LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE SHEPHERD SONGS OF ELIZABETHAN ENGLAND BY THE SAME AUTHOR SHEPHERDS OF BRITAIN Fully Illustrated, ys. 6d. net "The Author of this prose anthology is to be congratulated upon the skill, patience, and enthusiasm which she has concentrated on her attractive task." — Times. "The Author has succeeded in bringing together a large amount of valuable and in- teresting information. " — Nature. " Miss Gosset has herself been a liberal con- tributor to its pages in the foim of original articles, brief commentaries, and explanatory footnotes. The volume is handsomely illus- trated, and will be cherished alike in the town and country library." — The Field. "It is a refreshing and wholly delightful book to read."' — Daily News, SHEPHERD SONGS OF ELIZABETHAN ENGLAND WORKADAY SHEPHERDS HOLIDAY SHEPHERDS SHEPHERDS 'PASSIONATE' A PASTORAL GARLAND By ADELAIDE L. J. GOSSET LONDON CONSTABLE AND COMPANY LTD. 1912 CHISWICK PRESS: CHARLES WHITTINGHAM AND CO. TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE, LONDON. FOREWORD PASTORAL poetry which originating with Theo- critus passed to Italy, to France, and thence to England, is an interesting study, but too copious a subject to enter upon here. I have made no attempt whatever to compile a complete collection of pastoral songs of the Elizabethan period; but include chiefly those that refer to the shepherds' " trade " or that are irresistible on account of their melodious appeal. Mr. James Gardner (b. 1840, d. 1900) of all shepherds perhaps the best qualified to speak, once said, "A shepherd's life, properly understood, is the richest in the world;" and again, "A young shepherd's love- making is nature's purest poetry." The difference between the shepherd of the Elizabethan poets and that of the twentieth century may not be so great as we imagine. At all events the pastoral life of England's golden age, as described in her shepherd songs, was founded on a real, and indeed a beautiful actuality, not a mere figment of the poetic imagination. Read for instance old John Aubrey's account of the pastoral vi FOREWORD life in Wiltshire, and of the actual inspiration derived in his opinion by Sir Philip Sidney from the " inno- cent lives of the shepherds about Wilton and Chalke."^ And then read Dorothy Osborne's testimony to the reality of such a life among the " young wenches " of Chicksands, who " kept sheep and cows, and sat in the shade singing ballads."' Professor Millar writing in 1 781, if anything, rather understated this truth when he remarked, ''Though it cannot be doubted but the poets have blended a great deal of fiction with those representations which they have given us of the golden age, yet there is reason to believe that in those agree- able pictures of the pastoral life, they have only embellished the traditions which were handed down to them, and which laid a foundation for that partic- ular species of rural poetry which is now appropriated by fashion to describe the pleasures of rural retirement, accompanied with innocence and simplicity of manners, and with the indulgence of the tender passions." An anonymous writer of the nineteenth century says, "Under the title of pastoral and rural songs may be included some of the most beautiful specimens of our early poetical literature. But vast quantities of these songs anterior to the reign of Elizabeth have perished ' The Booh of Days, 1869. - Letters from Dorothy Osborne to Sir William Temple. No. xviii. Edited by Judge Parry. FOREWORD vii altogether; many of them, in all probability, were never committed to the custody of print and paper, and escaped with the wandering minstrels who com- posed and sang them. ... * The ancient songs of the people ' says D'Israeli the elder ' perished by having been printed in single sheets and by their humble purchasers having no other library to preserve them in than the walls on which they pasted them.' " On the other hand Mr. Walter Greg in his invalu- able book on Pastoral Poetry and Drama (1905), appears to find in all pastoral poetry, that spirit which undoubtedly inspired pastoral song at a time when it had become chiefly a vehicle for expressing a partic- ular mood of social revolt. The outpouring of this spirit he defines as ''that outburst of pastoral song which sprang from the yearning of the tired soul to escape, if it were but in imagination and for a moment, to a life of simplicity and innocence from the bitter luxury of the court and the menial bread of princes. And this, the reaction against the world that is too much with us, is after all the key-note of what is most intimately associated with the name of pastoral litera- ture." I have followed the widespread, if not almost universal, custom in including under the head of Elizabethan literature not a little that appertains to the reign of James I. All the poets named, however. viii FOREWORD were born in the reign of Elizabeth, and with a few exceptions their songs here quoted were written in the golden age. But Ben Jonson's Pan^s Anniversary — to take a single example — was not published till 1641, and yet we can hardly think of " Rare Ben " as other than Elizabethan. Such writers indeed carried on the living traditions of Elizabeth into the reign of James, but they never ceased to be Elizabethan. The follow- ing gem by Herrick is an extreme case, and as it is of no great length I quote it in its entirety, to illus- trate my meaning. A PASTORAL ON THE BIRTH OF PRINCE CHARLES Presented to the King and set to music by Mr. Nic. Laniere The Speakers — Mirtillo, A?nintas, ayid Aniarillis Amin. Good day, Mirtillo. Mirt. And to you no less; And all fair signs lead on our shepherdess. Amar. With all white luck to you. Mirt. But say, what news Stirs in our sheep-walk? Amin. None, save that my ewes, My wethers, lambs, and wanton kids are well. Smooth, fair, and fat, none better I can tell; Or that this day Menalchas keeps a feast For his sheep-shearers. Mirt. True, these are the least. But, dear Amintas, and, sweet Amarillis, Rest but awhile here by this bank of lilies; And lend a gentle ear to one report The country has. Amin. From whence? Amar, From whence? Mirt. The Court. Three days before the shutting-in of May, (With whitest wool be ever crowned that day !) To all our joy, a sweet-fac'd child was born. More tender than the childhood of the morn. FOREWORD ix Chor. Pan pipe to him, and bleats of lambs and sheep Let lullaby the pretty prince asleep ! Mirt. And that his birth should be more singular, At noon of day was seen a silver star, Bright as the wise men's torch which guided them To God's Sweet Babe, when born at Bethlehem; While golden angels (some have told to me), Sung out his birth with heav'nly minstrelsy. Aniin. O rare! But is 't a trespass, if we three Should wend along his baby-ship to see? Mirt. Not so, not so. Chor. But if it chance to prove At most a fault, 'tis but a fault of love. Amur. But, dear Mirtillo, I have heard it told. Those learned men brought incense, myrrh, and gold From countries far, with store of spices sweet. And laid them down for offerings at His feet. Mirt. 'Tis true indeed, and each of us will bring Unto our smiling and our blooming King, A neat, though not so great an offering. Aniar. A garland for my gift shall be. Of flowers ne'er suck'd by th' thieving bee ! And all most sweet, yet all less sweet than he. Amin. And I will bear along with you Leaves dropping down the honied dew. With oaten pipes, as sweet as new. Mirt. And I a sheep-hook will bestow. To have his little king-ship know. As he is prince, he 's shepherd too. Chor. Come, let 's away, and quickly let 's be drest, And quickly give: — the swiftest grace is best. And when before him we have laid our treasures, W^e'll bless the babe ; then back to country pleasures. If this delightful little pastoral were not dated as it Is by its title, who could say in what way it should be separated from the later work of the later Elizabethans? And yet we feel instinctively that to include a " Pas- X FOREWORD toral on the birth of Prince Charles" in an Elizabethan anthology would be to give just cause of offence to critical minds, and this in spite of the fact that we are told of Herrick that '' many of his pieces were written before 1610-12 and a large proportion before 1620." The dozen or more song books from which selections have been made were published in the sixteenth century, with four exceptions, which are early seven- teenth century. But many of the songs were doubtless actually composed some time before they were pub- lished. A certain number will be familiar to most readers, but like those who walked in the Pleasant Grove described by William Brown, may you too be fain Where you last walked, to turn to walk again. The glossary may be considered more ample than is absolutely required, the meaning of some of the words being plain enough from the context, while many are still in use with a different meaning. But everyone is not acquainted with our Elizabethan Lyrists, and it is for the more general reader that the glossary has been compiled. I would remind the more learned of the remark made by Dr. Johnson to Mr. Thomas Astle. '' Your notes on ' Alfred ' appear to me to be very judicious and accurate, but they are too few. Many things familiar to you, are unknown to me and to most others; and you must not think too FOREWORD xi favourably of your readers; by supposing them know- ing you will leave them ignorant." It is with pride that I acknowledge my indebtedness to the Rev. Professor Skeat for helpful suggestions respecting the Glossary. And my sincere thanks are also due to Mr. Walter Skeat for advice in connection with this little pastoral garland which has taken some time to gather and entwine. Mr. A. H. Bullen's delightful Elizabethan anthologies have supplied not a few of its most fragrant blossoms. A. L. J. G. 1912. / CONTENTS PRELUDE PAGE To-wiTTA-woo. By Thomas Nash .... 4 From Summer's Last Will and Testament. WORKADAY SHEPHERDS Part I THE HOMELY SHEPHERD'S TRADE Morning Song. By John Fletcher .... 9 From The Faithful Shepherdess. Your Shepherd Leads the only Merry Life. By Michael Drayton ...... 10 From The Muses' Elysium,. To HIS Flocks. By H. C. (Henry Constable.) . 13 From England's Helicon. Evening Song. By John Fletcher . . . .14 From The Faithful Shepherdess. WORKADAY SHEPHERDS Part H THE JOYS OF SHEPHERDING *' Heart's-Ease." By Sir Henry Wotton ... 19 xiii xiv CONTENTS PAGE Rustic Happiness. By J. Heywood . . . .21 From Pleasa7it Dialogues. Thrice, O Thrice Happy Shepherd's Life and State. By Phineas Fletcher .... 22 From The Purple Island. The Shepherd's Life compared with that of Princes. Attributed to Shakespeare . . 24 From Part 3 Henry VI. Act H, Scene V. Then Choose a Shepherd. By William Warner . 26 From The Pastoral of Argentile and Curan. [Albion'' s England). HOLIDAY SHEPHERDS The Shepherd's Hymn to Pan. By John Fletcher . 31 From The Faithful Shepherdess. The Shepherd's Holiday. By Ben Jonson . . 32 From Pan's Anniversary. Shepherds' Pastimes. By William Brown . . 33 The May-Lady's Festival. By George Wither . 34 From The Shepherd' s Hunting. Crowning the Shepherd's Queen. By Michael Drayton ....... 38 From Ninth Eclogue. (I give the version from Engla7id's Helicon which varies considerably from that in Ninth Eclogue, and is of four years later date). The Summer Queen [Wodenfride' s So?ig in praise of Amagana). By W. H. . . . . .40 From England^ s Helicon. The Sheep-shearers' King and Queen. By Michael Drayton ....... 42 CONTENTS XV PAGE SHEPHERDS 'PASSIONATE' Part I SONGS OF HOPE AND HAPPINESS Thirsis 49 From Weelkes' Ballets and Madrigals. Is NOT THAT My FaNCY's QuEEN . . . . 50 From Martin Peerson's Private Mjisic. Damelus' to his Diaphenia. By Henry Constable . 51 Dam^tas' Madrigal in praise of his Daphnis. By Sir Henry Wotton ...... 52 Dam^tas' Jig in praise of his Love. By Sir John Wotton 55 From England's Helicon. Bonerto to his Beloved Shepherdess Aglaia. By Nicholas Breton ...... 57 From The Passionate Pilgrim, Or The Shepherd's Love With Many Excellent Conceited Poems And Pleasant Sonnets. Fit For Young Heads To Pass Away Idle Hours. The Passionate Shepherd to his Love. By Christopher Marlowe ..... 60 From England's Helicon. "This poem was first published without the fourth and sixth stanzas, and without the author's name, in The Passion- ate Pilgrim" 1599. {Mr. A. H. Bullen's note ^). (, It was introduced into the play of The Jew of Malta. The Shepherd plans his Courtship. By Nicholas Breton 62 1 By kind permission. xvi CONTENTS PAGE CuRAN Prepares to Woo Argentile. By William Warner ........ 65 From the pastoral of Cziran and Argentile. (Albioti's England\ To Phillis. By Robert Herrick .... 66 From Hesperides. The Way That Love Begins. By Nicholas Breton . 69 Fair and Fair, and twice so Fair. By George Peele 71 From The Arraignment of Paris. The Shepherd's Bargain. By Sir Philip Sidney- (Omitting six lines) ..... 73 From The Arcadia. Phillida to her Corydon and his Replying. Signed Ignoto ........ 74 From England^ s Helicon. Astrophel's Song of Phillida and Corydon. By Nicholas Breton ...... 77 The Shepherd's Wife's Song. By Robert Green . 80 From The Mourning Gar7nent. The Shepherd and his Wife. By Robert Green . 82 From The Mourning Garment. SHEPHERDS 'PASSIONATE' Part H SONGS OF 'WANHOPE' Dorus his Comparisons. By Sir Philip Sidney . 