WHAT-EVER man he be whofe heavy mind,
With grief of mournful great mishap oppreft,
Fit matter for his cares increase would find,
Let read the rueful plaint herein expreft,
Of one, I ween, the woful'ft man alive,
Even fad Alcyon, whofe empierced breft
Sharp forrow did in thousand pieces rive.
But whofo elfe in pleasure findeth fenfe,
Or in this wretched life doth take delight,
Let him be banish'd far away from hence;
Ne let the Sacred Sifters here be hight,
Though they of forrow heavily can fing,
For even their heavy fong would breed delight;
But here no tunes, fave fobs and grones, fhall
ring.

Inftead of them and their sweet harmony,
Let those three Fatal Sifters, whofe fad bands
Do weave the direful threds of Destiny,
And in their wrath break off the vital bands,
Approach hereto; and let the dreadful Queen
Of Darkness deep come from the Stygian strands,
And grifly ghofts, to hear this doleful teen.

IN gloomy evening, when the weary fun,
After his day's long labour drew to rest,
And sweaty feeds, now having over-run
The compaft fky, 'gan water in the west,
I walk'd abroad to breathe the freshing air
In open fields, whofe flow'ring pride, oppreft
With early frofts, had loft their beauty fair.

There came unto my mind a troublous thought,
Which daily doth my weaker wit poffef,
Ne lets it reft until it forth have brought
Her long-born infant, fruit of heaviness,
Which the conceived hath through meditation
Of this world's vainnefs and life's wretched-
nefs,

That yet my foul it deeply doth empaffion.

So as I mufed on the mifery

In which men live, and I of many moft,
Moft miferable man, I did efpy
Where towards me a fory wight did cost,
Clad all in black, that mourning did bewray,
And Jacob's staff in hand devoutly croft,
Like to fome pilgrim come from far away.

His careless locks, uncombed and unfhorn,
Hung long adown, and beard all over-grown,
That well he feem'd to be fome wight forlorn:
Down to the earth his heavy eyes were thrown,
As loathing light; and ever as he went
He fighed oft, and inly deep did grone,
As if his heart in pieces would have rent.

Approaching nigh, his face I viewed nere,
And by the femblant of his countenaunce
Me feem'd I had his perfon feen elsewhere,
Moft like Alcyon feeming at a glaunce;
Alcyon he, the jolly fhepherd fwain,
That wont full merrily to pipe and daunce,
And fill with pleasance every wood and plain.

Yet half in doubt, because of his difguife,
I foftly faid, Alcyon! There-withall
He look'd afide as in difdainful wife,
Yet stayed not, till I again did call :
Then turning back, he faid, with hollow found,
Who is it that doth name me, woful thrall,
The wretchedft man that treads this day
ground?

One whom like wofulness impreffed deep,
Hath made fit mate thy wretched cafe to bear,
And given like caufe with thee to wail and

weep;

Grief finds fome eafe by him that like dees beat.
Then stay, Alcyon, gentle Shepherd! stay,
(Quoth 1) till thou have to my trusty car
Committed what thee doth fo ill apay.

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Ceafe, foolish Man! (faid he half wrothfully)
To feek o hear that which cannot be told,
For the huge anguish which doth multiply
My dying pains, no tongue can well unfold;
Ne do I care that any should bemone
My hard mishap, or any weep that would,
But feek alone to weep and die alone.

Then be it fo, quoth I, that thou art bent
To die alone, unpitied, unplained;

Yet ere thou die, it were convenient

To tell the caufe which thee thereto constrained,
Left that the world thee dead accuse of guilt,
And fay, when thou of none fhalt be maintained,
That thou for fecret crime thy blood haft fpilt.

Who life does loath, and longs to be unbound
From the ftrong fhackles of frail flesh, quoth he,
Nought cares at all what they that live on ground
Deem the occafion of his death to be;
Rather defires to be forgotten quight,
Than queftion made of his calamity,

For hearts deep forrow hates both life and light.

