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Maps, plates, charts, etc., may he filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure ara filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent Atra fllm6s A des taux de reduction diffirents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre reproduit en un seul cllchd, 11 est fllm6 A partir de {'angle supirieur gauche, de gauchs A drolta, et de haut en bas, en prenant le ncmbre d'images ndcessaire. Les diagrammas suivants illustrent la mAthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 mmm PROORSBSirt OBOOL SaMtBB, niLT0N'5 P0EM5 L'Allegfro, !1 Penseroso, Com 115, WITH INTRCuDUCTION AND NOTES, A. CAMERON, PaiKciPAL County Academtj Yarmocth, N. S. HALIFAX, N. a : T. C. ALLEN & CO. ^OVA SCOT/4 'Ssss^^^ss ^^sa^sea-Ts^^sss^s^^s^w^^' MILTON'S POEMS L' ALLEGRO, IL PENSEROSO COM US, and LYCWAS WITH INTRODUCTION AND NOTES BY A. CAMERON PRlNaf AL C'^UNTY ACADEMY, YARMOUTH, N. & r HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA T. C ALLEN AND COMPANY vA ^> ^/ Entei-ed according to Act of the Parliament of Canada, ^n the year 1898, by T. C. Allks & Co., in the Department of Agriculture (Copyright Branch). INTRODUCTION For information on Milton's life and character, for the history of his time, and for critical estimates of his poetry, the student will turn to whatever books on these subjects may be within his reach. The following are recommended to his notice : — Stopford Brooke's Literature Primer (especially Sections 96-100). Tainc's Fuiglish Literature (Book IL Chap. VL). Green's History of the English People (Book VIL and the first chapter of V 11 L). Masson's article on Milton in the Encyclopsedia Britannica. Mark Pattison's Milton, in the English Men of Letters Series. Johnson's Life of Milton. Macaulay's Eisay on Milton. But it is hoped that the ])oems themselves will be the chief object of the student's attention ; and that he will read them again and again — and mark them, and learn them, and do his best to inwardly aigest them — before seeking to know vhat others have said about them. In the text of this edition it will be noticed that the first two poems have a more archaic look than the other two. Comus and Lvcidas are given here in their usual modern dress. Even thus the reader will soon discover that our language has altered a good deal since Milton's time. There are words and constructions which are not now used, derivative words are IV INTRoDVCTtON formed in wnys that arc not our ways, tainiliar words have mcaninKH that arc now obsolete. Hut there are other (hfTcr- ences than these, and it it to show some of the others that i: Allegro and // hnserosa are printed ns they arc. Whatever may seem odd or inconsistent or even incorrect in the spelling or the use of capitals in these two poems is as it is because it was printed that way in the first edition of Milton's poems (1645). Study of the rhythm and rime will show that the spoken lan- guage has changed as well as the written; but the stiident ir.Mst be careful not to bear too hard on th's, especially in connection with the rimes When Milton wrote these poems he was between twenty-five and thirty yeprs old. He was born i.i London five years after the death of Queen Klizabeth and eight years before the depth of Shakespeare. He lived the life of a city boy until his seventeenth year, which was the year when James I. was succeeded by Charles I. Then he went to Cambridge, like so many other of our great poets (some of them were Londoners too), and spent seven years al the usual academic work of those days. His college was Christ'3, and he was nicknamed "The Lady of Christ's." Massoii says, "Though the allusion was chiefly to the peculiar grace of his personal appearance, it conveyed also a sneer at what the rougher men thought his unusual prudishness, the haughty fastidiousness of his tastes and morals." It is interesting to know this of the young man who was to produce Comus a few years after he left college. He let't it in 1632 and lived for the next six years at Horton, a village in Buckinghamshire. " In perfect leisure, and in a pleasant rural retirement, with Windsor at the distance of an easy walk, and London only about seventeen miles off, he went through, he tells us, a systematic course of reading in the Greek and Latin classics, varied by mathematics, music, and the kind of physical science v^e should now call cosmography." INTRODUCTION V This was the time and these were the circumstances of h'-' life when he wrote U Allegro ^ li Tense roso, Lomus, and Lycidas. The exact date ol the coniposiiiou of the first two seems not to be known ; it was prouably 1633. Milton wab then tv^-enty- five, just the age Macaulay w^is at when his essay on Milton appeared in the " Kdinburgh Review." In ihe following year, 1634, on Michaelmas night, September 