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Of mystic truth, in fables first convey'd,
Demanded, till the next returning May,
Whether the Leaf or Flower I would obey?
I chose the Leaf; she smil'd with sober cheer,
And wish'd me fair adventure for the year,
And gave me charms and sigils, for defence
Against ill tongues that scandal innocence:
But I, said she, my fellows must pursue,
Already past the plain, and out of view.
We parted thus; I homeward sped my way, 610
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'st, my little book with shame,
Nor hope with homely verse to purchase fame;
For such thy maker chose; and so design'd
Thy simple style to suit thy lowly kind.

THE WIFE OF BATH, HER TALE.

IN days of old, when Arthur fill'd the throne,
Whose acts and fame to foreign lands were blown :
The king of elfs and little fairy queen
Gamboll'd on heaths, and danc'd on every green;
And where the jolly troop had led the round,
The grass unbidden rose, and mark'd the ground:
Nor darkling did they dance, the silver light

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Of Phoebe serv'd to guide their steps aright,
And with their tripping pleas'd, prolong the night.
Her beams they follow'd, where at full she play'd,
Nor longer than she shed her horns they staid,
From thence with airy flight to foreign lands con-
vey'd.

Above the rest our Britain held they dear,

More solemnly they kept their sabbaths here, And made more spacious rings, and revell'd half

the year.

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I speak of ancient times, for now the swain Returning late may pass the woods in vain, And never hope to see the nightly train : In vain the dairy now with mints is dress'd, The dairy maid expects no fairy guest, To skim the bowls, and after pay the feast She sighs, and shakes her empty shoes in vain, No silver penny to reward her pain: For priests with prayers, and other godly geer, Have made the merry goblins disappear; And where they play'd their merry pranks before, Have sprinkled holy water on the floor: And friars that through the wealthy regions run, Thick as the motes that twinkle in the sun, Resort to farmers rich, and bless their halls, And exorcise the beds, and cross the walls: This makes the fairy quires forsake the place, When once 'tis hallow'd with the rites of grace : But in the walks where wicked elves have been, The learning of the parish now is seen,

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The midnight parson, posting o'er the green, With gown tuck'd up, to wakes, for Sunday next, With humming ale encouraging his text;

Nor wants the holy leer to country girl betwixt.
From fiends and imps he sets the village free, 40
There haunts not any incubus but he.

The maids and women need no danger fear
To walk by night, and sanctity so near:
For by some haycock, or some shady thorn,
He bids his beads both evensong and morn.
It so befell in this king Arthur's reign,
A lusty knight was pricking o'er the plain;
A bachelor he was, and of the courtly train.
It happen'd as he rode, a damsel gay

In russet robes to market took her

way:

Soon on the girl he cast an amorous eye,

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So straight she walk'd, and on her pasterns high: If seeing her behind he lik'd her pace,

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Now turning short, he better likes her face.
He lights in haste, and, full of youthful fire,
By force accomplish'd his obscene desire :
This done, away he rode, not unespied,
For swarming at his back the country cried:
And once in view they never lost the sight,
But seiz'd, and pinion'd brought to court the knight.

Then courts of kings were held in high renown,
Ere made the common brothels of the town:
There, virgins honourable vows receiv'd,
But chaste as maids in monasteries liv'd;
The king himself, to nuptial ties a slave,

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No bad example to his poets gave:

And they, not bad, but in a vicious age,

Had not, to please the prince, debauch'd the stage. Now what should Arthur do? He lov❜d the

knight,

But sovereign monarchs are the source of right:
Mov'd by the damsel's tears and common cry,
He doom'd the brutal ravisher to die.
But fair Geneura rose in his defence,

And pray'd so hard for mercy from the prince,
That to his queen the king the offender gave, 75
And left it in her power to kill or save:

This gracious act the ladies all approve,

Who thought it much a man should die for love;
And with their mistress join'd in close debate,
(Covering their kindness with dissembled hate ;)
If not to free him, to prolong his fate.
At last agreed, they call'd him by consent
Before the queen and female parliament.
And the fair speaker rising from the chair,
Did thus the judgment of the house declare.
Sir knight, though I have ask'd thy life, yet still

Thy destiny depends upon my will:

Nor hast thou other surety than the grace
Not due to thee from our offended race.
But as our kind is of a softer mould,
And cannot blood without a sigh behold,
I grant thee life; reserving still the power
To take the forfeit when I see my hour:
Unless thy answer to my next demand

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Shall set thee free from our avenging hand.
The question, whose solution I require,
Is, What the sex of women most desire?
In this dispute thy judges are at strife;
Beware; for on thy wit depends thy life.
Yet (lest, surprised, unknowing what to say,
Thou damn thyself) we give thee farther day:
A year is thine to wander at thy will;
And learn from others, if thou want'st the skill.
But, not to hold our proffer'd turn in scorn,
Good sureties will we have for thy return;
That at the time prefix'd thou shalt obey,
And at thy pledge's peril keep thy day.

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Woe was the knight at this severe command; But well he knew 'twas bootless to withstand: The terms accepted, as the fair ordain, He put in bail for his return again,

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And promis'd answer at the day assign'd,
The best, with heaven's assistance, he could find.
His leave thus taken, on his way he went
With heavy heart, and full of discontent,
Misdoubting much, and fearful of the event.
'Twas hard the truth of such a point to find,
As was not yet agreed among the kind.
Thus on he went; still anxious more and more,
Ask'd all he met, and knock'd at every door; 120
Inquir'd of men; but made his chief request
To learn from women what they lov'd the best.
They answer'd each according to her mind.
To please herself, not all the female kind.

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