In the old manuscript, to the third and fifth stanzas is prefixed this title, "Responce," and to the fourth and sixth, "Le Plaintif;" but in the last instance so evidently wrong, that it was thought better to omit these titles, and to mark the changes of the Dialogue by inverted commas. In other respects the manuscript is strictly followed, except where noted in the margin. Yet the first stanza appears to be defective, and it should seem that a line is wanting, unless the four first words were lengthened in the tune.

A ROBYN,

Jolly Robyn,

Tell me how thy leman doeth,

And thou shalt1 knowe of myn.

"My lady is unkynde perde."
Alack! why is she so?

"She loveth an other better than me;

"And yet she will say no."

I fynde no such doublenes:

I fynde women true.

My lady loveth me dowtles,

And will change for no newe.

Thou art happy while that doeth last,
"But I say, as I fynde,

"That women's love is but a blast,

"And torneth with the wynde."

Suche folkes can take no harme by love,
That can abide their torn.

"But I alas can no way prove
"In love but lake and morn.'

But if thou wilt avoyde thy harme
Lerne this lessen of me,

At others fieres thy selfe to warme,
And let them warme with the.

V. A SONG TO THE LUTE IN MUSICKE

This sonnet (which is ascribed to Richard Edwards, in the "Paradise of Daintie Devises," fo. 31, b.) is by Shakspeare made the subject of some pleasant ridicule in his "Romeo and Juliet," act iv. sc. 5, where he introduces Peter putting this question to the musicians.

1 "Shall." MS.

Concerning him see Wood's Athen. Oxon. and Tanner's Biblioth. also Sir John Hawkins's Hist. of Music, &c.

PETER .

why silver sound? why "Musicke with her silver sound?" what say

you, Simon Catling?

1. Mus. Marry, sir, because silver hath a sweet sound.

PET. Pretty! what say you, Hugh Rebecke?

2. Mus. I say, silver sound, because musicians sound for silver. PET. Pretty too! what say you, James Sound-post?

3. Mus. Faith, I know not what to say.

PET.

I will say it for you: It is "Musicke with her silver sound," because musicians have no gold for sounding. Edit. 1793, vol. xiv. p. 529.

This ridicule is not so much levelled at the song itself (which for the time it was written is not inelegant) as at those forced and unnatural explanations often given by us painful editors and expositors of ancient authors.

This copy is printed from an old quarto manuscript in the Cotton Library (Vesp. A. 25), intitled, “Divers things of Hen. viij's time:" with some corrections from The Paradise of Dainty Devises, 1596.

WHERE gripinge grefes the hart would wounde,
And dolefulle dumps the mynde oppresse,

There musicke with her silver sound

With spede is wont to send redresse:

Of trobled mynds, in every sore,
Swete musicke hathe a salve in store.

In joye yt maks our mirthe abounde,
In woe yt cheres our hevy sprites;
Be-strawghted heads relyef hath founde,
By musickes pleasaunt swete delightes:
Our senses all, what shall I say more?
Are subjecte unto musicks lore.

The Gods by musicke have theire prayse;
The lyfe, the soul therein doth joye:

For, as the Romayne poet sayes,

In seas, whom pyrats would destroy,
A dolphin saved from death most sharpe
Arion playing on his harpe.

O heavenly gyft, that rules the mynd,

Even as the sterne dothe rule the shippe!

O musicke, whom the Gods assinde

To comforte manne, whom cares would nippe !
Since thow both man and beste doest move,
What beste ys he, wyll the disprove?

VI. KING COPHETUA AND THE BEGGAR-MAID

This story is often alluded to by our old dramatic writers. Shakspeare, in his "Romeo and Juliet," act. ii. sc. 1, makes Mercutio say,

Her (Venus's) purblind son and heir,
Young Adam1 Cupid, he that shot so true,
When King Cophetua loved the beggar-maid.

As the thirteenth line of the following ballad seems here particularly alluded to, it is not improbable that Shakspeare wrote it "shot so trim," which the players or printers, not perceiving the allusion, might alter to "true." The former, as being the more humorous expression, seems most likely to have come from the mouth of Mercutio."