29, Comus was per- forwid at Ludlow Castle. Three years later, in 1637, came Lycidas / the wreck happened in Auciut, ?nd the poem was written in November. >-*... MILTON'S POEMS I L'ALLEGRO Hence, loathed Melancholy, Of Cerberus and blackest Midnight born, In Stygian cave forlorn, 'Mongst horrid shapes, and shrieks, and sights unholy ; Find out some uncouth cell, Where brooding darknes spreads his jealous wings, And the night-raven sings ; There under ebon shades, and low-brovv'd rocks, As ragged as thy locks, In dark Cimmerian desert ever dwell. lo But come thou Goddes foir and free, In hcav'n yclepd Euphrosyne, And by men, heart-easing Mirth, Whom lovely Venus at a birth With two sister Graces more To ivy-crowned Bacchus bore ; Or whether (as som sager sing) The frolic wind that breathes the spring, Zephyr with Aurora playing, As he met her once a Maying, ao There on beds of violets blew. And fresh-blown roses washt in dew, Fill'd her with thee a daughter fair, So buxom, blith, and debonair. Haste thee nymph, and bring with thee Jest and youthful Jollity, Quips and Cranks, and wanton Wiles, Nods, and Becks, and wreathed Smiles, 2 L ALLEGRO Such as hang on Hebe's cheek, 30 And love to live in dimple sleek ; Sport that wrinkled Care derides, And Laughtei holding both his sides. Coin and trip it as ye go On the light fantastic t^e. And in thy right hand lead with thee The mountain nymph, sweet Liberty ; And if I give thee honor due. Mirth, admit me of thy crue, To live with her, and live with thee, 40 In unreproved pleasures free ; To hear the lark begin his flight, And singing startle the dull night, From his watch-towre in the skies, Till the dappled dawn doth rise ; Then to com in spite of sorrow, And at my window bid good morrow, Through the sweet-briar, or the vine, Or the twisted eglantine. While the cock, with lively din, 50 Scatters the rear of darknes thin. And to the stack, or the barn door, Stoutly struts his dames before : Oft list'ning how the hounds and horn Cheerly rouse the slumbring morn. From the side of som hoar hill, Through the high wood echoing shrilL Some time walking not unseen By hedge-row elms, on hillocks green. Right against the eastern gate, 60 Wher' the great sun begins his state, Rob'd in flames, and amber light. The clouds in thousand liveries dight. While the plowman near at hand Whistles o'er the furrow'd land. And the milkmaid singeth blithe, And the mower whets his sithe, And every shepherd tells his tale Under the hawthorn in the dale. Strait mine eye hath caught new pleasures, 70 Whilst the lantskip round it measures \ L'ALLEGRO Russet lawns, and fallows gray, Where tne nibbling flocks do stray ; Mountains on whose barren brest The labouring clouds do often rest : Meadows trim with daisies pide, Shallow brooks, and rivers wide. Towers, and battlements it sees Bosom'd high in tufted trees, Wher perhaps som beauty lies. The cynosure of neighbouring eyes. 80 Hard by, a cottage chimney smokes, From betwixt two aged okes. Where Corydon and Thyrsis met. Are at their savory dinner set Of hearbs, and other country messes, Which the neat-handed Phillis dresses ; And then in haste her bowre she leaves, With Thestylis to bind the sheaves ; Or if the earlier season lead, To the tann'd haycock in the mead. 90 Somtimes with secure delight The up-land hamlets will invite ; When the merry bells ring round, And the jocund rebecks sound To many a youth, and many a maid, Dancing in the chequer'd shade ; And young and old come forth to play On a sunshine holyday, Till the live-long day-light fail. Then to the spicy nut-brown ale, 100 With stories told of many a feat, How faery Mab the junkets eat, She was pincht and pull'd, she sed, And he by friars' lanthorn led. Tells how the drudging goblin swet, To earn his cream-bovvle duly set. When in one night, ere glimpse of morn. His shadowy flail hat thresh'd the corn That ten day-labourers could not end ; Then lies him down the lubbar-fend, no And stretcht out all the chimney's length, Basks at the fire his hairy strength ; V ALLEGRO I And crop-ful out of doors he flings, Ere the first cock his matin rings. Thus done the tales, to bed they creep, Bv v'hispering windes soon luU'd asleep. Towred cities please us then, And the busie hun.m of men, Where throngs of knights and barons bold 120 In weeds of peace high triumphs held, With store of ladies, whose bright eies Rain influence, and judge the prise Of wit, or arms, while both contend To win hei grace, whom all commend. There let Hymen oft appear In saffron robe, with taper clear, And pomp, and feast, and revelry, With mask, and antique pageantry ; Such sights as youth full poets dream 130 On summer eves by haunted stream. Then to the well- trod stage anon. If Jonson's learned sock be on, Or sweetest Shakespeare, fancy's child. Warble his native wood-notes wild. And ever against