87 From The Arcadia. To Amarillis ........ 88 From William Byrd's Psalms, Sonnets, and Songs of Sadness and Piety. CONTENTS xvii PAGE A Sweet Pastoral. By Nicholas Breton . . 90 From Breton's Bower of Delights. Perigot's and Willy's Roundelay. By Edmund Spenser ....... 93 From The Shepherd's Calendar (as abbreviated by Mr. Quiller Couch in Golden Pomp). Who made you Hob forsake the Plough? . . 96 From William Byrd's So7igs of Stmdry Natures. To Phillis the Fair Shepherdess. By Thomas Lodge ........ 97 From Phillis. Montana the Shepherd his Love to Aminta. By Shepherd Tony. (Anthony Munday) . . 98 " First printed in Two Italian Gentlemen^ 1584. There is an early copy of this poem in Harl. MS., 6910." {Mr. A. H. Bullen's note).^ Fie on Love ........ 99 From John Dowland's Second Book of Sofigs a?id Airs. Amintor's Well-a-Day. By Dr. R. Hughes . . loi From Lawes' Third Book of Airs. To HIS Flocks ....... 103 From John Dowland's First Book of Songs and A irs. Philistus's Farewell to False Clorinda . .104 From Morley's Madrigals. A Sweet Sad Passion 105 From Hesperides. 1 By kind permission. xviii CONTENTS PAGE My Love that was, My Saint that is. (An Elegy). By Edmund Spenser ..... io8 From Daphnaida. Dead is my Love . , . . . . . ii i From John Wilby's Second Set of Madrigals L'ENVOI The Shepherd's Song. A Carol Hymn for Christ- mas. By E. B 117 From Englayid's Helicon. " The initials E. B. doubtless belong- to Edmund Bolton whose whole signature is subscribed at full length to the Canson Pastoral ... One of the most learned men of his time." {From Mr. A. H. Bullen's note).'^ 1 By kind permission. INDEX OF FIRST LINES Ah what is love? It is a pretty thing All ye woods, and trees, and bow'rs . A Shepherd in a shade his plaining- made . At shearing time she shall command . Bad are the times, and worse than they are we Burst forth my tears, assist my forward grief Chloris now thou art fled away Clorinda false, adieu ! Thy love torments Come live with me and be my love . Come shepherd swains, that wont to hear me smg Corydon, arise my Corydon Diaphenia like the daffadowndilly Fair and fair and twice so fair Fair in a morn (O fairest morn Feed on, my flocks, securely For fear the sun Good muse — rock me asleep He borrowed oft on working days How happy was I when I saw her lead In time of yore, when shepherds dwelt I serve Aminta, whiter than the snow Is not that my fancy's Queen? . xix PAGE 80 31 99 62 105 103 lOI 104 60 III 74 51 71 77 13 33 90 65 108 69 98 SO XX INDEX OF FIRST LINES It fell upon a holy eve ..... It was near a thicky shade .... Jolly shepherd, shepherd on a hill Late 'twas in June, the fleece when fully grown Live, live with me, and thou shalt see Methinks, it were a happy life Mistaken mortals ! did you know My Phillis hath the morning sun My sheep are thoughts which I both guide and serve My true love hath my heart, and I have his No man now is still ...... Shepherds all and maidens fair Shepherds rise and shake off" sleep . Spring, the sweet spring, is the year's pleasant king Sweet music, sweeter far ..... Tell me thou gentle shepherd swain . Then choose a shepherd, with the sun he doth hi flock unfold ...... The sun, the season, in each thing . Though Amarillis dance in green Thrice, oh thrice happy, shepherd's life and state Thus, thus begin the yearly rites Tune on my pipe the praises of my love . Upon a hill, the bonny boy .... Well, Fisher, you have done, and Forester, for you We that have known no greater state Who can live in heart so glad .... Who made thee Hob, forsake the plough? PRELUDE TO-WITTA-WOO SPRING, the sweet Spring, is the year's pleasant king; Then blooms each thing, then maids dance in a ring. Cold does not sting, the pretty birds do sing — Cuckoo, jug-jug, pu-we, to-witta-woo. The palm and may make country houses gay, Lambs frisk and play, the shepherds pipe all day, And we hear aye birds tune this merry lay — Cuckoo, jug-jug, pu-we, to-witta-woo. The fields breath sweet, the daisies kiss our feet. Young lovers meet, old wives a-sunning sit, In every street, these tunes our ears do greet — Cuckoo, jug-jug, pu-we, to-witta-woo. Spring, the sweet Spring! Tho7nas Nash. WORKADAY SHEPHERDS Part I THE HOMELY SHEPHERD'S TRADE His fleecy care are all his pride While grazing in his sight, And his fair maiden by his side Makes ev'ry scene delight. Anon. O sweet content ! O sweet, O sweet content ! Work apace, apace, apace, apace ; Honest labour bears a lovely face ; Then hey nonny nonny — hey nonny nonny! Richard Barnfield, MORNING SONG SHEPHERDS, rise, and shake off sleep. See, the blushing morn doth peep Through the windows, while the sun To the mountain-tops is run, Gilding all the vales below With his rising flames, which grow Greater by his climbing still. Up ye lazy grooms, and fill Bag and bottle for the field ! Clasp your cloaks fast, lest they yield To the bitter North-east wind. Call the maidens up, and find Who lay longest, that she may Go without a friend all day; Then reward your dogs, and pray Pan to keep you from decay: So unfold, and then away. John Fletcher. lO "YOUR SHEPHERD LEADS THE ONLY MERRY LIFE" Fisher, Forester, and Shepherd — "betwixt which three A ques- tion grew who should the worthiest be." We here record the Shepherd's pleading of his merits. Melanthus. '\ ^ TELL, Fisher, you have done, and Forester, for Your tale is neatly told, s'are both to give you due. And now my turn comes next, then hear a Shepherd speak : My watchfulness and care gives day scarce leave to break But to the fields I haste, my folded flock to see. Where when I find not wolf, nor fox has injured me, I to my bottle straight, and soundly baste my throat, Which done, some country song or roundelay I rote So merrily; that to the music that I make, I force the lark to sing ere she be well awake; Then Ball my cut-tail'd cur and I begin to play, He o'er my sheephook leaps, now th' one now th' other way. THE ONLY MERRY LIFE ii Then on his hinder feet he doth himself advance, I tune, and to my note, my lively dog doth dance; Then whistle in my fist, my fellow swains to call, Down go our hooks and scrips, and we to ninepins fall, At dustpoint, or at quoits, else are we at it hard, (All false and cheating games, we shepherds are debar'd); Surveying of my sheep, if ewe or wether look As though it were a-miss or with my cur or crook I take it, and when once I find what it doth ail. It hardly hath that hurt, but that my skill can heal ; And when my careful eye I cast upon my sheep, I sort them in my pens, and sorted so I keep: Those that are biggest of bone, I still reserve for breed. My cullings I put off, or for the chapman feed. When th' evening doth approach I too to my bagpipe take And to my grazing flocks such music then I make That they forbear to feed; then me a king you see, I playing go before, my subjects follow me; My bell-wether most brave, before the rest doth stalk. The father of the flock, and after him doth walk My writhen-headed ram, with posies crown'd in pride Fast to his crooked horns with ribbons neatly ty'd; And at our shepherd's board that 's cut out of the ground. My fellow swains and I together at it round 12 THE ONLY MERRY LIFE With green cheese, clouted cream, with flawns and custards stored. Whig, cyder and with whey, I domineer a lord. When Shearing-time is come, I to the river drive My goodly well-fleeced flocks, (by pleasure thus I thrive) Which being wash'd at well, upon the shearing day My wool I forth in locks, fit for the winter lay, Which upon lusty heaps into my cote I heave, That in the handling feels as soft as any sleeve; When every ewe two lambs that yeaned hath that year. About her new shorn neck a chaplet then doth wear: My tarbox and my scrip, my bagpipe at my back. My sheep-hook in my hand, what can I say I lack? He that a sceptre sway'd, a sheephook in his hand Hath not disdain'd to have ; for shepherds then I stand. Then Forester and Fisher, cease your strife, I say your Shepherd leads your only merry life. Michael Drayto7i. 13 TO HIS FLOCKS FEED on, my flocks, securely, Your shepherd watches surely; Run about, my little lambs, Skip and wanton with your dams, Your loving herd with care will tend ye. Sport on, fair flocks, at pleasure, Nip Vesta's flow'ring treasure; I myself will duly hark. When my watchful dog doth bark ; From wolf and fox I will defend ye. JI[enry] C[onstable\. 14 EVENING SONG SHEPHERDS all, and maidens fair, Fold your flocks up, for the air Gins to thicken, and the sun Already his great course hath run. See the dew-drops how they kiss Ev'ry little flower that is. Hanging on their velvet heads, Like a rope of crystal beads; See the heavy clouds low falling. And bright Hesperus down calling The dead Night from underground ; At whose rising, mists unsound. Damps and vapours, fly apace, Hov'ring o'er the wanton face Of these pastures, where they come, Striking dead both bud and bloom: Therefore, from such danger, lock Ev'ryone his loved flock; And let your dogs lie loose without Lest the wolf comes as a scout From the mountain, and, ere day, Bear a lamb or kid away ; EVENING SONG 15 Or the crafty thievish fox Break upon your simple flocks. To secure yourself from these Be not too secure in ease; Let one eye his watches kegp, While the other eye doth sleep; So you shall good shepherds prove, And for ever hold the love Of our great god ! Sweetest slumbers, And soft silence, fall in numbers On your eyelids! So farewell! Thus I end my ev'ning's knell. John Fletcher. Part II THE JOYS OF SHEPHERDING Sweet country life, to such unknown Whose lives are others not their own ! But serving courts, and cities, be Less happy, less enjoying thee. Robert Herrich. 19 " HEART'S-EASE " MISTAKEN mortals! did you know Where joy, heart's-ease, and comforts grow, You'd scorn proud towers, And seek them in these bowers; Where winds sometimes our woods perhaps may shake, But blustering care could never tempest make, Nor murmurs e'er come nigh us. Save of fountains that glide by us. Here 's no fantastic masque or dance. But of our kids that frisk and prance ; Nor wars are seen Unless upon the green Two harmless lambs are butting one another — Which done, both bleating run each to his mother ; And wounds are never found. Save what the ploughshare gives the ground. 20 "HEART'S-EASE" Go! let the diving negro seek For gems hid in some forlorn creek; We all pearls scorn Save what the dewy morn Congeals upon each little spire of grass, Which careless shepherds beat down as they pass; And gold ne'er here appears, Save what the yellow harvest bears. Sir Henry Wotion. 21 RUSTIC HAPPINESS WE that have known no greater state Than this we live in, praise our fate; For courtly silks in cares are spent When country's russet breeds content. The power of sceptres we admire, But sheephooks for our use desire; Simple and low is our condition. For here with us is no ambition. We, with the sun our flocks unfold, Whose rising makes their fleeces gold: Our music from the birds we borrow, They bidding us, we them, good-morrow. Our habits are but coarse and plain. Yet they defend from wind and rain. As warm too, in an equal eye. As those be stained in scarlet dye. Those that have plenty, wear, we see. But one at once, and so do we. The shepherd with his home-spun lass As many merry hours doth pass As courtiers with their costly girls. Though richly decked in gold and pearls. J. Heywood. 22 THRICE; OH THRICE HAPPY, SHEP- HERD'S LIFE AND STATE THRICE; oh thrice happy, shepherd's life and state ! When courts are happiness, unhappy pawns: His cottage low, and safely humble gate. Shuts out proud Fortune with her scorns and fawns: No feared treason breaks his quiet sleep: Singing all day, his flock he learns to keep: Himself as innocent as are his simple sheep. No Serian worms he knows, — that with their silken thread Draw out their silken lives: — nor silken pride: His lambs' warm fleece well fits his little need. Not in that proud Sidonian tincture dyed: No empty hopes, no courtly fears him fright; Nor begging wants his middle fortune bite; But sweet content exiles both misery and spite. THRICE; OH THRICE HAPPY 23 Instead of music and base flattering tongues, Which wait to first salute my lord's uprise ; The cheerful lark wakes him with early songs, And birds' sweet whistling notes unlock his eyes. In country plays is all the strife he uses. Or song, or dance, unto the rural Muses, And but in Music's sports all difference refuses. His certain life, that never can deceive him, Is full of thousand sweets and rich content: The smooth-leaved beeches in the field receive him With coolest shades, till noon-tide rage is spent; His life is neither tost in boisterous seas Of troublous world, nor lost in slothful ease: Pleased and full blest he lives, when he his God can please. His bed of wool yields safe and quiet sleeps. While by his side his faithful spouse hath place ; His little son into his bosom creeps. The lively picture of his father's face : Never his humble house or state torment him : Less he could like, if less his God had sent him ; And when he dies, green turfs with grassy tomb, con- tent him. Phineas Fletcher. 