625

That fight thereof much griev'd my pensive

thought. At length, when most in perill it was brought, Two Angels, downe descending with swift

flight, Out of the swelling streame it lightly caught, And twixt their blessed armes it carried quight Above the reach of anie living light: So now it is transform'd into that starre, In which all heavenly treasures locked are. 630

IV.

636

Looking aside I saw a stately Bed,
Adorned all with costly cloth of gold,
That might for anie Princes couche be red,
And deckt with daintie flowres, as if it shold
Be for some Bride, her ioyous night to hold :
Therein a goodly Virgine Sleeping lay;
A fairer wight law never summers day.
I heard a voyce that called farre away,
And her awaking bad her quickly dight,
For lo! her Bridegrome was in readie ray 640
To come to her, and seeke her loves delight:
With that she started up with cherefull fight,
When suddeinly both Bed and all was gone,
And I in languor left there all alone.

V.

645

Still as I gazed, I beheld where stood
A Knight all arm’d, upon a winged steed,
The same that was bred of Medusaes blood,

650

On which Dan Perseus, borne of heavenly seed,
The faire Andromeda from perill freed :
Full mortally this Knight ywounded was,
That streames of blood foorth flowed on the gras:
Yet was he deckt (small ioy to him alas !)
With manie garlands for his victories,
And with rich spoyles, which late he did purchas
Through brave atcheivements from his enemies:
Fainting at last through long infirmities,656
He fmote his steed, that straight to heaven

him bore,
And left me here his losse for to deplore.

1

VI.

Lastly I saw an Arke of purest golde
Upon a brazen pillour standing hie, 660
Which th' ashes seem'd of fome great Prince to

hold,
Enclosde therein for endles memorie
Of him, whom all the world did glorifie:
Seemed the heavens with the earth did disagree,
Whether should of those ashes keeper bee. 665
At last me feem'd wing-footed Mercurie,
From heaven descending to appease their strife,
The Arke did beare with him above the skie,
And to those ashes gave a second life,
To live in heaven, where happines is rife: 670

Ver. 661. Which th' afhes seem'd of some great Prince to hold, &c.] This seems an allufion to the circumstance of Sir Philip Sidney's corpfe being brought to England. TODD.

At which the earth did grieve exceedingly,
And I for dole was almost like to die.

* L'Envoy. Immortall fpirite of Philifides, Which now art made the heavens ornament, That whilome wast the worldës chiefst richés ; Give leave to him that lov’de thee to lament 676 His lofle, by lacke of thee to heaven hent, And with last duties of this broken verse, Broken with fighes, to decke thy fable Herse ! And ye,

faire Ladie! th' honoưr of your daies, And glorie of the world, your high thoughts

scorne; Vouchsafe this moniment of his last praise With some few filver-dropping teares t'adorne;

be of heavenlie off-spring borne, So unto heaven let your high minde aspire, And loath this droffe of sinfull worlds defire! 686

681

And as ye

• L' Encoy was a sort of postscript, sent with poetical compositious, and serving either to reconimend them to the attention of some particular person, or to enforce what we call the moral of them. See the stanzas at the end of Chaucer's Clerkes Tale, and of the Complaint of the Black Knight, and of Chaucer's Dreme. TYRWHITT.

TUL

TEARES OF THE MUSES.

BY ED. SP.

DEDICATED TO THE RIGHT HONORABLE

THE LADIE STRANGE.

1591.