eating cares, Lap me in soft Lydian airs. Married to immortal verse, Such as the meeting soul may pierce In notes, with many a winding bout 140 Of linked sweetnes long drawn out ; With wanton heed, and giddy cunning. The melting voice through mazes running ; Untwisting all the chains that ty The hidden soul of harmony ; That Orpheus' self may heave his head From golden slumber on a bed Of heapt Elysian flowres, and hear Such strains as would have won the ear Of Pluto, to have quite set free 150 His half rcgain'd Eurydice. These delights, if thou canst give, Mirth with thee I mean to live. IL PENSEROSO 5 II IL PENSEROSO Hence vain deluding joys, The brood of Folly >vithout father bred, How little you bested, Or fill the fixed mind with all your toys ; Dwf'l in some idle brain, And fancies fond with gaudy shapes possess, As thick and numberless As tne gay motes that people the sunbeams, Or likest hovering dreams The fickle pensioners of Morpheus' train. But hail thou Goddes, sage and holy, Hail divinest Melancholy, Whose saintly visage is too bright To hit the sense of human sight, And therfore to our weaker view, O'erlaid with black, staid Wisdom's hue. Black, but such as in esteem Prince Memnon's sister might beseem, Or that starr'd Ethiope queen that strove To set her beauty's praise above The Sea-Nymphs, and their powers offended. Yet thou art higher far descended ; Thee bright-hair'd Vesta, long of yore, To solitary Saturn bore ; His daughter she (in Saturn's reign, Such mixture was not held a stain) ; Oft in glimmering bowres and glades He met her, and in secret shades Of woody Ida's inmost grove, While yet there was no fear of Jove. Come, pensive Nun, devout and pure, Sober, steadfast, and demure, All in a robe of darkest grain, Flowing with majestic train. 10 20 30 IL PENSEROSO And sable stole of cipres lawn, Over thy decent shoulders drawn. Come, but keep thy wonied state, With eev'n step, and musing gate, And looks commercing with the skies, 40 Thy rapt soul sitting in thine eyes : There held in holy passion still, Forget thy self to trarble, till With a sad leaden downward cast. Thou fix them on the earth as fast. ^ And join with thee calm Peace, and Quiet, Spare Fast, that oft with gods doth diet, And hears the Muses in a ring. Aye round about Jove's altar sing. And add to these retired Leasure, so That in trim gardens takes his pleasure; But first, and chiefest, with thee bring, Him that yon soars on golden wing, Guiding the fiery-wheeled throne. The cherub Contemplation ; And the mute Silence hist along, 'Less Philomel will deign a song, In her sweetest, saddest plight, Smoothing the rugged brow of Night, While Cynthia checks her dragon yoke, 60 Gently o'er th' accustom'd oak ; Sweet bird that shunn'st the noise of folly, Most musicall, most melancholy ! Thee chauntress oft the woods among, I woo to hear thy even-song ; And missing thee, I walk unseen On the dry smooth-shaven green. To behold the wand'ring moon. Riding near her highest noon, Like one that had bin led astray ^0 Through the heav'n's wide pathles way; And oft, as if her head she bow'd. Stooping through a tleecy cloud. Oft on a plat of rising ground, I hear the far-off curfeu sound, Over som wide-water'd shore. Swinging slow with sullen roar ; IL PENSEROSO Or if the air will not permit, Som still removed place will fit, Where glowintr embers through the room Teach light to counterfeit a gloom ; Far from all resort of mirth, Save the cricket on the hearth, Or the belman's drowsy charm, To bless the doors from nightly harm : Or let my lamp at midnighi hour, Be seen in som high lonely towr, Where I may oft out-watch the Bear, With thrice-great Hermes, or unsphear The spirit of Plato, to unfold What worlds, or what vast regions hold The immortal mind, that hath forsook Her mansion in this fleshly nook : And of those daemons that are found In fire, air, flood, or under ground. Whose power hath a true consent With planet, or with element. Somtime let gorgeous Tragedy In scepter'd pall come sweeping by, Presenting Thebs, or Pelops' line. Or the tale of Troy divine. Or what (though rare) of later age Ennobled hath the buskin'd stage. But, O sad Virgin, that thy power Might raise Musaeus from his bower, Or bid the soul of Orpheus sing Such notes, as warbled to the string, Drew iron tears down Pluto's cheek, And made Hell grant what Love did seek. Or call up him that left half told The story of Cambuscan bold, Of Camball, and of Algarsife, And who had Canace to wife, That own'd the vertuous ring and glass, And of the wondrous horse of brass. On which the Tartar king did ride ; And if aught else, great bards beside, In sage and solemn tunes have sung, Of turneys and of trophies hung ; 80 90 100 no 8 !L PENSEROS^ Of forests, and inchantments drear, no Where more is meant tlien meets the ear. Thus, Night, oft see me in thy pale