SONG.

Take, oh take those lips away,
That so sweetly were forsworn ;
And those eyes the break of day,
Lights that do mislead the morn:
But my kisses bring again,
Seals of love, but seal'd in vain.

Hide, oh hide those hills of snow,

Which thy frozen bosom bears,
On whose tops the pinks that grow,
Are of those that April wears:
But first set my poor heart free,
Bound in those icy chains by thee.

[The first stanza of this exquisite little song, is quoted by Shakpeare, in "Measure for Measure." But both the stanzas are found in one of Beaumont and Fletcher's plays, The Bloody Brother, or Rollo Duke of Normandy, Act v. scene 2. It has been attributed to Shakspeare, but without any apparent foundation. Mr. Weber thinks the first stanza Shakspeare's, the last Fletcher's. George Ellis has printed the whole as the composition of Beaumont and Fletcher'}

SONG IN LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST.

SHAKSPEARE.

Born 1564-Died 1616.

When daisies pied, and violets blue,
And lady-smocks all silver white,
And cuckoo-buds of yellow hue,

Do paint the meadows with delight,

The cuckoo then on every tree,

Mocks married men, for thus sings he,
Cuckoo;

Cuckoo, cuckoo,- word of fear,
Unpleasing to a married ear!

When shepherd's pipe on oaten straws,
And merry larks are ploughmen's clocks,
When turtles tread, and rooks, and daws,
And maidens bleach their summer smocks,
The cuckoo then, on every tree,

Mocks married men, for thus sings he,
Cuckoo;

Cuckoo, cuckoo ;-( word of fear,
Unpleasing to a married ear!

[For "Cuckoo-buds," in the third line, Dr. Farmer proposed as the true reading," cowslip buds.")

SONG IN LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST.

SHAKSPEARE.

When icicles hang by the wall,

And Dick the shepherd blows his nail,
And Tom bears logs into the hall,

And milk comes frozen home in pail,
When blood is nipp'd, and ways be foul,
Then nightly sings the staring owl,

To-who;

Tu-whit, to-who, a merry note
While greasy Joan doth keel the pot.*

When all aloud the wind doth blow,
And coughing drowns the parson's saw,
And birds sit brooding in the snow,

And Marian's nose looks red and raw,
When roasted crabs hiss in the bowl,
Then nightly sings the staring owl,
To-who;

Tu-whit, to-who, a merry note,
While greasy Joan doth keel the pot.

SONG IN THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA.

SHAKSPEARE.

Who is Silvia? what is she,

That all our swains commend her?

Holy, fair, and wise is she:

The heavens such grace did lend her,

That she might admired be.

Is she kind, as she is fair?
For beauty lives with kindness:
Love doth to her eyes repair,

To help him of his blindness;
And, being help'd, inhabits there.

Skim the pot, an expression common in Ireland.

Then to Silvia let us sing,
That Silvia is excelling;
She excels each mortal thing,
Upon the dull earth dwelling:
To her let us garlands bring.

SONG IN KING HENRY VIII.

SHAKSPEARE.

Orpheus, with his lute made trees,
And the mountain tops that freeze,
Bow themselves when he did sing:

To his music, plants, and flowers,
Ever sprung; as sun, and showers,
There had been a lasting spring.

Every thing that heard him play,
Even the billows of the sea,
Hung their heads, and then lay by.
In sweet music is such art;
Killing care and grief of heart,
Fall asleep, or, hearing die.

SONG IN CYMBELINE.

SHAKSPEARE.

Hark! hark! the lark at Heaven's gate sings,

And Phoebus 'gins arise,

His steeds to water at those springs
On chalic'd flowers that lies;

And winking Mary-buds begin

Το

ope

their golden eyes;

With every thing that pretty bin :
My lady sweet arise;
Arise, arise.

[Sung by Cloten's musicians under the window of Imogen. Washington Irving when he made his pilgrimage to Stratford-upon-Avon, tells us that Shakspeare's exquisite little Song' was called to his mind when he saw a lark pouring forth its torrents of melody in the bright and fleecy cloud, above him.]

YOUTH AND AGE.

SHAKSPEARE.

Crabbed Age and Youth
Cannot live together;
Youth is full of pleasance,
Age is full of care:
Youth like summer morn,

Age like winter weather,
Youth like summer brave,

Age like winter bare:
Youth is full of sport,

Ages breath is short;

Youth is nimble, Age is lame :

Youth is hot and bold,

Age is weak and cold;

Youth is wild and Age is tame,

Age, I do abhor thee,

Youth, I do adore thee;