The Dramatic Works and Poems of William Shakespeare

870

So soon was she along, as he was down,
Each leaning on their elbows and their hips:
Now doth she stroke his cheek,nowdoth he frown,
And 'gins to chide, but soon she stops his lips:
And kissingspeaks, with lustful languagebroken,
If thou wilt chile, thy lips shall never open.
He burns with bashful shame; she with her tears
Dothquench the maiden burning of his cheeks;
Then with her windy sighs, and golden hairs,
To fan and blow them dry again she seeks:
He saith, she is immodest, blames her 'miss;
What follows more, she murders with a kiss.
Even as an empty eagle, sharp by fast,

Tires with her beak on feathers, flesh,and bone,
Shaking her wings, devouring all in haste,

Till either gorge be stuff'd, or prey be gone; Even so she kiss'd his brow, his cheek, his chin, And where she ends, she doth anew begin. Forc'd to content, but never to obey,

Panting he lies, and breatheth in her face; She feedeth on the steam, as on a prey,

And calls it heavenly moisture, air of grace;
Wishing her cheeks were gardens full of flowers,
So they were dew'd with such distilling showers.
Look how a bird lies tangled in a net,

So fasten'd in her arms Adonis lies;
Pure shame and aw'd resistance made him fret,
Which bred more beauty in his angry eyes:
Rain added to a river that is rank,
Perforce will force it overflow the bank.
Still she entreats, and prettily entreats,

For to a pretty ear she tunes her tale;
Still is he sullen, still he low'rs and frets,

"Twixt crimson shame, and anger ashy pale;] Being red, she loves him best; and being white, Her best is better'd with a more delight.

Look how he can, she cannot choose but love;
And by her fair immortal hand she swears,
From his soft bosom never to remove,

Till he take truce with her contending tears, Which long have rain'd, making her cheeks ali wet;

And one sweet kiss shall pay this countless debt.
Upon this promise did he raise his chin,

Like a dive-dapper peering through a wave,
Who being look'd on, ducks as quickly in;
So offers he to give what she did crave;
But when her lips were ready for his pay,
He winks, and turns his lips another way.
Never did passenger in summer's heat, [turn.
More thirst for drink than she for this good
Her help she sees, but help she cannot get;
She bathes in water, yet her fire must burn:
O, pity, 'gan she cry, flint-hearted boy;
'Tis but a kiss I beg; why art thou coy?
I have been woo'd as I entreat thee now,
Even by the stern and direful god of war;
Whose sinewy neck in battle ne'er did bow,
Who conquers where he comes, in every jar;
Yet hath he been my captive and my slave,
And begg'd for that which thou unask'd shalt
have.

Over my altars hath he hung his lance,

His batter'd shield, his uncontrolled crest, And for my sake hath learn'd to sport and dance, To toy, to wanton, dally, smile, and jest; Scorning his churlish drum, and ensign red, Making my arms his field, his tent my bed. Thus he that over-rul'd I oversway'd,

Leading him prisoner in a red-rose chain:

Strong-temper'd steel his stronger strength
obey'd,

Yet was he servile to my coy disdain.
O, be not proud, nor brag not of thy might,
For mastering her that foil'd the god of fight.
Touch but my lips with those fair lips of thine,
(Though mine be not so fair, yet are they red,)
The kiss shall be thine own as well as mine;-
What see'st thou in the ground? hold up thy
head;

Look in mine eye-balls, there thy beauty lies.
Then why not lips on lips, since eyes in eyes?
Art thou asham'd to kiss? then wink again,

And I will wink; so shall the day seem night;
Love keeps his revels where there are but twain;
Be bold to play, our sport is not in sight:
These blue-vein'd violets, whereon we lean,
Never can blab, nor know not what we mean
The tender spring upon thy tempting lip

Shews thee unripe; yet may'st thou well be tasted;

Make use of time, let not advantage slip;

Beauty within itself should not be wasted:
Fair flowers that are not gather'd in their prime,
Rot and consume themselves in little time.
Were I hard-favour'd, foul, or wrinkled-old,