24 THE SHEPHERD'S LIFE COMPARED WITH THAT OF PRINCES METHINKS, it were a happy life, To be no better than a homely swain ; To sit upon a hill, as I do now, To carve out dials quaintly, point by point, Thereby to see the minutes how they run: How many make the hour full complete, How many hours bring about the day, How many days will finish up the year, How many years a mortal man may live. When this is known, then to divide the times: So many hours must I tend my flock; So many hours must I take my rest; So many hours must I contemplate; So many hours must I sport myself; So many days my ewes have been with young; So many weeks ere the poor fools will yean ; So many years ere I shall shear the fleece: So minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, and years, Pass'd over to the end they were created, THE SHEPHERD'S LIFE 25 Would bring white hairs unto a quiet grave. Ah, what a life were this! How sweet! how lovely! Gives not the hawthorn bush a sweeter shade To shepherds, looking on their silly sheep, Than doth a rich embroider'd canopy To kings, that fear their subjects' treachery? Oh yes, it doth; a thousand-fold it doth. And to conclude, — the shepherd's homely curds, His cold thin drink out of his leather bottle, His wonted sleep under a fresh tree's shade, All which secure and sweetly he enjoys. Is far beyond a prince's delicates, His viands sparkling in a golden cup, His body couched in a curious bed, When care, mistrust, and treason wait on him. Attributed to Shakespeare. 26 THEN CHOOSE A SHEPHERD THEN choose a shepherd; with the sun he doth his flock unfold, And all the day on hill or plain he merry chat can hold : And with the sun doth fold again : then jogging home betime, He turns a crab, or tunes a round, or sings some merry rhyme; Nor lacks he gleeful tales to tell, whilst thus the bowl doth trot: And sitteth singing care away, till he to bed hath got. There sleeps he soundly all the night, forgetting morrow-cares. Nor fears the blasting of his corn, nor wasting of his wares, Or storms by sea, or stirs by land, or crack of credit lost. Nor spending franklier than his flock shall still defray the cost. Well wot I, sooth they say, that say, more quiet nights and days That shepherd sleeps and wakes than he whose cattle he doth graze. William Warner. HOLIDAY SHEPHERDS Hark jolly shepherds, Hark yon lusty ringing ! How cheerfully the bells dance The while the lads are springing, M. Morley's Madrigals. 31 THE SHEPHERD'S HYMN TO PAN ALL ye woods, and trees, and bow'rs, All ye virtues and ye pow'rs That inhabit in the lakes. In the pleasant springs and brakes. Move your feet To our sound Whilst we greet All this ground With his honour and his name That defends our flocks from blame. He is great, and he is just. He is ever good, and must Thus be honour'd. Daffodillies, Roses, pinks, and loved lilies. Let us fling, Whilst we sing. Ever holy. Ever holy. Ever honour'd, ever young! Thus great Pan is ever sung. John Fletcher. 32 THE SHEPHERD'S HOLIDAY First Nymph. THUS, thus begin, the yearly rites Are due to Pan on these bright nights; His morn now riseth and invites To sports, to dances, and delights. All envious and profane, away ! This is the shepherd's holiday. Second Nymph. Strew, strew the glad and smiling ground With every flower, yet not confound ; The primrose drop, the spring's own spouse, Bright day's-eyes, and the lips of cows, The garden-star, the queen of May, The rose, to crown the holiday. Third Nymph. Drop, drop you violets, change your hues. Now red, now pale, as lovers use. And in your death go out as well. As when you lived unto the smell ; That from your odour all may say. This is the shepherd's holiday. Ben Jonson. 33 SHEPHERD'S PASTIMES For fear the sun Should find them idle, some of them begun To leap and wrestle, others threw the bar. Some from the company removed are To meditate the songs they meant to play, Or make a new round for next holiday; Some, tales of love their love-sick fellows told ; Others were seeking stakes to pitch their fold. This, all alone, was mending of his pipe; That, for his lass, sought fruits, most sweet, most ripe. Here from the rest a lovely shepherd's boy Sits piping on a hill, as if his joy Would still endure, or else that age's frost Should never make him think what he had lost; Yonder a shepherdess knits by the springs, Her hands still keeping time to what she sings; Or seeming, by her song, those fairest hands Were comforted in working. William Brown. 34 THE MAY-LADY'S FESTIVAL Philarete to Willy No man now is still That can sing or tune a quill. Now to chant it were but reason : Song and music are in season. Now in this sweet jolly tide, Is the Earth in all her pride: The fair lady of the May, Trimmed up in her best array, Hath invited all the swains, With the lasses of the plains. To attend upon her sport At the places of resort. Corydon, with his bold rout, Hath already been about For the elder shepherd's dole, And fetched in the summer-pole ; While the rest have built a bower To defend them from a shower. Ceiled so close, with boughs all green, THE MAY-LADY'S FESTIVAL 35 Titan cannot pry between. Now the dairy-wenches dream Of their strawberries and cream, And each doth herself advance To be taken in to dance; Every one that knows to sing, Fits him for his carolling; So do those that hope for meed, Either by the pipe or reed; And though I am kept away, I do hear this very day, Many learned grooms do wend For the garlands to contend Which a nymph, that hight Desert, Long a stranger in this part, With her own fair hand hath wrought; A rare work, they say past thought, As appeareth by the name, For she calls them Wreaths of Fame. She hath set in their due place Every flower that may grace; And among a thousand moe, Whereof some but serve for show, She hath wove in Daphne's tree. That they may not blasted be; Which with Time she edged about, Lest the work should ravel out. 36 THE MAY-LADY'S FESTIVAL And that it might wither never, Intermixed it with Live-ever. These are to be shared among Those who do excel for song, Or their passions can rehearse In the smooth'st and sweetest verse. Then, for those among the rest That can play or pipe the best, There 's a kidling with the dam, A fat wether and a lamb. And for those that leapen far. Wrestle, run, and throw the bar, There's appointed guerdons too: He that best the first can do, Shall for his reward be paid With a sheep-hook, fair inlaid With fine bone of a strange beast That men bring out of the West. For the next, a scrip of red, Tasselled with fine-coloured thread. There 's prepared for their meed That in running make most speed, Or the cunning measures foot, Cups of turned maple-root, Whereupon the skilful man Hath engraved the loves of Pan ; And the last hath for his due THE MAY-LADY'S FESTIVAL 37 A fine napkin wrought with blue. ***** Hie thee to that merry throng, And amaze them with thy song. ***** Haste thee then to sing it forth. Take the benefit of worth ; And desert will sure bequeath Fame's fair garland for thy wreath. Hie thee, Willy, hie away! George Wither. 38 CROWNING THE SHEPHERD'S QUEEN {A roundelay between hvo shepherds) ist Shepherd. '' I ^ELL me, thou gentle shepherd A swain, Who yonder in the vale is set? 2nd Shepherd. Oh, it is she, whose sweets do stain The lily, rose, the violet! \st Shepherd. Why doth the sun against his kind Fix his bright chariot in the skies? 2nd Shepherd. Because the sun is stricken blind With looking on her heavenly eyes. \st Shepherd. Why do thy flocks forbear their food, Which sometime were thy chief delight? 2nd Shepherd. Because they need no other good That live in presence of her sight. \st Shepherd. Why look these flowers so pale and ill, That once attired this goodly heath? 2nd Shepherd. She hath robb'd Nature of her skill And sweetens all things with her breath. THE SHEPHERD'S QUEEN 39 1st ShepJierd. Why slide these brooks so slow away, Whose bubbling murmur pleased thine ear? 2nd Shepherd. Oh! marvel not although they stay, When they her heavenly voice do hear. i^^* Shepherd. From whence come all these shepherd swains, And lovely nymphs attired in green? ^nd Shepherd. From gathering garlands on the plains, To crown our fair, the shepherds' queen. Both. The sun that lights the world below Flocks, flowers, and brooks will witness bear; These nymphs and shepherds all do know That it is she is only fair. Michael Drayton. 40 THE SUMMER QUEEN {Wodenfride' s song in praise of Amargand) THE sun, the season, in each thing Revives new pleasures, the sweet spring Hath put to flight the winter keen. To glad our lovely summer queen. The paths where Amargana treads With flow'ry tap'stries Flora spreads, And Nature clothes the ground in green, To glad our lovely summer queen. The groves put on their rich array. With hawthorn blooms embroider'd gay; And sweet perfumed with eglantine, To glad our lovely summer queen. The silent river stays his course. Whilst playing on the crystal source; The silver scaled fish are seen To glad our lovely summer queen. THE SUMMER QUEEN 41 The woods at her fair sight rejoices, The little birds with their loud voices In concert on the briars been, To glad our lovely summer queen. The fleecy flocks do scud and skip, The wood-nymphs, fauns, and satyrs trip, And dance the myrtle trees between, To glad our lovely summer queen. Great Pan, our god, for her dear sake, This feast and meeting bids us make, Of shepherds, lads, and lasses sheen, To glad our lovely summer queen. And every swain his chance doth prove. To win fair Amargana's love; In sporting strife, quite void of spleen, To glad our lovely summer queen. All happiness let heaven her lend, And all the Graces her attend ; Thus bid me pray the Muses Nine, Long live our lovely summer queen. W. H. 42 THE SHEEP-SHEARERS' KING AND QUEEN LATE 'twas in June, the fleece when fully grown, In the full compass of the passing year, The season well by skilful shepherds known, That them provide immediately to shear. When not a shepherd any thing that could, But greased his startups black as autumn sloe, And for the better credit of the wold, In their fresh russets every one doth go. When the new-wash'd flock, from the river's side, Coming as white as January snow. The ram with nosegays bears his horns in pride, And no less brave the bell-wether doth go. After their fair flocks in a lusty rout. Came the gay swains with bag-pipes strongly blown. And busied though this solemn sport about, Yet had each one an eye unto his own. And by the ancient statutes of the field. He that his flocks the earliest lamb should bring, (As it fell out then, Rowland's charge to yield) Always for that year was the shepherds' king. THE SHEARERS' KING AND QUEEN 43 And soon preparing- for the shepherd's board, Upon a green that curiously was squar'd, With country cates be'ng plentifully stor'd: And 'gainst their coming handsomely prepar'd. New whig with water from the clearest stream, Green plums, and wildings, cherries chief of feast, Fresh cheese, and dowsets, curds, and clouted cream, Spic'd syllibubs, and cyder of the best: And to the same down solemnly they sit, In the fresh shadows of their summer bowers. With sundry sweets them every way to fit. Their neighb'ring vale despoiled of her flowers. And whilst together merry thus they make. The sun to west a little 'gan to lean. Which the late fervour soon again did slake. When as the nymphs came forth upon the plain. Here might you many a shepherdess have seen. Of which no place, as Cotswold, such did yield. Some of it native, some for love I ween. Thither were come from many a fertile field. Which now came forward following their sheep Their battening flocks on grassy leas to hold. Thereby from scath and peril them to keep, Till evening come, that it were time to fold. 44 THE SHEARERS' KING AND QUEEN When now at last as lik'd the shepherds' king, (At whose command they all obedient were) Was pointed who the roundelay should sing, And who again the under-song should bear. The first whereof he Batte doth bequeath, A wittier wag on all the Wold 's not found, Gorbo, the man that him should sing beneath, Which his loud bag-pipe skilfully could sound. Who amongst all the nymphs that were in sight, Batte his dainty Daffadil there mist, Which, to inquire of, doing all his might, Him his companion kindly doth assist. Michael Drayton. SHEPHERDS '^PASSIONATE" Part I. SONGS OF HOPE AND HAPPINESS Shoot soft sweet Love for fear thou shoot amiss, For fear too keen, Thy arrows been, And hit the heart where my beloved is. George Peele. Never knew I lover's sheep in good plight. Edmund Spenser. 49 THIRSIS UPON a hill, the bonny boy, Sweet Thirsis, sweetly play'd. And call'd his lambs their master's joy; And more he would have said, But love, that gives the lover wings, Withdrew his mind from other things. His pipe and he could not agree, For Milla was his note: The silly pipe could never get This lovely name by rote. With that they both fell on a sound : He fell asleep, his pipe to ground. Weelkes'' Ballets and Madrigals. 50 IS THAT NOT MY FANCY'S QUEEN? He. T S that not my fancy's Queen, 1 In the brightness of her rays Passing Summer's cheerest days, That comes tripping o'er the green? She. Is not that my shepherd swain Sprightly clad in lovely blue. Fairest of the fairest crew, That comes gliding o'er the plain? Both. It is my love, it is my love, And thus and thus we meet, And thus and thus we greet, Happier than the gods above: Meeting may we love for ever, Ever love and never sever! Martin PeersorCs Private Mtisic. 