In colour like the colombine,

Y-wrought full featously.

Her features all as fresh above,

As is the grasse that growes by Dove;

And lyth as lasse of Kent.

25

Her skin as soft as Lemster wooll,

As white as snow on Peakish Hull,

Or swanne that swims in Trent.

30

This mayden in a morne betime

Went forth, when May was in her prime,

To get sweete cetywall,

The honey-suckle, the harlocke,

The lilly and the lady-smocke,

35

He lear'd his sheepe as he him list,
When he would whistle in his fist,
To feede about him round;
Whilst he full many a carroll sung,
Untill the fields and meadowes rung,
And all the woods did sound.

45

In favour this same shepheards swayne
Was like the bedlam Tamburlayne,*

Which helde prowd kings in awe :
But meeke he was as lamb mought be:
And innocent of ill as het

50

His aule and lingell in a thong,
His tar-boxe on his broad belt hong,
His breech of coyntrie blewe:

Full crispe and curled were his lockes,
His browes as white as Albion rocks:
So like a lover true,

65

And pyping still he spent the day,

So merry as the popingay;

Which liked Dowsabel:

That would she ought, or would she nought, 70
This lad would never from her thought;

She in love-longing fell.

* Alluding to Tamburlaine the Great, or the Scythian Shepheard, 1590, 8vo. an old ranting play ascribed to Marlowe.

+ Sc. Abel.

At length she tucked up her frocke,
White as a lilly was her smocke,

She drew the shepheard nye;
But then the shepheard pyp'd a good,

That all his sheepe forsooke their foode,
To heare his melodye.

Thy sheepe, quoth she, cannot be leane,

75

That have a jolly shepheards swayne,

80

The which can pipe so well:

Yea but, sayth he, their shepheard may,

If pyping thus he pine away,

In love of Dowsabel.

Of love, fond boy, take thou no keepe,

85

Quoth she; looke thou unto thy sheepe,

Lest they should hap to stray.

Quoth he, So had I done full well,

Had I not seen fayre Dowsabell

Come forth to gather maye.

With that she gan to vaile her head,
Her cheeks were like the roses red,

But not a word she sayd:

90

With that the shepheard gan to frowne,

He threw his pretie pypes adowne,
And on the ground him layd.

95

Sayth she, I may not stay till night,
And leave my summer-hall undight,

And all for long of thee.

My coate, sayth he, nor yet my foulde

Shall neither sheepe nor shepheard hould,

Except thou favour mee.

100

And I to thee will be as kinde

As Colin was to Rosalinde,

Of curtesie the flower.

Then will I be as true, quoth she,

As ever mayden yet might be

Unto her paramour.

110

With that she bent her snow-white knee,

115

Downe by the shepheard kneeled shee,

And him she sweetely kist:

With that the shepheard whoop'd for joy,
Quoth he, Ther's never shepheards boy

That ever was so blist.

120

VIII.

The Farewell to Lobe.

From Beaumont and Fletcher's play, entitled The Lover's Progress, act iii. sc. i.

ADIEU, fond love, farewell you wanton powers;
I am free again.

Thou dull disease of bloud and idle hours,

Bewitching pain,

Fly to fools, that sigh away their time:
My nobler love to heaven doth climb,

5

And there behold beauty still young,

That time can ne'er corrupt, nor death destroy, Immortal sweetness by fair angels sung,

And honoured by eternity and joy:

There lies my love, thither my hopes aspire,

10

Fond love declines, this heavenly love grows higher.

IX.

Ulysses and the Syren,

Affords a pretty poetical contest between Pleasure and Honour. It is found at the end of "Hymen's Triumph : a pastoral tragi-comedie," written by Daniel, and printed among his works, 4to. 1623.* Daniel, who was a contemporary of Drayton's, and is said to have been poet-laureate to Queen Elizabeth, was born in 1562, and died in 1619.

* In this edition, it is collated with a copy printed at the end of his "Tragedie of Cleopatra. Lond. 1607," 12mo.