Ill-nurtur'd, crooked, churlish, harsh in voice,
O'er-worn, despised, rheumatic and cold,
Thick-sighted, barren, lean, and lacking juice,
Then might'st thou pause, for then I were not
for thee;

But having no defects, why dost abhor me?
Thou canst not see one wrinkle in my brow
Mine eyes are grey, and bright, and quick in
turning;

My beauty as the spring doth yearly grow,

My flesh is soft and plump,mymarrow burning:
Mysmooth moist hand, were it with thyhand felt,
Would in thy palm dissolve, or seem to melt.
Bid me discourse, I will enchant thine ear,
Or, like a fairy, trip upon the green,

Or, like a nymph, with long dishevell'd hair,
Dance on the sands, and yet no footing seen:
Love is a spirit all compact of fire,
Not gross to sink, but light, and will aspire.
Witness this primrose bank whereon I lie;
These forceless flowers like sturdy trees sup-

port me;

[sky, Two strengthless doves will draw me thro' the From morn till night, even where I list to

sport me:

Is love so light, sweet boy, and may it be
That thou should'st think it heavy unto thee?
Is thine own heart to thine own face affected?
Can thy right hand seize love upon thy left?
Then woo thyself, be of thyself rejected,

Steal thine own freedom, and complain on
Narcissus, so, himself himself forsook, [theft:
And died to kiss his shadow in the brook.
Torches are made to light, jewels to wear,

abuse:

Dainties to taste, fresh beauty for the use;
Herbs for their smell, and sappy plants to bear;
Things growing to themselves are growth's
[beauty,
Seeds spring from seeds, and beauty breedeth
Thon wast begot,-to get it is thy duty.
Upon theearth's increasewhyshould'st thou feed,
Unless the earth with thy increase be fed?
By law of nature thou art bound to breed, [dead;
That thine may live, when thou thyself art

And so, in spite of death, thou dost survive,
In that thy likeness still is left alive.

By this, the love-sick queen began to sweat,
For, where they lay, the shadow had forsook
And Titan, tired in the mid-day heat, [them,
With burning eye did hotly overlook them;
Wishing Adonis had his team to guide,
So he were like him, and by Venus' side.
And now Adonis, with a lazy spright,

And with a heavy, dark, disliking eye,
His low'ring brows o'erwhelming his fair sight
Like misty vapours, when they blot the sky,
Souring his cheeks, cries Fie, no more of love;
The sun doth burn my face; I must remove.
Ah me, (quoth Venus,) young, and so unkind?
What bare excuses mak'st thou to be gone!
I'll sigh celestial breath, whose gentle wind

Shall cool the heat of this descending sun; I'll make a shadow for thee of my hairs; If they burn too, I'll quench them with my tears. The sun that shines from heaven, shines but

warm,

And lo, I lie between that sun and thee; The heat I have from thence doth little harm, Thine eye darts forth the fire that burneth me: And were I not immortal, life were done, Between this heavenly and earthly sun. Art thou obdurate, flinty, hard as steel,

Nay more than flint, for stone at rain relenteth? Art thou a woman's son, and canst not feel What'tis to love? how want of love tormenteth? O, had thy mother borne so hard a mind, She had not brought forth thee, but died unkind. What am I, that thou should'st contemn me this? Or what great danger dwells upon my suit? What were thy lips the worse for one poor kiss? Speak,fair;but speak fairwords,or else be mute. Give me one kiss, I'll give it thee again, And one for interest, if thou wilt have twain. Fie, lifeless picture, cold and senseless stone, Well-painted idol, image, dull and dead, Statue, contenting but the eye alone,

Thing like a man, but of no woman bred; Thou art no man, though of a man's complexion, For men will kiss even by their own direction. Thissaid,impatience chokes herpleadingtongue, And swelling passion doth provoke a pause; Red cheeks and fiery eyes blaze forth her wrong; Being judge in love,she cannot right her canse: And now sheweeps,and now she fainwould speak, And now her sobs do her intendments break. Sometimes she shakes her head, and then his hand,

Now gazeth she on him, now on the ground; Sometimes her arms infold him like a band; She would, he will not in her arms be bound: And when from thence he struggles to be gone, She locks her lily fingers, one in one. Fondling, she saith, since I have hemm'd thee Within the circuit of this ivory pale, [here, I'll be a park, and thou shalt be my deer;

Feed where thou wilt, on mountain or in dale: Graze on my lips; and, if those hills be dry, Stray lower, where the pleasant fountains lie. Within this limit is relief enough,

Sweet bottom-grass, and high delightful plain, Round rising hillocks, brakes,obscure and rough, To shelter thee from tempest and from rain; Then be my deer, since I am such a park; No dog shall rouze thee, though a thousand bark.

