Oppreft the leaft, and forc'd the weaker fort 
 To their defignes, by being great in Court, 
 O ! fhould all Potentates whofe higher birth 
 Enroles their titles, other Gods on earth. 
 Should they make priuate fearch, in vaile of night. 
 For cruell wrongs done by each Fauorite ; 
 Here fhould they finde a great one paling in 
 A meane mans land, which many yeeres had bin 
 His charges life, and by the others heaft. 
 The poore muft ftarue to feed a fcuruy beaft. 
 
Song i. Britannia s Pafiorals. 189 
 
 If any recompence drop from his fift. 
 
 His time's his owne, the mony, what he lift. 
 
 There fhould they fee another that commands 
 
 His Farmers Teame from furrowing his lands. 
 
 To bring him ftones to raife his building vaft. 
 
 The while his Tenants fowing time is paft. 
 
 Another (Ipending) doth his rents inhance. 
 
 Or gets by tricks the poores inheritance. 
 
 But as a man whofe age hath dim'd his eyes, 
 
 Vfeth his Speftacles, and as he pryes 
 
 Through them all Charafters feeme wondrous faire. 
 
 Yet when his glafies quite remoued are 
 
 (Though with all carefull heed he neerly looke) 
 
 Cannot perceiue one tittle in the Booke ; 
 
 So if a King behold fuch fauourites 
 
 (Whofe being great, was being Farafites) 
 
 With th'eyes of fauour, all their adtions are 
 
 To him appearing plaine and regular : 
 
 But let him lay his fight of grace afide. 
 
 And fee what men he hath fo dignifide. 
 
 They all would vanifh, and not dare appeare. 
 
 Who Atom-like^ when their Sun ftiined cleare, 
 
 Danc'd in his beame ; but now his rayes are gone. 
 
 Of many hundred we perceiue not one. 
 
 Or as a man who ftanding to defcry 
 
 How great floods farre off run, and vallies lye, 
 
 Taketh a glajfe froJpeSfiue good and true. 
 
 By which things moft remote are full in view : 
 
 If Monarchs, fo, would take an Inftrument 
 
 Of truth compos'd to fpie their Subiedts drent 
 
 In foule oppreflion by thofe high in feat 
 
 (Who care not to be good but to be great) 
 
 In full afpedt the wrongs of each degree 
 
 Would lye before them ; and they then would fee. 
 
 The diuellilh Politician all conuinces. 
 
 In murdring Statefmen and in poifning Princes; 
 
I go Britannia s Pajlorals. Booke 2. 
 
 The Prelate in pluralities afleepe, 
 Whilft that the Wolfe lies preying on his fheepe ; 
 The drowfie Lawyer, and the falfe Atturnies 
 Tire poore mens purfes with their hfe-long-iournies ; 
 The Country Gentleman, from's neighbours hand 
 Forceth th'inheritance, ioynes land to land, 
 And (moft infatiate) feekes vnder his rent 
 To bring the worlds moft fpacious continent ; 
 The fawning Citizen (whofe loue's bought deareft) 
 Deceiues his brother when the Sun ftiines cleareft, 
 Gets, borrowes, breakes, lets in, and ftops out light. 
 And Hues a Knaue to leaue his fonne a Knight; 
 The griping Farmer hoords the feed of bread, 
 Whilft in the ftreets the poore lye famifhed : 
 And free there's none from all this worldly ftrife. 
 Except the Shepherds heauen-bleft happy life. 
 
 But ftay fweet Mujel forbeare this harlher ftraine, 
 Keepe with the Shepherds ; leaue the Satyres veine, 
 Coupe not with Beares : let Icarus alone 
 To fcorch himfelfe within the torrid Zone : 
 Let Phaeton run on, Ixion fall. 
 And with an humble ftiled Paftorall 
 Tread through the vallies, dance about the ftreames. 
 The lowly Dales will yeeld vs Anadems 
 To fhade our temples, 'tis a worthy meed. 
 No better girlond feekes mine Oaten Reed ; 
 Let others climbe the hils, and to their praife 
 (Whilft I fit girt with Flowers') be crown'd with Bayes. 
 
 Shew now faire Mufe what afterward became 
 Of great Achilles Mother ; She whofe name 
 The Mermaids fing, and tell the weeping ftrand 
 A brauer Lady neuer tript on land, 
 Except the euer-liuing Fayerie ^eene, 
 Whofe vertues by her Swaine fo written beene. 
 That time ftiall call her high enhanced ftory 
 In his rare fong, 11" he Mujes chief efi glory. 
 
Song i. Britannia s Pajiorals. 191 
 
 So mainly 'Thetis droue her filuer throne, 
 Inlaid with pearles of price, and precious ftone, 
 (For whofe gay purchafe, Ihe did often make 
 The fcorched Negro diue the briny Lake) 
 That by the fwiftnefle of her Chariot wheels 
 (Scouring the Maine as well-built Englifh Keels) 
 She, of the new-found World all coafts had feene. 
 The fhores of Thejfaly, where fhe was Queene, 
 Her brother Pont us waues, imbrac'd, with thofe 
 Mceotian fields and vales of 'Tenedos, 
 Streit Hellefpont, whofe high-brow'd clifFes yet found 
 The mournfull name of young Leander drown'd, 
 Then with full fpeed her Horfes doth fhe guide 
 Through the Mgaan Sea, that takes a pride 
 In making difference twixt the fruitfull lands 
 Europe and Afta almoft ioyning hands. 
 But that Ihe thrufts her billowes all afront 
 To flop their meeting through the Hellefpont. 
 The Midland Sea fo fwiftly was fhe fcouring. 
 The Adriaticke gulfe braue Ships deuouring. 
 To Padus filuer flireame then glides fhe on 
 (Enfamoufed by rekeleffe Phaeton) -P''"- '^*- 
 