career. Till Civil-suited Morn appear, Not triciu and frounct as she was wont, With the Attick boy to hunt, But kercheft in a comly cloud, While rocking winds are pipmg loud. Or uslier'd with a shower still. When the gust hath blown his fill, Ending on the russling leaves, 130 With minute drops from off the eaves. And when the sun begins to fling His flaring beams, me (ioddes bring To arched walks of twilight groves. And shadows brown that Sylvan loves Of pine, or monumental oak. Where the rude ax with heaved stroke Was never heard the Nymphs to daunt, Or fright them from their hallow'd haunt. There i: close covert by som brook, 140 Where no profaner eye may look, Hide me from day's garish eye ; While the bee with honied thigh, That at her flowry work doth sing. And the waters murmuring With such consort as they keep, Entice the dewy-feather'd sleep ; And let som strange mysterious dream, Wave at his wings in airy stream. Of lively portraiture display'd, 150 Sofdy on my eye-lids laid. And as I wake, sweet music breath Above, about or underneath, Sent by som spirit to mortals good. Or th' unseen Genius of the wood. But let my due feet never fail i.-j •J wailV l.li^- Jluvji i 7 And love the high embov.'ed roof. With antick pillars massy proof. And storied windows richly dight, 160 Casting a dimm religious light. IL PEi\SEROSO There let the pealing organ blow, To the full voic'd (^uire bcluw, In service high, ami anthems clear, As may with sweetnes, through mine ear, Dissolve me into ecstasies. And bring all Heav'n before mine eyes. And may at last my weary age Find out the peace full hermitage, The hairy gown and mossy cell, Where 1 may sit and rightly spell. Of every star that heav'n doth shew, And every herb that sips the dew ; Till old experience do attain To somthing like prophetic strain. These pleasures Melancholy give, And I with thee will choose to live. 170 10 LVC/DAS LYCIDAS Yet once more, O ye laurels, and once more, Ye myrtles brown, with ivy never sere, 1 come to pluck you*- berries haroh and crude, And with forceil fingers rude Shatter your leaves before the mellowmg year. Bitter constraint and sad occasion dear Compels me to disturb your season due ; For Lycidas is dead, dead ere his prmu, Young Lycidas, and hath not left his peer. ,0 Who would not sing for Lycidas? he knew Himself to sing, and build the lofty rhyme. He nnist not tloat upon his wat'ry bier Unwept, and welter to the parching wind. Without the meed of some melodious tear. Begin then, Sisters of the sacred well That from beneath the seat of Jove doth sprmg; Begin and somewhat loudly sweep the stri. 3. Hence with denial vain and coy excuse : So may some gentle Muse 20 With lucky words favour my destined urn. And as he passes turn. And bid fair peace be to my sable shroud. For we were nursed upon the nelf-same hill, Fed the same flock, by fountain, shade, and nil. Together both, ere the high lawns appeared Under the opening eyelids of the Morn, We drove a-field, and both together heard What time the gray-fly winds her sultry horn liatt'ning our flocks with the fresh dews of night, -,0 Oft till the star that rose at evening, bright, ' 'Z"rd heaven's descent had sloped his westenng wheeU -.r i-M.. 4.u^ ,.,,..-.1 rlitfips; were not mute, jMeanvvnac mt i-ii-^-tiv.-.i ^-tt-. -.•..„-, And slits the thin-spun life. *' But not the praise," Phoebus replied, and touched my trembling ears : " Fame is no plant that grows on mortal soil. 12 irc/DAS Nor in the gliHterinK f«>il go Set off to th' worUl, nor in broad rumour lies, Hut livcH and spreads aloft by those pure eyct And ncrfeci witness of all jtulgmg Jove ; As he pronounces lastly on each deed, ^^ Of HO much fame in heaven vxpcci ihy nued. O fountain Arethuse, and thou hon^urcl flood Smooth-Hliding Min. ius, crowned wuh -ocal reeds, That strain I hcanl was uf a higher mood. But now my oat proceeds, And listens to the Herald of the Sea, 00 That came in Neptime's plea. ^ He asked the waves. an. Ye vi'^leys lo«", where the mild whispers use Of shades, and wanton winds, and gushing brooks, On whose fresh lai) the swart star s'parely looks, Throw hither all your qv.n.nt enamelled eyes, Ti.at on thj green turt suck the hon?yed showers, And purple all the g.ound with vernal flowers. Bring the ratine primrose that forsaken dies, The tufted crow-toe, and pale jessamine. The white pink, and the pansy freaked with jet. The glowing violet, The musk- rose, and the well- attired woodbme, With cowslips wan that hang the pensive head, And every flower that sad embroidery wears ; Bid arnaranthus all his beauty shed, And daffadiflies fill their cups with tears. To strew the laureate hearse where Lycid lies. For so to interpose a little ease, Let our frail thoughts dally with false surmise. Ay me ! whilst thee the shores and sounding seas Wash far away, where'er thy bones are hurled ; Whether