At this Adonis smiles, as in disdain,
That in each cheek appears a pretty dimple:
Love made those hollows, if himself were slain,
He might be buried in a tomb so simple;
Fore-knowing well, if there he came to lie,
Why there Love liv'd, and there he could not die.
These lovely caves,these round enchanting pits,
Open'd their mouths to swallow Venus' liking:
Being mad before, how doth she now for wits?
Struck dead at first, what needs a second
Poor queen of love, in thine own law forlorn,
striking?
To love a cheek that smiles at thee in scorn!

Now which way shall she turn? what shall she
Say?
[creasing:

Her words are done, her woes the more inThe time is spent, her object will away, And from her twining arms doth urge releasing:

morse ;-

Pity, (she cries) some favour, some
Away he springs, and hasteth to his horse.
But lo, from forth a copse that neighbours by,
A breeding jennet, lusty, young, and proud.
Adonis' trampling courser doth espy,

And forth she rushes, snorts, and neighs aloud: The strong-neck'd steed, being tied unto a tree, Breaketh his rein, and to her straight goes he. Imperiously he leaps, he neighs, he bounds,

And now his woven girths he breaks asunder: The bearing earth with his hard hoof he wound », Whose hollow womb resounds like heaven's

thunder;

The iron bit he crusheth 'tween his teeth,
Controlling what he was controlled with,
His ears up-prick'd; his braided hanging mane
Upon his compass'd crest now stand on end;
His nostrils drink the air, and forth again

As from a furnace, vapours doth he send:
His eye, which scornfully glisters like fire,
Shews his hot courage, and his high desire.
Sometime he trots, as if he told the steps,
With gentle majesty, and modest pride;
Anon he rears upright, curvets and leaps,
As who should say, lo! thus my strength is
And this I do, to captivate the eye [try'd;
Of the fairest breeder that is standing by.
What recketh he his rider's angry stir,

His flattering holla, or his Stand, I stay? What cares he now for curb, or pricking spur? For rich caparisons, or trapping gay? He sees his love, and nothing else he sees, For nothing else with his proud sight agrees Look, when a painter would surpass the life, In limning out a well-proportion'd steed, His art with nature's workmanship at strife, As if the dead the living should exceed; So did this horse excel a common one, In shape, in courage, colour, pace, and bone. Round-hoof'd, short-jointed, fetlocks shag and long, [wide,

Broad breast, full eye, small head, and nostril High crest, short ears, strait legs, and passing strongThideThin mane, thick tail, broad buttock, tender Look what a horse should have, he did not lack, Save a proud rider on so proud a back. Sometime he scuds far off, and there he stares; Anon he starts at stirring of a feather; To bid the wind a base he now prepares,

And whe'r he run,or fly, they know notwhether

thee.

For through his mane and tail the high wind For one sweet look thy help, I would assure sings, [wings. [thee, Fanning the hairs, who wave like feather'd Though nothing but my body's bane would cure Give me my hand, saith he, why dost thou feel [have it; give it me, lest thy hard heart do steel it, Give me my heart, saith she, and thou shalt

He looks upon his love, and neighs unto her;
She answers him, as if she knew his mind:

Being proud, as females are, to see him woo her,

She puts on outward strangeness, seems un-
kind;

Spurns at his love, and scorns the heat he feels,
Beating his kind embracements with her heels.
Then, like a melancholy malecontent,

He vails his tail, that, like a falling plume
Cool shadow to his melting buttock lent;