 Padus that doth beyond his limits rife. 
 When the hot Dog-Jiarre raines his maladies. 
 And robs the high and ayre-inuading Alpes 
 Of all their Winter-fuits and fnowie fcalpes. 
 To drowne the leuel'd lands along his fhore. 
 And make him fwell with pride. By whom of yore 
 The facred Heliconian Damfels fate 
 (To whom was mighty Pindus confecrate) 
 And did decree (neglefting other men) 
 Their height of Art fhould flow from Maro's pen. 
 And pratling Eccho's euermore fhould long 
 For repetition of fweet Najos fong. 
 It was inadted here, in after dayes 
 What wights fiiould haue their temples crown'dwith5«y?j. 
 
192 Britannia s Pajiorals. Booke 2. 
 
 Learn'd Ariofio, holy Petrarchs quill. 
 And 'Tajfo fhould afcend the Mufes hill. 
 Diuineft Bartas, whofe enriched foule 
 Proclaim'd his Makers worth, fhould fo enroule 
 His happy name in brafle, that Time nor Fate 
 That fwallows all, Ihould euer ruinate. 
 Delightfull Saluji, whofe all blefled layes 
 The Shepherds make their Hymnes on Holy-daies ; 
 And truly fay thou in one weeke haft pend 
 What time may euer ftudy, ne're amend. 
 Marot and Ronfard, Garnier's bufkind Mtife 
 Should fpirit of life in very ftones infufe. 
 And many another Swan whofe powerfull ftraine 
 Should raife the Golden World to life againe. 
 
 But let vs leaue (faire IVTufe) the bankes of Fo, 
 'Thetis forfooke his braue ftreame long agoe. 
 And we muft after. See in hafte ihe fweepes 
 Along the Celticke ftiores, t\\' Armorick deepes 
 She now is entring : beare vp then a head, 
 And by that time fhe hath difcouered 
 Our Alahlafler rocks, we may defcry 
 And ken with her, the coafts of Britany. 
 There will (he Anchor caft, to heare the Songs 
 Of Englifti Shepherds, whofe all-tunefuU tongues 
 So pleas'd the Nayades, they did report 
 Their fongs perfedtion in great Nereus Court : 
 Which Thetis hearing, did appoint a day 
 When fhe would meet them in the Britti/h Sea, 
 And thither for each Swaine a Dolphin bring 
 To ride with her, whilft fhe would heare him fing. 
 The time prefixt was come ; and now the Starre 
 Of bliffefull light appear'd, when fhe her Carre 
 Staid in the narrow Seas. At Thames faire port 
 The Nymphes and Shepherds of the IJle refort. 
 And thence did put to Sea with mirthfull rounds. 
 Whereat the billowes dance aboue their bounds. 
 
Song i. Britannia s Pajlorah. 193 
 
 And bearded Goats, that on the clouded head 
 
 Of any fea-furuaying Mountaine fed, 
 
 Leauing to crop the luy, liftning flood 
 
 At thofe fweet ayres which did intrance the flood 
 
 In iocund fort the Goddejfe thus they met. 
 
 And after reu'rence done, all being fet 
 
 Vpon their finny Courfers, round her throne, 
 
 And file prepar'd to cut the watry Zone 
 
 Ingirting Albion ; all their pipes were flill. 
 
 And Colin Clout began to tune his quill 
 
 With fuch deepe Art, that euery one was gluen 
 
 To thinke Apollo (newly flid from heau'n) 
 
 Had tane a humane fhape to win his loue. 
 
 Or with the IVefterne Swaines for glory flroue. 
 
 He fung th'heroicke Knights of Faiery land 
 
 In lines fo elegant, of fuch command, 
 
 That had the *'Thracian plaid but halfe fo well, • orpheus. 
 
 He had not left Eurydice in hell. 
 
 But e're he ended his melodious fong 
 
 An hofl of Angels flew the clouds among. 
 
 And rapt this Swan from his attentiue mates, 
 
 To make him one of their afTociates 
 
 In heauens faire Quire : where now he fings the praife 
 
 Of him that is the firft and laji of dayes. 
 
 Diuinefl Spencer heau'n-bred, happy Mufe ! 
 
 Would any power into my braine infufe 
 
 Thy worth, or all that Poets had before, 
 
 I could not praife till thou deferu'fl no more. 
 
 A dampe of wonder and amazement flirooke 
 Thetis attendants, many a heauy looke 
 Follow'd fweet Spencer, till the thickning ayre 
 Sights further pafTage fl:op'd. A pafTionate teare 
 Fell from each Nymph, no Shepherds cheeke was dry, 
 A dolefull Dirge, and mournfull Elegie 
 Flew to the fhore. When mighty Nereus Queene 
 , (In memory of what was heard and feene) 
 Imploy'd a FaSlor (fitted well with flore 
 
 c c 
 
194 Britannia s Pajiorals. Booke 2. 
 
 Of richeft lemmes, refined Indian Ore) 
 
 To raife, in honour of his worthy name, 
 
 A Piramis, whofe head (like winged Fame) 
 
 Should pierce the clouds, yea feeme the ftars to kifie, - 
 
 And Mau/olus great tombe might fhrowd in his. 
 
