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And let them also with them bring in hand,
Another gay girland,

For my fayre love, of lillyes and of roses,
Bound truelove wize with a blew silke riband.
And let them make great store of bridale poses,
And let them eeke bring store of other flowers
To deck the bridale bowers.

And let the ground whereas her foot shall tread,
For feare the stones her tender foot should wrong,
Be strewed with fragrant flowers all along,
And diapred lyke the discolored mead.

Which done, doe at her chamber dore awayt,

For she will waken strayt,

The whiles doe ye this song unto her sing,

The woods shall to you answer and your Eccho ring.

Ye Nymphes of Mulla, which with carefull heed
The silver scaly trouts doe tend full well,
And greedy pikes which use therein to feed,
(Those trouts and pikes all others doo excell)
And ye likewise which keepe the rushy lake,
Where none doo fishes take,

Bynd up the locks the which hang scatterd light,
And in his waters which your mirror make,
Behold your faces as the christall bright,

That when you come whereas my love doth lie,
No blemish she may spie.

And eke ye lightfoot mayds which keepe the deere,

That on the hoary mountayne use to towre,

And the wylde wolves which seeke them to devoure,

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With your steele darts doo chace from comming neer 70 Be also present heere,

To helpe to decke her and to help to sing,

That all the woods may answer and your eccho ring.

Wake now my love, awake; for it is time,

The Rosy Morne long since left Tithones bed,

All ready to her silver coche to clyme,

And Phoebus gins to shew his glorious hed.

Hark how the cheerefull birds do chaunt theyr laies
And carroll of loves praise.

The merry Larke hir mattins sings aloft,

The thrush replyes, the Mavis descant playes,

The Ouzell shrills, the Ruddock warbles soft,

So goodly all agree with sweet consent,

To this dayes merriment.

Ah my deere love why doe ye sleepe thus long,
When meeter were that ye should now awake,
T'awayt the comming of your joyous make,
And hearken to the birds lovelearned song,
The deawy leaves among:

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For they of joy and pleasance to you sing,

That all the woods them answer and theyr eccho ring.

My love is now awake out of her dreame,

And her fayre eyes like stars that dimmed were
With darksome cloud, now shew theyr goodly beams
More bright then Hesperus his head doth rere.
Come now ye damzels, daughters of delight,
Helpe quickly her to dight,

But first come ye fayre houres which were begot
In Joves sweet paradice, of Day and Night,
Which doe the seasons of the yeare allot,
And al that ever in this world is fayre
Doe make and still repayre.

And ye three handmayds of the Cyprian Queene,

The which doe still adorne her beauties pride,

Helpe to addorne my beautifullest bride;

And as ye her array, still throw betweene

Some graces to be seene:

And as ye use to Venus, to her sing,

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The whiles the woods shal answer and your eccho ring.

Now is my love all ready forth to come,

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Let all the virgins therefore well awayt,

And ye fresh boyes that tend upon her groome

Prepare your selves, for he is comming strayt.
Set all your things in seemely good aray
Fit for so joyfull day,

The joyfulst day that ever sunne did see.
Faire Sun, shew forth thy favourable ray,
And let thy life-full heat not fervent be
For feare of burning her sunshyny face,
Her beauty to disgrace.

O fayrest Phoebus, father of the Muse,
If ever I did honour thee aright,

Or sing the thing, that mote thy mind delight,

Doe not thy servants simple boone refuse,

But let this day, let this one day be myne,

Let all the rest be thine.

Then I thy soverayne prayses loud wil sing,

That all the woods shal answer and theyr eccho ring.

Harke how the Minstrils gin to shrill aloud
Their merry Musick that resounds from far,
The pipe, the tabor, and the trembling Croud,
That well agree withouten breach or jar.
But most of all the Damzels doe delite,

When they their tymbrels smyte,

And thereunto doe daunce and carrol sweet,

That all the sences they doe ravish quite,

The whyles the boyes run up and downe the street,

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Crying aloud with strong confused noyce,
As if it were one voyce.

Hymen io Hymen, Hymen they do shout,
That even to the heavens theyr shouting shrill
Doth reach, and all the firmament doth fill;
To which the people standing all about,
As in approvance doe thereto applaud
And loud advaunce her laud,

And evermore they Hymen Hymen sing,

That al the woods them answer and theyr eccho ring.

Loe where she comes along with portly pace,
Lyke Phoebe from her chamber of the East,
Arysing forth to run her mighty race,

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Clad all in white, that seemes a virgin best.

So well it her beseemes that ye would weene
Some angel she had beene.

Her long loose yellow locks lyke golden wyre,

Sprinckled with perle, and perling flowres atweene,
Doe lyke a golden mantle her attyre,

And being crowned with a girland greene,
Seeme lyke some mayden Queene.
Her modest eyes abashed to behold
So many gazers, as on her do stare,
Upon the lowly ground affixed are.