beyond the stormy Hebrides, Where thou perhaps under the whelming tide Visit'st the bottom of the monstrous world j f\- .,.U^¥\>^^ *h<^\\ tr\ nnr mnist VOWS deilicd. Sleep'st by the fabie of Bellerus old, Where the great Vision of the guarded mount Looks toward Namancos and Bayona's hold. 140 »5o 160 M LYCIDAS Look homeward, Angel, now, and melt w th ruth , And O ye dolphins, waft the hapless youth. Weep no more, woful shepherds, weep no more, For Lycidas, your sorrow, is not dead, Sunk though he be beneath the wafry floor. So sinks the day-star in the ocean bed. And yet anon repairs his droopmg head, ,70 And tricks his beams, and with new-spangled ore Flames in the forehead of the mornmg sky : So Lycidas sunk low, but mounted high. Through the dear might of Him that walked the waves, Where, othcx groves and other streams along, With nectar pure his oozy locks he laves. And hears the unexpressive nuptial song, In the blest kingdoms meek of joy and love. There entertain him all the Saints above, In solemn troops, and sweet societies, i8o That sing, and singing in their glory move, And wipe the tears for ever from his eyes. Now, Lycidas, the shepherds weep no more ; Henceforth thou art the Genius of the shore, In thy large recompense, and shalt be good To all that wander in that perilous flood. Thus sang the uncouth swain to th' oaks and rills. While the still morn went out with sandais gray : He touched the tender stops of various quills, With eager thought warbling his Doric lay : xQo And now the sun had stretched out all the hills, ^ And now was dropt into the western bay At last he rose, and twitched his mande blue . To-morrow to fresh woods, and pastures new. COMUS 15 ^ COMUS The first See fie discovers a wild wood The An'ENDANT Spirit descends or enters Beforf the starry threshold of Jove's court My mansion is, where those immortal shapes Of bright aerial spirits live insphered In regions mild of calm and serene air, Above the smoke and stir of this dim spot Which men call Earth, and, with low-thoughted care, Confined and pestered in this pinfold here. Strive to keep up a frail and feverish being. Unmindful of the crown that Virtue gives. After this mortal change, to her true servants Amongst the enthron'd gods on sainted seats. Yet some there be that by due steps aspire To lay their just hands on that golden key That opes the palace of eternity. To such my errand is ; and, but for such, I would not soil these pure ambrosial weeds With the rank vapours of this sin-worn mould. But to my task. Neptune, besides the sv/ay Of every salt flood and each ebbing stream. Took in by lot, 'twixt high and nether Jove, Imper;al rule of all the sea-girt isles _ That, like to rich and various gems, inlay The unadorned bosom of the deep ; Which he, to grace his tributary gods, By course commits to several government, And gives them leave to wear their sapphire crowns And wield their little tridents. But this Isle, The f^reatest and the best of all the main. He quarters to his blue-haired deities ; And all this tract that fronts the falling sun A noble Peer of mickle trust and power Has in his charge, with tempered awe to guide 10 20 30 i6 COMUS Yi, \ An old and haughty nation, proud xn armt Where his fair offspring, nursed in princely lore, Are coming to attend their father's state, And new-intrusted sceptre. But their way Lies through the perplexed pnths of this drear wood, The nodding horror of whose shady brow- Threats the forlorn and wandering passenger; 40 And here their tender age might suffer peril, But that, by quick command from sovran Jove, I was despatched for their defence and guard : And listen why ; for 1 will tell you now What never yet was heard in tale or song, From old or modern bnrd, in hall or bower. Bacchus, that first from out the purple grape Crushed the sweet poison of misused wine, After the Tuscan mariners transformed. Coasting the Tyrrhene shore, as the winds listed, CO On CirceS island fell : (who knows not Circe, The daughter of the Sun ? whose charmed cup Whoever tasted lost his upright shape, ^ And downward fell into a grovelling swine,) This Nymph, that gazed upon his clustermg locks. With ivy berries wreathed, and his blithe youtli, Had by him, ere he paited thence, a son Much like his father, but his mother more, Whom therefore she brought up, and Comus named : Who, ripe and frolic of his full-grown age, 60 Roving the Celtic and Iberian fields, At last betakes him to this ominous wood. And, in thick shelter of black shades i.mbowered. Excels his mother at her mighty art ; Offering to every weary traveller His orient liquor in a crystal glass, ?