 Her will had beene performance, had not Fate 
 
 (That neuer knew how to commiferate) 
 
 Suborn'd curs'd Auarice to lye in waight 
 
 For that rich prey : {Gold is a taking bait) 
 
 Who clofely lurking like a fubtile Snake 
 
 Vnder the couert of a thorny brake, 
 
 Seiz'd on the Factor by faire 'Thetis fent. 
 
 And rob'd our Colin of his Monument. 
 
 Yee Englifh Shepherds, fonnes of Memory, 
 For Satyres change your pleafing melody. 
 Scourge, raile and curfe that facrilegious hand. 
 That more then Fiend of hell, that Stygian brand, 
 All-guilty Auarice : that worfl: of euill. 
 That gulfe-deuouring, off-fpring of a Deuill : 
 Heape curfe on curfe fo direfuU and fo fell, 
 Their weight may prefTe his damned foule to hell. 
 Is there a fpirit fo gentle can refraine 
 To torture fuch ? O let a Satyres veine 
 Mix with that man ! to lalh this hellifh lym. 
 Or all our curfes will defcend on him. 
 
 For mine owne part, although I now commerce 
 With lowly Shepherds, in as low a Verfe ; 
 If of my dayes I fhall not fee an end 
 Till more yeeres prefle me ; fome few houres He fpend 
 In rough-hewn Satyres, and my bufied pen 
 Shall ierke to death this infamy of men. 
 And like a Fury, glowing coulters beare. 
 With which ? But fee how yonder fondlings teare 
 Their fleeces in the brakes ; I muft goe free 
 Them of their bonds ; Reft you here merrily 
 Till my returne : when I will touch a ftring 
 Shall make the Riuers dance, and Vallies ring. 
 
INDEX AND NOTES. 
 
 A few Topographical and other Notes, by John Shelly, Efq., of Plymouth, are printed here 
 with the diftinguifliing initial S. The Poet's original notes have already been given as mar- 
 ginalia, conformably with the arrangement in both the old editions. 
 
 \BBEY. Helpes down an 
 abbey. The abbey at 
 Taviftock, " in whofe 
 ruins,"faysRifdon, aeon- 
 temporary of Browne, 
 " you may now aim at 
 the antique magnificence thereof." — • 
 S. P. 76. 
 Alban, St. He was flain and fuiFered 
 martyrdom in the days of Diocletian 
 and iVIaximilian. The place of his 
 execution was an hill in a wood 
 called Holmhurft, where at one ftroke 
 his head was fmitten off. See the 
 Golden Legend ; Robert of Glou- 
 cefter ; Harding, c. 57, &c. — Thomp- 
 fon. P. no. 
 Alcibiades. They reprefented a God 
 or Goddefs without, and aSilenus or 
 deformed piper within. Erafmus has 
 a curious diflertation on Sileni Alci- 
 biades. Adag. p. 667. Edit, R. 
 Stephens. — Thompfon. 
 Aletheia, the perfonification of Truth. 
 In 1599 one Peter Pett publiflied 
 " Times iourney to feeke his Daugh- 
 ter Truth: and Truths Letter to 
 
 Fame of Englands Excellencie," in 
 verfe. P. 134, &c. 
 
 Anadems, garlands. 
 
 An aged rock. This is probably Mary 
 Tavy Rock, a grey crag that lies 
 in the bed of the river about 
 three miles above Taviftock. — S. 
 P. 75. 
 
 Apelles Table. P. 68. 
 
 Arede, explain, or advife. P. 6g. 
 
 Argejies, the weftern wi.ia. And fup- 
 pofed (with the ftars) the birth of 
 Aurora by Aftraeus, as Apollodoriis : 
 'Houf Je xa< 'A(rrpaiov dvsi).oi kcl) 
 cCiTTp a, . — Thompfon. 
 
 ^ffliZ, profit, or advantage. P. 182. 
 
 B. W. P. 162. 
 
 Balke, here ufed in the (enfe of a bank, 
 but its ftrider fignification in old 
 writers, and in Browne himfelf, is 
 the ufual ridge left by the plough 
 between two furrows. P. 56. 
 
 Bent, a fillet or garland. This fenie is 
 not noticed by HalliweJl. P. 68. 
 
 Berry, barrow, or mound. Mr. Shelly 
 oblerves — " Berry, Berry - Head, 
 Berry Pomeroy, are perhaps inftances 
 
196 
 
 Index and Notes. 
 
 of its ufe, all within the county of 
 Devon." P 6^. 
 
 Birds. A De/cription of a Mujicall 
 Confort of Birds, See the Armonye 
 of Byrdes in " Remains of the Early 
 Popular Poetry of England," iii., 
 and Chaucer's Court of Love, ad 
 finem. P. 87. 
 
 Blow the nails. 
 
 " And Shepherds Boyes," &c. 
 Browne appears to have had in his 
 mind the fong in Loves Labors Loft, 
 1598: 
 When icicles hang by the wall, 
 And Dick the (hepherd blows his nail. 
 
 Bannering, a reference to the religious 
 perfecutions which took place under 
 the epifcopal government of Bifliop 
 Bonner, who died in 1569. After 
 his death feveral pamphlets in verfe 
 and profe appeared, and Hill exift, 
 to perpetuate the deteftation in which 
 his name and memory were held. 
 See Hand-hook of E. E. Lit. arts. 
 Bonner andi Broke. P. 1 36. 
 