Ne dare lift up her countenance too bold,

But blush to heare her prayses sung so loud,
So farre from being proud.

Nathlesse doe ye still loud her prayses sing,

That all the woods may answer and your eccho ring.

Tell me ye merchants daughters, did ye see
So fayre a creature in your towne before?
So sweet, so lovely, and so mild as she,

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Adornd with beautyes grace and vertues store,
Her goodly eyes lyke Saphyres shining bright,
Her forehead yvory white,

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Her cheekes lyke apples which the sun hath rudded,
Her lips lyke cherryes charming men to byte,

Her brest like to a bowle of creame uncrudded,

Her paps lyke lyllies budded,

Her snowie necke lyke to a marble towre,
And all her body like a pallace fayre,
Ascending uppe with many a stately stayre,
To honors seat and chastities sweet bowre.
Why stand ye still ye virgins in amaze,
Upon her so to gaze,

Whiles ye forget your former lay to sing,

To which the woods did answer and your eccho ring?

But if ye saw that which no eyes can see,
The inward beauty of her lively spright,

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Garnisht with heavenly guifts of high degree,
Much more then would ye wonder at that sight,
And stand astonisht lyke to those which red
Medusaes mazeful hed.

There dwels sweet love and constant chastity,
Unspotted fayth and comely womanhood,
Regard of honour and mild modesty,

There vertue raynes as Queene in royal throne,
And giveth lawes alone,

The which the base affections doe obay,

And yeeld theyr services unto her will,

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Ne thought of thing uncomely ever may
Thereto approch to tempt her mind to ill.
Had ye once seene these her celestial threasures,
And unrevealed pleasures,

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Then would ye wonder and her prayses sing,

That al the woods should answer and your echo ring.

Open the temple gates unto my love,
Open them wide that she may enter in,
And all the postes adorne as doth behove,
And all the pillours deck with girlands trim,
For to recyve this Saynt with honour dew,
That commeth in to you.

With trembling steps and humble reverence,
She commeth in, before th'almighties vew,
Of her ye virgins learne obedience,
When so ye come into those holy places,
To humble your proud faces :

Bring her up to th'high altar, that she may
The sacred ceremonies there partake,

The which do endlesse matrimony make,
And let the roring Organs loudly play,
The praises of the Lord in lively notes,
The whiles with hollow throates

The Choristers the joyous Antheme sing,

That al the woods may answere and their eccho ring.

Behold whiles she before the altar stands

Hearing the holy priest that to her speakes
And blesseth her with his two happy hands,
How the red roses flush up in her cheekes,
And the pure snow with goodly vermill stayne,
Like crimsin dyde in grayne,

That even th' Angels which continually,
About the sacred Altare doe remaine,

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Forget their service and about her fly,

Ofte peeping in her face that seemes more fayre,
The more they on it stare,

But her sad eyes still fastened on the ground,
Are governed with goodly modesty.

That suffers not one looke to glaunce awry,
Which may let in a little thought unsownd.
Why blush ye Love to give to me your hand,
The pledge of all our band?

Sing ye sweet Angels, Alleluya sing,

That all the woods may answere and your eccho ring.

Now al is done; bring home the bride againe,

Bring home the triumph of our victory,

Bring home with you the glory of her gaine,
With joyance bring her and with jollity.
Never had man more joyfull day then this,
Whom heaven would heape with blis.

Make feast therefore now all this live long day,
This day for ever to me holy is,

Poure out the wine without restraint or stay,
Poure not by cups, but by the belly full,
Poure out to all that wull,

And sprinkle all the postes and wals with wine,
That they may sweat, and drunken be withall.
Crowne ye God Bacchus with a coronall,

And Hymen also crowne with wreathes of vine,
And let the Graces daunce unto the rest;

For they can doo it best :

The whiles the maydens doe theyr carroll sing,

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To which the woods shall answer and theyr eccho ring. 260
Ring ye the bels, ye yong men of the towne,
And leave your wonted labors for this day:
This day is holy; doe ye write it downe,
That ye for ever it remember may.

This day the sunne is in his chiefest hight,
With Barnaby the bright,

From whence declining daily by degrees,
He somewhat loseth of his heat and light,
When once the Crab behind his back he sees.
But for this time it ill ordained was,
To chose the longest day in all the yeare,
And shortest night, when longest fitter weare:
Yet never day so long, but late would passe.
Ring ye the bels, to make it weare away,
And bonefiers make all day,

And daunce about them, and about them sing:
That all the woods may answer, and your eccho ring.

Ah! when will this long weary day have end,

And lende me leave to come unto my love?

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How slowly do the houres theyr numbers spend? 280 How slowly does sad Time his feathers move?

Hast thee O fayrest Planet to thy home

Within the Westerne fome:

Thy tyred steedes long since have need of rest.
Long though it be, at last I see it gloome,

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