^ quTnch the drouth of Phcbus ; which as they t^^^^^ (For most do taste through fond mtemperate thirst), Soon as the potion works, their human count nance, Th' express resemblance of the goas, is changed 70 Into some brutish form of wolf or bear. Or ounce or tiger, hog, or bearded goat, All other parts remaining as they were. And they, so perfect is their misery, Not once perceive their foul disfigurement, C( COMUS 17 But boast therri3elves more comely thdn before, And all their friends and native home forg i, To roll with pleasure in a sensual sty. Therefore, when any favoured of high Jove Chances to pass through this advent'rous glade, Swift as the sparkle of a glancing star 80 I shoot from heaven, to give him safe convoy, As now I do. But first I must put off These my sky-robes, spun out of Iris' woof, And take the weeds and likeness of a swain That to the service of this house belongs. Who, with his soft pipe and smooth-dittied song, Well knows to still the wild winds when they roar, And hush the waving woods ; nor of less faith, And in this office of his mountain watch Likeliest, and nearest to the present aid 90 Of this occasion. But I hear the tread Of hateful steps ; I must be viewless now. CoMUS enters, with a charming-rod in one hand, his glass in the other; with him a rout of monsters, headed like sundry sorts of wild beasts, but otherwise like fnen and women, their apparel glistering. They come in making a riotous aftd unruly noise, with torches in their hands. Comus, The stir that bids the shepherd fold Now the top of heaven doth hold ; And the gilded car of day His glowing axle doth allay In the steep Atlantic stream ; And the slope sun his upward beam Shoots against the dusky pole, Pacing toward the other goal Of his chamber in the east. Meanwhile, welcome joy and feast, Midnight shout and revelry. Tipsy dance and jollity. Braid your locks with rosy twine. Dropping odours, dropping wine. Rigour now is gone to bed ; And Advice with scrupulous head. 100 i8 COMUS Strict Age, and sour Seventy, 110 With their grave saws, in slumDer lie. We, that are of purer fire, Imitate the starry quire, , ^ , , Who. in their nightly watchful spheres, T ead in swift round the months and years. The sounds and seas, with all their finny drove, Now to the moon in wavering mornce move ; And on the tawny sands and shelves Trip the pert fairies and the dapper elves. Bv dimpled brook and fountain-bnm, ,20 The wood-nymphs, decked with daisies trim, Their merry wakes and pastimes keep : What hath night to do with sleeo? Night hath bettf r sweets to prove ; Venus now wakes, and wakens Love. Come, let us our rights begin ; 'T is only daylight that makes sin. Which these Gun shades will ne'er report. Hail, goddess of nocturnal sport, Dark-veiled Cotytto, t' whom the secret flame ,an Of midnight torches bums ! mysterious dame, ^ ThaTne"er art called I t when the dragon womb , Of Stygian darkness sy ts her thickest gloom, And makes one blot ot all the air ! ^V^hydHffi^^^^ and befriend Us thy vowed priests, till utmost end Of all thy dues be done, and none left out. Ere the blabbing eastern scout, The nice Morn on th' Indian steep, uo From her cabined loop-hole peep. And to the tell-tale Sun descry Our concealed solemnity. ^ Come, knit hands, and beat tne ground Tn CK licrht fantastic round. V-^""' "' Br ak orbreak off! I feel the different pace Of some chaste footing near about ..us ground. • Run to your shrouds within these brakes and trees J Our number may affright. Some virgin sure rFor so I can distinguish by mine art* ,50 Benighted in these woods 1 Now to my charms. mre. COMC/S And to my wily trains : I shall ere long Be well stocked with as fiiir a herd as grazed About my mother Circe. Thus I hurl My dazzling spells into the spongy air, Of power to cheat the eye with blear illusion, And give it false presentments, lest the place /. . ' my quaint habits breed astonishment, A*, put the damsel to suspicious flight; Which must not be, for that 's against my course. I, under fair pretence of friendly ends. And well-placed words of glozing courtesy, Baited with reasons not unplausible, Wind me into the easy-hearted man, And hug him into snares. When once her eye Hath met the virtue of this magic dust, I shall appear some harmless villager Whom thrift keeps up about his country gear. But here she comes ; I fairly step aside. And hearken, if I may, her business here. The Lady enters Lady. This way the noise was, if mine ear be true, My best guide now. Methought it was the sound Of riot and ill-managed merriment. Such as the jocund flute or gamesome pipe Stirs up among the loose unlettered hinds. When, for their teeming flocks and granges full, In wanton dance they praise the bounteous Pan, And thank the gods amiss. I sliould be loth To meet the rudeness and swilled insolence Of such late wassailers ; yet, O where else Shall I inform my unacquainted feet In the blind mazes of this tangled wood? My brothers, when they saw me wearied out With this long way, resolving here to lodge Under the spreading favour of these pines. Stepped, as they said, to the next thicket-side To bring me berries, or such cooling fruit As the kind hospitable woods provide. They left me then when the gray-hooded Even, Like a sad votarist in palmer's weed, »9 i6o 170 180 I 20 COMUS 190 F.ose from the hindmost wheels of Phcebus' warn, liut where they are, and why they came not back, Is now the kibour of my thoughts. 