 Bottle, a fmall portable cafk for carry- 
 ing liquor to the fields. — Halliwell. 
 P. 68. 
 
 Brooke, Chriflopher. " Chriftopher 
 Brooke was defcended from a re- 
 fpeflable mercantile family at York, 
 his father having been twice Lord 
 Mayor of that city. He was edu- 
 cated at one of the univerfities, moft 
 probably Cambridge, where his bro- 
 ther Samuel was, and afterwards 
 went to Lincoln's Inn to perfeft 
 himfelf in the law, where he had for 
 Jiis chamber-fellow John Donne, 
 afterwards Dean of St. Paul's." — 
 Mr. Corfer's ColleRanea Anglo- 
 Poetica, part 3, p. 123. 
 
 Brooke was a friend of Donne, 
 afterward Dean of St. Paul's, and 
 
 with Samuel Brooke, his brother, 
 was concerned in the clandeftine 
 marriage, in 1602, of Donne to 
 Ann More, daughter of Sir George 
 More, of Lofeley. Samuel Brooke, 
 who was in orders, married the 
 couple, and Chriftopher gave the 
 bride away. Both were committed 
 for their (hare in the affair. In the 
 Lofeley MSS., 1836, is inferted a 
 letter from Chriftopher Brooke to 
 the Lord Keeper Egerton, making 
 fubmiffion and explaining. Brooke 
 was fent to the Marlhalfea, Donne 
 to the Fleet. A Mr. George Brooke 
 was concerned in the confpiracy for 
 placing Arabella Stuart on the throne 
 (1603); but whether he was related 
 to our poet does not appear. 
 
 In the fame volume with Browne's 
 Shepheards Pipe, 16 14, are pub(- 
 liftied "Other Eglogves. By Mr. 
 Brooke, Mr.Wither, and Mr. DavieS. 
 London, Printed by N. O. for G. 
 Norton. 1614." Brooke's perform- 
 ance is addreffed " To his much 
 loued friend Mr. W. Browne of the 
 Inner Temple." That by John 
 Davies of Hereford confifts of 
 "An Eclogue between yong Willy 
 [Browne himfelQ the finger of his 
 native Paftorals, and old Wernocke 
 his friend." Here the writer touches 
 upon the perfonal unhappinefs, per- 
 haps a little exaggerated poeticd li- 
 centia, which conftitutes fo promi- 
 nent a theme in the poems found in 
 the Lanfdowne MS. 
 
 See Handbook of Early Englijh 
 Literature, arts. Brooke and Henry 
 (Prince). P. 9. 
 
 Cmfar, Augiijlus, of the Inner Temple. 
 P. 162. 
 
 Cannowes of Inde. See Th. de Bry's 
 
Index and Notes. 
 
 197 
 
 America, vol. i, fol. part i. Vir- 
 ginia Tabul. izmo. Lintrium con- 
 ficiendorum Ratio. See likewife Sir 
 Tho. Herbert's Travels, fol. 3d edit, 
 p. 30. — Thompfon. 
 
 Cajke, cafket. P. 88. 
 
 Cave, Here digs a cave at fame high 
 mountaines foot. There is no " high 
 mountain," properly fo called, along 
 the whole courfe of the river; but 
 this may be the Virtuous Lady Cave, 
 where the Walkham joins the Tavy, 
 about four miles below Taviftock, 
 and where the banks of the river, 
 particularly the weft bank, are very 
 fteep and lofty. — S. P. 76. 
 
 Cerna. Not the Cerne of Pliny, but 
 the Ifland of Mauritius, difcovered 
 by the Hollanders, 1598 ; fowls are 
 here innumerable, and of great va- 
 riety ; fome fo tame that they will 
 fuffer a man almoft to touch them. 
 See Ogleby's Africa, p. 715. — 
 Thompfon. 
 
 Cerufe, carbonate of lead. P. 73. 
 
 Chanticleer e, the village-clocke. I fee 
 no fuiEcient reafon for confidering 
 cloche as a mifprint for cocke. The 
 former is by far the more poetical 
 expreflion and image, and I think 
 the paflage in Shakefpeare probably 
 ftood " village clock," not " village 
 cock," in the poet's MS. 
 
 Chaucer, indeed, applies the fame 
 figure to the cock in the Nonne 
 Preft's Tale:— 
 
 Wei fikerer was his crowyng in his logge, 
 Then is a clok, or an abbay orologge. 
 
 P. 115. 
 
 Cheuron, an architeftural ornament of 
 
 zig-zag form. — Worcejler. P. 117. 
 Cleeves, cliffs. P. 124. 
 Cocke, God. This is a very early cor- 
 
 ruption of the facred name, and 
 occurs in the printed literature of the 
 fixteenth century repeatedly. P. 1 16. 
 
 Colin Clout, Spenfer. P. iz et alibi. 
 
 Collar ofEjfies. P. ill. 
 
 Croke, Charles. P. 159. 
 
 Croke, Unton. P. 160. 
 
 Cuddy, the fame as Cutty, one of the 
 interlocutors in the fifth eclogue of 
 the Shepheards Pipe. Query, Chrif- 
 
 • topher Brooke. P. 21. 
 
 Davies, John, of Hereford. (Brooke.) 
 P. 159. 
 
 Drake, Sir Francis Drake, whofe ex- 
 ploits againft the power of Spain are 
 here referred to. P. 129. 
 
