35 done, Better I'll know thee, ere hands we will | Aye, quoth the good man; and when that is Then our king presentlye, making lowe courtesye, 49 With his hatt in his hand, thus he did say; I have no passport, nor never was servitor, But a poor courtyer, rode out of my way: And for your kindness here offered to mee, I will requite you in everye degree, Then to the miller his wife whisper'd secretlye, 55 Saying, It seemeth, this youth's of good kin, .65 Thou shalt lye with no worse than our own Wife, quoth the miller, fetch me forth lightfoote, 85 And of his sweetnesse a little we'll taste. Both by his apparel, and eke by his man- A fair ven'son pastye brought she out pre ners; To turn him out certainlye, were a great sin. Yea, quoth hee, you may see, he hath some grace When he doth speake to his betters in place. sentlye, www From merry Sherwood we fetch it home here; | Of them all, great and small, he did protest, Now and then we make bold with our kings The miller of Mansfield's sport liked him best. deer. 96 Then I thinke, sayd our king, that it is veni son. And now, my lords, quoth the king, I am determined Against St. Georges next sumptuous feast, Eche foole, quoth Richard, full well may That this old miller, our new confirm'd knight, know that: With his son Richard, shall here be my Never are wee without two or three in the roof, Very well fleshed, and excellent fat: 100 But, prythee, say nothing wherever thou goe; We would not, for two pence, the king should it knowe. Doubt not, then sayd the king, my promist secresye; guest: For, in this merryment, 'tis my desire 10 To talke with the jolly knight, and the young squire. When as the noble lords saw the kinges pleasantness, They were right joyfull and glad in their hearts: The king shall never know more on't for A pursuivant there was sent straighte on the The king and his courtiers laugh at this heartily, While the king taketh them both by the hand; Tushe, Sir John, quoth his wife, why should With the court-dames, and maids, like to the you frett, or frowne? 49 You shall ne'er be att no charges for mee; For I will turne and trim up my old russet gowne, With everye thing else as fine as may bee; And on our mill-horses swift we will ride, With pillowes and pannells, as we shall provide. In this most statelye sort, rode they unto the court, 55 Their jolly sonne Richard rode foremost of all; queen of spades 75 The millers wife did soe orderly stand. A milk-maids courtesye at every word; And downe all the folkes were set to the board. There the king royally, in princelye majestye, Sate at his dinner with joy and delight; When they had eaten well, then he to jesting fell, 81 And in a bowle of wine dranke to the knight: Here's to you both, in wine, ale and beer; Who set up, for good hap, a cocks feather in Thanking you heartilye for my good cheer. Ver. 57, for good hap: i. e. for good luck; they were go Ing on a hazardous expedition. V. 60, Maid Marian in the Why art thou angry? quoth our king mer Morris dance, was represented by a man in woman's clothes, who was to take short steps in order to sustain the female character. rilye; In faith, I take it now very unkind: I thought thou wouldst pledge me in ale and | Here with the ladyes such sport they did wine heartily. make, Quoth Dicke, You are like to stay till I The nobles with laughing did make their THIS beautiful old song was written by a | inelegant; but growing afterwards involved poet, whose name would have been utterly in the political and religious disputes in the forgotten, if it had not been preserved by times of James I. and Charles I., he employed Swift, as a term of contempt. 'Dryden and his poetical vein in severe pasquils on the Wither'' are coupled by him like the "Bavius court and clergy, and was occasionally a sufand Mævius" of Virgil. Dryden however ferer for the freedom of his pen. In the civil has had justice done him by posterity: and war that ensued, he exerted himself in the as for Wither, though of subordinate merit, service of the Parliament, and became a conthat he was not altogether devoid of genius, siderable sharer in the spoils. He was even will be judged from the following stanzas. one of those provincial tyrants, whom Oliver The truth is, Wither was a very voluminous distributed over the kingdom, under the name party-writer: and as his political and satirical of Major Generals; and had the fleecing of strokes rendered him extremely popular in the county of Surrey: but, surviving the Rehis lifetime: so afterwards, when these were storation, he outlived both his power, and his no longer relished, they totally consigned his affluence; and giving vent to his chagrin in writings to oblivion. libels on the court, was long a prisoner in Newgate and the Tower. He died at length on the 2d of May, 1667. George Wither was born June 11, 1588, and in his younger years distinguished himself by some pastoral pieces, that were not During the whole course of his life, Wither was a continual publisher; having generally for opponent, Taylor the Water-poet. The long list of his productions may be seen in Wood's Athenæ Oxon. vol. II. His most popular satire is entitled "Abuses whipt and stript," 1613. His most poetical pieces were eclogues, entitled, "The Shepherd's Hunting," 1615, 8vo., and others printed at the end of Browne's "Shepherd's Pipe," 1614, 8vo. The following sonnet is extracted from a long pastoral piece of his, entitled "The Mistresse of Philarete," 1622, 8vo., which is said in the preface to be one of the Author's first poems; and may therefore be dated as early as any of the foregoing. Be shee meeker, kinder, than If shee be not so to me, What care I how kind shee be? Shall a woman's virtues move Me to perish for her love? Or, her well-deservings knowne, Make me quite forget mine owne? Be shee with that goodnesse blest, Which may merit name of Best; If she be not such to me, What care I how good she be? Cause her fortune seems too high, Shall I play the foole and dye? Those that beare a noble minde, 15 20 25 XXII. Queen Dido. SUCH is the title given in the Editor's folio MS. to this excellent old ballad, which, in the common printed copies, is inscribed, Eneas wandering Prince of Troy." It is here given from that MS. collated with two different printed copies, both in black letter, in the Pepys Collection. The reader will smile to observe with what natural and affecting simplicity, our ancient ballad-maker has engrafted a Gothic conclusion on the classic story of Virgil, from whom, however, it is probable he had it not. Nor can it be denied, but he has dealt out his poetical justice with a more impartial hand than that celebrated poet. |