'T is likeliest They had engaged their wandering steps too far ; And envious darkness, ere they could return. Had stole them from me. I^se, O thievish Night, Why shouldst thou, but for some felonious end, In thy dark lantern thus close up the stars That Nature hung in heaven, and filled their lamps With everlasting oil to give due light 200 To the misled and lonely traveller? This is the place, as well as 1 may guess, Whence even now the tumult of loud mirth Was rife, and perfect in my listening ear ; Yet nought but single darkness do 1 find. What might this be ? A thousand fantasies Begin to throng into my memory, Of calling shapes, and beckoning shadows dire, And airy tongues that syllable men's names On sands and shores and desert wildernesses. 210 These thoughts may startle well, but not astound The virtuous mind, that ever walks attended Bv a strong siding champion. Conscience. 6, welcome, pure- eyed Faith, white-handed Hope, Thou hovering angel girt with golden wings, And thou unblemished form of Chastity ! I see ye visibly, and now believe That He, the Supreme Good, t' whom all thmgs ill Are but as slavish officers of vengeance, Would send a glistering guardian, if need were, 220 To keep my life and honour unassailed. . . . Was I deceived, or did a sab' : cloud Turn forth her silver lining on the night? I did not err : there does a sable cloud Turn forth her silver lining on the night, And casts a gleam over this tufted grove. I cannot hallow to my brothers, but Such noise as I can make to be heard farthest I '11 venture, for my new-enlivened spirits Prompt me ; and they perhaps are not far off. COMUS 21 Song Sweet Echo, sweetest nymph, that liv'st unseen 230 Within thy airy shell By slow Meander's margent green, And in the violet-embroidered vale Where the love-lorn nightingale Nightly to thee her sad song mourneth well : Canst thou not tell me of a gentle pair That likest thy Narcissus are ? O, if thou have Hid them in some flowery cave, Tell me but where, 240 Sweet Queen of Parley, Daughter of the Sphere ! So may'st thou be translated to the skies, And give resounding grace to all Heaven's harmonies 1 Comus. Can any mortal mixture of earth's mould Breathe such divine enchanting ravishment? Sure something holy lodges in that breast. And with t^es.- raptures moves the vocal air To testify his hidden residence. How sweetly did they float upon the wings Of silence, through the empty-vaulted night, 250 At every fall smoothing the raven down Of darkness till it smiled ! I have oft heard My mother Circe with the Sirens three, Amidst the flowery-kirtled Naiades, Culling their potent herbs and baleful drugs. Who, as they sung, would take the prisoned soul, And lap it in Elysium : Scylla wept, And chid her barking waves into attention. And fell Charybdis murmured soft applause. Yet they in pleasing slumber lulled the sense, 260 And in sweet madness robbed it of itself; But such a sacred and home-felt delight. Such sober certainty of waking bliss, I never hea^d till now. I '11 speak to her. And she shall be my queen. — Hail, foreign wonder ! Whom certain these rough shades did never breed ; Unless the goddeiis that in rural shrine Dwell'st here with Pan, or Sylvan, by blest song 22 COMUS Forbidding every bleak unkind y fog ,70 To touch the prosperous growth of this tall wood. Z^./V. Nay; gentle shepherd, ill is lost that praisi" That is addressed to unattending ears. Not any boast of skill, but extreme shift How to regain my severed company, Compelled me to awake the courteous Echo To give me answer from her mossy couch. Comus. What chance, good Lady, hath bereft you thus? Lady. Dim darkness and this leafy labyrinth. Comus, Could that divide you from near-ushering guides? 280 Lady, They left me weary on a grassy turf. Comus. By falsehood, or discourtesy, or why? Lady. To seek i' the valley some cool friendly spring. Comus. And left your fair side all unguarded, lady? Lady. They were but twain, and purposed quick return. Cornus. Perhaps forestilling night prevented them. Lady. How easy my misfortune is to hit ! Comus. Imports their loss, beside the present need? Lady. No less than if I should my brothers lose. Comus. Were they of manly prime, or youthfal bloom? 