 Dragon's-blood, a refin obtained from 
 the palm and other plants, and ufed 
 in varniflies : it is of a dark brown 
 colour, fays Ure, or bright red, fri- 
 able, and of a Ihining frafture. P. J^. 
 
 Dray, a fquirrel's neft. P. 145. 
 
 Drayton, Michael, the celebrated poet. 
 He began to publifli as early as 1591, 
 when his Harmonie of the Churche 
 appeared. Ob. 1637. 
 
 He likewife pays him this com- 
 pliment in his Epiftle on Poets and 
 Poetry, in the zd. vol. of his Poems, 
 in fol. printed 1627, p. 208. 
 
 Tiren "rfie two Beaumonts and my Browne 
 
 arole. 
 My dear companions, whom I freely chofe. 
 My bofom friends ; and in their feveral wayes 
 Rightly born poets, and in thefe laft days 
 Men ofmuch note, and no lels noble parts, &c. 
 
 — Thompfon. P. 7. 
 
 Dreriment, lamentation. P. 175. 
 
 Dunjlan, St. St. Dunftan's Well, al- 
 luded to at p. zi. 
 
 Dynham, John, of Exeter College, Ox- 
 ford. P. 15. 
 
 Dynne, Francis, of the Inner Temple. 
 P. 10. 
 
198 
 
 Index and Notes. 
 
 Embrave, beautify or adorn, from adj. 
 brave, fine. P. 29. 
 
 Enfamoufed, celebrated, P. 191. 
 
 Engyrland, encircle, furround as with 
 a halo. P. 166. 
 
 Evet Evet (or hibit) is the Devonfliire 
 name of the newt. — S. P. 63. 
 
 Famofed, celebrated. P. 183. 
 
 Fautrejle, patronefs. P. 156. 
 
 Ferrar, W., of the Middle Temple. P. 1 1 . 
 
 Fluent, flowing. P. 27. 
 
 Fowl, bird. P. 73. 
 
 Gage, in the fenfe of temporary charge. 
 P. 60. 
 
 Gardiner, Thomas, of the Inner Temple. 
 P. 10. 
 
 Gerion, Philip of Spain feems evidently 
 here to be pointed at. There was 
 no part of England where the 
 threatened invafion of our ftiores by 
 Spain left a deeper impreiTion than 
 in the Weft-country, which gave our 
 poet birth. P. 129. 
 
 Gewen, Chr.. of Exeter College, Ox- 
 ford. P. 21-2. 
 
 Glanvill, John, of Tavijlock. 
 
 For an account of this gentleman, 
 afterwards knighted, fee Wood's 
 Fo/ii (ed. Blifs), 65. P. 156. 
 
 Gutting, an exceedingly rare word in 
 this fenfe. It feems to mean rich 
 or full. It is probably the wood, 
 and not the flcy-lark, which is here 
 intended ; the notes of the former 
 are far the fweeter. P. 25. 
 
 Hall, Edward, of Exeter College, Ox- 
 ford, one of the fons of Bifliop Hall. 
 The lines headed " On the Author 
 of Britannias Peerlefle Paftorals"are 
 written in the fame hand, according 
 to Beloe, and therefore were probably 
 alfoby Hall. P. 13-14. 
 
 Harding, Samuel, of Exeter College, 
 Oxford. An account of him may 
 
 be found in Wood. He was the 
 author of Sicily and Naples, or the 
 Fatal Union, a play, 1640. P. 16. 
 
 He fung the outrage of the lazy 
 drone. " The Buzzing Bee's Com- 
 plaint," by the Earl of Eflex.— 
 Thompfon. 
 
 Henry. Henry, Prince of Wales, eldeft 
 fon of James f., died in Nov., 1612. 
 He is of courfe the " royall youth," 
 mentioned at p. 129. P. 13 1. 
 
 Herbert, W. P. 157-8. 
 
 Hey gate, Thomas, of the Inner Temple. 
 P. 161. 
 
 Heyward, Edward, of the Inner Tem- 
 ple. An early friend of Browne, 
 Selden, and that diftinguiftied circle. 
 He was one of the three perfons to 
 whom Richard Milward, Selden's 
 amanuenfis, infcribed that great man's 
 Table-Talk, not printed till 1689. 
 
 Hurled, moved with rapidity. P. 81. 
 
 Hyde, or flarting hole [of a fifh]. P. 144. 
 
 Hyphear, the hip, or hep, which yields 
 mafts, a food for cattle. The hip, 
 or hiphear, is the fruit of the wild 
 brier, or dqg-rofe. The marginal 
 note at this paflageis, in the original, 
 very incorredt. P. 54, note. 
 
 Idya, England. P, 125. 
 
 Impe, a flioot of a tree, fecondarily a 
 child, in which fenfe it is not obfo- 
 lete. P. 72. 
 
 Jonfon, Ben. P. 162. 
 
 Kala, one of the charafters in the 
 ^rcfldta of Sidney. — Beloe. P. 12. 
 
 Knots of wooll neere to their tailes. A 
 kindred fuperftition to this appears 
 to have prevailed, at a very recent 
 date, in the highlands of Scotland, 
 where, according to a correfpondent 
 of Notes and Queries (ift S. iv. 
 380-1), the houfewives were accuf- 
 tomed to tie a piece of red worfted 
 
Index and Notes. 
 
 199 
 
 round their cows' tails on fending 
 tliem out in the fpring to grafs, 
 to guard them againft malignant 
 fpirits, &c. 
 