Yet fith fo much thou feem'ft to rue my grief,
And car'ft for one that for himself cares nought,
(Sign of thy love, though nought for my relief,
For my relief exceedeth living thought)
I will to thee this heavy cafe relate:
Then harken well till it to end be brought,
For never didft thou here more hapless fate.

"Whilome I uf'd (as thou right well dooft know)

My little flock on western downs to keep,
Not far from whence Sabrina's ftream doth flow,
Aud flowrie banks with filver liquor fleep;
Nought car'd I then for worldly change or chance,
For all my joy was on my gentle theep,
And to my pipe to carol and to daunce.

"It there befell, as I the fields did range
Fearless and free, a fair young lionefs,

White as the native rofe before the change
Which Venus' blood did in her leaves imprefs,
I pyed playing on the graffie plain
Her youthful fports and kindly wantonnefs,
That did all other beats in beauty stain.

"Much was moved at fo goodly fight,
Whofe like before mine eye had feldom seen,
And gan to caft how I her compass might,
And bring to hand that yet had never been:
So well I wrought with mildness and with pain,
That I her caught difporting on the green,
And brought away fait bound with filver chain.

"And afterwards I handled her fo fair,
That though by kind the flout and falvage were,
For being born an ancient lion's heir,
And of the race that all wild beafts do fear,
Yet I her fram'd, and won fo to my bent,
That the became fo meek and mild of chear,
As the leaft lamb in all my flock that went :

"For fhe in field, where-ever I did wend,
Would wend with me, and wait by me all day;
And all the night that I in watch did spend,
If caufe requir'd, or elfe in fleep, if nay,
She would all night by me or watch or fleep;
And ever more when I did fleep or play,
She of my flock would take full wary keep.

"Safe then, and fafeft were my filly fheep,
Ne fear'd the wolf, ne fear'd the wildest beaft,
All were I drown'd in carelefs quiet deep:
My lovely lionefs without beheft

So careful was for them, and for my good,
That when I waked, neither most nor least
I found mifcarried or in plain or wood.

"Oft did the fhepherds, which my hap did hear,
And cft their laffes, which my luck envide,
Daily refort to me from far and near,
To fee my lionefs, whose praises wide
Were fpred abroad, and when her worthinefs
Much greater than the rude report they try'd,
They her did praise, and my good fortune blefs.

"Long thus I joyed in my happiness,

And well did hope my joy would have no end;
But oh! fond Man! that in world's ficklencis
Repofedft hope, or weenedft her thy friend
That glories moft in mortal miferies,
And daily doth her changeful counfels bend
To make new matter fit for tragedies;

"For whilft I was thus without dread or doubt,
A cruel Satyre with his murdrous dart,
Greedy of mifchief, ranging all about,
Gave her the fatal wound of deadi smart,
And reft from me my fweet companion,
And reft from me my love, my life, my heart:
My lionefs, (ah, woe is me!) is gone!

"Out of the world thus was the reft away,
Out of the world, unworthy fuch a spoil,
And born to heaven, for heaven a fitter prey;
Much fitter then the lion which with toil
Alcides flew, and fix'd in firmament;
Her now I feek throughout this earthly foil,
And fecking mifs, and miffing do lament."

Therewith he 'gan afresh to wail and weep,
That I for pity of his heavy plight
Could not abitain mine eyes with tears to fteep;
But when I faw the anguish of his fpright
Some deal allay'd, I him befpake again;
Certes, Alcyon, painful is thy plight,
That it in me breeds almoft equal pain.

Yet doth not my dull wit well understand
That riddle of thy loved lioness,

For rare it seems in reafon to be scan'd,
That man, who doth the whole world's rule

poffefs,

Should to a beat his noble heart embafe,

And be the vafial of his vañalefs;

Therefore more plain arad this doubtful cafe.

What man henceforth that breatheth vital air
Will honour Heaven, or heavenly powers adore?
Which fo unjustly do their judgments share
Mongft earthly wights, as to afflict fo fore
The innocent, as those which do tranfgrefs,
And do not spare the best or fairest, more
Than work or fouleft, but do both opprefs.