200 Lady. A3 smooth as Hebe's their unrazored hps. Comus. Two such I saw, what time the laboured ox In his loose traces from the furrow came, And the swinked hedger at his supper sat. I saw them under a green mantling vine, That crawls along the side of yon small hill, Plucking ripe clusters from the tender shoots; Their port was more than human, as they stood \ I took it for a faery vision Of some gay creatures of the eiement, aoo That in the colours of the rainbow live, And plav i' the plighted clouds. I was awe-strook. And as "I passed, I worshipped. If those you seek, It were a journey like the path to Heaven To help you find them. T^Jy Gentle villager, WlTat readiest way would bring me to that place ? Comus. Due west it rises from this shrubby point. Lady. To find out that, good shepherd, I suppose, In such a scant allowance of star-light. Would overtask the best land-pilot's art, 310 Without the sure guess of well-practised feet. COMUS n 320 Comus, I know each lane, and every alley green, Dingle, or bushy dell, of this wild wood, And every bosky bourn from side to side, My daily walks and ancient neighbourhood ; And, if your stray attendance be yet lodged, Or shroud within these limits, I shall know Ere morrow wake, or tho low- roosted lark From her thatched pallet rouse. If otherwise, I can conduct you, lady, lO a low But loyal cottage, where you may be siife Till further quest. , , Lady. Shepherd, I take thy word, And trust thy honest-offered courtesy. Which oft is sooner found in lowly sheds. With smoky rafters, than in tapestry halls And courts of princes, where it first was named, And yet is most protended. In a place Less warranted than this, or less secure, I cannot be, that I should fear to change it. Eye me, blest Providence, and square my trial To my proportioned strength ! Shepherd, lead on. 330 Enter the Two Brothers Elder Brother, Unmuffle, ye faint stars ; and thou, fair moon, That wont'st to love the traveller's benison. Stoop thy pale visage through an amber cloud, And disinherit Chaos, that reigns here In double night of darkness and of shades ; Or, if your influence be quite dammed up With black usurping mists, some gentle taper, Though a rush-candle from the wicker hole Of some clay habitation, visit us With thy long levelled rule of streaming light, And thou shalt be our star of Arcady, Or Tyrian Cyno.dre. Second Brother. Or, if our eyes Be barrL ^ that happiness, might we but hear The folded flocks, penned in their wattled cotes, Or sound of pastoral reed with oaten stops, Or whistle from the lodge, or village cock 340 H COMUS Count the night-watches to his feathery dames, 'T would be some solace yet, some Httle cheering, In this close dungeon of innunicrous boughs. 350 Hut O that hapless virgin, our lost sister ! Where may she wamlor now, whither betake her From the chill dew, amongst rude burs and thistles? ]*erhaps some cold bank is he bolster now, Or 'gainst the ruggi'd bark of some broad elm Leans her unpillowed head, fraught with sad fears. What if in wild amazement and affright, Or, while we speak, within the direful grasp Of savage hunger, or of savage heat ? Khier Brother, Peace, brother : be not over-exquisite 360 To cast the fashion of uncertain evils ; For, grant they be so, while they rest unknown, What need a man forestall his dale of grief, Antl run to meet what he would most avoid? Or, if they be but false alarms of fear, How bitter is juch self-delusion ! I do not think my sister so to seek, Or so unprincipled in virtue's book, And Liie sweet ])eace that goodness bosoms ever. As that the single want of light and noise 370 (Not being in danger, as 1 trust she is not) Could stir th^ constant mood of her calm thoughts, And put them into misbecoming plight. Virtue could see to do what Virtue would By her own radiant light, though sun and moon Were in the flat sea sunk. And W^isdom's self Oft seeks to sweet retired solitude. Where, with her best nurse. Contemplation, She plumes her feathers, and lets grow her wings, That, in the various bustle of resort, 380 Were all to-ruffled, and sometimes impaired. He that has light within his own clear breast May sit i' the centre, ana enjoy bright day : But he that hides a dark soul and foul thoughts Beniffhtet valks under the mid-day sun ; Himself is iis own dungeon. Second Brother. 'T is most true That musing meditation most affects The pensive secrecy of desert cell, I I COAf(/S 25 I Far from the cheerful haunt of men and herds, And sits as safe as in a senate- house ; For who would rob a hermit of his weeds, His few books, or his beads, or maple dish, Or do his grey hairs any violence? But Beauty, like the fair Hesperian trc^ Laden with bloonunR gold, had need the guard Of dragon-watch with unenrhantcMl eye To save her blossoms, and defend her fruit. From the rash hand of bold Incontinence. You may as well spread out the unsunned heaps Of n^iser's treasure by an outlaw's den, And tell me it is safe, as bid me hope Danger will wink on Opportunity, And let a single helpless maiden pass Uninjured in this wild surrounding waste. Of night or 1 )neliness it recks me not ; I fear th*^