There will I make thee beds of rofes
With a thousand fragrant pofies,
A cap of flowers, and a kirtle
Imbrodered all with leaves of mirtle;

A gown made of the finest wool,
Which from our pretty lambs we pull;
Slippers lin'd choicely for the cold;
With buckles of the pureft gold;

A belt of straw, and ivie buds,
With coral clafps, and amber ftuds:
And if these pleasures may thee move,
Then live with me, and be my love.

The fhepherd fwains fhall dance and fing
For thy delight each May morning:
If these delights thy mind may move,
Then live with me, and be my

love.

THE NYMPH'S REPLY.

F that the World and Love were young,

I'

And truth in every fhepherd's toung, These pretty pleasures might me move To live with thee, and be thy love.

But time drives flocks from field to fold,
When rivers rage, and rocks grow cold,

And Philomel becometh dumb,

And all complain of cares to come.

The flowers do fade, and wanton fields
To wayward winter reckoning yield:
A honey tongue, a heart of gall,
In fancies fpring, but forrows fall.

Thy gowns, thy fhoes, thy beds of rofes,
Thy cap, thy kirtle, and thy pofies,
Soon break, foon wither, foon forgotten,
In folly ripe, in reafon rotten.

Thy belt of ftraw, and ivie buds,
Thy coral clafps, and amber ftuds ;
All these in me no means can move
To come to thee, and be thy love.

But could youth last, and love still breed,
Had joyes no date, nor age no need ;
Then thofe delights my mind might move
To live with thee, and be thy love,

15

20

XIII.

TITUS ANDRONICUS's COMPLAINT.

7 The reader has here an ancient ballad on the fame fubject as the play of TITUS ANDRONICUS, and it is probable that the one was borrowed from the other: but which of

them

them was the original, it is not eafy to decide. And yet, if the argument offered above in page 223, for the priority of the ballad of the J. W OF VENICE may be admitted, fomewhat of the fame kind may be urged here; for this ballad differs from the play in feveral particulars, which a fimple Ballad-writer would be less likely to alter than an inventive Tragedian. Thus in the ballad is no mention of the conteft for the empire between the two brothers, the compofing of which makes the ungrateful treatment of TITUS afterwards the more flagrant: neither is there any notice taken of his facrificing one of Tamora's fons, which the tragic poet has aligned as the original cause of all her cruelties In the play Titus lofes twenty one of his fons in war, and kills another for afifting Bafianus to carry off Lavinia: the reader will find it different in the ballad. In the latter fhe is betrothed to the emperor's fon: in the play to his brother. In the tragedy only Two of his fons fall into the pit, and the Third being banished returns to Rome with a victorious army, to avenge the wrongs of his houfe: in the ballad all Three are entrapped and fuffer death. In the fcene the Emperor kills Titus, and is in return ftabbed by Titus's furviving fon. Here Titus kills the Emperor, and afterwards himfelf.

Let the Reader weigh thefe circumftances and fome others wherein he will find them unlike, and then pronounce for himself— After all, there is reafon to conclude that this play was rather improved by Shakespeare with a few fine touches of his pen, than originally written by him; for, not to mention that the ftyle is lefs figurative than his others generally are, this tragedy is mentioned with difcredit in the Induction to Ben Jonfon's BARTHOLOMEW FAIR, in 1614, as one that had then been exhibited" five and twenty, or thirty years: which, if we take the lowest number, throws it back to the year 1589, at which time Shakespeare was but 25: an earlier date than can be found for any other of his pieces* :

*Mr. MALONE thinks ICQr to be the era when our author commenced a writer for the ftage. See in his Shakefp. the ingenious “ Attempt "to ascertain the order in which the plays of Shakespeare were written."

and

and if it does not clear him entirely of it, fhews at least it was a first attempt * •

The following is given from a copy in "The Golden "Garland" intitled as above; compared with three others, two of them in black letter in the Pepys collection, intitled, "The Lamentable and Tragical Hiftory of Titus Andro"nicus, &c.-To the tune of, Fortune. Printed for E. "Wright."-Unluckily none of thefe have any dates.

You

OU noble minds, and famous martiall wights,
That in defence of native country fights,
Give eare to me, that ten yeeres fought for Rome,
Yet reapt difgrace at my returning home.

In Rome I lived in fame fulle threescore yeeres,
My name beloved was of all my peeres;
Full five and twenty valiant fonnes I had,

Whose forwarde vertues made their father glad.

For when Romes foes their warlike forces bent,
Against them stille my fonnes and I were fent ;
Against the Goths full ten yeeres weary warre
We spent, receiving many a bloudy fcarre.

Just two and twenty of my fonnes were flaine
Before we did returne to Rome againe :

Of five and twenty fonnes, I brought but three
Alive, the stately towers of Rome to fee.

15

*Since the above was written, Shakespeare's memory has been fully vindicated from the charge of writing the above play by the best criticks. See what has been urged by STEEVENS and MALONE in their excellent editions of Shakespeare, Sc.

When

When wars were done, I conqueft home did bring,
And did prefent my prifoners to the king,
The queene of Goths, her fons, and eke a moore,
Which did fuch murders, like was nere before.

The emperour did make this queene his wife,
Which bred in Rome debate and deadlie strife;

20

The moore, with her two fonnes did growe foe proud, That none like them in Rome might bee allowd.

The moore foe pleas'd this new-made emprefs' eie, 25 That flie confented to him fecretlye

For to abuse her hufbands marriage bed,

And foe in time a blackamore she bred.

Then fhe, whofe thoughts to murder were inclinde,
Comsented with the moore of bloody minde
Against myfelfe, my kin, and all my friendes,
In cruell fort to bring them to their endes.

39

Soe when in age I thought to live in peace,
Both care and griefe began then to increase:
Amongst my sonnes I had one daughter bright,
Which joy'd, and pleased best my aged fight;

My deare Lavinia was betrothed than
To Cefars fonne, a young and noble man:
Who in a hunting by the emperours wife,
And her two fonnes, bereaved was of life.

35

40

He