That I, who did not know myselfe, 35 Thought scorne of such a youth as hee. *And grew soe coy and nice to please, As women's lookes are often soe, He might not kisse, nor hand forsooth, Thus being wearyed with delayes He gott him to a secrett place, And there he dyed without releeffe. 40 *Three of the following stanzas have been finely paraphrased by Dr. Goldsmith, in his charming ballad of Edwin and Emma ; the reader of taste will have a pleasure in comparing them with the original. 'And' still I try'd each fickle art, And while his passion touch'd my heart, I triumph'd in his pain. 'Till quite dejected with my scorn, He left me to my pride; And sought a solitude forlorn, In secret, where he dy❜d. But mine the sorrow, mine the fault, And there forlorn despairing hid, And for his sake these weeds I weare, 45 And sacriffice my tender age; Thus every day I fast and pray, And gett me to some secrett place, For soe did hee, and soe will I, Now, gentle heardsman, aske no more, Show me the right and readye way. "Now goe thy wayes, and God before! 50 55 60 To show what constant tribute was paid to OUR LADY OF WALSINGHAM, I shall give a few extracts from the "Houshold-Book of Henry Algernon Percy, 5th Earl of Northumberland." Printed 1770, 8vo. Sect. XLIII. page 337, &c. ITEM, My Lorde usith yerly to send afor Michaelmas for his Lordschip's Offerynge to our Lady of Walsyngeham, -iiijd. ITEM, My Lorde usith ande accustumyth to sende yerely for the upholdynge of the Light of Wax which his Lordschip fyndith birnynge yerly befor our Lady of Walsyng ham, contenynge xj lb. of Wax in it after vijd. ob. for the fyndynge of every lb. redy wrought by a covenaunt maid with the Channon by great, for the hole yere, for the fyndinge of the said Lyght byrning,―vi s. viïïj d. ITEM, My Lord useth and accustomith to syende yerely to the Channon that kepith the Light before our Lady of Walsyngham, for his reward for the hole yere, for kepynge of the said Light, lightynge of it at all service tymes dayly thorowt the yere,-xij d. ITEM, My Lord usith and accustomyth yerely to send to the Prest that kepith the Light, lyghtynge of it at all service tymes daily thorowt the yere,—iij s. iiij d. XV. K. Edward IV. and Tanner of Tamworth, Was a story of great fame among our ancestors. The author of the Art of English Poesie, 1589, 4to. seems to speak of it as a real fact. Describing that vicious mode of speech, which the Greeks called Acyron, i. e. " When we use a dark and obscure word, utterly repugnant to that we should express;" he adds, "Such manner of uncouth speech did the Tanner of Tamworth use to King Edward the fourth; which Tanner, having a great while mistaken him, and used very broad talke with him, at length perceiving by his traine that it was the king, was afraide he should be punished for it, [and] said thus, with a certain rude repentance, "I hope I shall be hanged to-morrow, for [I feare me] I shall be hanged; whereat the king laughed a good,* not only to see the Tanner's vaine feare, * Vide Gloss. but also to heare his illshapen terme: and gave him for recompence of his good sport, the inheritance of Plumptonparke. I am afraid," concludes this sagacious writer, "the poets of our times that speake more finely and correctedly, will come too short of such a reward," p. 214. The phrase here referred to, is not found in this ballad at present,* but oecurs with some variation in another old poem, entitled, John the Reeve, described in the following volume. (See the Preface to The King and the Miller,) viz. 66 Nay, sayd John, by Gods grace And Edward wer in this place, Hee shold not touch this tonne : He wold be wroth with John I HOPE, Thereffore I beshrew the soupe, That in his mouth shold come." Pt. ii. st. 24. The following text is selected (with such other corrections as occurred) from two copies in black letter. The one in the Bodleian library, entitled, "A merrie, pleasant, and delectable historie betweene King Edward the Fourth, and a Tanner of Tamworth, &c., printed at London, by John Danter, 1596." This copy, ancient as it now is, appears to have been modernised and altered at the time it was published; and many vestiges of the more ancient readings were recovered from another copy, (though more recently printed,) in one sheet folio, without date, in the Pepys collection. But these are both very inferior in point of antiquity to the old ballad of The King and the Barker, reprinted with other "Pieces of Ancient Popular Poetry from Authentic Manuscripts, and old Printed Copies, edited by Ritson," Lond. 1791, 8vo. As that very antique poem had never occurred to the Editor of the Reliques, till he saw it in the above collection, he now refers the curious reader to it, as an imperfect and incorrect copy of the old original ballad. *Nor in that of the Barker mentioned below. In summer time, when leaves grow greene, And blossoms bedecke the tree, King Edward wolde a hunting ryde, With hawke and hounde he made him bowne, 5 With horne, and eke with bowe; To Drayton Basset he tooke his waye, And he had ridden ore dale and downe By eight of clocke in the day, When he was ware of a bold tannèr, A fayre russet coat the tanner had on Fast buttoned under his chin, And under him a good cow-hide, And a mare of four shilling.* Nowe stand you still, my good lordes all, Under the grene wood spraye; And I will wend to yonder fellowe, To weet what he will saye. 10 15 20 * In the reign of Edward IV. Dame Cecill, lady of Torhoke, in her will dated March 7, A. D. 1466, among many other bequests has this, "Also I will that my sonne Thomas of Torboke have 13s. 4d. to buy him an horse." Vide Harleian Catalogue, 2176. 27. Now if 13s. 4d. would purchase a steed fit for a person of quality, a tanner's horse might reasonably be valued at four or five shillings. |