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"Reft you ftill, moft gallant lady;

Reft you ftill, and weep no more; Of fair lovers there are plenty,

Spain doth yield you wonderous store." Spaniards fraught with jealoufy we oft do find,

But Englishmen throughout the world are counted kind.

Leave me not unto a Spaniard,

Thou alone enjoyft my heart;

I am lovely, young, and tender,

Love is likewise my defert:

Still to ferve thee day and night my mind is preft;
The wife of every Englishman is counted bleft.

"It would be a fhame, fair lady,

For to bear a woman hence ;

English foldiers never carry

Any fuch without offence."

I'll quickly change myself, if it be fo,

And like a page will follow thee, where'er thou go.

"I have neither gold nor filver

To maintain thee in this case,

And to travel is great charges,

As you know in every place."

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50

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59

My chains and jewels every one shall be thy own,
And eke* tèn thousand pounds in gold that lies unknown.

" On

500. MS.

"On the feas are many dangers,

Many forms do there arife,

Which will be to ladies dreadful,

('. And force tears from watery eyes." Well in troth I fhall endure extremity,

For I could find in heart to lofe my life for thee.

"Courteous ladye, leave this fancy,

Here comes all that breeds the strife;

I in England have already

A fweet woman to my wife;

I will not falfify my vow for gold nor gain,

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Nor yet for all the fairest dames that live in Spain.”~

O how happy is that woman

That enjoys fo true a friend!

Many happy days God fend her;

Of

my fuit I make an end:

On my knees I pardon crave for my offence,

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Which did from love and true affection firft commence.

Commend me to thy lovely lady,

Bear to her this chain of gold;
And thefe bracelets for a token;

Grieving that I was fo bold:

All my jewels in like fort bear thou with thee,
For they are fitting for thy wife, but not for me.

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I will fpend my days in prayer,

Love and all his laws defye;

In a nunnery will I shroud mee

Far from any companye

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But ere my prayers have an end, be fure of this,
Το pray for thee and for thy love I will not mifs. 90

Thus farewell, moft gallant captain!

Farewell too my heart's content!

Count not Spanish ladies wanton,

Though to thee my love was bent:

Joy and true profperity goe ftill with thee!

"The like fall ever to thy fhare, moft fair ladìe.”

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XXIV.

ARGENTILE AND CURAN,

Is extracted from an ancient historical poem in XIII Books, intitled, ALBION'S ENGLAND by WILLIAM WAR-.. NER: "An author (fays a former editor) only unhappy in "the choice of his fubject, and measure of his verfe. His poem is an epitome of the British history, and written "with great learning, fenfe, and spirit. In fome places fine to an extraordinary degree, as I think will eminently appear "in the enfuing episode [of Argentile and Curan]. A tale full of beautiful incidents, in the romantic taste, extremely affecting, rich in ornament, wonderfully various in flyle; and "in short, one of the most beautiful paftorals I ever met with.” [Mufes library 8vo. 1738.] To this elogium nothing can be

objected,

objected, unless perhaps an affected quaintnefs in fome of his expreffions, and an indelicacy in fome of his paftoral images. WARNER is faid to have been a Warwickshire man, and to have been educated in Oxford at Magdalene Hall* : in the latter part of his life he was retained in the fervice of Henry Cary lord Hunfdon, to whom he dedicates his poem. More of his history is not known. Tho' now his name is fo feldom mentioned, his contemporaries ranked him on a level with Spenfer, and called them the Homer and Virgil of their aget. But Warner rather rejembled Ov1D, whofe Metamorphofis be feems to have taken for his model, having deduced a perpetual poem from the deluge down to the era of Elizabeth, full of lively digreffions and entertaining episodes. And tho' he is fometimes harsh, affected, and obfcure, he often dif plays a moft charming and pathetic fimplicity: as where be defcribes Eleanor's harsh treatment of Rofamond:

With that fhe dafht her on the lippes

So dyed double red:

Hard was the heart that gave the blow,

Soft were those lippes that bled.

The edition of ALBION'S ENGLAND here followed was printed in 4to, 1602; faid in the title-page to have been "first penned and published by William Warner, and now "revifed and newly enlarged by the fame author." The story of ARGENTILE AND CURAN is I believe the poet's own invention; it is not mentioned in any of our chronicles. It was however fo much admired, that not many years after he publifhed it, came out a larger poem on the fame fubject in ftanzas of fix lines, intitled, "The most pleafant and delightful hif "torie of Curan a prince of Danfke, and the fayre princeffe Argentile, daughter and heyre to Adelbright, fometime king of Northumberland, &c. by WILLIAM WEBSTER, Lon"don 1617." in 8 fheets 4to. An indifferent paraphrafe of the following poem.-This episode of Warner's has also been altered into the common Ballad, of the two young "Princes

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« Princes on Salisbury Plain,” which is chiefly composed of Warner's lines, with a few contractions and interpolations, but all greatly for the worje. See the collection of Hift. Ballads, 1727, 3 Vol. 12mo.

Tho' here fubdivided into fianzas, Warner's metre is the old-fashioned alexandrine of 14 fyllables. The reader therefore must not expect to find the clofe of the ftanzas confulted in the paufes.

THE

Seaven kingdoms here begonne,

Where diverfly in divers broyles

The Saxons loft and wonne.

King Edel and king Adelbright
In Diria jointly raigne;
In loyal concorde during life
Thefe kingly friends remaine.

When Adelbright should leave his life,
To Edel thus he fayes;

By thofe fame bondes of happie love,
That held us friends alwaies;

By our by-parted crowne, of which

The moyetie is mine;

By God, to whom my foule muft paffe,

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And fo in time may thine;

I pray thee, nay I cònjure thee,

To nourish, as thine owne,