"If this be right, why did they then create
The world fo fair, fith fairness is neglected?
Or why be they themselves immaculate,
If pureft things be not by them respected?
She fair, the pure, moft fair, moft pure fhe was,
Yet was by them as thing impure rejected;
Yet the in pureness heaven it self did pass.

In pureness and in all celeftial grace,
That men admire in goodly womankind
She did excel, and feem'd of angels' race,
Living on earth like angel new devin'd,
Adorned with wifdom and with chastity,
And all the dowries of a noble mind,
Which did her beauty much more beautify.

"No age hath bred (fince fair Aftrea left
The finful world) more vertue in a wight;
And when she parted hence, with her the reft
Great hope, and robb'd her race of bounty quight.
Well may the fhepherd laffes now lament,
For double lofs by her hath on them light,
To lofe both her and bounty's ornament.

Ne let Eliza, royal shepherdess,
The praises of my parted love envy,
For the hath praifes in all plenteoufnefs
Four'd upon her, like fhowers of Castaly,

By her own thepherd, Colin, her own shepherd,
That her with heavenly hymns doth deify,
Of ruftick Muse full hardly to be better'd.

"She is the rofe, the glory of the day,
And mine the primrofe in the lowly fhade:
Mine, ah! not mine; amifs I mine did fay:
Not mine, but his, which mine awhile her

made;

Mine to be his, with him to live for aye. O that fo fair a flowre fo foon fhould fade, And through untimely tempeft fall away!

"She fell away in her first age's fpring,
Whilft yet her leaf was green, and freth her riné,
And whilft her branch fair bloffoms forth did
bring,

She fell away against all courfe of kind.
Forage to die is right, but youth is wrong:
She fell away like fruit blown down with wind.
Weep, Shepherd! weep, to make my underkag.

11.

"What heart fo ftony hard but that would weep,
And pour forth fountains of inceffant tears?
What Timon but would let compaflion creep
Into his breast, and pierce his frozen cars?
Infead of tears, whofe brackish bitter well
I wafted have, my heart-blood drooping wears,
To think to ground how that fair bloffom fell.
"Yet fell fhe not as one enforc'd to die,
Ne died with dread and grudging difcontent,
But as one toil'd with travel down doth iic,
So lay the down, as if to fleep the went,
And clos'd her eyes with careless quietness;
The whiles foft death away her fpirit hent,
And foul affoyl'd from finful fiefhlinefs.

"Yet ere that life her lodging did forfake,
She, all refolv'd, and ready to remove,
Calling to me (ay me!) this wife bespake;
Alcyon! ah, my first and lateft love!
Ah! why does my Alcyon weep and mourn,
And grieve my ghoft, that all mote him behove,
As if to me had chanft fome evil tourn.

"I, fith the meffenger is come for me,
That fummons fouls unto the bridale feaft

Of his great Lord, must needs depart from thee,
And straight obey his foveraign beheast;
Why fhould Alcyon then fo fore lament
That I from mifery fhould be releast,
And freed from wretched long imprisonment?

"Our days are full of dolour and disease,
Our life afflicted with inceffant pain,
That nought on earth may leafen or appeafe;
Why then fhould I defire here to remain ?
Or why should he that loves me forry be
For my deliverance, or at all complain
My good to hear, and toward joys to fee?

I

I go, and long defired have to go,
go with gladness to my wifhed reft,
Whereas no world's fad care nor wafting woe
May come, their happy quiet to moleft;
But faints and angels in celeftial thrones
Eternally him praife that bath them bieft;
There shall I be amongst thofe bleffed ones.

"Yet ere I go, a pledge I leave with thee
Of the late love the which betwixt us paft,
My young Ambrofia; in lieu of me
Love her, fo fhall our love for ever laft.
Thus, Dear! adieu, whom I expect ere long.
So having faid, away fhe lofty paft.
Weep, Shepherd! weep, to make mine under-

fong.