 Lavoltoes, romping waltzes, more ufu- 
 ally La-voUas. P. 77. 
 
 Lethe. This was not the only river to 
 which the ancients appear to have 
 afcribed the property of producing 
 forgetfulnefs. " Selemnus, a. river in 
 Achaia, is faid by Paufanias to have 
 poffeffed the quality of making thofe 
 who bathe in it forget the objeft of 
 their afFeftions." — Maloniana. 
 
 Leyes, i.q. leas, meadows. P. 88. 
 
 LiAed, imitated. P. 139. 
 
 Limos, fimply the Greek word for 
 Famine. P. 181. 
 
 Lin, ceafe. So in Kyng Horn : — 
 this tale nu thu lynne. 
 For horn nis nojt herin[n]e. 
 
 P. 171. 
 Locujt, the tree cicada. See Lovelace's 
 
 Poems, ed. 1864, p. 94. P. 183. 
 Meager, Defpair. See Spenfer's Fairie 
 
 Queene, b. i, c. 9, f. 33, &c. 
 
 Fletcher's Purple IJland, c. 12, f. 
 
 32, &c.— Thompfon. P. 140. 
 j?/eianoia, jU-sraVoia, repentance. P. 1 42. 
 Mevy, the Mavis, a variety of the 
 
 throftle. See Remains of the E. P. 
 
 Poetry of England, ii. 25. P. 183. 
 Miller s thumb, the fmall filh called 
 
 ufually the bull-head. P. 57. 
 ^neme, memory, Gr. jM,yij'f«.ij. P. 127. 
 Mona, Anglefey. P. 168. 
 Morgan, John, of the Inner Temple. 
 
 P. 161. 
 Mofle-thrumbed, knitted over with 
 
 mofs. P. 166. 
 Mulberry. " His blacke from Thifbie 
 
 taking." The well-known myth, 
 
 P. 136. 
 Muting. To mute is drop dung (of 
 
 birds). Noticed in Weftwood's 
 Etymol. Di6l.—S. Halliwell (Arch. 
 Di6l.) applies it only to hawks. 
 
 P. S4- 
 
 A^. B. Mr. Beloe (Anecdotes, vi. 71) 
 remarks that this poem, figned by 
 B. N., is written in the fame hand 
 as that by Chriftopher Gewen. 
 Nicholas Breton often reverfed his 
 initials ; but was he living in 1625 ? 
 
 Naturall bridge . . . heframeth out. 
 I know of no natural bridge formed 
 by the Tavy, but between Crown- 
 dale and Virtuous Lady Mine, two 
 or three miles below Taviftock ; the 
 river pafles through a narrow channel 
 between fteep banks. — S. P. 76. 
 
 Nofe-thrils, noftrils. P. 177. 
 
 Nyle, " munfter-breeding Nyle." I 
 conclude that Browne went for his 
 knowledge of the geography of Africa 
 and Egypt to Leo's Defcription, of 
 which there had been a recent Eng- 
 lifli tranflation, by John Pory, 1600, 
 folio. To this work is attached a 
 map of Africa, in which the fource 
 of the Nile is traced to an inland 
 lake. P. 138. 
 
 Nymph of Kent. P. 13. 
 
 Oeagrin Harpifl, Orpheus, the fon of 
 Oeagrus and Calliope, according to 
 Plato, in Conv. Apollon. Argonaut. 
 1. I, and himfelf, if the Argonautics 
 be his : Of Apollo and Calliope, by 
 fome ; of others, by others. — Thomp- 
 fon. P. 143. 
 
 Oulde, Francis, of the Inner Temple, 
 P. II. 
 
 Papillon, Philip, of Exeter College, 
 Oxford, was a fellow-collegian of 
 Browne, and the editor of their friend 
 Harding's drama of Sicily and Naples, 
 1640, 4to. P. 13. 
 
 Peak, pail. P. 115. 
 
200 
 
 Index and Notes. 
 
 Peartly, or pertly (Lat. peritus), 
 brifltly or vivacioufly. It is not at 
 all unufual in this fenfe now. P. 145. 
 
 Pembroke, William Herbert, (third) 
 Earl of Pembroke, of that family. 
 This nobleman fucceeded to the title 
 19th January, 1 600-1, and was the 
 fon of Henry, fecond Earl of Pem- 
 broke, by Mary Sydney, filler of the 
 author of the Arcadia. He married 
 one of the daughters and co-heirs of 
 Gilbert Talbot, Earl of Shrewfbury ; 
 his death occurred April ioth> 1630. 
 This Lord Pembroke is the perfon 
 to whom, abfurdly enough, feme of 
 the writers on Shakefpeare afcribe 
 an identity with the myfterious Mr. 
 W. H. of the Sonnets, 1609. 
 
 Pended, penned or enclofed in a flieep- 
 pen. P. 24. 
 
 Perigot. There feems to be no means 
 of identifying' this writer with any 
 known poet of Browne's time. P. 31. 
 
 Phaeton. See Ovid's Metam. b. z. 
 ApoUonius Argonaut, 1. 4. Lucretius, 
 1. 5. — Thompfon. - ,:'.■''■ 
 
 PUltfides, Sir Philip Sidney. The 
 word is made from Phili-Sid. He 
 was firft fo called by Spenfer in a 
 Pafloral Eglogue on his death. See 
 Todd's Spenfer, vol. viii. p. 78. — 
 Beloe. But Sydney ufes the term 
 himfelf in the Arcadia. Pp. 9, 1 2. 
 