In the Second Part of Henry IV. act v. sc. 3, Falstaff is introduced affectedly saying to Pistoll,

O base Assyrian knight, what is thy news?
Let King Cophetua know the truth thereof.

These lines, Dr. Warburton thinks, were taken from an old bombast play of "King Cophetua.' No such play is, I believe, now to be found; but it does not therefore follow that it never existed. Many dramatic pieces are referred to by old writers, which are not now extant, or even mentioned in any list. In the infancy of the stage, plays were often exhibited that were never printed.

It is probably in allusion to the same play that Ben Jonson says, in his Comedy of "Every Man in his Humour," act iii. sc. 4,

I have not the heart to devour thee, an' I might be made as rich as King Cophetua.

At least there is no mention of King Cophetua's riches in the present ballad, which is the oldest I have met with on the subject.

It is printed from Rich. Johnson's "Crown Garland of Goulden Roses," 1612, 12mo. (where it is intitled simply "A Song of a Beggar and a King :") corrected by another copy.

I READ that once in Affrica

A princely wight did raine,
Who had to name Cophetua,
As poets they did faine:
From natures lawes he did decline,
For sure he was not of my mind.
He cared not for women-kinde,

But did them all disdaine.

1 See above, Preface to No. 1. Book ii.

2 Since this conjecture first occurred, it has been discovered that "shot so trim "

was the genuine reading. See Shaksp. ed. 1793, xiv. 393.

8 See Meres' Wits Treas. f. 283. Arte of Eng. Poes. 1589, p. 51, 111, 143, 169.

But, marke, what hapened on a day,
As he out of his window lay,
He saw a beggar all in gray,

The which did cause his paine.

The blinded boy, that shootes so trim,
From heaven downe did hie;
He drew a dart and shot at him,

In place where he did lye:

Which soone did pierse him to the quicke,
And when he felt the arrow pricke,
Which in his tender heart did sticke,

He looketh as he would dye.
What sudden chance is this, quoth he,
That I to love must subject be,
Which never thereto would agree,
But still did it defie?

Then from the window he did come,
And laid him on his bed,

A thousand heapes of care did runne
Within his troubled head:

For now he meanes to crave her love,
And now he seekes which way to proove
How he his fancie might remoove,

And not this beggar wed.
But Cupid had him so in snare,
That this poor begger must prepare
A salve to cure him of his care,
Or els he would be dead.

And, as he musing thus did lye,
He thought for to devise
How he might have her companye,
That so did 'maze his eyes.

In thee, quoth he, doth rest my life;
For surely thou shalt be my wife,
Or else this hand with bloody knife
The Gods shall sure suffice.

Then from his bed he soon arose,
And to his pallace gate he goes;
Full little then this begger knowes
When she the king espies.

The Gods preserve your majesty,
The beggers all gan cry:

Vouchsafe to give your charity

Our childrens food to buy.

The king to them his pursse did cast,
And they to part it made great haste ;
This silly woman was the last

That after them did hye.

The king he cal'd her back againe,
And unto her he gave his chaine;
And said, With us you shal remaine
Till such time as we dye :

For thou, quoth he, shalt be my wife,
And honoured for my queene;
With thee I meane to lead my life,
As shortly shall be seene:
Our wedding shall appointed be,
And every thing in its degree :
Come on, quoth he, and follow me,
Thou shalt go shift thee cleane.

What is thy name, faire maid? quoth he.
Penelophon,1 O king, quoth she;
With that she made a lowe courtsèy;

A trim one as I weene.

Thus hand in hand along they walke
Unto the king's pallàce:

The king with curteous comly talke
This beggar doth imbrace:

The begger blusheth scarlet red,

And straight againe as pale as lead,
But not a word at all she said,

She was in such amaze.

At last she spake with trembling voyce,
And said, O king, I doe rejoyce

That you wil take me from your choyce,
And my degree's so base.

And when the wedding day was come,
The king commanded strait

The noblemen both all and some

Upon the queene to wait.

Shakspeare (who alludes to this ballad in his "Love's Labour lost," act iv. sc. 1.) gives the Beggar's name "Zenelophon," according to all the old editions: but this seems to be a corruption; for "Penelophon," in the text, sounds more like the name of a woman. The story of the King and the Beggar is also alluded to in King Richard II. act v. sc. 3.