He stamps, and bites the poor flies in his
His love perceiving how he is enrag'd, [fume:
Grew kinder, and his fury was assuag'd."
His testy master goeth about to take him;

When lo, the unback'd breeder, full of fear,
Jealous of catching, swiftly doth forsake him,
With her the horse, and left Adonis there:
As they were mad, unto the wood they hie them,
Out-stripping crows that strive to over-fly them.
All swoln with chasing, down Adonis sits,
Banning his boist'rous and unruly beast;
And now the happy season once more fits,
That love-sick Love, by pleading may be blest,
For lovers say, the heart hath treble wrong,
When it is barr'd the aidance of the tongue.
An oven that is stopp'd, or river stay'd,
Burneth more hotly, swelleth with more rage:
So of concealed sorrow may be said;

Free vent of words love's fire doth assuage;
But when the heart's attorney once is mute,
The client breaks, as desperate in his suit,
He sees her coming, and begins to glow,

(Even as a dying coal revives with wind,)
And with his bonnet hides his angry brow;
Looks on the dull earth with disturbed mind;
Taking no notice that she is so nigh,
For all askaunce he holds her in his eye.
O, what a sight it was, wistly to view
How she came stealing to the wayward boy!
To note the fighting conflict of her hue!

How white and red each other did destroy!
But now, her cheek was pale, and by and by
It flash'd forth fire as lightning from the sky.
Now was she just before him as he sat,

And like a lowly lover down she kneels;
With one fair hand she heaveth up his hat,
Her other tender hand his fair cheek feels:
His tend'rer cheek receives her soft hand's print,
As apt as new-fall'n snow takes any dint."

O, what a war of looks was then between them!
Her eyes, petitioners, to his eyes suing;
His eyes saw her eyes as they had not seen
them;
[wooing;
Her eyes woo'd still, his eyes disdain'd the
And all this dumb play had his acts made plain
With tears, which,chorus-like, her eyes did rain,
Full gently now she takes him by the hand.
A lily prison'd in a gaol of snow,
Or ivory in an alabaster band;

So white a friend engirts so white a foe:
This beauteous combat, wilful and unwilling,
Shew'd like two silver doves that sit a billing.
Once more the engine of her thoughts began:
O fairest mover on this mortal round,
Would thou wert as I am, and I a man,

it?

And being steel'd, soft sighs can never grave
Then love's deep groans I never shall regard, [it:
Because Adonis' heart hath made mine hard.
For shame, he cries, let go, and let me go;
My day's delight is past, my horse is gone,
And 'tis your fault I am bereft him so;

I pray you hence, and leave me here alone;
For all my mind, my thought, my busy care,
Is how to get my palfrey from the mare.
Thus she replies: Thy palfrey as he should,
Welcomes the warm approach of sweet desire.
Affection is a coal that must be cool'd;

Else, suffer'd, it will set the heart on fire:
The sea hath bounds, but deep desire hath none;
Therefore no marvel though thy horse be gone.
How like a jade he stood, tied to the tree,

Servilely master'd with a leathern rein!
But when he saw his love, his youth's fair fee,
He held such petty bondage in disdain;
Throwing the base thong from his bending crest,
Enfranchising his mouth, his back, his breast.
Who sees his true love in her naked bed,

Teaching the sheets a whiter hue than white,
But when his glutton eye so full hath fed,

His other agents aim at like delight?
Who is so faint, that dare not be so bold,
To touch the fire, the weather being cold?
Let me excuse thy courser, gentle boy;
And learn of him, I heartily beseech thee,
To take advantage on presented joy; [thee:
Though Iwere dumb,yet his proceedingsteach
O! learn to love; the lesson is but plain,
And, once made perfect, never lost again.
I know not love, (quoth he,) nor will not know it,
Unless it be a boar, and then I chase it;
'Tis much to borrow, and I will not owe it;

My love to love is love but to disgrace it;
For I have heard it is a life in death,
That laughs,and weeps,and all but with a breath.
Who wears a garment shapeless and unfinish'd?
Who plucks the bud before one leaf put forth?
If springing things be any jot diminish'd,
They wither in their prime, prove nothing
worth.
[young,

The colt that's back'd and burthen'd, being
Loseth his pride, and never waxeth strong.
You hurt my hand with wringing; let us part,

And leave this idle theme, this bootless chat:
Remove your siege from my unyielding heart;
To love's alarm it will not ope the gate:
Dismiss your vows, your feigned tears, your
For where a heart is hard, they make no bat-
flattery;
[tery.
What! canst thou talk, quoth she, hast thou a
tongue?