51 DAMELUS TO HIS DIAPHENIA DIAPHENIA, like the daffadowndilly, White as the sun, fair as the lily, Heigho, how I do love thee! I do love thee as my lambs Are beloved of their dams: How blest were I if thou wouldst prove me ! Diaphenia, like the spreading roses, That in thy sweets all sweets encloses, Fair sweet, how I do love thee! I do love thee as each flower Loves the sun's life-giving power; For dead, thy breath to life might move me. Diaphenia, like to all things blessed. When all thy praises are expressed, Dear joy, how I do love thee! As the birds do love the Spring, Or the bees their careful king; Then in requite, sweet virgin, love me! Henry Constable. 52 DAM^TAS' MADRIGAL IN PRAISE OF HIS DAPHNIS TUNE on my pipe the praises of my love, (Love fair and bright); Fill earth with sound, and airy heavens above, (Heavens Jove's delight). With Daphnis' praise. To pleasant Tempe groves and plains about, (Plains shepherds' pride), Resounding echoes of her praise ring out, (Ring far and wide) My Daphnis' praise. When I begin to sing, begin to sound, (Sounds loud and shrill). Do make each note unto the skies rebound, (Skies calm and still), With Daphnis' praise. Her tresses are like wires of beaten gold, (Gold bright and sheen); DAM^TAS' MADRIGAL 53 Like Nisus' golden hair that Scylla poll'd (Scylla o'erseen Through Minos' love). Her eyes like shining lamps in midst of night, (Night dark and dead), Or as the stars that give the seamen light, (Light for to lead Their wand'ring ships). Amidst her cheeks the rose and lily strive, (Lily snow-white). When their contend doth make their colour thrive, (Colour too bright For shepherds' eyes). Her lips like scarlet of the finest dye, (Scarlet blood-red) ; Teeth white as snow which on the hills doth lie, (Hills overspread By Winter's force). Her skin as soft as is the finest silk, (Silk soft and fine), Of colour like unto the whitest milk, (Milk of the kine Of Daphnis' herd). 54 DAMyETAS' MADRIGAL As swift of foot as is the pretty roe, (Roe swift of pace), When yelping hounds pursue her to and fro, (Hounds fierce in chase To reave her life). Cease, tongues, to tell of any more compares, (Compares too rude), Daphnis' deserts and beauty are too rare: Then here conclude Fair Daphnis' praise. Sir John Wotton. 55 DAM^TAS' JIG IN PRAISE OF HIS LOVE JOLLY shepherd, shepherd on a hill, On a hill so merrily. On a hill so cheerily. Fear not, shepherd, there to pipe thy fill, Fill every dale, fill every plain: Both sing and say, " Love feels no pain." Jolly shepherd, shepherd on a green. On a green so merrily, On a green so cheerily. Be thy voice shrill, be thy mirth seen, Heard to each swain, seen to each trull; Both sing and say, " Love's joy is full." Jolly shepherd, shepherd in the sun, In the sun so merrily, In the sun so cheerily, Sing forth thy songs, and let thy rhymes run Down to the dales from the hills above : Both sing and say, " No life to love." 56 DAM^TAS'JIG Jolly shepherd, shepherd in the shade, In the shade so merrily. In the shade so cheerily, Joy in thy life, life of shepherd's trade, Joy in thy love, love full of glee: Both sing and say, ** Sweet Love for me." Jolly shepherd, shepherd here or there. Here or there so merrily, Here or there so cheerily, Or, in thy chat, either at thy cheer. In every jig, in every lay Both sing and say, " Love lasts for aye." Jolly shepherd, shepherd Daphnis' love, Daphnis' love so merrily, Daphnis' love so cheerily. Let thy fancy never more remove, Fancy be fix'd, fix'd not to fleet: Still sing and say, '' Love's yoke is sweet." Sir John Wot ton. 57 THE SHEPHERD BONERTO TO HIS BE- LOVED SHEPHERDESS AGLAIA W HO can live in heart so glad As the merry country lad? Who upon a fair green balk May at pleasure sit and walk, And amid the azure skies See the morning sun arise; While he hears in every spring How the birds do chirp and sing: Or before the hounds in cry See the hare go stealing by: Or along the shallow brook, Angling with a baited hook. See the fishes leap and play In a blessed sunny day: Or to hear the partridge call. Till she have her covey all; Or to see the subtle fox, How the villain plies the box; 58 THE SHEPHERD BONERTO After feeding on his prey, How he closely sneaks away, Through the hedge and down the furrow Till he gets into his burrow: Then the bee to gather honey. And the little black-haired coney, On a bank for sunny place, With her fore-feet wash her face : Are not these with thousand moe Than the courts of kings do know, The true pleasing spirit's sights That may breed true love's delights? But with all this happiness, To behold that shepherdess. To whose eyes all shepherds yield All the fairest of the field, Fair Aglaia, in whose face Lives the shepherd's highest grace: For whose sake I say and swear By the passions that I bear, Had I got a kingly grace, I would leave my kingly place And in heart be truly glad To become a country lad; Hard to lie, and go full bare, And to feed on hungry fare, So I might but live to be THE SHEPHERD BONERTO 59 Where I might but sit to see Once a day, or all day long, The sweet subject of my song: In Aglaia's only eyes All my worldly Paradise. Nicholas Breton. 6o THE PASSIONATE SHEPHERD TO HIS LOVE COME live with me and be my Love, And we will all the pleasures prove, That valleys, groves, hills, and fields, Woods, or steepy mountain yields. And we will sit upon the rocks. Seeing the shepherds feed their flocks, By shallow rivers, to whose falls Melodious birds sing madrigals. And I will make thee beds of roses, And a thousand fragrant posies, A cap of flowers and a kirtle Embroider'd all with leaves of myrtle; A gown made of the finest wool. Which from our pretty lambs we pull ; Fair-lined slippers for the cold, With buckles of the purest gold ; THE PASSIONATE SHEPHERD 6i A belt of straw and ivy-buds, With coral clasps and amber studs; And if these pleasures may thee move, Come live with me and be my Love. The shepherd swains shall dance and sing For thy delight each May morning; If these delights thy mind may move. Then live with me, and be my Love. Christopher Marlowe. 62 THE SHEPHERD PLANS HIS COURTSHIP AT shearing time she shall command The finest fleece of all my wool: And if her pleasure but dem.and The fattest from the lean to cull, She shall be mistress of my store: Let me alone to work for more. My cloak shall lie upon the ground From wet and dust to keep her feet: My pipe with his best measure's sound Shall w^elcome her with music sweet. And in my scrip some cates at least Shall bid her to a shepherd's feast. My staff shall stay her in her walk, My dogs shall at her heels attend her: And I will hold her with such talk As I do hope shall not offend her: My ewes shall bleat, my lambs shall play, To show her all the sport they may. THE SHEPHERD'S COURTSHIP 63 Why, I will tell her twenty things, That I have heard my mother tell ; Of plucking of the buzzard's wings For killing of her cockerel, And hunting Reynard to his den For frighting of her sitting hen : Now she would say, when she was young. That lovers were ashamed to lie. And truth was so on every tongue That love meant nought but honesty; *' And sirrah " (quoth she then to me) " Let ever this thy lesson be." And I will tell her such fine tales, As for the nonce I will devise: Of lapwings and of nightingales, And how the swallow feeds on flies ; And of the hare, the fox, the hound. The pasture and the meadow ground. And of the springs, and of the wood, And of the forests and the deer, And of the rivers and the floods. And of the mirth and merry cheer, And of the looks and of the glances Of maids and young men in their dances: 64 THE SHEPHERD'S COURTSHIP Of clapping hands, and drawing gloves, And of the tokens of love's truth. And of the pretty turtle-doves, That teach the billing tricks of youth. Nicholas Breton. 65 CURAN PREPARES TO WOO ARGENTILE HE borrowed, on the working days, his holly russets oft; And of the bacon's fat, to make his startups black and soft; And lest his tar-box should offend he left it at the fold ; Sweet grout, or whig, his bottle had as much as it would hold : A sheave of bread as brown as nut, and cheese as white as snow, And wildings, or the season's fruit, he did in scrip bestow ; And whilst his piebald cur did sleep, and sheephook lay him by, On hollow quills of oaten straw he piped melody. William Warner. 66 TO PHILLIS LIVE, live with me, and thou shalt see The pleasures I'll prepare for thee: What sweets the country can afford Shall bless thy bed, and bless thy board. The soft sweet moss shall be thy bed. With crawling woodbine over-spread : By which the silver-shedding streams Shall gently melt thee into dreams. Thy clothing next, shall be a gown Made of the fleeces' purest down. The tongues of kids shall be thy meat; Their milk thy drink; and thou shalt eat The paste of filberts for thy bread With cream of cowslips buttered: Thy feasting tables shall be hills With daisies spread, and daffodils; Where thou shall sit and Redbreast by. For meat, shall give thee melody. I'll give thee chains and carcanets Of primroses and violets. TO PHILLIS 67 A bag and bottle thou shalt have, That richly wrought, and this as brave ; So that as either shall express The wearer 's no mean shepherdess. At Shearing-times, and yearly wakes. When Themilis his pastime makes. There thou shalt be ; and be the wit Nay more, the feast, and grace of it. On holy-days, when virgins meet To dance the heys with nimble feet. Thou shalt come forth, and then appear The Queen of Roses for that year. And having danc'd ('bove all the best) Carry the garland from the rest. In wicker-baskets maids shall bring To thee (my dearest shepherdling). The blushing apple, bashful pear, And shamefac'd plum (all simp'ring there). Walk in the groves, and thou shalt find The name of Phillis in the rind Of every straight and smooth-skin tree ; Where kissing that, I'll twice kiss thee. To thee a sheep-hook I will send, Be-prank'd with ribbands, to this end, This, this alluring hook might be Less for to catch a sheep, than me. Thou shalt have possets, wassails fine, 68 TO PHILLIS Not made of ale, but spiced wine ; To make thy maids and self free mirth, All sitting near the glitt'ring hearth. Thou shalt have ribbands, roses, rings, Gloves, garters, stockings, shoes, and strings Of winning colours, that shall move Others to lust, but me to love. These (nay), and more, thine own shall be. If thou wilt love, and live with me. Robert Herrick. 69 THE WAY THAT LOVE BEGINS IN time of yore when shepherds dwelt Upon the mountain rocks; And simple people never felt The pain of lovers' mocks; But little birds would carry tales 'Twixt Susan and her sweeting, And all the dainty nightingales Did sing at lovers meeting: Then might you see what looks did pass Where shepherds did assemble, And where the life of true love was When hearts could not dissemble. Then yea and nay was thought an oath That was not to be doubted ; And when it came to faith and troth We were not to be flouted. Then did they talk of curds and cream, Of butter, cheese, and milk; There was no speech of sunny Beam Nor of the sfolden silk. 70 THE WAY THAT LOVE BEGINS Then for a gift a row of pins, A purse, a pair of knives. Was all the way that love begins ; And so the shepherd wives. But now we have so much ado. And are so sore aggrieved. That when we go about to woo We cannot be believed. Such choice of jewels, rings, and chains, That may but favour move. And such intolerable pains Ere one can hit on love; That if I still shall bide this life 'Twixt love and deadly hate, I will go learn the country life, Or leave the lover's state. Nicholas Breton, 71 FAIR AND FAIR (Enone. Pan's. CEnone. FAIR and fair, and twice so fair, As fair as any may be ; The fairest shepherd on our green, A love for any lady. Fair and fair, and twice so fair, As fair as any may be; Thy love is fair for thee alone, And for no other lady. My love is fair, my love is gay, As fresh as bin the flowers in May, And of my love my roundelay. My merry, merry, merry roundelay, Concludes with Cupid's curse, — They that do change old love for new, Pray gods they change for worse. Ambo SimuL They that do change old love for new, Pray gods they change for worse ! CEnone, Fair and fair and twice so fair. As fair as any may be; The fairest shepherd on our green, A love for any lady. 72 FAIR AND FAIR Paris. Fair and fair and twice so fair, As fair as any may be ; Thy love is fair for thee alone, And for no other lady. (Enone. My love can pipe, my love can sing, My love can many a pretty thing, And of his lovely praises ring My merry, merry, merry roundelays Amen to Cupid's curse, — They that do change old love for new, Pray gods they change for worse. They that do change old love for new, Pray gods they change for worse. Paris. They that do change old love for new. Pray gods they change for worse. Ambo Simul. Fair and fair, and twice so fair, As fair as any may be ; The fairest shepherd on our green, A love for any lady. George Peele. 73 THE SHEPHERD'S BARGAIN MY true love hath my heart, and I have his, By just exchange one for the other given : I hold his dear, and mine he cannot miss. There never was a better bargain driven: My true love hath my heart, and I have his. His heart in me keeps him and me in one, My heart in him his thoughts and senses guides; He loves my heart, for once it was his own, I cherish his because in me it bides: My true love hath my heart, and I have his. Sir Philip Sidney. 