There twenty four fayre ladyes were,
A playinge at the chesse;

And Ellen the fayrest ladye there,
Must bring his horse to gresse.

And then bespake Childe Waters sister,
These were the wordes sayd shee:
You have the prettyest page, brother,

That ever I did see.

But that his bellye it is soe bigge,
His girdle stands soe hye:

And ever I pray you, Childe Waters,
Let him in my chamber lye.

It is not fit for a little foot page,

105

That has run throughe mosse and myre,

To lye in the chamber of any ladye,

That weares soe riche attyre.

It is more meete for a little foot page,

That has run throughe mosse and myre,

110

To take his supper upon his knee,

And lye by the kitchen fyre.

Now when they had supped every one,
To bedd they tooke theyr waye:
He sayd, come hither, my little foot-page,
And hearken what I

saye.

115

Goe thee downe into yonder towne,

And lowe into the streete;

The fayrest ladye that thou canst finde,

Hyre in mine armes to sleepe,

And take her up in thine armes twaine,

For filing of her feete.

120

Ellen is gone into the towne :

And lowe into the streete:

The fayrest ladye that shee colde finde,

125

She hyred in his armes to sleepe;

And tooke her up in her armes twaynę,
For filing of her feete.

I

praye you nowe, good Childe Watèrs, Let mee lye at your feete:

130

For there is noe place about this house,
Where I may 'saye a sleepe.

'He gave her leave, and fair Ellèn

'Down at his beds feet laye :

This done the nighte drove on apace,

135

And when it was neare the daye,

Hee sayd, Rise up, my little foot-page,
Give my steede corne and haye;

V. 132, i. e. essay, attempt.

2 i. e. defiling. See Warton's Observ. vol. ii. p. 158.

And give him nowe the good black oats,
To carry mee better awaye.

Up then rose the fayre Ellèn

And gave his steede corne and haye: And soe shee did the good black oates, To carry him the better awaye,

140

She leaned her back to the manger side,
And grievouslye did groane :

145

Shee leaned her back to the manger side,

And there shee made her moane.

And that beheard his mother deare,

Shee heard her woefull woe,'

150

Shee sayd, Rise up, thou Childe Waters,

And then he put on his other clothes,
On his bodye as white as milke.

And when he came to the stable dore,

Full still there hee did stand,

160

That hee mighte heare his fayre Ellen,

Howe shee made her monànd.

She sayd, Lullabye, mine own dear childe,

165

Lullabye, deare childe, deare:

I wolde thy father were a kinge,

Thy mothere layd on a biere.

Peace nowe, hee sayd, good faire Ellèn,

Bee of good cheere, I praye;

170

And the bridale and the churchinge bothe

Shall bee upon one daye.

V. 164, i. e. moaning, bemoaning, &c.

X.

Phillida and Corydon.

THIS Sonnet is given from a small quarto MS. in the Editor's possession, written in the time of Queen Elizabeth. Another copy of it, containing some variations, is reprinted in the Muses Library, p. 295, from an ancient miscellany entitled England's Helicon, 1600, 4to. The author was Nicholas Breton, a writer of some fame in the reign of Elizabeth, who also published an interlude entitled "An old man's lesson and a young man's love," 4to, and many other little pieces in prose and verse, the titles of which may be seen in Winstanley, Ames' Typog. and Osborne's Harl. Catalog., &c. He is mentioned with great respect by Meres, in his second part of Wit's Commonwealth, 1598, f. 283, and is alluded to in Beaumont and Fletcher's Scornful Lady, act ii., and again in Wit without Money, act iii. See Whalley's Ben Jonson, vol. iii. p. 103.

The present edition is improved by a copy in England's Helicon, edit. 1614, 8vo.

In the merrie moneth of Maye,

In a morne by break of daye,
With a troope of damselles playing
Forthe 'I yode' forsooth a maying:

When anon by a wood side,
Where that Maye was in his pride,
I espied all alone

Phillida and Corydon.

Ver. 4, the wode. MS.

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