And who the knights in green, and what the train
Of ladies drefs'd with daifies on the plain?
Why both the bands in worship disagree,
And fome adore the flow'r, and fome the tree?
Juft is your fuit, fair daughter, faid the dame:
Those laurell'd chiefs were men of mighty fame;
Nine worthies were they call'd of diff'rent rites,
Three jews, three pagans, and three chriftian knights.
Thefe, as you fee, ride foremoft in the field,
As they the foremost rank of honour held,
And all in deeds of chivalry excell'd:
Their temples wreath'd with leaves, that still renew ;
For deathlefs laurel is the victor's due:
Who bear the bows were knights in Arthur's reign,
Twelve they, and twelve the peers of Charlemain:
For bows the ftrength of brawny arms imply,
Emblems of valour, and of victory.
Behold an order yet of newer date,
Doubling their number, equal in their ftate;
Our England's ornament, the crown's defence,
In battle brave, protectors of their prince:
Unchang'd by fortune, to their sovereign true,
For which their manly legs are bound with blue.
Thefe, of the garter call'd, of faith unftain'd,
In fighting fields the laurel have obtain'd,
And well repaid the honours which they gain'd.
The laurel wreaths were firft by Cæfar worn,
And ftill they Cæfar's fucceffors adorn :
One leaf of this is immortality,
And more of worth than all the world can buy.
One doubt remains, faid I, the dames in green,
What were their qualities, and who their queen?
Flora commands, faid fhe, thofe nymphs and knights,
Who liv'd in flothful ease and loose delights;
Who never acts of honour durft purfue,
The men inglorious knights, the ladies all untrue:
Who nurs'd in idleness, and train'd in courts,
Pafs'd all their precious hours in plays, and sports,
Till death behind came stalking on, unseen,
And wither'd (like the ftorm) the freshness of their green.
These, and their mates, enjoy their present hour,
And therefore pay their homage to the flow'r.
But knights in knightly deeds fhould persevere,
And ftill continue what at first they were;
Continue, and proceed in honour's fair career.
No room for cowardice, or dull delay;
From good to better they fhould urge their way.
For this with golden fpurs the chiefs are grac❜d,
With pointed rowels arm'd to mend their hafte;
For this with lafting leaves their brows are bound;
For laurel is the fign of labour crown'd,
Which bears the bitter blaft, nor fhaken falls to ground:
From winter winds it fuffers no decay,
For ever fresh and fair, and ev'ry month is May.
Ev'n when the vital fap retreats below,
Ev'n when the hoary head is hid in fnow;
The life is in the leaf, and still between
The fits of falling fnow appears the ftreaky green.
Not fo the flow'r, which laft for little space,
A fhort-liv'd good, and an uncertain grace;
This way and that the feeble ftem is driv'n,
Weak to fuftain the ftorms, and injuries of heav'n.
Propp'd by the fpring, it lifts aloft the head,
But of a fickly beauty, foon to shed;
In fummer living, and in winter dead.
For things of tender kind, for pleasure made,
Shoot up with fwift increafe, and fudden are decay'd.
With humble words, the wifeft I could frame,
And proffer'd fervice, I repaid the dame;
That, of her grace, she gave her maid to know
The fecret meaning of this moral show.
I 4
And fhe, to prove what profit I had made
Of myftic truth, in fables firft convey'd,
Demanded till the next returning May,
Whether the leaf or flow'r I would obey?
I chofe the leaf; fhe fmil'd with sober chear,
And wish'd me fair adventure for the year,
And gave me charms and figils, for defence
Againft ill tongues that fcandal innocence;
But I, faid fhe, my fellows must purfue,
Already paft the plain, and out of view.
We parted thus; I homeward fped my way,
Bewilder'd in the wood till dawn of day;
And met the merry crew who danc'd about the May.
Then late refresh'd with fleep, I rose to write
The vifionary vigils of the night:
Blush, as thou may'ft, my little book with shame,
Nor hope with homely verfe to purchase fame ;
For fuch thy Maker chofe; and fo defign'd
Thy fimple ftile to fuit thy lowly kind.
N days of old, when Arthur fill'd the throne,
Whofe acts and fame to foreign lands were blown; The king of elfs and little fairy queen
Gamboll'd on heaths, and danc'd on ev'ry green;
And where the jolly troop had led the round,
The grafs unbidden rose, and mark'd the ground:
Nor darkling did they glance, the filver light
Of Phoebe ferv'd to guide their steps aright,
And with their tripping pleas'd, prolong the night.
Her beams they follow'd, where at full the plaid,
Nor longer than the fhed her horns they ftaid,
From thence with airy flight to foreign lands convey'd.
Above the reft our Britain held they dear,
More folemnly they kept their fabbaths here, [year.
And made more fpacious rings, and revell'd half the
I fpeak of ancient times, for now the swain
Returning late may pafs the woods in vain,
And never hope to fee the nightly train :
In vain the dairy now with mints is drefs'd,
The dairy-maid expects no fairy gueft,
To skim the bowls, and after pay the feast.
She fighs and shakes her empty fhoes in vain,
No filver penny to reward her pain:
For priests with pray'rs, and other godly geer,
Have made the merry goblins disappear;
And where they play'd their merry pranks before,
Have fprinkled holy water on the floor:
And friars that through the wealthy regions run,
Thick as the motes that twinkle in the fun,
Refort to farmers rich, and bless their halls,
And exorcife the beds, and cross the walls :
This makes the fairy quires forfake the place,
When once 'tis hallow'd with the rites of grace :
But in the walks where wicked elves have been,
The learning of the parish now is seen,
The midnight parfon pofting o'er the green,
With gown tuck'd up, to wakes, for Sunday next,
With humming ale encouraging his text;
Nor wants the holy leer to country-girl betwixt.
From fiends and imps he fets the village free,
There haunts not any incubus but he.
The maids and women need no danger fear
To walk by night, and fanctity so near:
For by fome haycock, or fome shady thorn,
He bids his beads both even fong and morn.
It fo befel in this king Arthur's reign,
A lufty knight was pricking o'er the plain ;
A bachelor he was, and of the courtly train.
It happen'd as he rode, a damfel gay
In ruffet robes to market took her way:
Soon on the girl he caft an amorous eye,
So ftraight the walk'd, and on her pasterns high :
If feeing her behind he lik'd her pace.
Now turning fhort, he better likes her face.
He lights in hafte, and full of youthful fire,
By force accomplish'd his obfcene defire :
This done away he rode, not unespy'd,
For fwarming at his back the country cry'd:
And once in view they never loft the fight,
But feiz'd, and pinion'd brought to court the knight,
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