436.

The Soldier Going to the Field

PRESERVE thy sighs, unthrifty girl!
To purify the air;

Thy tears to thread, instead of pearl,
On bracelets of thy hair.

The trumpet makes the echo hoarse,
And wakes the louder drum,
Expense of grief gains no remorse,
When sorrow should be dumb.

For I must go where lazy peace
Will hide her drowsy head;
And, for the sport of kings, increase
The number of the dead.

But first I'll chide thy cruel theft :

Can I in war delight,

Who, being of my heart bereft

Can have no heart to fight?

Thou knowest the sacred laws of old,
Ordained a thief should pay,
To quit him of his theft, sevenfold
What he had stolen away.

Thy payment shall but double be;
O then with speed resign
My own seduced heart to me,
Accompanied with thine.

Sir W. Davenant

437.

OV

438.

The Fairy Life

VER hill, over dale,

Thorough bush, thorough brier,
Over park, over pale,

Thorough flood, thorough fire,
I do wander everywhere,
Swifter than the moonè's sphere;
And I serve the fairy queen,
To dew her orbs upon the green:
The cowslips tall her pensioners be;
In their gold coats spots you see;
Those be rubies, fairy favours,
In those freckles live their savours:
I must go seek some dew-drops here,
And hang a pearl in every cowslip's ear.

Charms

W. Shakespeare

HRICE toss these oaken ashes in the air,

THRI

Thrice sit thou mute in this enchanted chair, Then thrice-three times tie up this true love's knot, And murmur soft, "She will or she will not."

Go, burn these poisonous weeds in yon blue fire,
These screech-owl's feathers and this prickling briar,
This cypress gathered at a dead man's grave,
That all my fears and cares an end may have.

Then come, you Fairies! dance with me a round! Melt her hard heart with your melodious sound! In vain are all the charms I can devise:

She hath an art to break them with her eyes.

439.

The Charm

SON of Erebus and Night,

upon

T. Campion

Hie away; and aim thy flight,
Where consort none other fowl
Than the bat and sullen owl;
Where the limber grass
Poppy and mandragoras
With like simples not a few
Hang for ever drops of dew.
Where flows Lethe without coil
Softly like a stream of oil.
Hie thee thither, gentle Sleep:
With this Greek no longer keep.
Thrice I charge thee by my wand,
Thrice with moly from my hand
Do I touch Ulysses' eyes,

And with the jaspis: then arise
Sagest Greek..

...

440.

W. Browne

WHEN

Cuckoo

HEN daisies pied and violets blue,
And lady-smocks all silver-white,

And cuckoo-buds of yellow hue
Do paint the meadows with delight,

441.

The cuckoo then, on every tree,
Mocks married men; and thus sings he,
Cuckoo !

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

When shepherds 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!-O word of fear,

Unpleasing to a married ear!

W. Shakespeare

The Ousel-Cock, So Black of Hue

HE ousel-cock, so black of hue,

THE

With orange-tawny bill,

The throstle with his note so true,

The wren with little quill;

The finch, the sparrow, and the lark,

The plain-song cuckoo gray,

Whose note full many a man doth mark,

And dares not answer nay.

W. Shakespeare

442.

You Spotted Snakes

OU spotted snakes, with double tongue,
Thorny hedgehogs, be not seen;

Newts and blind-worms, do no wrong;
Come not near our fairy queen.

Philomel, with melody

Sing in our sweet lullaby;

Lulla, lulla, lullaby; lulla, lulla, lullaby:
Never harm,

Nor spell nor charm,

Come our lovely lady nigh;

So, good night, with lullaby.

Weaving spiders, come not here;

Hence, you long-legg'd spinners, hence!
Beetles black, approach not near;

Worm, nor snail, do no offence.

Philomel, with melody'

Sing in our sweet lullaby;

Lulla, lulla, lullaby; lulla, lulla, lullaby:

Never harm,

Nor spell nor charm,

Come our lovely lady nigh;
So, good night, with lullaby.

W. Shakespeare