98

Throw bemis reid, burning as ruby sparkis;
The skyis rang for schoutyng of the larkis,
The purpour hevin ourskailit in silver sloppisc
Owregilt the treis, branchis, lef and barkis.

Doun throu the ryced ane revir ran with stremis
So lustely agayn the lykand lemys,

e

That all the lake as lamp did leme of licht,

Quhilk shaddowit all about with twynkline glemis;
The bewis baithit war in secund bemis,
Throu the reflex of Phebus visage bricht

On every side the hegies raise on hichth:

The bank was grene, the bruke wes ful of bremys,
The stanneris cleir as stern in frostie nicht.

The crystall air, the sapher firmament,
The ruby skyis of the orient,

Kesti berial bemis on emerant bewis grene,
The rosy garth, depaynt, and redolent,
With purpour, asure, gold, and gowlis' gent,
Arrayit wes, by dame Flora the quene,
Sa nobilly, that joy wes for to sene :
The rocke", agane the rivir resplendent,
As low enlumynit all the levis schene."

* covered with streaks, slips, of silver. 4 through the bushes, the trees. Rice, or Ris, is properly a long branch. This word is still used in the west of England. Chaucer, MILLER'S TALE, v. 215. p. 26. Urr. edit.

And thereupon he had a fair surplice
As white as is the blosome on the rice.

[See supra, vol. ii. p. 263.] So in a
Scotch poem by Alexander Scott, writ-
ten 1562. ANTIENT SCOTTISH POEMS,
Edinb. 1770. p. 194.

Welcum oure rubent rois [rose] upon
the rice.

So also Lydgate, in his poem called
LONDON LICKPENNY, MSS. Harl. 367.

Our author, lulled by the music of the birds, and the murmuring of the water, falls asleep on the flowers, which he calls Flora's mantill. In a vision, he sees a ship approach, whose sails are like the blossom upon the spray, and whose masts are of gold bright as the star of day. She glides swiftly through a chrystal bay; and lands in the blooming meadows, among the green rushes and reeds, an hundred ladies clad in rich but loose attire. They are cloathed in are cloathed in green kirtles; their golden tresses, tied only with glittering threads, flow to the ground; and their snowy bosoms are unveiled.

As fresche as flouris that in the May upspredis
In kirtills grene, withoutyn kell or bandis
Thair bricht hairis hang gleting on the strandis
In tressis cleir, wyppit with goldin threidis ;
With papis' quhyt, and middills small as wandis.

In this brilliant assembly, the poet sees NATURE, dame Venus quene, the fresche AURORA, May, lady Flora schene, Juno, Latona, Proserpine, Diana goddess of the chase and woodis grene, lady Clio, Minerva, Fortune, and Lucina. These michty quenes are crowned with diadems, glittering like the morning-star. They enter a garden. May, the queen of mirthful months, is supported between her sisters April and June: as she walks

Morning, in the KNIGHT'S TALE, V. 1493. p. 12. Urr.

The mery lark, messengere of the day, Salewith in her song the morowe gray; And fyrie Phebus rysing up so bright That all the orient laughith at the sight, And with his stremis dryith in the greves The silver dropis hanging in the leves. It is seldom that we find Chaucer indulging his genius to an absurd excess in florid descriptions. The same cannot be said of Lydgate.

In our old poetry and the romances, we frequently read of ships superbly decorated. This was taken from real life. Froissart, speaking of the French fleet in 1987, prepared for the invasion of England under the reign of Richard the Second, says, that the ships were painted

See

with the arms of the commanders, and gilt, with banners, pennons, and standards, of silk: and that the masts were painted from top to bottom, glittering with gold. The ship of lord Guy of Tremoyll was so sumptuously garnished, that the painting and colours cost $000 French franks, more than 222 pounds of Grafton's CHRON. p. 364. At his second English currency at that time. expedition into France, in 1417, king Henry the Fifth was in a ship, whose sails were of purple silk most richly embroidered with gold. Speed's CHRON. B. ix. p. 636. edit 1611. Many other instances might be brought from antient miniatures and illuminations.

P caul. paps.

r

¶ bound. * ST. vii.

up and down the garden, the birds begin to sing, and NATURE gives her a gorgeous robe adorned with every colour under heaven.

Thair sawe I NATURE present till' her a gown
Rich to behald, and nobil of renoun,

Of every hew undir the hevin that bene

Depaynt and broud" be gude proportioun.

W

The vegetable tribes then do their obeisance to NATURE, in these polished and elegant verses.