O, would thou had'st not, or I had no hearing!
Thymermaid'svoice hath done me doublewrong:
I had my load before, now press'd with bearing
Melodious discord, heavenly tune harsh-sound-
ing,
[wounding.
Ear's deep-sweet music, and heart's deep-sore-
Had I no eyes, but ears, my ears would love
That inward beauty and invisible,

My heart all whole as thine, thy heart my Or, were I deaf, thy outward parts would move wound:

Each part in me that were but sensible:

Though neither eyes nor ears, to hear nor see,
Yet should I be in love, by touching thee.
Say, that the sense of feeling were bereft me,
And that I could not see, nor hear, nor touch,
And nothing but the very smell were left me,
Yet would my love to thee be still as much;
For from the still'tory of thy face excelling
Comes breath perfum'd, that breedeth love by
smelling.

But O, what banquet wert thou to the taste,

Being nurse and feeder of the other four! Would they not wish the feast might ever last, And bid Suspicion double lock the door? Lest Jealousy, that sour unwelcome guest, Should, by his stealing in, disturb the feast. Once more the ruby-colour'd portal open'd,

Which to his speech did honey passage yield:

Like a red morn, that ever yet betoken'd

Wreck to the sea-man, tempest to the field,

Sorrow to shepherds, woe unto the birds, Gusts and foul flaws to herdmen and to herds. This ill presage advisedly she marketh :

Even as the wind is hush'd before it raineth, Or as the wolf doth grin before he barketh, Or as the berry breaks before it staineth, Or like the deadly bullet of a gun, His meaning struck her, ere his words begun.

And at his look she flatly falleth down,

For looks kill love,and love by looks reviveth. A smile recures the wounding of a frown: But blessed bankrupt, that bylove so thriveth! The silly boy believing she is dead, Claps her pale cheek,till clapping makes it red; And all amaz'd brake off his late intent,

For sharply he did think to reprehend her, Which cunning love did wittily prevent: Fair fall the wit, that can so well defend her! For on the grass she lies, as she were slain, Till his breath breatheth life in her again. He wrings her nose, he strikes her on the cheeks, He bends her fingers, holds her pulses hard; He chafes her lips; a thousand ways he seeks To mend the hurt that his unkindness marr'd; He kisses her; and she, by her good will, Would never rise, so he will kiss her still. The night of sorrow now is turn'd to-day.

Her two blue windows faintly she up-heaveth, Like the fair sun, when in his fresh array

He cheers the morn,and all theworld relieveth:
And as the bright sun glorifies the sky,
So is her face illumin'd with her eye;
Whose beams upon his hairless face are fix'd,
Asiffrom thence they borrow'd all their shine.
Were never four such lamps together mix'd,
Had not his clouded with his brows' repine;
But hers, which through the crystal tears gave
light,

Shone like the moon, in water seen by night.
O, where am I, quoth she? in earth or heaven,
Or in the ocean drench'd, or in the fire?
What hour is this? or morn or weary even?
Do I delight to die, or life desire?
But now I liv'd, and life was death's annoy;
But now I died, and death was lively joy.
O, thou didst kill me ;-kill me once again:
Thyeyes'shrewd tutor, that hard heart of thine
Hath taught them scornful tricks, and such
disdain,
[mine;
That they have murder'd this poor heart of
And these mine eyes, true leaders to their queen,
But for thy piteous lips no more had seen.