 Pinnionijls, winged creatures, birds. 
 P. 120. 
 
 Plato. P. 68. 
 
 Qwarring;, clofing up. P. 177. 
 
 Raping, ravifhing. Jonfon ufed to rape 
 in the fenfe of to ravijh. 
 
 His noble lymmes in fuclie proporcion cafte, 
 As would haue -wraffed a fiUie womans 
 thought 
 
 Ferrex and Porrex, ed. [1570]. 
 
 P. 107. 
 
 Riot. Compare Skelton's defcription 
 of this allegorical perfonage in the 
 Bowge of Court (Skelton's Works, 
 ed. Dyce, i. 43). There is another 
 defcription of Riot in another place : 
 the paflage feemed to ftrike Milton, 
 who, in the copy of Browne which 
 belonged to him, has written Riot 
 in the fide-margin. 
 
 i?oic6ef, the piper-fifli. Nominale MS. 
 — Hatliwell. 
 
 Roget. Query, George Wither. The 
 firft eclogue of the Shepheards Pipe 
 is a dialogue between Willie and Ro- 
 get. WiHteis Browne himfelf. P. 21. 
 
 Rong, apparently a loom, but I find no 
 trace of its ufe in fuch a fenfe in any 
 of the diftionaries. P. 116. 
 
 Round, globe, world. P. 71. 
 
 Roundly, round. P. 120. 
 
 S. P., of Exeter College, Oxford. P. 13. 
 
 Saluji, Guillaume de, Sieur du Bartas. 
 P. 192. 
 
 Satyres majke, an allufion to the popu- 
 larity of works of a fatirical and epi- 
 grammatic charafter, with which the 
 literature of the period was abun- 
 dantly flocked. 
 
 Segs, fedges. P. 182. 
 
 Selden, John, the eminent legift and 
 antiquary. He alfo prefixed lines to 
 Drayton's Polyolbion, to the firft 
 twelve books of which he furniflied 
 notes. There are copies of verfes 
 by him before two or three other 
 publications. Pp. 6, 7. 
 
 Shelf, rock. P. 53, &c. 
 
 Shoat, or fhote, a kind of trout, "of 
 which," Mr. Shelly fays, " the Tavy 
 is full, when the fi(h are not killed 
 by refufe from mines." P. 57. 
 
 Simpl'ejle, merely poetical licenfe for 
 Jimplenefs. P. 87. 
 
 ^ngults, fobs. P. 177. 
 
Index and Notes, 
 
 201 
 
 Sow-thijlle, the common-name of leafy 
 Hemmed weeds of the genus SowcZims. 
 
 — Worcefter's Di{i. "Sowthyftylle, 
 or thowthy Hylk^rojlrumporcinum." 
 
 — Prompt. Parv. ed. Way, 466. 
 P. 103. 
 
 Stils, hills. I prefume, i. q. ftiles. 
 " Style, where men gon over." — 
 Prompt. Parv. ed Way, 495. P. 104. 
 
 Stub-chin' d. P. 26. 
 
 Surly Bear, Earl of Leicefter. Ofborn 
 calls him that Terreftrial Lucifer : 
 Mem. of Q. Elizabeth, Seft. ;, p. 25. 
 Among others whom he murdered, 
 Leicefter was the author of the death 
 of the Earl of Effex's father in Ire- 
 land. Olborn, ditto, p., 26. In the 
 Phoenix Nejt, 1593,. there is a de- 
 fence of Leicefter, called ihe Dead 
 Man's Right, in profe. — Thomp- 
 fon. 
 
 Tayler, Robert, of Exeter College, 
 Oxford. " The above acroftic is 
 fucceeded by two quotations from 
 the Shepheards Calendar of Spenfer, 
 applied in compliment to Browne, 
 and at the bottom is infcribed in the 
 above Robert Taylor's hand. 
 
 Sic ignorans cecinit. £dm. Spencer." 
 
 — Beloe. Was this the Robert Tai- 
 lor who wrote The Hogge hath lo/i 
 his Pearle, a play, 16 1 4, 410.? 
 P. 23. 
 
 Thicke, thicket or bufli. P. 181. 
 
 Thicke, thic, this. P. zi, lajt line. 
 
 Thilke, xhsit. P. 178. 
 
 Thyte,Tha\e. P. 138. 
 
 Treen, plural of free. P. 181. 
 
 Trench. To trench down, to flow down 
 through made channels. P. 180. 
 
 Two-kinde Bat, i. e. half-bird and half- 
 moufe. P. 113. 
 
 Vincent, Anthony. P. 1 60. 
 
 Wantonize. P. 118. 
 
 Water-Jhut, a dam. P. 1 19. 
 
 Wenman, Thomas, of the Inner Tem- 
 ple. P. 157. 
 
 Wither, George. P. 162. 
 
 Wood, mad or wild. P. 182. 
 
 Yell, fimply cry. So Chaucer, in the 
 Knightes Tale, defcribes Palamon's 
 forrow : — 
 
 Such forwe maketh, that the grete tour 
 Refowneth o( his yollyng and clamour. 
 