74 PHILLIDA TO CORYDON AND HIS REPLYING Phil. CORYDON, arise my Corydon! Titan shineth clear. Cory. Who is it that calleth Corydon? Who is it that I hear? Phil. Phillida, thy true love, calleth thee, Arise then, arise then; Arise and keep thy flock with me! Cory. Phillida, my true love, is it she? I come then, I come then, I come and keep my flock with thee. Phil. Here are cherries ripe for my Corydon ; Eat them for my sake. Cory. Here 's my oaten pipe, my lovely One, Sport for thee to make. Phil. Here are threads, my true love, fine as silk, To knit thee, to knit thee A pair of stockings white as milk. PHILLIDA AND CORYDON 75 Cory. Here are reeds, my true love, fine and neat, To make thee, to make thee A bonnet to withstand the heat. Phil. I will gather flowers my Corydon, To set in thy cap. Cory. I will gather pears, my lovely One, To put in thy lap. Phil. I will buy my true love garters gay. For Sundays, for Sundays, To wear about his legs so tall. Cory. I will buy my true love yellow say, For Sundays, for Sundays, To wear about her middle small. Phil. When my Corydon sits on a hill Making melody — Cory. When my lovely One goes to her wheel, Singing cheerily — Phil. Sure, methinks, my true love doth excel For sweetness, for sweetness. Our Pan, that old Arcadian knight. Cory. And methinks my true love bears the bell For clearness, for clearness, Beyond the nymphs that be so bright. 76 PHILLIDA AND CORYDON Phil. Had my Corydon, my Corydon, Been, alack! her swain, — Cory. Had my lovely One, my lovely One, Been in Ida plain Phil. Cynthia Endymion had refused, Preferring, preferring My Corydon to play withal.- Cory. The Queen of Love had been excused Bequeathing, bequeathing My Phillida the golden ball. Phil. Yonder comes my mother, Corydon ! Whither shall I fly? Cory. Under yonder beech, my lovely One, While she passeth by. Phil. Say to her thy true love was not here; Remember! remember To-morrow is another day ! Cory. Doubt me not my true love! do not fear I Farewell then, farewell then ! Heaven keep our loves alway! Ignoto. 77 ASTROPHEL'S SONG OF PHILLIDA AND CORYDON FAIR in a morn, (O fairest morn!), Was never morn so fair, There shone a sun, though not the sun That shineth in the air. For of the earth, and from the earth, (Was never such a creature!) Did come this face (was never face That carried such a feature). Upon a hill, (O blessed hill! Was never hill so blessed) There stood a man (was never man For woman so distressed) ; This man beheld a heavenly view, Which did such virtue give As clears the blind, and helps the lame And makes the dead man live. This man had hap, (O happy man! More happy none than he) ; For he had hap to see the hap 78 ASTROPHEL'S SONG That none had hap to see. This silly swain, (and silly swains Are men of meanest grace): Had yet the grace (O gracious guest!) To hap on such a face. He pity cried, and pity came, And pitied so his pain. As dying would not let him die. But gave him life again. For joy whereof he made such mirth As all the woods did ring'; And Pan with all his swains came forth To hear the shepherd sing; But such a song sung never w^as, Nor shall be sung again. Of Phillida the shepherd's queen. And Corydon the swain. Fair Phillis is the shepherds' queen, (Was never such a queen as she). And Corydon her only swain (Was never such a swain as he): Fair Phillis hath the fairest face That ever eye did yet behold, And Corydon the constant'st faith That ever yet kept flock in fold; Sweet Phillis is the sweetest sweet That ever yet the earth did yield, ASTROPHEL'S SONG 79 And Corydon the kindest swain That ever yet kept lambs in field. Sweet Philomel is Phillis' bird, Though Corydon be he that caught her, And Corydon doth hear her sing, Though Phillida be she that taught her: Poor Corydon doth keep the fields. Though Phillida be she that owes them, And Phillida doth walk the meads. Though Corydon be he that mows them : The little lambs are Phillis' love, Though Corydon is he that feeds them, The gardens fair are Phillis' ground. Though Corydon is he that weeds them. Since then that Phillis only is The only shepherd's only queen ; And Corydon the only swain That only hath her shepherd been, — Though Phillis keep her bower of state. Shall Corydon consume away? No, shepherd, no, work out the week. And Sunday shall be holiday. Nicholas Breton. 8o THE SHEPHERD'S WIFE'S SONG AH, what is love? It is a pretty thing, As sweet unto a shepherd as a king; And sweeter too ; For kings have cares that wait upon a crown, And cares can make the sweetest face to frown Ah then, ah then. If country loves such sweet desires do gain. What lady would not love a shepherd swain? His flocks are folded, he comes home at night As merry as a king in his delight; And merrier too; For kings bethink them what the states require, Where shepherds, careless, carol by the fire: Ah then, ah then, If country loves such sweet desires do gain, What lady would not love a shepherd swain? THE SHEPHERD'S WIFE'S SONG 8i He kisseth first, then sits as blithe to eat His cream and curds as doth the king his meat, And blither too, For kings have often fears when they do sup, While shepherds dread no poison in their cup: Ah then, ah then. If country loves such sweet desires do gain. What lady would not love a shepherd swain? Upon his couch of straw he sleeps as sound As doth the king upon his bed of down, More sounder too; For cares cause kings full oft their sleep to spill, Where weary shepherds lie and snort their fill: Ah then, ah then, If country loves such sweet desires do gain, What lady would not love a shepherd swain? Thus with his wife he spends the year as blithe As doth the king at every tide or sythe, And blither too: For kings have wars and broils to take in hand. When shepherds laugh and love upon the land; Ah then, ah then. If country loves such sweet desires do gain. What lady would not love a shepherd swain? Robert Green. G 82 THE SHEPHERD AND HIS WIFE IT was near a thicky shade, That broad leaves of beech had made, And joining all their tops so nigh That scarce Phcebus in could pry ; Where sat the swain and his wife, Sporting in that pleasing life That Corydon commendeth so All other lives to over-go. He and she did sit and keep Flocks of kids, and flocks of sheep: He upon his pipe did play, She tuned voice unto his lay. And, for you might her housewife know, Voice did sing and fingers sew. He was young, his coat was green, With welts of white seamed between, Turned over with a flap. That breast and bosom in did wrap, Skirts side and plighted free, Seemly hanging to his knee, THE SHEPHERD AND HIS WIFE 83 A whittle with a silver chape. Cloak was russet, and the cape Served for a bonnet oft, To shroud him from the wet aloft: A leather scrip of colour red, With a button on the head ; A bottle full of country whig. By the shepherd's side did lig; And in a little bush hard by, There the shepherd's dog did lie, Who, while his master 'gan to sleep, Well could watch both kids and sheep. The shepherd was a frolic swain. For though his 'parel was but plain Yet do the authors soothly say. His colour was both fresh and gay; And in their writtes plain discuss Fairer was not Tityrus, Nor Menalcas, whom they call The alderliefest swain of all Both in line and in life. Fair she was, as fair might be. Like the roses on the tree ; Buxom blithe, and young, I ween. Beauteous, like a summer's queen ; For her cheeks were ruddy hued, As if lilies were imbued 84 THE SHEPHERD AND HIS WIFE With drops of blood, to make the white Please the eye with more delight. Love did lie within her eyes, In ambush for some wanton prize; A liefer lass than this had been, Corydon had never seen. Nor was Phillis, that fair may, Half so gaudy or so gay. She wore a chaplet on her head ; Her cassock was of scarlet red, Long and large, and straight as bent; Her middle was both small and gent. A neck as white as whales bone, Compast with a lace of stone, Fine she was, and fair she was. Brighter than the brightest glass; Such a shepherd's wife as she Was not more in Thessaly. Robert Green. Philador, seeing this couple sitting thus lovingly, noted the concord of country amity, and began to conjecture with himself what a sweet kind of life these men use, who were by their birth too low for dignity, and by their fortunes too simple for en\y; well he thought to fall to prattle with them, had not the shepherd taken his pipe in hand, and begun to play, and his wife to sing out, this roundelay. The Shepherd^s Wife's Song. Part II. SONGS OF WANHOPE Of honey and gall in love there Is store, The honey is much, but the gall is more. Edmund Spenser. Sorrow come and sit with me. Love is full of fears, Love is full of tears. Love without these cannot be. L G. From England's Helicon. 87 DORUS HIS COMPARISONS MY sheep are thoughts which I both guide and serve, Their pasture is fair hills of fruitless love; On barren sweets they feed, and feeding sterve, I wail their lot, but will not other prove. My sheep-hook is Wanhope, which all upholds. My weeds Desires, cut out in endless folds, What wool my sheep shall bear, while thus they live, In you it is — you must the judgement give. Sir Philip Sidney. 88 TO AMARILLIS THOUGH Amarillis dance in green Like Fairy queen, And sing full clear With smiling cheer; Yet since her eyes make heart so sore, Hey ho! ch'ill love no more. My sheep are lost for want of food. And I so wood That all the day I sit and watch a herd-maid gay Who laughs to see me sigh so sore; Hey ho! ch'ill love no more. Her loving looks, her beauty bright Is such delight, That all in vain I love to like and lose my gain For her, that thanks me not therefore. Hey ho! ch'ill love no more. TO AMARILLIS 89 Ah wanton eyes ; my friendly foes And cause of woes, Your sweet desire Breeds flames of ice, and freeze in fire! Ye scorn to see me love so sore ! Hey ho! ch'ill love no more. Love ye who list I force him not; Sith God it wot The more I wail. The less my sighs and tears prevail. What shall I do? but say therefore. Hey ho! ch'ill love no more. 90 A SWEET PASTORAL GOOD Muse, rock me asleep With some sweet harmony ; The weary eye is not to keep Thy wary company. Sweet Love, begone awhile. Thou know'st my heaviness; Beauty is born but to beguile My heart of happiness. See how my little flock. That loved to feed on high, Do headlong tumble down the rock. And in the valley die. The bushes and the trees That were so fresh and green Do all their dainty colour leese. And not a leaf is seen. A SWEET PASTORAL 91 The blackbird and the thrush That make the woods to ring, With all the rest, are now at hush, And not a note they sing. Sweet Philomel, the bird That hath the heavenly throat Doth now alas ! not once afford Recording of a note. The flowers have had a frost. Each herb hath lost her savour, And Phillida the fair hath lost The comfort of her favour. Now all these careful sights So kill me in conceit. That how to hope upon delights. It is but mere deceit. And therefore, my sweet Muse, Thou knowest what help is best; Do now thy heavenly cunning use, To set my heart at rest. 92 A SWEET PASTORAL And in a dream bewray What fate shall be my friend, Whether my life shall still decay, Or when my sorrow end. Nicholas Breton. PERIGOT AND WILLY'S ROUNDELAY Perigot. TT fell upon a holyeve Willy. 1 (Hey ho, holiday) ! Perigot. When holy fathers wont to shrieve Willy. (Now ginneth this roundelay), Perigot. Sitting upon a hill so high, Willy. (Hey ho, the high hill)! Perigot. The while my flock did feed thereby, Willy. The while the shepherd's self did spill ; Perigot. I saw the bouncing Bellibone, Willy. (Hey ho, Bonnibell)! Perigot. Tripping over the dale alone; Willy. (She can trip it very well) ; Perigot. Well decked in a frock of grey, Willy. (Hey ho, grey is greet)! Perigot. And in a kirtle of green say; Willy. (The green is for maidens meet). Perigot. A chaplet on her head she wore, Willy. (Hey ho, the chap-let)! Perigot. Of sweet violets therein was store, Willy. (She 's sweeter than the violet). 94 PERIGOT AND WILLY'S ROUNDELAY Perigot. My sheep did leave their wonted food, Willy. (Hey ho, silly sheep) ! Perigot. And gazed on her as they were wood, Willy. (Wood as he that did them keep). Perigot. As the bonny lass pass'd by, Willy. (Hey ho, bonny lass)! Perigot. She roll'd at me with glancing eye, Willy. As clear as the crystal glass ; Perigot. All as the sunny beam so bright Willy. (Hey ho, the sunbeam)! Perigot. Glanceth from Phoebus' face forth-right, Willy. So love into thy heart did stream. Perigot. The glance into my heart did glide, Willy. (Hey ho, the glider) ! Perigot. Therewith my soul was sharply gride: Willy. (Such wounds soon wax wider). Perigot. Hasting to wrench the arrow out, Willy. (Hey ho, Perigot) ! Perigot. I left the head in my heart-root. Willy. (It was a desperate shot). Perigot. There it rankleth aye more and more, Willy. (Hey ho, the arrow) ! Perigot. Nor can I find salve for my sore : Willy. (Love is a cureless sorrow). PERIGOT AND WILLY'S ROUNDELAY 95 Perigot. Willy. Perigot. Willy. And if for graceless grief I die — (Hey ho, graceless grief) ! Witness, she slew me with her eye. (Let thy folly be the prief). Perigot. And you that saw it, simple sheep — Willy. (Hey ho, the fair flock) ! Perigot. For prief thereof my death shall weep Willy. And moan with many a mock. Perigot. So learn'd I love on holy eve — Willy. (Hey ho, holy day) ! Perigot. That ever since my heart did grieve: Willy. Now endeth our roundelay. Edmund Spenser. 