Long may they kiss each other, for this cure!
O, never let their crimson liveries wear!
And as they last, their verdure still endure,
To drive infection from the dangerous year!
That the star-gazers, having writ on death,
May say, the plague is banish'd by thy breath.
Pure lips, sweet seals in my soft lips imprinted,
What bargains may I make, still to be seal-
To sell myself I can be well contented, [ing?
So thou wilt buy, and pay, and use good
dealing;

Which purchase if thou make, for fear of slips,
Set thy seal-manual on my wax-red lips
A thousand kisses buys my heart from me;
And pay them at thy leisure, one by one.
What is ten hundred touches unto thee?

Say, for non-payment that the debt should

Are they not quickly told, and quickly gone?

double?

Is twenty hundred kisses such a trouble?
Fair queen, quoth he, if any love you owe me,
Measure my strangeness with my unripe
Before I know myself, seek not to know me;

years;

No fisher but the ungrown fry forbears: The mellow plum doth fall, the green sticks fast, Look, the world's comforter, with weary gait, Or being early pluck'd, is sour to taste.

The owl, night's herald, shrieks, 'tis very late;
His day's hot task hath ended in the west:
And coal-black clouds that shadow heaven's
The sheep are gone to fold, birds to their nest;

Do summon us to part, and bid good night.
light,
Now let me say good night, and so say you;

If you will say so, you shall have a kiss.
Good night, quoth she; and ere he says adieu,
The honey fee of parting tender'd is:
Her arms do lend his neck a sweet embrace
Incorporate then they seem; face grows to face.
Till, breathless, he disjoin'd, and backward drew

The heavenlymoisture, that sweet coralmouth, Whose precious taste her thirsty lips well knew, Whereon they surfeit, yet complain on drought:

Hewith her plenty press'd,she faint with dearth, Now quick Desire hath caught the yielding prey, (Their lips together glew'd,) fall to the earth.

And glutton-like she feeds, yet never filleth; Her lips are conquerors, his lips obey,

Paying what ransom the insulter willeth; Whose vulture thought doth pitch the price so high,

That she will draw his lips' rich treasure dry. And having felt the sweetness of the spoil,

Her face doth reek and smoke, her blood doth With blind-fold fury she begins to forage;

boil,

And careless lust stirs up a desperate courage: Planting oblivion, beating reason back, Forgetting_shame's pure blush, and honour's wreck.

Hot, faint, and weary, with her hard embracing, Like a wild bird being tam'd with too much

handling,

Or as the fleet-foot roe, that's tir'd with chasing, Or like the froward infant, still'd with dandHe now obeys, and now no more resisteth, [ling, While she takes all she can, not all she listeth.

Whatwax so frozen,butdissolves with temp'ring, And yields at last to every light impression?

874

Things out of hope are compass'd oft with ven- The thorny brambles and embracing bushes, [mission As fearful of him, part; throughwhom he rushes. Alas, he nought esteems that face of thine,

t'ring,
Chiefly in love, whose leave exceeds com-
Affection faints not like a pale-fac'd coward,
But then woos best, when most his choice is

froward.

When he did frown, O, had she then gave over,
Such nectar from his lips she had not suck'd.
Foul words and frowns must not repel a lover;
What though the rose have prickles, yet 'tis
pluck'd:

Were beauty under twentylocks kept fast, [last.
Yet love breaks through, and picks them all at
For pity now she can no more detain him;
The poor fool prays her that he may depart:
She is resolv'd no longer to restrain him;
Bids him farewell, and look well to her heart,
The which, by Cupid's bow she doth protest,
lle carries thence incaged in his breast.
Sweet boy, she says, this night I'll waste in
[watch.
For my sick heart commands mine eyes to
Tell me, Love's master, shall we meet to-mor-
[match?
Say, shall we? shall we? wilt thou make the
He tells her, no; to-morrow he intends
To hunt the boar with certain of his friends.
The boar! (quoth she) whereat a sudden pale.
Like lawn being spread upon the blushing

sorrow,

row?

rose,

Usurps her cheek; she trembles at his tale,

And on his neck her yoking arms she throws:
She sinketh down, still hanging by his neck,
He on her belly falls, she on her back.
Now is she in the very lists of love,

Her champion mounted for the hot encounter:
All is imaginary she doth prove,

He will not manage her, although he mount
That worse than Tantalus' is her annoy, [her;
To clip Elysium, and to lack her joy.