 Zouche, Edward, Lord. This noble- 
 man fucceeded his father, George, 
 Lord Zouche of Haringworth, co. 
 Northampton, in 1569, being then 
 only thirteen years old. He lived 
 till late in the reign of James I., but 
 the year of his death does not appear 
 to be ftated anywhere. The eftate 
 of Bramlhill, which Browne ex- 
 prefsly mentions in his dedication of 
 the Shepheards Pipe, 1 6 14, to Lord 
 Zouch, was in Hamplhire ; it paffed 
 out of the family in the reign of 
 Charles I. (Brydges' Memoirs of the 
 Peers of England during the reign 
 of James I., pp. 68-75). ^'^^ 
 edition of the Works, 1772, izmo., 
 omits this dedication altogether, and 
 prefixes to the entire work the dedi- 
 cation to William, Earl of Pembroke, 
 which, in the old copies, belongs to 
 the 2nd Book. 
 
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 THE POPULAR ANTIQUITIES 
 OF GREAT BRITAIN. 
 
 BY JOHN BRAND, M.A. 
 
 An entirely New Library Edition, Digejled, CorreBed, and Enlarged 
 throughout by 
 
 W. CAREW HAZLITT. 
 
 PREFACE TO THE PRESENT EDITION. 
 
 i HE author of this book left the MS. at his death in a ftate wholly 
 unfit for the prefs. Several years afterwards, in 181^, Sir Henry 
 Ellis, then Mr. Ellis, arranged the materials to a certain extent, 
 and gave the Popular Antiquities to the world in two quarto 
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 Mr. Brand's nucleus had been Bourne's Antiquitates Vulgares, 
 a ftrangely jejune work, but important and noticeable, inafmuch as it was the 
 earlieft attempt which had been made to colleft the written and traditional 
 records of our national cuftoms and fuperftitions. 
 
 Brand upon Bourne (fo to fpeak) has paffed through three, if not more, 
 impreffions. It has been reprinted by Mr. Knight and by Mr. Bohn, in each cafe 
 with additions and improvements. The tendency and neceffity from the outfet 
 have alike been to correft, fo far as fuch a thing could be done without wholly 
 obliterating the original text, Mr. Brand's deplorable want of method and defi- 
 ciency in a fixed plan. 
 
 The obfervation, however, applies almoft equally to all the current editions 
 of the Popular Antiquities, that whole pages are fruitlefsly occupied by pafTages 
 extradled either from books with which every body is familiar, fuch as Herrick, 
 or from books with which fcarcely any body could be tempted to become 
 acquainted, fuch as Hofpinian and Naogeorgus. It is hard even for me to choofe 
 (with all my afFeftion for the old Englilh verfifiers) between Naogeorgus and his 
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 tion to fay that in all the exifting impreffions of Brand, fifty or fixty pages are 
 taken up by excerpts from Googe's Naogeorgus, dragged in by the head and 
 Ihoulders, without any attempt to give, which would in many cafes have been 
 
more advantageous and readable, the fubftance of the paflage in a few lines, with 
 a reference to chapter and verfe. 
 
 Again, an enormous fpace is wafted, without any demonftrable refult, in the 
 rehearfal, fcores of times over and over, of drawn-out title-pages belonging to 
 the books which Brand had occafion to confult and to cite. All thefe books are 
 well known in our days, and, indeed, there are extremely few of them which were 
 not fo in Brand's ; but that writer had a very imperfeft acquaintance, it would 
 appear, with bibliography, and was accordingly apt to overrate the fcarcity 
 of works in his own pofTeffion or in the hands of others. Thefe bibliographical 
 minutias appear to be mifplaced in a publication of the prefent nature. 
 
 I have, I believe, pointed out two rather grave defefts in the Popular Anti- 
 quities as they ftand, namely, the fuperabundant difplay of raw material, and the 
 plethora of unmeaning title-pages. I have ftill to refer to a third moft ferious 
 drawback. 
 
 The relative worth and weight of authorities conftitute a point on which 
 Brand himfelf certainly, and his editors to all appearance, do not feem to have 
 beftowed much attention. The natural confequence is, that an ephemeral trail 
 by Taylor the Water-poet, or by Rowlands, is placed fide by fide with the 
 grave difquifition of fome learned effayift, or is mentioned in the fame paragraph 
 with Durandus or Hofpinian. St. Auguftine and the Britijh Apollo, Mr. 
 Douce and Poor Robin, are fimilarly coupled together, and, fo far as the general 
 reader can be expefted to know, one is as good as the other. 
 
 It was the confideration of this threefold weaknefs in the book, of which the 
 intrinfic value, with more methodical handling, would have been unqueftionably 
 very great, which prompted me to attempt fomething in the way of re-arrange- 
 ment and digeftion, and I here beg to prefent the net refult. I have reduced the 
 original work about a third in bulk, without omitting a fingle line of real con- 
 fequence or praftical relevance, and I have introduced a vaft number of correc- 
 tions and additions, of the charader of which others muft be the judges. 
 
 The main difficulty in this cafe appeared not to colleSi, but lofeleH. The 
 materials which prefented themfelves were fo large in quantity and variety that, 
 in making a choice, it was only pofljble to accept thofe which ftruck me as being 
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 excluding many articles — curious indeed, but either illuftrative of ufages which 
 were probably never very widely fpread or very largely influential; or of points 
 which Brand feemed to have treated already at fufficient length. 
 
 Another confideration, which had its weight with me was, that, in fome 
 inftances, I thought that the queftions of folk-lore, which turned more direftly on 
 Proverbs, might be allowed more properly to find a place 'in a work on Pro- 
 verbial Literature, which I have in a forward ftate of preparation, and which I 
 hope, before long, to fubmit to the public judgment. 
 
 W. C. H. 
 
 Kenfington, May, 1868.