96 WHO MADE THEE, HOB, FORSAKE THE PLOUGH? Qu. \ ^ 7 HO made thee, Hob, forsake the plough VV And fall in love? Ans. Sweet beauty, which has power to bow The gods above. Qu. What dost thou serve? Ans. A shepherdess: One such as has no peer I guess. Qii. What is her name who bears thy heart Within her breast? Ans. Silvana fair, of high desert. Whom I love best. Qu. O Hob, I fear she looks too high. Ans. Yet love I must, or else I die. 97 TO PHILLIS THE FAIR SHEPHERDESS MY Phillis hath the morning Sun, At first to look upon her; And Phillis hath morn-waking birds, Her risings still to honour. My Phillis hath prime feather'd flowers, That smile when she treads on them ; And Phillis hath a gallant flock. That leaps since she doth own them. But Phillis hath too hard a heart, Alas that she should have it! It yields no mercy to desert. Nor grace to those that crave it. Sweet sun, when thou look'st on, Pray her regard my moan ; Sweet birds, when you sing to her. To yield some pity, woo her; Sweet flowers, that she treads on, Tell her, her beauty deads one. And if in life her love she nill agree me. Pray her before I die, she '11 come and see me. Thomas Lodge. H 98 MONTANA THE SHEPHERD, HIS LOVE FOR AMINTA I SERVE Aminta, whiter than the snow, Straighter than cedar, brighter than the glass ; More fine in trip than foot of running roe. More pleasant than the field of flow'ring grass; More gladsome to my withering joys that fade Than Winter's sun or Summer's cooling shade. Sweeter than swelling grape of ripest wine, Softer than feathers of the fairest swan ; Smoother than jet, more stately than the pine, Fresher than poplar, smaller than my span ; Clearer than Phoebus' fiery-pointed beam. Or icy crust of crystal's frozen stream. Yet she is curster than the bear by kind, And harder hearted than the aged oak; More glib than oil, more fickle than the wind. More stiff than steel, no sooner bent but broke: Lo! thus my service is a lasting sore. Yet will 1 serve, although I die therefore. Shepherd Tony^ ' A ntony Munday. 99 FIE ON LOVE! A SHEPHERD in a shade his plaining made Of love and lover's wrong Unto the fairest lass that trod on grass, And thus began his song: ''Since Love and Fortune will, I honour still Your fair and lovely eye : What conquest will it be, sweet Nymph, for thee If I for sorrow die? Restore, restore my heart again Which love by thy sweet looks hath slain. Lest that, enforced by your disdain, I sing Fie, fie on love! It is a foolish thing." My heart where have you laid? O cruel maid, To kill when you might save? Why have you cast it forth as nothing worth, Without a tomb or grave? O let it be entombed and lie In your sweet mind and memory, Lest I resound on every warbling stream lOO FIE ON LOVE! " Fie, fie on love! that is a foolish thing. Restore, restore my heart again Which love by thy sweet looks hath slain, Lest that, enforced by your disdain, I sing Fie, fie on love! it is a foolish thing." lOI AMINTOR'S WELL-A-DAY CHLORIS, now thou art fled away Amintor's sheep are gone astray, And all the joy he took to see His pretty lambs run after thee Is gone — is gone, and he alway Sings nothing now but — Well-a-day! His oaten pipe, that in thy praise Was wont to sing such roundelays, Is thrown away, and not a swain Dares pipe or sing within his plain : 'Tis death for any now to say One word to him but — Well-a-day! The maypole, where thy little feet So roundly did in measures meet, Is broken down, and no content Comes near Amintor since you went. All that I ever heard him say, Was Chloris, Chloris — Well-a-day f I02 AMINTOR'S WELL-A-DAY Upon these banks you used to thread He ever since has laid his head, And whisper'd there such pining woe, As not a blade of grass will grow. O Chloris! Chloris! Come away, And hear Amintor's — Well-a-day. Dr. R. Hughes. lO' TO HIS FLOCKS BURST forth, my tears, assist my forward grief, And show what pain imperious love provokes! Kind tender lambs, lament love's scant relief, And pine, since pensive care my freedom yokes! Oh, pine to see me pine, my tender flocks! Sad pining care, that never may have peace. At Beauty's gate in hope of pity knocks ; But mercy sleeps, while deep disdains increase, And Beauty hope in her fair bosom locks. Oh, grieve to hear my grief, my tender flocks! Like to the winds my sighs have winged been, Yet are my sighs and suits repaid with mocks: I plead, yet she repineth at my teen. Oh ruthless rigour, harder than the rocks, That both the shepherd kills and his poor flocks! I04 PHILISTUS' FAREWELL TO FALSE CLORINDA CLORINDA false, adieu! thy love torments me! Let Thirsis have thy heart, since he contents thee. Oh, grief and bitter anguish! For thee I languish ; Fain I, alas! would hide it, Oh ! but who can abide it? I cannot I, abide it. Adieu, adieu, then, Farewell ! Leave my death now desiring. For thou hast thy requiring. Thus spake Philistus on his hook relying, And sweetly fell a-dying. I05 A SWEET SAD PASSION MontanOy Silvio and MirtillOy Shepherds Mon. BAD are the times! Sil. And worse than they are we! Mon. Troth, bad are both; worse fruit, and ill the tree: The feast of shepherds fail. Sil. None crowns the cup Of wassail now, or sets the quintel up : And he, who used to lead the country round, Youthful Mirtillo, here he comes, grief-drowned. Ambo. Let 's cheer him up. Sil. Behold him weep- ing-ripe. Mirt. Ah, Amarillis! farewell, mirth and pipe; Since thou art gone, no more I mean to play To these smooth lawns my mirthful roundelay. Dear Amarillis! Mon. Hark! Sil. Mark! Mirt. This earth grew sweet Where, Amarillis, thou didst set thy feet. io6 A SWEET SAD PASSION Amho. Poor pitied youth! Mirt. And here the breath of kine And sheep grew more sweet by that breath of thine. This flock of wool, and this rich lock of hair, This ball of cowslips, these she gave me here! Sil. Words sweet as love itself. Montana. Hark ! Mirt, This way she came, and this way too she went; How each thing smells divinely redolent Like to a field of beans, when newly blown, Or like a meadow being lately mown ! Mon. A sweet sad passion Mirt. In dewy mornings, when she came this way. Sweet bents would bow, to give my Love the day ; And when at night she folded had her sheep. Daisies would shut, and closing, sigh and weep. Besides (Ay me!) since she went hence to dwell. The ' voice's daughter ' ne'er spake syllable. But she is gone. Sil. Mirtillo, tell us whither. Mirt. Where she and I shall never meet together. Mon. Forfend it Pan, and Pales, do thou please To give an end. Mirt. To what? Sil. Such griefs as these. Mirt. Never, oh never! Still I may endure The wound I suffer, never find a cure. Mon. Love, for thy sake, will bring her to these hills And dales again. Mirt. No, I will languish still; A SWEET SAD PASSION 107 And all the while my part shall be to weep; And with my sighs call home my bleating sheep; And in the rind of every comely tree I'll carve thy name, and in that name kiss thee. Mon. Set with the sun thy woes. Sil. The day grows old, And time it is our full-fed flocks to fold. Chor. The shades grow great; but greater grows our sorrow ; But let 's go steep Our eyes in sleep And meet to weep To-morrow. Robert Herrick. io8 ''MY LOVE THAT WAS— MY SAINT THAT IS" AN ELEGY HOW happy was I when I saw her lead The shepherds' daughters dancing in a round ! How trimly would she trace and softly tread The tender grass, with rosy garland crown'd! And when she list advance her heavenly voice, Both Nymphs and Muses nigh she made astoun'd, And flocks and shepherds caused to rejoice. But now, ye shepherd lasses, who shall lead Your wandering troops, or sing your virelays? Or who shall dight your bow'rs, sith she is dead That was the Lady of your holy-days? Let now your bliss be turned into bale, And into plaints convert your joyous plays. And with the same fill every hill and dale. But I will walk this wandering pilgrimage Throughout the world from one to other end. And in affliction waste my better age: MY LOVE THAT WAS 109 My bread shall be the anguish of my mind, My drink the tears which fro' my eyes do rain, My bed, the ground that hardest I may find; So will I wilfully increase my pain, Ne sleep the harbinger of weary wights Shall ever lodge upon my eyelids more; Ne shall with rest refresh my fainting sprights. Nor failing force to former strength restore; But I will wake and sorrow all the night With Philomel, my fortune to deplore, With Philomel, the partner of my plight. And ever as I see the stars to fall. And underground to go to give them light Which dwell in darkness, I to mind will call How my fair Star, (that shined on me so bright,) Fell suddenly and faded under ground; Since whose departure day is turned to night. And nierht without a Venus star is found. '&' And she, — my Love that was, my Saint that is, — When she beholds, from her celestial throne (In which she joyeth in eternal bliss) My bitter penance, will my case bemoan. And pity me that living thus do die; For heavenly spirits have compassion On mortal men, and rue their misery. no MY LOVE THAT WAS So when I have with sorrow satisfied Th' importune Fates, which vengeance on me seek, The heavens with long languor pacified, She, for pure pity of my sufferance meek, Will send for me. For which I daily long: And will till then my painful penance eke. Weep, Shepherd, weep, to make my undersong! Edmund Spenser. 1 1 1 DEAD IS MY LOVE COME, shepherd swains, that wont to hear me sing ! Now sigh and groan ! Dead is my Love, my Hope, my Joy, my Spring: Dead, dead, and gone. Oh, She that was your summer's queen, Your day's delight. Is gone, and will no more be seen: O cruel spite! Break all your pipes that wont to sound With pleasant cheer. And cast yourselves upon the ground. To wail my Dear! Come, shepherd swains! come nymphs! and all a-row, To help me cry: Dead is my Love; and, seeing She is so, Lo! now I die. TIMES GO BY TURNS Not always fall of leaf nor ever spring, No endless night, yet not eternal day ; The saddest birds a season find to sing, The roughest storm in calm may soon allay : Thus with succeeding turns God tempereth all. That man may hope to rise, yet fear to fall. Robert Southwell. L'ENVOI 117 THE SHEPHERD'S SONG; A CAROL OR HYMN FOR CHRISTMAS SWEET Music, sweeter far Than any song is sweet ; Sweet Music, heavenly rare, Mine ears (O peers!) doth greet. You gentle flocks, whose fleeces, pearl'd with dew. Resemble heaven, whom golden drops make bright, Listen, Oh listen ! now. Oh not to you Our pipes make sport to shorten weary night. But voices most divine, Make blissful harmony ; Voices that seem to shine, For what else clears the sky? Tunes can we hear, but not the singers see; The tunes divine, and so the singers be. Lo! how the firmament Within an azure fold The flock of stars hath pent, That we might them behold. ii8 THE SHEPHERD'S SONG; Yet from their beams proceedeth not this light, Nor can their crystals such reflection give. What, then, doth make the element so bright? The heavens are come down upon earth to live. But hearken to the song : " Glory to glory's King, And peace all men among! " These choristers do sing. Angels they are, as also, shepherds. He Whom in our fear we do admire to see. " Let not amazement blind Your souls," said he, " annoy; To you and all mankind, My message bringeth joy. For, lo! the world's great Shepherd now is born, A blessed babe, an infant full of power; After long night uprisen is the morn, Renowning Bethlem in the Saviour. Sprung is the perfect day, By prophets seen afar; Sprung is the mirthful May, Which Winter cannot mar." In David's city doth this sun appear, Clouded in flesh — yet, shepherds, sit we here? E. B. 119 FAREWELL TO MY TASK ADIEU delights that lulled me to sleep. #*♦**** Adieu my little lambs and loved sheep. Edmund Spenser. GLOSSARY AND NOTES Advance. Produce. io8. Alderliefest. Most beloved, dearest. 83. Amarillis. The name of a country woman in Virgil's Eclogues ; a pastoral sweetheart; see the famous passage in Milton's Lycidas : "To sport with Amaryllis in the shade, Or with the tangles of Neaera's hair." 88, 105. Arcadian Knight. It was believed that Pan lived chiefly among the shepherds in Arcadia. 75. Assist. To stand by, to succour or relieve. 103. Away. On way, now often used as if it meant off, out of the way. g. Bagpipe. An ancient English musical instrument. 11, 12, 42. Bale. Misery, grief. 108. Balk. A ridge of land left unploughed. 57. Bare. Poor, simple. 58. Battening. Batten, to fatten, to thrive. 43. Batte. Bartholomew. 44. Beam, or Beme. Bohemia; Cooper has " Boemia a realme called Beme, inclosed within the bounds of Germanie." " And talk what's done in Austria and in Beam." But some writers name a Beam on the coast of sunny Italy. 69. Bearing the Bell. Taking the lead, gaining the first place. A metaphor derived from the bell worn by the leading cow or sheep, and as used in 1374 by Chaucer in Troilus. The ex- pression seems afterwards to have been reinforced by the practice of giving a small bell of gold or silver to the winner of a horse race early in the seventeenth century. 75. Been. Often used for have, or has been. 41. 122 GLOSSARY AND NOTES Bellibone. A transposition of Bonnibel (bonne et belle) = good and beautiful. 