Her Gentle Beauty.

This passeth yeer by yeer, and day by day,
Till it fel oones in a morne of May,

That Emilie, that fairer was to seene

Than is the lilie on hire stalkes grene,

And frescher than the May with floures newe;
For with the rose colour strof hire hewe,

I wot which was the fyner of hem two.
Er it was day, as sche was wont to do,
Sche was arisen, and alredy dight,—
For May wole have no sloggardye a night.
The sesun priketh every gentil herte,
And maketh him out of his sleepe sterte,
And seith," Arys, and do thin observance."
This maked Emilye have remembrance
To do honour to May, and for to ryse.
I-clothed was sche fressh for to devyse.
Hire yowle heer was browdid in a tresse
Byhynde hir bak, a yerde long I gesse.
And in the gardyn, as the sonne upriste,
Sche walketh up and doun wher as hire liste.
Sche gadereth floures, partye whyte and reede,
To make a certeyn garland for hire heede,

And as aungel hevenly sche song.

Glorious in her Beauty.

Can you paint a thought? or number

Every fancy in a slumber?

Chaucer.

Can you count soft minutes roving
From a dial's point by moving?
Can you grasp a sigh? or, lastly,
Rob a virgin's honour chastely?
No, oh no! yet you may

Sooner do both that and this,
This and that, and never miss,
Than by any praise display
Beauty's beauty; such a glory
Is beyond all fate, all story,
All arms, all arts,

All loves, all hearts,

Greater than those or they

Do, shall, and must obey.

John Ford.

Her stature like the tall straight cedar-trees, Whose stately bulks do fame th' Arabian groves;

A

pace like princely Juno, when she braved
The Queen of Love 'fore Paris in the vale;
A front beset with love and courtesy ;
A face like modest Pallas when she blush'd;
A seely shepherd should be beauty's judge.
A lip, sweet ruby-red, graced with delight;
A cheek wherein, for interchange of hue,
A wrangling strife 'twixt lily and the rose;
Her eyes two twinkling stars in winter nights,
When chilling frost doth chill the azure sky;
Her hair, of golden hue, doth dim the beams
That proud Apollo giveth from his coach;

A foot like Thetis when she tripp'd the sands
To steal Neptunus' favour with her steps;
A piece, despite of beauty, framed

To show what Nature's lineage could afford.

Robert Greene.

Her Beauty and Goodness combined.

Beauty and she are one, for in her face

Sits sweetness temper'd with majestic grace; Such powerful charms as might the proudest awe, Yet such attractive goodness as might draw

The humblest, and to both give equal law.

Duke.

In her Modest Beauty.

And thou, Amanda, come, pride of my song,
Form'd by the Graces,-loveliness itself;
Come with those downcast eyes, sedate and sweet,
Those looks demure that deeply pierce the soul;
Where, with the light of thoughtful reason mix'd,
Shines lively fancy, and the feeling heart.
O come! and while the rosy-footed May
Steals blushing on, together let us tread
The morning dews, and gather in their prime
Fresh-blooming flowers to grace thy braided hair,
And thy loved bosom that improves their sweets.

Thomson.