Minor Poems of Michael Drayton Part 21

Dorilus. _And I into a Trance most deepe 60 Can cast the Birds that they shall sleepe When fain'st they would be singing._

Doron. _Why _Dorilus_ thou mak'st me mad, And now my wits begin to gad, But sure I know not whither._

Dorilus. _O _Doron_ let me hug thee then, There neuer was two madder men, Then let vs on together._

Doron. Hermes _the winged Horse bestrid, And thorow thick and thin he rid, 70 And floundred throw the Fountaine._

Dorilus. _He spurd the t.i.t vntill he bled, So that at last he ran his head Against the forked Mountaine,_

Doron. _How sayst thou, but pyde _Iris_ got Into great _Iunos_ Chariot, I spake with one that saw her._

Dorilus. _And there the pert and sawcy Elfe, Behau'd her as twere _Iuno's_ selfe, And made the Peac.o.c.ks draw her._ 80

Doron. _Ile borrow _Phbus_ fiery Iades, With which about the world he trades, And put them in my Plow._

Dorilus. _O thou most perfect frantique man, Yet let thy rage be what it can, Ile be as mad as thou._

Doron. _Ile to great _Iove_, hap good, hap ill, Though he with Thunder threat to kill, And beg of him a boone._

Dorilus. _To swerue vp one of _Cynthias_ beames, 90 And there to bath thee in the streames.

Discouerd in the Moone._

Doron. _Come frolick Youth and follow me, My frantique boy, and Ile show thee The Countrey of the Fayries._

Dorilus. _The fleshy Mandrake where't doth grow In noonshade of the Mistletow, And where the Phnix Aryes._

Doron. _Nay more, the Swallowes winter bed, The Caverns where the Winds are bred, 100 Since thus thou talkst of showing._

Dorilus. _And to those Indraughts Ile thee bring, That wondrous and eternall spring Whence th' Ocean hath its flowing._

Doron. _We'll downe to the darke house of sleepe, Where snoring _Morpheus_ doth keepe, And wake the drowsy Groome._

Dorilus. _Downe shall the Dores and Windowes goe, The Stooles vpon the Floare we'll throw, And roare about the Roome._ 110

The Muses here commanded them to stay, Commending much the caridge of their Lay As greatly pleasd at this their madding Bout, To heare how brauely they had borne it out From first to the last, of which they were right glad, By this they found that _Helicon_ still had That vertue it did anciently retaine When _Orpheus Lynus_ and th' Ascrean Swaine Tooke l.u.s.ty Rowses, which hath made their Rimes, To last so long to all succeeding times. 120 And now amongst this beauteous Beauie here, Two wanton Nimphes, though dainty ones they were, _Naijs_ and _Cloe_ in their female fits Longing to show the sharpnesse of their wits, Of the _nine Sisters_ speciall leaue doe craue That the next Bout they two might freely haue, Who hauing got the suffrages of all, Thus to their Rimeing instantly they fall.

Naijs. _Amongst you all let us see Who ist opposes mee, 130 Come on the proudest she To answere my dittye._

Cloe. _Why _Naijs_, that am I, Who dares thy pride defie.

And that we soone shall try Though thou be witty._

Naijs. Cloe _I scorne my Rime Should obserue feet or time, Now I fall, then I clime, Where i'st I dare not._ 140

Cloe. _Giue thy Invention wing, And let her flert and fling, Till downe the Rocks she ding, For that I care not._

Naijs. _This presence delights me, My freedome inuites me, The Season excytes me, In Rime to be merry._

Cloe. _And I beyond measure, Am rauisht with pleasure, 150 To answer each Ceasure, Untill thou beist weary._

Naijs. _Behold the Rosye Dawne, Rises in Tinsild Lawne, And smiling seemes to fawne, Vpon the mountaines._

Cloe. _Awaked from her Dreames, Shooting foorth goulden Beames Dansing vpon the Streames Courting the Fountaines._ 160

Naijs. _These more then sweet Showrets, Intice vp these Flowrets, To trim vp our Bowrets, Perfuming our Coats._

Cloe. _Whilst the Birds billing Each one with his Dilling The thickets still filling With Amorous Noets._

Naijs. _The Bees vp in hony rould, More then their thighes can hould, 170 Lapt in their liquid gould, Their Treasure vs Bringing._

Cloe. _To these Rillets purling Vpon the stones Curling, And oft about wherling, Dance tow'ard their springing._

Naijs. _The Wood-Nimphes sit singing, Each Groue with notes ringing Whilst fresh Ver is flinging Her Bounties abroad._ 180

Cloe. _So much as the Turtle, Upon the low Mertle, To the meads fertle, Her cares doth unload._

Naijs. _Nay 'tis a world to see, In euery bush and Tree, The Birds with mirth and glee, Woo'd as they woe._

Cloe. _The Robin and the Wren, Every c.o.c.ke with his Hen, 190 Why should not we and men, Doe as they doe._

Naijs. _The Faires are hopping, The small Flowers cropping, And with dew dropping, Skip thorow the Greaues._

Cloe. _At Barly-breake they play Merrily all the day, At night themselues they lay Vpon the soft leaues._ 200

Naijs. _The gentle winds sally, Vpon every Valley, And many times dally And wantonly sport._