93. Bent. A long coarse grass, or the common reed. 84. Bents, sweet. Sweet rushes, Juncus aro7naticus, or Acorus cala- mus. In Herbal of the Bible by Newton (1587) we read of " sedge and rushes, with which many in the countrj' do use in summer time to strew their parlors and churches, as well for coolness as for pleasant smell." 106. Bepranked. Be is a common prefix to verbs, it is often of a merely ornamental character. Prank = to decorate. 67. Bird messenger. " A bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter." — Ecclesiastes, x, 20-24. 69. Board. Table. ' ' Our ancestors took their meals on loose boards supported upon trestles. This custom continued till Shake- speare's time, and probably after." (Toone.) It can to this day be seen in college halls. 43, 66. Bone. Probably the ivory of the walrus and see Whalebone. 36. Bonnibelle. See Bellibone. 93. Bottle. A shepherd's bottle is a small wooden keg or barrel. These were in use in the days of Charles I and probably earlier, but the poet on page 25 names a leather bottle. 9, 10, 65, 67, 83. Box. Blow, to strike with the paw. Nicholas Breton must have had in mind the passage in Chaucer's Legend of Good Women {The Leg-end of Hyps ipyle, 2122). " Or had in armes many a blody box For ever as tendre a capoun et [i.e. eateth] the fox." 57. Breaks, usually "brakes." Bushes, brambles, a thicket. Mod. Eng. brake, or bracken (Old Low G. brake or weidenbusch = willowbush, as in the Bremen Worterbuch). 31. Breathe sweet. Exhale sweetness. 4. Button. Properly a round knob. Herrick names the shepherd's "buttoned staff." 83. GLOSSARY AND NOTES 123 Carcanet. A chain or collar, especially a collar of jewels. Cp. Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors, iii, i, 4. Skeat says " formed as a diminutive in -et from Fr. carcan (a collar of gold or iron), from O. H. G. querea, the root." 66. Carve the name. Cp. Herrick's poems, pages 67 and 107. Cassock. A long loose outer coat or gown, worn by both sexes. 84. Cates. Viands, provisions. 43, 62. Chains. In Elizabeth's reign a profusion of long chains were worn and were looped up at the waist and fastened to the girdle. 66, 70. Chape. A whittle with a chape is a knife in a case, with a cap to it. Chape is a variant of cap. 83, Chaplet. A wreath or garland. This is the diminutive form with the original meaning of the French chapeau. 12, 84, 93. Chapman. One who buys and sells, a cheapener. (Cheaping= market; cheapen = to buy.) 11. Cheer. Originally the mien ; hence to be of good cheer. 63, 88. Ch'ill. I will, as " chill be plain with you." (Dyce.) Chill, according to the New English Dictionary ch, or cl, is an obsolete " aphetic " form of ich or utch, the southern form of the first personal pronoun I, chiefly occurring before verbal pronouns beginning with a vowel, h or w chiefly with auxiliary verbs, but also with others, ex. cham (earlier icham), I am ; chave (earlier ichabbe), I have ; chill, I will, etc, 88. Clapping hands. Clasping, patting, caressing. It was customary to plight mutual troth by clapping hands together. Shake- speare has in the Winter's Tale " Open thy white hand, And clap thyself my love ; then didst thou utter, I am yours for ever." 64. Clear. Free from evil, blameless, 75. Loud, 88. Bright, 117. Closely. Secretly. 58. Colour. Specious appearance, ^-x,. 124 GLOSSARY AND NOTES Conceit. Conception, imagination, still used in this sense in America, gi. Cote. Sheep-fold. 12. Crab. A kind of apple. See "Turn a crab." 26. Crack of credit. Crack = to become bankrupt, to be on the verge of ruin. " Who breaketh his credit, or cracketh it twice. Trust such with a suretie, if ye be wise. Or if he be angrie, for asking thy due, Once even, to him afterward lend not anue." Thomas Tusser. 26. Cream of cowslips. In a seventeenth-century book is the following : " Half fill a small bowl with petals of fresh-blown and fresh gathered cowslips, cover with thick cream well flavoured with sugar and orange flower water. This makes a delicious ac- companiment to eat with crusts of bread or common cake." 66. Crimson. " Scarlet or crimson dye was very costly in those days, and much esteemed. It was used only for clothes of the finest manufacture, and supposed to have medicinal qualities." (Fairholt.) " She is not afraid of the snow for her household ; for all her household are clothed with scarlet." — Proverbs, xxxi, 21-23. 21. Crowns the cup. A crowned cup is a bumper. 105. Cull. To choose, to select the good from the bad (with reference to live stock). II, 62. Cunning. Knowledge. 91. Curious. Over nice. 25, 43. Curst. Froward, malignant, ill-tempered. 98. Cuttail dog. Curtail = to dock. "Originally the dog of an un- qualified person, which (by the forest laws) must have its tail cut short." (Nares). Longtail signified the dog of a gentle- man. 10. Cynthia. The moon, a surname for Diana. 76 GLOSSARY AND NOTES 125 Daphne's tree. Daphne was changed Into a laurel. 35. Daphnis. "A shepherd of Sicily. Educated by the Nymphs, Pan taught him to sing, and play upon the pipe, and the Muses inspired him with the love of poetry. It was supposed that he was the first who wrote pastoral poetry. From the celebrity of this shepherd the name of Daphnis has been appropriated by the poets, ancient and modern, to express a person fond of rural employments, and the peaceful innocence which ac- companies the tending of flocks." (Lempriere). 52. Day's eye. Chaucer derived daisy from day's eye or "dayes eye"; in this he was undoubtedly right, as the Anglo-Saxon form is daeges cage. " The daisle, or els the eye of the day." Chaucer. Prologue to the Legend of Good Women. 32. Dead. Cold and chill. 14, 53. Deads. Chills or kills, 97. Difference, Distinction. (An heraldic term). 23, Dight. Set in order, prepared, 108, Dowset or Douset. A sort of apple, (Bailey). 43. Drawing gloves. A game of the nature of the Roman micare digitis, a counting game played with the fingers (lit. to "flash with the fingers"). This game was a form of the "Buck! buck! how many fingers do I hold up?" The guesser had to guess instantly. It was a most dangerous game as it frequently led to a duel with knives. It still exists. ' ' At drawgloves we'll play, And prithee, let's lay A wager, and let it be this ; Who first to the sum Of twenty shall come. Shall have for his winning a kiss." Herrick's Hesperides. 64. Dustpoint. A game played by boys in which points (tagged laces) are placed In a heap, and thrown at with a stone. 11. f 126 GLOSSARY AND NOTES Eglantine. The sweetbriar. From the French aJglantier or aig- lantine, and formerly so pronounced. Sometimes erroneously taken for the honeysuckle. Cp. Herrick's poem: "From this bleeding hand of mine, Take this sprig of Eglantine, Which (though sweet unto your smell) Yet the fretful briar will tell. He who plucks the sweets shall prove Many thorns to be in Love." Over this we catch Milton tripping. See U Allegro. " At my window bid good-morrow Through the sweetbriar, or the vine, Or the twisted eglantine." 40. Endymion. A shepherd who passed the night on Latmos and was courted by the Moon ; see Keats' famous version of the story in Endymion. 76. Eye. In an equal eye, " When regarded with an impartial eye." Fail. To offend, come to an end. (Kersey). 105. Fancy. An old synonym for love, see Shakespeare's song "Tell me where is fancy bred?" Love in the sense of fancy has been said to be bom of idleness. Whereas true love, not to be designated by the word fancy, is a serious matter, and engrosses the whole mind. (Mackey). 56. Favour. Look, countenance. 91. Fawns. Fawnings, flatteries. 22. Feast. Delight. 67. Feather. Species or kind. Cp. "birds of a feather," fig. condi- tion. 97. Fell. Wrathful, from the old French "fel," cruel. 49. Fine. Clear (of liquids). 67. Elegant, perfect. 36, 75, 84, 98. GLOSSARY AND NOTES 127 Fine as silk. An old simile employed in comparison; still used in America. 53, 74. Flames of ice, and freeze in fire. For these antithetical compounds used as a form of emphasis, cp. : " O brawling love ! O loving hate ! O anything, of nothing first create ! Misshapen chaos of well-meaning forms ! Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health! Still waking sleep, that is not what it Is ! This love feel I, that feel no love in this." Shakespeare. Romeo and Juliet, Act I, Sc. i. And again : " The parching air Burns frore, and cold performs th' effect of fire." Milton. Paradise Lost. 89. Flawn. A kind of custard, originally abroad cake. O.Y.flaon, a flawn. 12. Following their sheep. Drayton, In another song, page 11, repre- sents the shepherd leading his flock. Doubtless in Elizabethan days, as now, both methods were adopted. In England our modern shepherd Is most often in the rear. 43. Forfend. Avert. 106. Forward. Wilful. 103. Fresh. Blooming, beautiful. 25, 43, 83, 90, 98. Friend. A lover. Our lower classes still talk of a lover as friend. 9. Gaudy. Festive, cp. the Oxford expression "gaudy day "for a festival. 84. Gent. Neat. French gentil, neat, pretty. 84. Gin. To begin, usually supposed to be a contraction of begin, but is really from Anglo-Saxon ginnan, hence should not be written with an apostrophe In front. 14, 93. Glad. Bright, smooth. Cp. German glatt. 32. 128 GLOSSARY AND NOTES Glib (or glibe). " More glib than oil " Is a well established use of glib. Cp. Shakespeare's King Lear, I, i, 227. " I want that glib and oylie art To speak and purpose not." Cp. 1602 — Antonio's Revenge. Act II, Sc. ii. Wks. 1856, I, 77. "The clapper of my mouth's not glibe'd with court oyle." 98. Golden Ball. The golden apple, the prize of beauty, adjudged by Paris to Aphrodite. See Ida's Plain. 76. Go out. To be extinguished, to die. 32. Great god. See Pan. Cp. Keats' " Great god Pan." 15. Greet. To weep, as in Scotland to-day ; but here, apparently, it means the substantive weeping, a note of sadness. 93. Greet. Fig. make ready, to prepare. 31, 93. Gride. Pierced (but altogether misused), the p.p. should have been "grided or grid." 94. Groom. A man, a boy, as in bridegroom = bride's man. 9, 35. Ground. A field or farm ; an enclosure. Also an old musical term for an air in which variations and diversions were to be made. (Nares). 31, 49. Grout or Grit. Malt coarsely ground ; grout ale is sweet. 65. Hap. Sb. Good fortune, as a verb, to happen, to chance, befall, or come to pass. A good example showing the original sense of happy, lucky, or in luck as we should say now. 77. Herd. Shepherd or herdsman. 13. Hesperus. A name applied to the planet Venus when it appears in the west at sunset. 14. Heys or hays. Plural of hay. Hay is probably a Dutch or Low German word meaning a special sort of dance. 67. Hob. A short form of Robin or Robert (as Hodge from Roger). "A frequent name in old times among common people, par- ticularly in the country, it is therefore sometimes used to signify a countryman," (Nares). 96. Holiday. A festival, see holyeve. 32, 33, 67, 93, 108. GLOSSARY AND NOTES 129 Holyeve. Holiday. It is interesting to note that the principal holidays of the year are still holy days; thus Christmas, Easter and Whitsuntide. Our quarter days are holydays. See Holiday. 93. Homespun. See Russet. 21. Hope. Is the sense of mere expectation. 91. Hungry fare. Poor, beggarly, stingy. 58. Hush, "at hush." Quiet, still, hushed, silent. Cp.: "The air was all in spice And every bush A garland wore, thus fed my eyes, But all the eare lay hush." Henry Vaughan. 91. Ida's Plain. It was on Mount Ida that the shepherd Paris ad- judged the prize of beauty to Aphrodite, giving her the golden apple. 76. Ignoto. Italian ignoto, unknown. 76. Inhabit. To frequent. 31. Jig. A merry dance, or song, a droll ballad. 56. Kill. To strike, to injure severely, to overpower, to subdue; not originally to do to death. 99, 103. Kirtle. A short petticoat, or skirt, so called from its shortness. 60, 93. Knives. Small daggers or penknives, once a part of the custom- ary accoutrements of brides. They were commonly worn by women, and used for cutting thread and the like. Wedding knives were much ornamented. 70. Lace of stone. A very curious expression, a stone lace (i.e. neck- lace). Lace is a cord or noose, hence necklace, but lace is also used in the sense of a brooch, though the other meaning is here intended. 84. K ISO GLOSSARY AND NOTES Lambswool. Ale and roasted apples. "The pulpe of roasted apples, in numbers four or five, according to the greatness of the apples (especially the pome water), mixed in a wine glass of faire water, laboured together until it come to be as apples and ale, which we call lambswool." (Johnson's Ger- ard). See " Turn a crab." 26. Lapwing. ' ' The green plover, or pewit. Tringa Vanellas^ said to draw pursuers from her nest by crying In other places." (Nares). The further it goes from the nest the louder is the cry. 63. Lean. To decline. 43. Leap. To run, as well as to jump. 33, 36. Learn. To find out. 95. Leef or lief. Dear, beloved. 84. Leese. To lose. 90. Life. "No life to love," there's no life compared to that of love? 55. Lig. To lie, to rest. 83. Lips of cows. Certainly means cowslips here, though due to an entirely " popular " etymology. 32. List. To will, to choose, to be disposed. 108. Live Ever. Live for ever. The Chiaphalium Alpinum. 36. Lively. Life-like. 23. Lost. Famished. 88. Luste. To like. (Kersey and Toone). 68. Lusty. A number or quantity. (Halliwell). 12. Madrigal. Originally a shepherd's song. Mandra is a shelter for sheep and shepherds, a stall or stable. The word is now applied to a short amorous poem of a certain number of unequal verses; also to a vocal composition of five or six parts. 