The fovereign lady of our land is fhe,
Diana call'd, the queen of chastity:

And, for the spotless name of maid she bears,
That Agnus caftus in her hand appears;
And all her train, with leafy chaplets crown'd,
Were for unblam'd virginity renown'd;

But those the chief and highest in command
Who bear those holy branches in their hand :
The knights adorn'd with laurel crowns are they,
Whom death nor danger ever could dismay,
Victorious names, who made the world obey :
Who, while they liv'd, in deeds of arms excell'd'
And after death for deities were held.

But thofe, who wear the woodbine on their brow,
Were knights of love, who never broke their vow;
Firm to their plighted faith, and ever free
From fears and fickle chance, and jealoufy.
The lords and ladies, who the woodbine bear,
As true as Triftram and Ifotta were.

But what are thofe, faid I, th' unconquer'd
nine,

Who crown'd with laurel-wreaths in golden armor fhine?

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?

Just is your fuit, fair daughter, faid the dame: Those laurell'd chiefs were men of mighty fame } Nine worthies were they call'd of diffrent rites, Three jews, three pagans, and three christian knights.

Thefe, as you fee, ride foremost in the field,
As they the foremost rank of honor 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 strength of brawny arms imply,
Emblems of valor, and of victory.

Behold an order yet of newer date,
Doubling their number, equal in their state;
Our England's ornament, the crown's defence,
In battle brave, protectors of their prince :
Unchang'd by fortune, to their fovereign 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 honors which they gain'd.

}

The laurel wreaths were first by Cæfar worn,
And still 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 honor durft pursue,

The men inglorious knights, the ladies all untrue :
Who nurs'd in idlenefs, and train'd in courts,
Pafs'd all their precious hours in plays, and sports,
Till death behind came ftalking on, unseen,

And wither'd (like the storm) 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 perfevere,)
And still continue what at firft they were;
Continue, and proceed in honor's fair career.
No room for cowardice, or dull delay;
From good to better they should urge their way.
For this with golden fpurs the chiefs are grac'd,
With pointed rowels arm'd to mend their haste ;

For this with lafting leaves their brows are bound;]
For laurel is the fign of labor crown'd,

Which bears the bitter blast, 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 ftill between

The fits of falling fnow appears the streaky green.
Not fo the flow'r, which laft for little space,

A short-liv'd good, and an uncertain grace;

This way and that the feeble ftem is driv'n,

Weak to sustain 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 increase, and fudden are decay'd.
With humble words, the wifest I could frame,
And proffer'd fervice, I repaid the dame;
That, of her grace, fhe gave her maid to know
The secret meaning of this moral show.
And she, to prove what profit I had made
Of myftic truth, in fables first convey'd,

Demanded till the next returning May,
Whether the leaf or flow'r I would obey?
I chose the leaf; she smil'd with sober chear,
And wish'd me fair adventure for the year,
And gave me charms and figils, for defence
Against ill tongues that scandal innocence:
But I, faid fhe, my fellows muft pursue,
Already past 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 sleep, I rose to write
The visionary vigils of the night:

Blush, as thou may'ft, my little book with shame,
Nor hope with homely verse to purchase fame ;
For fuch thy Maker chofe; and fo defign'd
Thy simple stile to fuit thy lowly kind.