Even as poor birds,deceiv'd with painted grapes,
Do surfeit by the eye, and pine the maw,
Even so she languisheth in her mishaps,

To which Love's eyes pay tributary gazes;
Nor thy soft hands, sweet lips, and crystal eyne,
Whose full perfection all the world amazes;
But having thee at vantage, (wondrous dread!)
Would root these beauties as he roots the mead.
0, let him keep his loathsome cabin still;
Beauty hath nought to do with such foul
fiends:
Come not within his danger by thy will;

They that thrive well, take counsel of their
friends:
[ble,

When thou didst name the boar, not to dissem-
I fear'd thy fortune, and my joints did tremble.
Didst thou not mark myface! Was it not white?

Saw'st thou not signs of fear lurk in mine eye?
Grew I not faint? And fell I not downright?
Within my bosom, whereon thou dost lie,
My boding heart pants, beats, and takes no rest,
But,like an earthquake,shakes thee on my breast.
For where love reigns, disturbing jealousy
Doth call himself affection's sentinel;
Gives false alarms, suggesteth mutiny,

And in a peaceful hour doth cry, kill, kill;
Distemp'ring gentle love in his desire,
As air and water do abate the fre.
This sour informer, this bate-breeding spy.
This canker, that eats up love's tender spring,
[bring,
This carry-tale, dissentious jealousy,

That sometime true news,sometime false doth
Knocks at my heart, and whispers in mine ear,
That if I love thee, I thy death should fear:
And more than so, presenteth to mine eye

The picture of an angry chafing boar,
Under whose sharp fangs on his back doth lie
An image like thyself, all stain'd with gore;
Whose blood upon the fresh flowers being shed,
Doth make them droop with grief, and hang
the head.

What should I do, seeing thee so indeed,

That tremble at the imagination?
The thought of it doth make my faint heart
And fear doth teach it divination:

As those poor birds that helpless berries saw;
The warm effects which she in him finds missing, I prophesy thy death, my living sorrow,
She seeks to kindle with continual kissing:
But all in vain; good queen, it will not be :
She hath assay'd as much as may be prov'd;
Her pleading hath deserv'd a greater fee;

She's Love,she loves, and yet she is not lov'd.
Fie, fie, he says, you crush me; let me go;
You have no reason to withhold me so.
Thou had'st been gone, quoth she, sweet boy,
[the boar.
ere this,
But that thou told'st me, thou would'st hunt
O, be advised: thou know'st not what it is

With javelin's point a churlish swine to gore,
Whose tushes never sheath'd, he whetteth still,
Like to a mortal butcher, bent to kill
On his bow-back he hath a battle set

Of bristly pikes, that ever threat his foes; His eyes, like glow-worms, shine when he doth fret;

His snout digs sepulchres where'er he goes;
Being mov'd, he strikes what e'er is in his way,
And whom he strikes, his cruel tushes slay.
His brawny sides, with hairy bristles arm'd,
Are better proof than thy spear's point can
enter:

His short thick neck cannot be easily harm'd;
Being ireful, on the lion he will venture:

[bleed,

If thou encounter with the boar to-morrow.
But if thou needs will hunt, be rul'd by me:
Uncouple at the timorous flying hare,
Or at the fox which lives by subtilty,

Or at the roe, which no encounter dare:
Pursue these fearful creatures o'er the downs,
And on thy well-breath'd horse keep with thy
hounds.

And when thou hast on foot the purblind hare.

Mark the poorwretch, to overshut his troubles,
How he out-runs the wind, and with what care

He cranks and crosseswith a thousand doubles:
The many musits through the which he goes,
Are like a labyrinth to amaze his foes.
Sometime he runs among a flock of sheep,
To make the cunning hounds mistake their
smell:

And sometimewhere earth-delving conies keep,
To stop the loud pursuers in their yell;
And sometime sorteth with a herd of deer;
Danger deviseth shifts; wit waits on fear:
For there his smell with others being mingled,
The hot scent-snuffing hounds are driven to
doubt;

Igled
Ceasing their clamorous cry till they have sin-
With much ado the cold fault cleanly out;

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