29, 60. Maple root cup. Maser or mazer bowl, a turned cup of maple wood, from the Old High German word for maple. Cp. : GLOSSARY AND NOTES 131 ' ' God Lyaeus « * ♦ * * Dance upon the mazer's brim, In the crimson liquid swim." John Fletcher. Maple-trees may have been more plentiful in England in Elizabethan times than now. George Wither has "In the branches of a maple-tree He shrouded sat, and taught the hollow hill To echo forth the music of his quill." Faire Virtue. And in Spenser's Shepherd'' s Calendar we find: "A mazer ywrought of the maple warre " (ware), 36. May. A maid. 84. Measure. A stately slow dance, 36. The word is here used to express a dance in general. loi. Menalcas. A shepherd in Virgil's Eclogues, etc., any shepherd or rustic. Foreword. 83. Mending pipe. This was rarely done, they were very easily bruised. The shepherd would snap the old one, and throw it away, and make another. Does this explain "a bruised reed shall He not break " ? 33. Middle. Waist. See C\\a.ucev''s The Romaunt of the Rose, "Her middle smalle." 75, 84. Minos. See Nisus. 53. Miss. Go without. 73. Moan. Lament, bemoan. 95, 97. Moe. More. 35, 58. More. Both adjective and adverb ; greater in amount, or extent ; greater in number; additional. The word much is, in America, synonymous with good qualities ; our poet seems to be using "more" in this sense. 84. Ne. Not, neither, or nor. 109. Neat. Cleanly, clever, elegant. 10, 75. 132 GLOSSARY AND NOTES Nill. N'ill, for ne will, will not. 97, Nine. Nine was once pronounced " neen." It appears as "neen" in Cath. Angl. 251, 2, in 1483, but this particular case being so late may be due to dialect. 41. Nisus. King of Megara. Minos besieged Megara. The life and fate of Nisus were bound up with a "purple " or yellow lock of hair which grew on the top of his head. His daughter Scylla, in love with Minos, stole the fatal lock. The town was immediately taken. Nisus " gave himself death " so as not to fall into the enemy's hands. Minos disregarded the services of Scylla, and she threw herself into the sea. (SeeLempriere). 53. Only. Most commonly used In a deprecatory sense, here the poets intend the opposite. 39, 59, 79. Owe. To own, to possess. 79. Pales. Described by some as a god, by others as a goddess. Ap- parently the Roman equivalent of the Greek Pan. Here simply a deity of unspecified sex presiding over sheep-folds and pastures. 106. Pan. The god of shepherds, of huntsmen, and of all inhabitants of the country. See Arcadia. 9, 31, 32, 36, 41, 78, 106. Passion. Affection, lit. suffering. 105. Passionate. Affectionate, fond, amorous. 60. Pawns. The lowest in rank, the pawn at chess originally meant a foot soldier; one Eastern form of the old game represented a contest of four armies. 22. Peer. Equal, of like rank and occupation, fellow shepherds. 117. Philomel. The nightingale. 79, 91, 109. Pine. Grief or suffering, fatal pain. (Nares.) Pining is also a disease to which sheep are subjected (tubercular consump- tion). 102, 103. Plain. To complain, lamentation, sorrow. 99. Plight. To fold a "plete." 82. Pomewater. A very large apple. See Lambsvvool. GLOSSARY AND NOTES 133 Posset. Milk turned into curd with wine or ale. " Posset is hot milk, poured on ale or sack, having sugar, grated bisket, and eggs and other ingredients boiled in it which goes all to a curd." (Randle Holme). 67. Prief. Proof. 95. Prince Charles. Charles the Second, born 1630. See Foreword. Pull. The fine soft wool of certain sheep, notably the " Shetland," is to this day *' pulled " (plucked or " rued," not shorn). 60. Put off. Lay aside. 11. Queen of Roses. A festival instituted in the sixth century in France by IMedard, Bishop of Noyon, when a crown of roses was bestowed on the most amiable, modest, and dutiful maiden. But our poet bestows the garland on the best dancer. 67. Quill. A shepherd's pipe, i.e., the stalk of a cane or reed. 34, 65. Quintal or Quintain. An ancient pastime, also for " martial exer- cise," a post with arms or the figure of a man for beginners to tilt at, with a swinging pivot and a sandbag that struck any player who was too slow in getting out of the way. " Still in request at marriages in some parts of this nation, specially in Shropshire. The manner now thus : a Quintin, buttress or thick plank of wood is set fast in the ground of the highway where the bride and bridegroom are to pass ; and poles are provided, with which the young men run a tilt on Horse- back, and he that breaks most poles, and shows most activity wins the garland. But Stow in his Survey of London, page 76, says that in Ann. 1253 the youthful citizens for an exercise of their activity set forth a game to run at the Quintin, and whosoever did best, should have a peacock for prize." Blount's Glossographia, 1670. 105. Record. To sing ; applied particularly to the singing of birds, to repeat. 91. Reeve or reave. To take away (to bereave). 54. Relying. Leaning. 104. 134 GLOSSARY AND NOTES Repine. Re again, and^/«^, to fret, suflfer, or be tormented. 103. Reward. Watch, regard, guard (take heed of your dogs). 9. Rising. Approach, advent. 97. Rote. An old musical instrument, a kind of fiddle. 10,49. Round. A song or even a speech or tale, a dance. 11, 26, 33, 105. Roundelay. A song or dance in which passages are repeated or come round again. "A catch, a shepherds' song," Kersey (1715). Bailey (1735) has "Round and lay a shepherd song sung by several in their turns as in a round." 10, 44, 71, 93, 95, loi, 105. Roundly. Quickly. loi. Russet. A gray or reddish-brown coarse homespun, so called from its red tinge. ' ' Sheep's russet cloth called friar's cloth or shepherd's clothing " (probably the wool undyed). 21, 42, 65, 83. Say. Silk. 75, 93. Say and swear. The old solemn formula. 58. Scarlet. Originally the name of a stuff which was often of a scarlet colour, and see Crimson. 21, 84. Scylla. See Nisus. 53. Serian worm. Silkworm, originally brought from the country of the Seres or Northern China. From the Chinese sei = silk. Note that the word silk itself ( = selk (for serk) = sere or Seric) is " Chinese," Sericus (Gk. serihos) being the classic name of the Chinese. 22. Set. Seated, 38. Sheave. A quantity. 65. Sheen. Bright, in sense of beautiful (cp. "bright lady,") as in German schbn, beautiful. 41, 52. Side. Long. The word side is synonymous with long; as "side sleeves" are long sleeves. In the north, side still signifies long; as "my coat is very side," i.e., long. " Wide and side, far and near With me is nought now so." Tale of Merlin (Toone). 82. GLOSSARY AND NOTES 135 Sidonian tincture. A purple dye obtained from the murex, a shell fish. 22. Silly. Innocent, blessed, artless, simple. Innocent in the sense of guileless, and hence = gullible. 25, 78, 94. Sirrah. Properly used as a word of contempt ; here used co- quettishly, as a form of pretended depreciation. 63. Sith. Since that. 89, 108. Sleeve. Sleave or sleive. Soft floss silk ; ravelled sleave, unwoven or frayed (hence loose or tangled). Shakespeare has : "Why art thou then exasperate, thou idle immaterial skein of sleive silk, thou green sarcenet flap for a sore eye." Troilus and Cressida. And cp. the even better known " Sleep that knits up the ravelled sleeve of care." 12. Snort. Snore. 81. Sound. Song, also a swoon, 49, 52. Span. Lit. the extended hand from finger to thumb. Spand,asmall measure. Cp. " Thou hast made my days as it were a span long." Psalm xxxix, Prayer Book version. The Bible version is "Thou hast made my days as an handbreadth." So many of the Elizabethan poets were well acquainted with the Psalms, and were no doubt influenced by the similes to be found there. 98. Spill. Destroy, waste, or lose. 81, 93. Spring. A young wood, a grove of trees, a copse. 31, 57, 63. Startups or startopes. Buskins worn by rustics, laced in front. 42, 65. Sterve. To sterve is to die (of hunger), cp, German sterben. Star- vation, as is well known, is a modern word made from it. 81. Street. A level road or way through fields. In Psalm cxliv, 13, " street " is used to translate the same word which in Job, v, 10, is fields, 2, Swear. Declare. 58. See " Say and swear." 136 GLOSSARY AND NOTES Swiftest grace is best. Bis dat qui cito dat. (Foreword). Sj-the or syth. Time. 8i. Teen. Grief, vexation, reproach. 103. Tempe Groves. Tempe, a valley in Thessaly, between Mount Olympus and Ossa, Ossa being connected with Mount Pelion, and described by the poets as " the most delightful spot upon earth." " Liquid Peneus was flowing And all dark Tempe lay In Pelion's shadow, out growing The light of the dying day." Shelley. 52. Throw the bar. Casting the bar is frequently mentioned by the romance writers, as one part of a hero's education, and a poet of the sixteenth century thinks it highly commendable for kings and princes by way of exercise, to throw "the stone, the bar, or the plummet." At the commencement of the seventeenth century these pastimes seem to have lost their relish among the higher classes of the people. (Strutt). In some forms, e.g. in putting the weight or shot, in tossing the caber, the term still survives in the Highlands. 33. 36. Time. The poet seems to intend a play on words, i.e., thyme. 35- Titan. The sun, so called by Virgil and Ovid. 35, 74. Tityrus. The name Spenser gave to Chaucer. 83. Trace. To walk. 108. Trade. Is directly connected with tread, to step or walk. Skeat says "a path, beaten track, hence regular business." (Walk in life). 56. Trull. A lass. 55. Turn a crab. To lay an apple before the fire to roast for lambs- wool (see Lambswool). Crab, thcVild English apple, tied to a GLOSSARY AND NOTES 137 string, roasted by turning before the fire, and then put into ale "a favourite indulgence in early times, see in the earliest English ballad." " I love to rost, but a nut browne toste And a crab lay'd in the fire." Gammer Gurton, ii, i. " And set down in my chayre, by my wife fair Alison And tourne a crabbe in the fire, as mery as Pope Jone." Damon and Pithias, Old Plays, 1. i, 123. (Nares). And again Shakespeare has " Roasted crabs hiss in the bowl." 26. Unhappy. Unlucky. 22. Vesta. Goddess of the hearth ; but misused for Tellus , the goddess of the earth. 13. Virelay. A short lyric poem with returning rhyme. 108. Voices daughter ne'er spake syllable. Voice, echo. In the Lover's Complaint Shakespeare talks of the double voice or echo. And Thomas Moore has " It seem'd as Echo's self were dead In this dark place, so mute my tread." Necropolis. 106. Wake. A nightly festival, kept originally in annual commemora- tion of the dedication of the parish church. 67. Wanhope. Absence of hope, despair. A beautiful old word, one of the examples given by Trench of good words lost to the language. 87. Wary. Wily, cautious. ' ' The weary eye is not to keep Thy wary company." These lines seem to mean that music is to lull to sleep as the 138 GLOSSARY AND NOTES eye is too wear}' to keep awake, during the muse's enchant- ing melody. 90. Wassail. " Ale boiled with sugar and nutmeg, in which are put roasted apples. The anciently admired lambswool." Wassail. Lit. "be whole," from the Anglo-French Tveisseil, Old Norse wes keill. See Skeat, Etym. Diet, etc., 191 1. Wes heill wdiS an ancient form of salutation. 65, 67, 105. Weeds. Clothes, dress. 87. Weeping-ripe. Ready for weeping. 105. Well-a-day. Alas, woe, an exclamation of sorrow. loi. Welt. A hemmed border or edging, any thing turned over and sewed to strengthen the border. 82. Whalesbone. Pronounced as three syllables. "In the romance period, the ivor\' of the walrus is often meant by this word." (Fairholt). The teeth of the cachalot whale were, however, sometimes used, and these were really white and gave beauti- ful ivor}'. Ordinary whalebone is not white but black. In many cases narwhal ivory seems to be meant, the narwhal being confused with the rhinoceros or "unicorn." Note that walrus is lit. a whale horse, said to be named from the neigh- ing sound made by the animal. " Her mouth so small, her teeth so white, As any whale his bone. Her lips without so lively red, That passe the corall stone." TuRBERViLE (1570). In Praise of Lady P. (stanza 10). 84. Whig. Sour whey or buttermilk. 12, 43, 65, 83. White. Purity. White was generally a term of favour, and is still in America a slang usage, denoting a high meed of praise; white being the emblem of "straightness." See Farmer's Americanisms. Herrick uses the word thus: " Ride on with all white omens," "With white success." "Most white pre- destination," "White fame," and "White angel." Cp. our own modern phrase "white all through." 51, 98. GLOSSARY AND NOTES 139 Whittle. A knife. 83. Wilding. A wild apple, a crab apple. (Bailey). 43, 65. Wit. To know, knowledge or sense. 67. Wood. Mad, distraught. 88, 94. Woodbine. The blue convolvulus. "The woodbine of Shake- spear is the blue bindweed of Jonson. In many of our counties the woodbine is still the name for the great convolvu- lus." (Gifford). Many will not allow woodbine to be anything but hone}'- suckle ; but surely crawling on the ground over moss, would not apply to honeysuckle. 66. Wot. Properly means " Know." It is a past form with a present signification. 26, 89. Yearly rites due to Pan. The festivals of Pan. 32. CHISWICK PRESS : CHARLES WHITTINGHAM AND CO. TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE, LONDON. 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