And every blome on brenche, and eik on bonk,
Opnyt, and spred thair balmy levis donk,
Full low enclyneyng to thair quene full cleir,
Quhame for their noble norising thay thonk.*

Immediately another court, or groupe, appears. Here Cupid the king presides :

And dredefull arrowis grundyn scharp and squair.

Thair saw I Mars the god armipotent

Awfull and sternè, strong and corpolent.

Thair saw I crabbit' Saturne, ald and haire,
His luke wes lyk for to perturb the air.
Thair wes Mercurius, wise and eloquent,
Of rethorik that fanda the flouris fair.b

These are attended with other pagan divinities, Janus, Priapus, Eolus, Bacchus the glader of the table, and Pluto. They are all arrayed in green; and singing amorous ditties to the harp and lute, invite the ladies to dance. The poet quits his ambush under the trees, and pressing forward to gain a more perfect view of this tempting spectacle, is espied by Venus. She bids her keen archers arrest the intruder. Her attendants, a groupe of fair ladies, instantly drop their green mantles, and

each discovers a huge bow. They form themselves in battlearray, and advance against the poet.

And first of all, with bow in hand ybent,.

Come dame BEWTEE, richt as scho wald me schent

Syne followit all her damosalls yfeir,

With mony divers awfull instrument :

Unto the pres FAIR HAVING with hir went;

Syne PORTRATURE, PLESANCE, and lusty CHEIR,
Than come RESSOUN, with Schelde of gold so cleir,
In plate and maille, as Mars armipotent,

f

Defendit me that noble chevellere.

BEAUTY is assisted by tender YOUTH with her virgin's ying,
GREEN INNOCENCE, MODESTY, and OBEDIENCE: but their re-
sistance was but feeble against the golden target of REASON.
WOMANHOOD then leads on PATIENCE, DISCRETION, STED-
FASTNESS, BENIGNE LOOK, MYLDE CHEIR, and HONEST
BUSINESS.

Bot RESSOUN bure the Terge with sic constance,
Thair scharp assayes might do no dures",

To me for all thair awfull ordinancei,k

The attack is renewed by DIGNITY, RENOWN, RICHES, NOBILITY, and HONOUR. These, after displaying their high banner, and shooting a cloud of arrows, are soon obliged to retreat. Venus, perceiving the rout, orders DISSEMBLANCE to make an attempt to pierce the Golden Shield. DISSEMBLANCE, or DisSIMULATION, chuses for her archers, PRESENCE, FAIR CALLING, and CHERISHING. These bring back BEAUTY to the charge. A new and obstinate conflict ensues.

Thik was the schott of grundyn dartis kene,

Bot RESSOUN, with the Scheld of Gold so schene,
Warly defendit quhosoevir assayit:

The awfull stour he manly did sustene."

At length PRESENCE, by whom the poet understands that irresistible incentive accruing to the passion of love by society, by benig often admitted to the company of the beloved object, throws a magical powder into the eyes of REASON; who is suddenly deprived of all his powers, and reels like a drunken man. Immediately the poet receives a deadly wound, and is taken prisoner by BEAUTY; who now assumes a more engaging air, as the clear eye of REASON is growing dim by intoxication. DISSIMULATION then tries all her arts on the poet: FAIR CALLING smiles upon him: CHERISHING Soothes him with soft speeches: NEW ACQUAINTANCE embraces him awhile, but soon takes her leave, and is never seen afterwards. At last DANGER delivers him to the custody of GRIEF.

By this time, "God Eolus his bugle blew." The leaves are torn with the blast: in a moment the pageant disappears, and nothing remains but the forest, the birds, the banks, and the brook." In the twinkling of an eye they return to the ship; and unfurling the sails, and stemming the sea with a rapid course, celebrate their triumph with a discharge of ordinance. This was now a new topic for poetical description. The smoke rises to the firmament, and the roar is re-echoed by the rocks, with a sound as if the rain-bow had been broken.

And as I did awake of this sweving°,

The joyfull birdis merily did sing

For mirth of Phebus tendir bemis schene.
Sweit war the vapouris, soft the morrowing,
Hailsum the vaill depaynt with flouris ying,
The air attemperit sobir and amene;

In quhit and reid was al the felde besene,
Throw Naturis nobill fresch annameling

q

In mirthfull May of every moneth quene. ¶

Our author then breaks out into a laboured encomium on Chaucer, Gower, and Lydgate. This I chuse to recite at large,

" Sr. xxvi.

⚫ dream.

P vale.

1 ST. xxviii.