Cloe. _About the fields tracing, Each other in chasing, And often imbracing, In amorous sort._

Naijs. _And Eccho oft doth tell Wondrous things from her Cell, 210 As her what chance befell, Learning to prattle._

Cloe. _And now she sits and mocks The Shepherds and their flocks, And the Heards from the Rocks Keeping their Cattle._

When to these Maids the Muses silence cry, For 'twas the opinion of the Company, That were not these two taken of, that they Would in their Conflict wholly spend the day. 220 When as the Turne to _Florimel_ next came, A Nimph for Beauty of especiall name, Yet was she not so Iolly as the rest: And though she were by her companions prest, Yet she by no intreaty would be wrought To sing, as by th' Elizian Lawes she ought: When two bright Nimphes that her companions were, And of all other onely held her deare, Mild _Claris_ and _Mertilla_, with faire speech Their most beloued _Florimel_ beseech, 230 T'obserue the Muses, and the more to wooe her, They take their turnes, and thus they sing vnto her.

Cloris. _Sing, _Florimel_, O sing, and wee Our whole wealth will giue to thee, We'll rob the brim of euery Fountaine, Strip the sweets from euery Mountaine, We will sweepe the curled valleys, Brush the bancks that mound our allyes, We will muster natures dainties When she wallowes in her plentyes, 240 The lushyous smell of euery flower New washt by an Aprill shower, The Mistresse of her store we'll make thee That she for her selfe shall take thee; Can there be a dainty thing, That's not thine if thou wilt sing._

Mertilla. _When the dew in May distilleth, And the Earths rich bosome filleth, And with Pearle embrouds each Meadow, We will make them like a widow, 250 And in all their Beauties dresse thee, And of all their spoiles possesse thee, With all the bounties Zephyre brings, Breathing on the yearely springs, The gaudy bloomes of euery Tree In their most beauty when they be, What is here that may delight thee, Or to pleasure may excite thee, Can there be a dainty thing That's not thine if thou wilt sing._ 260

But _Florimel_ still sullenly replyes I will not sing at all, let that suffice: When as a Nimph one of the merry ging Seeing she no way could be wonne to sing; Come, come, quoth she, ye vtterly vndoe her With your intreaties, and your reuerence to her; For praise nor prayers, she careth not a pin; They that our froward _Florimel_ would winne, Must worke another way, let me come to her, Either Ile make her sing, or Ile vndoe her. 270

Claia. Florimel _I thus coniure thee, Since their gifts cannot alure thee; By stampt Garlick, that doth stink Worse then common Sewer, or Sink, By Henbane, Dogsbane, Woolfsbane, sweet As any Clownes or Carriers feet, By stinging Nettles, p.r.i.c.king Teasels Raysing blisters like the measels, By the rough Burbreeding docks, Rancker then the oldest Fox, 280 By filthy Hemblock, poysning more Then any vlcer or old sore, By the c.o.c.kle in the corne, That smels farre worse then doth burnt horne, By Hempe in water that hath layne, By whose stench the Fish are slayne, By Toadflax which your Nose may tast, If you haue a minde to cast, May all filthy stinking Weeds That e'r bore leafe, or e'r had seeds,_ 290 Florimel _be giuen to thee, If thou'lt not sing as well as wee._

At which the Nimphs to open laughter fell, Amongst the rest the beauteous _Florimel_, (Pleasd with the spell from _Claia_ that came, A mirthfull Gerle and giuen to sport and game) As gamesome growes as any of them all, And to this ditty instantly doth fall.

Florimel. _How in my thoughts should I contriue The Image I am framing, 300 Which is so farre superlatiue, As tis beyond all naming; I would _Ioue_ of my counsell make, And haue his judgement in it, But that I doubt he would mistake How rightly to begin it, It must be builded in the Ayre, And tis my thoughts must doo it, And onely they must be the stayre From earth to mount me to it, 310 For of my s.e.x I frame my Lay, Each houre, our selues forsaking, How should I then finde out the way To this my vndertaking, When our weake Fancies working still, Yet changing every minnit, Will shew that it requires some skill, Such difficulty's in it.

We would things, yet we know not what, And let our will be granted, 320 Yet instantly we finde in that Something vnthought of wanted: Our ioyes and hopes such shadowes are, As with our motions varry, Which when we oft haue fetcht from farre, With us they neuer tarry: Some worldly crosse doth still attend, What long we haue in spinning, And e'r we fully get the end We lose of our beginning. 330 Our pollicies so peevish are, That with themselues they wrangle, And many times become the snare That soonest vs intangle; For that the Loue we beare our Friends Though nere so strongly grounded, Hath in it certaine oblique ends If to the bottome sounded: Our owne well wishing making it, A pardonable Treason; 340 For that is deriud from witt, And vnderpropt with reason.

For our Deare selues beloued sake (Euen in the depth of pa.s.sion) Our Center though our selues we make, Yet is not that our station; For whilst our Browes ambitious be And youth at hand awayts vs, It is a pretty thing to see How finely Beautie cheats vs, 350 And whilst with tyme we tryfling stand To practise Antique graces Age with a pale and withered hand Drawes Furowes in our faces._

When they which so desirous were before To hear her sing; desirous are far more To haue her cease; and call to haue her stayd For she to much alredy had bewray'd.